Metaphors of Educators-Blog Post #1

According to Seimens (2008), today’s students have grown up immersed in a digital world , which has bred an expectation by students that their education is “participative, engaging, and active…”(pg.6). With this expectation comes the realization that educators will need to change their ways of teaching so as to meet these “habits of millennials” (pg. 6-7).

When you walk into a school and gather a group of educators together, it is quite probable that one will be faced with a group of people whose philosophies, beliefs, and practices about learning theory are spread across the spectrum. One can observe both effective and ineffective practitioners that represent any theory. Each group would be able to present strong arguments as to why their practice is best. In my opinion, each of the Metaphors of Educators…master artist, network administrator, concierge, and curator have qualities that I could potentially embrace in a digital classroom.
Brown’s educator as a master artist is an intriguing thought. This educator’s role is to guide students to learn from examining exemplary qualities in other students’ work. Blogs would be an effective tool used by these educators. While this model has its merits in promoting creativity and allowing the learner to create his own meaning, I wonder if the educator’s role is too neutral. Especially from the point of view of an early child educator, I know that some children need very explicit instruction.
The educator as a network administrator by Clarence Fisher focuses less on the teacher who is the expert in content and more as the teacher who helps students make connections and form networks to find information. I think that this is a relevant model given the nature of our digital world. Why should students be forced to memorize massive amounts of information when computers and the World Wide Web provide for almost instantaneous retrieval? Guiding students to understand how to find information and how to evaluate the sources are relevant skills in the 21st century. Here is a link to a teacher blog that has been highly influenced by Fisher and illustrates the power of networking.
I see Bonk’s model of the educator as a concierge much like that of a tour guide. The educator tells the students information about places to go. Sometimes he might take them there and sometimes he might let them explore on their own. The important role of the 21st century educator is to know about the opportunities that are available and to give the students the tools to be able to explore effectively. As long as the educator strikes the right balance of guidance and independent exploration by the student, this model could be powerful.
I feel that I can connect with the Curator model most because it is learner-centered. It takes the learners needs into consideration and acknowledges that there must be balance between the freedom to explore and create, but at the same time learning experiences are carefully orchestrated by the teacher. My beliefs tend to always reflect a balanced approach because I understand that each individual learner is unique and one-size-fits-all is rarely an effective model. While the gifted student may be able to be successful with the freedom to create and explore independently with little guidance, the ADHD or learning disabled students need more support, structure, modeling and explicit instruction.
I think that the important idea to take away from this discussion is that the nature of the developing technologies is moving us from a teacher-centered to a learner-centered instructional model. Rather than the teacher being the center of the learning experience, the learner will manage his/her own learning to a certain extent. I think because I come from an elementary background and this discussion might be more geared toward secondary and post-secondary settings, I don’t think that overlooking the importance of explicit instruction for those who need it. Not all kids can just magically make those connections independently. I found a short presentation on Teacher Tube called Pay Attention, which poses a strong argument as to why the roles for educators need to shift dramatically.

I’m not going to say that my metaphor is better; however I might try the metaphor of the Educator as a Conductor. The conductor is intimately familiar with each instrument. He/she knows each of the special qualities that they posses, their strengths and weaknesses. He/she knows which instruments work best together. When they should work together and when they are best alone. The conductor also knows the strengths and weaknesses of the musician and places them where they need to be based on performance. So the conductor orchestrates the situation so that the desired outcome takes place. There are times when the musicians must read the “script” and there are times when improvisation is appropriate. The Conductor is up there with the orchestra, but he is facilitating and guiding the musicians. The musicians are doing all of the work and the conductor is there as a coordinator who leads the musicians with their instruments.


Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf