Using the Internet for education and training [a 1997 perspective]
Greenspan,
7/2000: "Structural Changes in the Economy"..
- "Incorporating new technologies into the educational process.. must
involve more than simply wiring the classroom. ...
- we must provide teachers with the necessary
training to use them effectively and to provide forums for teachers and education
researchers to share ideas and approaches on how best to integrate technology
into the curriculum".
[ Business opportunities]
Introduction
Educational use of the Internet is growing rapidly. Schools are using
the Internet."In the United States the percentage of public schools connected
to the Internet has increased each year. Internet access in schools had increased
from 35 to 95 percent and classroom connections increased from three to 63 percent
from 1994-99. During the same period, public schools also upgraded their network
connections and the speed at which they are able to connect. By 1999, schools
were six times as likely to use faster dedicated-line networks (63 percent)
or other high speed technologies (23 percent), than simply dial-up connections
(14 percent). In addition, the ratio of students per instructional computer
with Internet access decreased from 12 to nine from 1998 to 1999, although ..."
See the US National
Center for Statistics
The Internet has changed both what is important in education, and how
education occurs. The Internet is much more than just an educational technology.
Certainly it does provide a means of offering tailored software for learning
of set ideas and processes. But more importantly, the Internet allows students
to be active in learning. It offers the means for investigating, analyzing and
communicating ideas and information. The Internet allows a constructivist
building of knowledge through real interaction between people.
"In classrooms that adopt the collaborative knowledge
building approach, the basic job to be done shifts from learning to the construction
of collective knowledge. The nature of the work is essentially the same as that
of a professional research group, with the students being the principal doers
of the work. Thus, in the ideal case, there is a complete shift from students
as clients to students as participants in a learning organization."
(Schools as Knowledge Building Organizations - Marlene Scardamalia and Carl
Bereiter)
The Internet is an exemplary tool for these educational purposes and
it has also changed what it is important to learn.
But at this time, there is no clear definition of skills people should
have to be able to "do" education & training on the Internet.
- If it is more than plugging in to commercially produced package software
(though this may be very useful in its place),
- if it involves some educational empowering over the resources and
technology of the Web, for educational goals.
The frameworks listed
below are intended to help all those in education and training identify the
skills they need for important activities in education and training. They are
tentative. I will use any feedback and advice I get in remolding these with
developing patterns of Internet use - and acknowledge important contributions.
For a model of an
active use of the framework look for example at suggestions for implementing
a negotiated curriculum in which teachers and students select, refine and use
some framework for structuring learning. The Internet resources allow individuals
control in building their own knowledge systems, in interaction with others.
Visions of education after
the WWW include changes in schools, teaching, learning and even changes in educational
goals. This webpage relates descriptions of achievable Internet literacies to
desirable educational activities, and software available.
What
is missing is an outline of database use for each of the proficiency levels.
Our best information
to date is that the software is not simple enough or cheap enough to make its
use widespread - as yet. Presumably educationally sensitive software developers
may realize the opportunity here soon.
This webpage is based
on a report by Mindfeats.com staff and printed in the conference report "Publishing
on the Line, Third Hong Kong Web Symposium May 1997, University of Hong Kong,
HK". When feedback from educators and trainers has been received, we will put
up a modified version, in plain English.
A related webpage "With
the WWW, time now for 'systems thinking' and 'business process re-engineering'
of tertiary education in Hong Kong?" ( another paper by Mindfeats.com staff
at the Tertiary Teaching & Technology Conference, Lingnan College, Hong
Kong, May 1997) can be viewed here .
Develop a Course for Internet Skills?
I
don't think that would be best - what do you think? I suggest that you don't
try to teach anything like history of the internet to most would be users.
Younger primary school
and secondary school children learn by doing some task or activity that has
interest to them.
Most adults including
60 year olds and over will probably prefer to learn this way too.
So the framework here
is best used as a guide to see what skills people might want to develop - as
they use the Internet for real goals, needs and purposes.
School children might be best introduced through fun activities such as
- Playing games and chatting on the Internet ( if they do not
know how to do these already!)
- Using fun resources on the Internet for art, music whatever
- Then using Internet resources in educational projects - and using
the Internet resources as a medium for the projects.
Business prospects for Internet education
& training
Our vision of the future is of a two part Internet enterprise in education
and training. One part is the collaborative, communicative interaction with
others in building knowledge thru constuctivist projects and problems.
This first part of the market is a software and application service provider market.
The other 'service" part is the increasingly intelligent tutoring of
learners in basic concepts, processes, applications, paradigms - the basic skills
of studies, the essential intellectual tools, that have to be mastered in studies
at the different levels. To date most software of this kind, but not of the
particularly intelligent type, is being produced on cd. It is of uncertain quality
and relevance, for relatively small markets.
The second is really a content market, still in its infancy which can only
become significantly profitable when the content developed is saleable to large
education systems and school districts, or is widely accepted by other tertiary
training and educational organizations.
This "tutoring basics" market is still at an early but rapidly growing
stage of development.
The market can only become significantly profitable when
the content developed is saleable to large education systems and school districts,
or is widely accepted by other training and educational organizations. This
seems increasingly likely for two reasons.
Firstly, large educational systems are increasingly defining
educational goals in great detail for accountability purposes.
Secondly, teacher shortages and the resulting closing
of schools of up to a day per week ( e.g. in the Netherlands and the UK) will
push educational administrators to adopt innovative services that solve those
problems and needs.
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TRAINING & HR SERVICES
In 1999 (before the dotcom crashes of 2000) the easiest business prospects
for the second part of the market seemed to be in corporate training:-
"The future
of distance-learning, it appears, will be dominated by employer-paid technology
courses. That revenue model is the only lucrative one today in the e-learning
world." [Wired]
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