Module 1 Blog Post

Prompt: 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?

According to this week's reading, Siemen's (2008) best describes the role that I believe an instructor should take in a digital classroom as follows:

Educators acting as a concierge must direct learners "to learning opportunities or resources that they may not be aware of" (Siemens, 2008, p. 16). My interpretation of this metaphor is simply that teachers must act as a guide by exposing students to experiences and tools that will enable them to successfully construct knowledge and apply skills in the appropriate context.

When teachers simply spoon-feed information to students, not only are they fostering co-denpendent thinkers - - in which students recurringly rely on others to make sense of problems for them; but in addition, it takes away from student accountability and ownership over learning.

As I whole-heartedly agree with Siemen's metaphor, there is no other metaphor that I see more fitting to describe the role educators must play in the lives of their students. In addition to this metaphor, however, I think it is important for teachers to also consider when it is apprporiate to take a more direct instructional approach; and when to take a step back and let students experience the disequilibrium that is associated with them persevering through making sense of the learning environment their instructor has created.



Resources
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