Spotlight on Digital Media And Learning

4.7.11 | Last week, we wrote about turning the tables in education and spotlighted several theories and programs that give students a sense of ownership. 

For educators looking to democratize their classrooms, one place to start would be Sophia, a site of “social teaching” in which lesson plans are shared, reviewed, discussed and rated. Writing at Mind/Shift, Audrey Watters reports on how it is yet another way that technology is changing the very foundations of education:

Just as YouTube has challenged our notions of who is a filmmaker, Sophia uses Web 2.0 tools to let “everyone step into the role of teacher,” Don Smithmier, Sophia’s founder and CEO.

“Everyone” in this case can be instructors, but it can also be the students. Sophia is open to anyone who wants to put together learning packets to help explain something, and even learn more about the subject matter along the way.

“We’re at a point in history where it’s actually possible for anyone to teach anyone else, regardless of geography or status,” says Smithmier. “Each of us has the potential to be contributors, to share our knowledge to make education better and more effective.”

Building off discussions at last month’s Digital Media and Learning Conference, Jessica Prois, a former high school English teacher turned Huffington Post education editor, makes the argument that developers of educational apps need to do a better job of explaining the purpose and value to teachers. Teacher guides and lessons plans, she writes, would be useful:

As someone who used mostly homespun curriculum created in cahoots with another team teacher, I’m not saying teachers need explicit hand-holding with media literacy and making meaning out of could-be curriculum. [...]

But when it comes to the newest technology like education apps, teachers aren’t usually super eager to use it for many reasons, mostly because it takes extra time to research and set up—with the potential for technical failures. Of course, apps are pretty foolproof for the most part, but a “screen is a screen” to many teachers as well—and for good reason that you can’t understand unless you’ve had a technical failure on a Friday afternoon with impatient students praying you don’t know how to work the A/V.  As such, if app developers provided some media literacy for teachers on all these new apps, it would make technology integration in the classroom just that much easier.

It’s also worth noting that TED, devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading” through its famous talks, is creating new spaces to explore this new educational landscape. TED-ED is “seeking the expertise of visionary educators, organizations and creative professionals” to participate in a forum and ultimately contribute videos that will “catalyze” a “learning revolution.” You can view video examples and suggest others or contribute your own.

A locally organized TEDx event on April 9 in San Francisco is focused on reimagining education and will highlight new and different ways to approach learning. The main event will take place at TEDxSFED at SOMArts and will be streamed live at http://tedxsfed.org. Spotlight is covering the event and will have more on this topic next week.