Connectivism - Improving the Fluidity of Opinions

Something that stuck with me after the Fish Bowl activity was we need to teach students that their opinion can be malleable without "breaking" who they are in the world. The rate at which information becomes obsolete drives the need for this skill - arguably it always has, but people did not recognize that they had the ability to change.

Science and discovery changes what we know about the world from molecules to planets. Consider what it would look like if there were those who still believed the world was flat. Originally you believed the source to be correct. They had evidence and were convincing, but then someone else comes along with evidence to the contrary. It forces you to think and form or change your own opinion. We need to teach them how to do this intelligently.

We need to change the way we form opinions and change them, thus forcing us as teachers to change how we teach our students to do the same. Using technology is a fabulous way to do this. We can connect with classrooms across the country and the world. I wonder what learning from a classroom in Iran or Afghanistan, to name a few, would do for foreign policy when our students become the leaders of our country?