Texts:1991 The Cumulative Curriculum: Difference between revisions

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These, and many similar questions, need serious examination in order to broaden the motivational energies effectively harnessed in a technology-intensive educational system.

<ref>In an educational context, "eultureM re:sulb from a selection and evaluation of the sum of human acquirements, narrowing the infinite range of possibilities to a finite field, one that nevertheless exceeds the power of acquisition of any individual by a wide margin. The effort to organize culture and knowledge through this project will take place in a context set in part by disagreements between proponenb of "culturalliteracy,N a fairly narrow, canonical selection, and "multicultural" approaches, a broader, indusive selection. We do not intend to define what we mean by Mculture" relative to this polarity as if the positions within it stand above the material limitations of particular implementations of education. Instead, we think the terms of the debate between cultural literacy and mutticuhural education will be reshaped substantially by the development on a new system of education that use:s information technologies with full effect.</ref>

<h3>Organizing Culture<ref>In an educational context, "eultureM re:sulb from a selection and evaluation of the sum of human acquirements, narrowing the infinite range of possibilities to a finite field, one that nevertheless exceeds the power of acquisition of any individual by a wide margin. The effort to organize culture and knowledge through this project will take place in a context set in part by disagreements between proponenb of "culturalliteracy,N a fairly narrow, canonical selection, and "multicultural" approaches, a broader, indusive selection. We do not intend to define what we mean by Mculture" relative to this polarity as if the positions within it stand above the material limitations of particular implementations of education. Instead, we think the terms of the debate between cultural literacy and mutticuhural education will be reshaped substantially by the development on a new system of education that use:s information technologies with full effect.</ref> and Knowledge</h3>

~~<h3>Organizing Culture</span~~> and Knowledge</h3>

We speak of the print-based school because printed materials have been the main medium for making culture and knowledge accessible to students. So long as there has been no alternative to this reliance on printed materials, educators have paid close attention to the pedagogical features of one text compared to another, but there has been little attention to the pedagogical character of printed text, per se.

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In addition to potentially making the content of the curriculum accessible to children in a much more cumulative way, we should note another, profoundly important structural effect on subject-matter that the new technologies will have. For five centuries, written materials have been the main channels of access to culturally significant knowledge. This dominance of wntten communication arose because printed texts developed a level of accessibility radically different from other modes of embodying cultural expression. Access to printed materials could be general, efficient, and enduring. Access to other forms of cultural embodiment was comparatively restricted, troublesome, and transient.

<ref>Engravings, woodcuts, and other forms of printed images are a partial exception to this assertion, except that accessing them requires one to manipulate the written language, not pictortal images. Thus, to retrieve pictures of 01artres Cathedral, one must use written catalogues and indexes.</ref>

To grasp this point, consider the theater, the drama, and its place in education. Multi-media are not new. Their significance pedagogically has grown of late. One often encounters the text of Shakespeare's Hamlet and other great plays as works taught within the curriculum. Productions of one or another play may be significant extracurricular activities in schools, and students may be encouraged to see a professional staging of them, should such performances be accessible in their locale. Nevertheless, the performances, whether student produced or professionally produced, have not been the central educational use of the drama during the era of pnnt because access to the performance has been highly idiosyncratic and temporary, whereas access to the text of the play would be general and enduring. In the era of print, wntten materials have dominated educational effort from the most elementary to the most advanced levels because these have been the materials to which access has been general, efficient, and endunng.<ref>Engravings, woodcuts, and other forms of printed images are a partial exception to this assertion, except that accessing them requires one to manipulate the written language, not pictortal images. Thus, to retrieve pictures of 01artres Cathedral, one must use written catalogues and indexes.</ref> A radical departure is afoot because now electronic information technologies can provide general, efficient, and endunng access to a much broader range of culturally significant materials: recorded performances of the play can be as easily retrieved as its text. The educational consequences of this development will be vast.

To grasp this point, consider the theater, the drama, and its place in education. Multi-media are not new. Their significance pedagogically has grown of late. One often encounters the text of Shakespeare's Hamlet and other great plays as works taught within the curriculum. Productions of one or another play may be significant extracurricular activities in schools, and students may be encouraged to see a professional staging of them, should such performances be accessible in their locale. Nevertheless, the performances, whether student produced or professionally produced, have not been the central educational use of the drama during the era of pnnt because access to the performance has been highly idiosyncratic and temporary, whereas access to the text of the play would be general and enduring. In the era of print, wntten materials have dominated educational effort from the most elementary to the most advanced levels because these have been the materials to which access has been general, efficient, and endunng.<~~span class="cite"~~></~~span~~> A radical departure is afoot because now electronic information technologies can provide general, efficient, and endunng access to a much broader range of culturally significant materials: recorded performances of the play can be as easily retrieved as its text. The educational consequences of this development will be vast.

<ref>"Verbalization" here refers not only to the spoken word, but even more essentially to the written word and even conceptualizations communicated through the symbolic notations of mathematics and the like. In its most comprehensive form, the basic proposition of verbalization is that higher· order thinking consists in manipulating symbolic notations.</ref>

Networked, multi-media electronic systems provide general, efficient, and enduring access to cultural works of nearly every form conceivable. In the era of print, written works had a supenor cultural usefulness than other resources. People could distribute, store, cite, retrieve, and use printed resources far more effectively than they could work with other forms of cultural expression. Essentially, one has long been able to refer other people to printed materials without knowing the particular physical location of the particular instance of the material that people will consult, for one cites ednions -- Plato, The Republic, Book IX, 592b -- the numerous instances of which are scattered at many places. Paintings, plays, sculptures, and buildings, in contrast, cannot be referenced in this generalized way -- they exist in unique locations and access to them can require taxing trips, even a pilgrimage. Owing to this supenor accessibilny, printed materials, usually wntten materials, have more and more mediated the production and communication of knowledge in modem culture. Let us sum up this development: in the era of print, verbalization increasingly dominated education.<~~span class=~~"~~cite~~"></~~span~~>

Networked, multi-media electronic systems provide general, efficient, and enduring access to cultural works of nearly every form conceivable. In the era of print, written works had a supenor cultural usefulness than other resources. People could distribute, store, cite, retrieve, and use printed resources far more effectively than they could work with other forms of cultural expression. Essentially, one has long been able to refer other people to printed materials without knowing the particular physical location of the particular instance of the material that people will consult, for one cites ednions -- Plato, The Republic, Book IX, 592b -- the numerous instances of which are scattered at many places. Paintings, plays, sculptures, and buildings, in contrast, cannot be referenced in this generalized way -- they exist in unique locations and access to them can require taxing trips, even a pilgrimage. Owing to this supenor accessibilny, printed materials, usually wntten materials, have more and more mediated the production and communication of knowledge in modem culture. Let us sum up this development: in the era of print, verbalization increasingly dominated education.<ref>"Verbalization" here refers not only to the spoken word, but even more essentially to the written word and even conceptualizations communicated through the symbolic notations of mathematics and the like. In its most comprehensive form, the basic proposition of verbalization is that higher· order thinking consists in manipulating symbolic notations.</ref>

<ref>More rigorously, video tape has so far initiated only half the process. The superior accessibility of printed materials has rested on two related, but different, techniques •• title pages and pagination. T.Ue pages allow people in many places at many times to easily gain access to the same work. This can be immensely helpful, but if the work in question is large and complex, it still leaves people with a diffiruh problem of Ngetting to the point." Pagination within the edition solves this problem, allowing a reader not only to get to the right work, but also to the right place in the work, with eaae. The commercial availability of videotapes allows a community of viewers, dispersed in time and $p8C8, easy access to the same film, exacdy as a community of readers, dispersed over centuries, have had with important books. The second technique, analogous to pagination, has not generally been reached, however, evan though technically it is a trivial task to put searchable timecode on the tape. Videodisc and the full conver$ion of analog media to digital form are rapidly completing the second stage of retrievability.

@@ Line 119: / Line 119: @@
 <p>These, and many similar questions, need serious examination in order to broaden the motivational energies effectively harnessed in a technology-intensive educational system.</p>
-<ref>In an educational context, "eultureM re:sulb from a selection and evaluation of the sum of human acquirements, narrowing the infinite range of possibilities to a finite field, one that nevertheless exceeds the power of acquisition of any individual by a wide margin. The effort to organize culture and knowledge through this project will take place in a context set in part by disagreements between proponenb of "culturalliteracy,N a fairly narrow, canonical selection, and "multicultural" approaches, a broader, indusive selection. We do not intend to define what we mean by Mculture" relative to this polarity as if the positions within it stand above the material limitations of particular implementations of education. Instead, we think the terms of the debate between cultural literacy and mutticuhural education will be reshaped substantially by the development on a new system of education that use:s information technologies with full effect.</ref>
+<h3>Organizing Culture<ref>In an educational context, "eultureM re:sulb from a selection and evaluation of the sum of human acquirements, narrowing the infinite range of possibilities to a finite field, one that nevertheless exceeds the power of acquisition of any individual by a wide margin. The effort to organize culture and knowledge through this project will take place in a context set in part by disagreements between proponenb of "culturalliteracy,N a fairly narrow, canonical selection, and "multicultural" approaches, a broader, indusive selection. We do not intend to define what we mean by Mculture" relative to this polarity as if the positions within it stand above the material limitations of particular implementations of education. Instead, we think the terms of the debate between cultural literacy and mutticuhural education will be reshaped substantially by the development on a new system of education that use:s information technologies with full effect.</ref> and Knowledge</h3>
-<h3>Organizing Culture<span class="cite"></span> and Knowledge</h3>
 <p>We speak of the print-based school because printed materials have been the main medium for making culture and knowledge accessible to students. So long as there has been no alternative to this reliance on printed materials, educators have paid close attention to the pedagogical features of one text compared to another, but there has been little attention to the pedagogical character of printed text, per se.</p>
@@ Line 139: / Line 137: @@
 <p>In addition to potentially making the content of the curriculum accessible to children in a much more cumulative way, we should note another, profoundly important structural effect on subject-matter that the new technologies will have. For five centuries, written materials have been the main channels of access to culturally significant knowledge. This dominance of wntten communication arose because printed texts developed a level of accessibility radically different from other modes of embodying cultural expression. Access to printed materials could be general, efficient, and enduring. Access to other forms of cultural embodiment was comparatively restricted, troublesome, and transient.</p>
-<ref>Engravings, woodcuts, and other forms of printed images are a partial exception to this assertion, except that accessing them requires one to manipulate the written language, not pictortal images. Thus, to retrieve pictures of 01artres Cathedral, one must use written catalogues and indexes.</ref>
+<p>To grasp this point, consider the theater, the drama, and its place in education. Multi-media are not new. Their significance pedagogically has grown of late. One often encounters the text of Shakespeare's Hamlet and other great plays as works taught within the curriculum. Productions of one or another play may be significant extracurricular activities in schools, and students may be encouraged to see a professional staging of them, should such performances be accessible in their locale. Nevertheless, the performances, whether student produced or professionally produced, have not been the central educational use of the drama during the era of pnnt because access to the performance has been highly idiosyncratic and temporary, whereas access to the text of the play would be general and enduring. In the era of print, wntten materials have dominated educational effort from the most elementary to the most advanced levels because these have been the materials to which access has been general, efficient, and endunng.<ref>Engravings, woodcuts, and other forms of printed images are a partial exception to this assertion, except that accessing them requires one to manipulate the written language, not pictortal images. Thus, to retrieve pictures of 01artres Cathedral, one must use written catalogues and indexes.</ref> A radical departure is afoot because now electronic information technologies can provide general, efficient, and endunng access to a much broader range of culturally significant materials: recorded performances of the play can be as easily retrieved as its text. The educational consequences of this development will be vast.</p>
-<p>To grasp this point, consider the theater, the drama, and its place in education. Multi-media are not new. Their significance pedagogically has grown of late. One often encounters the text of Shakespeare's Hamlet and other great plays as works taught within the curriculum. Productions of one or another play may be significant extracurricular activities in schools, and students may be encouraged to see a professional staging of them, should such performances be accessible in their locale. Nevertheless, the performances, whether student produced or professionally produced, have not been the central educational use of the drama during the era of pnnt because access to the performance has been highly idiosyncratic and temporary, whereas access to the text of the play would be general and enduring. In the era of print, wntten materials have dominated educational effort from the most elementary to the most advanced levels because these have been the materials to which access has been general, efficient, and endunng.<span class="cite"></span> A radical departure is afoot because now electronic information technologies can provide general, efficient, and endunng access to a much broader range of culturally significant materials: recorded performances of the play can be as easily retrieved as its text. The educational consequences of this development will be vast.</p>
-<ref>"Verbalization" here refers not only to the spoken word, but even more essentially to the written word and even conceptualizations communicated through the symbolic notations of mathematics and the like. In its most comprehensive form, the basic proposition of verbalization is that higher· order thinking consists in manipulating symbolic notations.</ref>
-<p>Networked, multi-media electronic systems provide general, efficient, and enduring access to cultural works of nearly every form conceivable. In the era of print, written works had a supenor cultural usefulness than other resources. People could distribute, store, cite, retrieve, and use printed resources far more effectively than they could work with other forms of cultural expression. Essentially, one has long been able to refer other people to printed materials without knowing the particular physical location of the particular instance of the material that people will consult, for one cites ednions -- Plato, <i>The Republic</i>, Book IX, 592b -- the numerous instances of which are scattered at many places. Paintings, plays, sculptures, and buildings, in contrast, cannot be referenced in this generalized way -- they exist in unique locations and access to them can require taxing trips, even a pilgrimage. Owing to this supenor accessibilny, printed materials, usually wntten materials, have more and more mediated the production and communication of knowledge in modem culture. Let us sum up this development: in the era of print, verbalization increasingly dominated education.<span class="cite"></span></p>
+<p>Networked, multi-media electronic systems provide general, efficient, and enduring access to cultural works of nearly every form conceivable. In the era of print, written works had a supenor cultural usefulness than other resources. People could distribute, store, cite, retrieve, and use printed resources far more effectively than they could work with other forms of cultural expression. Essentially, one has long been able to refer other people to printed materials without knowing the particular physical location of the particular instance of the material that people will consult, for one cites ednions -- Plato, <i>The Republic</i>, Book IX, 592b -- the numerous instances of which are scattered at many places. Paintings, plays, sculptures, and buildings, in contrast, cannot be referenced in this generalized way -- they exist in unique locations and access to them can require taxing trips, even a pilgrimage. Owing to this supenor accessibilny, printed materials, usually wntten materials, have more and more mediated the production and communication of knowledge in modem culture. Let us sum up this development: in the era of print, verbalization increasingly dominated education.<ref>"Verbalization" here refers not only to the spoken word, but even more essentially to the written word and even conceptualizations communicated through the symbolic notations of mathematics and the like. In its most comprehensive form, the basic proposition of verbalization is that higher· order thinking consists in manipulating symbolic notations.</ref></p>
 <ref>More rigorously, video tape has so far initiated only half the process. The superior accessibility of printed materials has rested on two related, but different, techniques •• title pages and pagination. T.Ue pages allow people in many places at many times to easily gain access to the same work. This can be immensely helpful, but if the work in question is large and complex, it still leaves people with a diffiruh problem of Ngetting to the point." Pagination within the edition solves this problem, allowing a reader not only to get to the right work, but also to the right place in the work, with eaae. The commercial availability of videotapes allows a community of viewers, dispersed in time and $p8C8, easy access to the same film, exacdy as a community of readers, dispersed over centuries, have had with important books. The second technique, analogous to pagination, has not generally been reached, however, evan though technically it is a trivial task to put searchable timecode on the tape. Videodisc and the full conver$ion of analog media to digital form are rapidly completing the second stage of retrievability.</p>