The following blog contains comments on two articles concerning for EDTEC 467 Week 5 “Teaching in Social and Technological Networks” by George Siemens and Becoming a Networked Learner. Personal Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education by Richardson, Will and Rob Mancabelli.
What do you see as the most important areas of professional development for educators to become 21st century educators? In order to grow as an efficient educator in the new learning environment of the 21st century, the educator will need to let go of control and let the learner take active control of their own learning. The role of the educator will change from controlling content and conversation to instead influencing student learning by shaping the network in which learning occurs.
How will the lack of control change the view of the educator, compared to being an authoritative figure, and will this view cause the revered persona of an educator to dissipate? In general I find that students like educators that are approachable. In my opinion this holds true, who wants to ask questions from someone who is unapproachable? I think the educator will be viewed in a better way as a co-learner and facilitator. The revered view won’t dissipate in my opinion, but change into a different type of respect. What is your opinion?
How can educators shape a network to facilitate learning? In order to shape a learning network, educators will need to develop skills that amplify important concepts, through social media available through technological tools available online. These tools include Twitter, Diigo, Blogger, and Facebook, that aggregate content information. “.If you build your network well, it’s almost like having a whole research team working for you constantly. Obviously, you’ll want to be a part of that team as well.”(2)
What will the design of these networks look like? Teachers will also need to “arrange key elements of a subject in such a manner that learners will “bump into” them throughout the course.” (1) This helps the learner focus on important concepts, reflect, and interpret those concepts in a space arranged by the educator. This space needs to be designed to provide learner functionality in finding and filtering information.
Will this design be biased according to views of the instructor on what content is included? I think this design would be biased according to the instructor, unless that instructor is able to include different perspectives from their own in this environment. In my opinion the educator will have to balance their own perspectives along with the perspectives of the learning network. This also has to incorporate the interests of the students in order to inspire them in establishing their own network. “As learners grow their own networks of understanding, frequent encounters with conceptual artifacts shared by the teacher will begin to resonate.”(1)
Is there a way to develop a learning environment that changes to accommodate the constant influx of knowledge? To accommodate constant change, educators need to do develop techniques (or be able to use advance technology) in order to monitor and aggregate fragmented content and conversations.Filtering information will be important. Educators can filter material explicitly through choosing resources or implicitly by writing summaries of students’ thoughts, emphasizing important ideas. This information can then be analyzed to find common themes, relevant information, and missing concepts. Course structure can then be manipulated to create learning experiences in the moment, which is constantly changing. This is different than the static “set in stone” courses commonly used today. In a sense the course will be less valued for their content, but instruct students how to find current information in that field of study that interests them.
Do educators have to give up more of their privacy in order to establish connections compared to others in society? A teacher online presence is needed to accomplish these attributes of becoming a 21st century educator. Modeling is important to educate students on the “process of becoming” or applying information rather than just knowing information. In order to model this learning they will need to develop a “persistent presence in the learning network……to amplify, curate, aggregate, and filter content and to model critical thinking and cognitive attributes that reflect the needs of a discipline” (1) I think educators will sacrifice privacy in order to establish all of these connections and learning networks. However, do educators have the right to expect students to give up their privacy in connecting with others?
What are specific steps you would consider as part of your effort to become a 21st century connected educator? I consider myself a total beginner or “starter” in the literacies of the 21st century. My first goal would be to become comfortable in using social media tools in learning. After this I think developing a “filter” for relevant and important content would have to be developed. After filtering, participation is next. This step is hard since I analyze myself for mistakes way too much. Like the article “Becoming a Networked Learner” states “The real test of your commitment will come as you ride the emotional roller coaster of participation that every learning network beginner experiences.” The next stage would be to share or model this to other instructors and students. Finally, I would incorporate “small portions” of technological activities to inspire students to develop their own network of learning.
Additional Information from Defining the Connected Educator:
The article describes that we learn best through each other. Collaboration is the key in learning rather than learning as an individual. This involves educators learning from each other and establishing this type of learning students through technology. The individual educator is responsible in directing their own learning. The article states that “Personal knowledge building is important in a collaborative culture, in part because it adds to the value we bring to the collective space.” (3) Not only sharing knowledge is important, but accepting new ideas and criticism from others is also important. I constantly learn from my colleagues. Do you have a collaboration that you learn from?
I agree that learning individually first by finding resources and information is important before collaborating with others. I think students today are socially connected and learn from their peers. Although I suspect they are more interested in developing relationships as friends rather than ones that establish learning acquaintances. Do you think students use social media to learn?
References
(1)Teaching in Social and Technological Networks « Connectivism. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2014, from http://www.connectivism.ca/?p=220
(2) Richardson, Will and Rob Mancabelli. Becoming a Networked Learner. Personal Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education. Rosolina, Rachel. ed. New York. Solution Tree Press. 2011. 193554327X. pp. 33-57.
(3)Nussbaum-Beach, Sheryl and Lani Ritter Hall. Defining the Connected Educator. Connected Educator: Learning and Leading in a Digital Age. New York. Solution Tree Press. 2012. 1935543172. pp. 9-24.
Dana, I too will pick up on the question you posed about privacy — I think a lot depends on how much you consider to be private information. I think that sharing personal details is one element certainly, but I think a lot of people are also worried about externalizing anything — for example, is it too much for me to put my thinking out there in a blog every day or week for people to look at? So, it could even come down to the level of sharing one’s thinking or practices as giving up privacy, do you know what I mean? In that sense, yes, one must expect to give up privacy, but still not give out personal details and that’s the same for what teachers can expect students to agree to.
To add to the discussion of How will the lack of control change the view of the educator, compared to being an authoritative figure? This is an interesting question for me because I am in a district that control is essential to the learning process. Without control learning does not exist as the classroom can become disruptive. My students come to the table with challenging behaviors and various special needs. With that said, I still believe the instructor can take part in the learning environment while maintaining control. When acting as the facilitator, the instructor can still provide guidelines, expectations, and deadlines. I agree that the instructor will be seen in an even better light as they are now practicing what they preach by participating. It is really up to the instructor to shape these relationships and boundaries with their students. It starts with being a professional and having clear guidelines from the beginning.
In regards to the question, What are specific steps you would consider as part of your effort to become a 21st century connected educator? I personally did not mention the fact that I analyze myself for mistakes way too much as well. In my situation, I am not always confident in my own thinking. This often prevents me from sharing or makes me second guess myself throughout the process. When I begin to second guess myself it becomes more time consuming and the experience can be frustrating. I guess it goes back to the elementary school attitude of being concerned about how others perceive your thoughts or opinions. This would be something to consider when creating an environment of networked learners. It is important to establish a level of comfort to get the most out of this learning arena. This was a very good point brought up that I completely missed!
Hello Dana!
Just a few quick thoughts here about your blog for this week. Regarding the topic in your blog about students liking educators that are approachable, amen! I definitely feel being an approachable teacher/instructor/professor is quite essential because it will help the learner have a positive learning experience. I see feedback like that on my own reviews from participants who have taken classes when I was the instructor. They really like the fact that I put them at ease about asking questions and that I address all questions honestly and in a straight forward manner, often supplementing or using real-life working scenarios/situations to help answer the question(s). Being able to ask questions can often be a valuable part of the learning experience, no matter what the environment is (traditional or online). Questions often get discussion started, and, odds are, if one person had the question, somebody else had the same or similar question. I always had the sense that if a teacher/instructor/professor wasn’t approachable, they are likely in the wrong profession and probably should not be teaching. I say that because those jobs require you to interact with people, and if you can’t do that in a positive way, it sure doesn’t help the learner get the most out of that class/course/workshop.
Regarding the topic in your blog about educators needing to give up some privacy in order to establish those online network connections, I don’t think they will. At the end of the day, what they choose to share on those networks is pretty much in their control. If the sole purpose of the network is to establish connections that enhance learning, I would think that some personal information could be shared from time to time as I really feel that makes the connections more meaningful. I think we all have varying degrees of those types of connections and what we desire out of them. I think by nature, we are all guarded and protective of who we are. I know I am. In those online network scenarios, I would likely never share pictures of my family. Why? Because I don’t know what each person in that network will do with that picture. So, once it’s out there, it’s out there. As I was reading the Mancabelli and Richardson article, that notion/thought was presented and I remember saying to myself “yep, that’s exactly right. You don’t know what the other person will do with that information.” In the end, I don’t think everyone’s personal stories/lives have to be presented/on display in these networks. I say that because the primary purpose of that network isn’t to share personal information; it is to share information to enhance learning.
Be well!
Keith