BP3_2009103_Anti_Teaching

Traditional classrooms have long been based on the industrial revolution where discipline and grades were the basis of educational inelegance. The end product was to turn out as many students as possible with a Darwinism theory that only the strong survive. Those who held the highest grades were regarded as the smartest and those who "failed" were left behind to fend for themselves. As Michael Wesch puts it "the most significant problem with education today is the problem of significance itself" (2008). Teachers and schools have long battled with the problem of creating meaning for students, finding a way to relate their grade to the real world they live in. As Wesch explores in his video "A Vision of Students Today", many students are simply working through the process of education because that is what is expected of them; rather then actually learning and applying the knowledge to their lives. The absence exists in the critical reasoning skills since the outcome is solely based on a letter grade.

As we have learned in previous classes and books, today's student is different and requires a new model of teaching. The outcome is to shift from grades to meaning and reasoning. As Wesch puts it, the new teaching model should be "Anti-Teaching". With his class he is simply a part of the learning process, providing background facts and helping his students develop the questions that will help relate to their personal world.

One of the ideas that could help this process is to develop virtual learning environments with course management systems. Virtual learning environments are web based modules that provide students access to a virtual classroom. Many schools use this as a blended or hybrid model for their classes so students can chat or interact online or get more information while outside of the classroom. The idea is to supplement in class material with online interaction. The student can go online, watch a video on the lesson, chat with their classmates on the video, blog responses to the questions posed in the video, and get instant feedback from the teacher. While this narrows some of the gaps provided my traditional classroom settings, it still doesn't tackle the problem of how and what material is being presented to the student. If a teacher uses VLE's the same way they teach in the classroom, then nothing has changed other then the delivery method.

Another model that good potentially change the way education exists is Personal Learning Enviornments (PLE) with the use of Web 2.0 tools. PLE "describes the tools, communities, and services that constitute the individual educational platforms learners use to direct their own learning and pursue educational goals"(2009). In PLE's teachers simply provide the framework for student study and this framework "might be a desktop application or a web-based service and could include links to web tools, as well as traditional research and resources to which students can add their own network of social contacts and collection of educational resources" (2009). The idea is that learners direct their own instruction and use peers within their learning environment to help them guide the learning process. In order to help facilitate this, many Web 2.0 tools are used. For instance, social networking sites might be used for students to interact and share information, blogs are used to post findings and tools like Google Documents make it possible for a team to interact on a document in real time. PLE's look as though they have the best opportunity for changing the traditional classroom because it "puts students in charge of their own learning processes, challenging them to reflect on the tools and resources that help them learn best" (2009).

In looking toward the future, schools will likely be designed very differently then today. As the cost of technology decreases, students will be provided the opportunity to utilize computers and the internet for learning. However, technology on its own is not the answer. First, educators have to know how to use this technology and effectively integrate it into the classroom. Second, students need to be taught how to use technology effectively as well. Lastly, administrators have to have confidence in social tools like facebook and allow these tools to be open within the school. Not only will technology find its way into the classroom but the classroom its self will also start to change. I believe we will see less desks and more pods to allow students to form PLE's within the classroom. The teacher will also start to look differently as the requirement will be for them to be more of guide that travels with the student through the learning process. The role will change to the learners teaching the educator.

References:
(2009). 7 Things You Should Know About Personal Learning Environments. EDUCAUSE, Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/Resources/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutPerso/171521 doi: ELI7049

Wesch, Michael (2008). Anti-teaching: Confronting the Crisis of Significance. Education Canada, 48(2), Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/6358393/AntiTeaching-Confronting-the-Crisis-of-Significance

Wesch, Michael (2007, October 12). A Vision of Students Today. Retrieved from http://mediatedcultures.net/ksudigg/?p=119