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Wikiknowledge, distance learning and open source curriculum.

National boundaries and national school policies are decreasing in importance as new models of organization, learning, cooperation and production (both knowledge and industrial based), are evolving through community, collaboration and self-organization. Students already access much of the information they use in school from online sources. Even the boundaries between when a student is learning (i.e. at school) and not learning (i.e. at work or home) are blurring thanks to new technology. With today’s existing technology, it is possible for educators and students to collaborate across natural and national boundaries.

Open source curriculum is one step in this direction. One such practical initiative is the Bering Strait School District OpenContent Initiative wiki. Programs are also underway for providing textbook material to schools in the developing world, free of charge. With current technology, the physical location of the teacher is on the way to being meaningless, much like the location of call centers. Fostering cooperation and cross-cultural understanding is sorely needed in today’s world. I believe that cooperation on open source curriculum between educators and students in different parts of the world, can help facilitate such understanding.