A Seismic Shift in Epistemology (EDUCAUSE Review) | EDUCAUSE.edu - 12 views
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RSS feeds, sophisticated search engines, and similar harvesting tools help individuals find the needles they care about in a huge haystack of resources.
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Shelby Nelson on 25 Jun 13Some may think that "finding the needles they care about in a huge haystack" would be a rather time consuming task; however, with RSS feeds like the one we were required to set up at the beginning of this course, the tool does the work for you. You will not have to filter through everything you read for the stuff that you really care about. In the Networked Student Video that is a part of the Week 8 tasks, students now use their iPod or music listening device to listen through iTunesU to literally some of the best professors in the world. You may think that what you are researching or trying to find may be like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but you can't be scared to go out and look for ways and people to find out as much as you can. As I read in this article, "It never hurts to ask- people love to share their knowledge in their fields of expertise.
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Shelby Nelson on 25 Jun 13To add, again from the "Networked Student" video from Week 8, "Information management will be a major challenge in the 21st century". Subscribing to RSS feeds is changing the content on the internet that becomes availble to you.
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Marie Collins on 29 Jun 13To be honest, I was completely unaware of RSS feeds prior to this class. It was overwhelming to set one up and to think about checking it. I didn't really see the point in it. However, the video clip really put into perspective how important that tool can be as we transition our students to this style of learning and the process of building PLN's.
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cherylanneburris on 30 Jun 13If this is the case, then why is Google cutting RSS feeds?
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Karen Yarbrough on 30 Jun 13Valid question. Cutting Google Reader is one of the stupider things to happen on the Internet recently, like Flash stopping support on mobile devices. They've lost touch with how actual people use their services.
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Phil Tietjen on 02 Jul 13@Marie - yep, RSS saves you the time of having to manually navigate to all those different websites and then also drilling down to that specific blog post.
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Phil Tietjen on 02 Jul 13@cheryl - good question re Google "cutting RSS feeds" The word on the street is money; it's not profitable enough.
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Rachel Tan on 02 Jul 13From The Digital Reader: Wired has a new article on Google Reader.... They scored an exclusive interview with Richard Gingras, Google's Senior Director of News & Social Products. This article is Google's attempt at spinning the shut down of Google Reader (now only 24 days away), but in trying to come up with an explanation why the Readerpocalypse was a good idea, Google has actually revealed just how little they understand about how we read, and how we find content to read. But there's another reason Google decided to put its RSS reader to death. According to Mountain View, most of us simply consume news differently now than when Reader was launched. "As a culture we have moved into a realm where the consumption of news is a near-constant process," says Richard Gingras, Senior Director, News & Social Products at Google. "Users with smartphones and tablets are consuming news in bits and bites throughout the course of the day - replacing the old standard behaviors of news consumption over breakfast along with a leisurely read at the end of the day." http://www.the-digital-reader.com/2013/06/06/google-tells-wired-why-google-reader-was-axed-reveals-that-they-dont-understand-how-we-discover-news-articles/#.UdNgpfmmjfw
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At present, the response of most educators is to ignore or dismiss this epistemological clash. Many faculty force students to turn off electronic devices in classrooms; instead, students could be using search tools to bring in current information and events related to the class discussion. Some faculty ban the use of online sources and deride the validity of any perspective that does not come from a disciplinary scholar. Many see social networking sites as useless or dangerous and do not recognize the diagnostic value of folksonomies for understanding the language and conceptual frameworks that students bring to the classroom.
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Since many educators do take this standpoint today, and if much of the learning is done outside of this "classical perspective" of knowledge, you may ask yourself what exactly is the role of a teacher who is encouraging the use of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom? As I learned from the "Networked Student" video, the teacher has many roles. The teacher helps to take advantage of learning opportunities, build your "network", offers guidance, models, and organizes information. The teacher also assists students when they hit a bump in the road. This shift in "teaching" I believe is a struggle for many educators.
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It's easier to adopt binary, all-or-nothing policies (e.g., ban cell phones) rather than approach them in more nuanced ways and explore different learning scenarios in order to see where and/or how they work successfully.
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The binary approach is likely more common because we all know that we are distracted individuals. In a formal educational setting, some students just don't want to be there and don't want to pay attention. Providing them a means to "disconnect" from the class through web 2.0 tools (if not used for the proper purposes) just distances them from their education. However, if these tools can be introduced and controlled (although that word is too strong) by the teacher, than learning can be facilitated.
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I would argue that the tools AND the content could be introduced differently and could facilitate learning more effectively.
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I think that some students are going to find a way to be distracted even if we ban their devices. Doodling, note-passing, daydreaming, and the like can all occur without a device. We may be able to keep students on task better if we let them have their devices because instead of worrying about whether they received a certain email or whatever, they can check. It is hard for me to not look at my phone every few minutes, it is simply a behavior that I am used to!
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I, too, think it is important to remember that we are growing up in an age that is filled with multi-taskers. Students today can learn at the same time as doodling or playing on their device. Although we may not feel like the learner is paying attention and absorbing the information being presented, to the learner it is quite the opposite.
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Marie: I would also add that it depends on the level and age of the student whether devices are allowed and how much they are allowed. I really feel at the college level that it is the students' responsibility to learn and that I am their guide. If using a device helps them without distracting others, I see no reason to not allow it. It took a while for me to come to terms with this, but several times important information or tools have been shared in class because someone looked something up!
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@Jordan - "However, if these tools can be introduced and controlled (although that word is too strong) by the teacher, ..." Yes, that word is too strong. They can't be controlled per se and most advocates don't think that's a productive way in which to think of them. Managed? Yes, to a certain extent. Designed with deliberate learning goals in mind and founded on substantive learning theories? Absolutely. I would say, it's more about parameters when it comes to introducing and using these technologies. Students may take and use these technologies in completely unexpected ways, but in ways that are very creative or insightful. But letting go is difficult for many teachers because their training and prior experience with formal schooling environments (as well as a myriad of other factors) equates good learning with a quiet, well-controlled classroom.
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Expertise involves understanding disputes in detail and proposing syntheses that are widely accepted by the community. Possible warrants for expertise are wide-ranging and may draw on education, experience, rhetorical fluency, reputation, or perceived spiritual authority in articulating beliefs, values, and precepts.
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In a representative democracy, a small group of people selected by the entire population makes decisions.
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“knowledge” is constructed by negotiating compromises among various points of view.
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I think this is one of the biggest shifts with Education 2.0. Prior to this, it was a record of events, or "facts" from historical event, or the "effects" of inquiry. The barrier that WEB 2.0 has broken is not the idea of a new form of learning, communicating, or education, but instead…WEB 2.0 Education has broken the imposed barrier of artificial authority and created space for the "we" and "us" to construct what is right instead of what "you" and "them" have said it should be.
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Classical” perspective—the historic views of knowledge, expertise, and learning on which formal education is based. In the Classical perspective, “knowledge” consists of accurate interrelationships among facts, based on unbiased research that produces compelling evidence about systemic causes
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As a scientist, I'm confused by the argument here. Using the scientific method, many experiments led by many researchers collectively determine the best understanding for what we can see. If in the future, there are multiple experiments that determine that the explaination was wrong, the hypothesis can be revised accordingly. That is what I love about science, as a way of knowing, it allows for change if the data determine that is needed. By the way, my physicist/astronomer husband says he would not teach the colors in the sky in this way!
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@Melissa - I think Dede is referring to specific moments in time, i.e., at that time there is one accepted fact or interpretation of a given phenomenon.
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It's an interesting argument that may hold more value across different subjects. I don't agree with Dede that there is always "one unambiguous interpretation of factual interrelationships," but there are (in science, for example) undisputed truths. Whether or not we definitely know something at a particular point in time will always be up for debate, but regardless of whether or not we "know" something for sure it still exists as a fact.
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In the Classical view of knowledge, there is only one correct, unambiguous interpretation of factual interrelationships. I
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The biggest concern I have with all of this is where do we separate opinion from fact? If everyone agreed that the shift in the color of the sky was caused by increased use of Product XYZ, does that make it fact or opinion? I appreciate the "Classical perspective" because of the facts. When I am supporting my opinion, I turn to facts to bolster my position.
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In science, the accumulation of data that explains something can lead to a scientific theory. This is not a fact, it is our best understanding based on years of experimentation. For instance, the cell theory explains that all life is made of cells and cells come from other cells.
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Yes, it's important that "the collective" not suppress the minority view. An easy example would be Galileo whose minority view clashed with the more dominant Roman Catholic Church.
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I hope an individual can question established beliefs more so today than in Galileo's time!
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community-builders do not need specialized technical expertise to create new media.
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This is one of the biggest factors in this seismic shift. In the past, anyone could have knowledge or expertise on a subject. But now, all of those people have an easy means for broadcasting this knowledge. People can create, share, connect, and collaborate much more simply in the past and that has heavily influenced this educative shift.
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For teachers, who model the technology to their students, this ease of use is the lynchpin. Most teachers are not digital natives. Although some are and others put in the time to adapt, many are in over their heads. With user-friendly Web 2.0 tools, however, professional development can provide these teachers with a comfortable level of confidence in using these resources with their students.
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Epistemologically, a single-right-answer is believed to underlie each phenomenon, even though experts may not yet have developed a full understanding of the systemic causes that provide an accurate interpretation of some situations.
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overall, like many other technology-driven shifts, Web 2.0 aids with some problems but exacerbates others and creates novel challenges.
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Presentational/assimilative pedagogies typically result in learning that is ephemeral, unmotivating, and unlikely to transfer into life situations
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For students to feel comfortable learning intrinsically, it is going to take a true shift in where we place emphasis when teaching. If our focus is on grades and test scores, so will the students'.
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But what if we are part of an educational system that prepares students for a field in which they must take a test to receive their credentials to work in that field? I think it really depends on the content area. I want my health care professional to be able to demonstrate their expertise before they care for people on their own, so some sort of testing is important for that field.
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Melissa, you make an interesting point. When I took my Praxis exams as an undergrad, I definitely felt like they didn't really line up with what I had learned in my Ed classes. A little more direct emphasis or test-prep might have been helpful.
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In an epistemology based on collective agreement, what does it mean to be an “expert” with sufficient subject knowledge to teach a topic?
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With the tools that we currently have and the role of instructors changing, how much of a subject expert does one need to be to be a facilitator of learning? I would argue that in the current educational system, a teacher does not need to be as much a subject expert as a mentor, facilitator, and guide.
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I think that this is a very interesting point that mimics what other people have already stated in our posts and discussions prior. Information is at the tips of our hands. What we are interested in, we will ultimately research. So this question points to a very good thought, what do we need to know for future work and citizenship? Can we not just self learn the important information and build a credible PLN to help us along the way?
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Classical education, the content and skills that experts feel every person should know are presented as factual “truth” compiled in curriculum standards and assessed with high-stakes tests
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Premier reference sources, such as the Encyclopedia Britannica, and curricular materials, such as textbooks, embody “authenticated” knowledge as compiled by experts and transmitted to learners.
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In contrast, the Web 2.0 definition of “knowledge” is collective agreement about a description that may combine facts with other dimensions of human experience, such as opinions, values, and spiritual beliefs.
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Perhaps some similar synthesis about the nature of education can likewise bridge the Classical and the Web 2.0 views of knowledge, expertise, and learning—providing a smooth transition over this seismic shift in epistemology.
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The Web 2.0 definition of knowledge as "collective agreement about a description that may combine facts with other dimensions of human experience, such as opinions, values, and spiritual beliefs" does not exclude the need for evidence-based argumentation when it is needed, whether hard or soft sciences. Web 2.0 is associated with social, open, and mobile learning; and there is a directory of open access journals, http://www.doaj.org/
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