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| Some questions to ponder... |
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Updated on 23 November 2007
Elearning, if done well, has value and a place in training - but not in Education.
The word education comes from the Latin educere, which means, 'to draw out'. Education, in its original and true sense, is something which draws out the best of the student, enabling them to develop a good character and to transcend themselves and their environment. Education is inherently good.
In order for the process of drawing out to occur, and for judgements to be made about what is good and what is not, education inherently requires another human being; a guide who is already educated - a living, breathing 'teacher'.
An uneducated human being can not educate themselves without a teacher (unless they are divinely gifted), because they simply don't have the wisdom to make judgements about what is good and what is not.
Often in true education, decisions must be made which go against the first inclinations, desires and passions of the student. For example, self-discipline is contrary to those first desires but is essential to building a good character.
But these days, we are being told that young people have to learn to be responsible for their own education, or as they say, for their own 'learning'.
The idea of letting young people be responsible for their own education is like setting a ship off to sea with an enthusiastic crew but no-one controlling the rudder. The ship will blow along, with great enthusiasm, wherever the wind blows. But it is highly unlikely to arrive at its intended destination. Afterwards, the crew is dis-illusioned and unhappy - sadly much like many of the younger generation today.
True education is about the development of character, an understanding of ethics, the ability to see right from wrong, a desire to act when something is 'not right' and the wisdom to act to address that wrong in a way which does not compromise other values. None of these things can be taught by elearning.
Elearning just does not have enough of the human element: the vital role of making judgements about what is right and wrong. Elearning could conceivably be designed to teach people about bad things, and worse, to reward them for making bad decisions. It's already happening- witness the insidious power of violent video games, which is a form of elearning: the game-player is rewarded for "killing people".
We are being told that elearning is revolutionising education. But how much critical analysis is there of this? Why is there such a tremendous push for elearning? Critics of elearning are being labelled as 'luddites'. Why are critics being run down (sometimes with ferocity) for their views? It's essential to have open, unharrassed and untethered critical analysis of 'elearning in education'.
If you agree and if you are concerned about elearning being pushed into education, please send me an email and let me know. When I get enough responses I'll set up a Yahoo group so we can have an online discussion about it, and develop an action plan.
How to make sure that multi-national corporations and 'super-states' have control over childrens' minds:
1. Over time (say, 50 years), stop talking about Education in terms of its true and high ideals. Talk about 'education' in base terms only, and focus on how it is important to help children get jobs. When you are referring to schooling, don't say 'schooling', say 'education'. This way, the original meaning of education will be submerged and dumbed-down into schooling. No-one will know what happened to 'Education', and they won't even think about it.
2. Wait until most people think that education is schooling, without even being aware of it. Don't ever talk or write about Education in its true sense. Make sure you belittle anyone who does try to remind the public of what Education really is.
3. Then, allow schooling itself to become run down. Let the class sizes become huge. Make sure the teachers are exhausted. Introduce the term 'learning' to replace education and 'teaching'. Emphahsise that 'learning starts with the learner. Slowly remove focus from the teachers and onto the 'learners'. Make sure the curriculum becomes more computer-focussed, and glamorise computers and information technology. Run down the trades and trade-training. Make sure that school policies mean that bullies have rights, and that bullying becomes widespread. Make sure that children are afraid to go to school because of bullying and general unhappiness. At the same time, introduce technology-based 'elearning'.
4. Make sure that elearning is glamorous and 'safe'. Make sure it rewards the students with 'applause' and 'cheers'. Make sure it ties in with contemporary culture and music. Make sure that elearning is more glamorous and slick than the exhausted teachers. Write press releases about children who have decided to 'leave school' and get their education by elearning. Put lots of money into elearning research and promotion. Belittle anyone who questions whether or not it is good.
5. Develop 'learning management' software which tracks student's every key stroke and progress through elearning modules. Observe all students and use databases to identify fast and slow students, and other attributes of the students.
6. Combine all the best elearning modules and standardise them into 'learning objects'. Make a 'learning object repository' to store all these 'learning objects'. Check them through closely and make sure they are politically correct. Hi-jack the term 'critical analysis' and re-define it to mean simply 'asking questions'. Give examples of 'critical analysis' which are not To be continued...
