Due to the National Tertiary Education Union calling a strike, we were provided with three YouTube links instead of a symposium. Like the previous symposiums, these links involve thinking about thinking and learning about learning.

The first link ‘Do Schools Kill Creativity’ featured Sir Ken Robinson talking about the importance of creativity in education. He believes that we [educators] squander children’s talents. I believe this is particularly evident in VCE. Doing well in VCE is more about remembering and regurgitating facts, then having talent or skill in a particular area. Subjects like legal studies and business management, require little to no interpretation. To do well you simply need to remember the information you have been taught.

Robinson believes that the education system needs to change. It needs to nurture creativity and recognise that it is as important as literacy. He makes a very valid point – educators are educating for a future that they don’t yet know about. For this reason, there is a great deal of unpredictability and a need for creativity. We don’t know what the world, or jobs for that matter, will be like in even five years’ time. Today’s students will need to be adaptable, and having the skill of creativity will ensure this.

On a side note, I found Sir Robinson very amusing. Follow the link to learn more: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Michael Wesch ‘From Knowledgeable to Knowledge’ looks at changing students from being knowledgeable to knowledge-ABLE. This means that rather than dumping students into lecture theatres and relaying information, students should be taught how to create new information. Adrian is demonstrating a similar thought process by moving away from lectures and towards symposiums.  Wesch also looks at new mediums of communication. Such mediums bring new opportunities for transparency and participation but, also new opportunities for control and monitoring. For this reason, we need critical thinking.

For more of Wesch, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LeaAHv4UTI8&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Given the structure of Michael Wesch’s ‘The Machine is Us/ing Us,’ I found it easier to list the key points rather than summarize them

• digital text is more flexible than written text, especially hypertext which can link virtually anywhere
• digital allows form and content to be separated thus, exported free of construction constraints
• data exchange extends beyond just text and includes images, videos, etc.  
• we create databases
• every time we link things we are teaching ‘the machine’ an idea
• the web links people, not just information

This is a quick piece which conveys the key points in an easy and interesting way. Take a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gmP4nk0EOE&feature=youtube_gdata_player