by Terry Heick
It’s doable that there isn’t any time within the historical past of schooling that our methods of teaching have been so out of contact with the communities. Rising populations, shifting communities, and more and more inwardly-focused faculties all play a job.
In mild of the entry of contemporary know-how, social media, and new studying fashions that reconfigure the time and place studying occurs, it doesn’t should be that approach. Faculties can evolve whereas concurrently rising nearer to the folks they serve.
First, for the aim of this submit let’s consider know-how and social media as distinct.
Know-how has many kinds, however in schooling, it’s most seen by way of computing {hardware} and software program. The {hardware} is fairly apparent—telephones, wearable know-how from Apple and Android, iPads, private computer systems, Macs, Chromebooks, graphing calculators, and the like.
The software program is a little more inconspicuous as a result of it’s embedded within the {hardware}. Right here we now have basic PC software program like Microsoft Home windows or Mac OS; we now have productiveness suites like Microsoft Workplace; we now have net browsers like Google Chrome or Safari or Firefox; and we now have area of interest applications like studying evaluation instruments or instructional video games, which perform like what we’d now contemplate computer-based apps.
There are additionally much less seen types of know-how that make instructing and studying with know-how doable, together with electrical energy (you’re taking it without any consideration till it doesn’t work) WiFi (think about your classroom wanting prefer it does behind your tv—wires in every single place), the cloud (which allows cell studying, {hardware} sharing, flipped lecture rooms, and different advances), and extra. Every of those know-how instruments is crucial in their very own approach, working collectively to make no matter we’d outline as a ‘fashionable classroom‘ and ‘fashionable studying‘ work.
However hidden with this checklist is one little bit of seemingly dated software program that may be concept-mapped by itself in 1,000,000 different instructions of chance. Nobody will get excited by it, but it surely nonetheless makes the web go: the online browser.
Though itself only a program that interprets html code to visible data, the trendy net browser has change into a vessel that all the things else attaches itself to. For faculties trying to join with communities, it additionally actuates social media channels like Instagram, twitter, fb, and pinterest, and permits for the running a blog or web site updates that maintain mother and father knowledgeable.
None of that is new, actually. The know-how has been there for years. Mother and father have all the time been ‘knowledgeable’—however of what? That’s the place there’s potential. What we’re speaking as educators, when, and why.
So what can social media ‘do’?
Solicit mentoring relationships
Whether or not organized by a district, college, trainer, household, or the coed themselves, connecting with potential mentors by social media is compelling as a result of it’s A) Public—clear and safer than ‘social media’ sounds and B) As a result of it’s public, it could actually encourage corporations to reply when they might not in non-public.
Connecting college students to the artists, architects, engineers, makers, writers, farmers, cooks, and different ‘roles’ for the aim of mentoring and apprenticeship is one option to start to restore the disconnect between faculties and communities.
This one is intently associated to the concept of ‘mentoring’ within the sense that it connects college students with folks outdoors of the classroom from their neighborhood. However fairly than for the aim of mentoring, it may very well be much less concerned—topical however genuine communication between these main the neighborhood, and people residing in it, and social media is the proper option to make it occur.
Share ‘college work’
Need work to depart the classroom? Use social media to publish it with the world. Apprehensive about privateness? Assign college students nameless codes or avatars to publish underneath. Used closed communities (Fb Teams, for instance) that, whereas not totally open, are nonetheless school-wide. There are methods.
Curate cultural artifacts and ‘native reminiscence’
Right now, museums do the work of ‘curating,’ however that’s a crude option to protect the cultural artifacts that matter. Why can’t faculties do that? And why can’t know-how be used to streamline and crowdsource it?
How To Join Faculties And Communities Utilizing Know-how
Along with connecting with the world college students reside and breathe in, new studying fashions afforded by know-how are additionally helpful in reconnecting with households, neighborhoods, and native locations college students have affection for.
Flipped Classroom
The flipped classroom is one option to trade the place studying occurs—or no less than what sort of studying occurs the place. Right here, the roles are reversed: College students are uncovered to content material at residence and apply it at college.
Cellular studying
Cellular studying is an excellent option to immerse college students in native locations and landscapes. The problem right here is that schooling isn’t fairly prepared for it, however in the event you can determine it out, the chances are extraordinary: Deep integration of studying, place, and folks.
Place-based schooling
See above—studying that’s primarily based on place and never an listed set of nationalized curriculum. Genuine, acquainted, and private.
Undertaking-based studying
Undertaking-based studying can incorporate all the above—flipped lecture rooms, place-based studying, cell studying, and so forth. The concept is that instructing and studying are anchored by the method of genuine tasks constructed over time. These ‘motive’ or ‘have to know’ for these tasks will ideally each begin and end in communities.
Experiential studying/State of affairs-based studying
Deal with the college like a suppose tank. Discover and tackle local people points. Use social media to attach with households and neighborhoods and companies and organizations, then use problem-based or scenario-based studying to handle them.
Conclusion
Know-how, to this point, hasn’t healed the disconnect between faculties and communities, however that may very well be as a result of we’re promoting it quick for what it could actually do—which could begin with not seeing its potential totally. Right now, well-liked makes use of are sharing grades, lacking work, take a look at dates, snow days, and primary college bulletins. This isn’t practically adequate.
Whether or not you’re speaking about {hardware}, software program, social media, or one thing in between, greater than the rest, know-how connects. As educators, we simply should be intentional about what we’re connecting, and why.
picture attribution flickr person usdepartmentofeducation; how you can join faculties and communities
