Blog Post #7

The Networked Student By: Wendy Drexler

In this video, by Wendy Drexler, she gives us a glimpse of what education could be like in the very near future. In some cases, however, this is what the class is like, especially this EDM310 course. What exactly is a "networked student" though? First things first, lets break down what networking is and then we'll bring it all together in the end. Networking is when an individual links themselves to other individuals in some way. They could link themselves for different reasons, whether it be because they share common interests or for a service that they could use at a later date. In the video, they show a student in the 21st century whose teacher believes in the theory of connectivism. The teacher in this 21st century students class did not require the students to have a textbook and she rarely lectured. The teacher encouraged her students to make connections with others who could strengthen the learning process.

• Connectivism- When learning occurs as part of a social network of many diverse connections and ties. 

Networking can connect any student with almost any information at any time. A student can simply subscribe to a persons blog by using a RSS reader and access the information immediately. Blogs are usually opinionated, but their can be some great information found in them. Students can also download educational podcasts to mp3 players or even download full books using iTunes. This type of learning seems very useful as a student, but the question is: does this eliminate the use of a teacher from the classroom? My answer to that is short and simple: it does not.

The 21st century teacher encourages students to develop their network of learning and acts as a tool to help the students develop that network. Information many find on the internet can be very useful, but most of the time there is a ton of "junk" that you have to wade through to get there. The teachers job in the 21st century classroom is to teach the students how to get through that "junk" and to gather the correct information. I believe, and I think the video reflects it, that if a person teaches themselves how to do something they will never forget it. The whole concept of this classroom is to eliminate "burp-back information" and when the students teach themselves they are eliminating that.

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment (PLE)
This short video is by a 7th grader who has created her personal learning environment. Remember that 21st century student that I was talking about earlier, well this is him/her. The student in the video has used many different resources to create her PLE between the use of blogs, skype, google,  her science class's blog, and much more.

My PLN (Personal Learning Network) and her PLE are very different, but I did get some great ideas from her. She has everything stored under one app called symbaloo which is like a virtual corkboard where all of her favorite websites/blogs can be found. Everything she needs access to is just one click away. My PLN right now is just an assortment of tabs at the top of my browser which can make it difficult to find exactly what I am looking for. It is a little embarrassing that a 7th grader is more organized than me, but I have no doubt that the more I work on my PLN the better and more organized it will be!