Metaphors of Educators
The metaphor that best describes the role I believe an instructor should take in a digital classroom or workplace is the “Educator as Network Administrator”. The reason that I chose this metaphor is that teachers are like network administrators because they help the students for gain the skills that are needed to use the different technologies that’s available for learning, work in structures to balance the course and evaluate the effectiveness of what they have learned.
Educators assist the learners to for a connection and to create learned networks. They assist the learners to develop the competence that they need to meet objectives and the outcome of a particular course. New information is encountered by the learner and the educator will encourage critically evaluation for the learning network. The learner and educator addresses the gaps in the learning network and how that the key concepts is related and understood.
At this time I do not see a better metaphor to reflect my view of the role of instructor. With the vast growing of technology instructors as well as students have to be a network administrator. They must know as much about what is going on in technology as the administrator to better equip their learners in learning and succeeding.
References
Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved March 11, 2010 from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf
Blogs
Lima, C. (2009, July). Metaphor and educational change. Retrieved March 11, 2010 from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/blogs/chris/your-metaphor-classroom
Gardner, T. (2010, January). Metaphor Makeovers: The secret to test success. Retrieved March 11, 2010 from http://ncteinbox.blogspot.com/2010/01/metaphor-makeovers-secret-to-test.html
One of the most important aspects of a metaphor is the roles it creates for self and others. If I am a shepherd, my students must be sheep. If I am a gardener, my students are plants. What unconscious expectations do these metaphors create in the mind of the teacher? Must the sheep be docile, feeding complacently in the pasture chosen by the teacher? Is the gardener tending a field of corn, where every plant receives the same care—or a botanical garden, where the gardener fosters the unique development of each species?
ReplyDeleteMetaphors that focus on what the teacher does rather than what the students learn cast students as passive receivers. However, in the digital community the learners are inactive in the process of learning.
I can also understand why instructors are considered network administrators in the digital world where as the above is reference to teaching regardless of the digital world or not.
Reference
http://www.teachersmind.com/metaphors1.htm
Blog:
http://pendidikansains.wordpress.com/2008/04/19/metaphors-we-live-concept-we-live-by-george-lakoff-and-mark-johnson/