The Future of Thinking: Learning Institutions in a Digital Age (Paperback)

Over the past two decades, the way we learn has changed dramatically. We have new sources of information and new ways to exchange and to interact with information. But our schools and the way we teach have remained largely the same for years, even centuries. What happens to traditional educational institutions when learning also takes place on a vast range of Internet sites, from Pokemon Web pages to Wikipedia? This report investigates how traditional learning institutions can become as innovative, flexible, robust, and collaborative as the best social networking sites. The authors propose an alternative definition of "institution" as a "mobilizing network"—emphasizing its flexibility, the permeability of its boundaries, its interactive productivity, and its potential as a catalyst for change—and explore the implications for higher education.

The Future of Thinking reports on innovative, virtual institutions. It also uses the idea of a virtual institution both as part of its subject matter and as part of its process: the first draft was hosted on a Web site for collaborative feedback and writing. The authors use this experiment in participatory writing as a test case for virtual institutions, learning institutions, and a new form of collaborative authorship. The finished version is still posted and open for comment. This book is the full-length report of the project, which was summarized in an earlier MacArthur volume, The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age.

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Reports on Digital Media and Learning

在過去的二十年裡，我們學習的方式發生了巨大的變化。我們有了新的資訊來源，也有了新的交流和互動資訊的方式。但是我們的學校和教學方式多年來幾乎沒有改變，甚至可以說是數百年來都沒有改變。當學習也在各種互聯網網站上進行，從寶可夢網頁到維基百科，傳統的教育機構會發生什麼變化呢？本報告探討了傳統學習機構如何成為像最好的社交網絡網站一樣具有創新、靈活、強大和協作能力的機構。作者提出了一個替代性的「機構」定義，即「動員網絡」，強調其靈活性、邊界的滲透性、互動生產力以及作為變革催化劑的潛力，並探討了對高等教育的影響。

《思考的未來》報告了創新的虛擬機構。它不僅將虛擬機構作為其主題的一部分，還將其作為其過程的一部分：第一稿是在一個用於協作反饋和寫作的網站上進行的。作者們將這個參與式寫作的實驗作為虛擬機構、學習機構和一種新形式的協作作者的測試案例。最終版本仍然張貼在網上，並開放評論。這本書是該項目的完整報告，該項目在早期的麥克阿瑟基金會的一本書《數字時代的學習機構的未來》中有摘要。

《約翰·D·和凱瑟琳·T·麥克阿瑟基金會關於數字媒體和學習的報告》