Liquid Learning Landscape

Change doesn't happen overnight but the shift that has begun in the learning landscape due to the availability of web-based video will only accelerate and deepen each day. I feel that the potential change for learning will be in three fundamental ways.

1. Democratization of Educational Resources

For me, this is the most exciting change that is happening and it will inevitably continue to expand. We are moving from money-making textbook companies to e-textbooks (that are not only text and images but have embedded videos), many of which are collaboratively written (i.e. Wikibooks), and continuously updated online to remain current and accurate. The impact on learning derives from the available information that is based on collective knowledge and understanding and it is not filtered for political reasons. More importantly, these resources will be affordable by anyone who has access to the web. (I'm convinced that the free e-books or almost free will quickly make the costly ones obsolete.) Lastly, imagine the environmental impact of no longer printing millions of textbooks that are costly and quickly outdated. We are still in the infant stages of this process with the attendant difficulties, but e-books will inevitably continue to rapidly develop. The amount of piloting in this area is impressive. Read this great article: "Book Smarts? E-Texts Receive Mixed Reviews From Students".

We are also seeing high priced, high status universities opening their courses to anyone interested. Already Yale and MIT are putting their courses online with many others ready to follow. Those with less ambitious goals can also tap into the extensive resources on iTunes University and Wikiversity, two resources I've just recently discovered. Imagine what these resources will do for those who are truly motivated to learn who historically have never had access to the ideas and thinking now available at these venues.

2. From Literacy to Visuality

This is the 2nd Gutenberg shift, as Kevin Kelly calls it in his insightful article, "Becoming Screen Literate." He describes how we are moving from "book fluency to screen fluency or literacy to visuality." The impact for learning is far reaching. The boundaries that existed between text, image, and video are now blurred and soon to be non-existant. The possibilities this development offers to "bring learning alive" are endless, increasing options for self-directed learning and greater engagement for all.

3. The World is our Learning and Teaching Oyster

There are millions of potential teachers and co-learners available around the world at our finger tips. This phenomenon is already happening (think Wikipedia) and will continue to grow. Why this happens is most clearly explained by Jonathan Zittrain in a summer 09 TedTalk. His hopeful view of the future (because of the internet) is being created by the basic human desire to help others just for the sake of helping. Listen to this:



Do all of these developments mean the end of schools as we know them today? Inevitably. Does it also mean that teachers will be obsolete? Absolutely NOT. Teachers will always be necessary to ask questions that push thinking, facilitate construction of understanding, illuminate connections, and find engaging possibilities for diverse learning styles. Learning will remain as vibrant and alive as ever, but it will be more accessible and "liquid" in location and format.