Thursday, June 28, 2007

Learning, Conversation and the Web

I found this via Stephen Downes' website: Learning is Conversation - Revisited.

There's a lot to like about this blog post - I've been working on some materials for a workshop I'll be doing with colleagues, and in thinking about how the Read/Write Web impinges on learning in the 21st century, the significance of dialogue as a fundamental component of education has been very much in my mind. That post, and the original its drawn from, nicely capture the essence of such conversation in a wired school setting.

Of course, not all learning is conversation - some learning is definitely experiential. But the lion's share of learning that happens in schools is through discussion among teachers and students. Recognising how the Read/Write Web fits into this picture is something that schools simply must do.

The last line from John Pederson is spot on:
We are waking up and linking to each other. We are watching. But we are not waiting.