Oct 8 2012: Yes. But again, the devil is in the details. how much of that "fat part" are we going to require and how are we going to assess it. That's the biggest question we're facing right now. Does EVERY child need EVERY thing in the curriculum? What, really, do ALL children need?
Oct 8 2012: I'm not sure Carl Jung would be happy with the current system that tests kids ad nauseum for most of their schooling years. But I agree with you that teachers will be even more important now to help students assit their inquisitive minds.
Oct 8 2012: I do think there is enough depth of information...it's our job now to make sense of it and organize it whether as individuals or networks. And I do think that if the end goal is to pass a test of discrete skills, then online resources will soon (if they can't already) make that happen. Taking physics for the sake of checking the physics box is much different from taking it because you have a need or a passion to learn it, however.
Oct 8 2012: The whole credentialing thing is getting interesting. Badges...MOOCs...etc. It's all going to change in the next 5-10 years in some pretty innovative ways, I think.
Oct 8 2012: I'd say Great! But "worked" is relative. I had great teachers, great friends, and school "worked" for me, too. But it could have worked a lot better had I not had to study a whole bunch of stuff that was all in the service of the test and the curriculum. I've forgotten, as have most, about 80% of what I learned in high school especially because it had no real relevance to my life. What I could have done with that time... And now as a parent, I want my kids to develop as learners more than anything else.
Oct 8 2012: No. I think schools, at least in the short term, still have a great deal of importance in communities and for families. In this time of two income earning families, the idea that even a majority of kids could homeschool seems doubtful to me. That's not to say that there won't be a lot of different constructs to what classrooms look like, however.
Oct 8 2012: Sure. Edmodo is one example. But I might be a bit more sanguine about the idea that we can teach even young kids to use and make good decisions about how to use online spaces for learning. We have a HUGE role to play in that.
Oct 8 2012: Thanks for the comment, Max. I'm actually just re-reading Mindstorms. ;0)
I think we have amazing content stored on the Internet, but the job now becomes ours to find it, vet it, and learn from it. We can't be waiting for someone else, schools included, to be delivering it to us. Totally agree as to the dysfunction of the current system's attempt to teach and measure only a small slice of what can be learned.
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A comment on Conversation: Live Chat today at 4pm Eastern: "Why School? How Education Must Change When Information and Learning Are Everywhere"
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A reply on Conversation: Live Chat today at 4pm Eastern: "Why School? How Education Must Change When Information and Learning Are Everywhere"
A reply on Conversation: Live Chat today at 4pm Eastern: "Why School? How Education Must Change When Information and Learning Are Everywhere"
A reply on Conversation: Live Chat today at 4pm Eastern: "Why School? How Education Must Change When Information and Learning Are Everywhere"
A reply on Conversation: Live Chat today at 4pm Eastern: "Why School? How Education Must Change When Information and Learning Are Everywhere"
A reply on Conversation: Live Chat today at 4pm Eastern: "Why School? How Education Must Change When Information and Learning Are Everywhere"
A reply on Conversation: Live Chat today at 4pm Eastern: "Why School? How Education Must Change When Information and Learning Are Everywhere"
A reply on Conversation: Live Chat today at 4pm Eastern: "Why School? How Education Must Change When Information and Learning Are Everywhere"
A reply on Conversation: Live Chat today at 4pm Eastern: "Why School? How Education Must Change When Information and Learning Are Everywhere"
I think we have amazing content stored on the Internet, but the job now becomes ours to find it, vet it, and learn from it. We can't be waiting for someone else, schools included, to be delivering it to us. Totally agree as to the dysfunction of the current system's attempt to teach and measure only a small slice of what can be learned.