David Warlick| Steve Hargadon | Aug 21 2012

·1 hr 1 min·5 clips

David Warlick fell out of his seat when a Radio Shack Model 1 computer first talked to him in 1981.

In this 2012 interview, educator and keynote speaker David Warlick shares a series of ten autobiographical stories to illustrate the evolution and philosophy of technology in education. The episode opens with Warlick framing his talk around preparing students for the 'fantastic'—technologies that seem unimaginable today but will be taken for granted in their future. He begins in the early 1980s, describing his awe at seeing a Radio Shack Model 1 computer that could communicate via a simple math program, which he saw as a transformative technology for culture. Warlick then details how he taught himself to program and created a stock market simulation game called 'Stop Baron' for his middle school students, leading to a pivotal moment when students found a bug and he recoded it to teach a lesson about embezzlement. The narrative progresses through the late 1980s, where he highlights a librarian using email to connect seventh graders with first graders for a book-writing project, emphasizing connection through accomplishment. Warlick moves into the early 1990s, recounting his first experience with Internet Relay Chat (IRC), where he unknowingly chatted with students in Iceland, realizing the power of connecting across geography. He discusses text-based multi-user domains (MUDs) like Media MOO and Micromuse, where at-risk students built virtual worlds and a socially isolated boy found confidence by becoming a skilled contributor. In the mid-1990s, Warlick talks about his work with Advanced Network Services and the ThinkQuest competition, where students created educational websites and a 14-year-old participant resourcefully emailed college professors for research. He reflects on how modern learning involves 'eavesdropping' on online conversations to solve problems, framing the internet as a network of ideas. Warlick concludes with a story about disconnect, recalling a quality management workshop where he realized educators often work for political interests rather than students, warning of barriers to technological empowerment in education.

As heard by us

An educator's early network stories become a clear case for how school habits lag behind new tools.

The piece follows David Warlick as he turns an educator's memories into a concise account of early school technology, moving from a calculator that cost $200 to a first direct encounter with the Internet.

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Why you'd press play

If you want educator stories that move from a $200 calculator to Telnet, IRC, and a larger argument about education, press play.

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