The loading dock model of education meets the broadband virtual classroom

by Van B. Weigel

While educators hardly have a moral responsibility to equip and inspire the next generation of note-takers, the familiar classroom rituals of lectures and exams might lead one to conclude that taking good notes is what learning is all about. In many respects, we have fashioned the classroom around a "loading dock" model of education.

First, we divide up information parcels and arrange them neatly on pallets. The goal is to load the cargo in the most efficient way possible (through lectures and learning objectives). The operative concerns are the logistics of weight distribution and sequencing the order in which the pallets are loaded--not how students will eventually make use of the cargo they receive.

Next, once the truck is loaded and its contents have been certified (through quizzes and exams), we present students with a bill of lading (a final grade and an academic transcript) and send them on their way.

Learning, of course, is not about mere information transactions; it is about developing the art of thinking and grasping the underlying principles of learning how to learn. The 21st century workplace increasingly will depend upon the skills associated with managing, applying and creating knowledge--separating the proverbial wheat from the chaff and exercising one's judgment and creativity to understand how knowledge assets can solve problems and illuminate our understanding of other domains. Developing these skills requires practice in discernment and discovery, not absorption and recall.

Sadly, much of what comes to mind in thinking about technology and the classroom remains captive to the loading-dock model of education. Think, for example, of the familiar post-a-lecture and host-a-discussion approach to distance learning. We have conceived of technology as an alternate delivery system for course content instead of as a new and exciting way to create collaborative environments for research, exploration, debate and creative expression.

In Deep Learning for a Digital Age, I explain how collaborative Internet technologies afford us a tremendous opportunity to add depth and dimensionality to the experience of learning. Instead of focusing on replacing the classroom, the idea is to supplement the classroom with "knowledge rooms"--virtual spaces devoted to research, skill development, seminars, debate and creative expression. These knowledge rooms can be created "on the fly" and managed by either students or faculty--with no more technical skill than knowing how to use a Web browser (see www.knowledgeroom.com).

One of the great payoffs of collaborative learning technologies is the ability to structure opportunities for peer learning within course assignments. In many respects, peers are more ideally situated than teachers to render assistance in the learning process--particularly if the proper structures for oversight and consultation are in place. Developing the habit of offering and receiving criticism in a respectful and gracious manner is no easy task--particularly in online interactions. But think of how valuable this skill will be for the 21st century workplace.

Within the next 10 years or so, we are likely to see a major facelift in the loading-dock approach to education. Its new and improved version--the broadband virtual classroom-- not only will leave all varieties of narrowband distance learning in the dust, but also will challenge the economic foundations of higher education. With the exception of top-tier colleges and universities, most institutions will find it difficult to compete if they follow a business-as-usual approach. Why? Economies of scale.

What is the broadband virtual classroom? Let's begin with a field trip to your local Circuit City store. Check out and linger before the new Sony 23" flat panel monitor on display. Imagine you are viewing an engaging and humorous professor while also taking in arresting Flash animations that illustrate what is being said point by point. From time to time the lecturer asks your opinion on a question or poses a problem. You select an answer or express an opinion, and then, within a second or two, the responses of the entire class are tabulated and presented on your screen. If you have a question, you can ask it without interrupting the lecturer, and a detailed written response (which you can review later) will be provided within two or three minutes from a help desk of content experts. You also will be able to participate in a discussion group through a video-conferencing application, and all of the exams for the course can be taken within a proctored environment at a host of convenient locations.

The striking thing about the broadband virtual classroom is that whether there are 20 students in the class or 2,000, the classroom environment will feel just the same. Also, the lecturer could be a world-renowned expert. And, if you miss a lecture, you can always view an archived edition. Also, no worry about taking notes; you can find the lecture outline in your e-mail inbox.

For this to take place, we will need authentic broadband residential access to the Internet (not the constricted bandwidth that is loosely called broadband today) and panoramic flat panel monitors that are priced in the neighborhood of $500. With the debut of the broadband virtual classroom, it will seem like a new era has dawned for higher education. But it really amounts to little more than a new and improved (and less expensive) version of the loading-dock model.

The bottom line is that learning to think involves a lot more than information transactions, and we do our students--and ourselves--a great disservice if we fail to use technology in a way that adds depth and dimensionality to the experience of learning.

Van B. Weigel is professor of ethics and economic development at Eastern University. He is the author of Deep Learning for a Digital Age--Technology's Untapped Potential to Enrich Higher Education published in 2002 by Jossey-Bass.