After 6 weeks of classes and tons of readings, as a learner, I want to say a little bit about my reflections on what web 2.0 brings to adult education in the era of internet or, specifically, how information technology affects community development.
Will the web enable the public to locate “better information”? For whom? For everyone? Another subject we discussed in class that I found very intriguing is whether Community really exists. I have no pretensions to have the right answers to any of the questions I’m leaving in this post; they are only my reflections as an adult learner and student.
Well, Let’s start talking with how I think ICT may contribute to adult learning. Yes, new forms of learning such as electronic journals, online newspapers, electronic forums, web sites, digital libraries, online courses, blogs and wikis, and many other examples could be discussed here to show how we can learn informally and formally today electronically, over the Internet. But technological access refers to the physical availability of suitable equipment, including computers that are of adequate speed and equipped with appropriate software for a given activity. And so I ask what happens to those who have no access to Internet or have no cyber literacy? Is Social inequality still a problem with regard to participation in virtual communities? And if so how do we apply CD amongst the poorest communities through the Internet? I truly believe that indirectly every one benefits, however I think that traditional community development may be more appropriate in face-to-face settings, especially when it comes to bringing strategies and helping people get themselves out of poverty. I don’t believe that the digital divide is going to one day disappear. So this is the role we must play in the community development context – we, as learners and educators, who have full access to the ICT available should bring information to empower communities to be self-sustained socially and economically. We should also use ICT to support local economic development, social justice and political empowerment.
I found an interesting video ( Learning to change- Changing to learn) that is about the implications changing technology has for adult education. We as a field are far from the world of education described in this video, but it's important for us to start thinking in this direction. And then, one step at a time...
The second topic I want to talk about is: Does community really exist? Well, I never thought that one day I could ask myself that question. Briefly, community in biological terms is a group of interacting organisms sharing an environment and, in human terms, we share common location or common values. So, I do believe we live in communities, many of which we are not even aware we belong to. While some may have different points of view on what community really is, I defend the opinion that since we, as humans, have the natural instinct to live in groups or societies, then we should consider that we definitely live in one or another type of community.
What do you think about that? Share your thoughts with me. I’d like to know....leave your comment here.
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Great post Mara, you certainly raised some thought provoking questions! Many of which I have been thinking a lot about lately...
ReplyDeleteWith respect to your first questions "Will the web enable the public to locate "better information?"
In my opinion, yes. Well, that obviously depends on which side of the digital divide you stand on, but I believe that for those who benefit from ICT the web certainly enables better access to info. Now, I don't think I can say that it grants access to "better information" because really, how can one judge what information is better than others? and what information is truer than others? After some reflection I realized how the web has helped me develop as a young adult. When I was in school I took everything that came from a text book or that came out of my teachers mouth as gold. If they said it, then that was that, it was true. Once I hit university and started researching information online I came to the marvelous conclusion that there is more than one opinion, perspective, point of view. And who's to say that one is right and the other is wrong? The internet has allowed me to see that taking a critical eye is okay, that it is necessary, it helps expand my mind, become a better learner and a better teacher.
I particularly enjoyed the video you posted. What a great perspective on the future of education. Whether we like it or not, the internet has changed the future of education. Kids have so much access to information these days that the traditional sense of the word "education" is becoming less and less necessary. Sure, I think that it is important to learn about history, geography, and math. But I dont think a text book is necessarily the way to help convey that information to new generations. Because everything changes so quickly these days teaching kids to find, validate, synthesize information seems more practical, in my opinion, than memorizing the periodic table, or memorizing moments of Canadian History. The video points out that employers expect different skills from employees and that schools must change their system in order to accomodate for this. Afterall, the point of school is to produce an adult who is able to function in and provide to society. Well society is changing, so schools must change with it.
As one speaker in the video said, "This is the death of education, and the dawn of learning."