Watching the video, "Welcome to my PLE", I was astounded at how much this 12 year old utilizes technology, so savvy! In response to the questions, I must say that this is not a typical 12 year old, I do not beleive she is a student in a typical school. Based on the article by Steve Haragan, "Web 2.0 is the Future of Education. I have concluded that this student appears to be enrolled in an online school.
Should this be typical? It could be based on the school you are at, and how technologically equipped that school is. Some regular schools- middle and high schools are presently equipping student with laptops, so students are becoming more technologically equipped in and out of school, even when their parents are not financially able. Thus, students are having the opportunity to become more prosumers than comsumer,s collaborating on the World Wide Web as Wendy is, in her PLE video.
This statement leads me to think that some of these students are playing their roles as prosumers while their teachers are merely consumers, as some teachers are not as technology savvy in web 2.0. As a first grade teacher, I would welcome Wendy in my class, as she would be a good role model for my students. She seems much more advance in web 2.0 than I am right now, so she would be able to teach me a few things.
First thing that excites me about this video is what the future holds for students in todays society, and how much they have at their disposal. I am very optimistic for my first graders and my 6 year old daughter, who are the ones being prepared for the 21st century. Can you imagine what technogy will be like for them by the time they become adults? Think about it. Most information will be online. EVERYTHING, or most things/information will be digital.
Secondly, Wow! more trees will be saved, as less paper will be needed to print books etc.
This is also a way to get students to read. Some students do not gravitate to books, but would be more interested in technology. So, this is definately a way to get students to read more. I really do not see any concerns right now, just impresssed at how this 12 year old seem to be so focussed and able to prioritize her learning.
Take a look at this video: Personal Learning Environments The Future of Education? Graham Attwell
![Personal Learning Environments The Future of Education? Graham Attwell](http://www.blogger.com/%3Cdiv%20style=%22width:425px%22%20id=%22__ss_961496%22%3E%3Cstrong%20style=%22display:block;margin:12px%200%204px%22%3E%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.slideshare.net/GrahamAttwell/personal-learning-enviroments-the-future-of-education-presentation%22%20title=%22Personal%20Learning%20Environments:%20The%20future%20of%20education?">Personal Learning Environments: The future of education?</a></strong><img src="http://www.blogger.comhttp://img2.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png" style="background-color: #b2b2b2; height: 355px; width: 425px; " class="BLOGGER-object-element tr_noresize tr_placeholder" id="__sse961496" data-original-id="__sse961496" /><div style="padding:5px 0 12px">View more <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/">webinars</a> from <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/GrahamAttwell">GrahamAttwell</a>.</div></div>){kind=link}
Well said. Some students definitely are more adept with technology and prefer that to books, I have one at home. It doesn't mean they can't read or don't want to but they'd rather do what they need to do on the computer putting hours of time and effort into their work. We read about 'the embryo' of the web; what our kids know and use now will be likened to an embryo in another ten year. Oh the constant evolution of technology.
ReplyDeleteGood post my friend! I do agree with you. Definitely it shows that soon or later our classrooms will be filled with students like this 12 year old. Therefore as educators we should equip and preapare ourselves effectively so that we will be ready to accommodate and motivate students like Wendy!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you. She does excite me with her use of technology. As educators we must realize that students like this do exist. We should be prepared to teach a student like her in a positive way. I would hope that an educator that has a child like this in his/her class would be able to motivate and challenge this student.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite exciting when I think about all the technology available to our students today and more to come for the future. With the millions of dollars spent each year on technology, shouldnt we be using them to teach and motivate our students? It has always been my philosophy that "if students cant learn the way we teach, then we must teach the way they learn". This little girl has shown that technology is just one of the ways our kids learn in this new era.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely agree with the idea that some students do not gravitate to books, this would be such a welcoming idea for them. When we think of the different learners visual,auditory and the kinesthetic .The PLE can accomodate all 3 learning styles. This is very interesting and impressive.
ReplyDeleteI guess we could all agree that this student is quiet Tech savy and should represent the norm, but what about the others? In all honesty,even though we know that our students are inclined to use technology, are they using it appropriately. I know you said in your post that you gladly accept this 12yr old in your classroom so she could be an example to other and to yourself, but shouldn't that be the other way around? I'm not saying we should be afraid to learn from our students, all i'm saying is we should be the example ALL our students want to follow.
ReplyDeleteSome great points raised in this post! I would disagree with one of your first ones...I do not think Wendy was in an online class,but rather in a class with a very progressive teacher (though I suspect that it was a laptop initiative school).
ReplyDeleteYour most intriguing point was that our students are prosumers while their teachers remain consumers. That is a powerful observation. Part of the objective of our course is to move our teachers into a comfort zone for producing content on the web, just as their students are doing (either in school or outside of school).
I think we were all astounded by this 12 year old, and how she utilizes technology and did it in way that seemed so simple to her.
ReplyDeleteYou strike a good point when you say that some of us teachers are more consumers while the students are prosumers. This is where the intimidation comes in. Some of these students know a lot more than us. That is why this course is so important so that us teachers can "stay in the game."