Digital Ethnography at Kansas State University

this new library – at least seven million volumes – has become available everywhere. The library has become coextensive with the Internet.

What does this mean for the library as we have known it? Has Google suddenly obsolesced the idea of a library as a building stuffed with books?

Google seems to have abandoned – or ignored – library science in its own book project.

In fact, because the library is universal, library science now needs to be a universal skill set, more broadly taught than at any time previous to this.

we are rapidly becoming a data-generating species.

In order to have a connection to our data selves of the past, we are all going to need to become library scientists.

In this near future world, students are the administrators. All of the administrative functions have been “pushed down” into a substrate of software. Education has evolved into something like a marketplace, where instructors “bid” to work with students. Now since most education is funded by the government, there will obviously be other forces at play; it may be that “administration”, such as it is, represents the government oversight function which ensures standards are being met. In any case, this does not look much like the educational institution of the 20th century – though it does look quite a bit like the university of the 13th century, where students would find and hire instructors to teach them subjects.

The instructor facilitates and mentors, as they have always done, but they are no longer the gatekeepers, because there are no gatekeepers, anywhere

The classroom will both implode – vanishing online – and explode – the world will become the classroom.

Opening education up to market forces is a good thing when the market is a collection of people who want their children to get a great education (parents/guardians). Market forces are not a good thing when the market is a collection of people who want shorter, easier classes and more time to hang out (students).

If it can be rated, graded, or judged it will be. If that information can be archived it will be. If it can be accessed it will be. If it can be shared it will be. That is, as you point out, disruptive.

I read George’s comment with sadness. It does kids an injustice. Most kids don’t like a “soft” teacher. They want a fair deal. Think of your own school days- who were the teachers who inspired you - it wasn’t the guy who wanted to be your friend - it was the the guy who taught you with enthusiasm, knowledge and above all could communicate his ideas to you.