We need to practice...

I am serving on a working group that is looking at technology within the Poudre School District. We have been charged with creating a plan for technology within the district. A bit of the conversation has centered on lack of support and training for staff and faculty. This ultimately led to a dismal conversation about budgets and lack of funding for things like training sessions for teachers. This conversation fascinated me for the following reasons…

First, learning has changed. Learning to me is less-and-less about instruction on “how to” do something, and more-and-more about an ongoing conversation with colleagues. Learning is less-and-less about structured training and more-and-more about just-in-time information that is accessed through community and connection. Learning (about technology or other subjects) is less-and-less about budgets and more-and-more about individual effort and interest.

Second, many of us are stuck. We are stuck in our old ways of thinking. It is hard for us to truly understand and appreciate how learning has changed. You see it is difficult to understand what David Warlick was actually saying when he said, “In the 21^st Century we learn from each other” because at face value it seems trivial. You might react by saying, I learn from others now, or… that is what I have my students doing when they work in groups. But, at this level of understanding you are missing the significance of the change. I would argue that “learning from each other”, requires a connection to the bigger world (the Internet). We need a broader audience than our local school or workplace. We need to connect to people who share our ideas and are engaged in learning about those ideas.

Third, we don’t practice. When we were first learning “how to learn” it took practice. Learning from books and other library materials took understanding. Understanding about how to use library catalogs, book indexes, references, and periodicals. Learning has changed. We need to practice with these 21st Century tools. If we don’t, as I mentioned above, we will not understand what David Warlick and others understand about 21^st Century learning. We need to provide teachers with access to the Internet and then let them practice. We need to get them to engage in 21^st Century learning so that they can understand and pass on the valuable lesson that, “In the 21^st Century we learn from each other.”