Comments on: “School as Node”

By: gamlet

gamlet — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 12:36:32 +0000

I base these views partly on the success of a comparable approach to making models generally available in cognitive modeling (Google for “ACT-R cognitive architecture” for more details.) Good luck!

By: Alexander Hayes

Alexander Hayes — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:11:45 +0000

Your part of my node yet no one would know it.

Not one response to a comment, twitter, poke or what have you in 2 years?

Are you actually alive in there ?

By: Leonard Waks

Leonard Waks — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:08:35 +0000

I have been writing about “school as node” for several years.

The “anchor” article is “The Concept of the Networked Common School”, in E-Learning, Volume 1 (2) in 2004 and reprinted in an anthology edited by Michael Peters entitled Edutopias, Sense Press, The Netherlands, 2006.

Would be glad to assist you and others in understandking the educational and social contexts of mainstream and networked schooling.

By: Leonard Waks

Leonard Waks — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 16:07:54 +0000

I have been writing about “school as node” for several years.

The “anchor” article is “The Concept of the Networked Common School”, in E-Learning, Volume 1 (1) and reprinted in an anthology edited by Michael Peters entitled Edutopias, Sense Press, The Netherlands, 2006.

Would be glad to assist you and others in understandking the educational and social contexts of mainstream and networked schooling.

By: Don Watkins

Don Watkins — Thu, 04 Oct 2007 02:10:15 +0000

I think Marshall McCluhan weighed in on some of this nearly fifty years ago when he wrote in “Understanding Media” that information in most homes was accessible to anyone or nearly anyone, but in schools it is compartmentalized and only doled out or shared in a very prescriptive fashion. I think we’re stuck with schools as they are until we can’t afford them anymore as they are. Then we’ll have systemic change but not until then.

By: links for 2007-10-01 |

links for 2007-10-01 | — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 09:28:20 +0000

[...] Weblogg-ed » “School as Node” (tags: network connectivism) [...]

By: Craig

Craig — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 21:28:54 +0000

As always, I love reading your thoughts and you never fail to get the gears grinding.
I’m not so sure I agree with the node analogy. If I were to compare student learning experience with the computer network, I would like to think of the ‘school’ as a router or maybe a switch – more of an aggregation point that manages the distribution of content and functions as an entity made up of organized subunits but resides as one organized locale upon the greater network. The switch manages the decisions that make the distribution of information to the end units more efficient and effective. The router filters out the noise. Yep…students and teachers are the nodes in this network. School is just a router. Now we just need a little more bandwidth.

By: Natalie D

Natalie D — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:55:09 +0000

There are a bunch of people out there affecting change, but also a bunch of people who are stuck in the old traditions. I think that with time things will become better but maybe never fully change. Math teachers out there – how are you using technology? I am just getting started and would love some ideas.
http://www.21stmath.blogspot.com

By: Borderland » Blog Archive » Putting Something Back

Borderland » Blog Archive » Putting Something Back — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:46:11 +0000

[...] When I hear edu-bloggers talk about change, as when Will Richardson observes “…there seems to be two natural camps evolving, those who say reform is next to impossible without totally blowing out the model, and those who feel that we already have some inroads to reform within the current structures…” I wonder about the utopian desire to fix and repair, as if we’ll somehow eventually arrive at a final solution to all our problems. [...]

By: Samuel

Samuel — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 00:13:50 +0000

I just joined Nova Southeastern University and they have become the sixth largest enrollment for grad students. Most of their work is online through compressed video, satellite locations, and distance students.

By: Amy Reynolds

Amy Reynolds — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 23:09:10 +0000

Knowledge is every where. The web, blogs, social networking, video sharing and other web 2.0 tools have transformed the way students find, produce and share knowledge on a daily basis. I don’t think anyone can argue that. Students from grade school to high school are connected to the web in their personal lives 24/7 communicating and socializing; multi-tasking is second nature to them. Life is stimulating, school work isn’t.

I am a proponent of inquiry- based instructional technology projects in education. I also work to train teachers in this methodology. Students who learn through inquiry become self directed learners who are better able to be productive citizens in a flat world.

Zak, from eMints said, “I think there are movements in education to attain this ideal, but they are rare. For example, my organization (eMINTS) trains teachers to use inquiry-based methodology through technology. However, only 2% of the classrooms in Misery…er…I mean Missouri are eMINTS classrooms. And even many of those classrooms have reverted back to a more traditional structure.”

Why do you think there is so much resistance to change the methodology in the classroom? We are living in the 21st century. When will educators wake up?

By: How do we manage change for the 21st century learner? « Lisa-Gaye @ Uni

How do we manage change for the 21st century learner? « Lisa-Gaye @ Uni — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 02:52:40 +0000

[...] How do we manage change for the 21st century learner? http://weblogg-ed.com/2007/school-as-node/ [...]

By: Donna

Donna — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 01:07:50 +0000

I’m with you, Tricia. After 24 years in education, the road blocks you must knock down to forge into new thinking can be very tiring. However, keep forging . . . even if it is little baby steps at a time–somebody has to do it.

By: Marie Coleman

Marie Coleman — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 00:01:09 +0000

Nodes can be considered as ‘connection points’ or ‘processing locations’ (and probably a number of other things). For some, those definitions are synonymous – for me and how I view learning, there’s a large gap of development between connecting and processing. The depth of learning is not often accrued in the institution of school if for no other reason than the lack of personalized experience.
Though I would love to favor the “new building” concept over the “major remodeling/renovation project” in redesigning the educational system, I think there are too many factors that stand as barriers. Realistically, I would prioritize the little ‘baby steps’ that would, in Jim Collin’s words, get that flywheel moving. We continue to plug along in school reform and my optimism believes that it really is making a difference – though we certainly have much to accomplish!

By: Clarence Fisher

Clarence Fisher — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 21:08:03 +0000

Will. I agree and like your metaphor of “classroom as silo.” Its an interesting thought. I’m still stuck with school as node though. Maybe it has to do more with how I define node….? The idea of individual as node and classroom as node is intellectually easier I guess. A single person or a single space pushing in one direction. School as node… Lots of spaces and lots of groups pushing in various content based directions (by the simple fact of different grade levels and curricula). Almost like thinking about our ed-tech network as a single node. At the micro – level we are a network that consists of many learners, but at a more macro level, when our network is connecting with others (networked nurses, globally connected executives, etc.) our network becomes a single node in a global network or learners. Networks nested within nodes?