Educational Mosh Pit

Entry #4

Today I was fishing around on Will Richardson's blog and found an entry http://weblogg-ed.com/2006/mosh-pit-as-classroom/ where he comments on Kathy Sierra's blog where she discusses the Mosh Pit Innovation Model. http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/06/mosh_pit_as_inn.html

Interesting how if you start with the blog of one expert in the field, they may send you to others. I guess that is one way to learn which blogs are really worth reading.

Kathy's first sentence seems to describe people today so well. "Professionals in any field come in two flavors: Knowledge Sharers and Knowledge Hoarders." We have all meet teachers that didn't want to give up their secrets or ideas to other teachers because they wanted to keep those activities for "their kids." I have been guilty of this myself. Companies have always guarded their secrets. But times are changing. Today we are in a world, thanks to the collaborative nature of Web 2.0, that is quickly becoming more about Knowledge Sharers.

"Issac Newton said, 'If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants.' That was just fine in a world where knowledge doubled in half centuries, not mere months. To make progress today, it's more like, 'If I had seen further, it is by being thrown up by the mosh pit of my peers.' "

This Mosh Pit Model compares the way things have been done to the way things need to be done. While this article does not specifically discuss education, I believe if fits the education field perfectly.










It is time for educators to realize that knowledge is growing exponentially and that we should be tapping into the knowledge of others. We shouldn't see ourselves as the class expert that some teachers once were, and we can't be intimindated by students finding out additional information on the Internet. I know this is asking a great deal because it is such a change in many teachers mindsets, however, we can't be expected to know it all, so let's stop pretending too. It's time to tap into the wisdom of the crowds of people online who have different experiences and knowledge sets for the benefit of all students, the ones in my room and the ones across the hall. While we are at it, let's make sure to teach our students to tap into the wisdom of crowds also.

PS sorry that the table is fuzzy. I created it in Word, had to save it as a pic then tried to resize. If anyone has a better way to do this, please, teach me. :P

Current issue: educators keeping up to date with technology and the culture of todays' youth
Possible solution: quality learning opportunites to work with peers and technology