Why School? I bought my very first Kindle book, "Why School?" and read it on my Android phone. Richardson contends that we need to rethink teaching. As teachers we need to continually learn, unlearn, and relearn. He says that there are two schools of thought. The old school method is teaching the same curriculum using the new tools of technology. The new school method is completely revamping how we've done things. The six points Richardson emphasizes are: 1. Share everything (be transparent and share work) 2. Discover, don't deliver the curriculum (allow students to create their own learning experience) 3. Talk to strangers (to learn, but vet them) 4. Be a master learner (never stop learning) 5. Do real work for real audiences (relevant and meaningful) 6. Transfer the power (from teacher to student) ( Richardson, 2012) Of the six points above, I can commit to #4 being a master learner. This is especially easy because I am required to have professional development as an instructor; and I need to become more familiar with technology to be a better, more effective instructor. The hardest ones on the list would be #5, do real work for real audiences, since I have a set syllabus at the college. I am most interested in teaching students what they need to learn, but there are so many requirements the students need for "level completion" that this will consume most of the classroom time. I'd have to find a way to incorporate it through my existing Face Book page or set up a Weebly for my students. Also #6 (transfer the power) is challenging because students are still looking to the teacher to direct their learning. Although I continually tell them they are the driver, my adult students are not self-guided learners. Yes, his ideas are foreign to me. They go against everything I know about how to be a teacher. But, I too want my students to love learning, be able to problem solve real problems, and be independent thinkers. I am a willing convert. Where is this type of learning/teaching happening? What can I do to advocate for this change? Can I implement this with my adult EL students? References Richardson, W. (2012). Why School? How education must change when learning and information are everywhere [Kindle app]. Retrieved from Amazon.com Are you a Visitor or Resident of the Internet?
I have primarily been a visitor. As defined by Dr. White, I use technology as I need it. Online, I have more of an individual learning style, which does not fit my real life persona. I use technology as a tool then put it back in the toolbox when I'm done. (White, 2013) I made a Google Site to help me organize a church youth event and communicate with the volunteers, then left it alone. I am a superb texter, e-mailer, Face Booker, though. I am a Resident of Face Book. I have a personal account, which I maintain to keep contact with old friends from Japan (Navy brat) and with relatives in the Philippines and Texas. I often joke that, "If it weren't for Face Book, I would have no idea what was going on with these young people." They post about getting an apartment/new job, getting engaged, married, having children, etc. So, that is where I keep "in touch" with what's going on in others' lives. I'm not as vigilant in maintaining my personal account as my "student account" which is where I try to be visible. (White, 2013) I make announcements, post videos and pictures of students, and useful grammar tidbits. That is my social space, where I try to "suck in" my students who are not all into technology. But, twice a week I drag them to the computer lab and have them look up ESL Teacher Sheila Davis and post a comment. Dr. White's graphic showed me that I can be a visitor and a resident. Currently, I am more of a visitor. But, I want to learn how to be more of a resident and do it in a time-effective manner. References White, D (2013, May 31). Visitors and Residents. Retrieved June 8, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0sFBadv04eY From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-Able Michael Wesch says we need to move students from being knowledgeable (filled with facts/info.) and instead teach them to be knowledege-able. Students who are knowledge-able know how to find, sort, analyze, criticize, and create new information. Technology makes it easy to "connect, organize, share, collect, collaborate, and publish". (Wesch, 2010)This is a huge shift in how education has been done. This is much harder to test and quantify. I am teaching students that are Literacy, Beginning Low, and Beginning High non-native speakers of English. I'm pretty confident that my higher level students will be able to use technology in the way that Wesch is suggesting. However, the lower level students have two hurtles - the technology itself and the lack of language. Perhaps we could do small group projects where a higher level student is the "captain" and can assist the lower level students. This will give me something to think about over the summer. References Wesch, M (2010, Oct 10). TEDxKC - Michael Wesch - From Knowledgeable to Knowledge-Able, Retrieved June 8, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeaAHv4UTI8
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