Assessment, Networked Learning, and the Old-school

From HYBRID PEDAGOGY:

Instruction does not equate to learning. This is the fundamental fly in the ointment of instructional design, and the epistemological failing of learning management systems and most MOOC platforms. Learning, unfortunately, is something no instruction has ever quite put its finger on, and something that no methodology or approach can guarantee. Instead, pedagogical praxis creates roads along which learning may take place (along with plenty of other experiences); and assessment is merely a system of checkpoints along the way to evaluate how well the road, the vehicle, and the driver are cooperating. In other words, assessment doesn’t measure learning. Assessment measures the design of the instruction. 

Does this mean that MOOCs are ineffective at aiding individuals in learning, or could it mean that traditional educational institutions are what does not fit into modern learning environments? 

According to old systems of instruction, massive open online courses are no different from other forms of online learning (which are no different from correspondence courses). They are click-to-read-the-next-lesson environments that guide readers/students down a specific path where information (in the guise of learning material) has been contained so that it may be mastered. Learning is meant to happen in coordinated steps, and as long as preconceived outcomes appear to be met, it’s a supposed win-win for students and teachers.

The idea that teaching and learning are not the same thing is not a new one, but to those entrenched in traditional school systems it is a scary premise. Much of the hesitation to embrace this change could be based on employment alone. Teachers unions, for example, exist solely to protect the interest of teachers, completely missing the idea that changes in how people learn could undermine the employment aspect of the learning process. 

Could the future of education exist without school? It is possible. Everyone is self-educated. Some learn through the assistance of teachers, while some learn through their own efforts, by doing rather than by listening to or watching someone else. This inherent uniqueness on the part of the learner in itself is reason enough to embrace such learning environments that recognize and cater to those customized experiences. School itself is not necessary to promote learning, it is only one vehicle through which learning is fostered, but should never be relied upon as the sole avenue.