This week's article was an extension on the articles we have been reading about connectivism, but the article explored how specific technologies are currently changing the learning environment, by placing high value on collaboration, design and invention. The article also focused on the role of the instructor in the world of emerging technologies. The point was made that the role of the instructor would evolve from a lecture mode into a role of the facilitator, "placing the instructor alongside the students instead of in front of the classroom" as learners take more control over creating their own content.
I found this article to be more of the perspective I was searching while reading and discussing last week's assignments on connectivism, since it really delved into the need for the instructor to guide collaborative learning by providing structure, editing and other guidelines. This week, I read further about the "Net Generation" and how they view learning and communication, and I realized that while many of the values of this generation are evolving, the principles are unchanged. Teachers still need to create ways to reach people with different learning styles and different levels of technological knowledge. Educators must help students develop ethics to deal with issues with intellectual property rights, plagarism, and privacy etc. Educators must help students to develop core skills in critical thinking and analytical writing. These are the core skills and issues that teachers always had to deal with, however the context is changing fast.
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4 comments:
Amy --
I like your focus on the role of the instructor with the emerging technologies. For me, that was my interest also. I think it will be interesting to compare the transition process of a 'veteran' instructor to that of a new instructor who actually grew up with highly collaborative tools. I would think that for these 'newbies,' instructor as facilator would be a natural; bu perhaps not.
I agree with you that as we are teaching younger students how to function in this highly technological world, we should also teach them matters involving privacy, copy rights, ethics. But I also think that this is not a clear matter, because each individual might have his own notions of how things should be. I also have this impression that even as adults we have not hold up to the standards. Before we teach them these matters, we should define how to approach them. Moreover, my second part of the comment is whether they have in their cognition the ability to grasp those intangible concepts that are emerging alongside the development of new technologies.
interesting observation on how the role of teachers is changing in some cases
from instructor to “facilitator” somewhat along side to students. Also she pointed out, reflection on the article that teacher should still have a role a someone guiding the students on how to deal with all the technology is coming out; ex: how to deal with ethics. Quoting: “Educators must help students develop ethics to deal with issues with intellectual property rights, plagarism, and privacy etc.”
I agree that the teacher will play a critical role in differentiating and adapting material for the various learning styles of their students. However, it is amazing to see the new textbooks that school districts are purchasing. Many of the texts are meticulously scripted and offer a variety of resources for the teacher to click on to provide differentiated instruction for various learning styles and language abilities. Moreover, many of the textbooks feature digital components that can customize content to an individual student's learning abilities based on adaptive assessments. I agree that teachers must be creative and use critical skills in helping their students, but I wonder how all these resources will help or hinder them.
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