Dr. Michael West did a Ted talk where he talked about getting students from knowledgeable to knowledge-able. The talk focused on technology in the beginning and the big role that it plays in our lives now, especially in our students lives. If we think back to five or six years, the tools that students have today were not available for us. However, because of all the tools that are out there across the world, students are able to connect and collaborate easier with whoever they want. Just like when the TV was introduced and everything in people's home shifted towards the TV, now everything is shifting towards the internet. Dr. West was inspired by his own college students who after a survey they gave responses that no teacher wants to hear and it was mainly because in schools we focus so much on what students need to know for the test in class instead of what they need to know for the real test that is called life. He says that it is ridiculously easy for students connect, organize, share, collect and collaborate but with the use of technology. Our goal as teachers should be to get students to do all these things but in real life, working with one another in person but still with the use of the internet.
Getting students to be knowledge-able is not something that as educators we can get them to do from one day to the next, it takes practice. By guiding them and presenting them with real world problems or problems that us, teachers, do not have the answers to as well we can help them create meaning to what they need to learn. Dr. West gave an example about four people from Kenya in 2007 that worked together to create an application where anyone could report an incident where they were, it would get mapped and others would be notified. Everyone now had the chance to be a real life reporter and when the incident in Haiti occurred three years, these people gave it a way and students from Tufts university adapted it so that it could be used in Haiti so that people could report any missing persons or anyone that was found and his or her family members would be able to find them. This example shows how people can collaborate across the world since they had a problem that had meaning for them. One of my goals as an educator will be to create meaning for my students and with that present them with the opportunity to use any tools that they want to solve it. Wesch, M. (2010, October 12). From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-able [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeaAHv4UTI8
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Technology has become a big role in almost everyone’s lives over the past years. Everyone has different opinions, some love it and it comes at ease where some do not like it because it does not come to them easy. Dr. Dave White proposed a theory about the use of the web, where he defined it as a continuum . On one end we have digital Visitors and on the other end we have digital Residents. Digital visitors are those that are not on the web as much. Before learning about Dr. White’s theory, I had the idea that those who did not grow up with internet in their lives as much as the generations do now were the ones that disliked or avoided the web. However, White’s theory says that a digital visitor is one who uses the web for whatever reason they may need and then leaves as soon as he or she does not need it anymore. They do not leave a profile that will lasts. On the other side we have digital residents. Those that identify with this side of the continuum are those that have a mark on the web even when they are not using it. They have a profile of some sort, a mark on the web that others can easily access or that others will find. Examples of these are those that create video blogs on YouTube or bloggers in general. I felt that White’s description fit perfectly with how people use the web. HIs theory allows for people to fit both descriptions, visitor and resident. Someone may start as a visitor and with time grow to become a resident and it can also happen vise versa, first a resident and with time a visitor. Personally I felt that before, when I was younger, I connected more with the resident side because I had all these social media apps and would constantly use them. As life got busier for me, I started moving more towards the visitor side. With this in mind, I feel that I fit right in the middle. White, D. (2013, May 31). Visitors and Residents [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sFBadv04eY Will Richardson provides us with a book that compares how things used to be back in the day and how things are now in regards to education. Technology is advancing every day and with that more resources are available for students than those they can get at school. With the new Common Core we have seen the struggle from old school to new school has been.
Richardson points out whether schools should start with rethinking assessment or rethink teaching. Personally, I believe that rethink teaching should come first because that is how teachers will continue to try new things. The world outside of school is constantly changing and with that the way we teach our students should be changing so that we can keep challenging them into becoming better thinkers and problem solvers. Like Richardson said, “One of the most frustrating parts of observing and blogging about this evolution is that there are many millions of educators who still haven’t begun to understand that the problem has changed.”(Richardson) If us as teachers are not willing to try new things, how do we expect our students to keep moving forward? As I begin my teaching career, one think that I commit myself to do is be a master learner. A person, who thinks they have learned it all and closes themselves from future learning, is secluding himself or herself from something wonderful. As a teacher new methods come up and other educators provide us with research as to what might work best on our students. Never stopping my learning process is something that I have always done. When I decided to become a teacher and began going to conferences I realized that this is very important and that there are a lot of us out there willing to do the same. Sharing everything is something that I also see myself doing. For the past month, in my work as a teacher candidate, I have gotten the opportunity to see the Math teachers constantly sharing their teaching strategies and letting each other know what worked and what did not. Being able to work together with others and willing to share will only benefit our students more. Transferring the power and doing real work for real audiences are some strategies that I might struggle with. With the knowledge I have so far for being a math teacher, I could not think of something were the students could possibly share with someone and transfer their power in order to better something or build something. Doing work for real audiences could also be difficult because I would have to find an audience where all my students could feel comfortable working. However, I am willing to learn on how to improve this and possibly try it in my own classroom in the future. Richardson, W. (2012) Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere [Kindle]. Retrieved from www.amazon.com |
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