Fall 1998
Vol 7 Issue 1
IN THIS ISSUE...
Signposts for the New Millennium
Year 2000: Same, but Different
Chinese Higher Education, In My Eyes
Fibber McGee's Closet: Peeking Around the Corner into the Next Millennium
SEE ALSO...
The Labyrinth
Maricopa Center for Learning and Instruction
Signposts for the New Millennium
John Nelson, PVCC
This issue of the Labyrinth/Forum asks our authors: "How do you envision technology and education in the new millennium?" Since rich speculation about the future poses risks for the writer and certainly since even the best predictions often unravel overnight, this was not an enviable task. Usually, those writers who predict the future accomplish their task by preparing us for apocalypse or utopia.
Such is not the case with our writers; not once did I get a sense of excessive doom or far out dreams. Although we might have expected a "Brave New World" of technology where the much anticipated conquest of the virtual college threatens the demise of actual instructors, such a dire image was not there. Certainly the proliferation of technological devices and the reality of "information overload" was acknowledged. However, even these examples did not come with a sense of defeat but rather of new opportunities for integration. Nor did I encounter dreamy speculation in which next-millennium pedagogy will produce the perfectly self-directed and independent learner. Problem-Based Learning surely moves students in the direction of applying classroom education to real life problems, but it does not come without a realization of the instructor's changing role.
So, forget about any thoughts of dread or elation; each of our writer's articles is rooted in careful observation of current trends, experience, and a logical synthesis of these ideas.
Articles in this issue of the Labyrinth/Forum, give predictions about technology that "facilitates sound learning" and provides "flexibility." Its purpose is for efficiency not replacement. Such technology makes instructors "mentors" and these new technologies are really only "tools that increase interactivity with students." Nothing fearful or fantastic here; it is just sound reasoning and practical application. Surprisingly, one of our authors predicts that technology will not isolate us in large urban centers. Within an information society, he visualizes that technology will allow a "de-centralization" and an ability for citizens to actually move into the smaller community and enjoy its lifestyle.
Several significant concepts, "signposts," in a manner of speaking, used by our authors stand out as particularly insightful while at the same time offer advice for the new millennium - problems and possibilities, communication, and evaluation.
Problems and possibilities - While we may like neatness and efficiency, life is always ambiguous and does not provide order and neat solutions. Jon Lea Fimbres-Hetzel reminds us that we will ". . . find ourselves banging, clanging and sorting through the junk for the creative solutions that will provide stability and meaning for us in the 21st century."
Communication - The essential element in education and instructional technology is communication. Although the possibility exists for us to literally lose ourselves in a myriad of technological devices, David Weaver suggests, "We need the technology to fade into invisible infrastructure so we can turn our attention back to the essence of teaching and learning: communication."
Evaluation - Considering all of the sources that now disseminate information and the endless possibilities for finding information on the net, Barry Vaughan suggests that we are in a "transition period" in which we have to consider what is valuable and legitimate. The important issues we now face are: "How do we verify truth and accuracy?" and "How do we evaluate information?"
These signposts crystallize important concepts and bits of wisdom to help us formulate a direction for that which awaits us in the 21st century. The common thread that impressed me most throughout our authors' articles is the firm belief in a learner-centered curriculum. Despite the sophisticated technology and innovative pedagogy that's out there, our writers constantly pull us back to the center - the learner.