Reflection on Typical Teacher Network and Connected Teacher Network (TT.# 2)

In this post I am going to reflect on the two diagrams in this link here. The two diagrams portray the different ways in which teachers access information in the past and in the current digital world.  Typical teacher network is the traditional way  by which teachers learn by connecting with limited network groups found around the school community. As it is clearly seen on the diagram in the above link, Typical Teachers  interaction involves around one school community and resources such as colleagues, local community or family, curriculum documents and some popular media. Hence they might have rarely connected with educators from other locations unless through a conference or professional development program. This makes  teachers continuous learning very limited which in turn have an adverse implication on student learning. When I consider such diagram for typical students, it reminds me the teacher-centered teaching learning process where student considered teachers and text as only source of information. But now technology changed all this. Digital technology gave students what to learn, how to learn, what tool to use, and who to connect with to  maximize their own learning. 

The second diagram shows the  dramatic shift from limited sources of information to access to a wide range of information due to digital technological advancement. In Connected Teacher Network educators have access to people from all corners of the globe 24/7 through social media  platforms. Many barriers that hindered Typical Teacher Network such as geography, culture, language, cost, logistic....have been removed by digital technology. A connected teacher  is someone who collaborates online and uses a range of tools to build their own personal learning network .

The implication of the digital world on student learning and teachers teaching practice is obvious. It provides an opportunity to have access to a wide range of information that has a significant impact on professional developments of educators. At the sometime students are no longer considered as passive recipients of knowledge from teachers as is the case of the typical student network. Teachers need to empower and guide students how to access quality  and authenticated sources of information. In the age of COVID the Typical teacher network kind of connection is changed by far as teaching learning is shifted from classroom setting to  online. On the other hand the Connection Teacher network play a significant role during COVID  pandemic.