Yes. The web and internet will have a great impact on all forms of education in the future. The book gave us evidence on how different instructional media has changed education in all all three areas in the past. It would be naive to think that the internet and the web would not have at the same if not greater impact on education. First off, the internet allows information to be shared at amazing speed. That information is not confined to one type of media. Through the internet we can access video, audio, static pictures, softwares, simulations, literature, participate in discourse, virtually explore geography and virtually perform science experience.
The web seems to be currently having a large impact on higher education. I can say this because it is amazing to think that I can earn a degree a university with out ever setting foot on it. Having a whole class exist with out ever seeing each other seems like a big change from driving to a campus and sitting in a hot stuffy room, where there is only room for 20. The nice thing about the web, the it seems to be only limited by bandwidth, gigahertz, bytes, servers, etc.. all of which are growing at exponential rates. Right now our class is only limited by the amount of time and effort an instructor can put into planning and participating in our experience and grading out work. I wonder if higher education will be more of a wiki experience where the group polices itself, learns in a constructivist approach and awards and privledges are given by the group as a whole...
I have seen recently the effect of how the web has changed adult training. I use to have to go to a meeting once a year to be updated on the rules of track and field. For me it was a quick drive of 10 miles. There would be coaches who would show up from over 60 miles away. This year however, we were able to be trained over the internet by watching a video. In fact, I felt I got more out of the video because it much more interactive than a man presenting to a room of 90 board coaches. Also, I now get to watch other training videos for school at my convenience over the net as opposed. This is a great way to value time.
Another thought I had when I read this question was that with more and more people working at home or collaborating across the world though the use of the internet, it seems that there would have to be similar educational experiences. If you hire a person to do work for you in Texas but you live in Michigan, the web seems like a fairly inexpensive way to communicate and train someone instead.
2 comments:
Definilty the higher education has been impacted the most by the internet and web, however I think it will take time and well planned out security measures for it to make its way into K-12. Don't get me wrong, there are numerous activities out there for online usage at the K-12 level although it is pretty well blocked, which is good, but also blocks many useful tools.
Matt,
I agree 100% with you that there have been huge advances in Higher Education due to technological improvements. Time is such a critical commodity for working adults, especially those with families, and the ability to learn the same content outside of the classroom without the travel and class time is a huge bonus.
Regarding use of it in the workplace, I also agree about how it saves money. I saw on one of the national news broadcasts lastnight about a company in SanDiego that is mandating all employees to work from their own computers at home on Fridays. They communicate through obvious ways online, and not only do the employees save money in travel expense, but the company saves money by keeping the lights off. I think we may see more companies following suit with that.
-Karel
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