- Preface
- I. A new era
- • Globalization, the first sign of change
- • English - the new planetary language
- • A change in the scale of education
- II. Education and its context
- • Education and business
- • Education and the state
- III. The digital habit
- • The new digital culture
- • Digital projects
- • Time for assimilation
- IV. The extended school
- • Education at a critical moment
- • A definition of the extended school
- • Yesterday: concentrated knowledge
- • Today: knowledge disseminated
- • Tomorrow: knowledge connected
- V. New tools and old
- • Chalk and blackboard
- • The spinning globe
- • Microscopic life
- • Desk and work
- • The computer garden
- • Slides and liquid Crystal
- • Projectors and projections
- • Dry and digital copies
- VI. Digital transition
- • Continuing education
- • Cultural exchange
- • The mental switch
- • Critical thought
- • Internal communication
- • Educational frontier posts
- • Technological updating
- • Creativity and deregulation
- VII. Means and ends
- • Values for today and for always
- • Technocentrality and consumerism
- • Software in the public domain
- VIII. The digital library
- • Atoms versus bits
- • The dual book
- • Digital quality
- • Reading and writing
- • Text and hypertext
- • Consult and navigate
- IX. The home computer
- • A new piece of furniture or a new instrument?
- • Playthings and electronic toys
- • Robots for assembly
- • The silent printer
- • The community network
- X. New instruments of thought
- • Word processors, a new way of writing
- • A friendly mouse
- • More portable learning
- • Designing with computers
- • The golden link in communications: the modem
- • Electronic mail always arrives at its destination
- • Fax, a threatened species
- • WWW: three magic letters
- • Reliable and accessible data bases
- • Tables, abacus and spreadsheet
- • The Scanner, a bridge between two worlds
- • New interfaces and old keyboards
- • Presentation aids
- • So-called multimedia
- • Digital cameras without film
- • Digital videos in schools
- • Music for all
- XI. Presence and remote presence
- • Features of distance education
- • The three generations
- • Synchronous and asynchronous moments
- • Spaces for meeting
- • Classrooms open to the world
- • The advantages
- • New educational niches
- • A new type of teacher and student
- XII. Talents and handicaps
- • The right to communication
- • The obstacle of the keyboard
- • The obstacle of the screen
- • The expression of individual talent
- Conclusions
X. NEW INSTRUMENTS OF THOUGHT
WWW: three magic letters
The www (world wide web) network is a subset of the Internet system that has evolved entirely in the field of communications. As its name suggests, it covers the entire world, and its growth has had no equal. Essentially it consists of the digital merging of text, image and sound on a common platform that radiates across the whole planet. There will soon be millions of webs around the world, covering every possible subject including sports, entertainment, sciences, the arts, trade, politics, tourism, religion and education. To identify these webs requires the use of digital "search machines". There are already very complete catalogs of existing web sites, and learning how to search for information will become an essential component of digital education. It will become like requesting information by telephone.
It should be noted that the www is a true "digital ocean". It is necessary to learn to "navigate" this sea, avoiding reefs and storms. Teachers will be needed more than ever to help students navigating the network to develop a critical sense, personal responsibility and universal values. This "digital hyperspace" of multiple moral and intellectual dimensions appears as a genuine challenge for a full education.
In the digital world everyone can assert his or her rights and fulfill obligations with a freedom rarely seen. However, to guarantee a truly free and genuine education it will be very necessary to participate in the design and creation of webs, at all levels. In particular, it will be advisable to create attractive pages that show the educational activities of our institutions with the greatest flexibility and faithfulness. Learning the language of the webs, its codes and styles, dominating its planetary links, will be a major task for all those involved in the world of digital education. The building of knowledge will, as ever, be the work of all.
