Infectious Memes

While the the long tail theory (first coined by Chris Anderson) attempts to explain the fundamental changes to the economy brought about through the changing force of the Internet, I couldn’t help but notice all the parallels between the theory and what is happening (or about to happen) in the world of education today.

Governments and education boards traditionally were in tight control over children’s learning. They are the record labels of education, deciding what subjects are suitable or necessary for children to learn and how those subjects are learned (taught).

Text books and teachers are the limited shelf space of education. Children’s learning is today limited by how much information you can stuff into few text books, which in many parts of the world are a large percentage of all the books they will ever read. Their teachers’ (often limited) knowledge is one of the artificially imposed boundaries that they often are discouraged from crossing. And being lectured in a classroom is only method available for them to absorb, internalize and (hopefully) use such knowledge.

The parallels don’t end here. Chris in his book discussed how the democratization of the tools of production showed that there are many more people whose creation is motivated by their passion rather than financial reward. I am often surprised by how many people express their passion to teach, and expect that their passion is no different than that of a passionate musician, open source developer or blogger. If given the tools they will dedicate time and effort to find more ways by which children can understand the world around them and use its elements.

Furthermore, many creative and passionate teachers have no way of having a considerable influence beyond the walls of their classrooms, and many children discover interesting and innovative ways to learn everyday, yet have no way to communicate it beyond their circle of friends.

I believe that the One Laptop Per Child initiative solves two of the three requirements for enabling the long tail of the learning economy. An economy in which the currency is knowledge. It is truly a democratization of the production of learning tools. Not just for teachers and adults, but for children as well.

Learning niches will rise, and children interested in any subject whatsoever, will always manage to find other children somewhere between the millions out there who are interested in the same subject. Their horizon will no longer be limited by the dozen or so text books that managed to get delivered to their village, and their role will no longer be restricted to being passive recipients of knowledge, but active participants and creators.

While OLPC will also start to democratize distribution, it will likely remain an area that will still require much innovation. There still does not exist mediums on the Internet where adults and children can share learning materials. Few shy beginnings exist, but they are unlikely (in their current format) to withstand the avalanche of content resulting from an ubiquitous production tool in the hands of millions of children and teachers.

While I am confident that such tools will emerge, it is important to realize their non-existence.

What is even more exciting about education’s long tail is the fact that for the first time the wisdom of the young crowd will start to play a role. For so long have we claimed that we understand how to best teach children what they need to know, and for so long has it not worked.

Children are born with a learning instinct. They learn how to walk, talk and eat by observing, experimenting and learning from their mistakes. Attention and boredom are powerful voting mechanisms, that children will at last be able to effectively employ to vote in or out whatever learning methods adults push upon them.