I think that online collaboration is a powerful tool that education and industry alike should be using more of. I also believe we are just scratching the surface of the potential of these tools. As technology increases synchronous collaboration will be used more and more. I personally believe that Skype is a good start, but eventually the potential is there to conduct more and more kinds of meetings/ collaboration online. Synchronous meetings could eventually (one day) replace classrooms having a huge environmental and economic effect on society. Imagine someone rolling out of bed, throwing on a hat and logging on to math, English or chemistry class. There would be no bus maintenance or fuel consumption, and employees could work from home using less oil still. This is potentially the answer to the energy/ environmental crisis. Not using 1000 gallons of oil to ship a car from japan in the name of not using fossil fuels. (Yes it takes roughly 100 gallons of oil to ship every foreign made car here…. Buy domestic cars, trucks, and motorcycles.) Asynchronous collaboration has purpose as well, but I do not believe that it has the potential that synchronous collaboration does.
Buy Toyota, it's more American made than most domestic vehicles.
ReplyDeleteI hadn't thought about the environmental aspect at all. That's a fantastic possibility and should be viewed as more than just a side benefit.
I wonder if school will exist in anything even resembling the form I grew up with by the time I'm in my 70s or 80s.
Joe Greene
Interesting future concept for education. I was just telling someone earlier today that I felt telecommuting would be the professional norm withing twenty years. Similar economic benefits occur to your picture of education. Reduced commuting, oil dependency, pollution, building footprints, road footprints. Reduced requirements for corporate physical infrastructure and investment as well as reduced government cost in physical infrastructure and investment. We could end foreign oil dependency, balance the national budget, address the trade deficit, and make corporate America more profitable, all with one cultural correction.
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ReplyDeleteThe Prius is not American made.
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