Central Arguments:
“Connected learning is realized when a young person pursues a personal interest or passion with the support of friends and caring adults, and is in turn able to link this learning and interest to academic achievement, career possibilities, or civic engagement.” (p. 5) When I read this, all that I could think about was what an articulate way to say what I have been thinking about throughout this course. This course has pushed me to think even more outside the box than usual and to consider the importance of a learners’ interests and passions and about how learners have agency. The concept of connected learning appears to fuse the two main ideas of what I think are important for education – students’ interests/knowledge and student engagement in classrooms – together. Connected learning in a basic format is how youth pursue a personal interest or passion outside of the school setting with other peers or learners and that this outside learning connects to their academic achievement, civic engagement, and career possibilities. What I understood is that connected learning attempts to provide a space for students to bring their learning from the “outside” world into the classroom. The report outlines the connected framework as having three main components: peer-supported, interest-powered, and academically-oriented. The combination of these three components should encourage a sense of purpose and participation for students. An important note though is that connected learning is not meant to simply improve individual education outcomes, but instead focuses on building communities and collective capacities for learning and opportunity (p. 8). In a way, this idea of a collective space is very similar to makerspaces that we discussed last week and that they are meant to be a social learning space. Additionally, the report emphasizes that “[c]onnected learning centers on an equity agenda of deploying new media to reach and enable youth who otherwise lack access to opportunity” (p. 8). However, with every great idea there are challenges. The report states that despite the incredible opportunities available through connected learning, many parents, educators, and policymakers see new media as a distraction (p. 6). I would even go so far as to say that some see new media as a waste of time and as something that does not add value to the classroom at all. This certainly poses a challenge when some students crave these connected learning experiences in order to be engaged and successful in school (whether or not students know that it is connected learning is perhaps another story). Another challenge that is discussed is how this new media and connected learning tends to occur with educationally privileged youth. Critical Response and Take Away Points: One idea that I thought was extremely relevant to the course and especially to last week’s readings with Ratto about the process of critical making was the following statement: Instead, we need an approach to educational reform that recognizes learning as an ongoing process, connected to a diverse and evolving ecosystem of learning resources, institutions, communities, and outcomes (Freire, 1970). (14) I appreciate that the report acknowledges how learning is an ongoing process and I think that this idea is particularly important when thinking about new media as there is always something more to learn, ways that you can make your content/process better, and endless possibilities with tools and resources. Additionally, as I discussed last week, I think that this emphasis on the process rather than the result at the end is interesting and important to discuss. As Ratto says, the process of sharing the results and the ongoing analysis is important and I believe that connected learning has these elements as well. Specifically, connected learning definitely has sharing embedded within it as discussed with the framework, but I also think that ongoing analysis is present as well because learners are constantly trying to improve. As the first case study points out, Clarissa a 17 year old interested in fantasy writing, says that the online forum provided a place for herself and her peers to review each other’s work (p. 10). The other main take away point that I wanted to emphasize here was that connected learning is not only for youth or for students. An article that I read this week titled Makerspaces: A Tool that Can Transform Learning (click here if you want to read it) brought up the idea that it is important for teachers to be a part of the learning process, either in the “outside” world or with students in the classroom. Something that I have taken away from this course and especially from the readings, is that teachers should continue to be actively involved in the learning process for a variety of reasons including:
I think that the emphasis on students’ interests and passions has endless possibilities for the classroom and that this emphasis also has the ability to encourage students to be more interested in the process rather than the result. Because, as Kurt suggests, there is something there with “the creative surprise of unexpected accomplishment, and a related sense/sensation of mastery” that can make it more powerful than the grade. Thus, maybe as teachers we should focus on how can to encourage the experience of accomplishment and trying to create spaces for this through deep learning, connected learning, and critical making rather than trying to “fix” the grade problem. Key Quotes: Connected learning addresses the gap between in-school and out-of-school learning, intergenerational disconnects, and new equity gaps arising from the privatization of learning. In doing so, connected learning taps the opportunities provided by digital media to more easily link home, school, community and peer contexts of learning; support peer and intergenerational connections based on shared interests; and create more connections with non-dominant youth, drawing from capacities of diverse communities (p. 4) …learning that is socially embedded, interest-driven, and oriented toward educational, economic, or political opportunity (p. 5) Connected learning recognizes a tension between current approaches to education and the world that youth will inherit. (14) Instead, we need an approach to educational reform that recognizes learning as an ongoing process, connected to a diverse and evolving ecosystem of learning resources, institutions, communities, and outcomes (Freire, 1970). (14) The disconnect between classroom learning and the everyday lives and interests of many young people is not new. (30) Unlike many approaches to educational technology, however, connected learning is defined not by particular technologies, techniques, or institutional context but by a set of values, an orientation to social change, and a philosophy of learning. (33)
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Kayla BGraduate student at York University. Archives |