Thing #1 - The Networked Student

My thoughts about empowering students to have control over their learning, thereby having little/no need for textbooks or a teacher in the role of knowledge dispenser. This philosophy sounds ideal --- in an ideal world. There are those people that thrive on working independently and those that do best when told what to do. From my perspective as a teacher working with students with special needs, the networked student would struggle mightily with this concept. I understand that modifications could be made to make the curriculum and learner's network more accessible, however the abstract nature of conducting one's own learning would still be overwhelming. It's similar to throwing a student with ADHD into a new classroom that's covered with motivational posters, student work, and disco lights - the student would not be able to function.

Building the learner's network of appropriate site would take extreme guidance and structure, especially if the work is individualized per each student's needs. Finding acceptable peer-reviewed work and posting to a bookmarking site for others to see sounds nice, but is still time-consuming.

Subscribing to podcasts and other media to gain more knowledge through the student's MP3? Plausible, yes. Will the student that is self-motivated thrive by using this? Possibly, yes. But what about the other students? The possibly yes turns into a possibly not. These students would fall by the wayside as their interest wanes.

The 21st century GT and AP students might enjoy this type of learning, provided the proper guidance by their teacher. The teacher must be very organized, prepared to answer a multitude of questions, and spend an inordinate amount of time to ensure the success of the 21st century student. Plus, the author of this video stated that "there's more to connected learning than what you see in this project - think of it as the beginning." Wow, how much more is involved?

Again, in theory, the networked student sounds like a wonderful idea. In reality, I believe that a small percent of students would be successful with this process. All vested personnel would have to be totally dedicated to the process. It's a bold step, one that can be achieved - but I think it would have to be done in increments starting at an early age. Each year, the process builds on itself through guidance by the teacher, with support from the librarian. This means a lot of vertical planning by the district so every one is on board with what's happening.