Contemporary Pedagogy Blog #1 – Digital Learning
My favorite quote from the readings and Podcast came from Michael Wesch: “Real learning is about the questions you leave with.” I loved his comparison of learning with the baby attempting to navigate the stairs. Learning should be fun and not punitive. In my opinion, the punitive side is what turns individuals away. I wonder what would happen if parents made learning to walk punitive? That’s a scary thought! Most parents celebrate every attempt with the “A” praise level which in turn encourages the baby to keep trying. My husband often tells our college-age twin daughters that college is where you learn to teach yourself. If they leave with questions after a course lecture, I hope they are seeking out the answers for themselves. With the power of digital learning, they most certainly have access to answers for most any question they have. On twitter – yes – I’m on there, although I do not use it nearly enough. Right now I blame that on my full time job and full-time student status. I do love the ideas I get from other professionals in my field. I also love the PR potential for my school. We just started a school Twitter last year, so we are slowly, but surely getting there. This digital platform definitely promotes communication with the parents and school community. On blogging – I love this for students. This is a wonderful platform for authentic student voice. When students know they have real readers, they also seem to put a little more effort into it. Blogging can also serve the purpose of therapy. Some people just need to get their thoughts “off their chest” to receive the joy of being heard. Others can gain new perspectives or think about life or learning in a different way.
