Social convergence

Another great post from  Stephen's Lighthouse
got me thinking about about convergence. So much is going on with technology that at times it is overwhelming. Our students are also overwhelmed with multiple platforms and developing strategies for merging their work with presentation formats.

Two examples from this morning.

1. A teacher walked in with a stressed student before the first bell. She had spent the weekend trying to merge a powerpoint with audio, a downloaded YouTube clip, images and other elements of her project into an video presentation using iMovie. She had been emailing her teacher, who was out of town, and the two of them were trying to trouble shoot long distance. It was frustrating for both of them, and ate up a lot of their Sunday. She is coming back later today for help and instruction in how to generate this project.
2. A student creating a digital book trailer using Animoto stopped by for advice on how to embed his photo and music credits. After a couple minutes of brainstorming we came up with a very elegant solution. He would type them up as a document, save it as an image and then upload the image. Easy, but we needed to talk it through.

Creating knowledge in the digital age can be really challenging, and it can be frustrating. This is what learning looks like today, and it is very different than it was a short five years ago. Learning, information, technology, social media, and globalization have changed the landscape of work, and this is the future our students face.

The Economist agrees. In October of 2009 they hosted a global conference on media convergence in New York. They created this short video on the topic as a wake-up call to the captains of industry.



Teaching academic content now includes convergence. Teachers as well as students have a lot on their plates. This is the new terrain of the learning commons. A place where students and teachers turn for instruction and support in navigating the new world of work in a media rich environment.

Every day there is something new to learn, and challenges to troubleshoot.  This is my world of work, and I wouldn't change a thing.