The World at Your Fingertips

It is a joyous world in which we live. With a few clicks, we can read about virtually any subject, learn how to do just about any task, study the history behind an idea, learn the definition of a word, listen to almost any piece of music, discover what is happening across continents, learn mathematical formulas, read about or chat with a friend hundreds of miles away, study science, languages, arts, business, or health. Another click and we read about politics, fashion, trends, stock prices, food, commodities, ancestry, job openings, salaries, hacking, religion, running, disease, literature, geology, dinosaurs, hiking trails, hotels, campsites, vacations, and motivations.

There are very few subjects that are not found on the Internet somewhere. A click or two and you can learn things never before imagined. While at one time we depended on the expert to tell us how something works, we can now become that expert. The net is the ultimate professor, the classroom, the ideal (although flawed) educator, the avenue for intellectual growth, the global exposure, the social inhibitor and social influencer. When a person is online, he or she has the world at his fingertips. The expert is you.

What does this mean for the future of education? Bleak in many ways, glorious in other ways. The concept of liberal arts as stemming from the Greek philosophers of old, is that of creating the "whole" person, the well-rounded critical thinker, the fundamentally sound learner, the potential contributor to society, a communicator, a person of high ethics and integrity, a strong work ethic, and a person with ability and desire to learn new things and apply energy to the task at hand. Liberal arts should help create imagination, originality, a sense of independence and congruence. Through the liberal arts, we should know how to pare something to its essentials while keeping in mind the whole picture. Liberal arts as an ideal seeks to motivate and inspire people to make a difference in the world. It provides foundational knowledge as a step toward excellence in whatever chosen profession a person seeks.

But the net provides the liberal arts. It is here and now. Get online and find the world. Each day learn something new and discover yourself in the process. The foundational curriculum is at your fingertips. The opportunity to learn something new now sits on your lap waiting for your embrace. Tired of your career? Learn a new one. Curious about a foreign land? Search for it and explore. Not sure about a mathematical formula? Find it and it will be explained. Can't remember who wrote a song or a piece of music? The information is there. Spelling and grammar? No problem. Art, literature, periodic table, animal behavior, social concerns, politics, history? Not even sure what you don't know? Discover your strengths, your weaknesses, your areas of interest, your values. Make new friends, reacquaint yourself with the old ones.

Use the Net to your advantage and learn yourself in the process. Yes, guidance is likely needed and many times we are unaware of what we do not know in the first place. Plus we do not always know what to do with information nor how to apply it to our lives, our careers, and to our own improvement. While respect for those who have achieved in a particular area is absolute, so too should the experts respect the ease of information. We are in a new world where developing the whole person is easy, fast, and highly worthwhile. Students no longer need to have information imparted to them in a classroom. Instead, they need the recognition of what knowledge can do for them, where to find it, how to apply it, and, mostly, how to think critically about the information that is available. Through this process, they learn values, interests, their own gifts, their own motivations, and, ultimately, their own calling.

But is all learning truly on the Net? The answer is of course no, for learning can take place through books, magazines, journals, discussions, social engagements, activity, events, observations, relationships, and human interaction. It is possible that colleges and universities need to reinvent the concept of liberal arts and recognize that developing the "whole" person is a process, not a set of rules, and that the process includes knowledge blended with experiences. Yes the world is now at our fingertips and it is a big world. We need to take the tools we have been given and use them to make the world a better place.