The final stage, knowledge communities, embeds the previous stages with the goal of inspiring the spirit of self-learning in our students. This moves us beyond the personal choice of the student (which I had to do in Germany in order to survive) to nurturing this as a natural urge from within the student. Rather than a sage, the teacher now becomes a coach or consultant. The 1:1 environment acknowledges that knowledge is always available and centers on the questions, “how do students discern which knowledge is accurate and useful?” and “how does this student answer the problems posed to him/her creatively, competently, and faithfully?” Now iPads, mobile devices and technology in general allows, for instance, Twitter to become a place where my cohort evolves beyond the classroom to the larger community focused not on personal expression but intellectual and professional evolution. Our libraries provide mobile access to databases, online communities, and class room consultation to train these skills. The teacher then models the learning s/he requires, which demands some restructuring of curriculum to showcase students learning - the process as well as the product.
