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EDUCATION | Noah Brier

Schools vs. The Web

What role will the web play in the future of education?

August 10, 2005 | RSS | EMAIL | PRINT | 4 COMMENTS

[My mother sent this to me in an email and I thought I might post it and open up the question to everyone. So read it, think about and leave some comments.]

By Barbara Rubin Brier

Trying to follow your thinking on web-related developments, I was pleased to see Richard MacManus ask some good/hard questions about down-to-earth explanations and projections of the future vis-à-vis interfaces. Out of curiosity, I clicked over to his site and found a number of references to web 2.0 and education and to differences in first year and fourth year student use and perception of the web. I was particularly curious about Gardner Campbell's quote concerning younger students living "…on, and in, the Web", and spent a moment or two on his site before I realized that I just didn't have time to follow that tangent right now… I have a report to write … about the increasing challenges and complexities of being a school principal.

There is a connection here, so hang on. The reason I was visiting NoahBrier.com earlier this AM is that I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by my report; the challenges of the principalship have become pretty overwhelming, especially considering that principals are being held accountable for improved test scores in an environment where they have no means of rewarding teachers for employing effective new instructional strategies, nor any way to impose consequences on those who refuse to step up altogether. Given the prevalent structure and organization of schools, the principal's challenge seems pretty intractable – which is pretty discouraging.

When I'm feeling like that, my mind wanders, and I seek distraction – ergo, my visit to your site. But what I read on Richard MacManus' Read/Write Web and briefly, on Gardner Campbell's blog, made me feel even more uncertain about when and how we can transition to this new world you're seeing. In a nutshell, it's hard to imagine RSS being an educator's best friend when librarians are still discounting web resources, and teachers continue to put a quota on the number of web references allowed on research papers (in spite of the fact that a blog exchange can probably be considered a primary source) … you get my drift.

I've recently been expounding the belief that 25 to 30 years from now, the people in our classrooms will not be teachers of content knowledge, but facilitators of learning that will be entirely web-based. We will still need schools and classrooms, as parents will still need to work, so children will still need to be attended to during work hours. But I don't think teaching, as it is currently practiced, can really continue. I still see 'professional' adults in the classroom, but I think they'll be more focused on 1)helping students learn to analyze, synthesize and connect content they access online, and 2) helping students to listen to one another, cooperate, collaborate, etc. ("Listen, Learn and Cooperate" as Carroll Lewis [ED: She ways my kindergarten teacher] always said!)

Anyway, I would love to hear what others have to say about this. I'd really like to look down the road, with others, and envision how these adjustments might occur. What do you think?

Barbara Rubin Brier is an educational change consultant who's incredibly passionate about the state of schooling.

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COMMENTS

1Peter Caputa

25 to 30 years from now? We are all doomed if it takes that long.

I was very fortunate to go to a high school that was like that. We were taught how to explore, debate, discuss, create and learn. I imagine that Noah had a similar schooling experience from my interactions with him.

This should be the norm now. The days when people perform tasks or "job descriptions" are dead. People need to be able to create and learn. If we can't create an atmosphere where that is nurtured now, our students won't be able to create the economy of tomorrow. As in next year's economy.

August 10, 2005

2Jarrett

Finally, visiting this site daily pays of with something that relates to me. As a future high school teacher, I like what I read in this post. I agree that it will take some time for this change to occur. I don't know if a 7th grader who does not know that "cause" is not an acceptable substitution for because in a formal essay, is ready to learn online. Another example is the 8th grader from PA who thought his state capitol was Philly. I believe that there needs to be a back to basics approach. This may sound cruel but if a student does not have the skills to be promoted to the next grade, they should not be promoted because their friends are moving on or because the teacher does not want to deal with that child anymore. I have a friend who just completed his first year of teaching social studies on the high school level. His department chair told him to stop grading essays on grammar and grade on content because he was burning himself out. I would love to teach my students to analyze and debate. How can I expect them to debate if they can't express their opinions with proper grammar? I hope English teachers don't think I am picking on them with this point about grammar. I know students could be behind in other areas as well, but this just helps me make my point. Basically, whatever changes are made at the high school level need to begin in elementary school. I'm sorry if I have rambled on, it is after midnight and I had a long day at camp.

August 11, 2005

3Richard MacManus

Great post! I agree with Jarrett that kids still need to learn the basics, set the foundation. But I'd love to see the things Barbara outlined be implemented:

"1)helping students learn to analyze, synthesize and connect content they access online, and 2) helping students to listen to one another, cooperate, collaborate, etc."

Another buzzword to throw in is "remix". I'd like to see students taught how to deal with info overload, find sources that they need from a sea of info, and remix it all into something that they can learn from. The technology side of the equation is still being worked out (Google, PubSub, Rojo - and all the rest of the filtering tools of this age and beyond). But in the classroom is where the mindset and 'basic skills' of remixing, filtering, the read/write skills (not just 'read' any more), etc will be taught.

August 15, 2005

4barbara

Wow! I just got home from vacation WITH NO INTERNET ACCESS!!!!! to find that Noah has posted my comments and people have taken the time to respond! To quote Grover, I am so excited!

It's late and I'm tired, but I didn't want to wait another day to thank the three of you for your comments and to respond, albeit briefly.

To Peter, I'd just like to say that I agree wholeheartedly and wish desperately that the world of education could change more quickly ... but I'm not holding my breath. There are powerful anchors resisting the efforts to turn this ship around -- unions, for example, which generally don't discriminate; they protect incompetent teachers as vigorously as they protect competent ones. That's just one small piece of the immense challenge we face in reconceptualizing public school education, but all I have time for tonight ...

To Jarrett, I have to say, I HEAR YOU! It really sucks that kids get to middle and high school without having learned the basics. It particularly sucks because if you know your developmental psych and brain science, they're so READY to learn when they're little, and so much less resistant when they're in those magic and concrete years. So why aren't we doing a better job in elementary schools? Why isn't the curriculum more rigorous? Why aren't our expectations higher? One small reason is that not everyone in education believes all children can learn. Another is that not all children can learn in the same way, between 9 and 3, or without a little extra help. A third is that there's not always enough money, or enough staff, or enough training, to give them what they need ... you get my drift. We have to fix this or, as Peter said, we are indeed doomed.

To Richard, I want to say thank you for both your kind words and the addition of remix to the equation. This is a concept I haven't thought about, but I immediately see how it takes making connections a step further: each person creating something that helps him/her expand his/her own understanding of this world of exponentially increasing information.

I can promise you all that I will think more about all of this because of what you said, and more than likely, write more about it as well. Thank you!

August 16, 2005