One of the things we are taught as teachers is that students learn best by doing something. This is something that I think we can all agree on, despite all of the different approaches to teaching and learning that we have been exposed to in our practices. It comes as no surprise then, that this Masters program is using the same approach. I didn’t realize to what extent this approach to teaching can be so highly effective, though, until this week.
In our course on designing technology enhanced learning environments, we were asked to form groups and work together on a project. We are being asked to create a project that demonstrates technology-supported educational design. I was able to join a group with no difficulty, and we have been communicating via email about our ideas, working on a shared GoogleDoc, and sharing problems and concerns. The biggest concern, at the beginning of this process, was that none of us really understood what was being asked of us. We discussed it, looked at the readings and assignment description, and slowly but surely a shared understanding of what we were meant to do began to come out of the cloud of confusion.
I paused yesterday, when one of our group members pointed out that we were actually working on our own technology-supported project as we were attempting to create the same thing for use in our classrooms. I don’t now why it didn’t dawn on any of us sooner, but she is exactly right. We are learning by doing… we are constructing knowledge together, as a community of learners, and using technology to support us as we do so.
Learning is such a beautiful process, and the understanding of the process brings clarity.