Hall of Fame
Internet Learning
E-learning is more than just courses on the web. In
a general sense it is computer mediated learning. In practice, two
business behemoths on the web, Google and Amazon, have contributed
hugely to the acquisition of knowledge by learners, albeit in very
different ways. Millions now routinely use Google services and Amazon
to advance their knowledge and learning.
Google has become the most important entry point for e-learning,
and as Google’s stated intention is to ‘organize the
world's information and make it universally accessible and useful’,
Larry Page and Sergei Brin are, by definition, major contributors
to the advance of e-learning. Books still matter and millions take
delight in ripping open those brown cardboard packages when they
arrive by post. Although not strictly direct e-learning, this is
access to learning mediated by a computer and Jeff Bezos was the
man with the vision. It is interesting to note that all three had
very open self-directed early education in Montessori schools.
Page (1973 - ) and Brin (1973 - )
Larry Page and Sergei Brin only met, at Stanford,
in 1995, yet their business, Google, has become one of the most
significant global businesses of our times. Their search engine
has transformed the way we search for information and has changed
our very relationship with knowledge, making it a significant contribution
to learning. As the world’s most successful search engine
it has become an indispensable tool for learning and research.
Education
Brin was born in Russia and educated in the US, Page is from Michigan.
Like Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Mahatma Gandhi,
Sigmund Freud, Buckminster Fuller, Leo Tolstoy, Burtrand Russell,
Jean Piaget and Hilary and Bill Clinton before them, they both attended
Montessori schools. Indeed, they both credit their Montessori education
for much of their success. It was the Montessori experience, they
claim, that made them self-directed, allowing them to think for
themselves and pursue their real interests. The company floated
in 2004 and is run as a triumvirate of Eric Schmidt, Larry Page
and Sergei Brin.
Google Search and learning
Their mathematical approach to search problems at Stanford led to
a search engine that ranked sites by popularity. Their scalable
model looked at links, so the larger the web became the better their
engine became. Famously based on a spelling error (Google should
have been Googol),
Google's mission is to ‘organize the world's information
and make it universally accessible and useful’. Specialist
searching of text, images, video, books, academic papers, Universities,
news, maps and prices, have given the ordinary user unparalleled
access to knowledge stored in different media.
It is the speed and efficiency of such search that has accelerated
our ability as learners to identify relevant knowledge. Learners
of all ages and abilities see the web as a useful source of knowledge.
Researchers, from schoolchildren with projects to advanced researchers
in educational institutions, often find Google an indispensable
tool.
Google and digitisation
Google’s work to digitise the contents of some of the word’s
great libraries is also contributing to the storage and dissemination
of knowledge. The aim is to make the contents of books (text and
images) searchable and available, while being sensitive to the ‘in
and out of print’ issues along with the ‘copyright and
public domain’ restrictions. They are looking at millions
of books available over and above the existing Google Print program
with publishers. This takes Google beyond searching to the creation
of online resources for searching.
Google Tools and learning
Gmail has given users a free email service with substantial amounts
of storage. Google Earth is an astonishing global map and satellite
image search tool. Blogger provides free blogging software to tens
of millions of bloggers. Other tools focus on searching and downloading
software. These promise to put even more power I the hands of learners,
freeing us from the traditional limitations of libraries and physical
‘places’ of learning.
Conclusion
Page and Brin have created a toolset that has already revolutionised
access to knowledge. Their organisation continues to revolutionise
learning and to ‘organize the world's information and make
it universally accessible and useful’. The scale of this task
is enormous and on-going. Few organisations now have the tools and
financial muscle to make it possible. It is truly an example of
technology making a huge impact on the efficacy of learning.
Bibliography
Vise, David (2005). The Google Story. Macmillan.
Battelle, John (2005), The Search: How Google and Its Rivals Rewrote
the Rules of Business and Transformed Our Culture. Nicholas Brealey
Publishing Ltd.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergei_Brin
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