Content-type: text/html Downes.ca ~ Stephen's Web ~ "Facilitators" or "guides on the side"? No thanks

Stephen Downes

Knowledge, Learning, Community

Terry Freedman dances around this point quite a bit, but my own reason for eschewing the role of 'guide by the side' or 'facilitator' is that there is not much reason for me to be in the room other for the expertise I can bring to bear on a subject. That doesn't mean I think I have a license to "stand at the front of the class and bore the kids into submission" but I do think my role is to actively engage with people on the subject matter, not stand by the side while they work it out for themselves. Freedman takes the tack of suggesting areas where students many need help, of criticizing the idea than non-experts can teach with the aid of learning packages, and arguing that students are not able to be fully self-managing. These all may or may not be true, but they're irrelevant. For me, I'm in the room for my expertise. That's why they asked me to be there. That's what I'm going to contribute.

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Stephen Downes Stephen Downes, Casselman, Canada
stephen@downes.ca

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Last Updated: Apr 25, 2024 2:07 p.m.

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