In my mind, YouTube used to be this silly website where people posted dumb videos that were only very rarely as funny as people thought they were. After watching videos that have been suggested through my edt400 class and exploring further in the areas of technologies in education, I have come to realize how useful of a tool YouTube really is. I have learned so much so far that I never would have even thought about, and because there are “35 hours of video on YouTube uploaded every minute,” (Alec Couros video, 2011) There is a continuous amount of information that I can learn. This video that I just watched was about open and networked learning.
Alec Couros used a quote in his presentation by George Siemens that I really liked. “Informal learning is a significant aspect of our learning experiences. Formal education no longer comprises the majority of our learning,” (George Siemens) I agree with what Siemens said completely. When kids are in schools, the majority of teachers are still teaching them with formal education. As soon as they leave the classroom, they are returning to their informal learning on the computer, on their cell phones, with their friends and so on. I have said before but I will say it again, the most important part of learning is communication. Technology being incorporated into classrooms is a very important step to integrating formal and informal learning.
Three maine ideas that Alec talks about are, access to not only devices but to context, participatory media, and networks. Technology is so easily accessible theses days, and becoming even more accessible that it makes sense to me to put it to good use! I certainly did not, and still do not use all of what is available to me and I am slowly working my way in through this class. I was not a part of an online community before besides Facebook. I am now quickly realizing that there is so much to learn and to explore that is definitely not me just sitting on the computer wasting time. If you know where to look, there is SO much information out there that can be put to great use, shared with others, and spread across the world. Things such as the creative commons site that Alec mentioned are great tools that are free, easy, and legal to use to spread ideas.
Participatory media is something that basically means a place where everyone can have a voice, and anyone can be heard, and listened to. I liked the picture that Alec showed in his slide of the giant crowd of people where everyone had a cellphone or a camera up in the air to capture something..and then do who knows what with it. Media is everywhere. It was stated in this presentation that 2.5 billion pictures are uploaded to Facebook every month. Once again, 35 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute. That is a huge amount of information. Not all of it is “useful” per say, but there is a lot of great information out there too. It is fascinating to me how many views some videos receive on YouTube, how many “likes” posts get on Facebook. This proves how many people are involved in these online communities. We need to create these spaces for learning for students in schools. As long as they know what information is good information and how to use it, they will be far more advanced than any of us have becoming through our years of schooling. They have incredible access to the rest of the world.
It is no longer what you know in today’s world, but who you know, and where to find information. The next question is, how can this be incorporated effectively into schooling? An example that Alec used was when a teacher noticed a student that was missing his father who was in mexico, and used it as an educational experience. The teacher used Skype to contact this boy’s father in Mexico. Bringing things like this into a classroom can help individuals and can help education as a whole. The idea of “individuals alone, connecting,” (Alec Couros, 2011) is opening so many new doors. The internet can be used for so many fascinating things! The choir created by Eric Whitacre, the couch surfing website, awesome fundraising and awareness opportunities. I honestly do not understand how there is any question of whether technology needs to be brought into our children’s lives. There are so many opportunities awaiting, we need to spread the word and allow it to happen.
amandacotier 