Comments on: The Networked Student

By: Bill Ferriter

Bill Ferriter — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 19:24:55 +0000

Lisa wrote:
Are we in an ed tech revolution? I don’t feel like I am. Though I like to feel like I’m headed, with many others, in the right direction.

That’s what I’ve got to keep reminding myself, Lisa—we ARE heading in the right direction and I DO see signs of progress all around me. We might not be moving as fast as I’d like to move, but there are reasons to optimistically believe that we’ll get to a point where we can be proud of the networked learning opportunities for the students in our schools.

In the meantime, I’ll be thankful that I can learn from the brilliant communities of ed tech junkies that I’ve stumbled across online!

Rock right on,
Bill

By: lthumann

lthumann — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 21:24:12 +0000

Bill, I don’t think you are a pessimist. I actually think you are more of a realist. Though we want to be enthusiastic, sometimes we have to set attainable goals.

Are we in an ed tech revolution? I don’t feel like I am. Though I like to feel like I’m headed, with many others, in the right direction.

I appreciate your comments as sometimes we are all on the same page and very much are each others cheerleaders. It’s nice to step down from the cloud once in a while and take a reality check. Thanks!

By: Bill Ferriter

Bill Ferriter — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:24:41 +0000

I definitely think that the larger challenge is getting teachers to relinquish control of their learning environments. While money will always be a stretch, with netbooks priced below $200 and with free tools constantly popping up on the internet horizon, access is slowly—but surely—becoming universal.

What’s not universal is access to a teacher who will allow students to explore, rework, and refine their own knowledge and learning networks. Or school leaders that will allow teachers to drift that far away from the script!

And as much as I’d like to believe that there is a revolution coming, I’m not sure I see the signs in the buildings where I’ve worked. The tension between producing results on the test and developing students who can think on their own is palpable, and producing test results takes the day 9 times out of 10.

Do I sound like a pessimist?

Or am I being a realist?
Bill

By: EduBloggerCon09: Great Opportunity for Co-Learning | ISTE’s NECC09 Blog

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 05:11:19 +0000

[...] reflecting about EduBloggerCon09, Lisa Thumann noted: I think that we all know that change is hard. We also know that unless we commit to making change, [...]

By: H Songhai

H Songhai — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 15:37:47 +0000

Terrific video! An insightful description of the networked student and the new classroom.

By: Linda Epps

Linda Epps — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 11:04:59 +0000

Great post Lisa. I totally agree with Hbeezley. In addition teachers must be open to learning from their students and not be threaten by them. We must model life long learning for our students. There is so much that our students can teach us.

Linda

By: lthumann

lthumann — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:51:04 +0000

I don’t think I can get away with the red bandanna

I think that money will always be a hurdle. But with the right leadership, enthusiasm and modeling, perhaps we can get those teachers that need to relinquish some control to loosen the reigns. (Another session yesterday mentioned the whole don’t punish 100% of the teachers / students for what 5% of them will or won’t do.)

Thanks for your comment!

By: hbeezley

hbeezley — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 16:41:35 +0000

Nice post! Does this make you an educational anarchist? ; )

I very much agree with your take-aways. My guess is that the first order barrier is by far the most difficult hurdle as far $, but the most intractable problem is the second order stuff about convincing teachers that there is a better way and that they can relinquish some control in the learning process.