Una’s Blog

The main idea expressed in Idel Harel’s (2003) webpage Learning Skills for the Millennium – The Three Xs seems to be that students require more, and different ‘learning tools’ and skills today, than they have previously. The internet has provided students (and teachers) in the developed countries of the world, with the possibility of infinitely more creative tools for ‘eXploring, eXpressing and eXchanging’ ideas. These three key areas are what Harel defines as the new ‘X’ skills necessary for students. He claims that these three skills are an essential addition to the traditional ‘three R’s’ in education. He claims that the internet has expanded the idea of a tool to include a “veritable warehouse of creative instruments that includes sounds, color, motion.” Students need to be able to use these new tools to become versatile and successful communicators.
The idea of ‘eXchanging’ (or in other words sharing your ideas with others), seems to be one of the most important learning tools for students. Harel claims that real learning only occurs in a social context, with questions, discussions, debates and the exchanging of ideas between peers. If this is true, then it is the exchanging of ideas that will lead students to be active participants in their education, as well as that of their peers. Harris (2002) agrees, stating that collaboration and exchanging ideas develops higher-level social learning. One advantage of the internet is that the student’s peers need not only be the ones in the classroom with them. There is a whole interconnected world of global students, which opens new opportunities for the students through interactive exchanges.

Image from: http://alumnus.tennessee.edu/images/uploads/2007fa_feature_education.jpg