Of Soul-Searching and Pirate Maps

In the article "Preparing Students to Learn Without Us," Will Richardson discusses the shift in educational ideology towards personalized learning, or learning that allows students to guide their own education based on their interests. In this modern, technological age, students have access to basically every resource imaginable: schools no longer have to use the same old materials and methods of learning, because there is so much more available. More importantly, schools can use this treasure-trove of knowledge to teach students how to teach themselves. But that will not necessarily be the solution: as Mr. Richardson points out,

"Although it might be an important first step in putting students on a path to a more self-directed, passionate, relevant learning life, it may not bring about the true transformation that many see as the potential of this moment."
 

The true potential of the moment is the concept of students learning not to teach themselves, but to learn for themselves: that they may use their curiosity and interests to educate themselves whenever and however they want. Rearranging resources is not enough: students should be able to exercise their ability to utilize the resources in a informative and interesting way. I find this quote interesting because I think that the true transformation involved in the 'potential of the moment' is one that has to happen for every person on their own. You cannot force a person to change the way they think. For example, I am lucky that I love to read: you can make someone read as much as they want, but you can't make them love it. It has to be a spontaneous, self-transformative moment, or thought. Perhaps we should teach students to be self-aware, as well as teaching them how to teach themselves: the combination of the two might spark something.

However, I do think this concept of learning on one's own will be a great experience for this class. I presume all students well know the remarkable things one can find on the Internet, but I imagine few of us have explored learning from one or more people who have, through the Internet, found a way to teach. I personally am very interested in exploring both photography and documentary-making, as well as non-cinematographical topics, such as linguistics, physiology, and neuroscience. The Internet is a pirate map: let us begin the search for treasure.

http://diigo.com/0sz7r