Edtech Leaders

Inviting Student Lives into the Classroom - by Linda Christensen

Why Teacher Working Conditions will Never Change

Part of her work in developing educational standards for writing social media training materials, Liz explains that we are walking down a totally new path of economics and marketing which is returning to the “culture of a village” and changing the whole marketplace. You can watch from the outside or jump in - either way, you have to understand that this is the same as business techniques of the past while being totally different. In her words, “Can you spell paradox?”

1. Students given some control over the content and demonstration of their learning are happier.

2. The basic structure of schools - prescribed course selection, prescribed schedules and durations, prescribed timetables for learning and moving on - are innately “depressing” for students.

3. If not the norm in schools, student experience of autonomous learning under one teacher may do more harm than good.

After more than 10 years studying laptop computing in schools, Saul Rockman (2003) concludes that one of the most important benefits of a laptop program is an increase in 21st century skills. "Developing the ability to learn independently, collaborate with peers to accomplish work, and communicate the conclusions of your work are the core of 21st century skills, and a highly valued set of competencies in the world outside of school.

Although laptops primarily provide students with opportunities to develop 21st century skills, their use also impacts state achievement tests.

A 2000 study, also by Rockman, found that teachers in laptop schools showed significant movement toward constructivist teaching.

The main thesis of the book is that mass collaboration changes some fundamental aspects of running a business. Three forces have recently come together to create the perfect storm that facilitates Wikinomics: (1) technology (basically, Web 2.0 where anyone can contribute to anything), (2) the Net-Gen -- the generation of people who grew up collaborating (think: kids who view email as a thing only their parents do), and (3) the global economy, where companies are forced to reach out and collaborate to produce additional value (i.e., The World is Flat).

Perhaps the most succint description of the principle underlying Wikinomics is a rephrasing of Coase's Law

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