Week 10, exit slip. What I learned in class today...

Today we discussed the three eras of education that we read about in this week's chapter. The presenters showed us a great video depicting pictures that show what apprenticeships, universal schooling, and lifelong learning models might look like. We discussed the characteristics of each of these three eras of education. For example, in apprenticeships the adults are responsible for education, learning occurs in the home, and there is a one-on-one ratio of student to teacher. In universal schooling the responsibility of learning is shifted to the government, there is a standardized curriculum, and it is a more didactic approach to teaching. Finally, in a lifelong learning model the responsibility of teacher lies upon the parent and the individual, the emphasis is upon learning to learn, and technology plays a major role.

We discussed how teenagers and young adults are becoming more responsible for their learning and are choosing what they want to learn. This relates to customization. Some students reject what is presented in schools and may pursue their own routes to learning. This requires a lot of maturity in my opinion and students should still receive a level of guidance when learning.

We also talked about the content that is addressed in a lifelong learning model. I have seen the mentioned "core competencies" slowly increasing in implementation in classrooms. Caley mentioned how many childhood curricula are including direct instruction and practice of interpersonal skills and interactions with others.

In all of the aspects of change among the eras (e.g. assessment, content, relationships, location, culture, etc) I see a necessary shift from the universal schooling model to the lifelong learning model. I think that this era that we are moving towards combines the positive practices from the apprenticeship and universal schooling models. For example, Kim pointed out that lifelong learning combines the one-on-one individualized focus of the apprenticeship era and the ability to reach a mass amount of students similar to that of universal schooling.

A potential problem that I see with lifelong learning is in terms of relationships. I find it problematic that students might not be able to form a substantial, warm, and trusting relationship with a teacher. In apprenticeships students were very close with their teachers (because they were often parents or family members). Also, in universal schooling students have the opportunity to form some level of a relationship with their teachers. I think students should still be given the opportunity to form meaningful relationships to their teachers and peers.

I learned about a few cool tools in class today. Lorin shared flautR.com which is a place to upload and format/edit pictures for free. Next, Beth presented dweeber.com which is a study site for students. I thought this was a really cool and interactive site that would get kids interested in learning and sharing their learning with their friends and peers. Latarra showed us sliderocket.com which is a place to create presentations and slides (similar to powerpoint but it is more interactive since it is on the internet). I liked this tool and may consider using it to facilitate my group's chapter presentation next week. Finally, I shared parentella.com with the class which is a resource that parents and teachers can use to bridge the home-school gap by communicating online.

Contemporary issues that we discussed this week were very interesting. Emilie presented the issue of using technology as a tool for tutoring students. Katie talked about children living in poverty and how this effects education. She also talked about how technology can help these children to succeed in schools. Finally, Courtney brought up the issue of using computer games as an educational tool. This topic is especially interesting and relevant considering the popularity of video games in today's youth. I was very interested in the quest to learn approach (q2l.com) and I would like to see the impact these schools have on learners in the future.