After reading this week's lecture and chapter from the book, I tried to think of what my classroom would be like if we became networked in the ways discussed. Of the benefits listed in the text, a couple stood out to me, especially the class being collaborative and learning centered. Both of these qualities I can see as a great way to teach students to start on being lifelong learners. Using collaborative tools, students would learn to work on a team and to learn from each other. By being networked, not only could students work in teams within the classroom, but it opens up the ability to work on teams outside of the classroom.
Being part of a networked classroom can also help students to explore and learn on their own. Teachers could become more of facilitators rather than the "expert" in the classroom. I know as a business/technology teacher, my subject matter is constantly changing and I can't possibly keep up on all the changes to be the one to answer all the questions. If my students have questions, using some of these networking tools, I would be able to help guide the students on how to find the answers. Hopefully, this could lead to them asking more questions and learning to dig a little deeper than only going to Google for all the answers. It would be great to teach them how to follow business leaders in society to keep up on the economic trends. For next year, I am developing a new Entrepreneurship class to be taught and I know I will need to use a network to help me - maybe the students and I will learn together.
I still have some concerns of putting my students out online without some safeguards in place. I know they are out there on their own, but if I require an online tool for my class, I feel some responsibility for their safety. Maybe because I teach at a private school and we have the Archdiocese making some of our guidelines I feel somewhat overcautious. I think by learning to use some of the privacy options available, I would feel better. I just know how so many teenagers think that nothing bad will ever happen to them and I would really want to be sure I have done everything I can to make it secure for my students.
I guess it is all about weighing what is best for our students' learning. I want them to know there is more to the world than where they are right now and I want them to be prepared to function in a global environment.
I think we are all learning how to function in a global environment! The more we know the more we can share! I continue to be amazed by what I still need to learn.
ReplyDeleteI have fears too, and I can see real potential for resistance from administrators and parents. I think it is better to err on the side of openness. If something inappropriate enters the mix, use it as a teachable moment. I would prefer my own children (or grandchildren, since my own kids are all adults) learn to recognize these things and how to respond to them rather than throw up barrier upon barrier in the hopes of keeping it out, because the barriers will lock kids out of some cool stuff as well as the bad. And when they are out there on their own in the cyberworld, they will need the coping skills they hopefully learned in their open classroom.
ReplyDeleteI can see how anyone, including myself (as a parent and a teacher) would be a little wary about having young children plug into the Internet. Personally, as a parent of a first-grader, I would prefer to keep online activities to a minimum at this point. He'll have plenty of time to connect down the road. I just feel like there are other things he should be learning, like reading real books, writing with a pencil, interacting directly with other people, etc.; all of those old-fashioned concepts. When it comes time to plug in, by middle school for sure, then I believe in freedom over censorship. Some sites should be blocked, don't get me wrong. But not Facebook/Twitter/YouTube, etc. It's all real-world, and as Keith says above we can even use the bad stuff to teach.
ReplyDeleteWith the rise of so many adaptive tools, reading and writing (or old fashioned stuff ;0)) is changing. As a person in middle school, we are better serving our students who have illegible handwriting utilize typing or use speech to text. And with the accessibility of ebooks, students have capabilities to make text marks and pull up their book on different devices. If I had a dollar for each time a student forgot their paper reading book I would be rich.
DeleteI have had a lot of success this year with making social studies collaborative and learning centered. My fifth graders have really enjoyed the tools that we have used to collaborate, create, and learn. I wish I could do this accross the curriculum, but unfortunately there are too many things I need to make sure they learn/know in LA, math and science before MAP testing.
ReplyDeleteIt would be really cool to have your students follow higher entrepreneur's or other top professionals and almost have it like a professional job day. They could interview different people in different professions to get a feel for what they do everyday in their job.
ReplyDeleteI also think by having a classroom that is networked helps students explore and learn on their own. This is allowing students to take responsibility of their own learning. As educators we are there for assistance and guidance when needed. However, we are also there to monitor them as well. A networked classroom does promote both independent and group learning.
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