Nathan+Cable

=Assignment 1 - Instructional Self-Reflection= I surprised myself by not scoring above 42 on any of the five perspectives. However, my scores for the first four perspectives, Transmission, Apprenticeship, Developmental, and Nurturing, were within six points of each other. The lowest was Transmission at 35, followed by Developmental and Nurturing, and Apprenticeship, at 41. I was also curious why 42 was chosen as the marker for a dominant characteristic. My own philosophy in education has a focus on mastery of tasks. I strongly believe that the best teachers are experts in the subject areas they teach. I suspect this comes from by background in technology, where, like many other trades, computer technicians learn by practicing their skills either under the guidance of a mentor, or in smaller, low-risk environments, where mistakes are less costly and easier to recover from. People in the technology industry usually have years of experience in specialized fields, and by necessity, have a great deal of knowledge about the inner workings of their areas of specialty.

I carry this view over into other areas that I frequently work in. While just about any teacher in British Columbia could quite easily teach the high school English curriculum, I believe that students benefit most from those instructors who are experienced in their field. These instructors know the inner workings of language and literature, as well as the history behind what they teach. They come to the classroom equipped not only to explain how language works, but why it works the way it does, and how it has changed over time.

To support this view, I try to use technology in the classroom in similar ways to the workplace and higher education. When possible, I use web applications, electronic filing (including electronic hand-in), and I actively teach how to search and research online. I also try to teach my students to write using computers. This means teaching non-linear editing (as opposed to hand-writing a first draft and then typing up the “good copy), and how to format their documents in ways that are acceptable in professional and academic circles. I also scored quite highly in the Developmental category. This category encourages learners to “develop increasingly complex and sophisticated cognitive structures for comprehending the content,” and think critically about the world around them. I believe this perspective focuses on developing learners who are capable of questioning the world around them, and who are unafraid to verify whether something they are being told is true or some sort of fabrication. Learners need to be able to critically assess what they read and see, both in the form of user-generated content (a la Wikipedia and blogs) and glossy news productions from large international conglomerates (such as CNN and the BBC). On reading my profile, I was initially surprised at how low I scored in the Social Reform category – only 20. However, after learning that Social Reformers “challenge the status quo,” I wasn’t quite so surprised by my score. While I do have strong beliefs centered on equality and tolerance, I’m not out to change the world. Rather than try to change my students, I try to model appropriate behavior and attitudes. I think that change must come from within, from ones own experiences, rather than being externally imposed (especially from someone as imperfect as myself!). Having said that, I do have some characteristics of the social reformer. I do spend time making sure my students understand who created what they are reading, and what perspectives and goals they may infuse into what they read and watch. =John Willinsky Talk= //These are my unedited notes from John Willinsky's talk. Hyperlinks below are articles that I generally found useful or interesting.

Notes – Willinski Talk//
 * 1) One technology that has proven itself – voice (Homer / Siege of Troy story)
 * 2) Openness / Free of Boundaries
 * 3) Work of educators need to focus more on this openness; the Internet has changed the definition of “informed citizenry” and “right to know.”
 * 4) Scholarly Journal (1665 in London; Henry Oldenberg, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London; Isaac Newton publishes article on optics).
 * 5) Public library movement (working class establishment of miners in Wales; access to knowledge and self-improvement).
 * 6) Public Reading Levels (average reading level of between 7 and 8); people are capable of reading at much higher levels (eg: medical research) when they’re motivated.
 * 7) Dichotomy between textbooks and primary source information (textbooks have limits; primary sources / journals will always be current).
 * 8) Public use of technology for learning (Wikipedia)
 * 9) Students contributing to real-world knowledge
 * 10) Encyclopedia as agent for revolution (Derrida)
 * 11) Wikipedia SHOULD NOT WORK. But it does.
 * 12) While access to free (Wikipedia) articles is quite good, but access to other forms of knowledge (open access) is not.

Questions – Looking at University entrants and their skill level – has Western society lost some of its drive for public knowledge? Students contributing to real-world knowledge: is this appropriate for middle / high school?

Henry Oldenberg (Biography; Wikipedia). John Willinski's Webpage Willinski, John. (2008) Derrida's Right to Philosophy, Then and Now.

=Website Blocking= See this page, please.