L4D Learning for Democracy

CREATIVITY AND THE COMPUTER EDUCATION INDUSTRY

 DALE SPENDER

 September 6th 1996

 International Federation for Information processing

 

INTRODUCTION

The biggest business of the future - according to Sir David Puttnam and a

few other gurus -- will be the education industry. As we move into the

information age and as the lines blur between teaching/learning, and work,

and education and the media, the education industry will provide infinite

possibilities for creative people from across the board. (Writers, artists,

sound people, film makers, media researchers, graphics geniuses, animators

-- and computer professionals.)

 

Never before has education as an enterprise been able to amass such a

dazzling array of talent. Never again will it be said that those who can't

do anything else can go into teaching. Education is the industry of the

future and where the hottest people will want to be. Which is an

extraordinarily exciting prospect. It's a mind boggling hike in status for

education.

 

For too long education as a discipline, as an industry, as an issue - has

been marginalised. But, in its broadest sense, education is now becoming

central to our economic and cultural future. Let us just keep in mind that

it is an INFORMATION REVOLUTION we are currently experiencing, which is why

we should expect to find education as one of the key areas.

 

And it is the new technologies that are launching education. Not only are

they putting education into the global context; they are bringing together

the traditional practitioners, and the computer and media industries. New

partnerships are being forged; new and huge markets are being found. And

this is why education is the industry that everyone will wish they had

shares in.

 

And what I want to do this morning is address some of the transformations -

that are already underway. In this period of enormous change, when there

will be some gains and some losses, I want to help frame an agenda that will

be of use to teachers, (although this is a term that is fast outliving its

usefulness), to educationalists, and computer professionals; I want to set

out some of the issues for all of us as the information consumers or

information processors, in the digital future.