The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler
Ok, first of all I would like to say that I think the idea of networked learning for K12 students sounds exciting. I also believe that we have a lot of people to convince of this before we see widespread use of it in public school classrooms. The stick man made the "network" look so easy and organized. However, in reality it is not easy for everyone to build a network like the example. To me, working on the internet and organizing your searches, videos, favorite sites, etc. is not really how I like spending my time. I have too many other things going on and do not spend very much time at all on the computer. I also am not trying to prepare lessons right now. So for me it is a chore to be "networked". I do think everyone is capable of doing it, I just don't think everyone likes to do it.
Now for a student, he or she would benefit tremendously from the organization the "network" provides. Understanding the concept is where it gets tricky and is where the teacher is paramount. I would not be able to build my "network" without the help of Dr. Strange and this class. I know a grade school student could not do it without the guidance and direction of a teacher. I personally would love to attend a conference that taught you how to incorporate this type of learning into your lessons. Right now I think I would find it hard to do with the restrictions and curriculum standards that I taught under.
I reviewed Ms. Drexler's list of potential obstacles to achieving this and there are many: teacher buy-in, parent buy-in, curriculum standards, you name it. However, it seems that with any type of change, obstacles are to be expected. Change doesn't happen easily. I wish Ms. Drexler good luck with her project and I hope to see the results from the project. Maybe when I get back in the classroom I will be able to create a "networked" environment for my students.
A 7th Grader's PLN
This girl has got it together. I think I'll just follow her directions and get my PLN organized! I am assuming she is a student of Ms. Drexler's? My link is not working correctly for me to go back and verify that but I thought the video was co-produced by her. Anyway, she obviously has very good guidance as far as "networking" herself. I would love to see the syllabus for her science class.
The Machine is Changing Us by M. Wesch
The you-tube phenomenon is something that is relatively new to me personally. I just have not felt the need like so many millions of people to express myself to the world. The media is impacting our society and our information dispersement in a drastic way, and you-tube is at the forefront. There was no facebook or you-tube when I was in college, so it is something that I am experiencing as an adult with much different interests, needs, and priorities in my life. Dr. Wesch has some very good points about the way our society reacts and uses this media and how it impacts our conversation. I thought the most encouraging part of his talk was the video of the hand messages. It is promising to see that in such a narcissistic society, there are still people who care about others and the world we live in. Hopefully this "machine" will be used to propagate those connections between people for positive results.
Kristin I enjoyed reading your post, and I agree with you totally that the networked student does still need a teacher. I never thought about how easy and organized the video made it seem, but that is very true, it looked very simple when in reality it's not quite that easy. I do think networked students are mush more responsible than the average student because they have to do a little more on their own. I had the same opinion of The Machine Is Changing Us, the media definitely has an impact on our society.
ReplyDeleteKristin,
ReplyDeleteYour comment ... I would not be able to build my "network" without the help of Dr. Strange and this class ... is a great example of why we need to work together to learn new technologies. I sat down with some students recently and when we started to discuss a topic they all brought some interesting points and we were able to tie them together and all get a better understanding of the concepts. I learned a lot myself and I was the teacher! I think we can help students not only learn about technology but we can also help them get over their fears of learning technology if we all work together.