Neil Postman believed that media literacy can transform a flawed culture. He feels that media literacy is the only saving grace for a culture of information rather than knowledge (MediaSmarts). In that spirit, my classroom will work to produce a generation more apt for the 21st century than the last. We will no longer be trying to prepare student for a world already irrelevant to them but give them the skills to live a media literate life futuristically.
My classroom will belong to the Maker Movement. We will “create more opportunities for young people to make, and, by making, build confidence, foster creativity, and spark interest in science, technology, engineering, math, the arts—and learning as a whole” (MakerMedia, 2014). We will allow students to utilize media literacy and creativity to create things related to a number of curriculum areas. This, to my mind, allows students to become more engaged in their own learning and interested in education. Initiatives like the Maker Movement foster within students the desire to become lifelong learners.
In class we discussed distributed cognition. David Kirsh defines distributed cognition more or less as our everyday cognition being distributed by all that we interact with in our environments (2006, p. 249). I want to acknowledge that my students’ cognition is distributed. I want to allow them to be influenced by an environment which prepares them for their futures. I think that as educators, we need to fully understand that the students we teach belong and will continue to belong to a world different than what we may have known. The continued developments often mean that we are truly preparing children for jobs that don’t exist yet. In doing that, we need to instil in them the ability to curiously explore their surroundings and the information so easily available to them. In these explorations their cognitions may be distributed and their outlooks enriched as a result. In my classroom we will appreciate the different knowledge sets and experiences students bring to discussions and let the diversity further our own understandings. I think that in many ways, my understanding of distributed cognition connects to constructivism. I want my student to be actively engaged in their learning and to construct many of their own understandings on topics, partly in relation to their previous experiences and environmental connections.
In my previous blog I discussed how I want my classroom to be connected. I want to connect students to the outside world through learning opportunities like Skypes and Livestreams. I want our class to connect to parents and the community through Twitter and Dropbox and Remind101.
George Siemens (2005) defines connectivism as being driven by “the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital” (Siemens, 2005). As a result, connectivism demands critical thinking abilities and media literacy. If we are not literate and critical, we cannot sift through the information available to us. Additionally, connectivism discusses the importance of seeing connections among varied social networks and capacities as well as different fields. In that respect, it not only requires higher order thinking in the realm of synthesizing and connecting to other areas of knowledge but requires us to connect to the thoughts of those around us.
I want my class to be a place of preparing skills. Of readying students to be connected and embrace their distributed cognitions. I want my students to become prepared for the time in which they live and for the futures in which they will exist. My learners will be critical and media literate.
References:
Kirsch, D. (2006). Distributed cognition: A methodological note. Pragmatics and Cognitions 14:2, p. 249 – 262: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Retrieved from:
http://adrenaline.ucsd.edu/kirsh/Articles/Journal_pragmatics/Dist_cog_pragmatics.pdf
Making in Education. (2014). Maker Media. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from
http://makermedia.com/about-us/making-in-education/
Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved from:
http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_05/article01.htm
The Seven Great Debates in the Media Literacy Movement - Teaching Backgrounder. (n.d.). Media
Smarts: Canada’s Centre for Digital and Media Literacy. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from
http://mediasmarts.ca/backgrounder/seven-great-debates-media-literacy-movement- teaching-backgrounder
My classroom will belong to the Maker Movement. We will “create more opportunities for young people to make, and, by making, build confidence, foster creativity, and spark interest in science, technology, engineering, math, the arts—and learning as a whole” (MakerMedia, 2014). We will allow students to utilize media literacy and creativity to create things related to a number of curriculum areas. This, to my mind, allows students to become more engaged in their own learning and interested in education. Initiatives like the Maker Movement foster within students the desire to become lifelong learners.
In class we discussed distributed cognition. David Kirsh defines distributed cognition more or less as our everyday cognition being distributed by all that we interact with in our environments (2006, p. 249). I want to acknowledge that my students’ cognition is distributed. I want to allow them to be influenced by an environment which prepares them for their futures. I think that as educators, we need to fully understand that the students we teach belong and will continue to belong to a world different than what we may have known. The continued developments often mean that we are truly preparing children for jobs that don’t exist yet. In doing that, we need to instil in them the ability to curiously explore their surroundings and the information so easily available to them. In these explorations their cognitions may be distributed and their outlooks enriched as a result. In my classroom we will appreciate the different knowledge sets and experiences students bring to discussions and let the diversity further our own understandings. I think that in many ways, my understanding of distributed cognition connects to constructivism. I want my student to be actively engaged in their learning and to construct many of their own understandings on topics, partly in relation to their previous experiences and environmental connections.
In my previous blog I discussed how I want my classroom to be connected. I want to connect students to the outside world through learning opportunities like Skypes and Livestreams. I want our class to connect to parents and the community through Twitter and Dropbox and Remind101.
George Siemens (2005) defines connectivism as being driven by “the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations. New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital” (Siemens, 2005). As a result, connectivism demands critical thinking abilities and media literacy. If we are not literate and critical, we cannot sift through the information available to us. Additionally, connectivism discusses the importance of seeing connections among varied social networks and capacities as well as different fields. In that respect, it not only requires higher order thinking in the realm of synthesizing and connecting to other areas of knowledge but requires us to connect to the thoughts of those around us.
I want my class to be a place of preparing skills. Of readying students to be connected and embrace their distributed cognitions. I want my students to become prepared for the time in which they live and for the futures in which they will exist. My learners will be critical and media literate.
References:
Kirsch, D. (2006). Distributed cognition: A methodological note. Pragmatics and Cognitions 14:2, p. 249 – 262: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Retrieved from:
http://adrenaline.ucsd.edu/kirsh/Articles/Journal_pragmatics/Dist_cog_pragmatics.pdf
Making in Education. (2014). Maker Media. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from
http://makermedia.com/about-us/making-in-education/
Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. Retrieved from:
http://www.itdl.org/journal/jan_05/article01.htm
The Seven Great Debates in the Media Literacy Movement - Teaching Backgrounder. (n.d.). Media
Smarts: Canada’s Centre for Digital and Media Literacy. Retrieved January 25, 2015, from
http://mediasmarts.ca/backgrounder/seven-great-debates-media-literacy-movement- teaching-backgrounder