This site has put forth a very lightweight overview of the possibilities for LMSs and social networking to help K-12 learners acquire, educators facilitate, and parents support the 21st century skills and attributes so in demand politically and economically. It has not delved further into the more complex issues surrounding the ever-increasing presence of technology, in particular New Internet Usage tools, in formal and informal learning spaces. It has not attempted to explore how gender affects computer usage nor strived to examine deeper epistemological or pedagogical discussions. It has not fully discussed the influence of learning theories and emerging practices.
Nonetheless, this site has tried to understand the growing urgency to integrate these exponentially available educational tools in ways that engages and benefits as many stakeholders as possible. The human condition has not changed as radically as our technology: learners, more than ever, need to develop the skills to focus and achieve. Moore and Kearsley’s principles for well designed DL, “good structure, clear objectives, small units, planned participation, completeness, repetition, synthesis, stimulation, variety, open ended, feedback, and continuous evaluation” (as cited in Barbour, 2007), are just as necessary for K-12 learners inundated with information. Subsequently, this site endeavored to explore how establishing structure in organizing and processing this information could lead to a certain level of e-maturity in society. This site tried to imagine an education system where young thinkers could retain their creativity without losing their innocence, where developing thinkers could construct their own knowledge without losing their focus and motivation. The core principles of Mazlow and Bloom will not change; humans still need interaction, acceptance, affirmation, and socialization – even if it’s all through a notepad or a smartphone.
This is a revolution that is happening now. As technology becomes more ubiquitous, so too does our youth’s attitude towards acquiring information. As society becomes more networked, so too does our youth’s ability to connect to changing cognitive structures. In their hands are the tools of their future.
