ADEDGE

Last Friday I was fortunate to be able to attend the first EduBlogs conference in London.  It was held in the 'Living Space' an innovative building and community venue in Lambeth virtually opposite the Old Vic.

Two of the most well known 'educational bloggers' (Stephen Downes and Barbara Ganley) gave keynotes and much of what they had to say, together with other conversations throughout the day, are still bouncing around in my head.

The importance of 'modelling' emerged more than once during the day - but that presents us - in adult ed and in schools with a bit of a problem...which George Siemens expresses well in this recent comment:

"Instructors/teachers have long been models that provide learners with the skills to relate to the world - how to think, write, analyze issues, think critically, etc. Today, connection-forming (or network-creation) is critical, yet the absence of role models means learners are forming networks on their own (which isn’t bad at all), but it is done without a particular educational focus (or in many cases, a lack of critical thinking or information literacy). In the end, they form networks…but do the networks they create enable them to effectively contribute to society?"