Posts made in February, 2012
The Past or The Future…
My sister and I enjoy a long run every second weekend and afterwards we enjoy a good catchup over coffee and a walk. Today’s conversation was about how my children were going at school and we started talking about the assessment my daughter in Grade Seven is currently working on. The conversation then moved to our schooling and the things which we did at the same age. Now my sister and I are really NOT that old (we are in our early 30s). I know life after school has changed since the late 90s and the skills students need now and into the future have definetly changed. I mean when we were at school the internet was *new*. Both of us remember spending time in the State Library labouring over books to find the information we needed to complete the assignments that more often than not were hand written. And *THESE* days my daughter finds nearly all of her information on the NET. Now we both know that the skills involved in searching the internet compared with searching the library are completely different. And we realise that in the age of the Internet everyone is an expert in everything. Cause lets face it if you don’t know the answer you can look it up and become an expert yourself. Or find someone who can help.
This led to our thoughts of what education is going to be like when our youngest children (who are currently 2) get there… Maybe exams will be a thing of the past… Or maybe more will be open book… Maybe students will make their own curriculum… Or maybe the government will still decide when and where student learn…
Skills change over time… I’m not sure where education is heading… All I hope is that students in the future learn the skills they need to be successful in life.
Education needs to make sure it keeps up…
Maybe We Need to Ban the Classroom…
I know that I’m a bit behind in my podcast listening HOWEVER this week I was listening to my current favourite podcast “Teacher 2.0″ the episode which caught my attention as I was running along was titled “Chalk Markets Plunge!” in it Rodd Lucier from The Clever Sheep Blog was explaining his view on the Ages of Education. He believes that there are 3 ages of education:
- The Slate and Chalk Age – mid 1800s to present
- The Paper and Pen Era – 1900s to present
- The Web and Keyboard Period – 2000s to present
And that if we really are to move forward in education then we need to ban chalk.
This had me thinking… maybe we need to ban the classroom in its current form… Why are we so concerned that learning happens in a box. Learning now happens anywhere and everywhere. If we are to move into the Web and Keyboard Period perhaps we need to recognised that learning happens in a classroom, at home, on the net, on paper and even with or without chalk. Learning is now about the experiences not the tools nor the place…
Related articles
- Let’s Ban Chalk! (TheCleverSheep.blogspot.com.au)
Join the Group
