Sunday, October 14, 2012

The Networked Student and Teacher

Networking, its all about making the right connections, right?


Unfortunately for some of us, the world seems to be shrinking everyday because of technology. Teachers are constantly fighting a battle against becoming antiquated. A new app tells students answers to questions they haven’t even asked in class and their phones are now regulated in classes because they can be used to cheat on projects and tests. So, how do we make technology back into the tool that it should be, by making it a main stay in the classroom. Networking isn’t just a social thing anymore, students are using the internet to connect them with knowledge that even their teachers don’t know.

That being said, the big question becomes why have teachers at all? If all the information is available do students really need teachers? The answer is a resounding yes. The old adage goes that “knowledge is power,” but a lot of us are aware that power without direction and purpose causes more problems than it fixes. The teachers place is to facilitate their learning. We will need to show our students: where the good information is, how to verify it, and how to share it so that others can find it and see its credibility. That is why it is so important that teachers need to be technologically literate and internet savvy. How can we guide them to knowledge, if we don’t know where to get it? Or how to make sure that the information is correct? We cannot unless we accept that we don’t know everything and be willing to say “Let’s find out!”

What can a Seventh Grader Teach Me? A Lot, Actually

Okay, You need to watch this video, Personal Learning Networks. This is truly amazing. The way that Ms. Drexler has for her students to find information and prepare and present that information is truly exciting. I wonder if I will be able to let my students take the reins. I think that this will be the biggest problem for educators, being able to take an advisory rather than a control position in the learning system. As Dr. Strange says, to coach rather than teach.

2 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed reading your blog it contained a lot of good information. I really enjoyed the sentence in your second paragraph that says Knowledge is power but power without direction and purpose causes more problems than it fixes. That is very true. Keep up the great work this was a very good blog.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey Sidney,

    You have some great thoughts and points here, but your post is incomplete. You needed to write three or more paragraphs about the networked student. You can complete your assignment then, email me to let me know it is complete. Then, I can mark your post as complete. Here is my email: stephen.akins1@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete