Learning Networks Explained
The Differences Between @lantis Schools and Traditional Schools
The difference between a “Traditional School” and our “Learning Network”
Traditional School |
Learning Network |
| A School is established by the Central Body, Government, Business, or Church to teach what the Government, Business, or Church wants the community to know and do. | Learning Networks are established by individuals and small communities of interest to learn and teach the knowledge needed to help that specific Community thrive in a Hyper-Connected Digital world. |
| A School is One Way – Teacher to Student. | Learning Networks are Peer-to-Peer. |
| A School has a fixed and static curriculum. | Learning Networks have a flexible and dynamic curriculum. |
| A School expects learning to happen in a linear way, moving from point A to Point B in a straight line. | Learning Communities expect learning to happen in unique ways for each learner. |
A School is One-Way Teacher to Student. A Learning Network is Peer-to-Peer
Look at most classes and it is all about the “Sage on the Stage.” This made a lot of sense in the days of physical libraries. It made more sense for one person to go to the library and do the research and then report back to the community. After all it was not possible for multiple people to read the same book at the same time.
The Internet changed all that. Now everyone can read the same book at the same time and we can all analyze and comment.
Youtube is a great example. If I want to learn how to build a WordPress Webpage. I simply type in how to build a wordpress webpage and I get a lot of people posting videos of how to do just that. I don’t need to go to a school to learn how to build WordPress Websites.
A School has Fixed and Static Curriculum. A Learning Network has a flexible and dynamic Curriculum.
The way traditional schools work is they get a class “accredited” by some accreditation authority. Once a class is accredited it is fixed in time.
A Learning Community recognizes that every day new information is presented that can change any number of things.
A School expects learning to happen in a linear way. A Learning Community expects learning to happen in a way that is unique to each learner.
Schools operate on an 18th Century factory assembly line approach to learning. One starts at point A. They take a prescribed set of courses in a prescribed order. And everyone has to go though that same process.
Learning Communities assume everyone’s path to learning is different.
Here is a great video that describes this process.