The video by Wendy Drexler asks the question "Why does the networked student even need a teacher?". I believe teachers will always be necessary. There has to be someone the student can turn to for support and advice on the work they are doing. I have taken about 45 credit hours of course work online, but without an instructor to turn to when I got stuck, I would not have succeeded. Teachers are necessary to guide the students in the direction they need to go, and also to TEACH the students the skills they need in order to learn. We can have successful programs without textbooks, and also without traditional classrooms, but we still need teachers.
I am more and more becoming a 'networked student'. Yet am I prepared to become a teacher of networked students? I believe I will be equipped to be a teacher of networked students. As I learn and become more technologically literate, I will be able to pass that knowledge on to others.
The teacher of the networked student must be prepared to help his/her student grow and develop their own personal learning network. This means that the teacher will have to be continually learning, and staying abreast of the latest advances in technology. The technological world continues to evolve; so must the Technological Teacher.
Yes, we will have to be continual learners. What about those teachers who are not?
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