Celebrating Vietnamese Teachers' Day
I always feel blessed to be working in the education factor. Firstly, I'm a keen learner, and there's no better profession which is better for learners than being a teacher when it comes to practitioners' development. And more importantly, I'm inspired by the childhood heroes who have paved the passion for teaching: my parents (who always trust that I can do whatever I want), the secondary teacher of Vietnamese literature (who is now regarded as the most outstanding Vietnamese teacher in Ho Chi Minh City despite his lack of qualifications) and the English teacher (who now is a priest serving parishes in Italy).
For the past few years, I'm fortunate to meet (online) three heroes whose impact on primary, secondary and tertiary education is profound. Reflecting on this week's theme, I believe that they have put their complete trust in learner autonomy.
Sugata Mitra and the Younger Learners: Hole-in-the-Wall Education Project
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| Image Credit: https://performanceandlearning.ca/ipl/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Sugata-Mitra-hole-in-the-wall.jpg |
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| (Image Credit: http://www.baoangiang.com.vn/MBMCMS/files/24/24c4befe-5c65-495c-9f66-861cacd077db.jpg) |
Those machines are literally translated as "Fishing Machine". But they are for gambling! Many families have gone bankrupt after members having been so addicted to this a social evil.
That said, hats off to Sugata Mitra! For creating a such wonder to occupy disadvantaged kids with meaningful self-organized learning.
You can learn anything.
For free.
For ever.
Sounds too good to be true? If you have teenage learners, have them check it to verify the claim.
I myself have experienced massive open online courses since its very fist days back in 2011. Courses I've taken include Introduction to Sociology, Gamification, Coaching Teachers, English for Composition and Writing, etc.
My final say is that if you haven't tried a MOOC on Coursera (or other platforms like Edx), enroll in one today! They are gemstones, again, given for free!
Goodbye week 7.
One, two more!
Let's pray harder! :))
Salman Khan and Secondary Learners: Khanacademy
Starting with producing tutorial videos to help his distant cousin to deal with math problems, Khan has built up a whole new online school which contains original, excellent instructional videos to explain different school subjects. I've also heard that Khan Academy is also endorsed by Gates and Melinda Foundation. The Youtubers generation will definitely take Khan Academy seriously as the videos are made with clarity and humor. An awe-inspiring work from Khan!
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| (Image Credit: https://cdn.kastatic.org/images/marketing/share-thumb-a.jpg) |
For free.
For ever.
Sounds too good to be true? If you have teenage learners, have them check it to verify the claim.
Andrew Ng and the Undergraduates or Life-long Learners: Coursera
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| (Image Credit: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/DNRa70bd2nI/maxresdefault.jpg) |
My final say is that if you haven't tried a MOOC on Coursera (or other platforms like Edx), enroll in one today! They are gemstones, again, given for free!
Goodbye week 7.
One, two more!
Let's pray harder! :))
Hi Tien,
ReplyDeleteYou have made me surprised by your comparison between a self-access computer point in a project with a gambling machine in Vietnam. While it has brought me to a distant area where children are eager to learn with limited resource of technology, it has made me upset about how several Vietnamese people are wasting their time, effort and money on such a noxious machine.
I also love your 2Fs' philosophy of MOOC: for free and for ever. Certainly, MOOCs have been helping millions of learners to learn knowledge and skills at any time and anywhere, which is a miracle example of a flat world.
Thank you for those thoughtful reflections.
Hoa
Vietnam
Hi Ms. Hoa,
ReplyDeleteThe comparison might sound random :)
Like you, I'm very much impressed by KhanAcademy's slogan 'for free and for ever' and believe that those educators are creating new world wonders.
Cheers,
Tien