Connected Learning

"World Without Walls: Learning Well with Others"by Will Richardson is a call of action to educators to begin incorporating the knowledge and technology of the online world. The article first makes the point that "The Collaboration Age" is about the important networks of communication the internet and new technology allows us to have. It continues on, explaining the importance of establishing a connection to "The Collaboration Age" and learning, and then lays out the possible downfalls, such as the relinquishing of traditional schooling.

The quote, "It's about solving problems together and sharing knowledge we've gained with wide audiences," shows both the importance of bringing the internet into the classroom and also illustrates how beneficial it can be to the students.

I found it surprising that the author acknowledge that when we are restricted from the internet at school, in some ways we are restricted from the things we are passionate about.

In theory I like the idea of connected learning, but I think it is difficult to find a balance of using the internet to improve upon our school work and learning without having too much freedom. But in turn, the amount of freedom we have dictates the amount of knowledge and creativity we glean from the internet. I also think that connected learning won't work as well in practice, because it's relying on the students to guide the learning and participate, and some students may oppose to it.

For the two topics that I would like to learn more about, documentaries and how media affects the american society, connected learning will be very beneficial.