From the “Shameless Self-Promotion Dept” comes this new book 21st Century Skills: Rethinking How Students Learn published by Solution Tree and featuring a chapter that I wrote titled “Navigating Social Networks as Learning Tools.” I have to say it’s pretty humbling to be in the company of Linda Darling-Hammond, Howard Gardner, Chris Dede, Andy Hargreaves and others in trying to frame a new narrative around student learning with technology. (You can get a couple of sample chapters, the table of contents an more here.) I’ve only had the chance to skim through it since it came in the mail today, but I’m hoping to read through much of it in the next week or so. (Wish I could port it over to my iPad. ;0) )
Here is the gist of my chapter:
One thing is certain: although schools may continue to fundamentally look and act as they have for more than one hundred years, the way individuals learn has already been forever changed. Instead of learning from others who have the credentials to “teach†in this new networked world, we learn with others whom we seek (and who seek us) on our own and with whom we often share nothing more than a passion for knowing. In this global community, we are at once all teachers and learners—changing roles as required, contributing, collaborating, and maybe even working together to re-create the world, regardless of where we are at any given moment.
These learning transactions require a shifted understanding of traditional literacies and the skills they employ, as well as new literacies and practices that learning in networks and online social communities demands. For educators, acquiring these network literacies is a crucial first step in developing new pedagogies and, in turn, new classrooms and curricula that prepare students for the future.
Looking forward to diving in to what looks like some interesting thinking about change.
Congrats!!!!
(even if I may not agree with all of the new literacies stuff)
How exciting!
Great stuff. Thanks for the preview. Looking forward to reading the real thing. The game is forever changed and – what learning centered educators have been saying for decades- is now inescapably reality. The sage is off the stage, the toothpaste is out of the tube and the genie is out of the bottle. (But cliched metaphors will always be with us!)
Congratulations on the company you keep!
“…In this global community, we are at once all teachers and learners—changing roles as required, contributing, collaborating…”
Hmmm. I agree with this at a very high level, but in practice… not really. For example (and I know it’s an absurd one), substitute “surgeons and patients” for “teachers and learners”.
Though we all have no trouble accepting that there is *not* an equal skill level between a surgeon and the patient (unless the patient happens to be a trained surgeon), it’s easy to assume that we’re all teachers and learners at any given time, and that the only real difference is the topic. “Jim knows more about Python, so he’s the “teacher” right now in this online discussion, but tomorrow he’ll be the learner when he’s looking for some SQL help that Sue happens to know quite a lot about so she’ll play “teacher” then…”
Yes we *are* learning this way today, but it’s spectacularly inefficient and frustrating precisely because most people have absolutely no idea how to help someone learn. This plays out in a million different online forums and user groups in a million different ways. That said, many online communities are beginning to recognize the value of helping participants become more skilled at, say, answering tech questions or sharing their knowledge in a useful, brain-friendly way. (Instructables is an awesome example).
I believe the skills can be taught, and perhaps that’s what your chapter is actually about. But anyone who has worked with SMEs knows how difficult it is to get people who KNOW something and are motivated to share it to simply understand how they know what they know in a way that others can learn from it. And that’s with a trained instructional designer or knowledge engineer trying to extract and represent useful knowledge and process…
If you’re talking about relatively simple things like tech support, or help figuring out a minor problem, that’s one thing. But if it’s about Actually Learning… we should set a far higher bar than what passes for learning in most online networks.
Unfortunately, it sounds like a lot of folks are throwing the learning design baby out with the “sage on the stage” bathwater. I’m not suggesting you are — just responding to your summary above.
But congrats on the book! It looks like a good one.
Hey Kathy,
Thanks so much for the comment. Really appreciate your insights.
The line that strikes me is “most people have absolutely no idea how to help people learn.” I don’t disagree, but I wonder why that is. Is it because we have basically trained ourselves and our kids to be students and not teachers? If the world has changed and we do have more opportunities to help people learn, should we be helping our kids prepare for that role by giving them more opportunities to do that while in school? Is helping others to learn something we can teach on a general level? Something we should teach because of the connections that are possible today?
Thanks for making me think more deeply about this.
Hey Will,
Yes to everything you just said in your reply comment!! I do think that’s the answer, at every level: teach the “learning arts” to students both for themselves and for their role in helping one another learn. In most successful online communities that are based on learning (e.g. user groups), participants move from an attitude of trying to impress one another with how much they know, to an attitude of trying to impress one another with how well they can *explain* or teach it to others.
When we get people trying to out-teach one another–as an aspect of showing off– things get a lot more fun.
I don’t think helping someone learn is rocket surgery, but it IS a learned skill. Why our school systems don’t make metacognitive skills and learning theory a significant part of every child’s education is a huge mystery. Most kids aren’t even given a foundation in how they can learn *themselves*, let alone how to help create a context where others can learn.
I share your enthusiasm and belief that this is the way forward. I don’t share your optimism that it will happen simply because students/kids/learners are already connecting in this way. We need enough people leading the way forward by making the art/act of helping someone else kick ass a cool way to… kick ass. 😉
Thank you for bringing up this topic!
Looks like it is available via Amazon Kindle
http://www.amazon.com/21st-Century-Skills-Rethinking-ebook/dp/B003H05XFC/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2
After that you can read it on your iPad via the Amazon App 🙂
Cool! Thanks, Silvia. Don’t know why I didn’t find it when I looked.
Cursive writing has been removed from my state’s course of study for elementary grades. What happens to composition in the latter grades?
Does the format by which we communicate really matter, cursive or printed, online or off? As long as our people are able to compose work that effectively shares what they know with the reader or audience, I don’t believe it’s all that big a deal.
Cursive writing is more of entertaining and fun than actually useful for students today. I know I don’t use it…mostly because you would have no idea what I had written. I guess I’m throwing this baby out with the bath water.
I am not sure that these new skills will need to be taught. AS long as a child is literate, they will likely already know how to navigate the 21st century world much batter than adults.
Congratulations! I will rush out and get a copy (or, to be more correct, have one shipped to me to the southermost tip of Africa). It is with envy that I read about the conversations that are taking place about the way in which learning can be improved. We are still battling with provisioning of resources … but an even greater challenge: helping teachers to see the importance of learning to use available technology themselves!
Congratulations and thanks for the preview. I completely agree with your statement: “…In this global community, we are at once all teachers and learners—changing roles as required, contributing, collaborating…â€
As an educator, I believe, you cannot be a good facilitator of learning unless you continue to learn and this learning can be accomplished in collaboration with your students as well as in collaboration with your peers and as an independent intellilectual activity in your life.
I challenge myself to try new technologies into my teaching and in the process challenge my students with the hope to create a new, superior hybrid of learning.
Looking forward to reading your book.
This post caught my attention and reminded me of my class discussion today. We are preping to create wiki webpages, and watched the CommonCraft video regarding Wikis in Plain English.
A portion of the short video mentions wikipedia. The student again brought to my attention that a number of teachers continue to tell students not to use wikipedia because “it is not accurate” and has “mostly false information.” Of course I have already been through several discussions with students explaining how wikipedia works, that they have information assurance staff, that each page cites it’s sources and links to them, on and on . . .
So, from my perspective, the issue lies primarily with teachers. I feel these teachers continue to “fundamentally look and act that same as they did 100 years ago” (to quote you) just like you. It amazes me, angers me, humors me, concerns me and more.
The good news is my students feel informed from our discussions, they know more about how technology works than their teachers. Students are tech saavy and their teachers need to keep up with them. Wish teachers would evolve.
hi,
great stuff
the line which i have admired most is
“we are at once all teachers and learners—changing roles as required, contributing, collaborating, and maybe even working together to re-create the world”
very true i do feel teaching and learning are the processes which always search for knowledge, wisdom and the realities of life. Promoting students belief in their competence and involving them in realistic goals which enhance the growth of readiness towards learning with the help and support of teachers and parents.
Reading Froebel’s (1782-1852) work on methods of instruction where play, sharing, creativity, and community are featured prominently. It’s great to see we’re heading back to 19th century again! (I highly recommend you check him out.)
Great post. I found a great non-profit that has been helping disadvantaged school districts and has had many success stories improving student achievement in Math, SAT and ACT including Collier County, FL and St. Landry Parish, LA. Their site is http://www.cyberlearning.org. CyberLearning also offers Technology courses that many schools could find useful.
Thought you would want to read more about 21st century learning.
Love,
MOM
Will,
The web-based e-book version is coming soon, which you’ll be able to download at Solution Tree, with the iPad version to follow (though it should be available for the iPad, as noted, on the Amazon app)! The web-based version is being converted as I type.