Column
2017-11 (4/3/17)
No one can provide a
detailed picture of the future of cyber learning, or anything else.
The future will be made through a series of changes each made in
response to the changes that preceded it.
Cyber learning will
evolve through time as do all new technologies. We can look through
the foggy window between us and the future and see some of the
features cyber learning can offer. To enjoy the full picture, we
must let cyber learning happen.
The old school system is
based on rigidity and conformity. Cyber learning will usher in
flexibility and individuality. Each student will have a curriculum
planner and personal tutor on call around the clock all year long.
Say goodbye to school years, school days, and school hours, and all
the conflict and controversy they generate.
The learning shop will
always be open, Every student can have a personal schedule without
disrupting anyone else. Plan a two week vacation in February, no
problem. Take the summer or winter off, still no problem. Take a
day off just because you need it, still no problem. Also, forget
about snow days.
Computer programs will
test and evaluate each student. The student can then proceed at a
pace he is comfortable with. Goodbye busy work. As soon as the
student masters a segment the computer will direct him to the next
lesson. The computer will retest from time to time to see when a
skill needs refreshing.
Location will be as
flexible as the schedule. The full spectrum of cyber learning will
be as available in a wilderness cabin as in a major city. If a
student so chooses he can take his “school” on vacation with him.
The potential for interaction with other students won't end at the
boundaries of the classroom and the neighborhood. Interaction can
reach the entire world.
Person to person
assistance will be available on line. The student can have access to
a vast array of instructors for assistance. If the style of one
doesn't mesh, try another.
Students will need some
assistance from learning coaches close at hand. This can be provided
in many ways. In some cases parents or older siblings will provide
the assistance as is now done by home educators. Incidentally, many
of those home educators are already benefiting from using Cyber
Learning 1.0.
In many respects home
education has been and is leading education to its future.
Traditional schools fight off the future at the peril of being cast
aside.
Huge schools and school
buses are unneeded and obsolete. There is no longer any good reason
to congregate large numbers of students in one place. Likewise there
is no reason to rigidly segregate students by age or level of
achievement. They will all be learning independently. One learning
coach could monitor and guide a diverse group of students.
A few things can't be
learned on line, at least not yet. Learning hands on skills requires
the student to have the equipment to put his hands on. If the
equipment is large and expensive it won't be available everywhere.
For example, shop classes will require the student to get together
with a shop. On the other hand, knitting could be learned any place.
Learning rooms with
learning coaches can be opened any place students can be found.
Apartment buildings, mobile home parks, and subdivisions can all have
their own leaning centers. Groups of parents can establish learning
centers for their children.
Entrepreneurs will step
in offering to provide learning
centers for a fee. A variety
of cyber learning programs will be available on line. Don't be
surprised if some are available without charge. Only
time will tell the ways creative minds
find to offer learning services. The only thing certain is the
future of learning won't look much like the past and present.
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Copyright
2017
Albert
D. McCallum
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