Sunday, March 4, 2012

From teaching to learning

Here's an excellent presentation by Alvaro González-Alorda that perfectly sums up the challenges facing education today. The world has changed and we have to adapt or risk becoming irrelevant. The use of digital technology in education is no quick fix - just handing out computers to students won't change anything. To handle this level of change will require a major rethink in all levels of education: how we teach, how schools work, administration, governmental policy and most of all training, support and development. Teachers will not be replaced by computers - the role of the teacher will rather become more vital than ever; providing guidance, mentorship, inspiration and encouraging critical thinking.
The changes that are listed in this presentation are happening now - we ignore them at our peril.
On a related theme here's a short video from the MacArthur Foundation on the theme of connected learning and deals with the need to shift focus in education from outcomes to the learning process and to stop seeing learning as the transfer of knowledge but as something that is a natural part of life. The idea that we only learn in a classroom is not only wrong but it severely limits our thinking.


The Essence of Connected Learning from DML Research Hub on Vimeo.


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