If education was invented today, it would likely debut at an international consumer electronics show, perhaps like ones held annually in Las Vegas, Europe, and Asia. Hundreds of thousands of people attend each, ranging from high profile corporate executives, corporate buyers, inventors, voluntary and government sector representatives, and curious local citizens. A press release announcing the invention of education might read like this:
FOR RELEASE
AnyLearn Offers New Access to Original Content for Direct Learning
Las Vegas, NV, January 12, 2008 – OpenLearning, Inc. (OLI), PanTechnology International, Inc., (PTI), and WiseTravel, Inc. (WTI) announced their new cooperative venture, AnyLearn, today on the first day of the Global Electronics Show.
Speaking at a joint press conference following a demonstration of AnyLearn, Randolph Reads, president of OLI, identified innovation, technology, choice, and learner services as the four primary elements that drive education.
PanTechnology president Akura said he believes that AnyLearn introduces the end of an era for large semi-static groupings of learners assembling in specified geographical and architectural settings to dominate formal learning. AnyLearn offers a new generation of two-way mobile electronic platforms (2MEPs) that permit ubiquitous direct learning from primary sources about any topic, anytime, from anywhere to any criterion each learner chooses on demand.
Ima Traveler, president of WTI, said that AnyLearn serves as a launch pad to converge mobile personal computers (PCs) with television and other communication and data management products underdevelopment. This convergence allows a personalized experience for each learner. It links quickly and easily to original learning content available over the Internet and on television, DVDs, as well as in theaters.
Traveler’s appearance at the show offers further evidence of the convergence of learning with other aspects of daily life. “Learning,” she said, “is simple today because of the highly sophisticated consumer electronics used to make original content available on demand directly to anyone, any time, and in any place.”
A learner, whether enrolled in a school program or seeking information for other reasons, may download a 120 minute lesson in two minutes, including videos, charts, tables, and other data. For the first time, the platform allows each learner to find, watch, and manage original learning content in one place with one device, whether in school, at home, at an employment, and while traveling.
U.S. Department of Learning Secretary Harold Wildo led these presidents in a 20 minute question and answer session before reporters. Answers highlighted the importance of increasing public access to original content for direct learning and use of electronic procedures to guide and assess individuals’ successes with open learning. They also addressed other hot-button issues.
These presidents agreed that they plan to offer open access to original content, and to underwrite direct access to AnyLearn to children according to their learning needs.
They see AnyLearn as a supplement to other learning venues, including schooling. They also acknowledge that, with AnyLearn, an increasing percentage of children will accelerate their learning rates quickly beyond even the most academically gifted school students today.
These presidents also agreed that AnyLearn provides a way for adults to upgrade their learning to keep up with children’s learning in an economically friendly way.
For the latest information about AnyLearn, watch this website.
x X x
(All names and references are fictionalized.)
I wonder if anyone would take notice of such an announcement, because most of what’s described in this press release appears possible now or in the near future (according to electronic developers’ roadmaps)? Would news media cite it?
I’ll bet there are more parts of this vision of education in place now than I can find online. Will you tell us, Teach, what parts of this vision you are bringing to your students?
Errrr….. I think its called BETT. Which has been happening in London at the same time as CES. This is specific for educational Technology.In Scotland we have the Scottish Learning Festival (SLF). Smaller but aid at education in general.
Although the tablet PC has revolutionized the way I manage my English courses, I still face a great deal of internal resistance to any approach that requires students to do anything with their own computers. Student expectations of “traditional” teaching (whatever that means on any given Tuesday) are so ingrained that, absent a supportive administration and aware colleagues, the hordes of free and useful content available on the Internet goes largely–I mean to say arrogantly ignored. It is certainly not for want of trying on my part. I’m still not finished trying. I sometimes dream about what it would be to teach secondary school somewhere where collaborative use of technology was insisted upon.
Thanks, islayian, for identifying BETT and the Scottish Learning Festival (SLF) for us. I haven’t attended either, but have heard strong positive assessments of BETT, and likely missed comments about SLF. Please let us know what you think was important in each of these.
Yes, junco, I agree. Resistence from many sources for many reasons comes with changes. Some of my relatives still drive horses and buggies instead of cars. But for me, selecting and overcoming resistence in schools is half the fun of teaching! Perhaps you’ve found this also: many students follow safe expectations for teachers until they cannot handle enough risks in class to satisfy their own performance standards. Your description reminds me of the old bromide, “Students respond to what a teacher inspects, not expects.” While faulty, as all bromides, in some circumstances, it speaks to raising the level of acceptable student performance to include information from the Internet. Under raised performance standards, a student must demonstrate consistent academic performance beyond traditional teacher lessons to receive the highest grade or other acknowledgement. Keep up the good work, Tableteer Teacher!. You’re making your classroom a dream venue for students who share your vision of education.