Doug Noon posts about an interesting paper from Colin Lankshear and Michele Knobel titled “Blogging as Participation: The Active Sociality of a New Literacy” that does a nice job of framing the difference of mindeset between the traditional view of the classroom and the emerging view.
I think the underlying premise between the two mindsets is interesting: “The world is much the same as before, only now it is more technologised, or technologised in more sophisticated ways” vs. “The world is very different from before and largely as a result of the emergence and uptake of digital electronic inter-newtorked technologies.”
I know I keep coming back to MySpace, but if nothing else, what’s happening there should be a starting point for just how much the world really has changed. The ability to network widely changes everything, and the kids and adults at MySpace are showing it.
technorati tags:connective_reading, connective_writing, social_network
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Your MySpace reference is right on the money Will. The change, however, can be seen everywhere. From gaming online to something as simple as email, it seems as if we are becoming more and more connected (or maybe disconnected) to one and other. When I speak to teachers about how technology has changed our lives, I usually begin by asking the last time any of us has sat down and actually wrote a letter to someone.
It seems that distinctions between public and private are being blurred, and the “real” world is hard to distinguish from online activity.
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[…] Will Richardson’s Changing the Mindset post used MySpace as an example of the emergent mindset that I mentioned in my previous entry. I thought Will’s example was excellent, and I left a comment, “It seems that distinctions between public and private are being blurred, and the “real” world is hard to distinguish from online activity.” […]
We, as future teachers, believe that it is important to incorporate technology into the classroom but it will never work if you can’t use it correctly and efficiently. Blogs may be the new thing on the net, but really for students, its not all that educational. Its dangerous, and it is also a major distraction. This is part of the reason why it is so hard to incorporate computers with internet access directly into the classroom and expect students to use them properly.
Incorporating technology into the classroom is crucial for teachers to do, however only if it is effective. That is what we have to understand. Just plopping a student in front of a computer and telling them to “type,” or placing a kid in front of a projector or television and saying “sit and watch” is not effective. Placing a student in front of a computer and having them create a collaborative wiki or blog can be very effective. This can be educational, however the teacher has to guide students in the appropriate direction. With the proper guidance and direction technology can offer so much more than just a “distraction.”