Before we can even begin to delve deep into the connected learner, researchers must be cognizant of the fact that the adolescent age-group is so fragile. They’re like baby-birds who are just trying to find their way in the world, questioning their every decision. Adolescents strive to develop their own true and unique sense of self in order to propel them towards their developing interests. With that, they’re subject to criticism if their interests don’t align with the masses, which can be devastating towards their mental health. The adolescent age is so pivotal in a person’s development, and I just think they deserve the respect and understanding of adults to be aware of our role in their development.
The idea of connected-learning led me to believe that safe-havens exist for particular students who feel left out and outcasted. It’s a place for students who don’t fit-in to have their own unique little community where they’re valued and feel a sense of belonging. Their unique interests go against the grain of what “typical” peers like. During the adolescent phase and beyond, I think its normal for teenagers to feel trapped in their hometown. We’re intelligent enough to realize there is an enormous world out there with billions of people, but teenagers fall into the rut of thinking that the people we go to school with are the only people in the world. Web 2.0 allows for students to connect with people all over the world.
Teenagers gaming and connecting with others online can be viewed in a negative light from the perspective of parents. But, we need to keep in mind that with every new generation…things change. In the 90s and early 2000s, the stereotype was that parents believed their kids spent too much time on the house-phone with their friends. What are they doing? They should be studying!. I’d say with every generation, children do some sort of activity that parents wish they’d be doing something else. From the perspective of traditional, and again, stereotypical parents, they have the notion their kids should be spending time on other things, but actually there is value in these activities that naturally-interest the students.
While no-doubt challenging, I think it’s vastly important for parents and teachers to be on the same page. This would exist in a perfect world which we all know does not exist. I’m not too sure if the common-person recognizes the benefits of connected learning, or understands its benefits. I think parents have the responsibility to encourage their child to explore their interests and provide them with opportunity to figure out what they actually like. The role of the teacher is to morph that natural curiosity and spin in into learning opportunities….no easy task. It’s difficult to pin down the role of the teacher in connected learning because I think teacher-willingness to do that resides in their own values and beliefs. I’m not sure if the older generation of teachers could exist in connected learning. They don’t have the skills, because Web2.0 isn’t familiar to them. However, younger teachers such as myself should welcome students to explore their natural interests and make a conscious effort to be aware what students like. With that knowledge, teachers can be creative in how they design instruction. But again I reiterate…this is not an easy task.
I’d like to think I applied learning from the readings into practice, but I’ll let you, the reader, be the judge. During our first week of virtual learning, we’re still working out a lot of kinks. I gave the students the opportunity to all freely verbally chat on Zoom and one of the first things I heard from one of my students was “Are you guys playing Roblox tonight?”
A lightbulb went off for me.
The next day during homeroom, I asked students to put into the Zoom chat their usernames for different games they play outside school if they’d want me to share it with the class. The chat quickly BLEW UP. I offered to consolidate all that information and provide it to the class so they could add each other and play. During the first week, I quickly realized that if I don’t provide them opportunities to interact, this whole experience is going to be a disaster for everybody. I can’t sit and talk at a bunch of little squares on a screen. So in order to build a stronger classroom communities, I’m going to work to connect my students on various platforms. My goal is to get them more connected with each other even if they can’t be together. Providing them that opportunity to interact, talk to, and play video games with their classmates will hopefully pay dividends down the road.
I see tremendous challenges for implementing connected learning principles in traditional and formal school contexts. I’ve mentioned this before in previous posts: Change takes time. Whether it be at state-level education policies or district-level, change takes time. With that, I see many higher ups being the older generation who may struggle to embrace and push for a change to internet connectivity.
However, I think young and ambitious go-getters who embrace connected-learning have opportunity. Beginning a charter school or nonprofit is not outside the realm of possibility, and having more schools similar to Quest to Learn in New York City could provide opportunities for many students that traditional schools just don’t offer.