I was just rereading Will Richardson’s post about the kind of storm needed to change education. There was something in the first paragraph that struck me the first time I read it and, after pondering it for a moment, I think I know why.
When I think about the potential effects of the Read/Write Web on education I’m continually drawn to watching the way things are playing out outside of our focus, specifically in journalism, music, business and politics. In each of those arenas, the disruption that these changes (i.e. the easy creation and publishing of content) has been and continues to be great. You need look no further than the cell phone captured execution of Saddam Hussein to know that we are entering what will no doubt be an extremely interesting (to put it mildly) period that will push our thinking about privacy, communication, literacy and learning. Newspapers are struggling to navigate a world where we can all be journalists. Musicians are more and more going outside of the traditional steps to stardom, eliminating the middlemen and counting on the viral nature of the Web to find success. John Edwards, like him or not, recently announced his candidacy for president on YouTube. In case after case, the traditional models that have been increasingly used to lock down ideas and content are being challenged by a public that is becoming drunk with the power of publishing.
As a society, we are okay with things changing in almost any sector, from politics to economy. There are, however, other areas, I think, with which the public struggles seeing huge changes in short periods, one of them being an education different from what they know. We can watch change in almost any sector but in education, we see change that is slow and calculated because the public wants to protect the children and by keeping schools constant, the image of safety is upheld. All of a sudden, we have technologies which are changing more rapidly than we ever imagined and the group that has grasped them the quickest is the youth. But, the public has not yet become comfortable with these new technologies and are over cautious of the harm they might cause – they open up our children to influences that we have not had to deal with in the past. Thus, we are seeing people who are wanting to limit contact, limit use of these devices, limit expansion of these technologies, and just limit these technologies. On the other side, we have a group of educators and thinkers who have begun to use the technologies and found that they have expanded their world, increased their contacts and provided for new ways of interacting which have fostered growth and learning. I’ve seen so many metaphors for this idea but whatever the image we have a bunch of stuff going on around us while we sit in the middle, not really seeing much change. Much like being at the eye of a storm.
Maybe this is a blessing in disguise and some of the rending and tearing and societal upheaval will work itself out before public education moves into the storm.
In case after case, the traditional models that have been increasingly used to lock down ideas and content are being challenged by a public that is becoming drunk with the power of publishing.
I often worry about the problems that occur when people are “drunk with [the] power” as I’ve rarely seen good things come out of it. Maybe the storm will blow itself out so that education isn’t ripped asunder but, instead, learns from watching from the eye and can provide the best possible options for the students, parents, teachers and whomever else is involved.
Storms can be incredible to watch, the shear power of nature at its most terrifyingly beautiful. However, having just had my basement flooded, I am aware of how helpless one can feel as nature runs its course and you are powerless to stop it. I’m not sure I want to be part of that storm – to deal with the fallout, casualties and whatever that is the result of storms like a tsunami, hurricane, earthquake or other devestating natural storm. As we watch the privacy issues unfold in the public eye, see people having their reputations and lives ruined by camera phone pics and videos, watch the proliferation of violence and sex on various websites, there are many things that will have to be worked out as society deals with these technologies and their impact.
We need to move forward, that is for sure. But, some caution is advisable. Instead of seeing ourselves on the outside looking in, maybe view it from the perspective that we are at the eye of the storm and before it hits us we have a chance to view what is happening and do something about it
Kelly
Earlier in this post, Will mentions the following link:
Chinswing – Creating Conversations (A place to share, discuss and debate) which, of course, I had to check out. Now, there could be a very good place for discussions regarding technology and education. There is already one post on the topic. Time to join in.
