The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age

Jonathan Tarr of HASTAC informs us today of the release of Cathy Davidson and David Theo Goldberg’s report, “The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age” by MIT Press. The report is available for sale in hardcopy or is downloadable in PDF format.

According to the press, the report’s key findings include the following:

Young people today are learning in new ways that are both collective and egalitarian. They are contributing to Wikipedia, commenting on blogs, teaching themselves programming and figuring out work-arounds to online video games. They follow links embedded in articles to build a deeper understanding. They comment on papers and ideas in an interactive and immediate exchange of ideas. All these acts are collaborative and democratic, and all occur amid a worldwide community of voices.

Universities must recognize this new way of learning and adapt or risk becoming obsolete. The university model of teaching and learning relies on a hierarchy of expertise, disciplinary divides, restricted admission to those considered worthy, and a focused, solitary area of expertise. However, with participatory learning and digital media, these conventional modes of authority break down.

Today’s learning is interactive and without walls. Individuals learn anywhere, anytime, and with greater ease than ever before. Learning today blurs lines of expertise and tears down barriers to admission. While it has never been confined solely to the academy, today’s opportunities for independent learning have never been easier nor more diverse.

These issues are not just timely but crucial for the academy to consider, and I hope that we might be able to foster discussion of the report here…