2. What do we know?
• The World Wide Web – arguably one of the biggest societal
changes in human history started to emerge less than three
decades ago
• Technology is developing at an exponential rate
• Specifically, technological devices are becoming smaller,
faster and relatively cheaper
• The impact new technologies have on us as individuals and
societies takes longer to identify and measure
• A growing disconnect in the tools and methods of classroom
activity and those of youth culture and larger society is
evident
• Increasing criticism of the current approach to schooling
• Students will need to be more metacognitively skilful rather
than able to recall facts
• Teachers will have to modify their role
3. Reasons why teaching must change (Wheeler, 2001)
1. Some teaching resources will become obsolete
2. Some forms of assessment will become redundant
3. Shift from lecturers (impart content knowledge) to
organisers and enablers (encourage critical thinking
skills, promote information literacy, and nurture
collaborative working practices).
4. Design courses with non-linear elements
Steve Wheeler’s blog: Learning with ‘e’s
4. Requires a modification of the role of the teacher:
• increasing use of distributed/blended learning techniques,
• the design and development of shared working spaces and
resources, and virtual guides for students who use electronic
media.
“Ultimately, the use of ICT will enhance learning experiences
for children, helping them to think and communicate creatively,
and work collaboratively. It will also prepare our children for
successful lives and careers in an increasingly technological
world”.
5. Educator as Master Artist
Draws inspiration from the artists studio where students
create their art in full view of fellow artists. The “master”
observes the activities and draws attention to innovative
approaches.
Students are not limited to learning based solely on the
expertise of the instructor. The activities of all students can
serve to guide, direct, and influence the work of each
individual.
Expertise is still present; not to direct learners to an intended
target, but to inform and offer perspective shifts based on the
work of the masters from generations past as well as
emerging forms of art (or architecture).
Blogs are a good example of this.
John Seely Brown
6. Educator as Network Administrator
“Just as our mind is a continuously evolving set of connections
between concepts, so our students and their learning can
become placed at the centre of a personal learning network
which they construct with our help for their maximum benefit.
Helping students to gain the skills they require to construct
these networks for learning, evaluate their effectiveness, and
work within a fluid structure is a massive change in how the
business of classrooms is usually structured”.
Key tasks:
• Assist learners in forming connections and creating learning
networks
• Encourage learners to critically evaluate new information
sources
Clarence Fisher,
blogger and
classroom teacher
7. Educator as Concierge
According to Curtis Bonk (2007) the educator is like a concierge directing students to
resources or learning opportunities that they are not aware of:
“We need to push students into the many learning possibilities that are ripe for them
now. Concierges sometimes show you things you did not know were available or
possible. Teachers as concierges can do the same things. We need to have quick access
to such resources, of course, but as this occurs increasingly around the planet, so too
will we sense a shift from prescribed learning checkboxes toward more learner
designed programs of study. Now the Web of Learning offers this chance to explore
and allow teachers to be their tour guides”.
The concierge serves to provide a form of “soft” guidance—at times incorporating
traditional lectures and, in other instances, permitting learners to explore on their
own.
8. Dual roles: experts with advanced knowledge and guides who foster and encourage learner
exploration. Educators create learning resources that expose learners to the critical ideas,
concepts, and papers within a field.
• Acknowledges the autonomy of learners, yet understands the frustration of exploring
unknown territories without a map.
• A curator is an expert learner. Instead of dispensing knowledge, he creates spaces in which
knowledge can be created, explored, and connected.
• While curators understand their field very well, they don't adhere to traditional in‐class
teacher‐centric power structures.
• A curator balances the freedom of individual learners with the thoughtful interpretation of
the subject being explored.
• when learners engage with subject matter, the key concepts of a discipline are transparently
reflected through the curatorial actions of the teacher.
Educator as Curator
9. According to Siemens “The internet has
caused a power shift in classrooms, as
learners now have greater access
information, experts, and peer learners”.
What does this mean for the role of the
teacher?
BIG QUESTION:
10.
11.
12.
13.
14. What is the value of
human presence in
the classroom?
BIG QUESTION:
