Continuing the Quest: The Future of Learning and Technology in Education

“When you escort someone, escort him all the way to his destination” (Ancient Chinese Proverb)

The oft-made commentary in reference to many commercial goods and products being outdated before they reach the store shelves, speaks volumes about the state of our world. When related to the traditional styles of education and learning, does the same hold true? If yes, what implications does this have for our world and specifically for education?

The earth, its people and its history have never been a part of such wide-ranging and fast paced changes ever before. However, what exactly does the future of the education system looks like in reference to learning and technology? The main reason for these changes has been the computer, which has been widely deployed within the last decade to almost every conceivable sector of human endeavour, and its influences to this point have almost been unmatched in human history (Asaolu, 2006). Computer technology has proven to be effective for support of training and learning as well as enhancing classroom teaching opportunities; additionally, has made many educational tasks simpler but at the same time, due to how quickly technology changes, making teaching a more complex enterprise (Bauer & Kenton, 2005; Beyerbach, Walsh & Vannatta, 2001; Nisan-Nelson, 2001; Welham, 2008).

Technology integration is changing the way we think and teach (McCoog, 2007), but is it changing the face of education? Education is the development of people, and people are not machines, or even machine-like (Simpson, 1983). However, computer applications such as Web 2.0 tools assist in “strengthening students’ critical thinking, writing and reflection; and engage students in a new world of information sharing and social learning” (Zhang, Olfman & Rachtham, 2007). Learners are not machines, but studies have shown that today’s learners are enjoying a new way to experience education, and it is still vastly important that educators must hear what students are saying(Hord & Harvetta, 1999).

Individuals have recently grown to prefer the “newest” ways of learning and applications such as Web 2.0 encompass a variety of modalities including text, audio, and video, thereby holding potential for students of varied learning styles (Lee, McLoughlin, & Chan, 2008). The same varied learning styles that are reflected in Howard Gardiner’s research on multiple intelligences and learning styles and have revolutionized the understanding of how people learn (McCoog, 2007) and have furthered development of new curriculum and educational pedagogy. The key for the future will be how we adapt and change to use “our newfound ability to create and publish content widely online almost as easily as we can read it” (Richardson, 2007 p. 150), to further the teaching and learning process.

A key feature of the future of learning and technology will be centered on change. Change in today’s world is often viewed as an unstoppable, immovable, irresistible force that marches on whether we like it or not. (Lick, 2001) Lick (2001) states that in education especially, this change must be embraced and not shunned, so that we can utilize this technology in a creative manner to better ourselves and thus our goals. Asaolu (2006) states that the impact of the changes being spoken of will be centered on funded, focused, institutional research and development that will lead to new breakthroughs, new patents, new trademarks, new markets, new clients, and new awards that will begin shape education and technology in the future.

Stress for success will seemingly be the mantra of the forerunners of the new information and communication technology (ICT). The new ICT will begin a wave of activity for all players involved. New standards must be created, governments must introduce new regulatory practices, companies must re-skill workers and acquire new products if present systems become inadequate, and education will be forced to revise and change curricula to meet the needs of the aforementioned sectors (Asaolu, 2006).

For individuals working in the ICT sector and therefore students preparing for that very workforce spoken of, these types of advancements and quite possible their survival is synonymous with continual skill acquisition (Acemoglu, 1998). The aforementioned focus on skill acquisition will be a direct responsibility of governments and departments of education to oversee the needed changes in curriculum that will reflect the needs and wants of the world’s labour force.

According to Zhang & Nunamaker (2003), learning is perhaps the most indispensable activity in the current knowledge-based new economy characterized by industrial change, globalization, increased intensive competition, knowledge sharing and transfer, and information technology revolution. Within that very concept is the question of how much will learning change in the coming years? A response to that question is affirmed through the writings of McAllister & McAllister (1996) and Marold, Larsen & Moreno (2000) who stated that the ideals of traditional education do not fit with the constructs of lifelong learning in the new world of change we are seeing. They further this commentary by saying that the “roles of instructor, students, and curriculum are changing” and these said roles are no longer witnessed within the brick and mortar walls of a conventional school setting (McAllister and McAllister, 1996 as cited in Zhang & Nunamaker, 2003; Marold, Larsen, and Moreno, 2000).

The classrooms of the new millennia, the e-learning classroom, need to be more flexible and portable, and this type of classroom has changed the way students interact, collaborate and receive their education, namely in an online format. E-learning can be defined as the use of computer network technology, primarily over an intranet or through the Internet, to deliver information and instruction to individuals (Welsh, Wanberg, Brown & Simmering, 2003; Zhang & Nunamaker, 2003). Some companies and industry experts include knowledge management and virtual collaboration in their definition of e-learning, describing e-learning broadly to include any system that ‘generates and disseminates information and is designed to improve performance (Welsh et al., 2003). The learners themselves could certainly have a completely different “appearance”. Extreme changes may be witnessed by educators, in fact Asaolu (2006) states that these “new-millenia students” may enter your classroom and be automatically received, for attendance purposes, because they are equipped with a human-wearable chip or card that stores all of their personal information such as a student identification number.

Through various forms of Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS), students across the globe have had their opportunities expanded and will continue to do so via the Internet. Though Wishart (2004) recognizes the dangers of the Internet, she writes that media reports tend to make the problem worse than it actually is. Furthermore, this new focus of wide reaching and vast encompassing Internet based distance learning offers a more “cost-effective learning and infrastructure” that provides the much heralded “anytime, anywhere, self-paced and interactive learning”, an education that removes the barriers of time and place learning that is being sought across the global education community (Asaolu, 2006; Zhang & Nunamaker, 2003; Huang & Behara, 2007).

Learning strategies focused on today’s learners are in the midst of a shift. This shift, according to Adam, Slonim & Yesha (1997), is transitioning from “instructocentric to learner-centric.” This shift in learning paradigm emphasizes the importance of learning “according to an individual’s prior knowledge base, learning style(s) and personal interest” and is further focused on the concept of “learning flexibility central to the time and location” the learning taking place (Adam, Slonim, and Yesha, 1997). Affirmed by Zhang and Nunamaker (2003) is the statement that a transition is occurring from “teaching by telling” to “learning-on-demand” or “learning by asking or doing.”

In the end in order to maintain pace and even sanity with all the changes, which have and will continue to occur, in education and technology, the area of most importance for educators will be our own professional education. In the future, Hord (2007) states that collective learning will be the hallmark of the school staff, and schools will have created the conditions that support a community of professionals in their learning. Further, by studying one's profession, especially when done in community with others, where the learning is richer and deeper, where professionals come together in community to continuously learn in order to increase their effectiveness will lead to the eventual goal: our students becoming increasingly successful learners (Hord, 2007). We will need to utilize this education and of extreme importance for educators and administrators to anticipate change instead of the constant state of reaction we tend to be in now. Old computing was about what the computer can do; the new computing is about what users can do (Shneiderman 2002 as cited in Asaolu, 2006).

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