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Collins, Allan & Halverson, Richard. (2009). Rethinking education in the age of technology: the digital revolution and the schools.
In this article, Collins and Halverson (2009) discuss how education has transitioned from the apprenticeship era to the universal era. During the apprenticeship era, individuals learned skills outside of a traditional classroom, and the family and community members shaped an individual's learning experience. The Industrial Revolution prompted a shift in education from the apprenticeship era to universal schooling, where the students focused on a universal pedagogy to encourage productive members of society in various disciplines. In universal schooling, the responsibility shifted from the family to the state and standardized the learning experience. With the explosion of technology, education is again at a pivotal shift. Technology encompasses our daily lives: from the moment we wake up until we go to bed, there are opportunities to interact with technology. Technology has shaped nearly every facet of our lives, including how we learn. Young children are exposed at a very young age to various educational technologies such as television, video games, and educational apps that shape their educational journey. As a result, meaningful learning experiences are again wider than classroom constraints contributing to the digital revolution. The authors emphasize the significance of having an approach to the digital revolution that is upon us.
In this article, Collins and Halverson illuminate the conflicts between schooling and technology, highlighting the need for a plan of action to integrate accessible technology in and outside the classroom to the masses. Because of the expanse of technology, learners are no longer restricted to a prescribed pedagogy. Technology allows learners to tailor their educational journey to meet individual interests and needs. Learners are no longer limited to the teacher as the sole expert. Technology provides unbounded access to information, which is incongruent with covering a specific curriculum described in universal schooling. Education is at a fundamental crossroads where we must choose how we integrate technology and ensure it is accessible to the masses. Instead of relying on the state, the learner takes more responsibility for their education. The authors propose solutions for how technology could meet the individualized needs of the learner by putting the learner in control and offering customized feedback, participating in authentic learning experiences, and providing learners with specific learning tracks tailored to the learner's interests.
The COVID-19 pandemic forced many brick-and-mortar schools and workplaces to shift classrooms into online learning environments. As a result, more than ever before, learners are outside of the traditional classroom. In my job as an instructional designer in higher education, I see daily the university's struggle regarding pivoting their instruction from the traditional schooling era and finding ways to implement technology. A significant challenge in my work is working with the faculty to rethink how to utilize technology instead of working against it. For example, many faculty only see the cons that Artificial Intelligence (AI) brings to the classroom, such as academic integrity concerns. The article brought up a significant point that resonated with me: rote memorization and computations are becoming less relevant in the workforce because people need to know how to use the technological resources provided to them. As I develop my research, I am interested in how AI higher education can use AI to promote teaching and individualized learning.
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