Thoughts On Education, Knowledge, Learning and the Internet |
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By Mario deSantis, January 24, 1999 |
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the World Wide Web should become embedded in our educational system |
The development of the Internet and the applications of its technologies continue at a breathless pace | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
and are the most significant components of the ever changing Knowledge Economy. I wrote some | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
articles(1)dealing with the new Knowledge Economy and the consequential policy directions we | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
should be taking in Saskatchewan. For most of us, the Internet and the browsing of the World Wide | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Web (WWW) has become a daily routine such as walking, working, studying, driving the car; and it | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
is time now that such technologies become embedded in our educational systems. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
knowledge has become one of the
most important equalizers |
Yesterday night, I was reading the February 1999 issue of the "Popular Science" magazine and my | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
attention focused on the letter to the Editor "Free Books for All". This letter makes reference to the | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Web site Project Gutenberg(2), a site where people can have free access to an electronic library | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
containing some 1, 600 books, from Shakespeare's plays to early 20th century fiction. These , | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
electronic books would be very helpful in complementing the libraries of our schools; in so doing the | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
schools would be able to provide these books to their students at no cost, increase the awareness of | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
using the WWW for research purposes, and tap, by hyperlinking, into additional educational | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
resources. In today's global economy, knowledge has become one of the most important equalizers; | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
as a consequence, I have been trying to inculcate to my sons, James and Eric, and contrary to | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
conventional wisdom, the notion that Education is life itself(3). Notwithstanding my current | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
disappointing life contingencies, I am happy to see that both of my sons are embracing education as | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
an on going process for their growth, and I hope eventually that we all can appreciate the sometime | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
intangible rewards of a continuous educational approach to life. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
we have moved away from the stable and predictable social system of the past |
I have been reading recently the articles in the Star Phoenix in regard to the declining standards of | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
our high school students in mathematics(4) (5) and English(6). Different remedies have been | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
suggested to overcome such deficiencies, and all of them refer to the old good times when students | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
were strapped, worked harder, had more home work, and studied phonetics. This educational mental | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
model to go back to the three Rs (aRithmetic, wRiting, Reading) is an understandable paradox as we | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
have moved away from the stable and predictable social system of the past. The solutions to these | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
educational deficiencies should not be found in the old ways(7), but in the new wealth of | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
opportunities(8) presented by the emerged Knowledge Economy. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
knowledge is not an absolute reality to be transferred into the minds of our children |
We need to change our mental model to regard knowledge as an inner sanctum for the privileged(9). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
When I was in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, school kids were given IQ tests and the most intelligent | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
were placed in the so called enrichment courses. This approach to divide young children in | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
accordance to their tested intelligence is wrong, first because the timing of the mental development of | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
children is different, second because children must not be labelled, third because everybody learns | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
from each other, etc. Today, in Saskatchewan, there are some 110 school boards and a number of | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
them have not abolished the strap as a method to discipline our children. We must change this | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
privileged, fragmentary, parochial, and disciplinary approach to educate our children and I believe that | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
the understanding of Maturana's theory(10) (11) (12) of the biological origin of cognition can be of | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
great assistance to our policy makers, school administrators and teachers. We must appreciate the fact | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
that knowledge is not an absolute reality to be transferred into the minds of our children and | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
people(13). Instead, knowledge is developed through relationships and sharing of information, and in | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
this respect, a formidable tool for learning and enhancing knowledge is the use of new technologies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
the World Wide Web can provide a unique multidimensional opportunity, transcendent of time and georgraphy |
compatible with the Internet(14). We have already mentioned that through the Internet we can access | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
electronic books and texts; in addition, we can chat with each other, and communicate through the | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
different mediums: text, video, music, sounds, and pictures. The World Wide Web, along with its | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
hyperlinking feature, is one of the closest technological network model able to simulate our mental | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
processes and provide at the same time a unique multidimensional opportunity, transcendent of time | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
and geography, where students can enhance their capacity to learn and be creative. Let us hope that | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
our educational systems will soon embrace the educational implications of Maturana's theory of | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
cognition, and support the widespread use of the Internet technology so that as Michael Hart, the | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
founder of Project Gutenberg, wrote in a past newsletter: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"we have the capability for everyone on an Universal scale, literally, to have information, education, and literacy at their fingertips, should they choose to be informed, educated, or literate.... Perhaps the best use of the Internet is to fight this epidemic and to make the cures for illiteracy and ignorance available so cheaply that there can never be again any excuse for ignorance and illiteracy - - forever"(15) |
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Endnotes: | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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