Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Edith K. Ackermann
To cite this article: Edith K. Ackermann (2015) Give me a place to stand and I will move the
world! Life-long learning in the digital age / Dadme un punto de apoyo y moveré el mundo:
el aprendizaje permanente en la era digital, Infancia y Aprendizaje, 38:4, 689-717, DOI:
10.1080/02103702.2015.1076265
Resumen: La investigación sobre los ‘nativos digitales’ revela que los jóvenes
de hoy interactúan entre ellos y con el mundo de modos diferentes de los que lo
hacíamos las generaciones anteriores durante nuestro crecimiento. Al mismo
tiempo, los nacidos en este milenio, conocidos como millennials o milénicos, no
son los únicos que tratan de adaptarse a las habilidades y competencias que
exige el siglo XXI. Los adultos también se enfrentan al mismo reto; también se
califican como aprendices a lo largo de la vida. Este artículo pone de relieve los
An unpublished draft of this paper appears on Child research net, Japan (2013). Reference
of blog: http://www.childresearch.net/papers/digital/2013_01.html / Un borrador sin pub-
licar de este artículo aparece en el blog Child Research Net, Japón (2013). Referencia:
http://www.childresearch.net/papers/digital/2013_01.html
English version: pp. 689–701 / Versión en español: pp. 702–715
References / Referencias: pp. 716–717
Translated from English / Traducción del inglés: Mercè Rius
Author’s Address / Correspondencia con la autora: Edith K. Ackermann, Department of
Architecture. Computation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 77, Massachusetts
Avenue, Blg. 7- 304, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA. E-mail: edith@media.mit.edu
Not a week goes by without heated debates on the pros and cons of massive online open
courseware, or MOOCS, and the urge to improve our schools (including teacher and
student assessment) in order to catch up with so-called ‘twenty-first century skills’
requirements. At the same time, we also witness an explosion of ad hoc formulas, both
in and out of school: from Kahn Academy to flipped classrooms, from smart boards and
voting handhelds to one laptop per child, from online mentoring services to after-school
programs. Particularly striking in this regard is the widening gap between ‘educational’
standards deemed suitable for the children of the haves vs. have-nots. At the lower end,
we observe an increase in ‘behavioural’ enforcement techniques, including mindless
student/ teacher testing, and drill-and-practice. At the higher end, we note unprece-
dented shifts toward ‘constructivist’ learning. Ivy League universities, at least in the US,
are rethinking their entire value propositions (standards of excellence, learning philo-
sophy, life on campus) in a concerted push to promote anything but the benefits of
knowledge transmission through expert delivery. This comes as no surprise at a time
when previously proprietary contents are now up for grabs (available online). Without
new promises on what’s to be gained from enrolling in expensive educational institu-
tions, learning in situ and becoming a ‘member of the club’, most people would simply
seek to earn their credits off-campus, ‘for free’, on demand.
Something big is in the making at the interstice of free-for-all, distant educa-
tion, and being a member of the club. Yet, the forces that shake today’s ‘educa-
tional landscape’ (technological revolution, commodification of knowledge,
double standards) often come with their own built-in paradoxes, which in turn
can threaten the promises of most well intended proponents.
different from telling pupils to think like the masters. As my mentor Jean Piaget
taught me half a century ago, (1) knowledge is experience; (2) becoming an expert
requires first-hand and sustained engagement; and (3) teaching is always indirect
(Ackermann, 2004). Of concern, in today’s tech-augmented assemblage of effi-
ciency-driven behavioural approaches, unbridled MOOC-o-mania is a further depre-
ciation of the art of teaching itself. As long as we believe that learning occurs as a
result of being told — in this case by first-class talking heads on a screen (‘canned’
sages on stages) — even the best of teachers would score poorly. Not easy to compete
against the cured online appearances of the Kahn and TED-talkers of this world! In
other words, as knowledge itself becomes a commodity to be packaged and sold,
teachers’ ‘invisible’ expertise is rendered obsolete. Everyone seems to forget that
what a good teacher, tutor or coach offers to students is more and different from
instructing or teaching to the test! Time has come to step back, take a closer look into
what it means — and takes — to be experienced, knowledgeable, literate, a creative
thinker or a skilled practitioner; and to re-examine the conditions under which today’s
learners — and teachers — are more likely to thrive or be made to fail.
Also changing in today’s world are the youngsters’ awareness of, and ways of
handling, the growing fracture between the pressures and limitations inside school
(content delivery, grading, teacher bashing) and the promises and possibilities
outside (self-taught PROAMS, i.e., professional amateurs, participatory cultures,
alternative living). For good or for bad, many children these days are pursuing
their interests anywhere but in school (gaming, maker cultures) and, more often
than not, for reasons other than money or job. Most do so creatively. Others may
be less lucky.
692 E. K. Ackermann
Place plays a major role in our lives, and research has shown that people feel and
behave differently in different settings. In his studies on proxemics, anthropologist
Eduard Hall provided countless examples of how human behaviour is regulated
by the hidden dimension of space (Hall, 1969) and the silent language of time
(Hall, 1959), and how culture mediates our perceptions and actions (behind our
back, as Erich Fromm put it) as we move about, settle and mingle in different
contexts. Hall has shown that newcomers to a place often unknowingly infringe
upon the rules and habits that prevail among the locals. Strangers may speak loud
in a café, sit too close to another person or fail to pace themselves properly in a
conversation.
Children hold their own views on how space is to be arranged, occupied
and shared, and how time is to be spent; and it can take a while before a young
child grasps the unspoken rules set by adult expectations in a given context
(kids may giggle in churches, wave at their parents during a school perfor-
mance, and can stare at strangers until they blush). This said, even infants are
sensitive to moods and ambiances. Alas, they are born with a wired-in knack to
keep incoming stimuli within a range, and thus very actively partake in
regulating ambient conditions. And it won’t take long before they too become
experts at the arts of synching (chorusing, give and takes, pacing) and distan-
cing (opening up or shutting down, coming close or stepping back, and
positioning themselves to optimize their level of comfort or engagement).
The children seek corners to rest, grounds to play, stages to perform and places
to return. Children are also master navigators and relentless adventurers. They
feel their way through situations, stake their territory, and venture off to see
what’s on the other side of the fence. And they are world-makers too! As the
saying goes: when a child is interested in a hammer the whole world looks like
a nail.
694 E. K. Ackermann
Figure 2. Where are these people? With whom are they? Photos by Edith Ackermann.
Digital media can offer opportunities for both self-directed and collaborative learning,
can open access to information that might not otherwise be accessible, and can allow
for creative expression in new formats. However, in each of the organizational types
we have seen that the non technical aspects of youth programs — the location and
context, the staff and peers — are essential to the function and success of youth
organizations, even in the land of digital natives and the age of cyber-learning. (p. 6)
696 E. K. Ackermann
● The affordances of digital media for learning within, between and beyond
educational initiatives, institutions and programs.
● The needs, aspirations and values of the community at large and their uses
of new spaces and programs of overlap between groups and institutions.
● The role of school within larger learning ecologies, and the ways schools
can be put in dialogue with other programs, practices and institutions, such
as museums, libraries, computer clubs, maker-fairs and on-line commu-
nities.
One of the important findings of this follow-up study, beyond identifying the
flurry of new initiatives, is to underscore the hybridization and piecemeal quality
of many current offerings, each with their own distinct character, promises, tech-
enhancements, mobile aps and designated ‘spaces’ that learners can tap into.
Another is a call for more systemic (bio-ecological) approaches to the design
and facilitation of learning opportunities that cater the whole child. Lastly, the
authors advocate a need for more flexible yet integrated curricula, as well as more
flexible yet inter-connected occasions, settings and paths for learning out of
school.
In sum, while no one agency or institution can be held responsible for learning
in a digital age (whether it be school, home, museums, grass-root initiatives,
public libraries, online courses or computer clubhouses), this shouldn’t entail
that an unbridled marketplace of competing educational products should be
promoted and sold, for grabs to all (who can afford it). Nor, for that matter,
should learners have to be bused around from one physical location to another to
access what they need. Instead, the school of the future will have to be more like a
village, with no nostalgia attached! Digital mediations will be needed but not a
silver bullet, and learners’ physical and mental health will be an increasing
priority, as will be their environmental awareness.
Beyond sharpening their minds and developing their senses, the learning hubs
of the future will have to be designed to help students reclaim their bodies, rethink
their rapports with others and with things, and learn to cultivate their gardens,
literally and metaphorically. The school of the future will have to be ‘edgeless’ but
it can’t be form-less or placeless! The very divide between so-called formal and
informal learning needs to be rethought (Ackermann, 2012).
From the standpoint of the child [learner], the great waste in the school comes from
its inability to utilize the child’s experiences outside the school in any complete and
free way within the school itself; while, on the other hand, s/he [the child/learner] is
unable to apply in daily life what s/he is learning at school [. . .] When the child gets
into the schoolroom he has to put out of his mind a large part of the ideas, interests,
and activities that predominate in his home and neighbourhood. So, the school,
being unable to utilize this everyday experience, sets painfully to work, on another
task and by a variety of means, to arouse in the child an interest in school studies.
(Dewey, 1907, p. 46)
As mentioned earlier, the places in which today’s students live and learn are at
once the grounds on which they stand and the springboards from where they leap.
They are as much about rituals, journeys and comeback routines than they are
about exploring uncharted territories or being taken for a ride.
In his book Edgeless cities: Exploring the elusive metropolis, urban planning and
policy expert Robert Lang uses the term ‘edgeless’ to describe a certain form of
urban sprawl. Edgeless cities, he writes, are ‘cities in function but not in form’ (2003,
p. 1). No longer confined to the physically defined space of particular communities,
they depend on the transactions that span between them, resulting in a no man’s land
for which nobody cares. At the opposite end of the spectrum, we observe a
mushrooming of professional or educational silos in which people of one kind are
parked together, for a specifically defined set of purposes, at the exclusion of others:
swaths of isolated buildings that are neither pedestrian friendly nor easily accessible
by public transit, and do not lend themselves to mixed use.
The edgeless school we have in mind won’t be a sprawl or mushrooming of
isolated educational silos, but a place-time in Ciaran Benson’s sense. Benson
defines place as a ‘humanized personalized space’, and choses the notion of place-
time to indicate that ‘in personal and collective memory certain places are
inexorably constituted by their [. . .] connections with, and embodiment of, certain
moments in experiential time [. . .] Place situates time by giving it a local habita-
tion. Time arises from places and passes between them’ (Benson, 1993, p. 6).
How to achieve this in today’s fast changing new media ecology remains a
challenge, and the proposed solutions vary depending on who is talking. Some
pitfalls to avoid include: designing for malleability at the expense of integrity,
praising all things virtual at the expense of our own physicality, an over
confidence in the power of smart tools to make us smarter, and an under-
estimation of the importance of place, pace and people in the design of
educational settings.
planning, recording and other collaborative activities. Raised floors can be used as
platforms for performance activities, and staircases as sitting areas.
Principle 7: Design to maximize student access to, and use and ownership of,
the learning environment — The general atmosphere of control that most
institutions exert is inimical to making students accountable for their own learn-
ing. Student-centred approaches require facilities (libraries, CIT equipped areas,
classrooms) that are available to students at times that presently may be thought of
as ‘out of hours’. There is enormous scope to improve the aesthetic dimension of
facilities without compromising functionality. In spaces that students use regu-
larly, particularly those that are department or faculty specific, students should
have significant opportunity to establish a sense of ownership and responsibility
for facilities and their maintenance.
To conclude
Learning everywhere and all the time, yes! Hurried, pressured and out of touch, no!
— Everyone in the future is qualified as a life-long learner. And many of us are
already seeking more flexible arrangements, as we attempt to move on with our lives
at home, school, in the workplace. Questions remain: How to bring about greater
flexibility without losing our grounds and bearings? How to give ourselves (or
anyone else) a chance without being ever more hard-pressured and rushed into a
mindless race that we know is detrimental? What we’ve got so far is a generation of
learners spending much of their time online, perpetually connected and out of touch,
while others (or themselves at different times) are caught hostage in antiquated
classrooms, listening to talking heads. What we are also witnessing is a further
push in two opposing directions: one toward instructionist distant-education, mostly
in the form of MOOCS, the other toward getting people back into place yet with
behavioural trackers attached, to help them navigate the physical world. That’s when
the solution becomes the problem: you take one shortcoming (people are increas-
ingly out of touch, out of their bodies) and you solve it (let them loose in situ) by
loading their bodies and territories with sensors to detect the slightest move or mood
swings. As a result, before you know it, the data amassed by the device jump at you,
assess your performance and offer ‘guidance’ before you even asked for it, without
delays or surprises. While pleasant at first, such mindless readiness to rescue those
700 E. K. Ackermann
who pay no attention in the first place is bound to turn into a debilitating nightmare
over time. And it often does. It is our belief that a supportive environment is one that,
at least, can put you off automatic pilot and back into the driver’s seat; one that is
reliable yet non-intrusive, engaging yet unimposing! It is a place that won’t ignore
you or take over. And what ultimately matters is ‘its’ ability to let us in and decide
for ourselves if we’d like to be taken for a ride or move around for ourselves.
The edgeless school — flexible, yes — formless, no! (Neither walled-in nor
liquid) — Students want and need to share and present their thinking to others.
They are inventing their own ways of moving between worlds — physical, virtual,
digital — and cycling through their days — between home, school and favorite
‘hang-outs’. And in doing, they are setting new priorities on what to carry along or
leave behind, where to settle, store their stuff, and how to keep track of what they are
doing. They are forever travelers, lifelong learners on the go! And like all travelers,
they deserve safe and welcoming landing grounds, exciting destinations, opportu-
nities to leap sidewise, places to return and guidance along the way.
Putting formal and informal education on equal footing, no! Redefining their
boundaries, yes! — The intricacies between formal and informal education are
complicated, and shifting as we speak. For one, ‘formal’ education is formal only
in so far as it reflects what’s taught in schools. Classroom-based, teacher-centred,
curriculum-driven, it requires student enrollment and leads to institutionally
accredited ‘qualifications’. Informal education, in contrast, was defined by the
National Science Foundation as:
learning activities that are voluntary and self-directed, life-long, and motivated
mainly by intrinsic interests, curiosity, exploration, manipulation, fantasy, task
completion, and social interaction. Informal learning occurs in an out-of-school
and can be linear or non-linear and often is self-paced and visual- or object-oriented.
It provides an experiential base and motivation for further activity and learning. The
outcomes of informal learning experiences in science, mathematics, and technology
include a sense of fun and wonder in addition to a better understanding of concepts,
topics, processes of thinking in scientific and technical disciplines, and an increased
knowledge about career opportunities in these fields (National Science Foundation
[NSF], 1997).
Note that many ‘hands-on’ museums, science centres and computer club-
houses describe their activities as informal science education. Likewise, most of
the schools running science labs, or privileging first-hand explorations, describe
those activities as informal science or STEM education. Progressive educators,
like Rousseau, Froebel, Dewey, Pestalozzi and Bruner have long praised the
benefits of informal education — and the uses of conversational techniques and
design transactions — as a means to engage in the co-construction of knowledge,
based on learners’ and teachers’ life experiences. And this trend is likely to prevail
as the boundaries between home, work, school and third places further blur. At the
other end of the spectrum, new training and vocational centres will appear, both in
and out of school as we know it, based on the credo that a key to enhanced
standards and economic competitiveness is an unrelenting concentration on basic
Give me a place to stand and I will move the world! / Dadme un punto de apoyo y moveré el mundo 701
Notes
1. Makers participate of maker-spaces, sometimes called ‘Fab Labs’ (short for
‘Fabrication Laboratories’) or ‘Digital Innovation Centres’. Maker spaces are DYI
(do it yourself) spaces where people can gather to create, invent and learn. In
libraries they often have 3D printers, software, electronic, craft and hardware sup-
plies and tools. Maker spaces are today’s equivalent of ‘computer club-houses’. Like
‘computer clubhouses’, they promote new media competencies in digital music and
video, graphic design, game design and application design.
2. In The Future of the curriculum: School knowledge in the digital age, Ben
Williamson offers an excellent overview of different innovative curricular programs,
such as Enquiring minds, Future Lab UK (2005–2009); Learning Futures, UK
(2008); Quest to Learn, NY/Chicago (2009 to present); High-Tech-High, San
Diego charter school (2000); New basics, Queensland Australia (2000–2004);
Whole education, UK.
3. For more on MacArthur research, see http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/series/john-d-
and-catherine-t-macarthur-foundation-reports-digital-media-and-learning.
4. We used the term as a title to the exhibit ‘The edgeless school’, for which I served as
a senior consultant (1 October 2012 to 19 January 2013). Organized by the Center
for Architecture, American Institute of Architecture, New York (2012–2013), the
exhibit (and a series of symposia) presented over 30 new school buildings for K-12
to illustrate how twenty-first century education has been affected by the digital
revolution and how the architecture of education is being adapted to reflect these
changes. For more info on the exhibit: http://cfa.aiany.org/index.php?section=exhibi
tions&expid=238.
702 E. K. Ackermann
No pasa ni una semana sin que seamos testigos de un acalorado debate sobre las
ventajas e inconvenientes de los cursos masivos abiertos en línea, los denomi-
nados MOOCS, y la urgencia de mejorar nuestras escuelas (incluida la
evaluación de profesores y estudiantes) para estar al día con las exigencias de
las llamadas ‘competencias exigidas en el siglo XXI’. Al mismo tiempo, esta-
mos presenciando una explosión de fórmulas ad hoc, tanto dentro como fuera de
las escuelas: desde la Khan Academy hasta las ‘aulas invertidas’; desde las
pizarras inteligentes y los dispositivos de votación hasta un portátil por niño;
desde los servicios de tutoría en línea hasta los programas extraescolares. Con
respecto a esto, es particularmente notable la brecha creciente entre los
estándares ‘educativos’ que se consideran apropiados para los niños de familias
con recursos y para las que no disponen de ellos. En el extremo inferior,
observamos un uso creciente de técnicas de control del comportamiento, como
la evaluación mecánica y sin sentido de profesores y estudiantes y los ejercicios
repetitivos. En el extremo superior, presenciamos un giro sin precedentes hacia
el aprendizaje ‘constructivista’. Las universidades más prestigiosas, por lo
menos en los Estados Unidos, están revisando la totalidad de los valores que
ofrecen (estándares de excelencia, filosofía de aprendizaje, la vida en el campus)
en un esfuerzo concertado por promover cualquier aspecto que no sean los
beneficios de la transmisión de conocimientos presentados por un experto. Esto
no resulta sorprendente, visto que contenidos otrora de su propiedad exclusiva
están ahora a disposición de cualquiera (disponibles en línea). Sin nuevas
promesas sobre los beneficios de matricularse en costosas instituciones educa-
tivas, del aprendizaje in situ, y de ser ‘un miembro del club’, la mayoría de las
personas simplemente se decantarían por obtener créditos fuera del campus,
‘gratis’ y a voluntad.
Algo grande está a punto de ocurrir en el intersticio de la educación a
distancia, libre y gratuita, y la pertenencia a un club. Y, sin embargo, las
fuerzas que sacuden el ‘panorama educativo’ actual (la revolución
tecnológica, la mercantilización del conocimiento, el doble rasero) suelen
presentar sus propias paradojas internas que, a su vez, podrían representar
una amenaza para las promesas de sus más bienintencionados defensores.
Give me a place to stand and I will move the world! / Dadme un punto de apoyo y moveré el mundo 703
llamar suyo, también es cierto que hace falta una aldea entera para criar a un niño.
Y aquello que es cierto para los niños, también es cierto para los padres, maestros,
vecinos y amigos. Dicho de otro modo, ningún ser humano puede sobrevivir, no
digamos ya prosperar, sin ser abrazado, escuchado y respetado por ser quien es, y
sin que se le haga pertenecer a una comunidad más amplia. A la inversa, ninguna
comunidad o vecindad puede sobrevivir largo tiempo sin la contribución activa de
sus miembros. Según Vygotsky, un niño opera a cierto nivel cuando se le deja solo
(el nivel de desarrollo actual), y opera a un nivel superior si está apoyado por un
andamiaje de adultos competentes. Andamiaje se define aquí como el apoyo que
se ofrece a los aprendices facilitándoles indicios o aliento que les permitan
progresar, en lugar de una instrucción directa. La idea es que al final, el aprendiz
alcance una posición en la que no necesite ese andamiaje (la mera presencia de
otras personas de confianza es suficiente para fomentar la autoconfianza y éxito
del aprendiz). Lo que Vygotsky denomina ‘la zona de desarrollo próximo’ define
esa zona intermedia de crecimiento potencial, un lugar-tiempo tanto mental como
físico en el que la persona se siente desafiada pero puede desenvolverse con el
apoyo o la guía adecuada (Vygotsky, 1962, 1978).
En el mundo actual es cada vez más obvio que los niños aprenden mucho unos
de otros y fuera de la escuela; quizás incluso más de lo que pensaba Vygotsky. Y,
si bien el andamiaje adulto sigue siendo un factor clave, puede que no sea la
única manera o necesariamente la mejor para conseguir un enriquecimiento
mutuo. En estudios socioculturales más recientes (Wertsch, 1991), el aprendizaje
se define como los beneficios personales y sociales que emergen de ‘estar juntos
en ello’ (a través de actividades conjuntas), de la conexión creciente y de
mantenerse en contacto (a través del lenguaje y de otras mediaciones culturales
tales como los rituales y las representaciones lúdicas). Por otro lado, la mediación
de la tecnología hace referencia a las herramientas, los artefactos y las técnicas
(movilidad, ubicuidad, físico-digital, tecnologías punta y tecnologías básicas)
inventadas o utilizadas por el hombre para extender su alcance, ampliar horizontes
y hacer de su mundo un lugar mejor: desde sistemas de irrigación hasta norias
tradicionales, calculadoras o juguetes. Las zonas comunes (en el sentido de una
aldea) son a la vez el contexto y las condiciones ambientales en las que operamos,
el depósito de lo que dejamos atrás (nosotros y quienes nos precedieron), y la
interfaz entre quiénes somos, dónde y cuándo estamos y dónde queremos estar en
relación con los demás. Son los ecosistemas vivos a los que se refiere Urie
Bronfenbrenner (Figura 2).
Urie Bronfenbrenner, conocido por sus estudios transculturales sobre la familia
y sus sistemas de apoyo y sobre el desarrollo humano y el estatus del niño,
también revolucionó la manera de pensar sobre el modo en que las personas se
adaptan y a la vez dan forma a los entornos en los que viven. Con cierta audacia,
antes de la aportación de Bronfenbrenner, los psicólogos infantiles estudiaban al
niño, los sociólogos analizaban la familia, los antropólogos, la sociedad, y los
economistas, el marco económico del momento. La contribución de
Bronfenbrenner consistió en integrar estos círculos de influencia en un ecosistema
viviente de estructuras de apoyo encajadas, desde estructuras familiares a
708 E. K. Ackermann
Figura 2. ¿Dónde están estas personas? ¿Con quién están? Fotografías de Edith
Ackermann.
estructuras económicas y políticas, todas formando parte del ciclo vital, abarcando
desde la infancia hasta la vida adulta.
Dentro de su enfoque ‘bioecológico’, Bronfenbrenner definió un ecosistema
compuesto por cinco subsistemas concéntricos interdependientes que sustentan y
guían el crecimiento humano y al que, a su vez, sus habitantes van dando forma.
Estos círculos interconectados se ubican en un espectro muy amplio, desde el
microsistema de lazos directos entre un niño en desarrollo y su entorno inmediato,
incluyendo el propio cuerpo del niño, hasta el macrosistema de patrones institu-
cionales y culturales (Bronfenbrenner, 1994). El enfoque ‘bioecológico’ del autor
ha permitido a investigadores y educadores resaltar aquellos componentes de un
sistema social más amplio que son cruciales para desplegar el potencial del
desarrollo humano.
La diferencia en la actualidad, en comparación con las generaciones anteriores,
podría ser que la mayoría de nosotros pertenecemos a más de una comunidad o
‘aldea’ a la vez, y que nadie parece quedarse en el mismo sitio durante mucho
tiempo. Por el contrario, parece que vivimos nuestras vidas en un espacio inter-
medio, y nos movemos entre diferentes ámbitos: físico, virtual y digital. Y lo
hacemos a una velocidad cada vez más vertiginosa; en la mayoría de los casos,
viajamos sin ni siquiera desplazar el cuerpo. Estas nuevas formas de movilidad, y
este sentimiento de ‘desmaterialización’ y ‘dislocación’ inherentes a vivir nuestras
vidas en línea (o en esos espacios intermedios) exigen a la vez anclajes más
fuertes y lazos más flexibles; puertos seguros y nuevas rutas hacia lo desconocido;
lugares por los que sentir afecto, de los que partir y a los que regresar (Abbas,
2011; Turkle, 1995, 2013).
Los medios digitales pueden ofrecer nuevas oportunidades tanto para el aprendi-
zaje auto-dirigido como para el colaborativo; pueden facilitar el acceso a
información que de otro modo no sería accesible, y pueden permitir una
expresión creativa en nuevos formatos. Sin embargo, en los diferentes tipos de
organización hemos visto que los aspectos no técnicos de los programas juveniles
— la localización y el contexto, el personal educativo y los pares — son
imprescindibles para el funcionamiento y el éxito de dichas organizaciones,
incluso en el mundo de los nativos digitales y en la era del ciberaprendizaje.
(p. 6, traducción propia)
● El potencial de los medios digitales para el aprendizaje en, entre y más allá
de las iniciativas, instituciones y programas educativos.
● Las necesidades, aspiraciones y valores de la comunidad en su conjunto y
sus usos de los nuevos espacios y los programas de contacto entre grupos e
instituciones.
● El papel de la escuela en ecologías de aprendizaje más amplias, y las
maneras en que los centros pueden establecer un diálogo con otros progra-
mas, prácticas e instituciones, tales como los museos, las bibliotecas, los
clubs informáticos, las ferias de hacedores (makers) y las comunidades en
línea.
Desde el punto de vista del niño [aprendiz], la mayor pérdida que se da en la escuela
surge de su incapacidad para utilizar las experiencias que el niño adquiere fuera de la
escuela de manera libre y completa dentro de la propia escuela; por otro lado, el niño
[aprendiz] no puede aplicar en su vida cotidiana lo que está aprendiendo en la escuela
[. . .] Cuando el niño entra en el aula, tiene que descartar de su mente una gran parte de
las ideas, intereses y actividades que predominan en su casa y en su vecindario. Así
pues, la escuela, ante su incapacidad para aprovechar esta experiencia cotidiana, se
aplica penosamente, utilizando una gran variedad de medios, en la tarea de despertar el
interés del niño en los estudios escolares. (Dewey, 1907, p. 46)
A modo de conclusión
Aprender siempre y en todas partes, sí; de un modo apresurado, bajo presión y
sin contacto, no. En el futuro, todos nos podremos considerar en aprendizaje
permanente. Y muchos de nosotros ya estamos buscando oportunidades de apren-
dizaje más flexibles, mientas tratamos de seguir adelante con nuestras vidas
domésticas, en la escuela, en el lugar de trabajo. Pero las mismas preguntas
siguen en pie: ¿Cómo introducir mayor flexibilidad sin perder la base y el
rumbo? ¿Cómo darnos, a nosotros mismos o a los demás, una oportunidad sin
acabar bajo una presión aun mayor, en una carrera desembocada que sabemos
perniciosa? Hasta ahora, todo lo que tenemos es una generación de aprendices que
pasan gran parte de su tiempo en línea, permanentemente conectados e inacce-
sibles, mientras que otros (o ellos mismos en diferentes momentos) son rehenes en
clases obsoletas, escuchando a cabezas parlantes. También estamos presenciando
un nuevo impulso en direcciones contrarias: por un lado, hacia una educación
instruccional a distancia, en su mayor parte en forma de MOOCS; por el otro,
tratando de devolver a las personas a lugares, pero con rastreadores de comporta-
miento que les ayuden a navegar el mundo físico. En este punto, la solución se
convierte en el problema: abordamos una limitación (las personas se tornan cada
vez más inaccesibles, desconectadas de sus propios cuerpos) y la solucionamos
(los soltamos in situ) cargando sus cuerpos y territorios con sensores que detecten
el más mínimo movimiento o cambio de humor. El resultado, antes que nos demos
cuenta, es que la información recopilada por estos sensores te asalta, evalúa tu
rendimiento y te ofrece ‘directrices’ incluso antes de que llegues a solicitarlas, sin
retrasos ni sorpresas. Aunque en un principio puede ser agradable, esta
disposición irreflexiva para rescatar a quienes no prestan la menor atención, está
destinada, con el tiempo, a convertirse en una pesadilla inhabilitadora. Y así suele
ocurrir. Estamos convencidos de que un entorno favorable es aquel que, por lo
menos, te hace desconectar el piloto automático y tomar de nuevo el control; que
es fiable, pero no intrusivo; cautivador, pero no intimidante. Es un lugar que ni te
ignora, ni te domina, y en el que lo que importa, en última instancia, es su
capacidad de dejarnos entrar y decidir por nosotros mismos si queremos que
nos lleven de la mano o queremos movernos libremente y con independencia.
La escuela sin confines: flexible, sí; sin forma, no. Ni entre muros, ni líquida.
Los estudiantes quieren y necesitan compartir y presentar su pensamiento a los
714 E. K. Ackermann
arrastrados a esa carrera demasiado pronto, porque ello los despojaría de su propia
curiosidad y de su capacidad para mejorarse a sí mismos.
Notas
1. Los hacedores participan de lugares de fabricación o maker-spaces, en ocasiones
denominados ‘Fab Labs’ (‘Laboratorios de Fabricación’) o ‘Digital Innovation
Centres’ (Centros de Innovación Digital). Los lugares de fabricación o maker spaces
son lugares de elaboración propia (DIY, do it yourself) en los que las personas se
pueden reunir para crear, inventar y aprender. En las bibliotecas suelen tener impre-
soras 3D, programas de software, materiales electrónicos, de artesanía y herramientas
para trabajos manuales. Los lugares de fabricación son los equivalentes actuales de
los clubes de informática, Como estos, fomentan las competencias en las nuevas
tecnologías musicales y audiovisuales, diseño gráfico, diseño de videojuegos y
diseño aplicado.
2. En su libro The Future of the curriculum: School knowledge in the digital age, Ben
Williamson ofrece una excelente síntesis de diversos programas curriculares innova-
dores como Enquiring minds, Future Lab UK (2005–2009); Learning Futures, UK
(2008); Quest to Learn, NY/Chicago (2009 a la actualidad); High-Tech-High, San
Diego charter school (2000); New basics, Queensland Australia (2000–2004); Whole
education, UK.
3. Más información sobre la investigación MacArthur en http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/
series/john-d-and-catherine-t-macarthur-foundation-reports-digital-media-and-
learning.
4. Utilizamos este término como título para el estudio ‘The edgeless school’ (La escuela
sin confines), en el que trabajé como consultora senior (1 de octubre 2012–19 de
enero 2013). La exposición (junto con una serie de simposios), organizada por el
Centro de Arquitectura, American Institute of Architecture, Nueva York (2012–
2013), presentaba más de 30 nuevos edificios escolares para el nivel K-12 para
ilustrar el modo en que la educación en el siglo 21 se ha visto afectada por la
revolución digital y cómo la arquitectura en la educación se ha tenido que adaptar
para reflejar estos cambios. Más información disponible en http://cfa.aiany.org/index.
php?section = exhibitions&expid = 238.
Acknowledgements / Agradecimientos
I wish to thank my colleague and friend Nora Scheuer for offering me an opportunity to
write this paper. I am also grateful to my students, at MIT and elsewhere, for being such
continued inspiration as I myself attempt to guide them through their work. I know I learn
more from them than they can learn through me! / Quiero agradecer a mi colega y amiga
Nora Scheuer la oportunidad de escribir este artículo. Agradezco también a mis alumnos,
en MIT y en otros centros, ser una fuente de inspiración continua en mi intento de
guiarles en su trabajo. Soy consciente de que aprendo más de ellos que lo que ellos
puedan aprender gracias a mí.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author. / La autora no ha referido
ningún potencial conflicto de interés en relación con este artículo.
716 E. K. Ackermann
References / Referencias
Abbas, Y. (2011). Néo-Nomadisme: Mobilités, Partage, Transformations identitaires et
urbaines. Paris: Fyp Editions.
Ackermann, E. (2004). Constructing knowledge and transforming the world. In M.
Tokoro & L. Steels (Eds.), A learning zone of one’s own: Sharing representations
and flow in collaborative learning environments (pp. 15–37). Amsterdam: IOS Press.
Ackermann, E. (2011). Minds in motion, Media in transition. Growing up in a digital
world – Areas of change. Paper is available for download at CRN. Retrieved from
http://www.childresearch.net/papers/digital/2011_01.html
Ackermann, E. (2012) ‘Oh the places we’ll go’. Oculus, 74 [Learning Curve], 28–29.
Benson, C. (2001). The cultural psychology of self: Place, morality, and art in human
worlds. New York, NY: Routledge.
Benson, C. (2013). The absorbed self: Pragmatism, psychology, and aesthetic experience.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1994). International Encyclopedia of Education. In Ecological mod-
els of human development (Vol. 3, 2nded.). Oxford: Elsevier. Reprinted in: M.
Gauvain & M. Cole (Eds.), Readings on the development of children (1993, 2nd
ed., pp. 37–43). New York: Freeman.
Casey, E. S. (1993). Getting back into place: Toward a renewed understanding of the
place-world. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Dewey, J. (1907). Waste in education. Chap. 3 in The school and society (pp. 77–110).
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Elking, D. (2001). The hurried child: Growing up too fast, too soon (3rd ed.). Cambridge,
MA: Perseus Books Group.
Gee, J. P. New Digital Media and Learning as an Emerging Area and ‘Worked Examples’
as One Way Forward. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on
Digital Media and Learning. Retrieved from http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/new-digi
tal-media-and-learning-emerging-area-and-%E2%80%9Cworked-examples%E2%
80%9D-one-way-forward
Greenman, J. (2005). Caring spaces, Learning places: Children’s environments that work.
Foreword by Elisabeth Prescott. Redmond, WA: Exchange Press Publisher.
Hall, E. (1959). The silent language. New York, NY: Anchor books. A division of
Random House.
Hall, E. (1969). The hidden dimension. New York, NY: Anchor books. A division of
Random House.
Herman Miller. (2010). Generations at work. Research Summary can be found and
downloaded at: http://www.hermanmiller.com/research/research-summaries/genera
tions-at-work.html
Herr-Stephenson, B., Rhoten, D., Perkel, D., & Sims, C. (2011). Digital media and
technology in afterschool programs, libraries, and museums., MacArthur
Foundation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Ito, M. Baumer, S. Bittanti, M. Boyd, D. Cody, R. Herr-Stephenson, B. Horst, H. A.
Lange, P. G. Mahendran, D. Martínez, K. Z. Pascoe, C. J. Perkel, D. Robinson, L.
Sims, C. Tripp, L. (2008). Hanging out, messing around, geeking out: Living and
learning with new media. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Ito, M. Horst, H. Bittanti, M. Boyd, D. Herr-Stephenson, B. Lange, P. G. Pascoe, C. J.
Robinson, L. (2009). Living and learning with new media: Summary of findings from
the digital youth project. White paper. John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Jamieson, P., Fisher, K., Gilding, T., Taylor, P., & Trevitt, C. (2000). Places and Spaces in
the design of new learning environments. Higher Education Research and
Development, 19, 221–237.
Give me a place to stand and I will move the world! / Dadme un punto de apoyo y moveré el mundo 717