Nobody Learns from Comfort--Including Students
Created by John Fritz (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) on January 23, 2007
I "get it" that new learners are digital natives, but I worry a tad about falling all over ourselves to adapt what higher education does best: critical reflection and self awareness. I don't want to be a catalyst for an unthinking, lemming-like lunge over the ever-rising cliff of new media "edutainment." We can NEVER compete with the education industry's resources to create "junk," as Chris Dede pointed out today. Should we even try? Isnt' this an arms race we can't win?
After today's general session, I heard a good nugget from my Frye 2005 colleague Barron Koralesky at McCalaster Collge: "People don't learn from a position of comfort, but if you make it safe for them to try, they can do it." This is a good support strategy in our dealings with faculty "learning" to adopt technology into their teaching and learning pedagogy. But I think the same could be applied to today's tech-saturated students. I know it's important to meet people where they are, but we must remember to take them where they are not. I'd even say students and faculty can learn from each other in a true partnership.
I admit, I don't understand the world of today's multi-tasking, highly connected students who play games and communicate 24/7, almost in single-celled, Borg-like communities. But if we meet them half-way and try to understand what they do natively, can we expect them to hold up their end of the bargain and attend to the difficult process of hewing out an identity? They may need to unplug, reflect and discover their own voice, and who they are as individuals.
I know I sound like a crank: I'm a bit geeky myself. But as I look back on my own rich and very "analog" college education, I just don't want to underestimate the unique role higher education plays in society. Our students need to reflect and find their own voice to be productive citizens, parents, employees, partners, neighbors and friends. I'm all for using technology toward this higher purpose, but we may need to remind ourselves what that feels and looks like periodically, too.
Climbing off the soap box,
John Fritz
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
After today's general session, I heard a good nugget from my Frye 2005 colleague Barron Koralesky at McCalaster Collge: "People don't learn from a position of comfort, but if you make it safe for them to try, they can do it." This is a good support strategy in our dealings with faculty "learning" to adopt technology into their teaching and learning pedagogy. But I think the same could be applied to today's tech-saturated students. I know it's important to meet people where they are, but we must remember to take them where they are not. I'd even say students and faculty can learn from each other in a true partnership.
I admit, I don't understand the world of today's multi-tasking, highly connected students who play games and communicate 24/7, almost in single-celled, Borg-like communities. But if we meet them half-way and try to understand what they do natively, can we expect them to hold up their end of the bargain and attend to the difficult process of hewing out an identity? They may need to unplug, reflect and discover their own voice, and who they are as individuals.
I know I sound like a crank: I'm a bit geeky myself. But as I look back on my own rich and very "analog" college education, I just don't want to underestimate the unique role higher education plays in society. Our students need to reflect and find their own voice to be productive citizens, parents, employees, partners, neighbors and friends. I'm all for using technology toward this higher purpose, but we may need to remind ourselves what that feels and looks like periodically, too.
Climbing off the soap box,
John Fritz
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
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