more independent. For most learners,
however, the availability of this information has not yet caused much change. In
the absence of some key learning characteristics—technological literacy, self-direction, the ability to organize information, and so on—most students still
need the traditional mediators of
knowledge.
But the technologies that deliver this
knowledge are changing radically. Visual
and auditory media are supplementing
text resources to make the presentation
of information more engaging. Interactive features provide pacing and individualization. Open-source movements are
removing barriers of cost and access.
These developments could easily make
key elements of our current system
superfluous and will certainly change
the face of education.
ILLUSTRATIONS © STEPHANIE CARTER/SIS
Crossroads
Independent Learners
One result of the emancipation of information may be that capable students
will do an end run around the existing
system. Some independent learners are
already doing so, even without the
advantages of 21st century technology.
For example, consider the true story
of Kevin, a student at one of the most
highly regarded high schools in Cali-
fornia. He was a bright learner with a
low tolerance for busywork. At one
point, Kevin was flunking economics,
even though he had a 96 percent
average on exams, because of his refusal
to glue all of his assignments to the
pages of a notebook to the teacher’s
specifications. Kevin’s parents met with
the teacher to try to intervene, but the
teacher remained intractable. In the
end, the assistant principal negotiated a
grade of C in the class after Kevin won
a silver medal at the state level in the
California Academic Decathlon—in
economics.
