Cheers.
John

If most educators are accustomed to only certain ways of doing things – be that instructivist lectures or otherwise – acclimating to a prospect and/or need for change is only one part of the equation. Equally important is realising where to go next – not just in terms of where the see themselves in a new paradigm, but where they want to be; and therefore what the next indicated step is in their professional development.

If Connectivism stresses that learners interpret knowledge based upon their own context, surely this would apply to educators as well, since they would be grappling with a very new concept in their own right – and indeed becoming a learner themselves.

As far as teachers feeling threatened by changes of this nature, I can understand where their concerns lay. At the same time though I think a new learning landscape in the sense we’re talking about here does not eliminate the need for teachers, it merely changes the nature of their place within it.

And for that matter, as George and Stephen have shown, instruction and lectures can and are still delivered in distributed, open courses. It just so happens that some times the teachers never know who is benefiting from their lectures.

I for one watched many of Stephen’s recordings prior to engaging with CCK08, and closely followed George’s blog posts. To me the result of the experience was very similar to a mass lecture in which the instructor is unable to engage directly with each individual student. Despite a lack of immediate external/social connection I was still able to gain a better appreciation of the concept or idea being discussed, and therefore to make conceptual connections that had not previously occurred to me.

You mentioned the importance of teachers remembering they were students once. I think it’s critical to keep this notion in the present tense – that educators are still students and still learners. By viewing ourselves as both educators AND learners our perspective on our place within the landscape changes drastically, as does our relationship with other students.

You asked “Is teaching still a noble profession?” My answer is a resounding Yes! So too is my optimism for the future of the role of teachers in learning – I just think it’s destined to change and adapt, as we all do to changes in our circumstances and conditions.

Cheers,

Mike

Thanks for the thoughts. At the best of times any change in higher education is a very slow one. This particular change would involve/require a fundamental shift in culture and in a sense the displacement of the educator from their traditional position at the top of the hierarchy. This makes it even more of an issue – some might call it a threat in fact – and one that is likely to be vehemently opposed by instructivists.

So to be realistic, when you ask if I think this will happen, my response is “only very slowly, and most likely in pockets.”

I imagine that some educators will see the logic in the model and start to experiment with its implementation (if they haven’t already done so); but they’ll almost certainly be the exceptions to the rule.

Any real systemic change is going to require a lot of time and discussion.

Cheers,

Mike