Blog Post #7

The Networked Student

This is a video of a project done by Wendy Drexler's high school students. The student in the video is in an online student who must build his own personal learning network. His teacher wants her students to research and learn for themselves from the internet. The students focus is the American psyche.

First, he starts off researching his topic using many resources. He was taught beforehand how to asses' information to know when it is credible. Google Scholar is the first resource he uses to find worthy articles on his topic. He then puts the things he finds on a social bookmarking sight. This sight is visited by many others doing the same thing. So, not only does he have access to his information, but he can see what others have found on the topic also. He finds blogs and shares his opinions with others on the issue. After the student has the information he needs he builds his own blog. This blog is his opinion on the American psyche, and anyone can comment and give their opinion.

So, if the student can do all of these things by himself why does he need a teacher? He needs a teacher, because the teacher is the one who gives him the skills to do this in the first place. She offers guidance and teaches him to communicate the right way. Also one of the most important things she teaches him how to know what research is good to use. Lastly, she also shows him how to organize all of the things he learns.

This video was a good example of how to teach in the 21st century. The project seemed that it could really teach kids instead of learning and forgetting. If you put that much time into a subject you have to learn something. I think this way of teaching can be very effective.

Welcome To My PLE

The personal learning environment is pretty neat. The student has everything she needs on one page at the click of a button. If she wants to do her science work she clicks on the link for it. She has a place to take notes and a place to put information she has found from the internet. She can email experts to see if her information is correct, and even go as far as to Skype with them.

I can see both sides of this argument. Learning this way can be very effective. However, there are those students who will only play. For example, on Facebook, Twitter, or a gaming sight. I think if kids are going to be allowed to learn this way they can't have access to those things. There has to be a way to block them without blocking important information.