Education for a Digital World Advice, Guidelines and Effective Practice from Around Globe, 2008a

31 – Looking Forward: Stories of Practice
the three constant factors presented in Figure 31.1
(teachers, learners and content) remain, and should
influence teachers’ choices, the degree and purpose of
social interaction changes, depending upon the design of
the instruction. Consequently, it becomes the job of
educators to select instructional strategies and media to
support them, and then make the technology itself disappear
so that learning can occur. As seen in the four
stories illustrating our continuum, the teacher must
push back on the technology and not be dictated by it.
Online and blended learning is not about technology; it
is about learning. The technology must become transparent
and ubiquitous to learners, and part of the role of
educators and course designers is to ensure that occurs.
Having students and teachers alike reading lectures or
listening to yet another podcast or video clip can no longer
be considered a new or provocative way to teach as we begin
the 21st century. We have more tools and technologies
at our disposal than ever before, but we are still limited in
how we conceive using these tools in our practice.
As educators, wrestling with myriad digital technologies,
we must remember that our students have computers
on their desktops that are many times more powerful
than those that initially put astronauts on the moon.
Therefore, are we really going to ask them do the ordinary
things when they are poised for and capable of the
extraordinary? Will online learning continue to be a
poorer option to classroom learning, or are we prepared
offer richer learning opportunities than are available in
the majority of traditional classrooms? Is our nervousness
about technology stifling our creativity? Until we
understand our options, and begin to make informed
decisions about instructional strategies and the media
that might support them, we fear the promise and potential
of learning online will continue to be lost.
We realize that it is our task to make the technology
disappear for the learners and allow it to become an
ordinary part of the teaching and learning environment.
When we consider the rich learning opportunities created
in the studio-based example shared in this chapter,
we realize what is possible. What we don’t know is what
will be possible in the future. However, we do know that
all that is limiting us is our willingness to push the limits.
CLOSING QUESTIONS TO PONDER
What can you accept as indicators of success for the various
instructional strategies suggested in Figures 31.2 and 31.3?
As multimedia is added to courses, how does the
teacher ensure the content is not lost in the process?
How can the media and technological frameworks be
made to disappear and only support the learning?
Assuming the continuum of practice is an effective
way to discuss online options, what might we expect the
next extensions of the continuum to look like?
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