EME5050 - Reading Reaction #2
The following is my reaction to how information presented in Chapter 2 of the textbook on fundamentals of technology for educators relates to the message Wendy Drexler presented in her video called The Networked Student. The title of Chapter 2 is “Communications, Networks, the Internet, and the World Wide Web," and the main relationship I see is that one cannot exist without the other. In other words, if there isn’t a connection and there are no communications, networks, the Internet, or the World Wide Web, then there won’t be any “networked students.” In Drexler’s video, the 21st century high school student was portrayed as always being connected, and the scenario was summed up as an example of connected learning. The following is my take on the idea of the “networked student” and whether in the future it will refer to all students, or just a select few.
This would be a great time for you to see The Networked Student video for yourself. Please take time to view it before you continue reading my post.
This would be a great time for you to see The Networked Student video for yourself. Please take time to view it before you continue reading my post.
What did you think of the video? You'll find out later in this paragraph what I thought. As a person who has had experience working as a network specialist in several different public junior high schools, I can attest to the fact that the 21st Century is not the time for a “loose connection.” It actually wasn’t the time years ago either, but today it is especially crucial that our school systems provide students with a strong connection to the Internet and all the educational resources that the World Wide Web has to offer. My question in the current state of the education budget is, “Will we have the money and the resources in order to provide 21st century students with the skills they deserve and need for the future?” I also have to question if this will be the norm? In no way am I downplaying the message of the video, and as a true “techie” who happens to be an educator, I was inspired and excited by the thoughts that I could be a “connectivist teacher” one day. It also made me think that being a high school student again might not be so bad.
I brought up the question of money earlier when I mentioned the current budget constraints in education. Fortunately for us, many of the educational leaders of today “get the big picture” when it comes to what education should look like in the future. For example, in the school district where I work, my boss is over the Instructional Resources Department and she has always looked for online resources that were managed by experts instead of asking district personnel to try and “re-invent the wheel” with a “home grown” version of the same thing. She also chairs our District Technology Committee and as a group we work with outside consultants and other districts across the state as we develop the goals of our District Technology Plan. So far, this has proven to be a wise usage of time, resources, and education dollars for our district. In addition several of our committee members belong to different state and national technology organizations such as FCITL (Florida Council of Instructional Technology Leaders) and ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education). As a matter of fact, I just attended the FCITL meeting this week in Orlando, and the budget was discussed, but the main focus was on ways to equip Florida schools with the networks and technology tools we need to provide our students with a collaborative and “connected” 21st century education. Our two-day session consisted of small group discussions and large group presentations from various entities that ranged from representatives of CoSN (Consortium of School Networking) to one of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s vice president. The most remarkable statement he made was that within three years his company will be offering totally digital content as an alternative to only printed materials. The meeting agenda was online and projected for the audience, and the data gathered from the meeting participants who engaged in collaboration, was obtained via student response systems and submitted via Google Docs which is a participatory Web resource or Web 2.0 alternative to paper and pencil. We weren’t just talking the talk of “connected education” we were also walking the walk!
This should make you hopeful as an educator that there are leaders today who are focused on the future and they are working hard to steady education on a strong foundation that is built around communications and networks. They see the power of the Internet and the value of the World Wide Web as an educational tool. They also see how the Web 2.0 resources of today will soon give way to the Web 3.0 generation that will take utilization of web content to an even higher level. I also hope that as an educator you see how you are still an integral part of the education puzzle. Your role as a teacher will definitely change when it comes to “connected learning,” but your importance will not be diminished. In order for a student to be truly connected with a PLN (Personal Learning Network) he must first have a teacher like the one depicted in The Networked Student, who is a:
- Learning Architect
- Modeler
- Learning Concierge
- Connected Learning Incubator
- Network Sherpa
- Synthesizer
- Change Agent
- Manager
As a classroom teacher I always said that I felt like I “wore many hats,” and I guess that holds true today. The list above is actually a list of 21st Century Skills that every student needs not only today but also in the future. We therefore don’t need a “loose connection” when it comes to connecting our students with the educational resources that are “out there for the taking.” Below is a photograph that illustrates how being a connected learner makes all the resources the world has to offer us "in the palm of our hands."
References:
Microsoft Clip Gallery. Retrieved February 2, 2011, from
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/images
References:
Shelly, G., Gunter, G., & Gunter, R. (2010). Chapter 2. Integrating technology digital media in
the classroom (Sixth ed., pp. 59 - 109). Boston: Cengage Learning.
v=XwM4ieFOotA
No comments:
Post a Comment