The human network allows people to have contact with anyone or any information at any time. The implications that these networks have on education are tremendous. No student in the history of time have been allowed the amount of access to people or information on mobile devices. So, instead of students having the responsibility of carrying class materials around with them, they can access everything, whether it is asking a teacher a question about an assignment or the actual textbook from a mobile device. In a few years this will be even more commonplace as technology becomes more accessible to the masses.
Digital literacy is a requirement to use this, but because students are growing up in this environment, it will be natural. Just as young people who grow up around a different language are able to adapt at reading and speaking it, this is true for new technology as well. This is especially true because technology becomes woven into our everyday lives.
Teachers cannot possibly compete with this volume of knowledge. That is why we must adapt our teaching style to fit the 21st century classroom. Networked students reinforce the concept of the "banking pedagogy". The teacher cannot possibly provide all the information that the students will be curious about. If we can direct this curiosity to the right Internet resources, student learning will greatly increase.
This is a very good thing! Instead of concentrating solely on content, lesson focus can shift to finding the proper use of the human network. Any and all information taught in the traditional classroom can be found online. Therefore, we need to help our students access it. I can envision myself doing this, but it will be difficult. This is because it is probable that future classrooms will have higher digital literacy than I. Even as I try very hard to keep up with the latest programs and resources, I may not be able to learn it at the rate of my students. That is why it is all the more important to shift learning focus away from me as a bank of knowledge towards the classroom network. Students can then pool their digital literacy to learn content cooperatively.
I found this blog called Technology Enhanced Learning. It has several interesting posts regarding the future of education. The most recent of these posts is a link to 50 lectures on the future of education. Among them are some very relevant topics to this course.
To what degree do you believe that networked learning should be endorsed by our schools? Would you say it would be wiser to buy mobile devices that anchor to desks instead of laptops?
~MjG
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I believe schools should at least to a minimal degree be encouraging networked learning. At the very least they should be opening doors for easier communication between teachers and parents. It takes baby steps and I believe that the best action to take is just by creating the building block that can open many doors.
ReplyDeleteConsidering that many mobile devices are basically becoming mini computers, I believe that this could be a cost saving technique. Netbooks and mini laptops should also be considered for use.
I definitely think that schools should integrate networked learning into their classrooms. However, anything in excess is counterproductive in education. I think a healthy balance of networked learning and other activities (including interactive lecture) make for a highly effective classroom environment!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Louisa. Maybe if there were a certain amount of computers (or mobile device) in a classroom, students could use them when they needed or wanted to, and the mix of activities could help aid in some classroom management issues that arise with every student having a laptop to play with.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the classroom management aspect but my main concern is cost. Laptops break often in schools because students can be destructive. If a 50$ mobile device breaks, it does not hurt the budget nearly as much.
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