(Return to K12online 2006)
Once upon a time,Time,Space,work environments,and expectations were givens--the constants. If we think of them as variables then what is possible? What will school be like for our great,great grandchildren ? I am thinking about what is being said and what the underlying message is.
This is an interesting question. Of course, no one can answer. But I think you hit the nail on the head. It's because time, space, work environments, and expectations are now variables that we, for the first time in history, are tasked with preparing our children for a future that we can not describe. Doing that will require a different kind of learning, teaching, information experience, expectations, assessment, blah blah blah, than what I got in the 1950s and '60s. The problem is that the constraints of today's classrooms are much more aligned with my education experience, than my children's future. -- that's the story.
In David's talk, as well as, Will Richardson's there has been alot of emphasis upon blogging, wikis and the other web 2.0 tools. Are these being promoted as THE ANSWER. Technology then becomes the answer or are they tools for students to begin a dialog with others and find their own voice.
This is a great question, and one that must be asked again and again. Of course Blogging and wikis are not THE ANSWER. They are blips on the radar. A record of one application in an age of rapidly advancing information and communication technologies. The constant, however, is communication. From my earliest experiences with Radio Shack Model I computers to my Motorola Q mobile phone and pocket web browser, it's always been about new ways to communicate more compellingly with our audiences. What is especially powerful about blogging and wikis, is that the technology has, to a greater extent than ever before, gotten out of the way. The tech is so simple and so intuitive, that it's almost entirely about the communication, about the conversation. I think that it's what makes this so compelling to students. It's no longer a writing assignment. It's a communication assignment.
Thanks for the question!
Maybe blogs and wikis are code words that stand for those good things--student involvement, participation,critical thinking,responsibility for one's education,finding one's voice,sharing power with students, new roles for teachers, collaboration ....When students communicate with an audience they are usually at their best. Therefore, blogs and wikis are tools that help to unleash the power of individuals and create an environment characterized by creativity, student involvement, participation,critical thinking,responsibility for one's education,finding one's voice,sharing power with students, new roles for teachers, collaboration...
AS you can see I am searching for the core and trying to get away from the hype.