ETAP+710

Reflection on Debate

Exploration #1 Exploration #2 Exploration #3 Exploration #4 Exploration5 Exploration 6

Final project

Can you say more about your observation that the internet is "an environment that supports curriculum with personal choices, a personal experience, and learner-driven content"? Is this typically how we conceptualize curriculum in the U.S.? As far as how we conceptualize curriculum in the U.S., I believe we perceive this as the content knowledge to be learned. Dewey's belief that curriculum and the individual both set the parameters within which the process of education occurs; this is played out to limited degrees within the US classroom. Unfortunately, I think we look at the curriculum "content" as overshadowing the broader mission of education. And we loose some of the finer points of the mission of education. (of course I could be all wet!) I guess I kind of skirted the question of "is the Internet curriculum?" It is content; unorganized, unvetted, and unending. The Internet has vast expanses of content ranging from complete bunk/garbage to invaluable. That being said, an individual may not have the necessary skills to discern, seek out, and utilize these resources. Combine this with the information explosion on the Internet and it becomes overwhelming. To recontextualize my earlier statement, I would have to say: Students need to acquire the skills necessary to make GOOD personal choices, for a BENEFICIAL personal experience for learner-driven content to be successful using the Internet. I don't believe the Internet is a stand alone curriculum. However, under the auspices of a designed curriculum where goals have been identified and good questions have been posed, the Internet can serve as a resource for educational needs that is far beyond the typical resources of a closed brick and mortar classroom. And there need to be curricular-driven goals in place. Since I am E.D. Hirsch I'm reading a lot of his writings, and he emphasizes that curriculum standards are not pressing teachers to follow the same methods to meet standards, they have the autonomy to choose the best methods to meet the final standards. In the same way, the Internet is an open playground with unlimited opportunities for learning experiences and learning errors. It allows for individuals to have experiences that best answer the big questions as they understand them. But curriculum drives the direction that these experiences need to go in. It sets the parameters for what we will learn, but not necessarily how we will learn.