Back to Personal Learning Networks (Social Cells): Part II

Last week, I drew attention to Marc Prensky’s Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. I closed with the clincher, Prensky saying that…

…Someone suggested to me that kids should only be allowed to use computers in school that they have built themselves. It’s a brilliant idea that is very doable from the point of view of the students’ capabilities. But wo could teach it?

I really like the sentiment here, though I’m not sure that all students need to learn how to assemble a computer. After all, and as I say sooooo much, It isn’t about the technology. It isn’t about the machine! It’s about the information. So, with this in mind, what if we instead said…

…kids should only be allowed to learn from textbooks they have written themselves.

The sentiment is the same. Kids are learning by teaching themselves, within their own information environment. They are accessing information, doing something with it, and expressing it in a way that will be valuable to themselves and/or to others in the future.

I use the term textbook, as a reference to its function, not its form. I do not want to imply that we will be printing personal textbooks, though that is certainly possible and affordable. And there may be very good reasons to have students print-publish their work.

What I envision is a digital library, where students collect, trim, remix, organize, and then use information to help them with future information tasks, such as tests, or projects.

These textbooks or digital libraries could be personal or group. I suspect that first graders could produce materials as a class that could be organized in to valuable information resources, either online, or in print.

The point is that students are learning, not merely by consuming content, but by interacting within an evolving information environment and producing valuable content. In addition, they are learning by building a personal network of content, and ultimately, a network of trusted people as sources of knowledge. It’s the best way I can think of for students to learn contemporary literacy as a learning skill.

4 thoughts on “Back to Personal Learning Networks (Social Cells): Part II”

  1. I can’t agree with the idea that students must build their own computers. Maybe at some time in the past that would have been a valid concept but we are way past the time when general knowledge requires knowing the details of what’s under the hood.

    As to “kids should only be allowed to learn from textbooks they have written themselves.” may I suggest a small revision? Kids should only be allowed to learn from textbooks they have edited themselves.

    It would eat up too much time for students to begin building their knowledge from scratch. Besides, in this age of instant access to all kinds of information and missinformation, why should anyone have to begin at square 1?

    However, if they started with a foundation and worked with others to revise, correct, update, etc. the document, students would be teaching themselves and each other in a very “real world” collaborative environment.

    Now we just have to figure out another term besides “textbook”. 🙂

  2. “What I envision is a digital library, where students collect, trim, remix, organize, and then use information to help them with future information tasks, such as tests, or projects.

    These textbooks or digital libraries could be personal or group. I suspect that first graders could produce materials as a class that could be organized in to valuable information resources, either online, or in print.”

    Sounds like how I see my blog and others’ blogs. Only tests and projects of life as opposed to school…

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