that is the item that popped out at me most when I watched Dr. Wesch's video. I commented to Christine Poindexter about my opinion that technology is both isolating and connecting at the same time. And I didn't think to put associate that with identity. But it IS an identity issue. You can be and post and do whatever you want online. The possibilities for what you say and how you act are limitless and society is more courageous and willing to explore new territory because we remove a lot of vulnerabilities. Removing those vulnerabilities allows us to make connections and define us how we want to be seen, we are creators of our fates/destinies/personalities. It's like my avatar- if I could she would be 6 feet tall, with ridiculously perfect white teeth. The only thing that limits anyone at all (and not just in the context of the internet) is drive and motivation. I am a huge believer in "If you build it... they will come" and the internet is more encouraging to society... it is a much easier build. So given all this, what role do I (as an educator) serve with my students? Do I let my students walk the fine line of connection and isolation and hope they figure out the happy medium? Or do I caution them on proper technology use and the evils of WoW (World of Warcraft, a great way to socialize with strangers all across the globe while locking yourself into your home, never leaving and playing in the dark while your floor becomes covered by empty combos bags)
I choose to encourage imagination and independence online, and hope that they will find a great way to stay informed and find answers to issues and concepts they don't understand. I hope they find so much available to them that they develop questions that can't just be answered by google. And then I hope they bring their new knowledge, their new questions, and share them with the class and the world with the same independence and invulnerable confidence they display in their electronic life.
While students will not always make the connections in the virtual world correlate with reality, my goal is to help them foster that comfort, respect, and interest with both technology and human contact.
So this diatribe shaped my thoughts for the actual prompt. To me, School 2.0 is self-education in lots of respects. It takes a highly-driven, motivated, and mature student to take online courses. So it is not for everyone. A generalized definition though, one that would apply to all students, is a mode to independently find answers to questions. So what does this mean for future schools? For starters, teachers will always be necessary. They are fundamental to the learning process, and effective ones will allow the learner to uncover knowledge for himself, but still keep the learner focused on the task at hand. Teachers are excellent mediators and motivators. The internet is an amazing resource, but that is what it will always be- a resource. And that is a really great thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment