Has Steve Jobs shown the way ?

As I was travelling along my journey with Sir Ken a few things happened. That led to the start of a light bulb moment. The start of an idea or a view point. One of the things that happen was the death of Steve Jobs.

1st lets get's something out the way I am a complete Apple fan and have been for a few years. Have I been hooked by the marketing well maybe. But I like what they do for 2 reasons. 1) they look good. 2) all you do is take them out of the box plug them in and they work.    

I am not going to go on about Steve too much this is not the place. But if you get apple or not what he did was to change the world. Taking technology from being something that sits on a desk to something that we can interact with. Technology is no longer a passive thing but part of our lives.






So my starting point is why is learning too often a passive thing something that happens in given time, date and place. Turn up, sit down and see all , hear all and say nowt (to use a yorkshire saying) Then off you go and get on with it. Often leading to you being given yet another piece of paper for you to file. Only to the used when someone ask's can you go that ? oh yes I can here is my bit of paper that say so.




The second thing was the use of Facebook and our groups online chat with our tutor. This brought out all sort of things and was a very active learning experience.

The third part of this was a revisiting of a long held view of mine. The one that the current education system clearly is not working. Year after year it fails 1000's of young people. How do you know some may say. Well I have met some of them I came into contact with them with my youth work indeed my current work with Young offenders is showing even more to me that something has to change.

The current system as Sir Ken and I now believe needs not reform but a clean fresh start. Teaching in way's that engage with all and help all find their way. We still need to teach the core subjects and everyone needs to leave school with a set of core skills that meet the needs of society and the economy. But its how we do it that needs change. As a county we spend large sums of money taking young people who have been kicked out by schools  putting them in centres treating them as individuals and teaching them in a way that suits them. So that they can go back into a system that treats them all the same and was in many ways the problem to start with. Why ?

One way to start this is using technology but not in way to deliver the same outcomes and get results quicker. But treating each learner as name not a number. One other thing am a total nut about is The Open University. As a current OU student its to be expected. In fact I love it the idea that you can have  a university that is truly open to all is a unique thing and Harold Wilson's government  should be prod of it.

From day one it pushed the boundaries of eduction and flung the windows open and let in some long over due fresh air. If you want to learn they will help you no matter who or what you are.

So my idea is this has technology now made education free ? I do not mean it cost nothing as it clear does and as a social science student I know too well about the social and economic price for many is too much. But what I mean is  has education been set free from the bounds of four walls and dreaming spires of oxford full of old dons sat in their college rooms  in front of a fire having tea and toasted muffins. With Students who will go on to be the next generation of dons.

Technology is thanks to Steve now fully useable and part of us all. The OU know this and just like day one are not followers but leaders. Kipper ties and late night TV shows are long gone they Show the way,  Take a look it can be said that the OU was made for the internet it was a sleeping giant longing to wake up and show the way and wake it it has. The challenge is how to take this and make it the base for a whole new education system that truly engagers with learning and see passed the name and number on a class register. To what is the real point of life the fact that we are all human but because of that we are all different.

No one owns eduction anymore but the system still try's to hold onto the idea of what is best and this is the only way to learn. The options are a given in their world. The cream go off and become Dons, the middle just get on with it (known as wall paper children) and once free from school mostly just survive and the ones at the bottom well they just get left to rot and become someone else's problem. 

Steve and the OU have shown the way the next big challenge is how do we as teachers take this on and make our students learning as interactive as we can.