As Silicon Valley leaders, visionaries, schemers (and more than a few crackpots) pitch their plans to recast schools and universities as 21st century learning laboratories, we await the “next big thing” in a space that – despite the risk of hyperbole – literally is shaping the future. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg aims to upend the role of teachers by putting students in charge of the navigation and pace of their learning; Google is flooding schools with laptops (“Chromebooks, of course), apps, and access to high speed networks; and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel continues his quixotic quest of paying students to drop out of college and pursue ambitions that may build unimagined industries. Amid all of the hoopla surrounding billionaire-promises to disrupt outdated modes of education, questions remain about the pedagogical and ethical implications of this high tech transformation of schools into nodes of a neoliberal economy. Data-driven, problem-oriented, and peer-based learning may indeed push the sage off the stage. Yet as faculty and administrators, we cannot shirk our responsibilities to ensure that classrooms meets the full range of needs for a diverse student body. Inspired by that vision, this presentation offers a virtual tour of new and emerging Silicon Valley educational innovations, including a stop at a school without teachers and classes, celebrating the potential but also exploring the consequences of a “Silicon Valley Model of Education.” Along the way, we will compare notes on other global models seeking to transform how we teach and learn. Bring your best ideas, because this is not a traditional lecture. We’re here to share, compare, and explore what lies ahead.
Andrew F. Wood (Ph.D., Ohio University, 1998) is a professor of Communication Studies and Humanities Honors at San José State University, California, USA. Following his passion for international learning, Dr. Wood has taught in Austria, China, Finland, Germany, and Mexico – and he recently completed a Fulbright Scholarship in Belarus. Dr. Wood regularly consults and lectures on topics that include Silicon Valley startup culture, gamification, mediated communication, and intercultural communication. Dr. Wood has authored or co-authored several books on urban life, internet communication, reality television, roadside Americana, and the 1939-40 New York World's Fair. One of his recent books, City Ubiquitous: Place, Communication, and the Rise of Omnitopia, was the 2009 winner of the Jane Jacobs Urban Communication Award. Dr. Wood is a highly sought public speaker and commentator, delivering keynote addresses and providing commentary for National Public Radio, USA Today, and other media outlets in North America and Europe.