As you’re looking at tools this week, remember that you’re looking from two perspectives — as teacher and learner. This class is about creating and maintaining your own toolbox — a Personal Learning Environment — so that you can manage your own learning. Eventually you’ll want to look at it from “the other side of the desk” and use something like this in your own practice. See Personal Learning Environments for some insights from last year. Google that phrase and see how things have changed!
The teacher responded with, “Oh, yes!!. The monitor was just the right height!”
“Just the right height?” the principal asked, confused.
“Yes. It’s just the right height for a plant stand! We put the coleus on top of it so the students could see the phototropic action of the leaves over the course of the day. It was quite successful!”
On the one hand, you have to wonder if there was a more cost effective way to achieve the lesson goal, and on the other hand, it demonstrates how technology can be used in unexpected and useful ways. I have to wonder if the teacher got full marks for “incorporates technology into the classroom.”
For more on tools and distance education, see On Tools.
One of the ongoing confusions seems to be what constitutes distance in education. The idea that a classroom is fundamentally a different environment in terms of education than, say, a course offered in Blackboard seems pretty common. The problem, of course, is that classroom teachers are so fluent in the use of “classroom technology” that they fail to understand that the same principles that guide “online education” guide “classroom education.” Since most classroom teachers are unable to really come to grips with the notion of spoken language as technology, let’s look at the other venerable classrrom institution — the textbook.
No where is the dichotomy between reality and belief clearer than when dealing with a textbook. If I teach a class using the Kearsley book in a classroom, then it’s a classroom based course. If I teach a class using the Kearsley book and don’t meet the class in a classroom, then it’s a distance class. The problem is, as Lev Vygotsky points out with his idea of “distant teacher,” I’m not the teacher when you’re using the Kearsley book. Greg Kearsley is. It doesn’t matter where or how I assign the book. When you read it, Kearsley is the teacher. He offers the lesson, and perhaps part of what you learn from reading the book is what he intended. The fact that what *I* wanted you to learn is congruent with what Kearsley teaches notwithstanding. I didn’t teach it. I only assigned it.
I’ll say it again. All Education is at a distance. You are required to use some technology to bridge the gap between your mind and the mind of the learner. It’s not like I’m arbitrarily making this up. Until and unless you can implant your thoughts directly into the mind of the learner, you need some technology to carry your message. Once you can accept that and come to grips with it in a meaningful way, the rest of the discussion is centered on the tools, how well the tools carry various messages, and debunking some widely held mythology like the real value of body language, and the idea that a learner who never sees your face is at a disadvantage.
Ok! We’re beginning to get it! This week has brought several points home and I want to start with this one:
Venting about troubles « Barbaranantz’s Weblog
I have had so much information to read in the last 3 weeks I don’t know what I have read. I have read 4 chapters in books, thousands of blogs (Ok, maybe not thousands), created numerous blogs, attended 5 meetings, created two blog accounts, one aggregate count, instant messanger account, tapped in account and still managed to host a birthday party, 3 days a week tae kwon do, 3 days a week soccer, take my son to the doctor, and (oh yea!!) teach class. I have so many user names, it takes me at least 3 to 4 tries to log in any of the above names sights. I have information overload. I love the fact that I am learning, but I am not a “digital native” and don’t work at light speed like my students (yet). I feel as thought I am not grasping all the information that I need to be in order to be able to participate fully in our class. I still can’t figure out how to add wordpress to my gmail account to blog there without having to go to the wordpress site.
First, let’s address the issue of “digital native.” The issue of fluency is a question of practice. Even adults can learn a new language. The only advantage kids have is that their brains are wired for early language acquisition but that passes fairly quickly as the objectives of cognitive development shift from acquisition to integration. This whole “digital native” thing is a cute idea, but show me an adult who’s had the same 500 hrs of intense practice as any kid and I’ll show you somebody who’ll outperform the kid any time.
Second, the idea of “information overload” is a real one. The problem is that as you gain more and more insight into the where and how of communication, you begin to really appreciate how much you’re missing. Learning to deal with this — sorting, prioritizing, sifting, and disposing of information — may well be the key skill. I’m constantly appalled by my peers in the Educational Technology community who can’t deal with as few as 20-30 extra email messages a week. Just so you have some perspective. I follow over 400 blogs in my aggregator. I have 25 podcasts I listen to. I get between 400 and 500 email messages a day. On MSN, I have over 300 “buddies” and Yahoo has 50 contacts. That’s just online. I have the same issues of “day job,” kids, spouse, lawn, shopping, housework, and all the rest as anybody else.
I’m hardly a “digital native” given that the internet didn’t exist when I was born. Computers barely existed in 1952.
So what’s the difference? Practice.
Here’s some strategies for dealing with information overload.
- Don’t sweat it. You can’t get to all of it.
- Email is easy. Toss the spam without reading it. Prioritize the remaining incoming and scan and delete informational messages like listserver traffic. Only give time to the important messages like job, family, whatever is important to you.
- Blogs are easier because the RSS feeds carry a summary. Scan them quickly and don’t bother with the full posting unless the title and first couple of lines grab you. (This class is, of course, an exception.)
- Writing a blog is MUCH easier when you have the “Press It” bookmarklet from WordPress. You can find it at the bottom of your “Write > Posts” page in wordpress. Just drag it to your shortcut bar. When you see something you wanna write about, select the text you want to use in your post (like I picked part of that paragraph up there) and click the “Press It” link. You’ll be taken directly to your blog with the relevant passage already copied in with the reference link.
Practice, not Age, is the determining factor. Don’t be discouraged or buy into the “if you dont learn it when you’re young, you’re at a disadvantage” argument.
The dichotomy between what we “have to teach” and “need to teach” is beginning to show up in your blogs so I’ll send you to the post from last year.
See “Reconciling Teaching and Learning”.
As teachers struggle to find tools, techniques, content, and curriculum that can engage students, they’re being caught between the Scylla and Carybdis of politicians and administrators. The result is a mandated curriculum that alienates kids to the point where they actively reject what it is you’re trying to teach them.
The challenge here is figuring out how to satisfy the politicians and the administrators without hurting the kids. One of you made a comment about how difficult it was to convince students that they need the higher order skills when they look around and see the factory jobs. The problem, of course, is one of perspective. Kids have none, and the politicians’ perspective is focused on re-election — a focus that requires the politician to appeal to the lowest common denominator n the population. Whatever they say, an informed populace is not in the best interests of those being elected. It tends to make the sheeple a little more difficult to control when they start thinking for themselves.
What better way to harness the rebelliousness of youth than show them how being educated makes them more difficult to control?
Of course, that’s a two-edged sword. Once you start teaching them to think for themselves, they may well reject what you’re trying to teach them.
Oh. Wait …
Whenever we start talking about scope, there’s always this confusion about “either-or”. As if we need to teach online OR in classrooms. Clarence Fisher up at Remote Access has a wired classroom where he’s actively engaged in a “thin walls” project to connect his classroom with one in California. It’s this kinda stuff that makes me wish I were K-12 certified.
Back to basics:
Remember that one precept of what I’ll call “non-classroom learning” is “Everywhere. All the time.” Most distance ed people think along the “Anywhere, Anytime” line, but I think we’re missing a clue about how people learn if we even consider that there might be a time when they’re not learning. Once we’re no longer bound by the classroom box (what I call “the 30×30 for 3hrs on Thursday” notion), that gives us the opportunity to provide educational experiences that are not possible in the classroom. This class, for example, would not be possible if I could only teach you in the classroom. I could cover the same content, but it would not be this course of study and, in my opinion, a much poorer alternative to reach the stated goal of inculcating an understanding of distance delivery theory and practice.
The other precept is that “all education is at a distance.” There is no “either-or” but only “education.” The choices we make about what communications tools we use are driven, in large part, by the structural constraints of the class. Does the school have to fill the seats in order to amortize the cost of a building? Is the nature and subject matter of the course less about information presentation and more about student interaction? Is the intended audience for the course easily accessible in space and time?
Somebody, and I don’t remember who so I’m not pointing fingers, mentioned that online education would work well for “older” students but that perhaps middle school and below needed the teacher’s push in order to acquire the time management skills necessary to succeed and that push requires a bit of face-to-face time with an intimidating adult. (No, that’s not what the posting said, but that’s the implication.) Let me just point out that you get reminders from me every day (weekends included) and fresh content, and I’m applying pressure on each of you to get and stay on task. Be thinking about how I’m doing that and what the stressors are that I’m able to apply to keep you motivated to learn.
This final week of unit one, we’re dealing with scope. I wrote about it last year — and it’s a bit dated — but the constructs still seem valid even if the examples are a year old, but you can see it in the article On Scope.
Seems hard to believe it’s been only a year …
I’ve been leading up to this for days. Even spilt the beans on somebody’s comment. Here’s my definition of Distance Ed.
