In a densely packed article titled "What Would Socrates Say?" by Peter W. Cookson Jr. students and teachers alike are welcomed into an eye opening argument centered around the expansion of an already existent, albeit crumbling, educational system. Cookson centers his argument around the idea that global access by means of blending computer programs with classroom activities would be an effective and concrete solution to a failing, outdated education system.
Just as before as knowledge was spread through generations by way of mouth and story telling had found itself replaced by written ideas and instructions, today information is finding itself passed on by electronic means.
We are at the dawn of a new learning era. Fast paced, multi-directional stores of knowledge no longer reside solely in enormous volumes of text. Cookson puts forth the idea that we must be "built to build". We can no longer rely on only one, outdated way of supplying today's youth with knowledge. He suggests that teachers must integrate with new ways of teaching their students by using the tools available to them in an effective manner.
As Cookson goes on to describe a realistic scenario involving learning students thirsting for knowledge he points out that a curriculum "would be a blend of classroom, community, and online activities". He strives for a learning environment rich with the acceptance and blending of technology to bring in a global understanding, a global community of students and teachers working toward being hands on in their homes and communities.
Being hands on is, for the most part, helpful for kinesthetic learners who need that stimulation to provide a well rounded and articulated learning experience.
He suggests that students should do more than discuss, more than just think and talk about a subject. He suggests following up with these by involving students and even teachers in the community. In a global community in a hands on, more involved way with teaching aids including quizzes, games, lessons, activities.
Teachers must not only have their students talking the talk but walking the walk. It must be a collaborative effort put forth by teachers, students, families, and communities.
Welcome to Our Blog Conversations Beyond the Classroom!
Welcome to our Eng 100 Blog “Conversation Beyond the Classroom”! The title of this blog refers to the community of active readers & collaborative learners we are creating by sharing our academic writing for Eng 100 with each other + a larger group of students, instructors, academics, and just about anybody who chooses to follow our blog! When you write and post your reader responses here (and, later, as you write your essays for the course), I encourage you to use this audience to conceptualize who you are writing for and, most important, how to communicate your ideas so that this group of academic readers and writers can easily follow your line of thinking. Think about it this way: What do you need to explain and articulate in order for the other bloggers to understand your response to the essays we’ve read in class? What does your audience need to know about those essays and the authors who wrote them? And how can you show your readers, in writing, which ideas you add to these “conversations” that take place in the texts we study? As students of Eng 100, you will use this blog to begin conversations with other academic writers on campus (students and instructors alike). We become active readers of each other’s writing when we comment on posts here. And, best of all, we are using this space to share ideas! I encourage you to use this blog to further think through the topics and writing strategies you will be introduced to this quarter. As always, be sure to give credit to those people whose ideas you borrow for your own thinking and writing (you should do this in the blog by commenting on their post, but you will also be required to cite what you borrow from your peers/instructors if and when it winds up in your essays. More details on that later…). Finally, keep in mind that writing to and for this audience is a good way to prepare for the panel of readers (faculty at WCC) who will be reading and assessing your writing portfolio at the end of the quarter. We hope that as a large group of active readers, we can better prepare each other for this experience. But, in the meantime, let’s have fun with it! I am really excited see how far we can take this together!
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