This came to my attention from John Moranski, a school librarian from Auburn High School and Middle School in Auburn, Illinois. It seems that Michael Wesch is at it again, with his Introduction to Cultural Anthropology students at Kansas State University. Please forgive me if you all already know about this video, but when I finally get a chance, these days, to actually feed from my aggregator, I feel a bit like Rip Van Winkle.
The piece is called, “A Vision of Students Today,” and features a very large class of college students, sharing short notes about their personal and education learning experiences, and the vast gap that exists between the one that they have created (one that many of us remain ignorant of) and the one that we inflict on them.
Of special interest is the blog that Wesch is running, that I was, until today, unaware of. It’s called Digital Ethnography and there is a single blog entry that includes the transcript from the video and also background information. An excellent watch and another likely intro to more professional development institutes.
Thanks Michael!
I think some rather telling points are in the comments on the post with the transcript. Many of the “older” generation, many professors and parents are defending textbooks and chalkboards and insisting that learning is all internal and that the students are just lazy and want to be spoon fed. Yes, students are in charge of their own learning but I think educators still have an obligation to make learning relevant and worthy. Anyway, just thought I’d point out that many of the comments over there are worth a read.
Great points Anna, Here is another video. How fast times are changing for the learner ! Beautiful piece:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uVFsxev-2sk
I may be missing the point, but what exactly is new here? Students work, sleep, eat and goof off in class. I’m all for changing education, but pointless, pseudo-insightful, mock-iconoclastic bilge like this makes me more inclined to ban computers from schools! (Joking… mostly…)
This is certainly true. When I said that this video would find itself opening staff development institutes, I meant that facetiously — response to the times that “The Machine is Using Us,” and and “Did You Know” have been shown.
But I think that looking at this confrontationally is not useful. It is as wrong for teachers to keep inflicting mindless irrelevant content and teaching stills on their children as it is for kids to switch it off and escape to their social networks.
The reason that I mentioned the video is that teachers should become aware of how children use information today, and the degree to which information adds meaning to their experiences. I believe that in this time, the education that best serves our children and their future will be one that includes the curriculum that thoughtful and forward looking educators agree on, and reflects the information landscape that will almost certainly be part of our children’s future.
Seems pretty whiny to me.
The feedback on my site indicates that there is not much sympathy for these kids…
We may not have taught them cooperative learning skills, but we did teach them how to whine didn’t we?
I have to agree with Kieran.
I wrote about the video and this discussion on The Pulse – http://www.districtadministration.com
Did anyone see that techcrunch did a story about http://www.vois.com? Go check it out http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/11/09/vois-an-otc-listed-social-network/#comment-1746686
I hope this link works… I’m putting the long one in since a tinyurl would expire:
http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html?uc_full_date=20071111
Relevant and funny.