This post first appeared on aud.life
Week 3 of #rhizo15: The Myth of Content
Content: it’s what fills a container, whether that be a book, a film, a student’s head.
Content: it’s what is contained. Word origins:
Content: it’s what is delivered – by a book, an instructor, a video, a piece of software. Use over time:
Content marketing. Content farms. Content creators. Content Providers. Content strategy. Content delivery. Content distribution. The content industry.
I’ve always been a little confused by the word “content.” There is something lonely and unconnected about the word somehow, when I hear it used with reference to what happens in learning. I imagine a lone student, huddled away in a dorm room, reading sanitized facts in the hopes of passing a multiple choice quiz. The content somehow merging with the learning objective and the assessment to create a world where learning is about acquiring truth from the truth box.
When did we start to think that the important thing in education was “content”? I don’t mean simply memorization or recitation – yes, that has a long history. I mean, when did we start to use that word “content”?
How is “content” different than “knowledge”? How is “content” different than “subject” or “topic” or “curriculum”?
How has technology – the digital content industry – shaped what we think learning looks like? Is there something about "content" that's easier to standardize, monetize?