I don’t have what you would call a networked
classroom. I think though, that I want one. In today’s world there is just too
much information available to learn and teach the same way I have since I
started my career three years ago. One way to connect my students to all this
wonderful information is in a networked classroom.
A networked classroom has many advantages. As Richardson &
Mancabelli tell us in their book, Personal
Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education,
there are several specific advantages to having a networked classroom. Students
in a networked classroom are able to connect with students not just in their
school or classroom, but with the whole world. Instead of students being just the
learners they can become cohorts, and even teachers, in their learning process.
Students are allowed to take control of their own learning. In the process they
are learning how to become proactive lifelong learners. Classes are also
communication based, meaning the students are expected to communicate almost
all the time. They are not confined to one specific location, you can learn
almost anywhere about anywhere. Students are able to get resources from many
sources that they simply cannot get in a textbook.
There are concerns when thinking about when
considering a networked classroom. The students’ safety, digital citizenship,
and parental cooperation. Those disadvantages are minor when you consider all
the advantages your students will gain. The hardest part may be learning how to
teach a different way. Authors
Richardson and Mancabelli state “of the teachers role In turn, all of this
changes the classroom culture itself. Instead of the teacher “teaching” and the
students “learning,” teachers and students become co-learners as well as
co-teachers in the process.” (2011, P.61)
Transitioning
a classroom from a traditional to a networked classroom is not an easy task. It
does not happen overnight. I can’t think of a better way to list steps than
what is listed in the book Personal
Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education on
page 71.
1. Connect students and teachers inside the
classroom.
2. Publish student and teacher work locally
and globally.
3.
Connect students and teachers outside the classroom.
4. Connect with experts around the world.
5. Collaborate with others to create and share
knowledge.
My own classes are not very connected, even at
step two. I do think that with a little planning it would be fairly easy to
move toward step three and beyond.
References:
Richardson, W. (2011). Personal Learning Networks: Using the
Power of Connections to Transform Education. Bloomington: Solution Tree Press.
Here are some resources and articles about networked
classrooms:
Elfie,
ReplyDeleteI agree with the steps for becoming a networked classroom. The steps are a logical progression from an isolated classroom to a networked classroom. Step 2 is very easy to achieve with numerous web-based tools that make publishing happen with the push of a button. While this step is simple to achieve, it has a powerful impact on the learning process. Students care more and work much harder when their work is viewable outside the classroom walls.
Dr. Dell
Very good point. I think about when I was in the regular classroom and my students' work went in the hallway. We were both more concerned with the quality of the work versus what just was seen by parents. Thanks for the comment.
ReplyDeleteElfie
Elfie,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate thoughts on becoming a networked classroom. I also do not feel like my current classroom is connected with everything that is available for today’s students. I come from and teach in a school full of traditions where generations of families go through the school system. Because of this, my students and parents are very much in the mindset that the teacher teaches and the students learn. Like yourself, I hope to start to change this for my classroom. I know that oit will not happen overnight, but just as mentioned in the text I can start making connections within our building and gradually grow to making connections throughout the state, country, etc.
It is really exciting to think about how teaching and learning has changed over the past decade. I once had only an overhead projector and now I don’t think I could go a day without using some form of technology in my classroom. Networking my classroom seems to be the next logical step for me and my students. Thanks for sharing and encouraging me to think even more about networked classrooms.
Sara V
Elfie,
ReplyDeleteI agree that transitioning from a traditional classroom model to a networked classroom with not be an easy task. I feel that my classroom is in that transitional period and has been for quite some time. While, I think eventually (with effort) we will leave behind that traditional model and become a networked classroom, I feel that transitioning or perhaps evolving will still be part of being a networked class. I feel that with the constant changes in the wonderful world of technology, the networked class will be the evolving classroom. I find this idea to be rather exciting. Change can often be met with resistance, but if the network classroom that is changing and evolving is better for our students, I'm on board! Happy transitioning!