Putting the Pieces Together

 

As I reviewed my blogs posts from this semester I made a list of topics and ideas that arose from my explorations.  Here it is:

Meeting people in-person as opposed to online -> The value of blogging, tweeting, Snapchatting, etc when used for constructive purposes -> Student engagement! -> Hobbies & Interests that lead to learning -> Technology as a distraction -> Equality vs equity -> individuals contrasted with groups -> Annotations as a (not time-sensitive) discussion tool -> Recognizing and rewarding independent learning -> Games that require creative thinking -> Instruction manuals vs more knowledgeable others -> Student-teaching fieldwork as connected learning -> Current event topics that pose questions -> Volunteering / community involvement -> Online knowledge that can be individually paced (Khan Academy, MOOCs, etc) -> fact-checking and informed decision making

My first step towards connected learning acceptance was realizing that social media can be used constructively.  Sharing experiences reminds us that there are other people in the world that see what we see and often approach situations in novel ways.  My metaphor is this:  We may all have eaten a “pizza”.   The variety of types and cooking methods are infinite in their variations, yet they all share certain common traits that help us identify food as “pizza”.  What do you do or what ingredients might you use that I can co-opt into my own construction?

Internet access for students these days is as necessary as school lunches.  A student who does not have a dedicated form of internet connection is at a severe disadvantage compared to one who browses freely.  Every time I worried I might have trouble locating new reference sites the thought was quickly invalidated.  The amount of accessible knowledge is staggering.

Since I have only mainly observed classes and assisted established teachers I never put much thought into the concept of equity.  Studying connected learning has undone this error on my part.  Differentiated teaching techniques and accommodations now have greater relevancy in my pedagogical value system  (Don’t worry: they were already important!).  Fostering a learning environment where students want to not only improve but also help each other improve will be a continuous goal of mine.  “No child left behind” will be converted in my classroom into “No colleague left behind” as I reinforce the value of shared success.

Engagement was and still is the “Holy Grail” of what I want my teaching to achieve.  I will try my best to harness the interests of learners and allow for multimodal approaches to problem-solving.  Mistakes will be welcomed as moments to learn from.  When achievements are reached I will make time to recognize and encourage them.  Lecturing will never be my only method of instruction and I will value physical and mental needs by allotting time for students to move around and interact with each other.

Discovering connected learning has illuminated and magnified the above topics for me.

Thanks for reading,

Eric L