School in the Cloud: Future Schools
What mixed emotions I had after watching the Ted Talk Build a School in the Cloud By Sugata Mitra. Listening to him I’m thinking…Oh boy I’m out of a job!?! …. My students don’t need me!.... What will future education really look like? Then as I continued to listen my anxiety eased up. Teachers are needed. We are needed to facilitate, encourage, raise the big questions they need to discover, and allow for learning to happen.
A few points throughout the presentation stood out to me.
He asked the question : “ Is Knowledge Obsolete?” I just had this talk with a coworker about how with technology at our fingertips we don’t have to remember facts about certain topics. All we have to do is ask Siri or Google what we need to know. At times it's as if we don’t need knowledge of things like we used to. I found it interesting how he brought that up back in 2013 when here we are in 2022 and Siri and Google hold all our knowledge.
Sugata Mitra explains how SOLE is the way students will learn in the classroom in the future (Broadband + Collaboration + Encouragement & Admiration). Sole translated in Italian means sun, which is located in the sky near the clouds. I wonder if Sole is the classroom in the clouds because of the Bright future it will bring to students around the world?
What a great learning opportunity, environment, and journey students could have if SOLE was instituted in our schools. As Sugata Mitra said, “Students going on intellectual adventures driven by big questions.” Teachers watching life come back into their classrooms and their students. Technology being used as a resource to learn and drive their learning while being connected and in the moment with their peers. I think Sherry Turkle would approve of the use of technology in the School in the Cloud.
Elena, I had a similar reaction to you during this talk. I was (and still am) a bit overwhelmed by this idea of SOLE. While I think it promotes a sense of collaboration, and allows the learning process to be more self-motivated and self-driven, I have a hard time thinking of how this could work for my students. Maybe it is because I am so used to the "traditional" model of teaching and have a hard time changing that thinking. It is something I am definitely interested in implementing in my classroom, just not sure how to do so.
ReplyDeleteElena, I was also feeling that my job was not needed at first. I agree that teachers are needed to facilitate, encourage, and raise questions and let the students find the answers. I am interested in his idea of SOLE. I think it is an interesting concept and take on education.
ReplyDeleteElena, I am right there with you. I think SOLE is a wonderful model that our students deserve, but (there's always a but) I suspect majority of our public school leadership would raise their eyebrows if they walked into our rooms and saw that we were letting our students find the answers to their own questions (and not following with whatever district pacing guide was given to us). I really do think self-directed learning is the way to go, however, the structures in which we work (especially depending on the subject one teaches) makes it nearly impossible to implement this in a way that is authentic and continuous (not just a one time deal). Part of these restrictions are what led me to leave PPSD--I'm hoping I'll have more freedom where I am going so that I can create learning environments that are genuinely student-directed.
ReplyDeleteElena,
ReplyDeleteI also shared that "Oh No!" moment at the beginning of the TED Talk! I agree that teachers need to be there for the students but also allow them navigate and explore on their own. We are there to help guide in the wondrous questions, but they are the explorers to drive their own solutions and conclusions! I am interested in learning more and seeing how it plays out in the classroom!
Elena, I completely agree with your feelings about this Ted Talk! But it is hard to imagine that our students don't need us at all. This past year, I had some students who would succeed with SOLE, but definitely not all of them!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad I'm not the only one who had mixed feelings about this Ted Talk! I think it makes really solid points about learning, though I disagree that teaching as we know it is obsolete. I think in the years to come it will look very different, but teachers model so much of social learning/interaction for our students that just can't be replicated with a computer. There is no replacement for genuine human connection.
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