I watched an interesting video last week (on YouTube of course) of a keynote presentation by Will Richardson. Richardson, who writes and speaks about education, is adamant that the purpose of schools today is much different than it was in the past. That is, he feels that a school’s primary function is no longer to deliver information or content but to instead be centers of learning. He states that you can get all the content that you need from the web, you don’t need a school for this. Want to learn geometry? Personalized lessons are out there for free in cyberland. He stresses that schools need to shift their purpose from a place where you go to learn content to a place where you go to learn. And while the difference between the two may at first glance be subtle, it is significant.
For the past couple of years we’ve invested heavily in technology. Our schools now have wireless networks, carts of laptops and many classrooms have SmartBoards. The use of the web to help deliver content is in place, what is not yet happening on a district-wide basis is what Richardson says is the next step for schools- creating learning networks. That is, using the web to facilitate online learning among students in KPBSD or elsewhere. He suggests that this shift from the school being the place that delivers content, to a place that facilitates learning must occur or students will drift away from the old fashioned school to a learning environment that is more dynamic and in sync with the electronic social medium where are students spend so much time. I know that there is a strong desire among some educators to hold on to being the keeper and provider of information. Doing so however, may ultimately lead to empty classrooms.
Changing Purpose of School
I watched an interesting video last week (on YouTube of course) of a keynote presentation by Will Richardson. Richardson, who writes and speaks about education, is adamant that the purpose of schools today is much different than it was in the past. That is, he feels that a school’s primary function is no longer to deliver information or content but to instead be centers of learning. He states that you can get all the content that you need from the web, you don’t need a school for this. Want to learn geometry? Personalized lessons are out there for free in cyberland. He stresses that schools need to shift their purpose from a place where you go to learn content to a place where you go to learn. And while the difference between the two may at first glance be subtle, it is significant.
For the past couple of years we’ve invested heavily in technology. Our schools now have wireless networks, carts of laptops and many classrooms have SmartBoards. The use of the web to help deliver content is in place, what is not yet happening on a district-wide basis is what Richardson says is the next step for schools- creating learning networks. That is, using the web to facilitate online learning among students in KPBSD or elsewhere. He suggests that this shift from the school being the place that delivers content, to a place that facilitates learning must occur or students will drift away from the old fashioned school to a learning environment that is more dynamic and in sync with the electronic social medium where are students spend so much time. I know that there is a strong desire among some educators to hold on to being the keeper and provider of information. Doing so however, may ultimately lead to empty classrooms.