A comment on an earlier post asking if anyone had information about tteach led me to Peter Rock’s blog entry. There, he says of tteach:

Paying teachers through advertising revenue is unwise pedagogy. The site says that “tteach is essentially School 2.0″. Apparently, School 2.0 is really about placing profit over students. gnuosphere: School 2.0 - “inherently self-contradictory”

Peter is building on Stephen Downes’ comments about the idea of “school 2.0″ in general. Stephen said:

Given that the the shift in focus from authority (such as schools) to empowerment (such as for students) is at the very core of the whole concept of ‘2.0′ the idea of ’school 2.0′ is inherently self-contradictory. It stands for the very *opposite* of what its public posture presents. Half an Hour: The Issues In Front of Us

Though this quote from Stephen is also helpful:

The recent ‘School 2.0′ movement is a good example. By locking into the concept of ’school’ the proponents, while looking for all the world like they are embracing change, are in fact freezing the state of education into an archaic past, where the school is the centre and where everything else - including the students - revolve around that central concept. Half an Hour: The Issues In Front of Us

Still with me? I’m not “taking on” either position here or discounting anything wholesale, but I did want to clarify and argue two points, if for no one other than myself.

First, I don’t think anyone is thinking that tteach is really “about school” in any formal way. I don’t think anyone’s expecting to get high school or college credit for anything they learn there. I imagine tteach is trying to establish a way for people to teach other people some of the stuff they know, in an informal, opt-in, online environment. So the “teachers” on tteach won’t have anything to do with certifications and credentials (unless I’m reading it all wrong). The analogy for me is Wikipedia: the editors there aren’t “editors” in any certified, professional way, though I realize Wikipedia editors don’t get paid for the perceived value of their contributions ( … then again, what if they did?).

In the tteach model, it seems you get monetary kick-back if your contributions to its social learning environment are valued by the members. This reminds me of a professor I knew at Mary Washington College. One day, in a throw-away remark during office hours, he said he thought the whole educational system should be shut down and teachers should just hang signs outside their doors listing their offerings. If they had what people wanted or needed, and were good at delivering it, then they’d survive.

I don’t think he was completely serious, but the point has some value. In a traditional, compulsory educational system, it might not fly just right: the teacher getting all the business might be the one that could get students “through the test” with the least amount of work and the most fun. However, if you’re seeking out teachers just because you want to learn something, then I can’t think of a better way to go: start reading signs and gathering recommendations. (That’s how I shop for books … )

Of course, who knows what tteach is really after … so far, there’s just that pretty front-page to speculate about.

Second, I’m still trying to understand the various takes on the “school 2.0″ thing. Is Stephen suggesting that any real “school 2.0″ will be completely de-centralized, free of “curriculum” and other constraints? Because–as much as I support disruptive educational practices, a variety of approaches, student choice, and all the rest–the concept of a “free school” (or something similar) still seems unworkable, at all levels, and certainly on any national or state-wide level.

However, I’ll freely admit I don’t feel I fully grasp this issue and suspect I might be missing some of the important things that are “at stake” here. Clarifications are welcome …

Image: Flickr - mc50 map of FlickrLand by GustavoG

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