In Davidson’s and Goldberg’s, The Future of Thinking, we are presented with an overview of the concerns with the age-old education system today and the reasons behind the need for change. I will begin with one quote within this text that stood out significantly for me.
“In an increasingly customized world, we have standardized public education that is far closer to an early nineteenth-century model than a twenty-first century one. If one purpose of formal education is to underscore what modes of learning are valued by our society, we are in an oddly mismatched time, where success and failure of a school district or a student are determined by standardized tests at a time of vast potential for customized, collaborative learning.”
There is something that seems slightly broken within this statement, even though it speaks around some truth of where are today. Why does it seem that in such a forward-moving tech-based society, some educational practices can be seen moving in the opposite direction? We can look at institutions over time and find that the top-down approach of learning continues to be the main construct and practice of many institutions. Even more so we can find that education in K-12 in the United Stated is focused on standardized testing to measure achievement as a means of distributing funding of educational resources. Where we seem to be concerned with quantity and how much we know, we are consequently losing quality and the values of the greater learning that can occur. Children are losing interest within this and there is an unequal balance of resources and access for educators and learners. The problem that has occurred is within what has changed in society and the world through technology, that this now separated in the construct of learning in these institutions through practices that are falling slightly out of times. This disconnect is complex and requires significant changes to adjust the traditional practices.
Technology continues to offer platforms of open, connected, and even informal environments for learning. These environments are engaging, but reversely impacting what is happening with learners in formal learning settings. Formal education then misses the potential ability to surface untapped and new areas of discovery through these learning environments. Collaborative learning and knowledge building, customized learning, mobilizing networks, youth access, remix authorship, digital learning, collaborative and intellectual property, fair use, digitality and reputation, virtual learning environments, digital presence and digital futures, networking authority, authoritative networks, principals and protocols of digital learning are several of the key focus points that these authors address in the context of the future of education and learning. These points all address changes that need to be considered through the integration of technology into formal education. While there is no clear design in how best this is achieved, the authors reference and point to several perspectives and examples that can be considered within these areas of focus and change. “The best way to extend the reach of student networks is to involve youth in the learning process, encouraging them to explore their individual talents and guiding them as they work together to find ways that those talents can contribute to larger projects.” The process and product of their publication for this article became a great example.
In addition to what the authors have presented, I think that educators and learners should consider the changes within society and the roles and jobs that are significantly shifting because of these emerging technologies. Overtime these roles change because of what technology continues to offer. This then impacts what we need to learn and what learning programs should be available to support these roles, so we are better prepared with the right expertise. Lifelong learning can become more strongly encouraged through understanding how roles change over time.
I do not believe that all of the education systems are broken. I think many educators are working to find ways to makes these changes. However, the support from the administrators, governments, and those that set standards and practices are those that are hindering the progress that is needed. Even in this course, I have learned so much through my colleagues of how they are opening the doors for these changes. Even as stated, “the hard part—and, arguably, the single most important skill for future educators—is finding ways that individual learners with individual skills and interests can share with others who possess different skill levels and interests.” Knowing the right tools, what they can offer, and how that transitions from age to grade and even into higher education is all impacted by a bigger change that is needed, and I do think this stems from these higher administrative levels to implement and support what needs to happen next.
I also do not think that this means that we need to completely shift these experiences to strictly online learning. In the TED video, the speaker, Sherry Turkle discusses the reality and impacts we face with too much screen time and not enough real interaction. This does have a negative impact to how we in society communicate and interact aside from technology. Education today needs to work towards that balance of what the online connected community can do for learners to integrate new and creative learning environments that then also blends the face-to-face and hands on learning that classrooms and in person learning experiences provide. We need to be able to keep interaction alive and in person, but find ways to integrate technology that can complement and enhance our learning potential.