1. Are we approaching the era of information superhighway?
Today, we are in the primary stage of the information society, and we are moving towards the advanced stage. In the initial stage, we understand the value of information and regard telephone, TV and computer as indispensable things. In the advanced stage, we will plan the information society facilities as a whole to adapt to the new way of life and work based on information technology. This advanced stage is the information superhighway era.
The comprehensive planning of national information infrastructure (this is the more formal name of information superhighway, abbreviated as NII in English) is the information superhighway. The idea of information superhighway was put forward by the current US Vice President Al Gore. Using this name, people often mistakenly think that the information superhighway is the avenue to run information, that is, an optical fiber network that allows large-capacity information transmission, while ignoring various information facilities connected by this optical fiber network. However, for the American public, this name is easy to accept. Al Gore Sr, Gore's father, proposed an interstate highway bill to the US Congress. After the passage of the bill, a crisscross highway network appeared in the United States, and the economy developed rapidly. Gore also hopes that the US economy will make another leap from transportation infrastructure to information infrastructure. Once the information superhighway was put forward, it was welcomed by many people not only in the United States, but also internationally. This natural effect may be unexpected by Gore.
This "nature" is intriguing. It shows that the informationization of human society has reached a turning point, that is, it is necessary to make overall arrangements for social information facilities and build information infrastructure such as transmission networks and exchange stations from the perspective of the whole society. Overall arrangement, the first is to unify the standards, so that the existing facilities and the facilities to be built can work together. Secondly, make overall planning, avoid redundant construction and pursue maximum benefit. Multimedia, computerization, Internet access and capacity expansion are its core issues. Multimedia refers to information in the process of storage, processing and transmission, which can not only be expressed as data, but also as sound, graphics, text, images and other forms. Interaction refers to dialogue, that is, you can not only receive information, but also send it.
We already have a broadcasting network, a cable TV network and a telephone network, which are independently formed, and it is a bit like "the voice of a chicken and a dog hear each other, and the old age is not related." Now they need to be unified, expanded and connected. Television is multimedia, but it is not interactive. Telephone is very interactive, but it is not multimedia. In order to make all kinds of information equipment multimedia, interactive and interconnected into a large network, it is necessary to computerize them. The simplest thing is to add a "set-top box" to the TV to make it interactive. This kind of information equipment integrates various information centers, information transfer stations, information avenues and trails, which is the information superhighway. It will provide a thorough and cheap solution for everyone's information needs.
The antenna terminal of the information superhighway is a multimedia interactive information terminal. These information terminals will enter homes, classrooms, hospitals, libraries and various social institutions and service facilities. On the information terminal, people can order TV programs, attend seminars, book tickets, pay bills, consult books and materials, consult experts, vote, play games and entertain. Special terminals, such as analog terminals, can also allow people to do virtual shopping, travel and simulate flying. The dedicated terminals also include multimedia mobile phones, portable electronic secretaries and portable electronic doctors. All terminals can be connected to the whole information network through various communication modes, and optical fiber communication will become the main communication mode because of its large capacity. Others, such as satellite communication, wireless communication and microwave communication, will be organically integrated into a whole. The network will change from single layer to multi-layer and develop in the direction of intelligence, digitalization, high speed and integration.
The planning and construction of information superhighway has been in full swing, forming a global information wave. The American government has established corresponding institutions and promulgated a series of policies and regulations, and some large companies compete for huge investments. It is estimated that in 10, all parties need to invest about 200 billion US dollars. In fact, the Internet is the embryonic form of the information superhighway. After about 30 years of development, it has connected more than 12000 networks in hundreds of countries and regions, with tens of millions of users. "European Information Space" is an information superhighway project in Europe, which is expected to be completed within five years and cost about 654.38+050 billion European currency units (equivalent to 654.38+095 billion US dollars). From April 65438 to April 0994, more than a dozen important European power companies conducted "asynchronous transmission" technology experiments in continental Europe, trying to provide interactive services and TV on demand services to families.
Japan has ambitious plans to invest 95 trillion yen (equivalent to 920 billion US dollars) to build its own information superhighway in the next 10 year. The "New Backbone Network of Information Circulation" and "Datura Plan" under construction are both steps towards the information superhighway. The "Southern Cone" optical cable project of SAARC is also laying the foundation for its informatization. While strengthening the construction of various computer networks and communication networks, China also put forward the "China High-speed Information Network Plan", and further put forward a "two-step" strategic plan to build a national high-speed information network within 25 years. The "Golden Series Project" can be described as its prelude.
All this shows that we are close to the era of information superhighway. This era belongs to a stage of the information society and has the characteristics of the information society. In the information society, information is a kind of resource, and it is the most important resource; The ability to create and use information is a kind of strength, and it is the most important strength; The information industry and its employees occupy an important position in the industrial structure and employment structure, and will certainly occupy the first place.
The information superhighway era will also have its own characteristics, that is, information facilities will be arranged as a whole, information resources development and strength growth will develop by leaps and bounds, cultural life and cultural exchanges will enter a new level, and the process of human harmony will reach a new milestone. From the socialization of human material production to the socialization of information production, private ownership will further lose its foundation of existence. The information superhighway will change the technical basis of human production and life, and a new way of working, studying and living will follow. Weiner, the founder of cybernetics, once said that information is neither material nor energy, and information is information. His words show that materials, energy and information are the three pillars of modern society, and information should be compared with the other two pillars. In fact, the subsequent social development shows that information has not been "divided into three" with matter and energy, but has become the "axis" of modern society. The operation of information can direct the flow of matter and energy. In modern society, a lot of material and energy consumption was originally for the exchange of information (such as meetings), but because society did not make overall arrangements for information circulation, it paid a price. With the information superhighway, you can save a lot of material and energy consumption. Therefore, we need to adapt to a new way of life and work. For example, online shopping replaces some on-site shopping; Redesign enterprise structure according to enterprise information flow, not just energy flow and logistics. With the rapid development of information superhighway, every subsystem of the whole society will change accordingly. For education, the information superhighway will change the technical foundation of education.
Second, what does the hollowing out of technical foundation mean to education?
Let's first look at two experimental technologies based on the information superhighway, from which we can get a glimpse of the fascinating future of education.
First of all, it is a long-distance teaching system. This is a system similar to video conference. The core of its idea is to break the traditional way of teachers and students getting together face to face. Teachers and students, students and students can not be in the same place, all facing the terminal, and the teaching process has increased a little flexibility. Teachers can choose excellent teachers, or several teachers or cooperate with relevant experts to teach. In terms of students, allowing more exchanges and cooperation between students has also opened up a new world for students to play their initiative. As for the terminal, all the resources connected with it can be transferred to the "classroom" at any time, such as visiting museums and doing simulation experiments.
The original "one person speaks, everyone listens" may become "multi-party flexible dialogue" in the near future. Perhaps the most benefited from this system is education and language teaching in remote areas.
Followed by virtual reality technology. This is a technology similar in principle to glasses or hearing AIDS. The core of its concept is to replace the original information channel between sensory objects and senses with electronic information devices, so that the senses gain new flexibility. With the help of special terminals, teachers and students can "roam" not only in the real scene in different places, but also in the imaginary world built by computers. Although it is in the classroom, it seems to be in the virgin forest, interstellar space or a watch. There, students can poke through the grass and observe a cricket; You can choose your voyage, whether to land on the moon or visit Mars. You can be a doorman in the circuit of an electronic watch and see what trouble will be caused by misoperation. These descriptions sound like science fiction, but they already have the technical basis for implementation. The information superhighway will provide many possibilities for people's development. For example, a virtual school can be established on the information superhighway. This is an online school with no campus and no classrooms. Teachers and students are in their own homes, and students' enrollment, lectures, examinations, graduation and management are all conducted online. Online schools are like correspondence schools now, except that textbooks, homework and test papers are transmitted at high speed, flexibly and even instantly by the information superhighway. It is not only more like a real school, but also more magical than a real school. For another example, at the level of higher education, we can conduct a "talent customization experiment", that is, according to the needs of employers, give students an education that is gradually close to the working environment, and even extend the educational environment to the employer line to achieve a smooth transition in talent training and use. The information superhighway is fully capable of turning the above experiments into large-scale and real talent production. Because in all these cases, it is information that plays a leading role. The main work has been done by the information infrastructure, and all that remains is to make full use of them to create.
From the perspective of talent production rather than educational experiment, we will find its deeper significance.
Material production and talent production are interrelated and parallel to each other. In the field of material production, labor means, especially labor tools, in productivity is an important symbol of the development level of productivity. In the contradiction between productivity and production relations, productivity is the dominant aspect and plays a fundamental decisive role in the transformation of production mode.
Educational means, especially technical means, is also an important symbol of the development level of educational ability. It also plays a fundamental role in the reform of educational methods. In the past, the mainstream of educational technology was to add pens and books to paper. Books, in particular, are typical means of information popularization. In the revolution of information communication means, only books based on paper and printing can be compared with the information superhighway. Its low-cost large-scale printing enables knowledge to spread among ordinary people, making education no longer the privilege of the children of the royal family. The production cycle of books is too long to adapt to the rhythm of knowledge production in modern society. The resource consumption of books is too large, which has made the earth feel heavier; Manual information operation centered on pen, paper and book has not adapted to the requirements of the times to speed up personnel training.
Compared with books, the information superhighway has brought revolutionary changes to the means of information dissemination and educational technology. Electronic newspapers, magazines and books will become an important part of mass media in the future, which will greatly facilitate retrieval, preservation and management while saving paper and typesetting, printing and distribution. Educational information can be flexibly reorganized, efficiently transmitted and processed, with a wide range of enjoyment and various forms. Each one means a huge treasure made up of magical possibilities.
For example, the reorganization of educational information means that teaching materials can vary from person to person, from time to time and from need to need. Such teaching materials will mainly be electronic teaching materials on the screen. On the information superhighway, a series of changes will take place in teaching materials: the cycle of forming new teaching materials will be greatly shortened; The types of teaching materials will be greatly enriched and diversified; With the help of machine translation, excellent teaching materials can be used simultaneously in countries with different languages; In the future, teaching materials will not only contain text, but also play audio or video. The difference between textbooks and procedures will gradually disappear, and future textbooks will contain many "menus" for teachers and students to choose from; The learning progress and difficulty can be adjusted according to the situation, and practice, examination and experiment can be integrated with teaching. The richness, vividness and flexibility of educational information will save students' energy, stimulate students' interest and enhance their learning initiative. In the end, the educational thought with improving ability as the core will become a reality more easily.
The above analysis shows that the change of educational technology and means will lead to the change of educational methods and bring new possibilities for the future development of education. From the way of lecturing, the way students receive information, the way of practicing, checking and participating in practice, to the way of forming teaching materials, the way students learn and the way of cultivating talents, the future education can embark on a brand-new road. All these possibilities combine to form the brightest core in the future, that is, teaching students in accordance with their aptitude is fundamentally realistic.
Third, is it possible to teach students in accordance with their aptitude?
As far as large-scale formal education is concerned, it was almost impossible to teach students in accordance with their aptitude in the past, but it is entirely possible in the future.
Teaching students in accordance with their aptitude is the highest ideal of education. It gives different education according to the different situation of each student. Education refers to the integration of educational content, educational means and educational methods. It can be a macro-integrated educational whole or a micro-educational activity under the overall restriction. Education here is mainly used in the latter sense. In the educational ideal of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude, education should be organically combined.
First, education should be combined with each student's educational experience. The degree, interest and ambition of students are gradually formed in the educational experience. In this process, students show stronger and stronger subjective characteristics and gradually form their own structures, such as knowledge structure and psychological structure. This subjective feature varies from person to person, and the older the students are, the greater the difference. New knowledge and new cultivation factors can only become students' own things through the cognition and integration of different subject structures. The main feature is internal cause, and the external cause of education can only play a role through internal cause. This determines that education must be combined with each student's educational experience. Second, education should be combined with personalized teaching situation. Teaching situation is the synthesis of students' state, teachers' state and the resulting educational atmosphere and teaching environment. It is influenced by both long-term factors, such as students' subjective characteristics, and a large number of temporary factors, such as teachers' and students' emotions, communication and singing level. Specific teaching activities are completed in the teaching situation, so education must be combined with personalized teaching situation.
Such personalized teaching should be aimed at different students, or the same student in different teaching situations, adopting different educational means and methods and giving different contents of education. The so-called different education means that it is an education more suitable for specific students and specific teaching situations.
Because of the above meaning, teaching students in accordance with their aptitude has unique characteristics. This is a finely crafted education, a personalized education, an efficient education, and a more successful education in essence. This kind of education focuses on giving full play to students' initiative, allowing students to explore independently and lead the learning process by themselves. The role of a teacher will change from a leader or a center to tutoring or helping students. Here, give full play to students' initiative, let them lead their own learning process, and combine the strength of students' main characteristics. With the growth of age, students' subjective characteristics are gradually enhanced, and the requirements for giving full play to their initiative are also improving. Encourage students to strengthen independent exploration in quantity and quality. Although the requirement of active exploration is related to the strength of students' main characteristics, this kind of education is essentially oriented to students' initiative.
In the past, education did not have corresponding social and historical conditions to teach students in accordance with their aptitude. Although some educators try their best to create conditions and approach the ideal of teaching students in accordance with their aptitude individually, teaching students in accordance with their aptitude is only an ideal of large-scale formal education. This is because the core of formal education in the past was the batch education model. This educational model is to educate students in batches, which requires a lot of "recognition". A group of students use the same textbook and the teaching is led by the same teacher. Students keep the same progress in the same classroom, take the same exams at the same time, and measure talents with the same specifications ... many concepts we are used to, such as classroom, class, textbooks, exams, teachers, schools and so on. , is its basic concept. The mass education takes books as the core, the blackboard is the deformation of books, and the audio-visual education means is also the deformation of books, through which information is disseminated in batches. Because the essence of batch education is to seek common ground while reserving differences, which is essentially different from teaching students in accordance with their aptitude. This fundamentally determines that teaching students in accordance with their aptitude in the past can only be individual.
Contrary to mass education, it is personalized education. Individualized education means teaching students in accordance with their aptitude. For the first time, it has obtained the realistic possibility in the technical means of the information superhighway. On the information superhighway, high efficiency will liberate students' initiative, multimedia and interactivity will accelerate the teaching process, and the enjoyment of information will promote the optimization of education. The information superhighway provides basic, powerful and flexible information processing ability, which makes the teaching content, teaching materials (if this concept is retained), teaching means and auxiliary teaching means (such as visits and experiments) and examinations (if this concept is retained) vary from person to person and from language to language. The reason why we can give different education according to the specific situation is that all educational elements such as educational resources, educational means and educational content can be reorganized according to the specific situation to form a concrete, "temporary" but complete education.
The information superhighway is about to become a reality. However, even if it has become a reality, all the above possibilities still need to be realized through hard work. This is because science and technology and education are two different social subsystems, and science and technology provide new technical means for education. Only with the foundation of realizing new possibilities can educators work hard to develop all kinds of possibilities and turn good ones into reality.
All the possibilities brought by the information superhighway to education can be divided into two categories: one is to put on the "new shoes" of the information superhighway and still take the road of popular education. In this way, many educational problems (such as prolonged education cycle, lagging education and teaching reform, etc.) may be temporarily alleviated, but they cannot be fundamentally solved. The second is to take a new path of personalized education on the information superhighway. This will bring about fundamental changes in educational concepts, educational contents, educational methods and even the whole educational system. It is inevitable that the information superhighway will lead education into a new realm of "bright future", and the key lies in how our education accepts the challenge. How to change the technical means of education will determine which way education takes.
Once the period of great change is basically over, it will be very difficult to turn from one road to another. Therefore, the development of education is facing an opportunity, which we need to grasp well. The information superhighway has brought such an opportunity to education.