21st Century Learning and Teaching

This reflects much of what is happening between the bloggers in the informally-bounded educational technology community. We are discussing our individual concerns and issues with the larger community of “professionals”:

A professional is anyone who does work that cannot be standardized easily and who continuously welcomes challenges at the cutting edge of his or her expertise.

Shaffer goes on to discuss Vigotsky’s zone of proximal development [the gap between a learner’s current development level and the learner’s potential level of development]. I believe that professionals immersed in communities of practice or continuously pushing their informal learning opportunities can have a larger zone of proximal development. They are more open to learning and to expanding their knowledge.

I have had a huge growth in my professional network since I started blogging. These professional conversations are not possible off-line when you live outside a major urban centre, as I do. Today, active involvement in informal learning, particularly through web-based communities, is key to remaining professional and creative in a field.

Learn more / En savoir plus / Mehr erfahren:

http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=Rise+of+the+Professional+Educator

Questioning existing hierarchies is necessary to create the wirearchies of the future where there is shared power and authority based on mutual trust. The dominant model needs to shift on the continuum, away from hierarchy, toward networks. Reverting to old, and simple, hierarchies removes us from our obligation as citizens to build a networked organizational model for society. It must be one in which tribes (families), institutions, and markets co-exist under the dominant umbrella of networks. Giving up our influence in networks by trusting institutional or market hierarchies is an abrogation of our democratic responsibilities. In the network era, we are the media and we are the experts, whether we like it or not.

Learn more / En savoir plus / Mehr erfahren:

http://www.scoop.it/t/21st-century-learning-and-teaching/?tag=Hierarchy