Source: http://www.strangedangers.com/images/content/135439.jpg

Doug Johnson (Blue Skunk Blog) quotes Nancy Willard in this post:

This being said, it is exceptionally important for teachers and student to be communicating in these interactive environments. Which means schools must set up carefully managed and monitored interactive environments…There is – and should remain – a vast difference between “social media” and “educational media.” When educators blur the distinctions, this causes significant problems.

This distinction between carefully managed, monitored interactive environments and social media (e.g. Facebook) seems too artificial, contrived. Imagine white-water rafting, or kayaking, in a swimming pool. Wouldn’t it seem too simple, nothing at all like the real thing?

While some argue that we should be kayaking in a real river, the image below suggests that children do learn to kayak in swimming pools…in carefully managed and monitored interactive environments.

Image Source: http://www.leightonpark.com/getfile/84309085-18c1-435d-8e98-7041af7d58f1/Kayak.aspx

Dan Rezac has shared this perspective on using Web 2.0 tools in schools, rather than using managed online learning environments like Moodle:

Teachers absolutely loved it. They loved how it looked, and how easy it was to use. They loved that it didn’t take 2 weeks of PD to use it. That really is saying something- technology often makes teachers cringe with the fear that it won’t work in class, or that something will get them off their game. Take it from a teacher (me): we like it when technology works, and when it solves pedagogical issues in our classrooms.

The truth is, when you don’t spend learning how to use it, even if you are learning by doing…when you choose not to reflect on how a tool can impact teaching and learning, simply adopting something because it enables you to solve pedagogical issues in the classroom…is that reason enough to abandon the educational online learning environment created specifically for managing teaching and learning for a totally online, uncontrollable social environment that has elements of educational management and monitoring, but is without doubt, “out there in the wild?”

It’s a false dichotomy. Nancy Willard and Doug Johnson are talking about Facebook, and Dan is writing about Edu 2.0, a web site created to support educators. It’s unfair to align Edu 2.0 with Facebook and kayaking in white-water environments, while aligning Moodle with safe learning environments like kayaks in a swimming pool. But the real issue isn’t the tool that’s being used, is it?

In truth, if Edu 2.0 offers all the features of Moodle, why not use it? Do I really want to argue against the use of that tool? Not really. What I would argue–from a technology directors’ perspective–is whether any of these tools enable students to learn digital citizenship, how to behave in online environments without actually taking them out to the Web. The hope is that students will learn how to behave in an online learning environment (Moodle) and continue those habits in other online adult spaces they’ve will misappropriate for their use (e.g. Facebook, MySpace).

The desire is to pre-dispose them towards being online LEARNERS rather than social media junkies. Instead of focusing on the social nature of Web 2.0 tools, they are focused on using those tools to engage in lifelong learning. Dan challenges my perception of tech coordinator fears:

“Moodle…enables powerful ideas to slay the fears our leaders hold.”
This fear must be real. Mr. Guhlin says it’s so…While the idea of Moodle as an open source vehicle and a solution to slay the fears of policy makers is understandable on the one hand, I’m worried about the overall message I’m receiving. While The Cloud offers more and more tools to students across the Globe, instead should we build a wall around our curriculum so that we can protect it? Copyright it, maybe? It seems like an oxymoron to use an open-source platform to build a digital wall around your curriculum or your school. Maybe for a higher ed institution, but for a public district?

But I’m not challenging this idea of this Cloud that offers life-enhancing tools, enabling us to grow, learn and build online learning communities. I just want to caution that this could easily become a storm cloud, lightning slipping out to zap those foolish enough to stand under the wrong tree.

How can we harness the raw power of the Cloud for our purposes? Clearly, Creative Commons copyright enables us to accomplish this. That’s why I don’t support building a digital wall around curriculum or a school, but instead, creating a safe environment for students to develop the skills they need to do well in virtual spaces. I encourage educators to work to predispose young learners to using online learning tools for lifelong learning, and to share what they do and learn about this process with others under Creative Commons Copyright.

And, lest you forget, I’m exploring ideas (again) in this post with a limited amount of time. More later…in the meantime, thanks to Chris Lehmann (Practical Theory) for sharing this video of Joe 1.0….

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Everything posted on Miguel Guhlin’s blogs/wikis are his personal opinion and do not necessarily represent the views of his employer(s) or its clients. Read Full Disclosure