Knowledgeable in, Knowledge-ABLE Out

``First off, I have to say - what an impactful talk that truly addresses some of the issues of standard educational systems in this time of rapid technological evolution! I think Wesch hits home when addressing how his university students don't find the topics in class relatable(zing!). It makes perfect sense that students today, who are so easily connected to information that they would feel the impetus to be involved in that interconnected world. The cold, disjointed and solitary classrooms of yesteryear seem archaic in the wake of open media, social media, and the genuine interactive drive of Web 2.0(and 3.0). I will say though, that this talk seems dated to me. Even within the past 6 years, the web has evolved dramatically and tools have changed beyond the types of communication Wesch describes. Students are increasingly familiar with the internet and with the proliferation of smartphones, we have seen a meteoric rise in applications for student involvement.
       
​I see that students are taking advantage of these new applications and I hope to integrate these interactions within my classroom. From the side of science education, it would be foolhardy to ignore the wonderful work that students can be a part of through citizen science projects. Here, a something as commonplace as a smartphone becomes a tool for data collection that we can use to be active contributors to larger science projects. One example of something I plan to use within my future classroom is SciStarter, a website that serves as a hub for these citizen science projects. With my students contributing to real science in the world around them, not only will my class have greater engagement with the world around them, but they will feel a sense of purpose through the real work that they are doing. This type of involvement leads students to treat their interactions with technology not just as a passing tool or fad, but as something that can have implications in the greater scheme of human knowledge. Therein lies the ties to knowledgeability and the greatest challenge for tech-illiterate educators.

The transition from knowledgeable to knowledge-ABLE is happening simultaneously on both sides of the student-teacher dichotomy. Often, we will be learning from our students about the ways that they interact with the data they are generating and submitting to the internet. They already understand that they have much of recorded knowledge accessible online and our goals should be working WITH our students to discern the best ways to interact with this incredibly wide array of information. I believe that this methodology will lead to teachers that move beyond the one piece of technology they use year to year and will keep educators on the cutting edge - the systems that our students already use to converse.