On Naked Teaching

Paul Fyfe discusses the many critiques and praises of technology in the classroom in his article Digital Pedagogy Unplugged.

Living in the 21st century, one does not simply wake up and, without any thought, stumble to the bathroom. No. One (without any thought) checks one's many social media profiles - whether it be Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or Snapchat - first.

We live in a day and age where Facebook and Twitter is not solely used to connect with friends or post photos of last weekend's events. These platforms have become sources of current events - whether these events are social or political. These are platforms that we check on a daily basis, if not hourly, to ensure that we are up to date and on the pulse of all the latest events, disasters, gossip and political debates.

Teaching completely naked is not something I can support in an era of constant technological connection. I am the first to argue that the smell and touch of a book will always be better than the electronic version on my tablet, but I need to question why I feel this way in terms of the context I grew up in and how the current generation of learners would react if asked the same question.

I believe there is a space in the classroom for naked teaching. But the fact of the matter is that teachers are stuck in the comfort zones of how they were taught at school. As educators it is our responsibility to constantly move away from this zone and explore boldly what it is that triggers passion and debate within our learners. Technology has become the source of conversations. We thus need to learn the language and incorporate it in the classroom a responsible and creative way.