Reflecting on the Future

In his article, “New Learning Environments for the 21^st Century,” John Seely Brown (2005) explores possible changes for technology and education. One of the things I liked about Browns argument is that his examples for learning spaces of the present show that shifts in thinking are possible in the future and not out of reach. For example, when he describes the need for learning to shift from “learning about” to “learning to be,” he supports this claim with MIT’s studio classrooms where students are encultured into becoming physicists or engineers rather than just learning about the subjects. Brown also makes the important distinction between simply having an environment such as studio classrooms and actually exploring new ways to teach and learn within this environment. Simply having the space or technology is not enough to ensure learning. The crimson thread of Brown’s article seems to be the notion that technological learning environments are social environments. Websites such as World of Warcraft are social networks where players learn skills that can be applied outside of the game, such as in management. Open source programs, hopefully including open educational resources suggested by the NSF Cyberlearning Report (2008), allow people to both consume and create in a digital age as well as allow creators to become a part of an online community of practice. It is through learning to function as a member of this community, that creators learn and develop acceptable skills, norms and expectations required to participate in open-source software development. He extends the benefits of social spaces for learning from such spaces as pro-amateur astronomy to classroom blogging. Brown’s model for 21^st century social and technological learning would allow students to be creative, passionate, life-long learners in an uncertain future.

A short story on the benefits of mobile devices: Four graduate students from California walk up to a taxi in China one brisk morning. Searching online, they find the address of the research institute in Chinese and show it to the driver. With the swipe of his hand, one student holds up his iphone, which states aloud the phrase, “duoshao chien? (how much?). His friend repeats the phrase to the driver who responds by showing them a digital meter with the cost. They get lost on the way to their destination, but the same student uses his phone to display a map as well as teach everyone the Chinese words for “right,” “left,” and “straight ahead.” Just as the Horizon Report suggests, mobile computing has endless possibilities for communication and learning. The technology that I can hardly believe is on the horizon is the gesture-based computing. I know that I am blown away by the wii and the iphone touch, but it is hard to imagine the possibilities for kinesthetic learning that these types of technologies will enable in the near future. My only worry is that this will widen the gap between consumers and producers of technology. I sincerely hope that students will soon after be able to create their own gesture-based computing and be able to produce these technologies rather than just use them.

I was a little intimidated by the NSF Cyberlearning Report (2008) as it shows that we still have a long way to go in terms of effectively and responsively implementing cyberlearning, yet the report brings up some interesting points. Preparing students for the data deluge should start early with providing opportunities for young students to acquire new approaches to problem-solving. Another issue the report brings up that will be difficult as new technologies are constantly being developed is scaling. Rather than specifically focusing on scaling cyberlearning resources, though, scaling should center on scaling learning to effectively work with these types of resources. Part of preparing students for an uncertain future needs to, as Brown suggests, move from a focus on “learning about” to “learning to be” and this includes learning to be learners and teachers of unknown technologies of the future not just scaled technologies of today.

Introduction

My name is Anne and I’m a second year graduate student in the department of education at UCSB. I am specializing in teaching and learning science. I am interested in technology and education for several reasons some of which include the ideas that: 1) modern technology can be used to enhanced education, 2) we live in a world of technology where being technologically literate is a critical aspect of being able to communicate and function in society, 3) technology should be accessible as a tool for creativity and learning, rather than a barrier to learning.

I am currently experiencing technology myself in a new and interesting way. The reason I am not physically in class for the first few weeks is that I am in China with a group of chemistry students from UCSB who are learning to use a TEM (transmitted electron microscope) to create images of materials smaller than I could ever imagine possible, at atomic levels. This technology, in fact Suzhou, China in general is the epicenter of new ideas in chemistry and physics. The new part of this city, called Industrial Park, was built for science and I am living in a section of the city called education town which is right at its center. It is not a coincidence either; I toured the government building and viewed the plans for the city’s expansion. Most of the tour involved plans to couple technology and education as well as technology and society.

While I am at the center of technological innovation, I am also barred from using certain aspects of technology. My friend is posting this blog entry for me because the Chinese government does not allow people to access any blogs online (FYI: they have also blocked youtube and facebook). I guess this means that students in China do not have the same incredible opportunities that are afforded our class. This experience in general has me thinking about technology and education in a very different way.