Students Rights In the Online Learning World

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Students Rights In the Online Learning World

Jan 23, 2013

THE EVOLUTION OF LEARNING: What rights do students have in this brave new world of online learning?

About a month ago, a group of educators, entrepreneurs and a couple of us from the fourth estate gathered in a room to discuss how digital technologies are reshaping learning--both now and in the years to come. None of us have crystal balls. But it didn't take long for the conversation to begin to focus squarely on students. We wound up writing what we call a "Bill of Rights & Principles for Learning in the Digital Age" and here it is.

The process of creating this document was itself an education. Not all of us agree on every point. Where we found harmony was around the recognition that emerging technologies will surely change the roles, responsibilities and rights of learners and teachers. We tried to identify some points so precious that they shouldn't be compromised--call those rights. And in other cases, we tried to describe "principles" or what would likely be hallmarks of great online learning environments.

We are demanding a lot for students. And why not? The moment is indeed fragile, and as we write "history frequently and painfully repeats itself." If we want online learning to make a difference in the lives of billions of people, we should have some hefty demands.

What happens from here is up to a much bigger community--namely, you.

"Our broad goal is to inspire an open, learner-centered dialogue around the rights, responsibilities, and possibilities for education in the globally-connected world of the present and beyond."

Weigh in here on EdSurge or, if you have a lot to say, jump into the editable version on GitHub. Let's get this conversation rolling.

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