Never mind the technology, where’s the learning?

I’m presently reading Clay Shirky’s book, “Here Comes Everybody“, so I was particularly interested in Will’s interview with Clay that was scheduled for yesterday, and actually took place today. Clay’s book is about how people are organising themselves without organisations.

The video is in two parts.

Part One:

Part Two:

Will asks him some pertinent questions particularly about how the institution of “school” might survive or not in this new world. Of interest was his view that the digital divide is not about whether you have an internet connection, but whether you feel empowered to participate. It’s true that getting a web connection is not enough, we need to be saying that it’s OK to participate. The problem of course is that the culture we’re establishing is not exactly this, as we all have concerns about e-safety, and that can be a barrier to encouraging contribution.

There’s an interesting question towards the end, ‘what if there was no public education?’ Clay’s answer - if it didn’t exist it would be self-organised, and it would be found on the internet.

It’s certainly worth listening to and coming to your opinion on some of these issues.

Catch Clay’s Book blog at: http://www.herecomeseverybody.org/

Tags: Will Richardson, Clay Shirky, interview, education