(Is Sweden’s Classroom-Free School the Future of Learning? - Education - GOODThe traditional setup of school classrooms—straight rows of desks with accompanying chairs—doesn’t do much to foster creativity or collaboration. Many experts have proposed redesigning classroom furniture, but a Swedish school system wants to take things a step further. Vittra, which operates 30 schools in Sweden, is seeking to ensure learning takes place everywhere on campus by eliminating classrooms altogether.  How innovative this might seem, it is still the school model. I think learning must be rethought much deeper than changing the parameters within the school model.
View Separately
(Is Sweden’s Classroom-Free School the Future of Learning? - Education - GOOD
The traditional setup of school classrooms—straight rows of desks with accompanying chairs—doesn’t do much to foster creativity or collaboration. Many experts have proposed redesigning classroom furniture, but a Swedish school system wants to take things a step further. Vittra, which operates 30 schools in Sweden, is seeking to ensure learning takes place everywhere on campus by eliminating classrooms altogether. 

How innovative this might seem, it is still the school model. I think learning must be rethought much deeper than changing the parameters within the school model.

Source: GOOD

good: …American educators work the most hours of all industrialized nations, but are the fifth lowest paid after 15 years on the job. Only Luxembourg, Hungary, Iceland, and Norway pay their teachers less. American Teachers Do More Work for Less Pay Than Their International Peers - Education - GOOD And what about Sweden? Are we just not present or are we positioned at the bottom??
View Separately

good:

…American educators work the most hours of all industrialized nations, but are the fifth lowest paid after 15 years on the job. Only Luxembourg, Hungary, Iceland, and Norway pay their teachers less.

American Teachers Do More Work for Less Pay Than Their International Peers - Education - GOOD

And what about Sweden? Are we just not present or are we positioned at the bottom??

Source: GOOD

What Do Kids Say Is The Biggest Obstacle To Technology At School? The biggest obstacle to technology in US schools is not dissimilar from the emerging obstacles in other organizations: not being allowed to bring their own devices and filtered access to the Internet. Despite students’ and parents’ interest, administrators in the survey were not supportive of cellphones in the classroom. “When we asked administrators about the likelihood of them allowing their students to use their own mobile devices for instructional purposes at school this year, a resounding 65% of principals said “no way!” And even within the cohort of administrators that use a smart phone themselves, only one-quarter of them said they are likely to allow students to use their own mobile devices this year.” […] Despite the national emphasis on increased use of digital tools and online learning, students say they continue to be frustrated by their access to technology at school. When a similar survey was undertaken five years ago, students’ number one complaint was the speed of Internet access at school. Now, they point instead to school filters and firewalls. 71% of high school students and 62% of middle school students say that the most important thing their school could do to make it easier for them to use technology would be to allow them greater access to the websites they need. This is a pattern that we without doubt will see in almost all other contexts as well. Or maybe not, because people will most likely bring their own devices and connections everywhere, ignoring any limitations set up by organizations like schools and companies. This exactly why organizations will loose any possibility to control the information and communication context for people.
View Separately

What Do Kids Say Is The Biggest Obstacle To Technology At School? The biggest obstacle to technology in US schools is not dissimilar from the emerging obstacles in other organizations: not being allowed to bring their own devices and filtered access to the Internet.

Despite students’ and parents’ interest, administrators in the survey were not supportive of cellphones in the classroom. “When we asked administrators about the likelihood of them allowing their students to use their own mobile devices for instructional purposes at school this year, a resounding 65% of principals said “no way!” And even within the cohort of administrators that use a smart phone themselves, only one-quarter of them said they are likely to allow students to use their own mobile devices this year.”
[…]
Despite the national emphasis on increased use of digital tools and online learning, students say they continue to be frustrated by their access to technology at school. When a similar survey was undertaken five years ago, students’ number one complaint was the speed of Internet access at school. Now, they point instead to school filters and firewalls. 71% of high school students and 62% of middle school students say that the most important thing their school could do to make it easier for them to use technology would be to allow them greater access to the websites they need.
This is a pattern that we without doubt will see in almost all other contexts as well. Or maybe not, because people will most likely bring their own devices and connections everywhere, ignoring any limitations set up by organizations like schools and companies. This exactly why organizations will loose any possibility to control the information and communication context for people.

Source: readwriteweb.com

College for $99 a Month by Kevin Carey | Washington Monthly

It is interesting to watch the emergence of new models which will facilitate higher and applied education of the future.

I think we ought to extrapolate this one more step. Yes, it is feasible to think that 20 year olds are taking classes over the web for a university on the other side of the globe.

But these models will probably also step by step go down in ages and also compete with schools on all levels. Think of when your 9 year old is not going to a building that used to be called a school, but stays home and, when you work in a nearby room, is attending the best class you could find on the net (and probably the world) for $99 a month which is a learning environment that you can see and actually hear is really engaging him or her.

Source: washingtonmonthly.com%2Fcollege_guide%2Ffeature%2Fcollege_for_99_a_month.php%3Fpage%3Dall

From home schooling to 'unschooling' -- baltimoresun.com

Unschooling is picking up and will probably do so even more when e g

  • the value systems of parents and children are conflicting with government and school ideas of education, behavior and objectives
  • information and knowledge is more easily accessible everywhere via the Internet
  • the goal of attending an education for 16+ years have traditionally been a certain job, a position or at least guarantee a certain income level for the rest of your life - today the nature of jobs is rapidly changing which is also transforming much of the reasons for choosing and finish any education today
  • an increasingly number of people don’t both have 8-to-5 jobs which make it impossible to attend and support children at home

Source: baltimoresun.com%2Ffeatures%2Fparenting%2Fbal-md.pa.unschooling03sep03%2C0%2C7747410.story

Homeschooling FAQ

Homeschooling is growing in popularity and considering that many other parts of the society is being disassembled in smaller and autonomous parts, could this be one serious candidate model for the school of the future?

The control of the nation state could e g be enforced by digitally providing teaching material and maybe even centralized tests.

Another issues is that we shouldn’t underestimate the lower key agendas of schools when it comes to foster good citizens in whatever society you happen to be in. Maybe this is the last argument to stand when the literacy argument have played out it’s role…

Source: indiana.edu%2F~homeeduc%2FFAQ.html