During a meeting today I wrote an offhanded note to myself that has been rolling around in the back of my mind since the moment the pen hit paper (or in this case — stylus hit screen).
How to reach the goal effectively, screw the established path.
In the context of the meeting, the comment referred to developing a method to reach a class of medical students so that they not only learned requisite subject matter but also achieved an understanding of multiple perspectives and paths to reach that goal.
While it’s a staple of elearning and instructional design, it comes as a surprise to many educators, as well as those not affiliated with education, that traditional methods of instructing students is becoming less and less effective with modern young people. This goes beyond the classic “In my day we didn’t even have calculators…” to the modern “In my day we don’t turn in assignments, we don’t sit through lectures, and we certainly don’t sit quietly through class.” This has been explored academically as well as with new media (a few great examples: The Machine is Us/ing Us & A Vision of Students Today from Kansas State University)
But this goes beyond education.
A new mindset is becoming more and more prevalent as the current generation of digital natives becomes more entwined in society. This is a generation that no longer needs traditional entertainment, no longer respects authoritative studios/labels/companies, and sees no great value in outdated linear processes.
A five second look at the current political climate and a viewer can’t miss the word “change” being tossed around by every presidential candidate. They might not all get it but they all realize that a transition is taking place, a transition that has been arguably most realized by Barack Obama’s campaign. The undercurrent of his entire campaign has been fed by political independents and youth that have never before been involved in the political system. Obama latches on to a very new aspect of this generation. The collective idea that they can create the environment they want to live in.
This same idea is what has brought the recording industry to major crisis management. There is no animosity toward companies interested in bringing popular music to the masses via an antiquated, expensive system but this generation has no need for it, as past generations may have. Not only do they have options and alternatives to the old system, but they can now create and distribute their own content with little to no involvement from labels and studios. If they want it they can create it.
This is a fundamental change undermining film, television, music, politics, publishing, education and nearly every other aspect of society; the walls are coming down — technology is the new medium. The established path is no longer needed. Sure, it’s there and sometimes it’s convenient, but it’s in no way necessary. This is not a new notion and it’s been on the way for a long time now but each day we seem to be closer and closer to critical mass. Things are getting interesting.
