 | The Wordle image on the left uses words that were used in the biggest You Tube survey ever conducted. The survey wanted to know what the online world thought online communities were. Below is the You Tube video from that survey. It is 8 minutes long but worth the watch, ENJOY! |
Cheryl says - Your portfolio needs to include some reflections on the significance of socio-cultural context to our choices as educators when we seek to make our resources interactive and to build online communities of students. Blog your thoughts in light of Wesch’s perspective.
In order for students of today to live in their world, Wesch, in his video, says students need to become knowledge able. Knowledge able is the ability to connect, organise, share, collect, collaborate and publish online by harnessing the relevant tools. Students need to move beyond seeking meaning to create their own meaning. For this process to happen it would involve teachers finding real life problems that they do not know the answer to. These teachers would work with the students to help them find the answers by teaching them how to connect, organise, share, collect, collaborate and publish online.
I strongly agree with Wesch but I’m restricted by a curriculum designed by others. This curriculum requires students to gain either, higher attainment levels or high grade qualifications in order to prove they are successful students. Their current world is based on an education system conceived in the industrial revolution and the intellectual culture of the enlightenment so described by Ken Robinson in the following RSAnimation:
Like many teachers who are embracing Web 2.0 technologies and implementing them within their own pedagogies, I face a constant battle of blocked web sites, prejudice and ignorance. Although I am seeing slight shifts, the big change can only happen when our Government stops relying on school performance tables to win them votes. When Government realise that students need to be knowledge able in order to be successful in their world then a national shift will occur. If this doesn't happen, the online communities will make it happen by some sort of all out online national collaboration.
On a personal note I believe that the classroom of the future will no longer be based inside building called a school and that the people who once fit into that building will no longer be labelled students or teachers. The school will be the online world where people (young and old) will be known as collaborators, they will be significantly equal to each other and they will be the ones learning from each other.
Like many teachers who are embracing Web 2.0 technologies and implementing them within their own pedagogies, I face a constant battle of blocked web sites, prejudice and ignorance. Although I am seeing slight shifts, the big change can only happen when our Government stops relying on school performance tables to win them votes. When Government realise that students need to be knowledge able in order to be successful in their world then a national shift will occur. If this doesn't happen, the online communities will make it happen by some sort of all out online national collaboration.
On a personal note I believe that the classroom of the future will no longer be based inside building called a school and that the people who once fit into that building will no longer be labelled students or teachers. The school will be the online world where people (young and old) will be known as collaborators, they will be significantly equal to each other and they will be the ones learning from each other.
I don’t know whether I have answered your socio-cultural context question Cheryl, I think I may have gone off on a tangent or rant based on having a really bad head cold!
No comments:
Post a Comment