Well, I’m glad to read I’m in good company thinking and writing about the role of blogs and other web 2.0 technologies can and should play in school reform efforts. Martin LaMonica’s December 1st article on CNet, “Futurist: To fix education, think Web 2.0” includes the following quotation from learning, business and technology guru John Seely Brown:
Rather than treat pedagogy as the transfer of knowledge from teachers who are experts to students who are receptacles, educators should consider more hands-on and informal types of learning. These methods are closer to an apprenticeship, a farther-reaching, more multilayered approach than traditional formal education, he said.
Amen! We have to move beyond the transmission model of education, to a more collaborative paradigm that emphasizes the CREATION of knowledge products.
I also resonate with these comments by John, with regard to teaching practices, assessment, and blended learning:
“With every new piece of technology, to make this technology work, you have to change your teaching practices,” Seely Brown said. “Part of it is (thinking about) how to go from sage on the stage to being a real mentor.”
He suggested a “hybrid” learning approach. Schools can teach essential knowledge and critical thinking through somewhat traditional means. But they should complement that teaching with what Seely Brown called “passion-based learning” that focuses on getting students more engaged with topic experts.
Passion-based learning is what the Talking Science podcasting project is all about. We need to regularly encourage and celebrate students talking to content-area experts, and then remixing their learning into audio podcasts.
I thought of a new term yesterday I think I will eventually turn into an article and presentation / workshop: The Renaissance of Simplicity. (Hey, maybe I could even make this a book!) In many ways, I think text-based blogs and audio-only podcasting can invite a wonderful renaissance of meaningful, in-depth communication. Rather than become distracted with the bells and whistles of technology, these tools permit learners to focus on the powerful but simple essentials of 21st century communication and collaboration. These include a focus on:
- Content and ideas.
- Listening to others.
- Creating original content based on the ideas of others.
- Collaborating with a broadly distributed, international audience.
A renaissance of powerful simplicity.
On his website, John Seely Brown has an enticing collection of articles and other resources under the heading, “Digital Culture and Learning in the Digital Age.” This includes a video of his 2003 keynote at the UC College of Journalism’s New Media Conference on “The Social Life of Information in the Digital Age and Kids that Grow Up Digital.” Looks like some great ideas to mull over during the holidays! A PDF of his presentation slides is also available, along with his paper “Growing Up Digital: How the Web Changes Work, Education, and the Ways People Learn.
Thanks to Janet Swenson on the SITE blog for the original link to the CNet article! 🙂
Technorati Tags: digitalnatives, education, educationreform, literacy, schoolreform
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