O’Riley Radar has a thought provoking look at Education as a Platform. The basic idea builds on that described in a book called Disrupting Class, but I find some of the authors points more illuminating than the analogy between education and technology. First, the author calls out a false dichotomy:
I am of the opinion that the distinction between formal learning (school) and informal learning (museums, Internet, community classes, affinity groups, etc.) is one that is both artificial and obsolete. In Education 2.0 there should be multiple providers of educational experiences, and standard discovery mechanisms that allow great experiences to spread virally as well as standard ways to give students credit for what they know and can do rather than for what classes they’ve sat through.
If you ask a “typical” student, I think they would agree. That student, however, likely wouldn’t connect the dots to the author’s next point – that tests don’t quite do an adequate job of measuring learning. Their answer is, I believe, spot on:
In a world of assessment innovation, a student portfolio might contain a combination of completed projects in addition to state test results, richer third-party assessment results, and innovative assessments of non-traditional skills such as collaboration and creativity. Colleges and employers might value this multi-dimensional view of a student more than just grades and standardized test results when evaluating applicants. Parents and students might take ownership of enriching their portfolio of assessments according to their own values. Publishers of curriculum and educational experiences might be able to improve their offerings based on a broad set of assessments of student outcomes — driving innovation in educational content. Administrators and states might be able to reward teachers for many different kinds of critical achievements.
As we look at using portfolios on our own campus, I hope we’re able to keep this potential integration of formal and informal assessments in mind. My hope is (the smarter) students will demand it.
I agree John!
Being old school, (pre-1960), I still feel certain basic skills are a must: maths,english comprehension & self motivation: Add www knowledge & cutting-edge-digital-technology to achieve a winning basic thinking skill. One big concern is how few seem to know basic geometry, the introduction to deduction thinking?
I actually agree with you, Brian. Despite all the talk about student engagement and learner-centered approaches, I think we still need to avoid “spoon feeding” students. Basic skills like the ones you’re concerned about still need to be taught and assessed. Where I think these tools offer some potential is in new ways of assessing learning (which can match a larger number of learning styles), and in promoting students to integrate their learning experiences with life.