The Changing Landscape

Have (and if so, how have) teaching and learning changed with the introduction of new tools?

Grigorovich M-5 aircraft (front view) by liftarn

Last summer I read the book The Wright Brothers: The Remarkable Story of the Aviation Pioneers who Changed the World. It is a great read and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants a glimpse into the turn of the twentieth century.

The book tells the story of how the Wright Brothers started their career by starting a newspaper. At that time in the United States, there were independent printers on every block. Many of these were muckrakers and sensationalist publications.

Soon though, newspapers started to consolidate. Being a consumer became the norm.

I can see parallels between the early days of the newspapers, and the Internet as it stands now. Already we see up and coming sites being taken over by larger, more established sites.

Hotel Icon Has Internet In Room by Gerald_G

There are differences between that era long ago and what we are experiencing now. There is a lot of content being produced. People take pictures, tweak them, and post them. People post to forums and comment on blog posts and newspaper articles. While comments are not listed in the creating level, many ideas are created and shared in comment sections.

When will we start using new technology in new ways?

I am interested to see what direction the Internet will take. I think there will always be outlets for people's creativity. People will always blog, or post ideas in some way. More and more news outlets are allowing their readers to weigh in on conversations (which I think in many cases leads to a decrease in credibility).

Is the Internet heading towards more of a consumer culture, like in the twentieth century where people produce less and consume more? 

What are the major barriers to more people becoming producers? Governments? Corporations? Lawyers? 

Our own lack of imagination?

Maybe it will take more people being more connected to the right nodes in their networks to lead by example. And maybe it will simply take time for the landscape to evolve like the way Jeff Utecht says email evolved.

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Blog posts that inspired ...

Lindy Buckley - Better Than Blutack

Crawford Heiz - Connectivism and the Production of Consumers

Jeff Utecht - How Can It  Be March?