Educational Insanity

On April 16 of this year, I wrote a post entitled “You say you want a revolution?“  In it, I wrote of true visions of the future of education, with particular reference to writing by Dale Mann and a white paper by Roger Schank and Kemi Jona.  I often ask my students to read the Schank/Jona paper to get them thinking about the possibilities for the future of education.  Mostly, my students have visceral reactions and think the ideas in the paper are outlandish and unrealistic.

Outlandish?  Maybe.  Unrealistic?  Nope.  In fact, I just learned that the VOISE Academy opened a week or so ago in Chicago.  It’s billed as a hybrid school, combining computer-based learning with face-to-face socialization opportunities.  As described, the school sounds a lot like what Schank and Jona suggest.

Well, as it turns out, one of the board members of VOISE Academy is…Kemi Jona!

It will be interesting to see how things go in that school.  I’m sure someone will be studying the school; nothing happens in Chicago without somebody studying it.  Some academic colleagues of mine have built entire research agendas around Chicago school reform.  For now, though, I wish VOISE had a better website. It’s a little hard to believe that this particular school launched with such a basic and incomplete website.

1. Tom says:

   September 12, 2008 at 7:44 am

   I’d say that site costs them some credibility for sure. Kind of like when webdesign groups make their pages in Word.
2. Technicolor says:

   September 12, 2008 at 1:57 pm

   I’m very surprised at how basic and incomplete the website is! How can you have a school that is based on technology, but the website lacks technological luster! I agree with you, Tom, they have lost some credibility with me for sure. I wonder how the year will be at the VOISE Academy.
3. Justin B. says:

   September 12, 2008 at 2:12 pm

   It probably has to do with the fact that that website is on CPS servers and there are probably CPS web folks gumming up the works.

   But, I will say, I am almost always surprised by the lack of quality in school district websites. I am teaching my classes this semester at a technical high school, which offers computer programming and networking as well as media type classes, so I go to the website to check it out … and it is extremely unimpressive. Looks like it was made with a $2 template and provided me no new information about the school. I was pretty disappointed.
4. Kemi J. says:

   January 13, 2009 at 12:36 am

   You’re right…it’s too bad the website sucks. Hopefully the ongoing coverage of our first year in Edutopia will be more informative and document how this exciting new educational model works in practice.
5. Jon Becker says:

   January 13, 2009 at 1:12 am

   Wow, thanks for dropping by Kemi. Has there been anything in Edutopia since the article in May 2008?

   I’ve also been wondering if the Disrupting Class folks consulted you and/or Roger Schank for their book. I couldn’t read the book without continually thinking about how the two of you had already written about this…
6. Kemi J. says:

   January 13, 2009 at 12:01 pm

   Not yet… but they are planning an ongoing series documenting the first year of VOISE Academy.

   I don’t know about Roger, but I wasn’t contacted by Christiansen/Horn.

   It’s amusing to watch the attention the book has generated. I guess we were about 10 years too early.

   The sad thing is that most of the online learning that is out there now is just perpetuating the existing models of education – just moving it online. We are missing a once-in-a-generation opportunity to use these technologies to effect true reform.