Ken Carroll included this illustration in a post on his blog yesterday about my recent post on how the economic crunch will speed networked learning. This picture (thanks Ken!) pretty well describes the experiences of those of us who have advocated reconfiguring education to take advantage of the internet through the past years of analog slogging.
I appreciate Ken’s agreement with me here — and his bigger vision that he draws throughout his post:
And Judy is exactly right when she suggests the power of mobile learning in this scenario. But there are, in fact, entirely new conceptions of what a university education should be that go way beyond this. This is not news, but that conversation is going to get louder.
The conclusion to the post Ken writes is a powerful call to action. Here is my suggestion for beginning individual action — how first steps can be taken right now while the economic crises loudly demands money cuts:
- If you are a teacher, abandon the printed textbook in your own classroom. Authorize/accept no new printed textbooks — ever. If your school won’t let you take this position, complain as much as you can.
- If you are a parent, ask your kids’ teachers to use online resources. Guide their college choices toward paperless schools (the kids will approve!).
- If you are an administrator, oppose buying printed textbooks. Free online textbooks will save education institutions and students billions of dollars annually.
- If you are a student demand full provision of mobile access where you attend school. Smart phones and the new generation of mini laptops like Inspiron and Acer cost under $500. Including wireless costs, these devices provide students with all the content on the internet, instead of a few expensive books to lug around.
Network laws cause big things to start from little actions. Changes spread virally in networks, with the potential — once they are affirmed by the wisdom of the crowd — to cascade! If for example, college students began individually not to buy printed textbooks there is the potential for a tipping point and cascade that would have saved college students in the USA alone $3.6 billion dollars in new printed textbooks this year. There’s some powerful networked learning economics in that !
Many thanks to Stephen Downes for spreading this conversation!
