Welcome to the Wiki World

Changes in education often occur when there is a convergence of new technology and a shift in the social context. Thus, the Enlightenment ideology coincided with the rise of the nation-state and the Guttenberg Press. The current system of education coincided with our Industrial Revolution and the militaristic events of the 20th Century.

So, none of that is all too profound. Still, it gets me thinking about the current shifts. How will our educational institutions shift with the current rise of a Wiki World? The most current social changes have been the emergence of post-modernism and the rise of globalization and the most current educational innovations have been the computer and, more specifically, Web 2.0.

The following is a list of where I see education heading in the future. I have no crystal ball and I would not be shocked if educational institutions actually grow more reactionary in fear. Yet, these are still trends that we need to consider:

From isolation to collaboration - There is a real thirst for meaning and community in society. The postmodern mentality is one of feeling lost and seeking a sense of reconnection. The current Web 2.0 technologies offer an opportunity to collaborate on projects. What I imagine this looks like is that teachers will collaborate, not just within a school, but throughout a larger community online - that they'll find help in social networking sites for teachers rather than attempting to find it on-site.

From uniformity to creativity - Again, it is a very post-modern idea and it is a necessity in an era of globalization; but it is now more important to be innovative than to be standard. With the standardized nature of technology, companies need people who can be innovative. I imagine that, in the long term, teachers will shift toward creative and higher-order thinking rather than standardized tests.

From rote memorization to higher order thinking - With Google, there is a sense that memorizaiton is no longer so important. Instead, people need to be able to analyze, synthesize and evaluate information quickly. Conceptual thinking is now more important than simply knowing facts.

From rules-based to relationship-based - Web 2.0 is based upon collaboration and connections, demonstrating that anarchy actually works sometimes. Add this to the postmodern ideology and there is a distrust in traditional hierarchy. What this means is that teachers need to get to know students more and focus less on rules.

From futurism toward recovering the past - There is a sense that with the death of history (post-modernism) and with the futuristic goals of technology, people have an internal thirst for narrative. Often, this is a combination of recovering their own story and blending it with the larger historical narrative.

From manufactured to organic - from machine to human - Web 2.0 technologies seek to make the internet more human and intuitive. A wiki or blog seems more authentic than learning HTML code. I think there is a thirst with the students for authentic humanity to be a part of what they learn. Education needs to deal with the whole person.

From linear to web - Web 2.0 is all about interconnectedness. Post-modernism is all about the death of the linear narrative and the interconnectedness of all of us. Yet, students remain in isolated classrooms learning seven different subjects and never asking how any of them relate to each other.

From complexity to simplicity - In an era of over-complexity, I have noticed a rebirth of volunatry simplicity. There is something of the post-modern minimilist mentality here as well. I just haven't figured out what it means for education.

From passive learning to active participation - People want to actively engage with their world. Two generations of amusement and television has forced people to wonder what they have lost. Web 2.0 is all about being interactive. A wiki, a blog, a concept map - these are things you can manipulate. Similarly, when I think of post-modern art walks or churches or coffee shops, they are places where people interact and participate. However, there are still too many places where teachers lecture.

From broadcasting to narrow-casting - Web 1.0 was all about broadcasting. It was the idea of the supremecy of a site like AOL or Yahoo. Now, even sites like Myspace have become too broad. So, we are seeing this fractioning into smaller subgroups and communities - messages meant to reach a small population. What this should mean in education is that we would figure out how to differentiate instruction so that, rather than focussing on one-size-fits-all, we encourage students to customize their own education