A pupils view on the learning process

Education, the new generation.

I started High School at Preston Lodge in 2007, teaching then seems almost primitive to what it is now, teaching now is more intuitive, it’s about building confidence, allowing people to grow and develop as people and tune their minds into subjects that matter most. If I move back to 2007, high school was almost regimental, it was basic, it would be a rare occurrence if computers, laptops or mobile phones were used. we mostly copied from sheets straight into notebooks or ruled paper, plain white boards were also used and if we step back into 2005 and 2006, even chalkboards were used frequently. But now in 2012 everything has changed, we’ve moved on, moved forward, we are able to instantly connect with anyone in the world, we can learn with each other from any point at any time we wish, we are able to expand our knowledge about even the finest detail by using the internet, tablets and mobile phones. As humans have developed, so has our method of learning.

Today we are taught our subjects but we are also taught about values and life, we are taught about how to be human beings and how to be good at it. Of course this is not in any textbook, but we do this by taking advantage of the world wide web, the interconnections, technology as a whole. There is now a countless number of resources available at our fingertips to expand our knowledge and increase our intelligence, within minutes we can endeavor and dig into information that 30 years ago would have taken us days or weeks.

In school today we use laptops, interactive boards and our phones to help with our learning and to improve methods of teaching. The old school teachers are not too fond of this ‘new idea’, they would rather stick to their books and ruled paper. Such search engines provide tens of thousands of pieces of selected information in milliseconds, services such as YouTube provide a basis for teachers and enthusiasts to share their projections and their knowledge to the world, without any cost of course, making everything available to everyone. Knowledge was always meant to be shared and this new generation of learning allows this to happen. Whenever. Wherever.

Personally I use Google as my primary search engine, I use it to decipher all of the information on the internet and then implement it into my learning, into my coursework, if I’m going to be honest, it’s hard to think of a world without it. The idea that I can get any information I want (within reason of course) fairly easily, all due to the services of Google, Yahoo and Bing, still amazes me, it’s free and it’s there, I still find it hard to comprehend that thought. Google’s sharing capabilities has proven that we can connect the world and has also inspired many other people to create their own websites and services to share information – my friends and I are already doing this through the ‘brand’ called “Neil takes on science”. Websites such as Peerwise and Tutor2u allow anyone in the world to share their information and also give others the chance to learn and enhance their skills, this idea blows books, textbooks, chalkboards and regimental teaching out of the water, it simply cannot compete. Such websites like Wikipedia, of which Google support and share is one of the greatest uses of the internet. Wikipedia is used to a huge extent within schools, homes and other educational facilities, it allows you to type in a name or a topic and it will probably and most likely come up with information going into immense detail (the only problem is sieving the good from the bad). Throughout my school career I have used the Wiki service for almost every single project that I have taken on, if that is just to deepen my knowledge or to compare another piece of information. Education within schools has got to a point where they are now using these readily available resources, not just that but they are beginning to use them well.

Google has changed, it is not just about being a search engine anymore, but it wants to connect people and that is why it is so good for educational purposes. Services such as Twitter and Facebook do the exact same thing, you are able to create a web of your friends and colleagues and you are able to share what ever you like, for some people that information may be useless, for others, useful. The point is that we are all connected, we are sharing, we are all learning.

Facebook as well as Google has changed the way that we learn and the way that we communicate, as of June 2012 facebook had 800 million active members, never mind total members, this accounts for 11.42% of the global population. Every single person is able to exchange thoughts, ideas and contribute to solving problems. We see the same with Twitter (who has 500 million total members), people can tweet a questions and others can reply. It is simply genius. These services allow people to expand and become who they were truly meant to be. We see it far too often that people are controlled and restrained by the rules and regulations that are in schools, this restricts growth and learning. In schools you are closed off from the world, surrounded by concrete and bleakness. It should not be this way. Schools should be like the internet, be like Facebook, Twitter, Google, Tutor2u. They should be about experiences, they should be open and students should feel like they are free and are able to learn in their own intuitive way, a way that allows them to learn to their full potential. We know that we all need guidance, and schools should provide this, guide lines, a way to show you the possibilities and explain how to reap the rewards of life, not just how to get an A in english.

The available resources do not just stop there, like I have talked about, we have moved on, there is now apps available for tablets, laptops and mobile phones, apps which allow you to organise and learn, these developments are not just social but also spark personal developments to. The use of Tablets, laptops and chromebooks in school is one of the best ideas I have heard in a long time, not just because they’re cool, but because it makes students want to learn. They want to see what they can do and they want to prove it to the world, to me this new way of education is how it should have always been, this time it may just work, and we will be more intuitive, faster and more mentally capable for real life situations.

Through implementing this in schools, allowing people to use these services, to add and contribute to the internet, to provide further connections and further knowledge is much greater than any other way of learning. This way people take control and responsibility over their own learning, therefore it is their own achievement and it allows them to truly deepen and broaden their own knowledge. That is the beauty of the new way of learning, that we are all interconnected, we are all learning together.

Man I’m way too tired to be on this but I’m becoming addicted to it, just wanted to say that over the past few weeks I’ve met some amazing people with some amazing ideas and I can’t wait to work with them.

Bring it on, we’re changing the world, one step at a time.

I’m going to work in about ten minutes, but for now I’ve time to think, think about what I want to achieve, what I want to change and how I want to do it.  I’m listening to ‘Gym Class Heroes – The Fighter’ and it’s giving me some inspiration (cheesy, yes I know) but it’s true, there is so much doubt about we can achieve, that may be as a generation or in my pursuit to create an on-line educational community for all, but the people behind the scenes, people like me believe so much that we will make it happen. I think that we need to shake the doubt and negativity that sorrounds us as people, we shouldn’t care what others think about our amazing ideas, ones that we think will change the world, ones that may help others develop and learn as people. I believe that our sites and workshops that we are currently designing will do, they will change education, the way we learn, the way that we communicate, the way that we behave, the way that we consider and respect others. That’s why we will pursue this task, and we will all benefit from the outcome.

Belief creates the actual fact. Peace.

Four of the Neil Takes on Science team are sitting here, supposedly working together on our website, attempting to engage other pupils into looking further into their own learning. So whats the point? Well I decided to ditch the website for a minute to explain. This new way of engaging pupils is working, there is four of us, all here, and all trying to learn about learning, a bit cheesy and controversial I know, but it’s proof that this system works. Over last weekend alone I spent approximately 6 hours on Friday and another 6 hours on Saturday, working on the new PLweblearn. It is definitely engaging. As I have said before, this is the revolution and we are part of it.

My main point that I am slightly worried about, is how we are going to engage other pupils when we return from the summer holidays, how are we supposed to engage 1000 pupils? I guess that is a question that currently does not have an answer, but it soon will.

I have big ideas, and I will deliver.

So, I have been thinking recently about using the web for learning, and the first thing that I can say about it is that it is an amazing use of our precious and limited time. I think that we learn better when all knowledge is shared, when everyone is working together to reach the same goal. The past events and the fact that my eyes are now more open to education and learning all together, has really inspired me to take this further, I have been reading about the new curriculum and trying to find ways to take advantage of this new system and the exponential growth of the Internet (which myself and 6 other friends are trying to do through our newest venture – Neil takes on Science -https://sites.google.com/a/edubuzz.org/neiltakesonscience/home). I am even contemplating studying education at university, because I think that we need to make people more aware of their own education and that they need to take charge over it. if people become aware then their learning will deepen, they will begin to see a much wider and brighter picture, rather than just a simple, dark, cold classroom. They will see warmth, space, fresh air, in which they can breath, develop and learn.

There is a large amount of people in my year who do not share the same thoughts or ideas at this current moment in time, but I hope that this will soon change. The new way forward for education is to use valuable resources such as the Internet to share ones knowledge with the rest of the world, there is no need in keeping it bottled up inside you, for only you to know. At Preston Lodge, we are trying to do this, opening up and allowing people to use the Internet to deepen their learning. We are currently witnessing a revolution, one which will change the way that we all learn together, where we all learn as one. This is coming about as we see that people are using the Internet and other devices to study and to communicate. Communicate, that’s an important point. Learning is not just about being taught, in fact it is probably the opposite, learning is about you as a person, developing your skills, and then allowing others to do the same. I know that a lot of people at PL will disregard this and think of it as the ‘Kelly way of thinking’ but I think that it works, we will see the benefits, It will not be tomorrow and probably won’t be in the next 3-5 years, but say in 10 years time, people will applaud the educators who went out of their way to change the way that we learn, changing society and changing the world.