Blog Post #6

The Networked Student

After watching The Networked Student by Wendy Drexler, it caused me to learn a lot more about EDM 310 and why it is so important. I admit that when I first started EDM 310 I was so overwhelmed and often thought to myself, why is all of this technology talk so important? From my first day until now, I have learned TONS of new information that I would have maybe never known if I wouldn't have taken the class. I understand the advantages to being a networked student, and I realize that the skills I am learning now will last a lifetime and help me to become a technologically-literate and well informed teacher in the future.

Wendy Drexler asks the question "Why does a networked student even need a teacher?" I can understand why many people would think that a networked student would have no need for teacher. The student finds all of the information on his own and creates his own personal learning environment that teaches him things that he needs to know. However, what good would all this information be if the student did not know how to correctly use and interpret it? There is such a large amount of information on the internet, some of which is useless and can often be misinterpreted. In order for the student to learn as much as he can from his network, he needs the necessary skills in order to use this information. That is where the teacher comes in. The teacher is a guide for the student, there to help him learn the skills necessary to make the most of his network. Even though it is left up to the student to create his own network and learn from it, the teacher is the key fact in helping him to create it.

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment

The 7th grader's personal learning environment is similar and different in many ways from the blog that students create in EDM 310. In the 7th grader's blog, both her personal and school information is located on the blog. However, on our blogs in EDM 310 only school-related information is posted. In EDM 310, we have different assignments and posts that are due every week, while the 7th grader can choose what to do each day. In my opinion, EDM 310 blogs are more structured, and while we have freedom to write our own opinions about different assignments and topics, every post is one that is assigned to us and that we must do by the due date. The 7th grader talks about how she contacts different teachers and people in the education field about different topics, which is similar to our C4T assignments. Overall, regardless of what type of PLE we create, they are all useful in helping students learn and develop a network that will help us in the future.