- 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
III. THE DIGITAL HABIT
Digital projects
In our experience as educators, having processed thousands of electronic messages, we have noted that the first improvement to be seen is in the personal relationship between those involved. This is due to the fact that digital dialog is not invasive, not interrupting an activity but rather enriching it. It may be odd, but the first concrete consequence of digital work over distance has been a significant drop in the number of telephone calls. Telephone use in educational establishments is a serious matter. We all know that conventional telephone use can be alienating, as the speaker is always "exposed". On the other hand, in a community connected by digital networks telephone communications are reduced to dealing with specific matters of the moment, while more substantial information is dealt with between persons but only through computers, acting as filters and reducing friction. In addition there is a digital record in the computer's memory that ensures the follow up of each matter, absolute privacy for every document and memo, rapid access, etc. All this encourages a more professional activity.
In the educational system we have confirmed on many occasions that the first to benefit from this new culture are the administrators and directors. Immediately afterwards teachers begin to participate, and the circle is closed when hundreds or thousands of students join the network. One can then witness a phenomenon never before seen in a school. An immense range of interests, subjects and proposals open up. Many of these are revealed for the first time in public, and are exposed to criticism. The first stages can sometimes be chaotic, and it is necessary for teachers to use their common sense to guide (without censure) this intensive traffic of ideas and announcements. There is a responsibility to guide young users along the path of mutual respect, requiring the creation of a digital etiquette that eliminates the need for any of Negroponte's "digital police" to control behavior. The task is not easy and the results are not immediate, but if the digital school follows its normal course, after a while (a year, say) messages acquire a new style, trivia drops off and there is an increase in the constructive participation of students and teachers alike.
Secondly, contrary to what some might imagine, the digital school notably enriches the quality of personal face-to-face encounters between teachers and students, the basis of all education. In effect, when a meeting has been prepared following a digital exchange that is detailed and interactive, personal dialog in the classroom, workshop or laboratory takes place on firmer and more substantial ground. Unnecessary transfers to and fro to take courses are eliminated, and truly essential meetings are used to best advantage. The educational agenda will change substantially when we can reduce duplication in our learning and teaching activities. Meetings will be for the pleasure of them rather than to transfer information. Endemic "meeting mania" will be avoided. The digital school will be a place for meetings, but these will be encounters open to the world.
