The pinnacle of attainment in one's field of expertise is to create something truly innovative and transformative within your field. So ed tech Geeks the world over like those at the George Lucas Education Foundation are quite rightly looking for schools to not just do old things in new ways, but "new things in new ways" through technology--one step closer to"edutopia." (Sounds like a sure-fire dystopic novel!) And there's the tension in a nutshell.
In school, we are enjoying dramatic increases in technology--both the amount and ease of access to digital media and technology. So, can we hope to truly see new things done in new ways? The MacArthur Foundation report found:
Youth who engaged in a dynamic range of learning opportunities with new media generally had robust technology access, ample time and autonomy to experiment and explore, and a network of peers who supported their new media interests. Sporadic, monitored access at schools and libraries may provide sufficient access for basic information seeking, but is insufficient for the immersed kind of social engagements with networked publics that are becoming a baseline for participation on both the interest-driven and the friendship-driven sides. (p.36)So what are the conditions:
- 'Robust access to technology'- doable to the extent you have a continuous supply of resources & willpower
- 'Ample time' - already we begin to squirm because for reasons that have less to do with learning and more to do with practical managerial concerns, schools are walled in by time constraints from similar age classes to year calendars to class semesters and even daily class periods, we limit learning at the same time we limit the complexity of our responsibilities. Fortunately, sporadic learning initiated in school can initiate students in the basics providing an entry-way into more immersed forms of participation. the more we fewer technological walls dividing school and home, the more this is possible. Internet connectivity has helped, one-to-one computing would be another big step forward in this. We continue to limit school time, but at least we hope time extends beyond school time to sufficiently allow much greater student engagement. For many students, that is happening with social networking as they stay socially connected through digital media throughout the evening and weekends (and no doubt a lot more during school than we 'digital immigrants' imagine--I myself still have to text two handed so you know I'm not keyed in to the slick kinds of networking common place among digital natives). But still, I wonder how much interest-driven networking is actually happening--especially of the kind that will lead toward growing expertise and participation in a community of experts.
- 'Autonomy to experiment and explore' - Here's where there seems to be no hope and where you can't blame it on resources, time or training. No matter how flexible, open and tech savvy an educator is, how do you put autonomy and school in the same sentence? We know humans are motivated to achieve by autonomy. We also know that large numbers of kids plus autonomy = a force to be feared, probably not financed.
Autonomy doesn't necessarily have to be cutting everyone loose and watching them spin around; rather, some controlled autonomy is what we are after. At my school teachers have been given the autonomy to explore and experiment with technology in the classroom, which has led to collaboration and innovation on the part of teachers. The teachers in turn have provided more autonomy and choice to students, which has produced more collaboration and innovation from them.
ReplyDeleteAutonomy is far more readily available in the early years of school (if the teacher has the courage and skills to support it) but the further up you go the more the students interests diverge from main stream curriculum. High school curriculum is still incredibly content driven. Universities still demand 'good grades' as opposed to creative new ideas. Students in high schools are forced to constantly worry about making mistakes and strive for the 'right answer'. Until society believes what educational theorists champion then students (and teachers) have their hands tied behind their backs. It is not impossible but the burden placed on teachers is unrealistic.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to come down to which comes first--the chicken or the egg? Are we going to make the changes here in K-12, and colleges/universities will then reform, or are they going to do the reforming first? (I believe I know the answer to this Q!) Being a high-school teacher myself, I agree with Laura in that at least as far as we're concerned, we've begun tackling the 'robust technology' bit. 'Ample time' will remain a conundrum no matter what, but I'd like to think that we do give our students 'autonomy' as defined here-- to some extent anyway-- and in spite of the academic demands. I don't think they'd let us get away without having some autonomy. I know these are all ideals, but at least we have something to work toward. I think we're heading on the right track at least.
ReplyDeleteYou got me thinking! Perhaps from my years of teaching first grade, I think I understand something about a wonderful cycle of increasing collaboration and innovation that happens as we relax the control and up the complexity. But aren't we still the project task masters? The kind of autonomy these kids have in experimenting and exploring as they become experts in a domain of their own choosing seems way beyond anything I've ever endorsed. I want to see what this looks like. Alas, the control freak in me is alive and kicking!
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