Blog Post #6

Teaching Networked Students

Wendy Drexler's the The Networked Student is an instructional video on how a networking class works. After watching the video I was knowledgeable of what a networked student is. I think that being a networked student gives the student a wide range of information in which they can take in. I think that it allows the student to share the information, so that others can receive it also. Being in a networking class gives each student the responsibility for their work,unlike the traditional classroom kids will have freedom to decide what they want to work on and when they want to work on it. Networked students have to learn time management and also how to take the responsibilities to ensure they learn. However, I think that even though a networked student takes a lot of the responsibility for their learning, I still think that teachers will hold an important job.

Teachers are important because they guide networked students in the right direction and also filter the content they are viewing. Teacher's hold students countable and are also there to encourage them to succeed. After watching this video, some might would think that teachers jobs are threatened by networking classes. I think that this is important for me as a future teacher to entertain the idea of a networking class. I think that the way students are learning are changing so it is important for me to change my idea of a traditional teacher.

My sister lives in north Alabama and her oldest son just started school. My sister recently educated herself on different educational options for him that are offered near them. During her studies she learned that many of the high schools there offer networking classes. The students go to class part of the time and do the rest of their work online. The high schools near her also offer classes that are done completely online. The students that choose this option are still giving the same educational options, and are also given the opportunity to participate in sports, dance and so on. I think this is wonderful, it offers different types of learning and allows families and students to choose which fits them best. While other schools and places might have a different name for it or way of doing it, I think the idea of a networked student is exciting. I wish that through out my education there would have been options like this. I think a networked student is allowed freedom to become a well-rounded and responsible individual.

My PLN

My Personal Learning Network consist of many different things. I am a student in EDM 310 and also Human Growth and Diverse Society, all of these classes require amount of time on my computer. My PLN consist of my blog, USA Online, EDM310 class blog, class instruction manual. I also use YouTube, Gmail and many other websites in my PLN. Me and the 7th grade networked student share a lot of similar things in our PLN's. We both use some of the same websites, something else that is similar is the process in which we do our homework. She goes to her science agenda, while I go to my google documents and also to EDM 310 class blog. I enjoyed the video and seeing how organized the student is.