by Terry Heick
It’s potential that there isn’t any time within the historical past of training that our programs 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 expertise, social media, and new studying fashions that reconfigure the time and place studying occurs, it doesn’t need to be that manner. Faculties can evolve whereas concurrently rising nearer to the folks they serve.
First, for the aim of this publish let’s consider expertise and social media as distinct.
Know-how has many kinds, however in training, it’s most seen by way of computing {hardware} and software program. The {hardware} is fairly apparent—telephones, wearable expertise 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’ve elementary PC software program like Microsoft Home windows or Mac OS; we’ve productiveness suites like Microsoft Workplace; we’ve internet browsers like Google Chrome or Safari or Firefox; and we’ve area of interest packages 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 expertise that make instructing and studying with expertise potential, together with electrical energy (you’re taking it with no 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 cellular studying, {hardware} sharing, flipped lecture rooms, and different advances), and extra. Every of those expertise instruments is vital in their very own manner, working collectively to make no matter we’d outline as a ‘fashionable classroom‘ and ‘fashionable studying‘ work.
However hidden with this record is one little bit of seemingly dated software program that may be concept-mapped by itself in one million different instructions of chance. Nobody will get excited by it, however it nonetheless makes the web go: the net browser.
Though itself only a program that interprets html code to visible info, the trendy internet browser has grow to be a vessel that every thing 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 website updates that hold dad and mom knowledgeable.
None of that is new, actually. The expertise has been there for years. Mother and father have at all times been ‘knowledgeable’—however of what? That’s the place there may be 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, faculty, instructor, household, or the scholar themselves, connecting with potential mentors by means of 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 might probably encourage firms to reply when they might not in personal.
Connecting college students to the artists, architects, engineers, makers, writers, farmers, cooks, and different ‘roles’ for the aim of mentoring and apprenticeship is one solution to start to restore the disconnect between faculties and communities.
This one is carefully associated to the thought of ‘mentoring’ within the sense that it connects college students with folks exterior of the classroom from their group. However slightly than for the aim of mentoring, it could possibly be much less concerned—topical however genuine communication between these main the group, and people residing in it, and social media is the proper solution to make it occur.
Share ‘faculty work’
Need work to depart the classroom? Use social media to publish it with the world. Frightened about privateness? Assign college students nameless codes or avatars to publish underneath. Used closed communities (Fb Teams, for instance) that, whereas not absolutely open, are nonetheless school-wide. There are methods.
Curate cultural artifacts and ‘native reminiscence’
At present, museums do the work of ‘curating,’ however that’s a crude solution to protect the cultural artifacts that matter. Why can’t faculties do that? And why can’t expertise 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 expertise are additionally helpful in reconnecting with households, neighborhoods, and native locations college students have affection for.
Flipped Classroom
The flipped classroom is one solution to alternate the place studying occurs—or not 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 observe it at college.
Cell studying
Cell studying is an excellent solution to immerse college students in native locations and landscapes. The problem right here is that training isn’t fairly prepared for it, however when you can determine it out, the probabilities are extraordinary: Deep integration of studying, place, and folks.
Place-based training
See above—studying that’s primarily based on place and never an listed set of nationalized curriculum. Genuine, acquainted, and private.
Challenge-based studying
Challenge-based studying can incorporate the entire above—flipped lecture rooms, place-based studying, cellular studying, and so forth. The concept is that instructing and studying are anchored by means of the method of genuine tasks constructed over time. These ‘purpose’ 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 could possibly be as a result of we’re promoting it brief for what it might probably do—which could begin with not seeing its potential absolutely. At present, common makes use of are sharing grades, lacking work, take a look at dates, snow days, and fundamental faculty bulletins. This isn’t almost ok.
Whether or not you’re speaking about {hardware}, software program, social media, or one thing in between, greater than the rest, expertise connects. As educators, we simply should be intentional about what we’re connecting, and why.
picture attribution flickr person usdepartmentofeducation; join faculties and communities
