This analogy of equipping sailing vessels with steam engines works well as an illustration of technology being plugged into traditional classrooms.
he question in the title of
this article
is a trick
question, because I want readers to really think about it.
“If we didn’t have today’s schools, would we
create today’s
Highlighted by
mhines
on 2009-07-11 by
mhines
After visiting the MET in Providence, I am convinced that Littky has already answered this question with an entirely new way of thinking of school - and he has plenty of data to show IT WORKS!
“If We
Didn’t Have Today’s Schools, Would We Create
Today’s Schools?”
Highlighted by
mjdowd
eally think about it.
“If we didn’t have today’s schools,
Highlighted by
dmcgeary
And the trick is, if you
wouldn’t create today’s schools, what are you doing
about it?
If we
continue to prepare teachers as we have always prepared them, we
are going to continue to recreate the schools we have always had.
Highlighted by
willrich
on 2009-05-15 by
willrich
Too true. This is a huge professional development undertaking.
We have to start preparing teachers differently. If we are going to
continue preparing educators to work as solo, stand-alone teachers
in self-contained, isolated classrooms, we are going to perpetuate
the schools we have toda
Highlighted by
shareski
on 2009-05-15 by
shareski
This is exactly the focus on my course at the University of Regina. My disclaimer to my students is that they have grown up in a system that for the most part, worked for them. It's going to be hard for them to change as well.
If we want schools to be
different, we must start today to prepare teachers
differently… si
gnificantly
differently.
Highlighted by
persei
on 2009-05-15 by
persei
Changing before teachers enter the system - but my thought is that is has to be holistic, a system redesign
Mary Ann,
I agree that sending "changed" teachers out into schools that are unchanged would be a dangerous thing to do.
If a surgeon from the 1800s walked into an operating room today
where arthroscopic surgery was being performed, could that surgeon
step in and perform the surgery? No way. The surgeon would not even
understand what the procedure was, would not understand what the
instruments were, and would be totally lost about what was going
on.
But if a teacher from the 1800s walked into a classroom today,
could he or she substitute as a teacher? If so, why would that be
possible? Perhaps the
educators of the 1800s were able to anticipate the needs of the 21
st century and designed a system that perfectly fits our
educational purposes today. The other possibility is
that our industrial era schools have not changed to keep pace with
our current understanding of cognition and learning. If this system
of factory era schooling does not meet the needs of today’s
learners and the demands of our information age economy, we have a
problem. If we have a
system that does not fit our needs anymore, we must begin thinking about
how to transform the educational system we have.
Highlighted by
stella19
If a surgeon from the 1800s walked into an operating room today
where arthroscopic surgery was being performed, could that surgeon
step in and perform the surgery?
Highlighted by
jimfolk
Papert (1996) has suggested that another way to think about this
question is to ask, “If the changes in education over the
last 100 years had been as dramatic as the changes in medicine over
that time, what would our schools look like today?”
Highlighted by
willrich
Yes. Computers can be used
to improve schools.
Highlighted by
clrobertson
Yes. Computers can be used
to improve schools.
Highlighted by
clrobertson
I believe that in the near future the places
where children will learn are not going to look anything like the
schools we have today.
Highlighted by
ptaylorsjr
Networked Learning
Communities
Highlighted by
joevans1
But most schools and classrooms will no longer be the central learning hubs they
are today.
Today’s model of
schooling is to bring the learner to the knowledge—tomorrow we will bring the
knowledge to the learners.
We must
recognize that schools and classrooms are becoming nodes in networked learning
communities.
We must begin to
think about how to organize learning in networked communities and not limit
learning within the boundaries of classrooms and school buildings—which would be
to limit our thinking to what has been possible in the past in a single school
or node.
Highlighted by
brkuhn
on 2009-05-20 by
brkuhn
This statement really needs to be foundational in school construction project design and planning work. We need to completely rethink how schools are designed. A 100 year old design is not the right design to support the learning community model described here.
Today’s
model of schooling is to bring the learner to the
knowledge—tomorrow we will bring the knowledge to the
learners.
We must
recognize that schools and classrooms are becoming nodes in
networked learning communities.
We must begin to think
about how to organize learning in networked communities and not
limit learning within the boundaries of classrooms and school
buildings—which would be to limit our thinking to what has
been possible in the past in a single school or node.
Highlighted by
willrich
A Networked Learning Community is constructed as its
members collaborate to achieve common goals, learning together as
they develop solutions for problems they are addressing in common.
As the learning community grows, the members of the community
develop new knowledge and skills through their participation and
contributions. Everyone becomes a learner in a Networked Learning
Community, and the distinctions between students and teachers fade
away.
Highlighted by
willrich
on 2009-05-15 by
willrich
That part about the distinctions between students and teachers fading away is a big, big shift for most. This is where the idea of Learning First, Teaching Second comes in.
on 2009-05-15 by
persei
Teachers as learners, modeling a passion for learning, sharing enthusiasm, as well as strategies for learning
The first dimension is knowledge
“transmission” and conservation.
In this learning mode, the
community focuses its resources on ensuring that the young learn
from the old.
Highlighted by
willrich
These bodies of
knowledge are passed on as valued cultural wealth
Highlighted by
persei
The second dimension of a learning community is knowledge
“adaptation.”
In this mode, traditions
and existing knowledge are modified to accommodate new
developments.
The old
often learn from the young (as they do when older generations in
immigrant families learn from their children, who adapt quickly to
new cultural traditions).
Old knowledge blends with
new. The community values progress and accepts that
Change is Necessary . The
community is often focused on applied learning, in which existing
knowledge and understandings are revised through experience.
Highlighted by
willrich
ommunity is often focused on applied learning, in which existing
knowledge and understandings are revised through experience.
Highlighted by
persei
The third dimension of a learning community is
“invention” and knowledge generation.
In this mode, young and old
learn to collaboratively construct new knowledge.
Highlighted by
willrich
on 2009-05-15 by
willrich
This is huge. "Collaborativly construct new knowledge."
Invention and knowledge
generation . The third dimension of a learning community is
“invention” and knowledge generation.
In this mode, young and old
learn to collaboratively construct new knowledge.
Through this collaborative
learning, young and old join forces to create the future. The
community values innovation, and
Change is Good .
Our traditional K-12
schools have rarely made room for adults and young people to
collaboratively contribute to each other’s learning, or to
the development of new knowledge on a sustained basis.
But our information age
economy demands this intergenerational, collaborative construction
of knowledge, and our schools will fail to develop young people who
can be productive citizens in this economy if they do not support
this mode of learning.
Highlighted by
dogtrax
Through this collaborative
learning, young and old join forces to create the future. The
community values innovation, and
Change is Good .
Highlighted by
willrich
Our traditional K-12
schools have rarely made room for adults and young people to
collaboratively contribute to each other’s learning, or to
the development of new knowledge on a sustained basis.
But our information age
economy demands this intergenerational, collaborative construction
of knowledge, and our schools will fail to develop young people who
can be productive citizens in this economy if they do not support
this mode of learning.
Highlighted by
mguhlin
But our information age
economy demands this intergenerational, collaborative construction
of knowledge, and our schools will fail to develop young people who
can be productive citizens in this economy if they do not support
this mode of learning.
Highlighted by
willrich
(A
significant part of the expert learner’s role will be
organizing and managing the collaborative learning community.)
Highlighted by
mhines
on 2009-07-11 by
mhines
of course, the wonderful thing about this is that this is age-independent - it allows even a very young learner an opportunity to be the expert - we rarely enable this kind of human potential in schools.
If
you are an experienced learner in the community—practiced at
solving problems—you have a role to play helping others to
learn. You may bring past knowledge and experience, and you will
learn more as you help them learn.
If
you are a young person or a novice at learning in a particular
field, you still have a role to play as you construct your own
knowledge and understanding, and through that process contribute
new insights, experiences, and creations that enhance the learning
of others in the community.
Highlighted by
willrich
In the
networked learning communities of the future,
expert learners (we call
them teachers, educators, scientists, and researchers today) are
going to be recognized for their ability to learn and help others
learn, as they continue to construct new knowledge and develop
their own expertise.
Highlighted by
willrich
on 2009-05-15 by
willrich
This is such a great statement. Will be recognized for their ability to learn and help others learn.
on 2009-05-15 by
shareski
"expert learners" That's what I"m talkin' 'bout! ;)
on 2009-05-21 by
jimfolk
This is directly to the point. "Expert learners" help other learners build and increase their learning edgility (see edgility.net) and enter a space to connect with their passions.
Their job will not be to teach – but to
help others learn,
Highlighted by
jeanberg
Their job will not be to teach – but to
help others learn, as they model learning through collaboration to
solve problems and achieve goals they have in common. (A
significant part of the expert learner’s role will be
organizing and managing the collaborative learning community.)
Highlighted by
willrich
they model learning through collaboration to
solve problems and achieve goals they have in common.
Highlighted by
persei
on 2009-05-15 by
persei
mentorships, apprenticeships, models have existed - but question - I can see this with older kids, what about younger how does that look?
In a networked learning community, we will have
“schools” that are nodes in a larger learning
environment, and in those schools there will be no teachers and no
students–
just
learners .
Highlighted by
willrich
on 2009-05-15 by
willrich
Wow.
As we collaboratively work
together in a learning community, we can complement each
other’s knowledge and skills.
In a networked learning
community, we can greatly accelerate and augment the learning of
all members by linking them with other learners in collaborative
efforts organized by expert learners.
Highlighted by
mguhlin
In a networked learning community, modern communication
and information technologies can enable us to construct knowledge
and skills at a faster rate and at a higher level, because we can
be connected with more learners, more resources and experiences,
and more experiments and learning opportunities than ever before.
Highlighted by
mguhlin
As we begin this transformation, it is important to note
that a networked learning community is not a community of learners.
A learning community
learns as a community—unlike a community of learners in which
each individual is engaged in his or her own learning.
Highlighted by
willrich
on 2009-05-15 by
willrich
Very true.
The new and more powerful opportunity
available to educators today is to use these
technologies to help
individuals collaboratively construct
networked learning
communities that will accelerate and augment
the community’s
learning, as well as each individual’s
learning.
Highlighted by
brkuhn
on 2009-05-20 by
brkuhn
I wonder how this and other ideas here transfer to each level (eg, elementary, middle, secondary)? These statements aren't differentiated for age appropriateness. I'd like to see that fleshed out.
A learning community
learns as a community—unlike a community of learners in which
each individual is engaged in his or her own learning.
Highlighted by
persei
on 2009-05-15 by
persei
Wow
on 2009-05-15 by
shareski
I hadn't really thought about this distinction before.
The new and more powerful opportunity
available to educators today is to use these technologies to help
individuals collaboratively construct networked learning
communities that will accelerate and augment the community’s
learning, as well as each individual’s learning.
Highlighted by
willrich
on 2009-05-15 by
willrich
I struggle with how this networked learning becomes tangible. What does it look like for the group as opposed to the individual?
This
can only be an effective mode of education when the content is
assumed to consist of static or immutable facts, and when our
expectation is that all learners need to acquire the same facts at
the same time.
This
is the transmission and knowledge conservation learning mode.
Highlighted by
willrich
The Virtual High School
Highlighted by
rafaribas
The Virtual High School organized by the Concord Consortium [
http://vhs.concord.org ] is
becoming another well-known example. Teachers (as expert learners)
located in different high schools around the country are using
network connectivity to collaborate, with the help of experienced
facilitators, to design and offer new Internet netcourses.
Each VHS school provides a
part-time coordinator, who acts as liaison between students and the
VHS teachers.
The
Concord Consortium provides professional development, netcourse
expertise, and curriculum development support to the collaborating
teachers, who are offering over 200 courses in over 350 schools in
30 states and 6 foreign countries.
Student participation is
expected to reach 4,000 this year.
Highlighted by
mguhlin
There is no way for
the faculty or teachers to collaboratively learn and construct new
knowledge in this system—no way for them to know whether the
knowledge that might have been acquired by the student teacher is
actually the knowledge the student teacher then conveys as a
teacher to the K-12 students. Few, if any, of the educators know
anything about what the K-12 students might be doing with any of
the knowledge they may have acquired after they leave the K-12
classroom.
This is a
linear, fragmented teaching approach—the epitome of the
factory-era assembly line approach to teaching and
learning—which defeats any opportunity for collaborative
learning or feedback across the various levels of teaching and
teacher preparation.
Highlighted by
lindseybp
We should stop calling these individuals
“teachers” and “students” and start calling
them “learners” instead.
More than just a change of
names, it is a change to a fundamentally different role.
It is very different to be
a “learner” than to be a “student” or a
“teacher.”
Highlighted by
mmossman
on 2009-05-15 by
mmossman
How do we get current teachers to accept this change?
Many of the people in
the country who know the most about how to use this technology
effectively in K-12 schools are the master teachers—whom I
would call expert learners—in the K-12 schools, and we have a
lot to learn from them.
Highlighted by
mmossman
New learning teams are emerging, which consist of college
faculty, the teacher candidates, and the in-service teachers. The
high school students themselves are sometimes members of these
teams, developing new applications of technology. They are becoming
learning communities, “communities of practice,” as
some would call it.
And in these learning communities, the distinctions between
“teacher” and “student” no longer serve us
well. That is why I believe education is rapidly moving toward new
learning environments that will have no teachers or
students—just learners with different levels and areas of
expertise collaboratively constructing new knowledge.
Highlighted by
lindseybp
We need to get the teacher into
the game. The teacher needs to get in there and be part of the
learning process, actively engaged in solving the problem with the
students and learning with the students—not teaching but
modeling learning with the students by functioning as an expert
learner solving problems and constructing new knowledge with the
students.
Highlighted by
sharon_elin
We need to get rid of the circle and enable them to be learners in an open
learning environment (see Figure 5).
One of the large “L’s”
in the diagram is the expert learner
Highlighted by
brkuhn
on 2009-05-20 by
brkuhn
This is transformational! I hear from principals all the time that teachers are uncomfortable using technology in front of their students... the teachers want to become proficient with technology before using it in class... in this model, they are learners alongside their students and each has their own domain knowledge and expertise to offer to the community. I like it!
on 2009-07-11 by
mhines
The image and what it implies gets the to heart of what needs to change to save education - in the day 2 keynote of NECC09, the debate on bricks or mortar, good or bad, ended up being a somewhat agreement that the problem isn't B&M - it is what happens in them - this is the best, research evidenced solution, and technology needs to play a critical role to support it.
modeling the
learning process
Highlighted by
sharon_elin
Once we move the teacher—as an expert
learner—into the learning activity we begin modeling the
learning process with the students. They are all learning together. And as I have said,
once we reach this point, it’s not useful to distinguish
between students and teachers, because they are all learning. Who
is teaching and who is learning? They are all learning.
Highlighted by
mguhlin
Once we move the teacher—as an expert
learner—into the learning activity we begin modeling the
learning process with the students. They are all learning together. And as I have said,
once we reach this point, it’s not useful to distinguish
between students and teachers, because they are all learning.
Highlighted by
willrich
In most of those schools, she heard complaints from
the principals and from the teachers that the open space model did
not work. Teachers who were interviewed in the article said things
like, “When I am trying to lecture to my students, I
can’t keep control of the class, because they are distracted
by lectures and noise from the other teachers and their students.
My students listen in
on what the other teachers are saying or doing with their students,
and they have a lot of ways to send messages to the other students.
It doesn’t work. I just can’t teach my
class in an open space.”
However, at one school, the principal said, “This is
great. It works really well for us. Our teachers have organized
themselves into teams. We have cross-age classes and we have team
projects across our subjects. Our teachers and students
can move around and reconfigure themselves any time they want to
work on a new task together. We have some older students tutoring
younger students. This is a great school, and we are very happy
with it.”
Highlighted by
mhines
on 2009-07-11 by
mhines
what a contrast between these two views on what to do with learners in an open environment. The big shift will have to be re-tolling teacher's mindsets about how to teach in these settings. Folks like High tech High and the MET have given up expecting to hire the right kind of teachers, and instead have opened their own schools of education to get teachers to develop the correct pedagogy and philosophy.
chools resist change, because they are
designed to resist change. They are cultural organizations, and
cultural organizations are not supposed to change. Cultures are
designed to preserve existing solutions to
problems—considerable social and economic capital goes into
developing culturally valued solutions to problems and change is
risky.
Stability
reduces risk—“change is bad”—and our
schools have been designed to focus on the
knowledge transmission mode
of learning.
Highlighted by
lindseybp
chools resist change, because they are
designed to resist change. They are cultural organizations, and
cultural organizations are not supposed to change. Cultures are
designed to preserve existing solutions to
problems—considerable social and economic capital goes into
developing culturally valued solutions to problems and change is
risky.
Stability
reduces risk—“change is bad”—and our
schools have been designed to focus on the
knowledge transmission mode
of learning.
Highlighted by
mguhlin
Did the open space concept fail, or did we fail to prepare teachers who could
teach in an open space model? We changed the physical space in those buildings,
but because we continued to prepare most teachers as if the only way to teach is
using the solo, stand alone, self-contained, isolated classroom model—the open
space concept could not work
Highlighted by
brkuhn
on 2009-07-09 by
brkuhn
This is a key point. A failed school design does not mean the design is wrong. How the learning community is implemented within the physical space is absolutely key to success. The real challenge is shifting the culture of teaching from a traditional model to a networked learning community model.
we have to prepare teachers very differently than we have in the past
Highlighted by
brkuhn
on 2009-07-09 by
brkuhn
How do we do that with teacher unions that are often resistent to change. "very differently" in this context is quite scary for traditionalists.
we will get the same result if we
introduce modern learning technologies in our schools but do not
prepare teachers to work in this new learning environment.
If we want to take
advantage of these new technologies and the billions we are
investing in equipment for our schools, we have to prepare teachers
very differently than we have in the past. We have to change our
own model of teaching and instruction in higher education.
Highlighted by
sharon_elin
we continued to
prepare most teachers as if the only way to teach is using the
solo, stand alone, self-contained, isolated classroom
model—the open space concept could not work. That was how
those young and mid-career teachers were prepared to teach. They
believed they were doing what was expected of them as teachers and
that open space thwarted their teaching efforts. They were not
prepared to do anything different. That’s our
responsibility—and we will get the same result if we
introduce modern learning technologies in our schools but do not
prepare teachers to work in this new learning environment.
If we want to take
advantage of these new technologies and the billions we are
investing in equipment for our schools, we have to prepare teachers
very differently than we have in the past. We have to change our
own model of teaching and instruction in higher education. (See
Schlechty, 1990.)
Highlighted by
mguhlin
Any organization that adopts a new technology without significant organizational
change is doomed to failure. You have to change the organization. You cannot
just add the technology
Highlighted by
brkuhn
on 2009-07-09 by
brkuhn
This is profound. For too many years we've added technology to schools and classrooms and continued with the same general model of teaching and learning. We use words like "enhance learning with technology" when we should be saying "transform learning through the use of technology". Technology projects are organizational change projects which implies transformation.
Any
organization that adopts a new technology without significant
organizational change is doomed to failure. You have to change the
organization. You cannot just add the technology. You have to
actively work on changing the roles of the teachers, the roles of
the students, the roles of the parents, and the roles of the
administrators, and start to work toward building new relationships
and new structures
Highlighted by
sharon_elin
Any
organization that adopts a new technology without significant
organizational change is doomed to failure. You have to change the
organization. You cannot just add the technology. You have to
actively work on changing the roles of the teachers, the roles of
the students, the roles of the parents, and the roles of the
administrators, and start to work toward building new relationships
and new structures, or you will be disappointed with the results.
Highlighted by
mguhlin
Trying to introduce new technologies into schools without
these changes would be similar to efforts in the sailing industry
during the 1800s, when steam engines were installed in wooden
sailing ships.
Highlighted by
sharon_elin
Trying to introduce new technologies into schools without
these changes would be similar to efforts in the sailing industry
during the 1800s, when steam engines were installed in wooden
sailing ships.
Highlighted by
willrich
This is just what many teachers and faculty members are
saying, “We don’t have time for this. We are good
teachers, and we can continue to serve our students well with the
instructional strategies we have always used. Besides, with the
time demands on us, we don’t have time to learn this new
technology. As good teachers, we are doing well with our students
and we don’t need to go through this transition.”
Highlighted by
lindseybp
Exactly the response I hear again and again....
The sailing industry never got the true benefits of steam
power until they reached the constructive transformation. They
altered the entire design of ships. They took down the masts, got
rid of the sails, changed the whole configuration of the ship, and
made it of steel. They changed the design, because to work
effectively, sailing ships need a very different hull shape than
steam driven ships. Once they made this transformation, and once
they prepared the sailors to navigate with these new vessels, they
achieved tremendous benefits from the new technology.
Highlighted by
willrich
Most of what we are doing
with computers is comparable to putting steam engines in wooden
sailing ships.
Highlighted by
jimfolk
on 2009-05-21 by
jimfolk
This is a very nice metaphor for what is going on in today's classrooms.
Most of what we are doing
with computers is comparable to putting steam engines in wooden
sailing ships.
Highlighted by
jimfolk
In our schools, we are only
beginning to think about how to change our learning models with
these modern technologies.
Most of what we are doing
with computers is comparable to putting steam engines in wooden
sailing ships.
Highlighted by
willrich
But
these transitional phases are important steps toward using these
transformational technologies for improved learning.
Highlighted by
willrich
on 2009-05-15 by
willrich
This is what I want to say to Gary Stager. This is a process. VIrtually nothing acheives excellence on the first try.
We will not get
out of our wooden ship schools until we use communication
technologies for two-way interactivity that allows us to
collaboratively construct the learning experience and new
knowledge.
Highlighted by
sharon_elin
We will not get
out of our wooden ship schools until we use communication
technologies for two-way interactivity that allows us to
collaboratively construct the learning experience and new
knowledge.
Highlighted by
willrich
on 2009-05-15 by
willrich
I wonder how many people still don't understand this.
Then I ask everyone who uses a touchtone phone to raise
their hands again. “How many of you with your hands up have
made the decision to use this technology because of a research
article that you read?” This is the technology we use to
communicate with each other every day, and no one can cite an
article on its effectiveness? I have done this at a lot of
meetings, and I still have not found anybody who can give me a
convincing research article or evaluation study that says using
telephones is a good thing to do. And, actually, I can tell you
from my own inquiry into this, having worked with the
telecommunications industry, that there is no research to support
what you are doing. It’s not there.
Now that you know that
there is no research to support what you are doing, how many of you
will get rid of your phones?
Highlighted by
shareski
on 2009-05-15 by
shareski
A great response to the arguement about whether or not technology improves learning.
Change Is
Inevitable
Highlighted by
dogtrax
Since we have all seen that schools have the power to
resist change, why do I think these technologies will give us the
power to transform education? I think there are a number of
reasons, similar to the forces that lead us all to use phones
whether we have the research to support that use or not. These
forces are going to drive changes in education whether we are ready
for them or not.
Highlighted by
willrich
on 2009-05-15 by
willrich
Sounds like Shirky.
The web is
displacing CDs and other fixed content approaches because it
supports interactive communication and collaborative construction
of knowledge.
This is
a force that schools cannot resist.
The Web gives learners
access to powerful learning opportunities anytime and anywhere.
Learners have open
access to this new learning tool, whether the schools are ready or
not.
Highlighted by
willrich
on 2009-05-15 by
willrich
This is depressing. We're making the same argument today.
The second factor to consider is that these
interactive communication
technologies give power to the learning revolution.
Highlighted by
willrich
interactive communication
technologies give power to the learning revolution.
Highlighted by
mguhlin
The
learning revolution is about constructivist learning, and these new
communication and information technologies allow us to facilitate
constructive learning in ways that we could never do before. They
are becoming
cognitive
amplifiers that will accelerate learning and the development of
new knowledge in the same ways that machines accelerated production
during the industrial revolution.
Highlighted by
mguhlin
The
learning revolution is about constructivist learning, and these new
communication and information technologies allow us to facilitate
constructive learning in ways that we could never do before. They
are becoming
cognitive
amplifiers that will accelerate learning and the development of
new knowledge in the same ways that machines accelerated production
during the industrial revolution.
Highlighted by
lindseybp
The
learning revolution is about constructivist learning, and these new
communication and information technologies allow us to facilitate
constructive learning in ways that we could never do before. They
are becoming
cognitive
amplifiers that will accelerate learning and the development of
new knowledge in the same ways that machines accelerated production
during the industrial revolution.
Highlighted by
willrich
The third reason schools will be driven to change is that
we have now reached a point where
work is learning . Work in
the workplace is learning.
Highlighted by
willrich
The third reason schools will be driven to change is that
we have now reached a point where
work is learning . Work in
the workplace is learning.
Work in the larger
community surrounding the schools is about learning every day.
It's not just about
putting bolts on things anymore.
Highlighted by
lindseybp
work is learning . Work in
the workplace is learning.
Work in the larger
community surrounding the schools is about learning every day.
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mguhlin
must learn in the
workplace and in the home to use these tools to improve their
knowledge, skills, and productivity.
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mguhlin
The fourth force is that
learning communities have no
boundaries .
In a
networked learning community, schools and classrooms will simply
become nodes in a larger learning environment. The boundaries of
the schools and classrooms with their fixed curriculum and dated
texts are no longer going to limit learning.
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willrich
learning communities have no
boundaries .
In a
networked learning community, schools and classrooms will simply
become nodes in a larger learning environment. The boundaries of
the schools and classrooms with their fixed curriculum and dated
texts are no longer going to limit learning.
Highlighted by
mguhlin
The fourth force is that
learning communities have no
boundaries .
In a
networked learning community, schools and classrooms will simply
become nodes in a larger learning environment.
Highlighted by
lindseybp
The fifth factor affecting schools is that the
home is becoming a learning
place .
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lindseybp
An increasing number of
parents are discovering that they can make more powerful learning
opportunities available to their children in the home than they can
in the schools, and unless the schools change, more parents will
collaborate to construct alternative learning opportunities with
these technologies.
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willrich
An increasing number of
parents are discovering that they can make more powerful learning
opportunities available to their children in the home than they can
in the schools, and unless the schools change, more parents will
collaborate to construct alternative learning opportunities with
these technologies.
Because work is learning, the home is a work and learning place,
and learning communities have no boundaries, schools are going to
be marginalized as learning environments if they do not change
dramatically.
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mguhlin
So these are the possibilities.
They begin when each one of
us takes a step toward preparing educators who can become expert
learners in a networked learning community.
Pierre Boulez said
recently, “The future is the present slightly
modified.”
Each
one of you can help us take a step forward into the future. The
choice is yours. We have the technology. We have the knowledge. We
have the support. Define your vision and make it happen.
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mhines
on 2009-07-11 by
mhines
the past 8 years of tech development have moved us even further along this proposition. Although there is a lot of hand wringing and "schools and teachers are resistant to change" the movements to charters, new school models, online education that works (check the research on this) and new models for schools indicate the disruptive wave (Christensen, Horn et el) are coming sooon!
The final force driving change in schools is kid power.
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lindseybp
Kids come into the schools recognizing that they have
more powerful learning opportunities available out of school than
they have in school.
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mguhlin
First, the purpose of
education will move from being curriculum driven to being learning
centered. Learning is a verb, not a noun
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genemac
First, the purpose of
education will move from being curriculum driven to being learning
centered.
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willrich
It will be driven
by knowledge work in a networked learning community.
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willrich
The teacher will become an
expert learner organizing and leading others in networked learning
communities.
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willrich
on 2009-05-15 by
willrich
To me, this is the money quote. Helping kids to grow their own personal learning networks in safe, effective and ethical ways.
Any time
we put teachers and students in predefined courses with a linear
design, bound by dated texts, credit hours and static tests of
factual recall, we are still on a wooden sailing ship. What we are
moving toward is authentic, long-term projects, asynchronous
learning, knowledge-work and nonlinear learning.
“Just-in-time,”
consumable information used for specific purposes, instead of
“just-in-case” facts packed into our heads at an early
age that few of us can recall.
Highlighted by
mguhlin
Any time
we put teachers and students in predefined courses with a linear
design, bound by dated texts, credit hours and static tests of
factual recall, we are still on a wooden sailing ship. What we are
moving toward is authentic, long-term projects, asynchronous
learning, knowledge-work and nonlinear learning.
“Just-in-time,”
consumable information used for specific purposes, instead of
“just-in-case” facts packed into our heads at an early
age that few of us can recall.
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willrich
Assessment will be
embedded on an ongoing basis in electronic learning activities and
documented in digital portfolios.
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genemac
They are learning to access
and use knowledge when and where they need it.
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willrich
Assessment will be
embedded on an ongoing basis in electronic learning activities and
documented in digital portfolios. We will move from a standard,
one-size-fits-all curriculum to mass customization in education. We
are already seeing this in other industries—the automobile
industry, the clothing industry. You can go on-line now and buy
clothes that are custom-made to your style, shape, and dimensions.
It is called mass customization, and we are going to have education
that follows that model.
These modern learning
technologies give us for the first time the power to truly
individualize learning.
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willrich
on 2009-05-15 by
willrich
I agree. And this is something that we don't talk about enough. Everything is customized for us these days...except learning.
They are a great hybrid technology for now. We are using
them to make the transition, but imagine if I walked into that
surgery room with a laptop computer and said, “I have a
laptop computer here with business applications on it, and it will
revolutionize the way you practice surgery.” They would throw
me right out of there.
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bmuench
on 2009-07-02 by
bmuench
Web 2.0 Applications are the beginning of this change I think. Let the users decide what they need and how they want to use it but it's got to be collaborative in nature!
The web, as a
networked learning environment, linking learning centers, anytime,
anywhere is what we are moving to. The tools will
change—textbooks, blackboards, and business computers will
fade from use. These business computers are going to have to
change.
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mguhlin
We are going to move from static,
text-driven content in a fixed curriculum to learning content that
is constructed by the learners.
Our former teachers and
their students—these new expert learners and their novice
learners—collaboratively working in these networked learning
communities will construct this content.
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mguhlin
Public Comment
on 2009-06-10 by clrobertson
on 2009-07-12 by bsherry