The Future of Learning

The Future of Learning!

First blogging assignment, how exciting. The video, The Future of Learning; A Networked Society was very inspiring. It made complete sense even though I had never thought of education in this way. The people in the video stated that schools are moving towards an online education system. It makes sense because technology, internet, and wifi allows information to be at our fingertips. I do agree with the idea that because information can be accessed anywhere and anytime, that teachers should not necessarily teach those solid facts about information, such as when did WWII occur, because students can find that information at any time. I believe that teachers should teach skills in the classroom-- skills that will enable students to use the information properly, but also skills such as problem-solving, social  interaction, and the other basics like reading and writing. When students have those foundational skills, I believe they can achieve anything that they desire. The video states that learners who find the answers themselves learn better anyway so this change in schools would be incredibly beneficial for learners.

One thing I am unsure of or confused about is testing. I agree with the people in the video who said that standardized tests are ridiculous because life doesn't involve standardized tests and therefore why should our education revolve around them. But what confuses me is that this online education is supposed to be different for each student, so are we to dispose of grades and tests altogether? I realize every one learns at their own pace and in their own way but usually in schools, the students end up having to learn the same things because of the curriculum..so are we as teachers supposed to test their knowledge purely through formative and performance-based assessment? I think this could be a very good thing anyway, because what is the point of memorizing all this information purely for one test, and then students usually forget it afterwards anyway. And some students just get horrible test anxiety so even if they do know the information, they cannot put it down on paper. 

Honestly, I did enjoy this video, they made very valid points about the drawbacks to our current education system. I understand that as a teacher, school could be a very different experience than when I was a student because of how advanced technology is becoming and how information is so easily accessed. I think the future of learning will be very individualized, which is a good thing for the students but makes the teacher's job different because we won't be able to just teach information and expect that will be enough for our students.