12OCT2014

I would like to look at reusable design or learning objects, digital games or simulations and virtual worlds. I think these combined could be the future of learning. Already there are extremely popular virtual worlds, World of Warcraft is just one that comes to mind. It isn’t much of a stretch from having a virtual world game to adapting it to a learning environment. Young kids are already spending vast amounts of time playing digital. The idea would be to bring learning into the game world. Students learn well when they are engaged, a virtual world where they want to spend time would facilitate learning simply by getting the students interested. 

I could envision a future where students don’t leave home to attend school, they simply log on. The availability of internet access is expanding daily, especially here in America. If there was a nationalized education system that was completely online, the costs of buildings, upkeep and transportation could provide free access to the internet for students. Teachers would work from home also but would be more like a help line call center. This would allow students to work at their own pace, receive individual help when they need it and attend class when it is convenient. I honestly think we will eventually move to a program like this and I am interested in seeing it implemented.

There is always an ethical problem with teaching. Educating the young is the only way to truly continue as a country. This brings up several problems in what do we as a nation want our children’s future to look like? An obvious example of education gone wrong would be the Hitler youth in Germany. Children, especially young children are easily influenced. That can be used to change their beliefs or alter their perception of the world. If for twelve years we told a child Canadians are evil and eat babies, it is unlikely he/she would doubt it. If this were institutionalized, a war with Canada would likely result.

The same ethical problems are present in virtual worlds. What is taught is more important than how it is taught. The problem can be as simple as omitting parts of history such as slavery in the United States. If students don’t learn about the past, mistakes are likely to be repeated. You can see this today in the way news is reported. The same subject will be treated very differently on FOXNEWS and CNN. This is the slant that the network gives a story. The same slant can be included in education to alter the makeup of America in drastic ways.