Critique Siemens’s “metaphors of educators.” Which of these metaphors best describes the role you believe an instructor should take in a digital classroom or workplace? Is there a better metaphor to reflect your view of the role of instructors?
Upon reflecting on the metaphors given by Siemens (2008), educator as a concierge and educator as a curator, I openly accept the meaning behind the two and feel these are superior metaphors for educators both in the traditional and online learning environment. The role of the educator should “guide students toward understanding” and allow the students to explore presented content in the best way that will allow them to acquire lasting knowledge (Driscoll, 2005, pg. 22). The educator in terms of a concierge and a curator refers to the teacher’s ability and willingness to direct the students to learning opportunities and resources; the teacher must also possess the tools to provide students with relevant information that is engaging and applicable to the student, but at the same time allows the students to explore learning concepts that best suits their learning styles and abilities. I feel that these qualities are imperative to possess in the online learning environment to allow students the flexibility to take responsibility for their learning experience. As Siemens stated, “students are not limited to learning based solely on the expertise of the instructor” (2008, pg 15). Students that participate in the learning environment tend to gain a large amount of expertise from their peers through collaboration and discussions.
There was one metaphor that I did not totally support based on the term used, educator as a master artist. I feel the term “master” means an individual is superior in the field. As a teacher I feel that the world of education is ever changing and evolving to adapt to the changes in our society; therefore the educator’s expertise must evolve with these changes to better their teaching practice.
Additional Resources:
This blog addressed the same question, but brought about a variety of thoughts that different from my own. It is interesting to see how other perceive the role of the online educator in terms of these metaphors.
This short presentation was taken from Siemens presentation on the teacher as the curator. It provides information about how the teacher can be a curator in the online environment.
This blog gives insight to how teachers are curators as well as provides examples of how to be a curator in the learning environment.
References
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education.
Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf%20
Heather Rogers: Mittoo’s Response on the Concierge, Curator & Master Artist
ReplyDeleteThe traditional educational setting will have a physical classroom. Online learning is a virtual class that exists within the technology network.
The teacher's role in F 2 F is very observable and easily adjustable to accommodate learning via scaffolding and regrouping in a cooperative setting. Online class must be technologically planned. Herrington et al. (2005) says “The teacher’s role can be trivialized to a great extent in online courses designed with course management system” (p.357). Technology has enabled virtual class matching the technological age. Herrington warns, “While technology is available for teachers to support students by providing meaningful and timely scaffolding to organize appropriate collaborative learning opportunities, it is easy to become preoccupied with summary statistics readily available in the system” (p.357).
The curator looks at the course programs and learning objectives. "The teacher must possess the tools for online learning." I tend to believe the teacher must be equipping with the know-how as curator to give clear and concise instructions. The curator’s role is wide and can easily lose track of direction if the instructor is not intimately connected to the online learning program. In order to be objective with expected outcome de laat (2006) in Siemens (2008) believes “More systematic research is the role and perceived role of the teacher in network learning environments would be desirable” (p.18).
Who is a master artist? Is it someone who does intuitive assessment to direct co-construct of knowledge? Master artist blends learning technology with learning objectives. He knows how to use his technology tools to align and project student’s thinking for collaborative interaction. Siemens (2008) thinks “The master…is able to observe the activities of all students; can serve to guide, direct, and influence their work” (p.15). The master artist’s role seems to be parallel with the master teacher’s role.
References:
Herrington, J., Reeves, T. C., & Oliver, R. (2005). Online learning as information delivery: Digital myopia. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 16(4), 353−367. Retrieved from the Walden Library
Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM.
Heather, I see what you are sayiny about the master artist, but I don't fully agree with you. The term master does connotate a person who is an expert in their field, but it doesn't necessarily mean that that the person known everythin there is to know about it. I believe that a master in a field is a person who is an expert, but to truly be a master one needs to continually learn.
ReplyDeleteThe master artist is described as someone who allows the artists to do their own thing and then guides them or comments on their work as needed (Siemens, 2008, p.15). The classroom, where the teacher is a master artist is set up the same way. I see it as working especially well in distance learning classes where the teacher is not always able to provide direct instruction.
Reference
Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf%20