There is the desire, firstly, to democratise the right to knowledge,
irrespective of the geographical location and financial status of the
individual learner.
Secondly, there is the necessity of coping with the educational
needs of the twentyfirst century.
Thirdly, there is the anticipation of doing away with over-full
classrooms and restricted admissions to universities and other
institutes of higher education. Distance education makes it
possible for students to remain wherever they live and be taught by
excellent teachers from all over the world.
In his new book, Hubert Dreyfus raises wellfounded questions about
whether the World Wide Web might not, in the long run, make for a new,
education-level based class distinction.
Privileged students would still be able to travel to the best
educational facilities and have the advantage of personal contact with
outstanding teachers and of fellow students, while many others would
have no option except to study in isolation via distance learning.
Dreyfus also takes up in detail the differences between traditional
education and Netbased learning. He reminds us that the Internet is an
information tool and not a teaching method, that teaching is more than
the simple transport of information, and learning is more than
information consumption.
Learning is a gradual process that takes time and requires
face-to-face contact between teacher and student. Moreover, learning
and teaching have always been projects intimately intertwined with
culture and civilization. Learners are intended to acquire the
necessary knowledge and skills to become participatory citizens, active
in various fields.
In this respect, the Net has its shortcomings, in Dreyfus’ view, for
the very reason that neither society nor our cultural authorities have
endowed it with a mission. Furthermore, what the Net does, is to
replace presence with telepresence, a distinction to which Dreyfus
attaches great importance, because both learning and life require
engagement and risk-taking in a trial by error process.The Net,
however, is an anonymous zone, in principle risk free, in contrast to
the risk-filled nature of the real world. Our actions in the real world
always put us at jeopardy, and require us to take a stand.
Dreyfus details the “skill model” of learning, indicating how both
practical and theoretical education are stepwise processes in which the
learner progresses gradually from novice to master.
The learning process requires us to develop the ability to handle
our errors.This, in itself, helps the learner move from one step to the
next. It is a process in which neither teacher nor learner can remain
anonymous.We are personally present and liable for our own behaviour.
But when we log on in cyberspace, we exchange our personal identities
for passwords.
This, to Dreyfus, is a critical factor. Physical presence is, in his
view, a prerequisite for both life and learning, and we can never get
away from this fact, either in the process of acquiring the most
abstract notions or learning the most concrete practical
tasks.
And still the Net has its fascination – why is this? Primarily
because it stimulates our curiosity, although in a way that means we
become preoccupied with categorizing phenomena as either “interesting”
or “boring”. Similarly, our ability to differentiate between relevant
and irrelevant is impaired, for the simple reason that the amount of
information the World Wide Web offers frequently means that quality
aspects are levelled.We surf, but never dive deep enough in any single
area to have to commit. In Dreyfus’ view, the overarching effect of the
Internet is to undermine commitment and involvement.
This readily makes it a pillow for our somniferous education
systems, with their major problems in terms of capacity and levels, in
terms of both research and teaching capacity.
