“Jetson Students in a Flintstone’s World!”

Posted on July 1, 2009 by Mark Schlesinger

UMassOnline Mark Schlesinger The headline on this post comes from the title of a speech given by an online high school teacher named Pam Birtolo. The teacher and her recent talk received coverage here in this article in the Herald Online. While it is a memorable speech title, in the talk itself she paints a stark contrast between the technology skills and interests of students versus teachers. In my opinion, this is a bit of a stereotype that’s quickly going away. But I have a UMassOnline faculty perspective versus that of K-12.

More important in Ms. Birtolo’s speech, I believe, is her impression of the most important thing she’s learned as an online instructor…

Online or not, learning is all about the connections you make. Learning occurs when connections are made. I think online is the conduit that really teaches teachers to think differently. It’s a paradigm shift.

…and her vision of the classroom of the future:

Here would be my dream: Imagine a building full of different learning environments that are Starbuckish — comfortable — where students can make appointments to meet with various instructors. It would be open day and night. The whole community uses this building — you and your grandpa could be taking a course in culinary arts. … It would be non-linear and not rote. … Technology is not even going to be a conversation because it’ll be in the kids’ back pockets.

From chalk dust, book stacks, and desk-tops to coffee, background music, and couches….Faculty members, what do you think of this new teaching space?