Being Human and Learning at Scale
We're in this really exciting time, RIGHT NOW, with change, new ideas, and the associated optimism (and pessimism) of what's possible in learning. Historical constructs are breaking. New technologies are promising...and not quite there yet.
We're faced with more questions than answers about what the future of learning will look like.
Learning in a classroom. Learning in community. AI in learning. Learning through experience. Workplace learning.
Learning settings aren't, and shouldn't be, discrete.
I definitely have more questions than answers but I do believe a few things:
✅ it's not only happening in the 4 walls of a classroom
✅ it's not only watching a video on a screen and clicking through boxes
✅ it's not a binary "phase of learning" and "phase of work and life"
✅ it's more expansive than only IRL
Check out this recent podcast of Brené Brown and Esther Perel in conversation about technology and human connection.
3 ideas they shared jumped out to me:
𝗪𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 "𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲"
Brene introduces the aviation term "controlled flight into terrain". Flying a two seater plane requires being attuned to the moment. When graduating to a jet, given the speed of the plane the pilot must be 60-90 seconds in the future to anticipate what is coming. Operating "beyond human scale" means we've traded analog daily life (the small plane) to an infinite digital world (the jet) where the pace and complexity can disconnect us from living within our natural capacities.
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 "𝗔𝗜" 𝘄𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝘀 "𝗔𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗰𝘆"
Brene and Esther discuss the modern crisis of connection and community, highlighting the intense need for genuine interpersonal interactions in an era marked by doubt, uncertainty, and the rise of "artificial intimacy". Mediated and distracted by smartphones, Esther points out we "have 1,000 virtual friends, but nobody to feed my cat, nobody to ask to go and pick up a prescription at the pharmacy, but 1,000 people who are giving me likes and dislikes."
𝗪𝗲'𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 "𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲"
"Collective effervescence" is the communal emotional energy that emerges from gatherings of people, particularly during rituals or shared events (religious, social, musical/dance, etc.) generating a collective energy that transcends individual consciousness. Most simply, it's the experience when a song like "Sweet Caroline", "Anti-Hero", or "We Are the Champions" comes on and everyone you're with spontaneously begins signing together.
While each is phrased as cautionary tales, I see some guidance for the future.
▶ What constraints enable digital learning "within human scale"?
▶ What daily behaviors can we practice to reintroduce authentic intimacy?
▶ And we all need more collective effervescence in our lives.