It’s been an interesting couple of years for me, wading around in the online education discussions. I’m wondering, though, if we’re making any progress toward genuine reform (beyond what the cool tech tools are and how they can be used … or sharing lesson plans and personal experiences).

It seems to me that substantial progress of that sort requires two steps:

Step One: Agree on the problems (… which is a ton of work: exactly what are the problems, for which populations, under which conditions, and what are the actual causes of these problems?)

Step Two: Agree on the solution (… I don’t think we’re ready for this step, yet.)

I think a lot of confusion and anger is generated in the “edublogosphere” because some people are talking about the problems, some about the solutions, and some about the solutions before really identifying the problems … and it’s not always clear who’s doing what at any given point. I include myself in that. Sometimes, it’s hard to keep it all straight.

What I think is very interesting is the whole experiment: can a million monkeys typing, err, I mean, can a whole bunch of teachers and other interested parties argue their way, through various online exchanges, towards a clear delineation of the problems facing education and then propose effective solutions to those problems? Is the ‘net even the right place for that kind of work? Do you see this actually happening anywhere online? Can it happen “nowhere” … that is, somewhere in the intersection of all the blogs and networks?

I’d like to think real progress is possible outside of particular institutions, but I worry that the prolonged study, research, and careful attention real solutions require might need a more structured environment. Any thoughts? Anyone want to propose a “preliminary cannon” of education-related readings that might help with that progress?

It’s a rainy afternoon here, so forgive the overly-Romantic ponderings.

Image: “Rainy Day” by Cati Kaoe

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