Our world is connected in ways that were once inconceivable. Digital technology and social networking is transforming the way we learn, and consequently, transforming the role of the teacher. While some teachers may feel as if their role is becoming obsolete, I would argue that our role is now more critical than ever... it just looks different.
"Learning is a continual process, lasting for a lifetime"; it does not stop once a piece of paper is handed to you during a graduation or convocation ceremony. Connectivism in a modern theory of learning that educators must embrace. As my classmate, Nathan Bromm stated, connectivism is the new lifelong learning. In order to learn authentically in our contemporary society (and be prepared for tomorrow), students need to be able to develop 21st century literacies, which include connecting and collaborating with others, as Howard Rheingold argues in his article. We, as teachers, have the opportunity to make a profound positive impact on the futures of our students if we choose to embrace this change... otherwise, we leave our students prepared for the future that once awaited us, but unprepared for the actual future that awaits them. This requires us to ditch the idea that learning is a transaction between the teacher and the student… it requires us to regard learning as the meaningful interaction between the student and their evolving Personal Learning Network… cultivating lifelong learners in a world where, as George Siemens points out, "Knowledge is growing exponentially… [and] the life of knowledge is now measured in months and years".
But how do we get their attention?!? As Rheingold states in his article, he used to feel as if attention was compromised when students were not looking at him while he was talking to them; but then he realized… "If I can't compete with the Internet for their attention, that's my problem." Not accepting this reality, schools (and even post-secondary institutions) have even gone so far as to ban technology in their classrooms because they think technology is inherently distracting. A Forbes article on the issue says that, "some professors feel they need to create engaging presentations to compete with technology for students’ attention." Does it have to be a competition? I do not believe so. We, as teachers, have had it engrained in our minds that in order to have students' attention and make learning meaningful, we need to be "engaging"… but this pedagogical mindset is flawed. George Couros talks about the importance of shifting from engagement to empowerment. I believe empowerment is what truly captures the "attention" of students.
"Education, even when I first started, seemed to be a lot more about the teacher, and a lot less about the learner. With developments in technology, especially the Internet, this practice has to change more now than ever. In our time, we have to realize that there is so much access to information, that we need to really empower the learner to not only take in information, but become flexible and adaptable so they create something new from it. From the sharing of ideas, comes new and better learning and creations. We have moved from a time where it is not simply about engagement, but about empowerment." --George Couros |
A participatory culture of connected learners is empowerment. Rheingold's article illustrates that engagement is not the key to attention… nor is it the key to authentic learning. He, argues that a commitment to developing 21st Century literacies is the key to authentic learning. Rheingold, too, advocates for empowered learners, in saying "participating, even if it's no good and nobody cares, gives one a different sense of being in the world. When you participate, you become an active citizen rather than simply a passive consumer of what is sold to you." I know people share concerns that there are dominant voices in online spaces; while that may be true, how will that ever change if we, as educators, don't do our part to change that status-quo? During my schooling, my voice went as far as the teacher's hand-in basket. Today, we have the opportunity to empower student voice. As for concerns about those students who live on the margins and may lack access to technology, that is even MORE reason for us to have them exercise their voice with the technology available to them at school. As Rheingold says, "The technologies that we have in our pockets today are powerful engines for participation… simply participating is a start." A "start" is all we need to influence change... and it is certainly the seed to have students discover they have a voice in the first place. This begins in schools... but if we don't embrace it, students will have a more resonant intellectual and creative life outside of school than inside it. Students deserve both environments to provide fertile soil for learning, and for those students who come from disadvantage, it is even more critical that schools are environments for rich intellectual and creative opportunities afforded by the capabilities of technological innovations and participatory culture. Furthermore, we need to enhance this participation to ignite collaboration, as "doing things together gives us more power than doing things alone." As my classmate, Vanessa, said, "Connectivity does not need to be the perpetrator; it can be a gift, but only if we do allow it be."
As teachers encourage their students to get networked... they, too, must model their meaningful presence in our connected, participatory culture.
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Lastly, just because we live in a networked society, we cannot make the erroneous assumption that since students were born in the age of digital innovation and possess these technologies, that they are digital natives. "No one is born a native speaker of 'digital' the way no one is born a native speaker of any language". Being on Facebook or Instagram does not in any way correlate to possessing essential 21st century skills for participatory and collaborative culture. The deceiving term of "digital natives" coerces comfort into knowledge, and those are two fundamentally different things. A better term for many youth would be what David White has termed "digital residents". You can watch an excellent video that Alec Couros and Katia Hildebrandt introduced to us last semester regarding the fallacy of digital natives and the more appropriate descriptor of digital residents. Twenty-first century skills must be cultivated in schools and educators must do their part to provide context, immersion and practice for students so that they will learn how to navigate our connected world and becoming authentic and particpatory lifelong learners.