Winds of Change: Learning for the 21st Century

How will learning for the 21st century look? Here’s a brief introduction/anticipation guide:



To recap, the main elements of my vision are:

Online or distance education will be huge (like the keyboard seen above).

Professional development will be much more individualized and collaborative.

Internet filtering in schools will go the way of the floppy disk.

Libraries and teacher-librarians will lead to major changes in education and technology.


Distance education will take on a great role, with more and more learners using online tools to educate themselves. Universities have been using distance learning for quite some time, many high schools have been offering online learning opportunities, next middle years institutions will begin to see the possibilities for younger learners to work more independently. An educational technology expert in my school division recently indicated he foresees more online and blended learning because it “addresses both the need to differentiate instruction and learning and the cost effectiveness of delivery” (blended learning includes both online and face-to-face instruction).

There is some evidence to support the idea of online learning increasing in our schools. A recent study by the Sloan Consortium (Sloan-C) called K-12 Online Learning indicated that “the total number of K-12 students taking online or blended courses in 2007-08 in the U.S. was estimated at 1,030,000--up from 700,000 in the earlier study--and two-thirds of respondents said they expect their online enrollments will continue to grow.” The report also says that advanced students are benefiting, but so are those who seek extra help or credit recovery, as well as rural students. Perhaps online or blended learning will help close the rural/urban digital divide.

Although the Sloan Consortium study makes note of the fact that reportedly only 21 percent of those enrolled in fully online courses are kindergarten through fifth-grade students, that seems like a big number to me: were you aware that many young students were learning online? A report released by the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL) last year suggests that a “blended approach combines the best elements of online and face-to-face learning. It is likely to emerge as the predominant model of the future--and to become far more common than either one alone."

Online and/or distance learning for and by educators will also be a major force in 21st century learning. One result of this shift is that professional development for educators will become both more individualized and collaborative. As more digital natives join the educational workforce, teaching communities will be swayed to offer more learning options to teachers who are not only web-savvy but also almost instinctively take to web 2.0 applications. When web 3.0 magically appears, educators will be riding the wave, not paddling madly after it or waving from the cold shore.

Jim Vanides reports “interest in online learning has been growing at a rapid pace, especially for professionals who find it inconvenient to attend face-to-face workshops or courses. This is particularly true for educators pursuing in-service professional development, as there is precious little time to be away from their classrooms.” Although those who haven’t taken online courses might not see them as collaborative as learning in bricks-and-mortar spaces, many of us who have done so see the shared opportunities as great.

Vanides writes that “the facilitation of rich and thoughtful discourse between participants becomes my principal endeavor…the freedom to focus on the students, encouraging conversations and questions that lead to better understanding, is in the end what makes teaching so rewarding”.

Other educational technology experts have weighed in on the subject of the collaborative nature of recent technologies, as well as possibilities for individualistic learning. In an article entitled Envisioning thE Future, Mark van ‘tHooft reports that “learning is becoming more personal yet collaborative and networked, portable and situated, ubiquitous and durable”.

Still doubtful of the power of online learning for educators? Vanides concludes that “Online professional development does work….[t]eachers participating in NTEN [National Teacher Enhancement Network]courses give high scores to the value of the experience, and in many cases report that they would not have been able to take such a class if it were face to face. Even teachers who have never participated in a course online before report a high level of satisfaction.”

Although many educators are seeing/will soon see the value of online learning, a bee in the bonnet is the problem of not being able to access many valuable resources at school due to divisional or district filtering policies. I feel strongly that Internet filtering will be all but eliminated in the 21st century. This big move won’t happen all at once. Teachers, teacher-librarians, and administrators will receive unlimited access first. Soon to fall away will be barriers to social networking sites such as Facebook and MySpace, and then blocks to sites that include current key filtering words or phrases such as “games”. In the near future, only those sites containing “adult” scenes will be blocked in Canada – those are going to be blocked for the foreseeable future.

At the same time, some students have been blocked from accessing information about breast cancer because of the disallowed word “breast”, according to Matt Villano, so even those blacklisted keywords need to be reviewed. Villano says Julie Walker reported that in Finland, filtering is almost nonexistent - most students and teachers can access the Internet without valuable resources being blocked will-nilly.

Jerry Swiatek has written a thought-provoking blog post on this issue, giving the example of Google Life images being blocked in some parts of North America. How long until we start giving learners freedom to information?

If anyone is to help lead the foray into new technologies for education in the 21st century, teacher-librarians and educational media specialists if all stripes should be at the forefront. Months ago, I blogged about Joyce Valenza’s “Modest Manifesto” for teacher-librarians, and I think that many of the points she made are even more meaningful to me today. Her manifesto includes numerous statements that I want to direct your attention to, and (surprise!) some of them are directly related to my points above:

“Think outside the box about the concept of “collection.” That collection might include: ebooks, audiobooks, open source software, streaming media, flash sticks, digital video cameras, and much more! You lend this stuff.”

“Model respect for intellectual property in a world of shift and change. You encourage and guide documentation for media in all formats and recognize and lead students and teachers to the growing number of copyright-friendly or copy left portals. You understand Creative Commons licensing and you are spreading this gospel. Example of tool: Copyright Friendly Resources Pathfinder:”

“Organize the Web for learners. You have the skills to create a blog or website or wiki to pull together resources to meet the information needs of your learning community. That presence reflects your personal voice. It includes your advice as well as your links. You make learning an engaging and colorful hybrid experience. You intervene in the research process online while respecting young people’s need for independence.”

“Know this is only the beginning of social networking. Students will get to their MySpace accounts through proxy servers despite any efforts to block them. You plan educationally meaningful ways to incorporate student excitement (and your own) for social networking.”

“Seek out a professional learning network using social networking tools.”

“Continue to consider and revise your own 20/20 vision. Do you look ahead for what is coming down the road? Are you scanning the landscape? As the information and communication landscapes continue to shift, do you know where you are going? Do you plan for change? Not for yourself, not just for the library, but for the building, for your learners. Are you really leading? What does the information professional look like today? Ten years from today? If you do not develop strong vision, your vision will be usurped by the visions of others. You will not be able to lead from the center.”

What’s in the future for 21st century learning? As Valenza says, we need to plan for change and develop our vision. What’s your vision?