The reading is straight forward. Right off the back there is the quote from Cisco which says it all. In summary its all about the human aspect in the digital age. We are all connected now, everything is connected in many different ways. We find ourselves evolving as learners, escaping that traditional style with a newer modern style. The do it yourself style where the learner is placed first. Learner are becoming self-reliance and has more of a can-do-spirit. I love this style because it gives me the chance to find my own information and resources along with it the fact that it feels more natural to discover and learn for oneself then to be forced to learn something you can't seem to get interested in.
"Collaborative problem is as old as fireside chats in the cave" - from the textbook
I enjoy this line from Connected Educator because it is simple but says a lot. Collaboration isn't something new to us, but with technology we see it from a whole new light. It is all about the communication, talking, and thinking. Two heads are better than one, so clearly the more heads the better off we will be when learning. I like the idea of a human network, a place where many like mind individuals can come together to learn and help one another in the process of learning.
In the world today we need to build a community in both an online and offline using all networks available to us like our personal, professional and global networks. This ensure a meaningful flow of information from many different sources. The text in Connected Educator brings up a good problem with the common language used in our learning communities. This is more then just a language barrier because people use terms and vocabulary with differently. This happens in every community and even just general social groups take for example the term brunch, it is a term referring to a mealtime but this time is different to me then it is for some of my friends. In education terms like "Principal" or "principle" can be confused because they sound alike and it only gets worse from there when we start talking about the meaning of the words or what they imply to different people.
The three different communities professional personal and one of practice all serve different purposes. Professional is generally a community where you work in collaborative in grade-level or subject area teams, this isn't something new to educators as we do this anyways. Personal communities is where you gather information for personal knowledge or to supplement a professional community. The last community is where you collect knowledge around shared interest and goals. I make a point to summarize those communities as they are new concepts to me or at least the wording is new to me.
Ultimately I want to a computer science teacher and I want to do more then just have students create programs or anything else. I want students to interact with more then just what they are working on, and I know the need for students to learn to be self directed when it comes to subjects like computer science because you will never keep up with the world of computer if you stop learning. I diffidently want to provide a way for students to get outside peer help on assignments and projects because its important to learn from those around you, and in today world that pretty much everyone.
You have some great qualities that will serve well as a computer science teacher: the love to dig in with technology and play around with it and the love of do-it-yourself style learning and exploring. How would of all of our school experiences been if we had been exposed to a self-directed style of learning? One of my favorite comments in the text was what Ken Carroll commented about the ChinesePod site, "The teachers and practitioners on ChinesePod do not see ourselves as lecturers or teachers who impart knowledge in the old sense. Instead, we are connectors, or resources who point learners at key patterns or elements that help strengthen their connection to a piece of information (and emphasize the skill of being able to identify patterns)."
ReplyDelete"Ultimately I want to a computer science teacher and I want to do more then just have students create programs or anything else. I want students to interact with more then just what they are working on, and I know the need for students to learn to be self directed when it comes to subjects like computer science because you will never keep up with the world of computer if you stop learning. I diffidently want to provide a way for students to get outside peer help on assignments and projects because its important to learn from those around you, and in today world that pretty much everyone."
ReplyDeleteThis quote above is exactly what a teacher is and does. They want to teach their subject but realize that teaching is so much more than just the specialty you know. It is social and emotional learning. It is about life lessons, which are so much more and have such an impact on a learning experience. You are going to make an excellent computer science teacher. I can't wait to introduce you virtually with my friend who is running the NY School of Education's Computer Science Program, which is currently introducing programming into the public schools.