Education and the Internet have been hand in hand since the internet started. There are most definitely resources that education can use on the internet. But the internet is full of less than educational resources. The trick of it is as the internet becomes more of a pay as you go the free resources may dry up.
I am not a history scholar but I remember some things. Television was to be this great educational experiment when it began. Chicago's PBS station has the call letters WTTW to stand for Window To The World. It is a bold mission to take on the education of some many over the airwaves. Radio also started out as a way to educate the public. Many of the first programs on radio were of classical music and great speeches. They were meant to raise the consciousness of listener.
Looking at those two mediums we may see a familiar arc in how the internet is used. Radio has all but lost stations that play classical music. Chicago still has one. Speeches of candidates for office are only heard on the public radio station. These stations are funded mainly by donations, and not government underwriting. Most of radio has been taken over by a few companies that have the goal of selling records and advertising. Newsradio stations are heavily commercialized and offer snippets of news but nothing in a long form that may educate. Modern talk radio works to undermine education and helps to miseducate many.
Television has been effective as well. Major events are covered as news but depth is lacking. The government has stepped in on occasion to regulate the content that is aired. They required children's programming and many shows directed at children began. In the beginning they were to have educational value. But as the years have past that educational content has gotten smaller and smaller. That content is awash with advertising. Again public television has taken up the mantle and it remains a place on the airwaves where children do learn. Surprisingly people pay millions of dollars a year for cable television with the justification of getting channels for their children. If people are paying for the content, it would be expected that it would have some quality. Instead much of it is filled with advertising.
Both radio and television have squandered opportunities. As a teacher who grew up on television I can say that it did teach me. Some of it is advertising jingles but I did learn an awful lot of science watching programs like NOVA on PBS. That knowledge that was gained by looking at TV was used and built upon later in my education. It is a great resource for the audio visual learner. Is it as effective today? Kids will choose and watch nature programs on cable and when they go to school that information gets reenforced. Some watch the History channel and really absorb that information. There are nuggets out there but you have to find them and schedule your viewing.
So what about Internet resources? There are more varied resources. Not just science and history but math and language. Many resources are available all day everyday, that is an important part of the internets appeal. From the start the internet has been very much like that giant electronic library and right now that has to be the number one resource it is used for. I think that usage will grow and expand into other areas.
Certainly the management and monitoring of students has been made easier by the internet. Email alone has vastly increased communication between parent and teachers. Online grading and attendance has made students be more accountable. One note though, that dang digital divide is still there and opens up and swallows a student or a group of students. Access for everyone everywhere is not there yet. I caution that we have to be aware of a divide that exists and may become wider. Educators cannot become too technology dependent. It can't all be on the web. For the poor and immigrants in this country the divide most definitely exists. I am also concerned about will it still be there in ten years and will it cost money for each thing you do on the internet.
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2 comments:
Hi Kurt~
This is well written and well said. i do remember when PBS started, and how it was supposed to help underprivileged kids gain access to information that they did not receive in the home~ hence Sesame street.
I learned about web 2.0 last year. Now, er have Web 3.0. Too much access to information= not enough privacy. It is scary!
Kathryn
I think that it also is dependent on how "ready" the kid is for this information. I have vague recollections of watching PBS/NOVA/WTTW, but recall very little of what I saw. I certainly hope that the Internet is there in 10 years, etc. The way I think of it is we were around when it started to get big, it got big, and like everything else that has preceeded the Internet, it got improved. Hopefully this will happen with the Internet.
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