>Hi Listers,
> =20
> Do you think the big technology software and hardware companies,
>with all their money and people power, will be able to take over our
>teaching responsibilities by developing sophisticated internet courses
>which include videos, CD's, lectures from well known teachers, computer
>testing/grading etc.???
Internet is providing educational experiences via many-to-many=20
model: more peer groups sharing a process, e.g. how do I do=20
so-and-so? takes you to newsgroups and listservs, where there's=20
lots of similar struggling by others, plus more expert "teachers"=20
(often people at work with internet at their elbow) offering=20
assistance (I do this some, as well as post newbie "help me
please" stuff).
In terms of getting access to info and even one-on-one=20
assistance, plus forming collaborative relationships, the
internet is already a big help. Finding those key people with
your specific focus, and maintaining communications would be
next to impossible the old way -- would take a lifetime=20
versus a few years or months. The funny thing is sometimes
these people with a shared interest turn out to be geograph-
ically very close by -- but I'd have never discovered them=20
without the internet.
Also, if I'm able to turn around and use my new knowledge and=20
skills to increase income, then in a lot of ways my incentive=20
to get an institution-backed credential is lower; I can use=20
the web to document my achievements and real world experience=20
and for some employers in some walks of life, this is really=20
the assurance they want and need (plus results on the job of
course). As an employer, I can email people a candidate has
worked with and quickly ascertain suitability for a position.
None of this is to say classrooms are going out of style, just=20
that the internet is relieving some of the burdens, shifting=20
the learning process a bit. Kids burn their own CDs, put up=20
web pages about what interests them -- others can avail of=20
this material. Includes mathematical and scientific content=20
in many cases.
So I guess my point is: if you're highly motivated to=20
learn something, it's easier now, given the internet,=20
than it used to be. Enrolling in a whole course of study
and finding out later if they could teach what you needed
to know is not always such an attractive option anymore.
This means it's not just "big business with a lot of toys
of think education is a commodity" versus "professional=20
educators with the right values". That's to romanticize
a bit much, at the expense of ignoring what's perfectly=20
evident: that much of the education going on via the=20
internet is not coming from any centralized big business
source, and that the universities have already contributed=20
immensely by putting quite a bit of subject matter on
the web (take mathematics as an example).
Again, I think we'll continue to have professional educators
working in classrooms. I'm working on modernizing classrooms=20
with better technology as well, e.g. I have my "math center"=20
on the drawing boards, with variants in the works. For=20
example: http://www.teleport.com/~pdx4d/mathcenter.html
"Who will teach in the 21st century??" We all will. And
we'll all be learners, too (never again will we suffer=20
the "know it alls" versus the "uneducated" in quite the=20
stereotypical ways characteristic of pre global media=20
culture). The caste systems of old will not survive.
I shed no tears over that fact.
Kirby
PS: apologies if this comes through with =3D20s at the ends=20
of lines. Didn't used to happen, but started at some point
on this list -- put a damper on my willingness to post=20
here.
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