I had something very different scheduled for today.(I am now blogging on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays).
However a little while ago I followed a link from a brand new follower on Twitter, Tilly Harrison, and the link she sent out into her stream defied all my pre-conceptions of the universe.
It blew my mind away. Completely.
It blew my mind away. Completely.
Actually I think I may have woken up on the wrong planet.
Friends, Earth is changing.
The way we learn is changing. The way we communicate is changing. And it's all happening so very, very quickly. No wonder people are afraid or worried. No wonder there's so much resistance to bringing tech into our lessons - today, confession, I too need a strong espresso after watching Lade's Directed transport without net bias in physics and biology... and understanding what he was on about.
So if you happen to know anyone who doubts, for even a minute, that we are not on the very cusp of an entirely different way of doing things in the process of becoming educated and that all of this isn't going to wind up effecting our own special niche areas, then tell them please stop, get your head out of the daisies and pay attention. And if you like, get them to watch this video or in fact any of the other finalists and nominees on 'Dance Your Ph.D.'
Goldenberg's Ph.D. research—at Université du Québec à Montréal and Université Nice Sophia Antipolis—focuses on how people interact with one another through wiki sites. If you've ever witnessed a "flame war," you'll appreciate the violent petulance about halfway through the dance.
The Negotiation Of Contributions in Public Wikis from Anne Goldenberg on Vimeo.
Personally, I fell very deeply in love with the incredible richness of "The influence of previous experiences on visual awareness" (such poetry) and I was highly amused at my attempt to understand for the first time in my life: the sentence: Selection of a DNA aptamer for homocysteine using systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment, I got the copying, I did, in this very fun expression created by Maureen McKeague however the one which impressed me the most is the one I've embedded above and is the one I voted for because she has, in my opinion, successfully captivated not just the wiki experience but actually any online community experience (dogme yahoo!group 2008-late2009, anyone? :-))
What do you think?
What on earth is happening to education?!
How do you feel about all this?
Is everything you've always held to be true (like Ph.Ds are only for boring academic types) being completely blown right apart... did you read what I said... I voted on someone's, some stranger's Ph.D and work of art....(and I can't wait to read it when it's published, if it's published in paper/online format) whoa, like, you know really those mushrooms in the 90's must have been darn good for me to think this is all real: tell me are you feeling challenged or confident?
Useful links related to this posting:
- Sue Lyon Jones: Feel the fear and do it anyway
Best,
Karenne
education I love hearing from you! Please add your thoughts if you enjoyed this piece and you feel like there's something you want to question, add or say about it - don't worry about perfection or agreeing with me: it's always a pleasure to hear from you and know your opinions.
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Hi, Karenne!
A few years ago, after I obtained my TESOL certificate, I wanted really bad to teach somewhere in Southeast Asia. I, however, decided to take on what I thought was a more challenging field, online English teaching. I got into a company specializing in teaching English online.
To be honest, I had doubts about the delivery method. These companies claim you can teach English for just 10 minutes. Is it possible? Is it effective?
Had I not taken the challenge, I wouldn’t have discovered a great opportunity to further enhance my teaching skills. Had I not had the guts to experience this non-conventional way of teaching English, it would have probably taken me a long(er) time to realize how technology is changing people’s view on learning and education in general.
I just hope that our educators come together to develop sound pedagogies for online teaching. I mean, a large number of students are enrolling in these online classes, so before e-learning or e-teaching goes awry, something should be done.
Mind-blowing stuff, Karenne!
Caught a brief glimpse of a conference on the news the other day (wish I could find a link to it!) where the participants were presenting their academic research findings through music, poetry and theatre.
Still not quite sure what to make of all this, other than to say that it's certainly interesting, and very different... and that I hope it catches on. Given the option, I'd much rather sing my research findings or pole-dance them out than have to write a dissertation ;-)
With you on that... and the irony that Willy mentioned on Twitter is that it's technology that allows us a glimpse of what's shifting yet it's such a non-techie way of presenting information.
As Tilly tweeted after she had sent this into the stream, what would this mean for us in our field... can you imagine a dance based on something to do with applied linguistics...
fun thinking about, oo!
I agree emphatically with your comment:
I just hope that our educators come together to develop sound pedagogies for online teaching.
It's something I briefly touched on in a paper I wrote recently - my comment based on something Michael Trucano (edtech specialist for the World Bank) mentioned in his research, however basically unless the wise come on board so that we can continue to learn from them - then the world of English language teaching may end up being composed mainly of only those merely seeking the flash and dash (excitement without content) and then we'll be in trouble - our students will suffer!
Hi Karenne!
First I'd like to say I absolutely loved the interpretation of public wikis - just my kind of thing!
On the topic of all the changes in education/learning/teaching we've been facing and going through... well, that's not so easy to come out with something clever to say. Are all the things I held to be true being blown apart? I don't think so. Maybe that's because I never hhold things to be truths. I have this whole problem with accepting things as absolute truths (ever since reading Edgar Morin when I was in the univeristy - BTW he wrote an interesting essay by request of UNESCO expressing his ideas in education you can find it in http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download - sorry it didn't accept my linking). I am a product of a highly progressive school where we were taught - and encouraged - to question things and people. So I guess I had my share of those mushrooms ;-)
But to answer your question, I believe I feel challenged. Challenged to try and understand what is going on, where education and teachers are going, where we're going to end up. On second thought, maybe (hopefully) we won't end up anywhere...we'll just keep moving. Like we've always done. Challenged to being forced to evolve, change... What I do know is that anybody who stays indiferent or oblivious to what is happening will stay behind - and perish eventually.
And while we munch on that I'll take out my paints and brushes... maybe I'll need them for my teaching soon ;-)!
Found the link to the conference I mentioned earlier...
Alternative ways of getting your message across
Sue