David Warlicks “Connect Learning” podcasts are great and I make a point of listening to them all. The last two have some great material for sharing and are discussing things that are very topical here in NZ as well.
Quote 1. In Web 1.0 information is consumed,in Web2.0 information is a conversation.
This is a really good distinction. Information is no longer static - I use the example of the difference between Encarta and Wikipaedia to demonstrate this.
Children need to LEARN collaboration. This is a big change from earlier schooling models where we encouraged, and indeed insisted upon individuality. Children don’t know how to collaborate in LEARNING intuitively. They play games and conduct themselves cooperatively in social ways but the in-depth construction of knowledge takes direct instruction, particularly in the use of the TOOLS we are expecting them to use.
Quote 2. We can’t predict what will be out there in 5 or 10 years - we need to give them the skill set to be life-long learners.
says it all really…
Quote 3. Few jobs in the 50’s and 60’s required evaluative skills as part of their daily workskills [detectives given as an example]. Today this is an essential DAILY skill.
So …. we are expecting our primary school children to function at the level we formerly expected only a few adults to have. We need to actively teach these skills. Again coming back to Ian Jukes question about whether we are preparing our kids for our past or their future.
Quote 4. You can’t be a gatekeeper if the walls are gone.
This is referring to the fact that teachers are no longer the gatekeepers of knowledge. The walls of the classroom are gone with respect to controlling or managing the knowledge/content that comes into it. Kids and their teachers are learning and constructing knowledge together in the best of todays classrooms.
Quote 5. The Nature of literacy is changing, and it just got a whole lot more exciting.
Kids still need to learn to read, write; be literate and numerate!! But the definition of literacy is very different today than it was even 10 years ago. Technology and ICT tools change, and continue to change, the nature of the way we interact with each other. They really are “the pen and paper of our times”. Are we adequately preparing children for THEIR future if we do not have technological/ICT rich school environments? I would argue a resounding NO.
The nature of classrooms is different too - kids love to collaborate. We need to find ways of exploiting this, but at a deeper level focused on learning and not simply the social.
Another good point made here was that because much of the information etc is on-line it removes barriers to it. It no longer comes down to whether a school can afford the best and current encyclopedias, dictionaries, etc. With internet access you can get to a whole variety of content. The digital divide is there, but ….
Quote 6. The job of a teacher is to create learning experiences and cultivate them.
Teachers do still need to teach! It is not ALL about individual choice and co-creation of content. Children need to be able to read, write, etc and these are things they won’t learn without DIRECT INSTRUCTION. The power of the authentic context to motivate learners though is huge!
Quote 7. What is it in the video game experience that is so compelling, and how can we build this into the classroom experience?
This is an issue that I see as a very critical question, and one that will drive our examination of pedagogy over the next few years. It is not about making things like some sort of TV programme in our classrooms with a constant stream of multimedia …. but it is about understanding what motivates kids to be ENGAGED with the content. What can we do as teachers to hook them in? What should we avoid?
Quote 8. School leaders have to be role models - use the tools, be a life-ling learner, take risks, etc.
Quote 9. People will only use the technology (etc) if it HELPS them do their job. If it adds to it it wont happen!
ABSOLUTELY! This is something I see a lot - there are some fabulous tools out there that have the potential to make our jobs as teachers easier. Others seem to be put there to make things more complicated. Integrating ICT’s into classroom programmes make for fundamentally different classroom environments, a very different way of planning, and so-on. A real change in headspace is required - and a change in the power relationships in the classroom. The teacher is no longer the centre of the room - in terms of power, knowledge, or often even literally. Roles change and shift.
And lastly one that sums it all up really ….
Quote 10. We are asking people to re-define what it means to be a teacher
… LOL
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