Yes, Christensen in The Innovator's Solution talks about people buying products to get the jobs done that they want to do - we can consider a library and the internet as products, to get the job done of education.
He notes (p.94) that many companies tried to use the Internet to reshape the textbook industry, by supplying more content. But, he says, the job most students are really trying to get done "is pass their courses without having to read the textbook at all". These companies were trying to help students do something that they were trying not to do. He imagines a hypothetical "cram.com" would be more successful.
Most people (not all) find self-study extraordinarily hard - how many things have you, dear reader, set out to study but not completed? I think the only ones I have managed are when I'm using a textbook to help me achieve something specific - write some code, build a business, solve some problem. I wonder, is this really "study" or just "use of references"? e.g. Looking a word up in a dictionary is not really "study", to comprehensively master a topic.
It would be incredibly disruptive if someone found a way to make study - giving useful skills - enjoyable and easy. Gameplay seems the most favourable. I don't just mean things like SO-style badges, but like physical sports (games) teach motor-skills, eye-hand coordination, teamplay and strategy. It's like the "purpose" of play is learning. Note that even animals play (e.g. dogs and wolves have a "play bow", that indicates what follows in not a genuine attack).
He notes (p.94) that many companies tried to use the Internet to reshape the textbook industry, by supplying more content. But, he says, the job most students are really trying to get done "is pass their courses without having to read the textbook at all". These companies were trying to help students do something that they were trying not to do. He imagines a hypothetical "cram.com" would be more successful.
Most people (not all) find self-study extraordinarily hard - how many things have you, dear reader, set out to study but not completed? I think the only ones I have managed are when I'm using a textbook to help me achieve something specific - write some code, build a business, solve some problem. I wonder, is this really "study" or just "use of references"? e.g. Looking a word up in a dictionary is not really "study", to comprehensively master a topic.
It would be incredibly disruptive if someone found a way to make study - giving useful skills - enjoyable and easy. Gameplay seems the most favourable. I don't just mean things like SO-style badges, but like physical sports (games) teach motor-skills, eye-hand coordination, teamplay and strategy. It's like the "purpose" of play is learning. Note that even animals play (e.g. dogs and wolves have a "play bow", that indicates what follows in not a genuine attack).