Brown & Duguid and education in the U.S.

B&D's clarification of the difference between "information" and "knowledge" in their chapter on learning points to many of the potential pitfalls and shortcomings of our education system today. Traditional methods of instruction where students passively receive information from teachers and books (and then throw it back in the form of a paper or test to show that they've "learned" it) are both outdated and ineffective in preparing students to succeed in today's world. I loved B&D's statement: "Knowledge's personal attributes suggest that the shift toward knowledge may (or should) represent a shift toward people" (p. 120). Likewise, to effectively educate our children, our schools need to become more student-centered and focus on making students active learners.

The "Re-education" chapter was very thought-provoking in its discussion of distance education. While I don't believe it will ever fully replace traditional, in-person high school and college programs, it's clear that online learning is a growing trend in education. Having (nearly) completed my entire degree online, I am an advocate of the concept, but think it's essential for educational institutions to carefully plan and develop their online programs in order to ensure they are effective. I think SCILS did a great job with grouping incoming classes to its online program into "cohorts". This helped tremendously in developing a feeling of community (which B&D also mention as being an important element in the learning process.) I think that as this trend in education continues to grow, it's important for us to be aware of the social software tools such as the ones we're learning about now (and those that have yet to be invented!) so that we can help people foster a greater sense of community in the online world. (Scils, for example, created an online student lounge with a cafe for us, but I'm still pining for a virtual pub!)