DISQUS

Having read through the long list of comments here and over at Newly Ancient and spent some time pondering the situation, I think that the only thing that I can say is that adults and youth are not peers, nor should they be. Engaging students in discussions can indeed provide some incredible insight but there are greater forces at play which the adults must be aware. As a parent of 7 children, I would not want my child, no matter how intelligent, to be in a situation in which they were not emotionally ready to partake. Bad day or not, this was not a good situation for any youth.
As educators, we do need to listen to the voice of the students and hear what they have to say but, it also goes the other way and, lately, the street is becoming much more one-way without understanding that, as adults, educators are under obligations that youth do not have. It is a very slippery slope - having been down it a few times with teachers, it isn't one I suggest anyone venture onto.
Arthur is not an adult and should not be held to the same standards regardless of what he may wish. Youth is the time to make mistakes, that's what we hope will happen so that learning can take place. From what I've read at Newly Ancient, that has taken place. However much Arthur may wish to be seen as a peer online, he isn't. That may be why I did not venture into the discussions with him. As much as he may desire to be a peer, and criticize people who won't see him in that light, he is not my peer nor would I treat him as such. First of all, he's just starting to experience the world, with all it's beauty and ugliness while I'm nearing halfway (maybe?). He is intelligent, of that there is no doubt, but to lift him up to peer status really does him a huge disservice and robs him, yes, takes away, that time where so many of life's lessons are to be learned.
In the end, I find this to be sad. No matter how stimulating or insightful or refreshing or .... the adults found his conversation, to blur the lines between adulthood and youth, as was done in this case, should not happen. I'm thinking that this will probably draw the ire from some but, regardless of what this youth wanted, the adults had the responsibility to be adults despite the desire or apparent maturity of the youth. I hope this short history doesn't repeat itself.

Took the quiz and it was what I expected - multimodal. Learning styles are good to get an idea of how one might learn but, as with everything, one must realize that all situations are contextual and what might work for most may not work for all. I know that I would prefer just to work with things and forgo the instructions but there are times when I know that reading the instructions will be the best route. I know that people are always trying to figure out how to best take advantage of their strengths and it does help one's teaching if you can use a variety of teaching strategies in order to access as many learning styles as possible. Thanks for the link!

Educational jargon is meant, I believe, to confuse those of us who don't quite know what the terms are or mean and the lack of consistent usage is meant to keep it that way. As an administrator, I've had to ask professionals who work with the school to explain what they are saying so that I and the poor parents involved in the conversation could understand what was going on. A saying I once heard and really try to follow goes as such: "The difference between someone who is intelligent and someone who wants to appear to be intelligent is the language they use. Someone intelligent will use language so that all can understand what is being said. One trying to appear intelligent speaks using words very few can understand as it is hard to question what you are not sure about." I use 40 cent words instead of 40 dollar words so that people can understand the message I am trying to deliver. I really don't know how you can get people to understand that people need to understand us so that we can build bridges of understanding.
As for your first paragraph, let me give some thought!

Wow! Made the blog! "I'm as star, I'm a star" I like your categories better than the one's on Facebook. I've never "hooked up" with anyone and although I "know" most of the people, I've never met them. I have said no to some people. If, after checking out their profile, I suspect they are just "friend" hunting, then I say NO. I've run across the same kind of thing over at Ning.com with the different groups of which I am part. I think that it is the only way to do this at this time. However, it would be nice to be able to accept friendship once and then have that trasnfer to other groups. Like an OpenID where your friends information is stored and once you join a group, all the people you know are just automatically added so you don't have to go through the whole thing again. As each person on the list joins, they are added to the list. That would be very cool. Wonder if that is possible? Maybe here's my chance for more fame and fortune! Bah, just remembered, I can't code! Maybe you have someone at Brandon Hall who could do this? I tend not to send a whole bunch of "friend" requests but look for people who I have met and then request a friendship. It's not that I don't want new friends but one must be careful nowadays. Thanks for the invitation. See you on Facebook!

This reinforces that as teachers in schools, we need to investigate ways to make these tools more available to our students in authentic ways. As more educators realize the benefits of such experiences, we will need to continue to have the "data" to support what we are doing. Thanks Janet!

Pong. What a great way to spend an afternoon or evening during a cold winter snap! My buddies and I would play tournaments that would last all weekend. We even kept at it when Nintendo and Atari came along. The original game console had different versions with different levels and speeds. It was so awesome. It wasn't fancy or anything but the competitiveness was hindered by its simplicity. Sigh, thanks for the little stroll down memory lane!

Yes, excellent chart. It is a good way to see that blending (mashing) the two can help in making the transition for those who struggle with using web2 tools. I like how the chart illustrates the correlation between the two - will be something useful to use with teachers as we try to make use of more web2 tools. Thanks!

I agree that we need to begin to do more planning before than after. We have the ability to organize and prepare but, in my experience, we are complacent until something happens and then react to what is going on. Often, our systems are not creative nor built for creativity but are built to be reactionary. As leaders, we sometimes miss opportunities, not because we don't want to act but we sometimes get lulled by the system. There will be other opportunities and I'm sure that when they come along, you won't just worry about coffee!

After reading through the two entries and the comments you include, I would hazard to say that sometimes we throw the baby out with the bathwater instead of reflecting on what we know and using what we have. As you point out, by using what we have NOW, we will be better able to meet the needs of whomever we are designing the learning for at that time. I certainly don't think that the learning has to be all instructor centered or needs to focus on instructor instead of student as suggested by some of the comments. However, I see that a good instructor can push learners in ways that they would not/could not push themselves.

Thanks for the link Bee. I'll see if you're around next time I'm in SL.

Janet,
Great comparison. I've recently completed a few courses with Harvard Graduate School online. I then did a course on online coaching and am waiting to see if I'm going to be called to coach. One of things I noticed is that trust is quickly gained between the coach and the participants through the interactions. This is required so that people can discuss the assignments in a professional, yet, collegial manner. The discussion among the students was usually very good as we developed trust through our interactions and feedback. Now, I run into the situation where there has been tension created because of two people didn't agree. One has to remember that online, you will probably meet someone who will disagree with you and one must be willing to accept that fact in a gracious manner. For much of MEd, I worked with people that I never met. We would do group work and pair presentations without ever meeting the people. For me, it's easier to trust online than off. I feel that most of the people with whom I interact will reciprocate. I like your set of criteria. Makes one sit back and ponder how one is doing, online and off.

Bee, cool posters! Would love to see the reaction of my super with the second one hanging above my desk. Great reading!

Janet,

That is quite the list of things that will be happening. At first read one could be overwhelmed with all that will be happening. However, as I was going through the list, I realized that, for myself, I've basically covered the whole group. I haven't held a workshop in SL but I've been to one. My one concern is that I see many of the "new" voices expecting to gain entry into many of the fields near the top, expecting that their "learning" takes them above others. Many can use the tools but don't have the experience in the field nor the understanding that only time on the line can give a person. Do you see this as being a problem at all? Again, great post.

Looks like a great conference. Alas, the airfare is more than my convention allowance for the next 3 years! I'll watch for the update after.

Janet, I appreciate how you take the time to illustrate that learning is not just a function of schooling but, indeed, is a function of living. Maybe if we were to begin to look at learning as a wholistic function of living, we would be better able to envision what we need to do at each juncture of the education road. Maybe we don't spend enough time looking at the big picture but, instead, we look at dividing everything up without a clear picture of how it all comes together in the end. I agree with Dr. Brennan that we need to look past just "core" subjects and explore the arts and other non-core areas of learning. If we did this, we might be able to make the transition from one stage to another less problematic for many people.

karoli, although it is true that people will not act improperly being anonymous, if you were to look at some of the MySpace and YouTube stuff, you'd see that being anonymous has allowed people to do and say things without having to take responsibility for them. For me, I feel that I should be able to stand by what I say, whether people agree with it or not. I'm not sure that being anonymous would allow me to say anything different since I always figure that if someone wants to find out who you really are, they will. Over the years on the web, I've seen too many people say and do things anonymously that I know they wouldn't do if their name was identified with it. It really does make one accountable for one's actions.

Janet,

Great example of what students can be capapble of doing using the tools that are now available to them. Thanks for the link.

Janet,

You've some very interesting ideas here. I think that, as educators, we need to be aware that learning is, in fact, a process that goes on well beyond the school door. If we were to remember that a bit more, then we might be more willing to evaluate how we are doing when it comes to creating lifelong learners. We also need to be conscious that in a shift to outcomes that we also examine the path by which the outcome was reached. I agree that we need to move away from the "teach, teach, teach" culture to one more infused with exploring, seeking and assisting.