Today's Learner

Today's learner is like that paper and pencil game called, "Squares". We have probably all played it together at one time in our childhood. You draw a bunch of dots on a paper and take turns drawing lines between the dots. When you have formed the last line to make a square, you mark your initials in that box and continue until the whole set is all filled with connecting squares. Today's learner is like that game because students and teachers are now focused on social learning. "Our learning today is one of forming networks with each other. Our tools enable that effortlessly and in a way that is very human to us because most of us enjoy dialogue and conversation. We are social beings" (Siemens, G.A., The Impact of Social Media on Learning) Here is the link to watch what he has to say about today's learner-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grI_h88vs3g&feature=PlayList&p=3E43054A8703F57A&index=3 Today children are encouraged to work together and think, bounce ideas off of each other and read and comment on each others written pieces. Each pencil mark on the squares game is one link to one person that they have connected with. Then that line is connected to four other lines and it just continues because students today are socially connected in so many ways. In an article written by G.A. Siemens he continues to point out that, "Formal education no longer comprises the majority of our learning. Learning now occurs in a variety of ways – through communities of practice, personal networks, and through completion of work-related tasks". I think this new way of educating our students is very positive and encouraging. We owe our new educational strategies and techniques to the advances in technology!