The prophet of Cuernavaca
Ivan Illich and learning networks in the era of hybrid learning
Abstract
This article explores Ivan Illich's visionary ideas on learning networks, analyzing them within the current context of blended learning. The goal was to understand Illich's concept of networks and draw a parallel between his vision and contemporary digital possibilities. The importance of the discussion lies in Illich's anticipation of educational movements, whose critiques of compulsory schooling resonate in the reconfiguration of schools by Digital Information and Communication Technologies (DICT). The main ideas address Illich's biography, his critique of schools as institutions that generate dependency and alienation, his complex relationship with Paulo Freire, and his learning networks, which include access to educational materials, skill exchange, peer meetings, and consultation with educators, promoting autonomous learning outside the school monopoly. The paper concludes that blended learning, while still tied to schools, incorporates Illichian principles such as collaboration, active methodologies, and flexibility. Virtual learning communities, facilitated by ICT, represent a partial materialization of Illich's utopia, indicating a transformation of the school towards a more connected and flexible model.
Keywords: Deschooling; Virtual communities; Digital ecologies; Hybrid education; Libertarian pedagogy.
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