Photo by Alina Grubnyak on Unsplash
Once in a while, I will travel to Madison to get some technology tips from a group of programmers. They offer free monthly sessions on tools related to website development. This week, another person that was there left early. “Sorry, I am not a coder. I thought this was more basic.”
I am not a coder either, but I listened anyway, about how to debug software. Later, there was time to ask questions related to our interest (I wanted to know more about learning management systems). I left with a link to an online community if I had more questions as I tried out the ideas on my own.
In the 21st century, information is rapidly expanding. We cannot possibly know everything out there. That’s a reason why 21st-century learning has become such a big focus in education. But what do “creativity” or “communication” really mean to you and me? To the students?
For my money, I see value in networks, specifically who you know vs. only what you know. For sure, knowledge is important. But being able to access reliable information and then apply these ideas to a new situation is where the world is heading, if it’s not there already.