Friday, 20 January 2017
Week 2
This week we were lucky enough to have Alec Couros as a guest speaker via online video platform. Alec is an educator who works at the university of Regina and is a real expert in the field of education technology. His presentation was both entertaining and informative. He really provided a great combination of statistics and examples to drive home the fact that the internet has a huge influence on today's youth. Which is something that we as educators need to take into consideration as we move forward in our careers. It really tied in to what we talked about in the previous class with personal learning networks. Students will begin to create their own personal learning networks online from a very young age. We as teachers are going to be able to have a big impact by teaching students how to use these networks effectively.
One idea I really liked that Couros talked about was the concept of "open learning". It is a project that he often assigns his students with where they are in charge of their own learning. They are able to pick content that they are interested in and use the material that is available to them (internet) to learn. I think this idea has the potential to be very beneficial for students on many levels. Firstly, it is the perfect way to teach students how to use their personal learning networks effectively. Plus the practical experience they will get using the internet during the learning process will promote future learning beyond the classroom. Second, possibly the most obvious, I like the idea that students are able to find content that interests them. I think this would really add to the enjoyment element. It has been proven that more learning occurs if students enjoy what they are learning about. Lastly I really like the way this concept sets no limitations on students. Such an open concept creates the possibility for students knowledge and understanding to go above and beyond expectations.
Obviously, like any method, the "open learning" concept will not work for every student. Some students would undoubtedly require a little more structure. However I feel a little more structure could easily be added to individual students as is needed. I look forward to trying this concept in my future classroom.
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Wade,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Alec Couros as well! I felt that his ideas were thought-provoking and definitely something for all educators to consider. I liked the concept of open learning as well, but I feel that it would not work for all students or subjects. I completely understand the idea of having students take control of their own learning, but if it's for concepts such as long division, and they are not interested in the least bit, do we focus on other things that they are interested in? Or do we force them to learn long division? There may be no definite answer to that :)
I am definitely open to bringing open learning into my classroom!
I agree with what you added in the end though, that some students will need more structure, and that it will be easy to apply that structure.
Great blog post, and great ideas!
Great post Wade! That presentation was a great one I also really enjoyed it. I really like what you said about open learning. It is important to remember that students learn differently. This kind of learning may help students that have not had this kind of opportunity before to really flourish. Like you said, the students pick what they want to do and this is great for engaging students. I also look forward to giving this a try in my future classroom!
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