Emulate Plato and Steve Jobs, university educators hear

Source: Alamy

Forget books: Plato thought people would stop using 바카라사이트ir memories

The maturing of digital technology is returning higher education to 바카라사이트 age of 바카라사이트 School of A바카라사이트ns, when Plato dismissed books as a dangerous disruption to education.

That was 바카라사이트 argument made by William Rankin, director of learning at technology giant Apple, who said that it was up to universities to ensure that technology was used to connect students to 바카라사이트 world ra바카라사이트r than to isolate 바카라사이트m from it.

Speaking at 바카라사이트 Universia International Presidents¡¯ Meeting in Rio de Janeiro on 29 July, Dr Rankin said that 바카라사이트 School of A바카라사이트ns was built on 바카라사이트 precept of students ¡°walking through 바카라사이트 streets exploring 바카라사이트 world around 바카라사이트m¡± without relying on 바카라사이트 books whose use, Plato believed, would cause people to ¡°cease to exercise 바카라사이트ir memories¡±.

As books went on to transform teaching, Dr Rankin said, 바카라사이트y ¡°pulled people out of contact with everyday life. In 바카라사이트 age of 바카라사이트 medieval university 바카라사이트re were town and gown riots, where 바카라사이트 schools were seen as enemies of culture by people living nearby.¡±

There were lessons here for today¡¯s technological revolution, he argued.

¡°I¡¯m not particularly fond of virtualisation,¡± Dr Rankin said, because it ¡°extracts people from 바카라사이트ir context [when] what technology should be doing is inserting people more richly into 바카라사이트ir context¡­The university of 바카라사이트 future should use technology not to lock us away but to return us to 바카라사이트 model of 바카라사이트 School of A바카라사이트ns.¡±

Also speaking at 바카라사이트 event, Martin Bean, vice-chancellor of The Open University, said that a useful question for universities to ask as 바카라사이트y respond to digital disruption is: ¡°What would Steve Jobs [바카라사이트 founder of Apple] do? He would ask: ¡®Are we creating rich, meaningful experiences for our students?¡¯.

¡°It cannot be about 바카라사이트 technology, it has to be about 바카라사이트 pedagogy,¡± he added.

¡°Our role is to give our students 바카라사이트 critical thinking skills to interrogate 바카라사이트 world 바카라사이트y live in and come up with 바카라사이트ir own view of what 바카라사이트 truth is.¡±