The Power of Pedagogy

I thoroughly enjoyed reading both “Decoding Digital Pedagogy” parts as it sparked ideas and foresight in my mind. I was left last night pondering over a glass of whiskey whether or not effective pedagogy techniques actually exist in schools today? It is made obvious in the articles that Sean Morris believes that digital pedagogy over rules and dominates the LMS (Learning Management System). I agree with Morris in saying that the LMSs are “limiting structures” as he describes. Kids and young learners nowadays are accustomed to the use of technology and using the internet, so why not give these learners the opportunity to utilize this comfort they have with technology in order to advance learning both in and outside the classroom. If one simply looks at the issues our fellow students at other Universities are facing, I believe that online courses and online teaching would greatly benefit learners at times like these when students are being prevented from attending class and as a result will suffer academically. I think that online teaching is a topic which should be highly considered in Educational establishments worldwide. This is also a realistic proposition due to the fact technology and media is advancing at an unbelievable rate and will facilitate online teaching often making it effortless. I dream of a future where a student will be able to attend and participate in a lecture by simply signing in or live streaming it in the comfort of his own home. This will give students an opportunity to catch up on lectures which they may have missed for any given reason and benefit from the available online content which can be made available. Another advantage of online teaching which is briefly touched on in the article is that the material provided to learners can be used over and over again which will not only give the course consistency but also continuous quality. Material can as a result also be adapted or changed over time. After wondering for a long time over whether or not digital learning would poison or better learning experiences, I truly believe that digital pedagogy is the way forward and upwards in education. At first I was very against it however I do feel that it is a practice which needs to be carefully controlled. The internet is a dark place and the worst thing that could happen is to have learners lose the plot when it comes to learning outside of the school premises.