The challenges of adapting a course management system to the Web 2.0 (soon to be 3.0) world are the same whether you use an open-source CMS (Sakai) or a product (ANGEL). Each wrestles with how to enhance the user experience by updating the interface to reflect the simplicity of the social and collaborative tools available off the web. There is the challenge of getting the technology out of the way so the focus can be on creativity. Plus there is the pressure to open up ecosystems that are traditionally closed to enable cross-disciplinary and cross-university interaction. Underlying all of these is the subtle but critical shift of focus from content to people.
With this shift comes a re-focusing of what education means. It seems that we are returning to the idea of John Dewey who thought the purpose of education was to create good citizens. To provide our students with the things they need to be productive members of society. We are beginning to once again see beyond a single course, or even a field of study to include the development of life skills as part of the process. Not that this ever completely went away; it just got lost somewhere. Something that was stored away with the best intentions of getting back to only to be forgotten in the rush to keep up on things.
With this shift comes a re-focusing of what education means. It seems that we are returning to the idea of John Dewey who thought the purpose of education was to create good citizens. To provide our students with the things they need to be productive members of society. We are beginning to once again see beyond a single course, or even a field of study to include the development of life skills as part of the process. Not that this ever completely went away; it just got lost somewhere. Something that was stored away with the best intentions of getting back to only to be forgotten in the rush to keep up on things.
Leave a comment