Connected Learning as a Service

This is food for thought and discourse.  In the motion picture movie “The Matrix”, there were several scenes of online learning I think about every time I ponder the past, present and future of learning technologies and the impact on the mankind, society in general and institutions.  The first example is when Carrie-Anne Moss playing the role of Trinity called Tank played by Marcus Chong and asked him to download all she needed to know to fly a specific helicopter.  Within seconds, Trinity consumed the training material and put it to use without the overhead of enrollment, registration, checking pre-requisites, making sure she paid her bill and ensuring her authentication.  The second example was when Neo played by Keanu Reeves asked Tank to download Martial Arts training and the screen showed Ju Jitsu, Savate, Kempo, Tae Kwon Do, and, of course, Kung Fu and Drunken Master styles.  After the download, Neo begin practicing what he consumed with Morpheus played by Laurence Fishburne.

The Matrix is not the first movie I recall with a scene demonstrating the potential of a more direct human and computer interface to facilitate knowledge/memory transfer.  Total Recall, Star Trek and Brainstorm are other movies that come to my mind. Is the vision of connecting to a machine or computer some day in the distant future far fetched?  When was the last time you visited a hospital wing filled with stroke patients undergoing therapy, monitoring and rehab?  The computer connections are all over the body monitoring blood flow, brain waves and body movements.

Imagine the benefits, cost savings and life changing implications we could achieve for a greater percentage of the population if we could pipe knowledge and emulated experiences into someone's brain the way Trinity mastered flying a helicopter?  Sounds a bit draconian I know.  Trinity did not have to lift a book or spend a thousand hours in a simulator or listen to an instructor for days and hours in a classroom.  It's like a subject video offered by Khan Academy that helps one solve algebraic equations very directly.  Sure, the idea raises many fears like brainwashing or question the source of knowledge accumulated conveyed and absorbed - similar to how we evaluate Internet content today or a textbook abstracting historical events, motivations and outcomes. Just because it is on a website or textbook does not mean the information is true or correct.  We infer the level of trust based upon the source and author.  With less than 1% of the world's population having access to higher education (beyond secondary), would it not benefit mankind greater if we consider new forms of delivery that could radically change the way we learn, accumulate knowledge and experiences?

Does the goal of syndicating or spreading knowledge (not just information) justify more radical means of interchange and transmission?  Or, are we (the education industry) disseminating knowledge, validating  learning and achievement - which translates into rating how hard someone works learning subjects as a 

surrogate - comparable or not?  Would the goal of learning and preparing people for their life's challenges (accumulating knowledge through 1st, 2nd or third person interactions) - and leveraging our brain's capacity override our current inefficient learning methods?  What is your initial impression of direct downloading of content from a third party source?  Is it different than accessing knowledge bases today on the web or open courseware subjects published by leading universities?  Is it cheating to skip the seat time and jump to the conclusion?  What is and what is not teaching, learning and achievement?  Is it not cheating to listen to an audio book instead of picking up the book the old fashion way and reading it?  Is reading the book on the Kindle the same even though I never turn a page physically?  Part of how and why we assess learning and the effort foils us.  Learning outcomes and addressing source of learning are details measuring the subjective value, no?

Imagine if our educational methods were not bound by the user interface, time limits and friction introduced by teaching and learning methodologies, communication styles, ego, intellect?  Imagine if we could learn on our own terms - with choices and methods not restricted by those who control information through syndication, digital rights and laws (copyright).  We have taken baby steps - with online self paced learning tools.  They evolved as with all new mediums - starting with crib notes and audio books available on a smartphone or tablet. They are not as radical as the Matrix download, but the objective of new mediums like pod casting is just a small step in the same direction.

Take a deeper dive down this hole with me for a second.  What if we collapsed the amount of time it would take to earn a four year degree into one 8 hour day - and overcome the different learning styles, intelligence or motivation that complicates teaching and learning objectives?  A four year degree is a metered timeline linked to traditional forms of teaching and learning.  It's like a gestation period we have assumed.  The challenge comparing and compensating for the teaching and learning differences - of where and how we learn will continue - as consumers, producers and providers continue to evolve alternatives.

The connected learning experience could be enmeshed with positive reinforcement.  It could manage assessment and constructive feedback.  It could reinforce repetitive exposure.  It could provide a trusted framework.  And, become economically affordable to mankind - instead of placing a premium on delivery and syndication.  That would be totally disruptive - far greater than how photographic film was obsoleted by digital cameras or how Internet has changed the social connections and experiences sharing pictures.  Learning as a service should scale - and not be limited by source, seats or personnel.

Connecting learning as a Service (CaaS) will continue to evolve as consumers accept new mediums and methods - like games on the XBox, PlayStation or Wii - while resistance, denial of acceptability or comparability from those less comfortable will continue.  That could explain why technology has an adoption curve that could span generations and decades - and not just the here and now.