The Future of Schools - Three Design Scenarios
Richard Elmore and Elizabeth City of Harvard Graduate School of Education wrote a powerful piece in Education Week "Using Technology to Move Beyond Schools" (May, 16, 2011).
Since it's behind a subscription paywall, I thought I'd quote it broadly to help spread its powerful message. For my thoughts on the subject please see my post "What Happens in Schools When Life Has become an Open-book Test?"
“What proportion of the activity called ‘learning’ will be located in the institution called ‘school’?” The availability of relatively cheap technologies offering direct access to knowledge of all types creates opportunities for students to experience a dramatic increase in the choice of what they learn, with whom they choose to learn, and how they choose to learn. How will the institution called “school” survive in this environment, in what form will it survive, and what would schools look like if they chose not just to “survive” but to find a productive place in this new environment?
With rare exceptions, schools currently treat the digital revolution as if it never happened. Computers, more
