"Just don't do it" Ouch!

From the Red Tape Chronicles, Teachers, Students and Facebook, a Toxic Mix
(http://redtape.msnbc.com/2010/10/the-headlines-conjure-up-every-parents-nightmare-teachers-fired-for-flirting-on-facebook-with-students-the-new-york-post-r.html)

“If it were me, and I were a teacher, I’d say just don't do it,” she said. “Don’t engage in social networking with students at all. The name says it all. It’s about social networking. Social. Those are not the kinds of relationships that teachers are supposed to have with students. ... A wise district says to teachers that they should never engage in peer-like activity with students -- ever. Every interaction between students and teacher should be professional.” 

Granted the article is related to k-12 teaching and learning but wow does that strike a chord!What is important is the last sentance of the quote, interaction should in deed be professional. However, what the is being said is that we should not have social interaction between students and teachers, which goes againts some of the pedagogical and sociological theories necessary for engagment and knowledge acquisition. Facebook and others provide greater access to interaction and support, collaboration and cooperative learning, things that may not happen during a normal face to face school day at the k-12 level (Anderson, 2009). Social networking has the potential to open up doors of new learning but professionalism does come into place and net-equitte for student and teachers needs to be taught and enforced. A middle school teacher I know was bombarded with requests from students (and parents) to join her Facebook page, while you won't see college day regrettable photos, you are likely to see things that maybe you don't want to share with some. The answer for her was to create a Facebook page specifically for students and parents. This takes additional time and effort of the teacher, but then it can be focused less on the personal aspects and more on appropriate interaction.

Social networking is not going to dwindle away, it is every where one turns, and appeals to the younger student population. The appeal of and use of applications such as Facebook may in fact increase the level of interaction and learning from others. What more, the students are more comfortable in this setting then in classrooms and learning platforms because they also use them in every day life (Shroeder & Greenbowe, 2009).

Facebook is a tool, it is in how we use it that is important. Limiting the opportunities for social interaction among teachers and students, and collaboration outside classroom walls, inhibits learning opportunities. The kids/students are going to do it and if we want to reach them, then we need to exploit the potential as much as possible, not run from it.


referenced materials:
Anderson, T. (2009) Social Netwrking in Education. A draft paper to STRIDE hanbook for The Indian Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU)

Schroeder, J., and Greenbowe, T. (2009) The chemistry of facebook: Using social networking to create an online community for the organic chemistry labratory. Innovate 5(4).

College education costs more than its worth?

I've heard this before and have mixed feelings about it. The cuurent comment was made by Peter Thiel and presented in the article Turn on, Start Up, Drop Out by Jacob Weisberg featured on Slate.

exerpt from http://www.slate.com/id/2271265/: The Thiel Fellowship will pay would-be entrepreneurs under 20 $100,000 in cash to drop out of school. In announcing the program, Thiel made clear his contempt for American universities which, like governments, he believes, cost more than they're worth and hinder what really matters in life, namely starting tech companies. His scholarships are meant as an escape hatch from these insufficiently capitalist institutions of higher learning.

From The Thiel Foundation web site: "Our world needs more breakthrough technologies,” said Thiel. "From Facebook to SpaceX to Halcyon Molecular, some of the world's most transformational technologies were created by people who stopped out of school because they had ideas that couldn't wait until graduation. This fellowship will encourage the most brilliant and promising young people not to wait on their ideas, either. The Thiel Fellows will change the world and call it a senior thesis.”
(http://thielfoundation.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=14:the-thiel-fellowship-20-under-20&catid=1&Itemid=16)

Hmmm. I do personally know a few individuals who abandoned higher education and were millionaires before they were 20, and yes, they were each in the techy fields of computers and programming and so on. However, these people are not the norm. Look at Bill Gates for example, he didn't fit the mold but is now a major philanthropist of education.

Perhaps, what is different about these individuals is that they have the inate ability to be autonomous learners and have been able to apply this to real problems, much like the constructivist teaching philosophy. It will be interesting to see where these 20 individuals end up and what contribution they bring to the world and if they ever regret leaving formal education, and how education will evolve to become an institution that provides real life/work skills rather than a passing information.

Venting...

I found that this vent is appropriate considering a recent class discussion exercise. Essientially, the question is, is web 2.0 necessary? While I believe web 2.0 has much potential there are too many cases of poor examples of instructors and poor course design. Case in point, student contacts me on nearly the last day of class for support (including emotional support), she has no idea where to turn, her internet lost connection during the final examination, she has tried to reach the instructor by email and phone to ask for assistance in resetting the exam, the real problem is that during the course of the term this particular instructor has made no effort to have commuications with the students. Essentially, he drops content in the LMS and lets the students fend for themselves. Short end of that story is that the test was reset after contacting several other individuals. Why this is so unset though is that I brought it to the attention of the de chair for that specific department and the response was that they are aware of the issues with this particular instructor but because they are tenured there is little that can be done. This sent steam out my ears. This is exactly the reason web 2.0 has the potential to do little for teaching, because our current instructors and the systems that employ them are failing in providing the basics.

TeacherTube

I honestly didn't know. But now I am addicted! I can't wait to share with my friends and family. I teach a university orientation course and each year enrollees take part in a common reader book, this year it is Frankenstein. I knew I wanted to add some multimedia into the blended learneing course but I wasn't entirely sure how to do so following proper pedagogy but I believe I have found that this will be very helpful! I'm so excited and can't wait to apply it to the course. Bonk's article on youtube in learning really got me thinking about how to move forward and use the power of interactive media to build bridges of learning. Some of the students in the course have struggled with the literature while others breeze right on without problems, I've found myself struggeling with trying to help those who needed it but haven't felt successful. The ability to assist them in finding relationships between what they read and what they can see I believe will make a powerful impact.

DE as a field of study

Not considering DE as a practice hadn't really occured to me prior to some readings over the last module. In chapters 11 & 12 of Holmbergs The Evolution, Priciples and Practices of Distance Education and chapter 1 of Peters Distance Education in Transistion made me aware that I have taken the field of DE for granted. Even from its early beginnings, the growth of learners seeking DE options either to meet thier demanding schedules or due to a physical seperation from a education institution has made DE essential. Imagining a world without DE doesn't even seem possible. What would I be doing now without the study of DE? Working for duel mode institution but in the "Global Campus" (a term for distance education division) I have the opportunity to see a lot of the good and bad of DE. Often people compare DE with "traditional" education, but can the two really be compared?

The criteria for recognizing a field of sudy by Sparkes provided in chapter 12 of Holmberg was interesting, DE is certianly growing in relevence and experiencing important problems that are unlike those in f2f education. However, I believe that the theories practiced in quality DE are based on pedagogy also used in f2f. Perhaps particular theories are utilzed more often and geared towards the technologies available. It becomes a thought that perhaps one day f2f education will be consider prehistoric and DE traditional.

Recently particular DE institutions have come under scrutiny regarding the practices used and the relativness of the degrees awarded. Without those who study methodology and evaluate practices to provide feedback then all of DE may be seen in this negative light. There are DE institutions who are doing great work, some that are improving based on evaluation, and others that have yet to be ready to put the student first.

It is only because of those who are interested in the field of DE that DE can be given a reputable name. To be able to show that both teaching and learning occurs, and often occurs on a deeper level then f2f, is necessary. DE is here to stay, it is in constant and growing demand, it is an interesting and exciting field be part of.