Do not confuse education with learning. They are two different things with two different possible outcomes. We need to understand their differences to use better our time and resources spent in teaching and learning.

Education

“Are you in the business of education or learning?  I don’t do online education I do online learning.”

—Seth Godin

Why would I spend my time fruitfully listening to you while you are reading your notes to me? Where is the learning? Where is the value of that time spent together?

“Course” is a traditional concept of the education world. You put dozens of people into a room, and you feed them with the same material. How do you consider the usual (and welcome) differences in cognitive abilities, age, experience, attitudes, interests? You don’t.

Learning

“Education is what is done to you; learning is what you pursue based on your talents, passion and yearning to understand”

—David Orban

Wouldn’t it be better to have learning materials, slides, articles to be read in advance, and then meet the expert or the learning facilitator and have an engaging discussion?

This is more learning by doing, and I learn more when I am engaged, in the first person, with concepts and questions, rather than passively listening to somebody reading.

What about learning projects? Something organized with experts, doing the actual job, by creating the possibility to share, in the field, practical knowledge. Learning on the job would be more effective and efficient. Not considering the creation of a bond and the social interactions between learners. A natural community of interest could also see the light out of a learning project.

Less Teaching, More Learning, Please

The business of education is made by those people and organizations making money out of focusing themselves on teaching. The business of learning is made, instead, by whom get focused on people learning. We need more learning and less teaching.