I’ve reposted the link the my new Beyond E Learning podcast here.
Ken Carroll
Here Here is the first in a a series of podcasts that I want to call ‘Beyond E Learning’. In this recording I took an impromptu approach to share ideas that have been on my mind.
I believe we’re at the early stages of a learning revolution, the likes of which haven’t been seen since Gutenberg’s movable type. We’re finally leaving behind the limitations that the old man left us. Books are (mostly) ‘text only’, linear, one-to-many, teacher centric, static, etc. But now we have a non-linear alternative that is multi-dimensional, inclusive, dynamic, and learner centric.
In the post-network society, there is no more scarcity of information, so the the new learning has to accommodate this fact. This new reality puts the power to create and share content into the hands of the individual. We’re moving towards a more learner centric world, with new channels and a multiplicity of media to inspire the various learning modalities.
Surprisingly, however, this revolution is not at all obvious. First of all, we’re simply too close to it to see it for what it is. The internet has changed radically in the last 10 years but for the user the experience is subtle and cerebreal, while the change is incremental and almost imperceptible. The true educational significance of the internet is only starting to emerge.
In one conception, the new communication tools turn out to be incredibly effective learning tools. This does depend, however, on how we define learning. People like Jay Cross and George Siemens are doing just that - offering new definitions.
Each new tool is almost like it’s own medium, with its own unique learning qualities. It is the job of the instructional designer to explore these and figure out how they can be used. What a time to be in the learning industry!
The editing towards the end is slightly choppy - I did it myself. It shouldn’t affect things too much.
Ken Carroll
Hi Ken
I wrote a long response to your podcast, posted it and it was there and now it is gone. The short version was I agree with what you say. But books are permanent and I fear Google is not The British Museum or The National Archive(US) where all of man’s written on paper thought is kept.
Here is an example. Where did my initial response go? Gone forever?
We also learn from not just the short term buildup of ideas and thoughts (such as web 2.0O but also from the long term build up of Man’s thoughts which normally are found in books.
Mike in Jubei
Mike,
I think your reply is there now.
Ken
But what when the totality of all those books can be stored on a tiny harddrive.
Everything will change. During the dark ages, when written knowledge had to be painfully coppied etc. Men of learning had to store huge amount of information they were working with in their own heads. Either old knowledge they were working with (so they could work with it on the move, remember that they may only have limited access to some texts) or new stuff they were developing (depressingly little sometimes).
That was they time of prodigious memory “thought palaces etc.” Many of these techniques faded away as more written material became available (reference works stored the material that was resonably quickly available for manipulation and expansion).
The computer revolution is leading use to the next place (eventually almost immediate access to all previous information). Computers excel at information storage, retrival and increasingly analysis and searching. We excel at mental agility (intuition etc.). Our brains are comparitivly slow but massivly parallel.
We have always been able to move, but vehicles have helped us move faster. Computer technology is boosting our ability to work with information.
There will always be books around, in the same way that there will always be a Model T Ford somewhere …..
As for your example Mike think of all the written exchanges of letters that have vanished over time, also never to be seen again.
Most comments get more eyeballs even if they are not stored for ever.
Just my take on it.