The Networked Student

Students have the ability to become a major part of the world through the amazing technological devices available today. The networked student can use many devices or just a few to find, organize, implement, create, etc. knowledge. The Human network is very important for students to have in their pursuit of ever higher education. A human network is connections that students make, usually using technology, that allows them to communicate/learn from many different people from their community, state, country, and world. The networked student makes these connections and can greatly add to their sense of community and place among the people of this world through this self created network.

Digital literacy is very important to the networked student. A student can create a network with people without the latest technology and gadgets, but with a few common, for our country, capabilities the student can connect easier and more effectively with the world outside of the classroom. With netbooks available around $200 I think it is safe to say that all students can, and hopefully will, have access to the internet in the near future. Not all will have the luxury of having internet connections at home but all should have it at school. I think as educators we should embrace the networked student and serve as facilitators for this learning medium, much like computers and phones do. Although I like to think that I am fairly knowledgeable in my subject area, I am smart enough to know that teaching a student how to find and organize good data from numerous sources is much more valuable than anything I can tell them explicitly. I can see myself as a teacher that takes a back seat, as far as being the sole source of knowledge in the class, and becoming more of an overseer for my students learning, making sure they are remaining focused on a given topic and learning effective ways to gain in their overall knowledge base.

This link shows an example of a network opportunity provided by university students reaching out to anybody that's interested in the college. The students of this university create blogs that describe what they do at school for prospective students or family members to read. Although this link may not be explicitly 'network learning', it does show how high school students can connect to the academic world, especially if they are interested in attending the school.