Directions, anyone?

Posted by: Dr Ashley Tan on: March 19, 2021

In: Uncategorized
1 Comment

“directions” (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0) by Vitor Pina

I do not leave home as much as I use to given the current pandemic. But almost every time I do, someone stops me to ask for directions. This happens whether I am on familiar ground or not.

So I have started to wonder if I look like I belong or somehow know the surroundings even if I do not. Either that or more people now get lost and do not know how to use a map app.

Perhaps I am thinking too much about a non-issue. It might just be faster and more social to just ask someone. This is despite the fact that a) you might get the wrong information because you cannot verify the expertise of the person you are asking, and b) you remain dependent on someone else instead of learning how to use an app.

Now consider this. I know that some in schooling and education are lost or directionless with regard to technology-mediated pedagogies. Yet they do not ask someone like me or learn from expert others via social media. They choose instead to follow their internal compass and muddle along.

They might be heading in the right direction. They might not. The problem with schooling and education is that the journeys are long and the landscape sometimes changes so slowly and subtly that folks think they are on the right track. That is until someone points this out. Then they ignore the call, shoot the messenger, or take the warning seriously. Sadly, not many belong to the last group. I wish more of these people would stop me and ask for directions.