I've being making conceptual shifts in how I see my role as a teacher. For many years I saw it as being either as a "teacher" or as a "tutor." I taught in a classroom setting where I was a "teacher" and owned and operated a tutoring centre where I was "tutor" as well as "teacher." All these labels come to define me (regardless of how much one tries to resist labelling). Applying the CLEM model helped me articulate who I was.
As I began searching for "communities, literature, examples and the "models" that connect with [my] context" I found "learning coaches" who were providing an educational service that is informed by the latest literature of learning theory and pedagogy but also revolutionising what it means to be educated. I found this to be tremendously liberating as up until that point of realisation, I felt undefined, knowing what my skills and talents were, but not sure how to articulate how they informed who I was. What I'm grateful for is having a network where I could find my "tribe." As Seth Godin, a leading marketer and author of "Tribes," articulates so well - the importance of finding "like-minded" people and connecting with them, as the course NGL encourages its participants to do.
The CLEM model, as applied to my context, enables an educator, regardless of their background to explore new approaches to teaching and learning. I found this possibility most intriguing so I thought, okay, I'll give it a go. Firstly, one must have some idea of what community they are looking for and then look at "what, where and how active" is the "community of teachers/practitioners." I found that they are very active, sharing their ideas via blogs and websites, even inviting followers to attend workshops and meetings to share ideas or to make connections with Facebook or LinkedIn.
Once one has access to the community and is effectively networking with them, the second thing to do as part of the CLEM approach is to find literature that illustrates learning coaching and how ICT can be used to enhance the practice, for both the teacher and student. As coaching is a personalised approach and involves a lot of face-to-face interaction the use of ICTs in my approach was a challenge. This pointed to a fork in the road, where I began to question my role in NGL, compounded by the second assessment that initially appeared to be targeted towards people working in an organisation of some sort. Nevertheless, it was through the literature of NGL, and some major contributors, that I found my answers.
Reading George Siemens original paper on "connectivism" highlighted how making "connections" with "social networks" will enable me to "create an integrated whole." What this meant to me was that by being connected to other participants within a community of learning coaches I would be using ICT to inform and improve my practice. It is through these "weak ties" that I have the opportunity to develop notions of "serendipity, innovation and creativity." This revelation on how to use ICT was exciting to say the least. There are limitations, however, I feel that these are due to my limited framework at this time. By being in the network, including the "cross-pollination of learning communities," my conceptual framework on how ICT can be used in my practice will evolve.
The third component of CLEM is finding examples of the ICT that improves one's practice. Within my practice I use a Samsung Ultrabook to research the web and write my blogs. It is my primary tool for accessing anything on the web and for creating all my teaching and learning resources. My students also bring their laptops, about 80% of the time, to work on their assignments. What I am finding is that although the use of computers does make learning more efficient, when it comes to handwriting, many find the art difficult. This includes my sons who have spent a lot of their life typing rather than writing. This issue is of little concern as most write legibly and are prolific with the tool that will be dominant in their futures.
The final component of the model is identifying how the use of ICT works within one's teaching practice and what language is used to describe it. It also encourages the comparison of different approaches to using ICT and what issues and solutions may exist. This section is something I will need to return to as my understanding of what these tools can offer my practice.
What I do know at this stage is that when one finds their community, it is like coming home.
References:
Siemens, G. (2005). Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, Retrieved from http://www.itdl.org/Journal/Jan_05/article01.htm
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