Web 2.0 and the Future of Learner-Centered Education

FutureWatch Reflection #3

As the instructional design field shifts toward a more learner-centered style of instruction the educational system as we knew it during the 20th century is literally being turned upside-down. The days of the lone instructor standing in front of the room lecturing to industrial age automatons is over. Classrooms of the future will engage learners via interactions with their peers and subject-matter experts using Web 2.0 technologies. But as technologies such as social networking sites, wikis, and blogs develop and grow, what effects will this have on the future of instructional design?

Perhaps the most recent indication of where Web 2.0 is taking us can be found in the explosive popularity of such platforms as YouTube and Twitter. Both of these platforms serve as an intellectual and entertainment buffet where consumers customize their information intake based on their individual interests. People are now able to filter the information available in cyberspace so that they can more readily get the information they want. It is plausible that learners within the next 10 years will be able to approach some of their learning much like they do when they log-on to YouTube or Twitter. They may have a customized start page, lessons tailored to meet their specific learning goals and learner-specific assessments.

As a teacher and budding educational technologist I am excited to be a part of this changing dynamic in education. My three loves as an instructional designer, namely Web 2.0 technologies, learner-centered instruction, and evaluation of instructional effectiveness are all being taken for a ride on this wave of change. But just how far will technology take this customization of information and education? I was somewhat alarmed while reading Chapter 31 of Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology and Reiser and Dempsey’s description of emerging neuroscience technologies. They described a system called transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) which can not only map brain function, but it may also be able to predict exactly how effective a learners performance might be in completing an instructional objective. I don’t want to see my future students just walk in and plug their brains into an educational kiosk. While this extreme scenario isn’t an immediate reality, teachers are going to have to realize the computer technology will continue to displace antiquated educational models of teacher-centered learning.

Steve Hargadon, the founder of the Classroom 2.0 social network, posted reflections on ten future trends of Web 2.0’s impact on the future of education. He points towards an explosion in self-publishing as well as professional and academic interaction. Students will most likely take an increasingly larger roll in planning their educational and professional careers. Moreover, teachers will most likely cede some of their traditional roles as evaluators and tap into using student peer evaluation as a valued resource. Future instructors need to rethink the traditional classroom model of the teacher being the primary source of information and turn that model into one centered on student interaction with their peers and subject-matter experts throughout the world.