Why e-learning?

While surfing away looking for new ideas to try, I came across the following great exchange in the comments section of this blog post. It's a very good question and an equally good answer, so I thought it was worth putting it up here.

Question: OK, at the risk of having to endure a barrage of shrieks about how I don't get it, why is your idea of having the students tweeting [posting their thoughts using Twitter] any better than my incredibly radical idea, which I have used successfully for over 30 years, of allowing them to talk to each other?

I don't mean to sound as facetious as I do, but being a devil's advocate, isn't this a solution seeking a problem?

I think questions like this really need to be asked, because there is always the danger of the 'too many tools' problem outlined earlier in the same comments section. Anyway, carrying on...

Answer: Quite right. Talking to each other is an excellent idea. Still works. Always will. Except when it doesn't.

Have you ever asked your class a question only to be confronted with the unscalable "Wall Of Silence?" Have you ever tried to have everyone in your class participate n a class discussion only to be faced with the kids on the fringes that refuse to speak up? Have you ever had a kid in your class so painfully shy that talking to them, even in a one-to-one context, leads only to alienating them as opposed to helping them learn?

The advantage here would be to give the quieter students a voice that is equally as aloud as any of their classmates. Also, in math class, kids are frighteningly shy of making a mistake. The anonymity afforded here may give them the courage to express their confusions and correct their misunderstandings.

Making students thinking transparent helps all of them learn for at least two reasons:

(1) It levels the playing field. The outgoing and verbally expressive student is heard at the same volume as the more reserved classmate without being stifled themselves.

(2) Experts think differently than novices. By making students thoughts transparent to each other the novices see how the better students conceptualize their learning. Moreover, the teacher gains a very sharp picture of the novice's misunderstandings and can help them make corrections.

We don't do away with group work and having students talk to each other; we give them another modality to express themselves so that they can take an equal stance as a member of the classroom learning community.

Interesting! Merry Christmas, everyone.