Pro's of a Learner-centred approach

Some of you may know that one approach I have to introducing students to technology is through the use of blogs. Each of the students that I am working with was asked to create a blog focusing on their own learning experiences with technology at DMS. We all follow each other to make sure that we remain in touch as they do not often share the same space. My objective is to create a community of practice but also to give students voice and confidence in writing and creating new knowledge. The successes are varied and are largely impacted by the amount of time they spend at DM. The blogs gives me an indication of the way in which learners learn but also the kinds of things they find interesting. I am particular impressed the way students have grown from simple text-based blogs and merely cutting and pasting information to actually commenting on information they have come across in their blogs. More of the RMLers are now making use of video int heir blogs which to me indicates a growth in personal interest but also technical know-how.

Academics often complain that they simply do not have the time to engage with the large amounts of new technologies that come on the market on a daily basis and I concur. I suggest a learner-centred such as the use of blogs in this way addresses these challenges faced by academics. I have learnt as much from the students that I have worked with as from my colleagues in the technology field. I had a conversation around social networking with one of my students the other day where we looked at how students feel about the use of, for example Facebook, as a teaching and learning platform. His concern was that he found that there were too many distractions on FB like "friends always wanting to chat when they see you online", when you really just want to get on with your work. I guess this is a valid concern if raised by students and one that educators should be cognisant of.

At this point I wish to direct you to one of the RipMixLearners (RMLers) blogs where he made posts on the future of the ebook as well as the highly anticipated Google chromebook. I wonder where this technological road will lead us to.