urbanization








	Pre-NEXUS Start by reading about the past, present and future by following the above links to Overview, Blasts from the Past, Current State of Affairs, and Future World. You can then explore External Links for Education http://www.agcare.org http://www.agr.gc.ca/agriweb/index.cfm http://www.farmissues.com http://www.ofa.on.ca http://www.statisticscanada.ca http://www.canadianfarmer.com Finally, Participate in Pre-NEXUS Discussions. Refine your ideas and clarify your perceptions via discussions with your peers. You can access and participate in discussions via the NEXUS.eBoard.com conference site (student password = nexus). * At NEXUS, you and your peers will further refine and publish your ideas. Current State of Affairs POSITIVE Research in education is resulting in many subtle changes to the model of rows of desks. An increasing emphasis on project-based learning and constructivist strategies, and movements like multiple intelligence theory mean you are more and more likely to see students collaborating on creative real-world projects. NEGATIVE Classrooms haven’t changed a whole lot in the past 100 years. Many students attend classes by sitting in a desk, listening to the teacher, and taking notes using the technology of the early 20th century…. Pen and paper! Based on Education Quality and Accountability Office publications, you’d have to believe that the focus remains solidly on the three R’s. Can you imagine hospitals and factories functioning along early 20th century paradigms? INTERESTING Many see it as progress if students use new technology in education. Interestingly, this sometimes means sitting at a desk and using the tool of the late 20th century…. The computer. While students embrace new technology be it online chatting via ICQ or MSN; cell phone technologies including text-messaging and digital cameras; parents and educators attempt to ban these tools from schools, rather than apply their use to educational ends. Blasts from the Past The truth of the matter is that in the past 100-200 years, students sat in rows of desks, facing the teacher and a chalkboard, and writing on slates with chalk. Primarily, lessons focused on the 3 R’s Reading, wRiting, and aRithmetic. Does that sound familiar? Future World Too often, our future designs are based on the past. Sometimes it is better to start with a problem (i.e., we have to ‘educate’ young people), and to design a solution from scratch. We might well come up with an alternative to gathering all of the children and putting them into age groups to teach group an age-specific ‘curriculum’. What will classrooms look like? Futurists have highlighted the changes that are slowly becoming a reality. Online learning, collaboration via the World Wide Web, and sharing learning with the real world are slowly becoming a reality. Will high school students with full-time jobs be taught by teachers via the Internet? Already online courses are available to students who seek them out, how long will it be until attending class means using your ‘available time’ rather than the 8:30-2:30 timetable that is put in place by many a district school board. Will we take advantage of technology and have real-time conversations across continents? Education is beginning to ride the tide of "Open Source" free, open sharing of educational materials (MIT already offers its course content to the public!). Will information truly be replaced by the development of information skills? Idit Heral theorizes that we need to emphasize the 3 X’s. eXploration, eXpression, eXchange: eXploring: discover information and ideas, open-ended discovery; children on the driver's seat of their own learning experience eXpressing: using digital media for expressing ideas and representing knowledge eXchanging: asking questions, sharing ideas and working with others What should students be learning about in the future? You'll likely have to consider alternatives to the present education system in planning for the future! Overview Start by reading about the past, present and future by following the above links to Blasts from the Past, Current State of Affairs, and Future World. You can then explore External Links for Education http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/3430/31694 http://ocw.mit.edu/index.html http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/journals/itjournal/1999/molebash.html http://www.plosbiology.org/plosonline/ http://www.newhorizons.org/future/front_fut.html Finally, Participate in Pre-NEXUS Discussions. Refine your ideas and clarify your perceptions via discussions with your peers. You can access and participate in discussions via the NEXUS.eBoard.com conference site (student password = nexus). * At NEXUS, you and your peers will further refine and publish your ideas.

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