let the learning flow

While reading the Siemen's article, I realized that he makes a point about integration of new knowledge into organized structures that it so important for me to always remember as an educator. He states, "Do not force new knowledge into organizational structures. Let it exist for awhile. See what happens. Do not decide in advance" (Siemens, pg. 96).

For me, it brought me back to my first year of teaching, when I thought I had to plan all my lessons to a T. This is what they taught us in Univeristy. To plan accordinaly to ensure that the outcomes of your lessons/units were what you had decided before you even taught them.

Now I look back at this thinking and am so much more relaxed because,like Siemen's states, you need to let the process takes it's own course and see where it goes. Give students a structure and guidelines, but let the learning flow. Allow students to discover without you drawing it out on the board how they should go about learning new information.

"Real value exists int he knowledge patterns that emerge," writes Siemens and I totally agree (Siemen's, pg. 96). This makes me feel much more comfortable going into this school knowing that I'm going to integrate new technology into my classroom curriculum. Giving students the tools to discover and allowing them the freedom to let the learning take it's own course is extremely important. It not only makes learning more fun for the students, but takes a load of the teacher's shoulder's as well! In my mind, this is the most meaningful kind of education you can give kids today.