Spare a thought for teachers. They are rapidly being superseded by machines, “Irish Independent, April 22nd 2009”.
This was the lead for an article which examined how technology has changed the face of education. Not long ago the teacher was seen as the all knowing oracle; today if you or I need an “oracle” we are more likely to turn to Google or Wikipedia. Students are no different – when presented with a question they are just as likely, if not more likely, to turn to a computer for help as to ask a person. To some this might seem like something out of an Arthur C. Clark science fiction novel, but in fact it is the world we live in today. School and college students have been immersed in the web since they were born. For twenty years now the web has been changing beyond all recognition. From simple beginnings the web has metamorphosed into a tool for listening to music, buying clothes and communicating with others through blogs, wikis and video-sharing – the new web, Web 2.0.
Web 2.0 impacts on education in many areas. For example, collaborative learning is now a byword for Education Ministry policy makers worldwide. From India to Singapore, and from Ireland to the USA, the drive at government level to initiate collaborative learning programmes in education has been a hot topic for the past few years. How this is going to fit with traditional classroom teaching techniques is, however, still an open question. A comprehensive strategic vision for web enabled education for the next twenty years is desperately needed. Granted one could not have envisioned the social networking explosion in the last five years. Social networking and collaborative websites such as Facebook, MySpace, Bebo and Wikis are now vast knowledge bases with millions of interacting users. If we as educators wish to stimulate and motivate our students, we must embrace change and incorporate these new technologies into our education toolbox. This should be achieved within a structured educational approach which integrates teachers, students and parents at home and in college through a blend of individual, group and collaborative learning approaches best suited for the individual student.
