E-Learning Myths
One point made in the discussion of technological progress and educational change (on p. 184) that I often think about is this: One can argue that technology and science has radically changed the operation of businesses, the manufacturing of goods, and other areas (e.g. medicine, transportation) have changed. So if someone from the 18th century was being given a tour of institutions and practices in the 21st century, he or she would see real substantial changes in the way that businesses are run, goods are made and transported, and that other activities like communication and leisure activities are undertaken. People on cell phones, watching TV and staring at computer screens would surely be baffling. Arguably, though, if he or she were taken to a school or a university, there would be no surprising changes: with only a few exceptions, the activities would be instantly recognizable. Maybe the only other places that this would be the case would be the church and the courtroom.
I would still maintain that technology has not single-handedly determined the changes that have occurred in these other settings: evolution in the use of computer and other technologies in business, medicine and other areas has been complex, involving many different causes and factors. But that still doesn't explain why there has been so little change in education.
This issue has been a matter of consternation for educational technologists for decades --although I think it should be seen as an opportunity for productive investigation and reflection.
Maybe that is because the school has more in common with the church and the courtroom than it does with the place of business or the hospital? I'm not sure myself, but I welcome thoughts and comments.
4 comments:
Hi Norm,
Your comment regarding the similarity of school and church and their dissimilarity with hospitals and business resonated with me.
Perhaps because education and religion are so 'personal' to us and so rooted in tradition and the oft-used 'Well... that was the way I was taught,' that innovation and change is seen as an affront... or a threat to these 'time-honoured' institutions. As well, I don't see that they necessarily deal with the competition and advances that business and hospitals seem to face that forces change, evolution and innovation.
Hi Linda and Norm:
I agree that education is so "personal" to us as is religion. Emotion plays such a big role in education because we are dealing with what is nearest and dearest to the heart - people's children. In order for there to be change, there has to be some form of agreement. In business, many times you are interacting with like-minded individuals who have a common interest in making money. In education, we interact with people who have many different backgrounds, interests, and philosophies on raising and educating children. It is often difficult to come to agreement on issues because of those wide ranging differences. Susan
Norm,
I'm reminded by this post of a book that was used as a course text in the EDUC 503 course. The book is Inventions of Teaching A Genealogy by Brent Davis. The book examines a lot of the words that are used in association with pedagogy, and how some of these words are even in opposition to one another. An example of this are the words 'instructing' and 'facilitating,' which are commonly used to describe the act of teaching, but have opposing principles underlying the word. The book traces the various historical and philosophical divergences from which our modern notions of pedagogy come from. One of the chapters in the book deals with Metaphysics at a grand level, and then another chapter looks more closely at Religion and another at Mysticism. Aspects of Religion still influence the education system it is seen.
Hi Don,
Your comment regarding language reminded me of a footnote I read today in Greenagel's (2002) article on the illusion of e-learning..
I use "learning experiences" rather than "instructional strategies" because I prefer to keep trainees, rather than developers, at the center of our focus.
I'm going to keep this language in mind in the future. The Davis book sounds very interesting.
Greenagel's article can be found at http://www.guidedlearning.com/illusions.pdf
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