I had a student the other day say that the one thing he really learned in high school is how to manage five courses to get the best grades possible. What he means is that he wasn't working hard to learn, he was working hard to manage his courses to get good grades. Another student said, "Legit, my job in school is to get A's... I cry when I get B's." In other words, what students are trying to get out of school is a letter grade, not a learning experience, and that's a problem.
My students admitted this to me in the summer when I teach two new media/technology courses. Why the summer? Because my course hasn't been approved yet for the school year. In these courses, I've basically thrown the idea of "course content" out the window. Technically, I've outsourced it to the students. I teach students how to use the internet and social media as a means to learn the content of their choosing. In other words, I'm teaching passion based learning through social media. I'm empowering students to use the applications they love in ways that allow them to learn the content of their choosing.
In order to get students to embark on this journey of learning, I start with a discussion about the way that their high schools make them learn. That's where I heard the quotes with which I started this blog post. Once they admit they're tired of learning what teachers want them to, I say, "Fine. Prove to me that you can do better on your own." I believe in the curiosity of my students. And I believe that when they set their own goals they will be much more likely to meet them, not to mention they'll retain the information better when they deem it worthwhile.
Always fascinated by technology, teenagers quickly grasp the applications and social media tips and tricks that I teach. The reason I start with the applications themselves is because the moniker "digital natives" is a myth. Teenagers use a lot of applications, but they don't know how to navigate them efficiently or how to use them in the best ways to deliver networked learning. Efficiency is crucial on the web. Not only do I teach students how to use lists on twitter, but I also teach them how to use hotkeys to navigate quickly. Then it's up to the students themselves to add their interests to these applications and learn efficiently.
Next, I teach a few lessons about how the internet works and how it's changing in the 21st century. I cover a group of concepts that I call the "social internet economy." This consists of things like digital publishing, crowdsourcing, branding, SEO, data mining, and slacktivism. Essentially, I'm trying to make sure students understand the world they will inhabit when they get out of college. I'm also making sure that with their learning, they're also publishing something so as to form a digital identity. This pushes students to find a niche in a given interest that they can latch onto before they pick a major and start looking for internships. If they've been following this interest on their own since high school, they'll be so much more prepared to enter the workforce than their peers. Finally with an acute knowledge of the 21st century economy, I trust my students will be prepared to start their own brand (or even business) to help guide them through their young career.
I'm so proud of what my students have produced thanks to this course. They've taken this simple concept and run with it! If I could, I would never go back to teaching content the way I do during the normal year. I've had an epiphany and I hope others will see this the way I do... especially when I propose this as a semester course for next year!
