Aaron Carpenter's blog

Oh, the Internet. What would we do without you? This simple idea of having computers be able to talk to one another has gone from the lab to being a matter of national security.  Everything seems to have the Internet involved in one way or another and the educational world is simply the latest front that is getting slowly reinvented in the web’s image.

Of course, it’s not a panacea. As our class’s lively VoiceThread debate has shown there are many varying perspectives on the effect the Internet has on the educational realm.

What’s needed is a nuanced approach. I am personally amused by some of the materials that take an extreme stance that it is either a gift from the gods and answer to all life’s problems or the worst thing to ever happen to teaching. Both of these perspectives are in need of some balance and realization that the Internet is purely a tool and can be used as a force of good or for negativity.

I believe Carr’s article makes some good points but it goes too far. I imagine if it was a more balanced piece it would not have received as much commentary, hence the inflammatory headline. But I digress.

The Internet has the power to improve how we teach and dispense information to students and some of tools that we have at our disposal now and will have in the future can make things even better. Collaboration has never been easier and this hive mind mentality where we can pool all of our resources to create will become even more advanced as more people jump on board. Conversations involving people from all points of the globe will help foster new ideas and innovations and the Internet is the thing that makes it all possible.

So how can we make sure that what we create is actually usable and beneficial? One answer is open source software. If we let people change what they think would improve the product then everyone wins. New ideas can be passed to others and sooner or later we end up with a solution that will work for everyone. This will let us design new learning tools that are flexible and able to change with the requirements for adverse groups of learners. What’s not to like?