This week's topic was all about the internet, networking, and how it all fits together in the modern world. In our textbook, Integrating Technology and Digital Media in the Classroom, we get a brief history of computers and the internet. We learn that the internet was originally used, beginning in the late 1960's, for sharing information between scientists that were collaborating on various projects. Fast forward to today and we are easily able to see just how fast and widespread the use of the internet has become. Today, it is possible to rapidly exchange ideas by connecting one classroom to another classroom in a different part of the world using sites such as the ePals Classroom Exchange. This was not a possibility twenty years ago, when the luxury of owning your own PC was just becoming popular. The internet and networking has rapidly grown from being used by very few, to being the ultimate communications tool for the masses worldwide.
Our textbook points out that “the more technology advances and the internet becomes more integrated into our lives”, students will need to “access instruction in meaningful learning environments” anytime, anyplace, and through whichever path that is most convenient. It is our responsibility as educators to not just teach students, but to guide them on how to access and use technology to their advantage, and how to educate themselves using the right tools.
The video, “The Networking Student” by Wendy Drexler, is an excellent example of how communication and learning has evolved. The video is about a high school student that is taking a psychology class that is online and centered on networking. There is no textbook for this class. The student is supposed to learn using today's technology. He listens to lectures from the best professors by using iTunes, and is even able to contact these different individuals around the country to ask questions. He is supposed to communicate with other students from around the world who are also studying the same topic and post what he learns on a blog. This video presents a different and modern view of education. Instead of meeting in a classroom and listening to a lecture, the student is responsible for venturing out into the world wide web and learning about various topics of psychology that interest him and show what he has learned in a way that he feels is right for him. The role of his teacher is to be a guide. She is responsible for showing him how to communicate appropriately online, how to access the information he needs and to be a resource if he needs help. The networked student is a view to a world that most of us do not live in yet, but are quickly approaching.
References:
Drexler, W. (2008). The networked student. Retrieved September 11, 2010, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwM4ieFOotA
Shelly, G. & Gunter, G & Gunter, R. (2010). Teacher Discovering Computers Integrating technology and Digital Media in the Classroom. (6th Ed.) Cengage Learning
ePals Classroom Exchange - http://www.epals.com/
I think your interpretation of the teacher as a guide is accurate for the Wendy Drexler Assignment. The teacher taught the student how to find and sort meaningful information but the teacher never limited the student on a particular path. The teacher allowed the student to explore and create their own understanding within reasonable bounds.
ReplyDeleteAnother part of the assignment that I liked was the transparency of the student's work. With the RSS readers, the teacher could follow the tracks of the student and monitor the reliability of the sources as well as check the students undertanding against what he/she was reading.
Students need to learn those collaborative skills of working in groups, but also the analytical scrutinizing skills of finding and evaluating relevant material. With so many resources on the internet without the proper guidance it would be easy to get lost. As the teacher taking on the roll of a facilitator the roll of the student becomes one of self motivated active learner.
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