The Fourth Way

"Everything should change, it seems, except the increasingly unholy trinity of markets, testing, and accountability. Tough choices, indeed! The new globalized economy, it seems, is going to be driven by less-than-happy band of Puritans!"

This quote had me rolling in laughter. It is a witty retort to the path of autocracy and speaks volumes towards the people who help create the rules educators must follow. They have such a large influence that it almost doesn't matter what the professionals in that field think. Whatever is the best for them is best for the educator seems to be their only policy.

"However, our rubrics taught us, we loved writing too much, so much so that we had been giving less credit to students who could write clearly but not elegantly, who had great ideas but couldn't express them perfectly, who applied evidence well but not always in the most compelling way."

I never put much thought into this because I honestly don't like writing as much as the statement says, but do seem to appreciate more elegant writing. Like this quote says we should not judge the book by it's writing style. Though some students don't know how to convey their thoughts in a manor that is pleasing to our eyes, doesn't mean heir ideas are not every bit as in depth and knowledgeable as those that can please our eyes.

"It's time to recover the missionary spirit and deep moral purpose of engaging and inspiring all our students."

The goals all educators start out with, but tend to forget as time goes by and they feel beaten down by the system. Never letting these values go and always doing what they can for every student in any way, even the non-conventional.

The path of Autocracy

This path limits technologies power to transform education by not allowing schools to use certain tools. We are limited extensively on what we are allowed to use in the classroom. It took a long time to even get YouTube in the classroom and even that is still heavily blocked. All of these barriers makes it hard to use great resources we find on our free time and want to share with the students.

The path of Technocracy

The path of technocracy makes it hard for any educator to teach away from the test. Because the tests are what determine the achievement of student they need to focus on that material so they are able to have their students score well on the tests. Now, it is possible to use technology to teach this material. It is limited because there could be other technologies that teach the concepts and the student ultimately learns more, but because they do not teach the insignificant details that the students will be tested on it is viewed as failure because they do not score well the tests.

The path of Effervescence

This path is a little harder to find the faults in, but it limits technology in that it masks the value of technology. Doing things the way we always have because it gets us by is a mentality that lingers and keeps innovation from happening. Though it is great to see that technology us is not becoming highly praised in the community.

Schools in the Cloud

What do you like about his proposition?

What I like about his proposition is that it facilitates learning instead of educators trying to force it upon students. I think that it one of the major turn offs with education today. When students feel forced to learn and told to do things it makes them not want to learn and seems to make it ultimately harder to learn. By asking a simple question and letting their own curiosity flourish, student delve deeper than they would have on with educators telling them what to learn. 

What are your concerns about his proposition?

The only real concern I have with this proposition is the problem of willingness of other educators. I think it will make them feeling threatened and unwanted. Like they have no use and will eventually be obsolete. They just need to think of it more like they are taking a more critical thinking approach. They are the one's that more or less guide and watch over the students as they learn. They come up with the questions that guide the self-learning. They are the people in the background that keep everything running smoothly.

What do you like about his vision for the future of schooling?

The future of schooling sounds sort of like a school I have heard about where the classes are all online, but the teachers are still there to help. The students are free to do their work where ever they like, but are always connected. This seems to just be a more immersed version and the students will be able to learn anywhere. It seems like a great idea because the students are not restricted and they ultimately discover things for themselves.

What is your vision for the future of schooling?

My vision for the future of schooling are classrooms with computers for each student where the educators gives PBL (project based learning) style projects to students. There is a big question and the students must use the internet and all other resources to answer the PBL question. They will start working together and helping each other understand what is going on and how all the pieces fit together. The educator can answer questions they have, but take a more backseat approach to their learning.

Technology Cartoons

I got a real kick out of this one because I honestly can't remember the answer to a lot of things without the help of Google. This is not to say that I don't know much, but things that I do not use on a regular basis get pushed further back in my mind and Google is a good way to refresh my memory on different subjects. In this day and age it is all about the application of information anyway. Not just remembering random facts, but actually knowing how to apply those facts. This applies to teaching and learning in the 21st century because students don't necessarily need to remember every single little detail about every subject. They can focus on concepts and use technology to apply those concepts to different areas and be more creative in their thinking.

Introduction Post

My name is Sean Harwell and I am originally from Nashville, TN, but my family moved to Charleston, WV when I was 5 years old. I am currently a graduate assistant for Dr. Deb Hemler at Fairmont State University and taking courses for my Digital Media, Learning, and New Literacies degree. I am taking this course to finish my last semester of my Master's program and how to learn how to apply all the knowledge I have learned through the semester.