The first point that really resonated with me was when Dr. Wesch said how the digital footprint of 1.4 billion people was in the room with his class watching his lecture. Just at a rough estimate, I believe that the population of the world is somewhere around 6 1/2 billion so, if my math is correct, at any one time there could very well be the equivalent of 1/7th of the world's population in digital footprints in a particular place. That is huge in my mind! I never realized just how many people are making connections every day, every second on the Internet and other digital sources. Now, the question I'm asking myself is how do I, as a teacher, make sure that my students are provided with the chance to learn to navigate this network in a way that helps develop their techo-skills but also create meaningful connections in the process?
First, I believe that learning environments have to change. What Dr. Wesch said about 'procedural' learners and how they learn and complete assignments solely based on what the teacher/professor says or whats in order to pass the class really struck a chord with me since that is one of my main 'survival' skills that I have been using since I have come to university and even a bit in high school as well. There were a few teachers in high school and four in university thus far that really presented the subject matter in a unique way and allowed the students to go forth and discover it instead of resiting it back to them from the textbook word for word. And, believe it or not, those are the classes that I remember the most information from and have applied the most information from in my teaching experiences because, above all else, those professors and teachers found a way to make the learning connect with me on a personal level.
So, having this prior experience of learning and researching just for the stake of meeting the passing standard, I will be conscious of the environment in my future classroom in regards to not only incorporating personal learning networks in general but also to make sure I provide or point the students in the direction of making connections to what they are learning in whatever way works best for them.
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Wow Callista!
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving me a visual image of the digital footprint idea! The impact and implications of the digital world are amazing and it's very humbling to know that we have the ability to use a tool within our classrooms that could potentially afftect others around the world. That's what struck me in the presentation, the student video that was produced was something the people all over the world have witnessed and been affected by!