[Yr7-10it] No emotional connection = No learning

[Roland Gesthuizen]

Here is an interesting angle on eLearning that I picked up from this 2007
blog post

<
http://web.me.com/timholt/Intended_Consequenses/Intended_Consequences_Blog/Entries/2007/6/15_Not_Invited_to_the_Buffet.html#comment_37A1291C_0113_1000_81B7_CEEB57893D05
>

As we bore our students by teaching with 19th century techniques and refuse
to invite them to be part of the 12st century discussion about their
learning, they "emotionally move away from learning and we *disinvite* them
from process." No emotional connection = No learning.

With Moodle, I get my students to grade my questions and activities. I also
openly solicit their feedback in a discussion forum. I am passionate about
my year 9 Research Science course and share this with my students. I even
recall a decade ago running a series of staff and student focus groups to
help me define and describe the kind of 'next millennium' infrastructure we
expected from our computer network. Following an invitation, we  forwarded
this onto Paul Dougherty, the then Education Department IT division head.

Do we currently engage students and staff in wider discussions about how
eLearning should be implemented and adapted? When I consider the current
blind push to deploy a commercial Ultranet solution, I am now not surprised
that there is no real emotional connection and ownership. Although it is
interesting to read reports of implementing pilot school reports, nothing
beats asking grass root users what they think to develop a sense of
ownership in order to build an emotional connection. This would have been
easy to do but seems to have been ignored.

Perhaps like some of our students, we have been *disinvited* from the
decision making process.

What do others think?

Regards Roland

--
Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change
the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead
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