The Voices that Go Unheard

As Wills (2015) stated in the article, creating good ideas is part of a journey, which I believe makes the destination sweeter. Meaningful involvement does involve mindfulness in the learners, which is essentially in order to encourage creativity and successful learning environments but I would like to mention the importance of the voice of learners because that is something that goes unheard of and it's something that has been close my heart this week due to the protests.

It is necessary for teachers to give their learners a voice in the classroom. Kids are not given enough opportunity to speak out, and therefore learn to keep quiet. Teachers should be asking their learners questions because these kids are clever, highly intellectual beings with the desire to learn but effective learning only takes place when interaction and involvement of the learners occur. I think that is also the difference between learning online and by learning in a classroom. People learn best if they are able to relate, and to speak up. This is the way in which our minds are organised. We need visual representations, as well as various 'memories' in order to effectively engage and learn. Kids just want to be heard and acknowledged and if teachers give them the opportunity, they will be amazed at how incredible these young minds operate. Kids are not "blank slates" but individuals who remember and understand similar things in different ways, according to how they are best able to engage and learn. Life is not always going to be comfortable, so allow the learners to engage in difficult discussions and worldly issues. Allow them to debate but respect each others views. Get them to engage and ask questions because what does this allow? This allows room for the development of critical thinking and that is what teachers should strive for. Not to read out the curriculum to the learners but to really take the time and effort to get to know the learners and challenge them. Allow them to challenge themselves and you will bear witness to their growth into mature adults who are able to think and argue critically about specific issues.

How do teachers encourage their learners to do this? By treating them like they are special, unique, valued and appreciated for who they are. Learners need to feel worthy in order to achieve success, so why not facilitate and encourage self-efficacy and self-confidence? Teach them more than what is expected of you-go beyond the curriculum and see into their souls. That is what the core of teaching is about. It's about how to cope in life, how to be successful so that the metaphorical train of life doesn't drive over you. Pay attention to your learners and allow them to ask questions and to get involved because teaching is about experience, and you want your classroom to a place of experiential learning, where minds can be challenged and molded so that when the learner leaves your class to enter the world, he or she is fully equipped with the most important skill to avoid being driven over by the train called life, and that is the ability to think critically. Thinking critically involves asking questions, respecting the views of others but it also involves morals, and that is something to be valued because by creating your own voice, you know who you are and what you stand for.

Bridging the Gap Across the World

I think the issue, as mentioned in the article by Hamilton (2014) is the fact that due to such a diversity of contexts and languages, it is difficult to construct a learning tool in which learners from all over the world can use and benefit from in order to achieve success and communicative competency. We see people communicating with each other online globally but there are certain limitations when it comes to obtaining a particular digital pedagogy to determine what information is processed and understood by everyone.

The other limitation to the tech-mediated self-directed distance learning is also mentioned by Hamilton (2014), which is the inability to access the technology not only materially but practically being able to use it, be able to make the decision to use it and the ability to use it within his or her context. I personally think that, as future teachers, we have the responsibility to equip people with the necessary tools in order for them to be able to use these tools in their context, to further their knowledge and understanding of the world. These tools could be the direct teaching of skills without the implementation of teacher-learner power relations, as well as the will to encourage the production and practice of technology worldwide. Technology is here and it is the future-so why not encourage the use of these tools globally? It should become a priority that we as teachers reach parts of the world with the knowledge we have accumulated through our own peers through the years in order to rid the world of illiteracy, poverty, racism, gender-inequality and discrimination to give everyone a fighting chance regardless of where these people are or what their prior knowledge is. There will always be contextual differences but teachers need to encourage computer literacy otherwise equality is going to never be achievable. This could possibly be achieved by making leaders in positions of power aware of the importance of the implementation of technology in areas of the world that lack these resources, or attempt to include organisations which will financially support the implementation of these resources to further education and technological literacy.

Also, we as teachers also need to find a way to bridge the gap amoung people around the globe by exposing them to knowledge regarding to different cultures rather than being exposed to one (which is their own). Yes, we need to respect each other’s views and opinions but how will we really get to know and respect each other if we are not educated on other people’s cultures and traditions? This is one of the ways in which education communication can be provided, and I really do think that education attempting to be reached and taught globally as a self-mediated activity needs to start on a personal level, encouraging inclusion and interaction on a global scale. This can now be achieved by the development  and use of technology which enables us to communicate to people in almost every area of the globe so why not go for it?