Conversations on Learning

Darren Kuropatwa of Winnipeg writes,

Once access is cheap, fast and ubiquitous and students have access to all this content at their fingertips we will have to change the way we teach. Teachers will no longer be able to resist changing their pedagogy. There will be no more validity(?) to statements like: "What I've always done works fine. My students are learning from me. Why should I change?"

Many have pondered at the future of the teacher with all the information and technology available. Some wonder if we even need or will need teachers. The answer is, if all they do is provide information, they no; we won't need those types of teachers.

But our best teachers are already discovering that change is critical. Examples exist right within our division of teachers much of the learning and discovery over to the kids and allowing their experience in how to learn be their greatest contribution. This is by no means an easy shift. It means a degree of chaos, messiness and uncertainty. Being comfortable with these things goes against our entire years of schooling, education and teacher training. Maintaining full control of what happens in the classroom has been held in high regard. With relation to the statement above, this may not be so important. To be clear, it doesn't mean a free for all. It simply means that students will need to build their own personal learning environments and it is our job to help them navigate that. The difference is that it will be in new worlds and with new people most of us have never heard of or seen. Real learning is taking place in these worlds. It becomes our job to learn more about them.

The best teachers are learners first. Those will never be obsolete.