Technology in the Real World
Open Learning, the Full Circle
I always thought that our modern education system is missing the most important characteristic of learning, apprenticeship. This is a priceless way of learning where students do things along with the masters, first as observers, then as helpers and finally as masters. Of course this is very simplified but it is just the general idea. As an educator for over 30 years I have noticed that teaching at students is detrimental to their learning. A student will learn much more if she or he is sitting in a professional orchestra and trying to play along with the masters (as I was lucky enough to do in my youth) than studying in a classroom where most people are not masters.
The open learning concept is bringing this feeling back! And this is very exciting for me. For example, our 25 year old washing machine broke, and it looked like we would have to hire an expensive technician or buy a new one. But I was able to search on youtube, starting with the symptoms followed by fixing strategies. I watched countless masters who did this job over and over. These masters were kind enough to share their hands-on experiences through youtube videos. I felt like I was playing in that professional orchestra again. I was able to fix the washer without a problem. If I would have to go to a technician class and learn about this, well we can imagine how cumbersome and inefficient would that be.
So I applaud the open source learning because it brings us back to a more apprenticeship model which I cherish very much.
Example of my open learning experience:
youtu.be/icYolmuYDII