“None of us is as smart as all of us”
Whether the quote above is a Japanese proverb or something coined by Ken Blanchard, it got me thinking about the idea of collective intelligence, and how it seemed to make sense on both sides of the pedagogical digital divide. “Plugged in” (I/O), we’re looking at online collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity (hello 21st Century Skills) like we’ve never seen it before.
“Unplugged” (I/O), we’re singing folk songs around a camp fire at band camp while simultaneously learning about thermodynamics, rhythm and math, personal and shared realities, relationships, culture, astronomy, first aid, and good posture. So much of the one mode (I/O) is a whole lot like the other.
But how do these ideas make sense in teacher training? Looking at it from the perspective I’m continuously developing through #PGCEmix, it’s all in the pedagogy. For me, digital pedagogy feels very much like a sort of campfire/MOOC hybrid. One could quite literally take your class to visit Granny, who’s stories can teach, delight and inspire the learners at her feet as well as those “watching at home”.
(Aside: There is quite a bit of leaping going on here.
I’ll have to elaborate on this if I want it to make sense
to the voices outside my own head.)
It is messy, but maybe this is one way that we can look at solving Freire’s “teacher-student contradiction“? Or at least it might be a way I can help my students shake off some of the restrictions we’ve all grown into as part of our own schooling.
This week I drew the lines between pop-lit and serious(er) academia using fat, crazy-coloured crayons. I’m looking forward to seeing what the PGCEs make of it!
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