A School in the Cloud
How does this Ted Talk make you think about your role with young people in an online environment?
I really enjoyed this Ted Talk! Sugata Mitra (2013) presents learning in a very interesting way. In the beginning, he transported me to think about a world without computers and cellphones. Then, I reflected on the purpose of our schools around the world. It made me make some questions to reflect on how learning is happening now. Are we preparing our students for the real world? Are we preparing them for different jobs that we see today and others that we might see in the future? We need to constantly redesign learning. Technology changes, so does learning. I think it is very important to provide learning opportunities for our students to develop new skills and to challenge themselves. Mitra (2013) gives a computer to children with no experience with these, no English, under the heat of southern India. Children learn how to use it and ask to learn more. One of his questions that made me reflect on my role is “What happens to creativity in our age?”. It makes me think about how we can promote creativity in an online environment.
"See learning as a product of educational self-organization...learning is not about MAKING it happen, is about to LET it happen" (Mitra, 2013)
As Mitra (2013) explains in his experiment and about his dream about the “School in the Cloud”, it's like learning happens by itself. Teachers are facilitators, they raise the question and then students figure it out. In my opinion, sometimes it is hard to step back and let students collaborate and work by themselves, especially in an online environment. At the same time, I understand the importance of the use of technology to establish connections that help our students to learn in a way that is engaging. I believe that collaboration and interactions are essential for learning in an online or in-person environment. So it is important to also give our students the lead and to let them figure out their world.
References:
Mitra, S. (2013). TedTalk. A School in the Cloud. https://www.ted.com/talks/sugata_mitra_build_a_school_in_the_cloud?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare
Hey Elsie, I liked reading your blog. I agree when you say "technology changes, so does learning" because it is sooo true! I think the way we learn technology also changes! I also agree that students need opportunities to learn in ways that they are challenges and are learning new skills. I like how Mitra is able to throw his students in a learning situation and is only being a guide to them but not necessarily just telling them what to do! He pushes them and challenges them in finding their own solutions!
ReplyDeleteHi Elsie! I am with you on the hard to take a step back front! Sometimes it can feel like if you let go of the reigns of the classroom learning will stall, especially online! Hopefully this upcoming year can provide more opportunities for us to be back in the classroom trying out these methods with kids vs. just on Zoom!
ReplyDelete