I also watched a recorded webinar by Chris Lehman on connected learning. Mr. Lehman touched on a lot of major topics across a variety of issues related to technology as well as education in general. One of the things that stood out in my mind was when he said "...what we’re really teaching in the Information Age (when a kid who has an iPhone in their pocket has more access to information than a teacher has in their head), we’re teaching them Wisdom." That statement really stood out to me because it is so very true. We don't have the ability to know everything but if we can teach students how to use the information they have access to wisely then we will be making progress.
The other statement that really stood out was when he said, "...what else needs to be in place so that teachers can have access to technology “like oxygen,” where it just works?" As wifi and devices continually improve, I hope to one day see this take place.
Sources:
https://educatorinnovator.org/webinars/chris-lehmann-inquiry-the-very-first-step-in-the-process-of-learning/
https://educatorinnovator.org/webinars/chris-lehmann-inquiry-the-very-first-step-in-the-process-of-learning/
I agree with your connection to parenting and the article by Grant Wiggins. My children have now both graduated college, but while they were young, my goal was to prepare them for the real world. When I entered college many of my friends knew how to cook, clean, and manage a budget. I did not have these skills, my mother did it all for me. I gave my children a budget for groceries in high school, allowed them to prepare meals, wash clothes and they learned budgeting as well. As a result, it is easier for them to navigate on their own in the adult world. This directly transfers to education. If we allow our students to practice using real world skills with their teachers in class, they will be much better equipped to handle them in the real world.
ReplyDeleteI found a lot of connections in this week's resources to parenting, which has made me really try to reflect on the "why." Why is it so hard to do what we do as parents in the classroom? First, I thought about the idea of failing-if our students fail, we, as the teachers, are ultimately failing. But, isn't that the same as with our own children? Is it the higher stakes of having that trust from parents? As the webinar stated, "Parents really engage in what I consider to be a sacred trust in that they send us their children every day." Is it because we see the immediate ramifications of our students failing-it's more in your face now vs. the assumption that we know our kids are going to end up on a therapist's couch one day because of us? I haven't come up with an answer yet, obviously. :)
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