Tuesday 15 October 2013

5 Ways To Open Up Learning & Engage Students

Guest post by David Price

“Dave Price casts a penetrating light on how the new dynamics of digital culture are transforming not only on how we work and play but how we think, feel and learn.” -Sir Ken Robinson
When my eldest son was 13, I used to drag him out of bed each morning to go to school. Eventually I learned the reason for his excessive tiredness. He was taking part in internet chat shows on his (then) interest in libertarian politics. Not listening  to, but taking part. I wanted to say ‘but school is more important’ but all I could think was ‘how cool is that?’. Four years later he taught himself Tuvan Throat Singing (you have to hear it to believe it) from some very early open education resources. Neither Tuvan Singing, nor Ayn Rand were on the curriculum at school. Mainly, he was just copying down whatever the teacher wrote on the board.


Inspired by what I observed with my son, I wrote OPEN: How We’ll Work, Live & Learn In The Future in which I argue that formal education is struggling to keep up with the ways we now learn socially. The book sets out to help educators to  bridge the gap between the informal and formal. The driving metaphor for the book is that of the ‘global learning commons’, typified by the desire shown by Creative Commons, and other open source organisations  to ‘share all that we know’. Sadly many offices, colleges and classrooms (though not all) have become  ‘learning enclosures’, and sharing = cheating.


What then can the concerned educator do to stave off the rising tide of disengagement which is being seen in classrooms and training rooms?


Here are five strategies:
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