SOCRAIT is my name for the SRSLS (spaced-repetition socratic learning system) that we need to push learning into the digital age. Â The name SOCRAIT (pronounced so-crate) is a play on Socratic (because it’s based on Socratic questions), it contains SOC for social, AI for artificial intelligence, and IT for information technology.
Since July, Â I have been preoccupied with this idea. Â Many technology and learning experts who have read or talked with me about SOCRAIT have told me that they believe that our learning future has to at least look something like SOCRAIT. Â They say (and I agree) that the simplicity of it just makes it feel “right.” Â In fact, it’s such a simple idea, that I spent the last four months wondering if I was crazy – after all, if you’re the only one with the idea, then there must be something wrong with it, right? Â As more people read the article and prodded at its weaknesses, the idea grew more robust. Â The text of my article, The World is my School: Welcome to the Era of Personalized Learning, published today in The Futurist (read it as a PDF or read it online) has been finalized for some time, and at this point, I could probably write another article just about the game layer that SOCRAIT will need.
Now I need your help. Â Someone or some company needs to step forward and build SOCRAIT. Â I’ve pursued as many avenues as I could, but as a community college professor from an obscure city in recession-occupied Michigan, it’s hard to get taken seriously. Â So, here’s your assignment:
- Read the article (the whole thing). Â You can’t stop halfway, or you’ll get the wrong impression. Â Every sentence matters. Â Print it and read it.
- Agree or disagree, please share your thoughts and ideas (and if you have a public space, please use it)Â … tweet, blog, write, discuss.
- Send the article on to others through email, Facebook, and discussion forums.
If you believe in the power of a new way of learning (even if it doesn’t turn out exactly like SOCRAIT), please help me spread a new (positive) vision for what education could look like in the future. Â Thanks!
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