Obstacles To Distributed Learning Communities Through Technology

Technology and education have forever been linked.  From the chalkboard to the interactive whiteboard, changing technology equally changes our viewpoint on how we use it to hopefully enhance education.  Emerging web-based technologies (i.e. Google Docs) provide opportunities to maximize the educational possibilities by weaving them into distributed learning communities.  The very act of sharing a file within Google Docs represents the core of distributed learning communities, which is the emphasis on improving learning by involving others.  Unfortunately, obstacles to this enhanced learning from fusing collaborative technology with distributed learning communities exists in part through the current academic culture of school and the lack of commitment to providing students with the necessary hardware to facilitate change.

The distributed learning community depends on sharing knowledge to benefit the group.  Dr. Chris Dede of Harvard University wrote how important sharing ideas is to moving forward the knowledge of a distributed learning community.  However, students are often told that the purpose of your education is to advance yourself through only your work.  This creates a culture of competition that can motivate an individual to focus solely on scoring higher grades.  The problem is when the competition of higher grades consumes the educational experience of a student instead of maximizing knowledge.  Surely a student that gets excellent grades is gaining knowledge, but imagine how much more learning would be taking place if it was in a learning community that revolved around the constant exchange of ideas instead of a vacuum of academic competition.  Distributed learning communities can breakdown that vacuum to maximize the educational experience.

Technology certainly could play a role in breaking down that vacuum of academic competition.  The problem is that too many students and teachers view technology as something that exists in a separate sphere from teaching.  Technology should be an inseparable part of education to take advantage of collaboration for effective distributed learning communities.  The best way to make technology inseparable from teaching is to have each student with a learning device (i.e. laptops, iPads, or iPods).

The major problem with providing students with technological devices is that there often isn't a commitment to provide the adequate funding to make this a reality.  Funding exists, but it's all a matter of how that money is distributed, especially on a national level.  For example, the proposed 2013 U.S. federal budget by the White House is 525.4 billion for defense spending and 69.8 billion for education.  Technically, these amounts represent a decrease in defense spending and an increase in education compared to past years.  How government decides to use tax dollars just shows that there isn't a commitment to providing students with the necessary technological devices to effectively implement distributed learning communities.  Until such a funding commitment can be made to public education, too many obstacles prevent fully merging technology and distributed learning communities into an effective marriage.