Caveats: NONE
The bleakness that is painted is (with few exceptions) drawn on my
experience with 4 different web based learning systems I use within the
military (2 of which my group runs), and colleagues experiences with
on-line universities. While my version is over the top, I already see
these elements in my own interaction with systems and in how the ones we
run are used, and what should be guarded against by thoughtful educators
like yourself. More to the point:
1. People always try to game a system. I had a professor who always
pulled 80% of his test material from reserve reading and footnotes
(which comprised 20% of the reading). To game his system I focused on
the reserve reading since I was simply trying to get the highest grade
in a required course that held little interest for me. Students have
always done this with human teachers and they will continue to do it
with databases the difference being it is easier to repeatedly probe the
DB to see how different approaches work. That must be at the back of
all courseware decisions if you want them to learn the content rather
than build skills in reverse engineering courseware logic.
2. Choices can proliferate true and perceived inequalities. The more
self directed learning becomes the greater the chances are of students
excelling beyond their grades. The model has to account for a student
who has 5th grade English skills but is taking AP calculus. It is a
good problem to have but requires significant though and management.
The inverse of that is that parents complain because their student chose
the wrong customization (the equivalent of blaming the teacher today)
and that was the reason for failure. Again this is manageable but
requires thought. In my experience, those developing these types of
systems tend to think that choice and differentiation solve the
exception issues, when in fact it masks them and makes them harder to
see.
3. There are times in all of our lives when we must conform to a system
or process that we dislike or which is difficult for us. I think any
learning environment has to include times where you work within a
framework with no real choices. This skill is necessary for dealing
with every thing from doing your taxes to your bosses monthly report (in
the format they prefer but you dislike). While most schools are far from
letting this skill lapse, it becomes more of an issue as choice grows.
4. Stove pipes. On the technical side the problem of stove-piping is
very real. Learning systems tend to be developed from a courseware
expertise perspective. This leads to a proliferation of systems making
it very difficult to get a comprehensive view of an individual. It
would be nice if someone developed a standard data interchange format
explicitly oriented toward courseware information exchange. Think about
trying to bring up a picture of a student based on Star Reader, Mavis
Beacon typing, and DyKnow. This is nearly impossible today.
_J
___________________________________
Jason Johnson - Program Director
Web Services Branch - Walter Reed Army Medical Center Ingenium (ISO
9001:2000 certified)
Office: 202-782-1047
Cell: 202-262-0516
jason.johnson@ingenium.net
jason.p.johnson2@us.army.mil=20
-----Original Message-----
From: A forum for independent school educators
[mailto:ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU] On Behalf Of Fred Bartels
Sent: Friday, January 04, 2008 4:12 PM
To: ISED-L@LISTSERV.SYR.EDU
Subject: Re: Database driven education - Dystopian Version
(UNCLASSIFIED)
Jason,
Great post. You paint a truly bleak and scary picture! The thought of
databases certainly can conjure up Orwellian images. What I'm wrestling
with - as are we all - is trying to envision ways to use, in ways that
are more positive than negative, the incredible power to manipulate
information that computers and networks continue to open up. The school
mental model that I'm working from is about as far from your dystopian
vision as possible... the small democratic learning communities of the
EdVisions schools (http://www.edvisions.coop/). Although they are
project-based schools they rely on extensive and elaborate rubrics and
checklists to make certain that their students meet state standards.
Another example of this type of project-based work that is tied to
standards is provided in this video about a San Francisco based design
program. (http://www.edutopia.org/learning-design)
I think what we've seen with one-to-one laptop programs (at least at
many
schools) is illustrative of how the concerns that computers (and sofware
like databases) might be dehumanizing ... kids sitting isolated staring
at their computer screens and not socializing ... turned out to be more
a fear of change and the new than anything related to what has actually
happened. Laptops turn out to be incredibly supportive of socialization
and our hallways are full of clusters of kids talking, reading books,
working on paper, working on their laptops, sharing (not file sharing...
just, good old fashioned... hey, look at this, or listen to this)
pictures, songs and movies. The dystopian vision that providing students
with laptops would promote social isolation turned out not only to be
false, but almost the opposite of what has actually happened. Although
you would need to feel your way forward carefully, and be testing, and
evaluating and rethinking and modifying all along the way, I suspect
that like with laptops, database driven learning -added to the best of
what we already do- is more likely to create a more humane learning
environment instead of the inhumane one you so effectively portray.
Fred
Classification: UNCLASSIFIED=20
Caveats: NONE
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