At the end of my last column, I suggested that blended learning
had potential that extended well beyond simply using some
interesting tools and websites in class. Indeed, I would argue
that technology may (and should) revolutionize education to a
degree not seen since the invention of the printing press, ever.
The printing press arguably contributed to the Reformation and
the scientific revolution, two events that permanently
transformed Western Civilization and ultimately affected the
rest of the world as well. The Reformation spurred a major
expansion in the number of people educated, and beginning with
the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment, the range of
subjects taught has also expanded. The actual delivery of
education, however, has changed hardly at all. Socrates taught a
group of students sitting in a room. He asked them questions and
they responded. Is that much different from today? No. In fact,
institutions as august as Harvard Law School pride themselves on
employing the Socratic Method. T