AU Blogspot

               Thanks to Jason V for permission to use this Photo.

I like John Connell’s statement in Our Duty to Protect through Education: “how do we teach our young people to make responsible use of the web tools and resources at their disposal if we are completely unable to access them in school?”

I fully understand and respect the need for security in schools.  

But, as John indicates, schools are about preparing people for the world…not protecting them from the world. My children are currently “blog-less” in school, which is to be expected as we are still in the early stages of a hype cycle (actually, we are well past the early stages in my eyes, but classroom reality suggests otherwise).  

While still young, they realize that access has been removed. (more…)

              Thanks to pizzapancakes for permission to use this Photo.

Here’s an interesting podcast interview with educational guru and Ashworth
University contributing blogger Steve Hargadon.  The interview focuses on progressive uses of technology, alternative learning methods, and the overall need to reform our current educational model.  As always, Steve makes some excellent points.  Click on the image above to listen.  Please feel free to share your thoughts with the AU community. 

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University

           Thanks to David Bleasdale for permission to use this Photo.

Here’s a very timely and thought provoking interview with George Siemens.  For those of you not familiar with George’s work, he’s one of the most innovative minds in the education field.  In designing the learning models of the future, George understands that we must dramatically transform the ways in which we define “learning” before we can fully maximize the potential of tomorrow’s technologies for ”educational” purposes.  Listen to this podcast interview by clicking on the image above. 

Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University  

OK, I don’t even let my own kids use the word “stupid” around the house (if my 9-year old says that someone used the “s”-word, she means “stupid”), but for those of us who remember the 1992 presidential campaign, the phrase reminds us of the importance of focusing on what really matters.

For the last year or two, I’ve been in an internal dilemma over the importance of technology versus pedagogy, and I think I’ve just reached a breaking point. There is just no question in my mind now that we are witnessing the initial phases of a social, cultural, and scientific change that will rival–and likely eclipse–the advent of the printing press. And it is not because of the pedagogy. While this change confirms some core beliefs that many of us have with regard to teaching and learning, and reopens the door to implementing them, the cause of this dramatic change is technological, specifically the read/write Web (or Web 2.0). It is the use of the Web as a contributor as much as a consumer of information.

Special thanks to Jennifer_Dickert for permission to use this photo.

Last week I was in Denver, attending a KnowledgeWorks Foundation small-group brainstorm “Re-imagining Teaching for the Future.” Through a series of exercises intended to construct scenarios about future forces that would affect the roles of teachers, we tried to imagine what teaching and learning will be like in 10 - 15 years. I suggested that the depth of integration of technology into formal education would be a significant factor in teachers’ roles, but was told that in this particular kind of scenario building, that technology is almost never considered a critical force, because it can be assumed it will be adopted.

I beg to differ. I’m not sure we can make that assumption. Mike Huffman from Indiana calculated that his state had spent a billion dollars on computer technology over ten years, with the less-that-stunning result that each student had access to a computer for 35 minutes a week. Using a bottom-line approach to computing, with the goal of actual classroom and curricular integration, Mike and his colleague Laura Taylor have been helping to provide low-cost immersive computing in Indiana–but I get the feeling they still fight every day to keep their program. Our inability in our own small worlds to see the larger picture of dramatic change taking place because of the Internet and the read/write Web threatens to keep us on a path of continuing to see computers as an accessory in the classroom. I’m personally not convinced that schools are ready to adopt the computer as the new learning medium. They should, however, and the longer it takes us to recognize this important reality, the more we will wonder why we didn’t act sooner. (more…)

         Thanks to Marcin Kuligowski for permission to use this Photo.

Five plus years ago, as blogs and wikis were beginning their emergence from the technology field to wider use, I frequently encountered comments acknowledging their value for communication, but with a tone that questioned their practical application in classrooms. The concern of practical use has largely been settled as learners and academics alike have adopted blogs for learning, communicating, and connecting. Sub-networks of academic, school, and corporate blogs (sometimes created intentionally with a handful of prominent bloggers posting to a site or sometimes created through interests shared by bloggers and the resulting links of information exchange) are a viable means of staying informed of trends and interacting with colleagues from around the world. (more…)

               Thanks to David C for permission to use this Photo

I was reviewing Lost in Translation: (Mis)Understanding Youth Engagement (.pdf) - a discussion on why youth are “increasingly disenchanted with formal political institutions and practices”. My thoughts turn to how the changed youth relationship to government play out in the educational space. For the most part, we can opt out of voting without any real immediate impact. Obviously, after a period of many years, not having the voice of youth reflected in government will certainly have an impact. A large percentage of the population is not being heard and dissatisfaction of those affected will eventually spill into some form of action.

Education is a bit different. When we decide not to pursue higher education, we are impacted almost immediately - loss of opportunities, restricted opportunities for work, etc. (more…)

Gathering data on a complex as “fuzzy” as student engagement is certainly not a simple task. As with any effective research project, multiple approaches and perspectives serve to provide the overall picture. And, perhaps most important, research needs to be conducted on local populations. Unfortunately, too many discussions of research data rely on national surveys (which I personally find quite useful in presenting broad trends), but may misrepresent local learners. With that said, the 2007 National Survey of Student Engagement is now available (.pdf).

           Thanks to Adam Wolf for permission to use this Photo.

George Siemens
Creator of elearnspace
Ashworth University Contributing Blogger 

*We’d like to extend a special thanks to Mr. George Siemens for allowing us to share his always innovative and insightful perspectives with our Home School community.  George is one of the leading thinkers in the educational field and his brilliant work continues to influence progressive-minded educators and learners throughout the world.  Visit his amazing blog, elearnspace, to learn more about George’s life and work.

From the information age to the connected age: “The Information Age is the age of the knowledge worker.  The Connected Age is the age of the web worker. Knowledge workers create and manage information, massaging it into intangible knowledge goods. Web workers create and manage relationships across knowledge goods, hardware, and people.” 

           Thanks to Cheb Odegaard for permission to use this Photo.

I think this is an important distinction - i.e. the importance of networking and connecting as key activities of learners today. Much like Richard Feynman proclaimed the most important point for budding scientists to understand is that “everything is made of atoms”, we need to focus on all learning and knowledge starts with connections. The question naturally arises as to how knowledge is formed through connections…or how understanding is achieved. A simple connection does not necessarily equal deep understanding. But, it is a start. Without the connection (between concepts, ideas, people, information sources (I’m not focusing on the neural level here), nothing can emerge. It seems rather obvious to state, but I find most discussions of learning and knowledge have a tendency to wash over the primacy of the connection and the network.

George Siemens
Creator of elearnspace
Special Guest Blogger 

*We’d like to extend a special thanks to Mr. George Siemens for allowing us to share his always innovative and insightful perspectives with our Home School community.  George is one of the leading thinkers in the educational field and his brilliant work continues to influence progressive-minded educators and learners throughout the world.  Visit his amazing blog, elearnspace, to learn more about George’s life and work.