Televised Education without the Television
A thought on our discourse on television. Many people felt that TV was not an interactive medium – rather it was a passive medium that broadcasts messages. It made me think about the history of education. Traditionally, modern education has been broadcast based. The teacher or professor – the individual with authority – “broadcasts” as it were, information to the students, the passive receptors. While there were no electronics it functioned in a way that seems analogous to how people describe television. The broadcast model existed before the television or the radio. Perhaps these technologies are simply manifestations of a society where authority rested in the few – and why should the few not include the television or the radio?
Ironically – in the era where TV is ubiquitous and the Internet almost equally so – at least in North America – it intrigues me that the move in Education is to more interactive models – incorporating small groups, interactive media and the like. It seems like a throwback to the classical intellectual dialogue of the Greeks with a modern spin (AKA modern technology). Do you think that this movement is the result of students being exposed to more interactive media (or at the very least media with the potential for more immediate interactivity) such as the Internet and gaming?
Brenda, very well put and nice connection you make here. This is exactly why TV has always bothered me — it’s monolithic, top-down nature (“monolithic” sounds better than trilithic, as in the three major networks; I do understand that there is such a plethora of “stations” now that no such simple stucture exists — although a handful of media conglomerates do control most of the media — beyond that TV remains commercially-driven, non-interactive and one way). I never cared much for the old, rote style of teaching and learning, either — are we robots or are we human beings?*
In fact, my feelings toward these dynamics truly reflect one of my main life philosophies — that power centralized too much among the few is usually a bad thing.
*I have been teaching associates-level classes the past few years online. The teachers are not called professor, instructor, teacher or anything of the kind (although some students still prefer that nomenclature). We are called “facilitators,” because that’s exactly what we do — move the discussion forward, act as a catalyst when necessary. It’s amazingly effective. And guess what — I’ve learned a lot MYSELF in the process. What a bonus!
Brenda, very well put and nice connection you make here. This is exactly why TV has always bothered me—it’s monolithic, top-down nature (“monolithic” sounds better than trilithic, as in the three major networks; I do understand that there is such a
plethora of “stations” now that no such simple stucture exists—although a handful of media conglomerates do control most of the media—beyond that TV remains commercially-driven, non-interactive and one way). I never cared much for the old, rote style of teaching and learning, either—are we robots or are
we human beings?*
In fact, my feelings toward these dynamics truly reflect one of my main life philosophies—that power centralized too much among the few is usually a bad thing.
*I have been teaching associates-level classes the past few years online. The teachers are not called professor, instructor, teacher or anything of the kind (although some students still prefer that
nomenclature). We are called “facilitators,” because that’s exactly what we do—move the discussion forward, act as a catalyst when necessary. It’s amazingly effective. And guess what—I’ve learned a lot MYSELF in the process. What a bonus!
Interesting comments Rob – as mentioned in our offline conversation this afternoon, the Internet allows us to go back to a community or perhaps a dialogue model of education through asynchronous chat. I believe I called it a technologically enabled Socratic dialogue. Does the Internet enable or undermine educational communities (as opposed to simply education itself)? Is there more learning enabled in a communicative act? And if so, is the internet one of the tools that enables this?
For what it’s worth, I get the impression that Socrates would have been one hell of a blogger!
I think these scenes in Network would be interesting if redone in a 21st century context that included the wonders of the internet and gaming…
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechnetwork3.html
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/MovieSpeeches/moviespeechnetwork4.html