In his chapter of Curriculum 21, Stephen Wilmarth puts forth an argument that we are in the throes of a revolution that will upend what we assume to be true about learning and teaching. The trends are as follows:
- Social Production: the creation of content through various digital tools
- Social Networks: the connection of individuals into like-minded groups at the digital level.
- The Semantic Web: the transformation of the web into patterned information based on the coding of individual “pieces” of information
- Media Grids: three-dimensional representations of space using computing power and the internet (Wilmarth, 91)
- The New Zoo of non-linear learning: the mastery of biology through technology.
I can’t recall exactly how he said it, but on Thursday, Chris Dede from Harvard University, described our visions of the future as never being fully realized, but it still matters that we have them. When reading through Wilmarth’s chapter, I got just that feeling–as if I was reading about what our best selves as educators and leaders might look like. In reality, I am not so sure about his vision, but I like that he expressed it in terms of the types of learning that will need to occur for his vision to become reality.
Legislators and booksellers are moving forward with electronic textbooks and textbook rental programs in an effort to reduce expenses for college students.
