Pushing the Envelope

21^st century education. It’s as conceptually different from 20^th century education as one could imagine. As teachers, we are preparing our students to learn and function in a world which is experiencing rapid change, a big part of which is revealed through the virtual environment. The overall rate of technical progress (the paradigm shift rate) is doubling every decade. The technological progress that will occur in the twenty first century will be equivalent to the changes that would have taken place across 200 centuries at the rates of change prior to this acceleration. Our modern, highly connected culture is experiencing a phenomenon known as “space time convergence” where the space between people and ideas is compressing. It’s a fast world, and getting faster. In light of this, apparently, much of what was taught in the twentieth century is no longer relevant. Students need different skill sets which include a more collaborative approach to problem solving, the ability to evaluate vast amounts of readily available information, a capacity for critical and reflective thinking as well as a creative approach to meet the new challenges of a living in a rapidly evolving global community. They need to be adaptable, resilient, empathic, connected, flexible, communicative. As teachers, we need to facilitate learning so it is appropriate for this exponential age in which adaptability will be crucial.

In this post, I'd like to explore my own (never ending) learning journey in this extraordinary era. Maybe some clues will emerge, and if not, at least I will have raised some questions.

A few mornings ago, I had an abrupt, early awakening, with my nine year old son asking, “What is eight times nine?”

In a semi lucid state, before dozing back to sleep, my instant answer was seventy two  At breakfast, I asked if he had woken me with that question, (in case it was a dream) and indeed he had.

“Why did you ask me?” I enquired. “Don’t you know the answer?”

“No Mum, I have to work it out and I couldn’t be bothered,” was his reply.

So the assumption was that I just “knew” the answer. Which of course I do, because I am of a generation that rote learned, amongst other things, my times tables, to be regurgitated without thought when awake, asleep or semicomatosed.

But for a child in year three, apparently, eight times nine is really eight times ten minus eight. Or possibly eight times eight plus eight. Perhaps seventy two is a side issue. Our start at a Steiner school, where the philosophy is very much about teaching children a love of learning and how to learn, made me comfortable with the priority being “working it out” rather than memorising. Even if working it out means asking someone else who knows. The basis of collaboration.  Fine. We’ve all come some distance since rote learning of everything was THE way, even if Steiner thought of teaching people how to learn as well as what to learn way back in 1907.

As a scientist, (albeit not a practicing one) with extreme left brain style cognition and all that comes with being a visual, object oriented learner, a return to higher education 3 years ago caught me somewhat off guard when I experienced a very different way of doing things.
I’ll share an excerpt from my learning journal in the second week of my fully online post grad course (a baptism of fire, l can assure you)

Week 2:

Education has changed a great deal since I was last a student, and although I have observed those changes through involvement with my children at high school and university, it is a little different when one is in the driver's (or passengers) seat. I’m not sure which one it is yet. Much of learning these days is about learning. It has been an adjustment to give appropriate priority to content and process.I have been inclined to approach content as though I was going to have to sit an exam the following week, and have realised fairly quickly that the lesson is as much about ways of considering that content (and that is quite outside of learning about study methods such as interdisciplinary methodology etc) as it is about the content material itself, particularly as this unit is an introductory or orientation to the course. So I am trying to keep a broad perspective so I don't miss the "lesson".

And by week 10:

I am enjoying the very broad range of perspectives of the group. So many factors come into the equation: lifestyle, where we live, our stage of life, our age, our views and backgrounds and and and. I see my way of thinking changing by having been challenged by the views of those younger, those with strong religious conviction, those way more educated than myself, and of course the profs.It seems to be very beneficial to collaborate with people of such diversity, and how easy it is becoming over time to explore ideas quite openly through forum discussion, whether one believes those thoughts with conviction or not. 

By second semester, I was asked to give an orientation talk to new students. To break the ice, I told them that in preparation for starting the course, I had purchased a pack of A4 envelopes for posting my essays for assessment. I initially had no concept of what online learning was about, in either the practical sense nor in terms of a very different way of learning, you know, the one where you work it out, WITH OTHERS! The one where memorising isn’t really important, but collaborating, communicating, discussing, experiencing the different perspectives shared by both teachers and other students. All this was essential for developing evaluation and thinking skills which could be creatively harnessed to produce things like critical reflections, shared through wikis and discussed in forums but certainly not printed out and posted in an ENVELOPE!

Fast forward two years and I am now tutoring in the same said course and about to embark on a PhD, most probably about learning outcomes. To diversify, fill in the gaps learn more about online learning and keep intellectually stimulated during the semester break and until I organise myself to be a good doctoral candidate, I’ve embarked on this MOOC journey. My own personal foray into the exciting, virtual wonderland of connectivism. My post grad course, although fully online, global in nature and wonderfully stimulating, is a bit of a blend, very much the social constructivist experience, but kind of in house. 

MOOCS, on the other hand, and especially EDCMOOC, are really propelling me into the social sphere of connected learning. In my first Coursera experience, I couldn't handle the forums. There were too many people. I couldn't make the connections. It was overwhelming.

So I did my 20th century default number, watched the lectures, did the readings, learned the material and took the quizzes, learned a lot about sustainability and felt very good when I got my certificate.

Not so in EDMOOC! I’m connected, talking, synchronously and asynchronously, with people from different cultures, of all ages (well a few ages, mostly adult one would assume), from all manner of backgrounds, interests and skill bases. Together, even though at this stage we are really a SMOOC, we are discovering much about learning, teaching, social networking, different social media platforms, digital cultures, sharing, cooperating, collaborating, enthusing, encouraging and helping. I love this way of learning. And THE most amazing thing……no teacher! Well not yet. How very un20th century is that!

I see connectivism as a means of learning where we might like to think about the depth, beauty and application of mathematics, the aesthetic pleasure to be derived examining patterns and form, or from the multitude of ways one might arrive at a result. In this context, seventy two could represent something cultural, artistic or even spiritual. The connected experience of discussing seventy two can build new understandings, forge new connections and build bonds to help us work things out together. And other cultural perspectives may shed new light on seventy two or nine and eight. And 9 x 8 may or may not still equal 72, but we might arrive at a better understanding of this equation.

This is a long post, but what I’m really trying to do here is think out loud about my learning journey and in this context, explore the need to prepare students for a changing world. Adaptation is what makes humans so successful. How much do we really need to be prepared for coping with change, even rapid change? After all, it’s what our species does best is it not? The thinkers will think, the inspired will engage, the resilient will bounce back, those who don’t compete will cooperate, those who love to learn will embrace new technologies, challenges and ways of learning  in a changing environment regardless of how they were taught.

I’m quite astonished at my own adaptability, my rapid exploration and uptake of new technologies, software ideas, methods and ways of thinking. 9 x 8 = 72 has served me well. It hasn't prevented me from getting the most out of the social learning experience or the connectivist adventure. I cope well with the pace and nature of 21st century challenges. Maybe for a 20th century person, this is pushing the envelope although I'm more inclined to think its just an example of how we all respond to change regardless of the pedagogy of our formative learning experiences.

http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-law-of-accelerating-returns
http://learning.ewfi.org/ewf/