In the Beginning

In the beginning, there were chalkboards, oil lamps, charcoal sticks, and story circles. Much has changed in education--or has it? No matter the tools we create and use, the purpose is the same: learn more than we already know, no matter what our age, upbringing, world location, or financial ability.

"Mom, Johnny knows more than I do. He lives in a larger cave, with more lamp oil and dry wood, and their walls are easier to write on than our old crumbling, moss-covered rocks."

"Now, Lena, those things don't matter. You can recite the stories of your great ancestors, you have plenty of skins to keep you warm, and your belly is full to give you strength. What you know in your heart you will always know and learning doesn't happen in only one way."

My desk is bigger than your desk. I have more books than you do. I live closer to a library than my friends. I have a desktop computer or a laptop, a PC or a Mac, an iPad or Kindle. I have high speed internet or cable. I have parents or a spouse who keep tabs on my computer surfing--or not.

Perhaps the distinctions have become more refined, but the intention in the new model of education is to bridge the gap for everyone so we can reach whatever level of learning we choose. If we can log onto a computer, any computer, we can reach people like ourselves around the world, in classrooms on every continent, receive live images and carry on real-time conversations with astronauts, farmers, shopkeepers, mothers...the list of opportunities is endless. This is the virtual education world in which I work...and learn...and play.

Johnny and Lena, the potential is infinite.