BP3_2009104_Anti_Teaching

After reading the two articles, “Anti-Teaching: Confronting the Crisis of Significance” article by Michael Wesch and “7 things you should know about...Personal Learning Environments” from Educause, I have discovered a new perspective on education and what it means to be a teacher. In many ways the two articles help lay the way for future discoveries as I journey through my Action Research project.

Between the two articles and my past readings from other classes there has been several connections made. Some connections are that the students should be the one's asking questions and that they should be the one's to produce the learned research. Other connections being made are: teachers should act more like mentors of question starting and formal guides throughout the learning process. Teachers also take on the roles of being the facilitators of discussion and interaction with the students’ projects or lessons. In some cases of connections it always leads to the idea of having the Web 2.0 tools and the Personal Learning Environments or PLE's, as an extending tool for teachers to help keep the students involved in a 21st century society.

I think a combination of using Web 2.0 tools and PLE's in a classroom environment will only aid in the experiences that students can draw upon in real world endeavors. The future classroom is going to be made of these media assets if not more. The growing number of PLE's on the Internet is astounding. When teachers can combine any new resources to their curriculum, it can only strengthen it. But as with any new tool, one must always be trained to use it properly. In my own experiences, I have only had glimpses of many tools, but have never really been formally trained on any platform or application, on how to use it properly. I also believe that a little lecture is necessary to get the ball rolling in the right direction. But that lecture needs to be precise, accurate, and knowledgeable and coincide with the goals of the lesson being taught. Once teachers can combine all of these aspects and deliver them with confidence, I believe education will be on the right path to redemption.

Is this the end-all answer to everyone’s prayers and concerns in education, I say no! When using these PLE's and Web 2.0 tools, I believe them to be an aid for reaching students and their multiple intelligences. Not everyone can be reached with these tools and some students will always surpass these media assets. As a teacher, these tools and virtual learning environments will be a great addition, but students still need all of the different educational tools and plans to help reach that idea of edutopia. "Edutopia" being the perfect learning environment, with the perfect students. Education really only happens if the students are interested in what they are being taught. Wesch states, “They make up a rather creative and interesting means of learning, but no reason for learning.” That is one of my main concerns in education is how do I get my students to understand the significance of education and learning, while using all of these media assets? As I continue using a Course Management System or CMS, with Full Sail University, I find that even over the web as a student, it is difficult to stay in the mindset of “This is Significant” to teaching and what I am teaching. Some might even say that I am questioning what I teach in art, computers or art process?

In all of the readings and using the PLE’s and Web 2.0 tools, I think learning can be accomplished past just teaching to the test. I also think that to achieve this, a teacher needs to be creative and willing to go outside of the box and push boundaries. How for can a teacher go?