Abundant digital content is changing the way we learn.  In the past, a homeowner couldn’t simply decide they were going to wire their own garage without spending considerable time identifying learning resources.  That meant acquiring or accessing books, and if possible, chatting with local tradesmen to get secrets on how to complete the task.  Now, with the resources available online for free, including video tutorials, relevant parts of the local code, and how-to guides, anyone who’s willing can feasibly do some basic wiring.  

This week, we (Adam and Stuart) decided to look into brewing our own IPA at home.  This is a task neither of us was too familiar with, but we both have an interest in doing it in the near future.  The search began on Google, and it became apparent almost immediately that there was an abundance of knowledge available.  From excellent free resources from companies selling kits, blogs from hobbyists, to paid subscription magazines, brewing your own beer has grown as a hobby in North America steadily over the past decade.

Through quick searching, we were able to find a free online resource for the entire process of brewing beer (http://www.howtobrew.com/), videos instructing home brewers on the process (https://brooklynbrewshop.com/pages/instructions), a list of IPA recipes (https://byo.com/india-pale-ale), and countless other resources to guide along the process.  After reading through these resources, both of us feel comfortable venturing out to attempt our own home brew.

The ability to access this information and use it isn’t ubiquitous between all participants.  There are certain aspects that made this research illuminating to us.  The learner’s degree of digital literacy, ability to distinguish reliable resources, as well as the extent to which they actively discuss, seek clarification and later share within the greater brewing network all play a part in the learning effectiveness.  The importance of sharing the outcomes of the experience cannot be understated.  The wealth of information we discovered in our search relies on user contribution to the overall community of inquiry, as learners can then contribute to the teaching of others.

As an instructor who would consider teaching this, there are multiple ways to leverage the content available in a classroom environment.  One constructivist strategy would be to set a structure of the steps to brew beer, and have the students research their assigned step and present their findings to the broader audience.  This would allow the learners to explore the resources available and teach others about what they determined to be the best method.  Adding in a lab component where students can practice the skills they were asked to learn, as well as to put what others taught them into practice would reinforce this learning.  

Many view abundance of digital information as a disruptive technology that could drastically change the way institutions exist.  However, society does not recognize the expertise or qualifications of a person who claims to have researched and developed certain skills through digital self-learning.  A contractor would not hire plumbers who didn’t have their journeyman ticket, and a business wouldn’t hire accountants without appropriate designations.  The barrier to abundant learning resources truly changing the face of education is essentially in the trust the public places in institutions to validate a specific competency level.  DIY experts simply don’t have this option of validation in the current model, but as stated above for things like making a tasty IPA, the best avenues for learning are no longer found in books or traditional classrooms.  Instead, they are found in supportive online communities.  If you were to search for the head brewmasters at many rising and successful breweries, you may find that many of them developed the skills needed to do their jobs within the online ‘classroom’, not after paying an ‘expert’ to teach them with books in a room.  

 

Adam Romano and Stuart Reed

 

 

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