Recently, I listened to a National Public Radio podcast (Gross, 2015) about Carey’s (2015) new book, The End of College: Creating the Future of Learning and the University of Everywhere about what the future of postsecondary education might look like (in his book, it involves a lot of online education!). Soon after, I read Godsey’s (2015) article in The Atlantic entitled, “The Deconstruction of the K12 teacher.” In his article, he raised questions about the roles of teachers, the potential consequences of sharing, archiving, and free availability of so many quality resources online such as instructional videos and lesson plans, and the question about his vision of “virtual schooling” and whether or not it will be realized sooner as opposed to later than in the 20 years he envisioned.
Both of these pieces forecast changes in teaching and learning, one being the dismantling of postsecondary education as we know it and the other the changing role of educators to curriculum facilitators. Myriad barriers must be overcome before higher education can be dismantled, rebuilt, and repackaged as Carey maintains. Some of the biggest obstacles are the scalablility, cost effectiveness, quality, equity, and general buy-in of his ideas, among many others. Also, as someone who works in the nation’s capital—politics always come to the fore; therefore, political challenges are another concern. Additionally, the idea of teacher as curriculum facilitator is not new. However, I like to think of educators as “educational designers,” not facilitators, borrowing from my instructional design education. Yes, the abundance of resources literally at educators’ fingertips can enrich students’ learning experiences in many ways; however, they can do so only if teachers employ instructional design principles such as conducting an analysis of learner needs, resources available, and the learning environment, as well as designing, developing, implementing, and evaluating high quality learning activities.
Clearly the rationale and motivations for each of these pieces differ and the summaries above fail to provide the complete message these authors aim to convey. Nevertheless, as an educational technology professor who has studied and teaches graduate students about the history of educational technology, questions about the role of educators, schooling and training at all levels, and the best ways to address diverse learners’ needs vis-à-vis technological change repeat some of the same questions that have been asked for decades, innovation after innovation. And, it comes as no surprise that each of these authors foresees expanded online education and use of online resources.
These pieces also remind me of the oft-quoted interview of Thomas Edison about the invention of the motion picture that was published in the New York Dramatic Mirror:
“Books,” declared the inventor with decision, “will soon be obsolete in the public schools. Scholars will be instructed through the eye. It is possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture. Our school system will be completely changed inside of 10 years.” (Smith, 1913)
Books are not passé nor has video (the motion picture) replaced books, and videos will likely never fully serve as substitutes for teachers. School systems and higher education institutions have not changed a great deal since the 20th century. Will Carey’s and Godsey’s forecasts become reality? Whether or not they will is for the future to tell. Nonetheless, we should not ignore advances in our understanding of how people learn. We should always question what, how, and why we teach, as well as seek improvement, no matter the educational goal or level. And, if the teaching-landscape changes as a result, it should be a welcome change.
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