Friedman -- Uploading

In Friedman's #4 World Flattener, he references the various types of "uploads" we have been studying and working with so far in our own 307 class: wikis, blogs, and podcasts.

Friedman believes that it does not take a large corporation to make a significant contribution to the world wide web. Little companies, even individual people, have made their mark by experimenting with different technologies and taking risks.

I believe that is what Friedman believes our students should be learning (in response to Warlick's primary question). Students should be learning how to take control of their own learning. Become metacognitive (understand how you as an individual learn) and use that skill to produce genuine work.

Students do not have to be controlled by the teacher like they did 30 years ago. Instead, with this new wave of contructivism meets technological advancement, students can become their own sources of knowledge, and they can become the next global makers of technology.

Obviously I do not mean that a 9th grader is going to compose his own version of the internet. But, the internet did start with one person and an idea. The point is to take the idea and run with it. Become creative, use your resources. Students have a lot more resources today than they did 30 years ago. Some of these resources may not be ideal or even appropriate, but this is where the teacher comes in: to guide and show.

Students should be learning how to be makers of their own crafts, if you want to be cliché. Instead of letting other people do for them, students should use their imaginations, resources, and intellectual minds to devise their own art.