Self Learning

I read the article "Preparing Students to Learn without us" by WIll Richardson.  It's about how self directed learning can be used by students, with the help of their teachers, in and outside of the classroom. Students can find their own ways to meet the school goals.  Students shouldn't be help back by the school curriculum  and be able to explore their own interests and learn from that they are passionate about.

I was surprised that at trinity School outside Atlanta, Georgia, the students have a choice of 23 languages to learn online.  first because 23 is an impressive number of languages to be offered at a school, but also because language ins't something that you can learn online, sure Latin maybe, but language is more that just about grammar and words.  The only way to really learn a language is to speak it.

One quote that I liked was "The ability to learn what we want, when we want it, with whomever we want as long as we have access creates a huge push against a system of education steeped in time and place learning".  At school it feels like its easier for teachers to just follow the curriculum, rather than to think of creative ways to teach and inspire.

Self directed learning sounds good in their, but unless students and highly motivated, it would never work.  Some students would slack off, and other need more of a structure to be able to learn.

 In terms of our class, we all have the resources to learn more about topics that we are interested in, but the point of learn learning is to do it on our own.  It sounds like we would have an assignment to go teach ourselves something, which is kind of the opposite of what self learning is.  Also, although I like filming and editing, I'm not interested enough in it to go learn about it on my own.  I am interested in criminology, which I realize is a very broad topic to learn about, but I would be willing to read more about it on my own.