🧭 To Be or Not To Be (Online): Navigating the Internet – The Educational Dilemma

We bank, learn, scroll, teach, chat, shop, panic, plan—online.The internet has streamlined nearly every part of our lives. It’s efficient, fast, and often essential.But… is there a hidden cost?

It can amplify distraction, fuel comparison, and even expose deep insecurities—leaving students (and adults) feeling overstimulated, disconnected, or unmotivated.

👾 A Real-Life Example: Tic Tac Toe, Vibe Coding, and the Spark of Innovation

In a recent session, I introduced students to something new: Vibe Learning—a hands-on, curiosity-driven approach that grew out of what is called Vibe Coding. To demonstrate how easy and empowering it can be to create with technology, we used AI to generate the code for a basic Tic Tac Toe game.

At first glance, it was just a game. But the learning began immediately. Saving and opening a proper HTML file that would run in a browser wasn’t as simple as it seemed. But instead of giving up, we leaned in. One student—who usually struggles in more traditional academic settings but has a strong tech instinct—jumped out of his chair to help. Together, we read the instructions carefully, solved the issue, and launched the game. That moment transformed the classroom. Then came the real magic: I asked, “How could we make this game better?” Ideas poured in: add a timer, make balloons fly when someone wins, put flames on the screen if a player loses!

Suddenly, students weren’t just coding. They were creating, collaborating, and imagining—building something that was theirs. The bell rang too soon.

Afterward, I couldn’t stop thinking:What if we used this same energy for a historical role-play? A chemistry simulation? A game to visualize political or economic decisions? Right now, Vibe Learning is simple—still experimental. But it’s growing fast. And most importantly, it shows us what learning can look like when students are asking questions, testing ideas, and getting immediate feedback on their thinking.

The screen is so darn attractive—so immediate, so rewarding.Just like the Vibe Coding session, it pulls us in fast. But here's the thing:Before we jumped into writing code, we had to play Tic Tac Toe the old-fashioned way—on paper. That real-world version gave us context, strategy, and shared understanding. Without it, the digital version would have been hollow—just flashy mechanics with no meaning. Real-world experience gave the screen its power. And that’s what makes this moment in education so important to reflect on.

How do we balance the efficiencies of the internet with the realness of life—real experiences, real connection, real learning?

This is the central question behind Reinventing Education, the book I’m currently writing to explore the shifting landscape of how we learn, teach, and grow. Today’s schools are caught in contradiction:

📵 Phones are banned from desks—

🖥️ Yet chalkboards are replaced with interactive screens and cloud-based platforms.We encourage students to unplug, yet every assignment, grade, and feedback loop lives online.

So what do we do?

💬 This book is a conversation—and you’re invited to help shape it.

Do students need less tech—or just better guidance on how to use it?

📊 Take our 3-minute survey: https://forms.gle/D6XjPBsT6pMSp62E6 Or leave a comment below.

Let’s imagine—and build—something better. Together.