Elementary school robotics challenge, by Candace Wright
I have been involved with learning media for over 30 years, from promoting American public television programs, to producing learning resources for school districts and regional non-profit organizations, to communicating innovations in research and academics within higher education.
For me, this is the most exciting time of all to be working in this field, as creative technologies are beginning to allow students to pursue their interests, learn at their own pace, and connect with other learners, anywhere, anytime.
I am excited for my 9-year-old daughter, growing up in these fascinating times. For her, knowledge is at her fingertips, her interests are becoming a primary frame for learning both in school and out, and she is making connections between her everyday life and the generations of learners who have discovered these paths before us.
Like all parents and children, we are navigating through a new set of digital citizenship skills that are helping us thrive. With that opportunity, however, comes responsibility, and we are learning, and relearning, how to live in this new world safely, everyday.
Although we can now easily access knowledge and integrate it into our lives, what really matters is how we make choices based on that knowledge. We’ve moved from an information- and knowledge-based economy toward a wisdom economy, where every decision, small and large, is based on a deeper awareness of connections between people, places, and ideas.
Life itself is the ultimate interdisciplinary classroom.
- Image by Candace Wright
One Comment
Hello Jay, we met briefly at the ERAC conference in BC a couple of weeks back; indeed these are exciting times and also highlighted by vested interests clinging to the status quo. Sigh. From the perspective of a lifelong innovative educator I write frequently about such issues in education and especially the focus from the frontiers of research into learning and psychology, which underscore so dramatically the need to overhaul the models of learning that still predominate. I’m glad to meet a fellow-traveler like yourself, and invite you to check out what we are doing in our ‘SelfDesign Learning’ programs in BC, and now abroad through our SelfDesign Global programs. You’ll see more info here: http://www.selfdesign.org (I did pass along my card to you, too). Cheers, Michael Maser