Ning in Education

Using Ning for Educational Social Networks

Traditionally, education has been an entity, a system, a learning process that students undergo, or all or a combination of these things. Albert Einstein was once quoted as saying:

"Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school".

In modern terms, education today is about learning as a life-long experience, not simply a process that students endure for a period of their lives.

Future learning requires deconstructing traditional views of education as an institution. For education, the next 10 years are about building communities of learners that can connect, communicate and collaborate about anything, anywhere and anytime. Social constructivism maintains that we learn well from expressing our ideas for others in a culture of shared meanings and contexts. Moreover, the advent of web technologies such as AJAX, blog, chat, forums, podcasting, RSS feeds, wikis and so on, means that learning can be self-directed, dynamic, interactive and media-rich.

Boundaries that exist in the physical world, don't necessarily exist in the virtual world. Virtually speaking, the world is flat. In theory, every person with an internet connection and some basic computer literacy has access to a wealth of digital information providing opportunities for new experiences, knowledge and skills. Technology can go beyond the four walls of a traditional classroom or lecture theatre. This 'level playing field' can mitigate inequities based on age, gender, geography, race, religion or wealth.

I believe technology is a driving factor in the pedagogical paradigm shift. The role for educators has transformed from instructors to that of facilitators, knowledge architects and co-learners. It's an exciting time to be involved in education. How do you feel about being an educator in the 21st century?

Tags: learning, mylearningspace, teaching

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Jamie Llewellyn Comment by Jamie Llewellyn on December 26, 2008 at 3:17pm
"Future learning requires deconstructing traditional views of education as an institution. For education, the next 10 years are about building communities of learners that can connect, communicate and collaborate about anything, anywhere and anytime."

I agree with your vision of the future of education, at least for self-learners, and I am very excited by what we will see from this type of person. It is a goal of mine as an educator to create this type of learner.
Baby Jane Lacaba Comment by Baby Jane Lacaba on December 3, 2008 at 8:33pm
I have a friend who was a Student Teacher for almost a year... A little bit hard for her because she teach at morning and evening she had here class.. She was hoping that by nextweek she will graduate...

Welcome

Welcome to the community for those using Ning to power their educational social network. Also be sure to check out Classroom 2.0 for general discussions of Web 2.0 in the classroom.

Please introduce yourself in the "Introductions" forum post. And to see a list of Ning networks being used in education (or to add yourself!), please visit Social Networks in Education.

And have fun!

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