In a recent Wired article Clive Thompson discussed the impact of the internet on literacy and young people. In the article Thompson referenced a study scrutinizing college students’ prose called the Stanford Study of Writing conducted by Andrea Lunsford, a professor of writing and rhetoric at Stanford University. In the study Lunsford concludes “I think we’re in the midst of a literacy revolution the likes of which we haven’t seen since Greek civilization, technology isn’t killing our ability to write. It’s reviving it—and pushing our literacy in bold new directions.” I don’t believe today’s youth approach the brevity of text they create with revolution in mind but we are seeing a radical new shift in literacy.
Technology and the internet enable students to explore new methods of communication in written form changing grammar, syntax, and relationships between written language and visual media — the medium itself becomes integral to the message, people are more open, more imaginative, ready to participate, discuss, and debate.
There is an interesting report (PDF) conducted by SRI International and the Department of Education called the Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning: A Meta-Analysis and Review of Online Learning Studies which found “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.” The findings from the report present a compelling reason to explore new methods of teaching that include individual and collaborative e-learning, mobile learning, and self-paced learning to supplement in-person course instruction.
At the college and university level online course instruction is widely accepted as an alternative to in-person instruction. In fact, by extending their reach beyond the walls of the classroom, most institutions of higher learning have built solid revenue streams on established e-learning programs. As a result, we’re seeing significant growth in collaborative e-learning, mobile learning, and self-paced learning programs. According to Ambient Insight, a market research firm that uses predictive analytics to identify revenue opportunities for suppliers, they forecasted a compound annual growth rate of 16.3% from 2008 to 2013 for learning technology products and services.
As states move towards e-learning programs, adapt e-textbooks, and in some cases replace school library books altogether, who is studying the impact of these moves? Are they political? Economic? Or are do they simply reflect the impact of the internet and the information age? Moving to e-learning as a whole has benefits, but do we want knowledge to be controlled by the market? Is human understanding more than a marketing research firm can define? The downside to e-learning programs is that many instructors use old frames of mind — online instruction has to be more than the usual skill and drill, we have to do away with traditional and widely accepted written exercises with no surprises — the internet is full of the unexpected, the unintended and students need opportunities to talk about what they find, and incorporate those findings into their reports.
Our national public education system will move towards new models of integrated e-learning. The radical shift in literacy is underway. And while we face a myriad of challenges and unanswered questions, structured e-learning programs utilizing technology and the internet to deliver new methods of instruction, research, assessment, and communication will become a mainstay in the changing landscape of public education.
- Clive Thompson on the New Literacy. [Wired]
- Stanford Study of Writing. [Stanford Edu]
- This Could Be the Year of E-Textbooks, if Students Accept Them. [The Chronicle of Higher Education]
- Welcome to the library. Say goodbye to the books. [The Boston Globe]
