Webskills Course - Week Seven Reflections

Introduction

Week seven of the webskills course took up two topics for discussion and reflection - learner autonomy and one-computer classroom. Autonomy is a buzz word in education circles these days and learner autonomy occupies a sizeable portion of many autonomy discussions. Computers, on the other hand, are spreading rapidly and are even entering the classroom teaching/learning scenario NOT as another 'fancy' item to be imposed from outside BUT as a 'desirable and essential' component. In the right hands computer - be it one or many - can promote learner autonomy. In this backdrop it was just right to take up a week to brood on these two concepts.

What I did and learned?

Learner Autonomy

Though I had already heard and read on autonomy and the dimensions it has in the form of teacher autonomy and learner autonomy the suggested readings were something I had never read before. The first article I read Thanasoulas' What is Learner Autonomy and How Can It Be Fostered had a very good definition of autonomy that is as 'the ability to take charge of one's own learning'. In order to do so many conditions are to be met beforehand. First and foremost is the clarity that the learner needs in his/her mind about where s/he wants to learn. The teacher can assist the learner in this process. Many a times the learner might not be aware of the larger picture whereas the teacher will be. The next condition is the willingness of the learner to be autonomous. Learners are generally happy to follow and seek instruction rather than lead or construct knowledge. There is this mindset in the learner to seek approval and support from the teacher who is supposedly an authority. In a way it is easy for the learner to do so because teacher will do all the thinking and many teachers too are happy doing it for the students to hold on tight to that power that is vested upon them by the virtue of being a teacher and nothing more. It is only when the teachers loosen themselves and let the students go that real autonomy - both teachers as well as learners - can become a reality.

My classmate Mr Dey has talked at length about the challenges that confront the autonomy issue and you can read his insightful and very articulate comments by clicking here.

Hole in the Wall and Future Learning

Internet can take you in many directions on any topic provided you are willing to be taken and in my cases this happens most of the time. When I read about learner autonomy and one-computer classroom a thought that came to my mind was about a TED talk that I watched sometime back where Sugata Mitra talks about how through his project 'Hole in the Wall' kids taught computers themselves.

Watching this video took me further and I bumped into  another video that talked about the future of learning.

In all these and more people talk about how when teachers move to the background technology steps in and brings forth with it learning to the front. However, in order to do so teacher autonomy has to be in place. Teachers have to rethink of their roles and stop being 'sages on the stage' which, as Mr Dey puts up in his blog, is a long way to go.

One-Computer Classroom

Another issue that was there in week seven was the one-computer classroom. Computer as a gadget is dumped into many schools and classrooms in India and teachers (read principals, authorities, etc.) closely guard them away from the learners so as not to 'damage' the 'expensive' equipments. Most often it is used when some school inspection takes place and that too as a tool to present rather than anything that students can use. I wish many teachers and administrators who do so read 7 Categories of Classroom Computer Use where the possibilities of what a computer can do to the teaching/learning are listed.

Project

The course had already taken us through several steps of the final project and to my astonishment as I look back I know I need to pool them all together and look where am I heading to. I think the experienced faculty at UO had already anticipated such a situation and had already put up a Project Page in the wiki which I found really useful in taking a stock of the situation at hand.

Classroom Application

Teaching anywhere in the world has many challenges that are more or less the same. It remains as one of the scariest as well as the loneliest professions in the world. However, the human element in teaching and its transformational power is something any teacher can be proud of and using technology an effort can be made in the direction of making autonomy a reality. Through the readings and the discussions I now know even one-computer classroom can be used to make a difference in the lives of the learners.

Some Useful Links:

1. One-computer classroom Google search results.
2. Strategies for Teachers - One Computer Classroom.
3. The Flipped Classroom - Turning the Traditional Classroom on its Head.