Enquiry minds

I read this articleabout the importance of promoting enquiry-based learning in our students. The author argues that, out goes the idea of knowledge as a static, stable commodity stored in libraries and databases, already certain and agreed. Knowledge is now something shaped by human interests and contexts; something that is, therefore, fluid and subject to change.
Students who are genuinely developing the skills of independent enquiry will come to see knowledge as something that is actively worked on. In their enquiries, an emphasis on process helps them to explore how knowledge is formed and developed, in what contexts and situations it is used and produced, and how it changes. They come to see themselves as active agents who may play a role in shaping, changing and working with such knowledge.

I guess, the emphasis should be on teaching them problem solving skills, that is when real knowledge is developed.
As Papert said, ” We need to produce people who know how to act when they’re faced with situations for which they were not specifically prepared.”

Too much technology??

I agree with this article in Open Education,  in that too many gadgets can be a nuisance.
I guess what it concerns me is the speed at what changes are occurring and the difficulty in keeping up. We do have this blind faith in technology when in numerous occasions it can prove totally unreliable. As teachers we need to restore or find the balance between traditional teaching practices and innovative technologies. Technologies have limitations and we need to be aware of them.

Old Fashion Libraries

I was reading Maree’s post “Are Libraries Obsolete?” and I have to say I love books, the physical kind. I experience so much joy when I am physically reading a book. I guess for me, nothing will ever replace the joy I feel touching the pages of printed material.
Roaming around the library, I found this book called ” Oversold & Underused – Computers in the Classroom” by Larry Cuban which I trully enjoyed. I read it over the semester and to make it short, he raises some questions. Among others ” In what ways can teachers use technology to create better communities and build strong citizens?”
He argues that the answers to these questions are in the minds and hands not only of teachers but of policymakers, public officials, corporate elites, and parents who set the educational agenda. Without attention to the workplace conditions in which teachers labor and without respect for the expertise they bring to the task, there is little hope that new technologies will have more than a minimal impact on teaching and learning. And without a broader vision of the social and civic role that schools perform, the current excessive focus on technology use in schools runs the danger of trivializing education’s core ideals.

Can the Internet bring knowledge? The answer is probably NO

In this article, Judy Harris argues that the Internet brings information but doesn’t bring knowledge. Knowledge, she argues, is the the result of the process of knowing which can only occurr as the learner actively constructs what she knows using information in this process. The confusion between information and knowledge is one of the most serious and widespread mistakes in the current use of information technology, and it leads to the attitude that giving students information is identical to giving them knowledge.
Knowledge results when an individual personally transforms information.

Consequently, this distinction is important when deciding how to structure curriculum-based educational telecomputing activities. Some of the most motivating and successful activity structures are those that encourage students to collect and share information…and then use it to actively create higher-order ideas.
The greatest challenge I believe is to encourage students to move beyond information storage to knowledge construction.
As Papert (1993) said, “When learners function as designers of objects, they learn more about those objects than they would from studying about them. But it is not only in the construction of something that leaning becomes truly meaningful for the learner. That creation process and the end product must be shared with others in order for the full effects of Constructionist learning to take root.”

Constructionism vs Instructionism

In response to Thao’s posting

In response to Thao’s posting, ” The Dumbest Generation” by Mark Bauerlein.
In some aspects I agree with Mark Bauerlein and worry about the reading habits of this generation. I also agrees when he says that this generation is totally self centered and that they are not using all this technology to discover the world of politics, history, fine art and much more. However, I have to say that today’s teens are excellent digital communicators. They are emailing, blogging IMing and constantly creating profiles on social networks. They read and write and they use collaborative tools to get thoughts across. Maybe these qualities are the ones needed for this new world and will equip them better for future employment opportunities.

In response to Henry Jenkins Blog

Henry Jenkins in his blog warns of the dangers of reinforcing the concepts of “Digital Natives” and ” Digital Migrants” created by Mark Prensky.

As we know, Mark Prensky developed these concepts as a way to recognize and differentiate this new kind of learning and new generation of students. However, I have to agree with Jenkins as he points out how important is to recognize what digital immigrants bring with them from the old world which is still valuable in the new.  As he argues, many digital immigrants still today can probably outcompute most of the so-called digital natives.

I am conscious that the native vs immigrant debate has brought awareness to today’s learning environment as teachers need to face the challenges of teaching this new generation.
Like Jenkins, I also believe that it is necessary that parents and teachers consider new forms of knowledge being produced through young people’s informal learning in order to create a learning environment where young and old can learn from each other.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–2. Available: (NB. can do ‘natives’ test here:

Social Networking

In between bringing up three children and working as an accountant I am proud to say that today I joined Facebook. Some people say its a waste of time but it doesn’t have to be.

I agree with Maree’s post, as I discovered that users can create groups and discussion topics. It is also a way to sharing media, blogging, communicating and sharing information.

Edward Fields, CEO of HotChalk, told TechNewsWord, “Social networking in the education universe is an idea whose time has come. Teachers are famous for relying on other teachers for the best ideas about what’s working and what’s not working. For that reason, as new teachers (read younger, tech-savvy, “Generation Network” college grads) enter the system, they are leveraging education-focused social networks to connect with other teachers, find content contributed by teachers and make sure that they are wringing every ounce of ‘network effect’ technology from the Internet.”

http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Social-Networking-Gets-Schooled-63951.html

A Vision of Students Today

This short video from Michael Wesch says it all. It summarizes some of the characteristics of today’s students. Some of the stats don’t surprise me at all. Once again, it highlights the major influence that the internet has in learning & exploration for the majority of students>

In response to Steph’s Blog

It is true society in general is prompt to blame the internet and technical innovations for every disaster. Before it was television to be blame for every misfortune, with new technology developing is the internet and video games to be blame. As David Gelernter (op-Ed,March 30) argues, “We should praise technical innovations for any improvements they cause but never blame technology for its disasters: put the blame on its users”

 Steph’s Blog ” Blame something so it makes it easier”

Digital Survey Results

The following graphs highlight some results of the Technological Fluency Self Assessment Survey conducted at UTS ( Digital Generation subject) . Graphs were prepared using Excel.

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