Future of Education and Online Learning

With the advancement of Web 2.0 applications to support a landscape for social learning, I believe there are going to be some dramatic shifts in the educational system in the future. Web 2.0 is about participation. People learn in a different manner when they are active participants rather than passive participants in their learning process. There are some shifts and trends that show online education will emerge in the future.

Online education will challenge today’s education system. Classrooms will no longer be more than teachers, books, and a chalkboard. In the future, it will provide the technology needed to address individual learning styles, and provide an avenue to social, cultural, and behavioral understanding. While we are just at the beginning of these shifts, technology has changed the way we interact with information and with each other.

There are some major economic and demographic trends that are affecting the shift to online education. While college institutions can no longer accommodate the growth in enrollment, distance education becomes a nice solution. There is a growing trend of adult learners returning back to school to seek higher education degrees. Online education accommodates those needing a flexible schedule, such as mothers and people with full time jobs. Since these learner profiles are shifting, there is a huge demand for more online courses and degrees. Some project over they next 10 years that over half of university campuses will shift to online learning.

This shift will also greatly affect the opportunities available to those seeking an education in developing countries. As we can see through my example of One Laptop Per Child, even a simple durable computer with online learning applications can give impoverished children a glimpse out into the world and an opportunity to learn how to read and write. While it is extremely important for certain tribal cultures to maintain their cultural heritage and traditional values, I think OLPC will have a great effect upon children in developing countries.

With the rapid growth of technology, open content, and social networks, schools/universities will need to extend their roles to allow for a collaborative and participatory learning environment. While online education may challenge the current system of education and the politics in institutions, it looks like most school systems and higher education systems will need to embrace the opportunities online learning provide.

Virtual Schools

In a recent article I read by Mark Helprin called the Acceleration of Tranquility, the author painted a picture of the distant future in 2016 where society completely embraced the virtual world while disregarding the needs and limitations of man during this revolution. Technology will certainly change the future of education, but can you imagine in 10 years all schools going virtual? This is what many are projecting will happen to the future of education here in America. Now this does not mean that we will no longer have schools. Students would still go to school to engage in normal social activities (meal times, sports, clubs, etc.), but the classroom would be very different. Technology and instructional software would replace the teacher and provide each student with an individualized learning program to best facilitate the student’s individual learning needs. The teacher would still be in the classroom as a guide and to facilitate classroom discussions, but the majority of work would be done on a through computer programs.

With the increasing demands placed on our education system and teachers, some argue that it just does not make sense to continue on with the traditional classroom experience (e.g. 30 students in a classroom with one teacher imparting knowledge from a standardized curriculum). After listening to a lecture by Terry M. Moe and John E. Chubb, the authors of Liberating Learning: Technology, Politics, and the Future of American Education, I learned how online education provides a solution to better educate the masses and the growing demands placed upon the educational system. Technology affords students with an opportunity to learn in many new interactive ways that are better suited for learning, and some might argue in a more effective way. Computers allow for students to learn in a process where they can apply their knowledge and participate with online software programs individually tailored to each student’s level of learning. And while there will still be a need for teachers in the future, computers will replace the transmission of knowledge that up to now were mainly transmitted by teachers. Terry Moe and John Chubb call this “liberated learning”, where technology has a huge transformative effect on learning and the politics surrounding the education system.

I think it is interesting to hear from yet another person that the future of education will be based on more informal, collaborative, and participatory learning. While it is still difficult for me to envision a completely virtual school, I do know that technology will soon replace much of what teachers now do in the classroom.

Learn more about Florida Virtual School, an online school with coursework from students K-12.

Life, Inc.

I recently listened to a lecture by Douglas Rushkoff on his upcoming book: Life Inc: How the World Became a Corporation and How to Take It Back. I haven’t read the book yet, but he spoke to the many lessons we have learned about the impact corporate America and the Internet culture has had upon our societal value system. In John’s discussion, he talked about how the corporation has created a society of consumers to fund everything they were making. With this shift in our culture, American’s on a societal level have become less connected as HUMAN BEINGS. Thus, a lot of our human values have been abandoned as people struggle to connect and share. Taking a look into history, societies that have been able to survive have been based societies based around sharing and working together. As the new social landscape of the Internet allows for us to connect, John feels it is important for us to re-examine the values that we hold from the past, so we have the opportunity to let go of those values that are no longer serving our human needs. As we go into the future as we rebuild our small local economies through a more localized community effort, hopefully there will be a to a more dramatic shift in the American society.

This notion can be applied toward education and education reform. As we go into the future, the education system needs to be re-examined to best serve the changing needs of society. As technology allows us to connect and collaborate in new ways, hopefully it will impact our educational system in a way that allows us to engage and exchange ideas while honoring a value system that actualizes the human’s values and strengths.

Social Networks

With the innovative quality of the Internet, the greatest social strength is that it can connect people to information. We have seen the strengths that online communities can offer through many of the new innovative applications that support this collaborative environment. What I have learned through this course is how the Internet is making information more available. The command and control is going to the people and organizations/media outlets are losing their ability to control/capitalize on the information. Information is now being readily shared in an open and collaborative environment.

In blogging over the last few weeks, I joined a "social network" called Classroom 2.0. The badge is posted on this blog. I was so thrilled to be invited to a live "webinar" yesterday hosted by PBS teachers (from the PBS KIDS producers and educators) on early childhood literacy. In order to listen to the webinar, I had to download some software that allowed me to view the seminar live. The discussion was designed to help teachers of children help imporve their student's literacy skills, through best practices in reading and language arts and resournces that can be used in the classroom. It didn't cost me anything to participate and there are many other sessions to follow that I can participate in. As I am a very eager student about ready to embark on a Master's in Education degree, I am so happy to know about these online resources (especially since there is no cost).

This is just an example of how this technology is changing the role of the teacher in the classroom, and essentially they way children will learn. I believe the online environment allows for parents and teachers to join forces to support a child's learning. I think this type of technology will drive new trends in the resources that are made available to children.

Next week, I would like to explore what driving changes the educational field will have to respond to as Web 2.0 makes more of an impact on peoples lives.

One Laptop Per Child

I cannot think of a better example of the possible social implications from the expansion of online/distance learning than the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) organization. The aim of this organization is to give every child in developing countries a laptop, with the organization's aim of reaching 2 billion needy children who are often impoverished and don’t have access to education. The laptops are loaded with resources that will allow children to learn how to read and write, connect with the outside world through the Internet, and resources to connect with communities. As developing nations struggle to produce funds to even build schools and provide qualified teachers, giving children these laptops essentially gives then the connection and tools (many through Web 2.0 tools) to a brighter future.

“We believe the emerging world must leverage this resource by tapping into the children’s innate capacities to learn, share, and create on their own. Our answer to that challenge is the XO laptop, a children’s machine designed for “learning learning.” - OLPC

I am blown away by this organization and the ability to truly change the world. Children have the ability to really construct their knowledge and “learn how to learn”. I have lived in the world’s second poorest country in the world and I know how thirsty for knowledge children are. What this organization can possibly offer will empower peoples lives and as the OLPC website notes: “providing a means to an end—an end that sees children in even the most remote regions of the globe being given the opportunity to tap into their own potential, to be exposed to a whole world of ideas, and to contribute to a more productive and saner world community.”

Here is a Google TechTalk on One Laptop Per Child:

Check out an example of One Laptop Per Child in Peru.

Importance of Social Learning in Education

After listening to a lecture by John Sealy Brown on teaching practices in a new digital age, I learned that many educators are re-examining the best pedagogical approach to learning and what practices best support learning with the emergence of online learning and web 2.0 technologies. The following comments are solely derived from the lecture from John Sealy Brown. In education, it will be very important for educators to prepare students for a constantly changing world during this digital age. During this technology digital era, the world is constantly changing so it makes sense to prepare students for the changing landscape the digital era will have over the next 50 years. As organizations become flatter, it is most important to prepare students for the interchangeable and collaborative environments they will go to work in. It is important for students to become lifelong learners. John Sealy Brown agrees that a social view of learning is the most important and relevant for the future of students. Social learning (or social constructivism) suggests that understanding of knowledge is usually socially constructed (through our conversations and teaching others what we have learned). Essentially, A collaborative environment is where students best construct their understanding of knowledge. The Internet can greatly support this type of learning with the use of discussion forums, blogs, wiki, and on-line collaborative activities. With Web 2.0, social learning can be built around collaboration as students learn through conversations about content and interact with problems. Students are often turning to social networking sites as a forum to discuss their homework. With this in mind, teachers will play an increasing role as the orchestrator in the creation of this knowledge and to increase the collaboration in learning activities.

An interesting point made in the YouTube clip was from a comment about the single determining factor played a role in a student’s success at Harvard University. I found it interesting that the best indicator of success was a student’s ability to join or form study groups. The collaboration found in study groups is where student’s can socially construct their understanding. The overall point being made by John Sealy Brown is that the virtual world is just as effective as in the real world.

A Shift in Education

With the rapid grown of social computing and web 2.0 applications (blogs, podcasts, wikis, social networking, YouTube, Flickr, Facebook), many experts believe we will see a huge shift in the field of education. When you take a look at the initial impact of the Internet in education during it’s first ten years of existence, online learning served as a venue for the more traditional instructor led experience through assigned reading and assignments, where students received information as in a more passive manner. With the development of Web 2.0, the Internet has shifted from a one-way medium to a two-way medium. Students are no longer passive learners, but actively participate as they construct their knowledge in a collaborative educational environment. This is made possible through discussion forums, social networking, wikis, and online collaborative environments. With this culture of participation, students are able to create and share their work. Peers are able to respond other student’s ideas and work. Many students feel more empowered in this type of learning environment because they feel a strong sense of ownership in a more participative learning environment. With that said, there is a huge trend in higher education with students participating in on-line learning. More are more institutions are offering courses through online education. Furthermore, online degrees will be a huge trend on the future, where students can attain undergraduate and graduate degrees through online education.