Benefiting at work from Brain Based Insights

Leaders at the National Education Computing Conference  2006 focused on "possibilities and opportunities" ... to 17,000 educators and business leaders. Possibilities for using technology to empower learning and assessment… according to eSchool News staff reports sounds great.  Right? At times... though... I've seen these "opportunities" as more pronounced for money makers ... than for quality cognative innovations that benefit learners.

What's being programmed into new Online learning opportunities anyway? Have you been watching to ensure that old methods that failed learners in past... are not being re-wrapped into new technologies that make more and faster money for big business?

While San Diego buzzed with new opportunities from July 5-7 at the  largest educational technology trade show out there… I am left with one main concern.

Are we talking about old stuff of learning which failed in brick and mortar settings… and are we now attaching these failed approaches to Online systems ... with new bells and whistles?

When distinguished speakers urged learning organizations to embrace technology as a means to empower learners, were they looking at how to improve monetary income… more than how to improve learning intake? After teaching at several Online universities... and creating curriculum for others... I see amazing opportunities to convert cutting edge and brain based learning tactics into learning tools…. At the same time,  I also see these opportunities diminished for the sake of standardization which pulls in more money... from more players... in less time.... Are you watching too? 

“ Opportunity was the key word at this conference, and participants were asked to "reframe challenges as opportunities," … to “provide opportunities… and to "transform the ordinary into the extraordinary."

It was also concluded that "If we've learned one thing, it's that technology must be systemic to be effective," as Knezek told those in attendance.

As an Online teacher and curriculum developer, my question is, who creates that system and how can we ensure that the latest learning strategies are part of the plan – even when the money flows at a slower rate until the plan is well in place for all students. My own Master level course is coming out in the fall and I am keenly aware that learners are the currency that counts most if this new movement can create lasting change in a traditionally shaky learning system. It truly is the time for change – let’s not miss it in a race for money without quality learning as part of the mix. What do you think?

What have you seen in new trends toward Online systems and new improved approaches to successful outcomes for learners? Are these two being balanced or is business moving faster than effective learning strategies Online?  Does what we are getting beat what we had?