The Mobility of Participation |
| What a great time in history to be learning! Computers, the internet, Web 2.0 applications – they bring so many learning opportunities to each of us. Laptops, netbooks, handhelds mean these opportunities aren’t just available in some “computer room” but anywhere that I am and where I’m connected. Not only are there opportunities embedded in the technology, but there’s information about other opportunities that I may not have learned about if I wasn’t connected. There are people with whom I can share my learning or from whom I can learn – people I would have never known if it weren’t for the Internet and the various social networking applications. I, like many others, have been and am creating a very personal web of ideas and knowledge. I sometimes intellectually step back from this mélange and think how odd some of those people and ideas look juxtaposed with each other, yet how intriguing. Through these connections, of things old and new, fanciful and serious, fact and fiction, whole new ways of thinking about my world emerge. This month we’re highlighting some unique opportunities for students and educators to interact, learn from each other, break down some of the barriers distance once imposed. Both my 14-year old daughter and I had a chance to participate, each of us reflecting on these experiences from our own perspective. My daughter participated in the Flat Classroom Conference, held in conjunction with ASB-Unplugged 2010 in Mumbai, India, this past February. The event, the location, the project on which she worked left her wide-eyed and vowing to both return to the country and participate in next year’s FC conference. My daughter and I were lucky; we were able to attend these events. But being present physically isn’t the only way to participate, and that’s what makes these events, happening at this time in history, so special. When, on our return to Canada, someone asked her what she found “hard” in this experience, my daughter looked puzzled. Although there were many parts of the project process that were challenging, hard and challenging are two very different concepts. On the other hand, she is returning to a classroom in which most work is solo work for an audience of two – herself and the teacher. Now that’s hard. So I hope you enjoy reading about these different projects and events, but I also hope you and your students have the chance to delve into not only these, but other learning experiences. Check out the Events listing on our website, use Twitter as your “ears” to hear about others, and rejoice in the abundance of unique opportunities we have for ourselves and our students. |
| May 27th, 2010 @ 10:15AM | 0 Comments | Post a Comment |
Two Decades of Change |
| I am going to make a confession – soon. But first, a story. I went to my high school class’s twentieth reunion. (No, that’s not the confession, just the start of a story. ) I hadn’t seen almost anyone for those 20 years. It was strange, exhilarating, interesting – a typical high school reunion. That night I had a dream. In it, I was at my 40th reunion, wondering how those last 20 years had flown by so quickly. How could that be? What had I accomplished?! I panicked, waking up with my heart pounding, not sure what year it was. As I became more awake, I reassured myself it was only 20 years since I graduated, not 40. I still had time. Well (confession time), the reunion, the dream – they took place 20 years ago. My class recently celebrated its 40th reunion. Twenty years go by very quickly…. It was 20 years ago that my good friend from Australia, Bruce Dixon, excitedly told me about how a school in Melbourne - Methodist Ladies College - and a group of teachers were trying something new, something truly revolutionary – providing each fifth grade student with her own laptop and a software program called LogoWriter. “You wouldn’t believe what those girls are doing! Creating, problem-solving, exploring ideas, reflecting on their thinking! It’s completely changed everything.” Twenty years ago, I was working with Seymour Papert at LCSI (Logo Computer Systems Inc) the company that developed LogoWriter. Papert had for many years imagined a time when each student would have his or her own “children’s machine” that would be the “instrument” (to appropriate Alan Kay’s term) that made it possible for even young children to explore big ideas, ideas that most people thought too difficult, too complex, too advanced for children to grasp. That in so doing, children would construct a deeper understanding of the ideas that are the foundation of our knowledge (rather than a string of information “bites”) while retaining that passion for learning that we see in very young children. The computer itself was just part of this process – but an essential part. The tools one had to use and what one did with the computer were of even greater importance. And, although providing software tools that enabled these explorations was essential, these tools without ubiquitous access to the technology would not be enough. And providing universal access without rethinking what this made possible would also not be enough. These ideas all came together at MLC twenty years ago, and it caused some people to rethink education and the role of school in this process. They began to talk to others about what they had seen in that classroom and the idea begin to spread. In the history of the world, twenty years is a mere fraction of a sliver of a second, a wink of an eye. Twenty years is also the difference between one generation and the next. So, what has happened, what has changed in this time? Slowly, slowly the idea of ubiquitous access to technology began to spread, with first a little patch here or there, then to larger districts, then whole states and even countries beginning to realize the necessity of providing universal access. In addition, we’ve added the internet and world wide web, new ways to communicate and collaborate, locally and globally, Web 2.0 tools, handheld devices that have morphed into total communication and entertainment units that fit in your pocket. We’ve had distractions such as whiteboards and clickers that made people feel there was universal technology access when actually these were just digitized versions of old classroom tools. While we discussed and debated the possibility of universal access in school, it’s been sneaking up on us outside the school walls so that most of our students (and us) are constantly connected to the giant web of humanity and information. Students have changed because of this and so have their expectations. So much change in a fraction of a sliver of a second. It makes your head spin. So on this anniversary, it’s good to reflect on where we are after twenty years and how far we’ve come (or have not come). At the same time, we should also look forward. Twenty years isn’t very long, but the speed of change seems to be accelerating. How will these new tools and the changed expectations of today’s youth – tomorrow’s parents – change our vision of what school should be? What can we – should we - do in this process of re-imagining the role of school and providing unlimited learning opportunities for all students? In twenty years, what will we accomplish? |
| March 23rd, 2010 @ 2:28PM | 0 Comments | Post a Comment |
Technology and Expectation |
| Ring, buzz, ring, buzz. At holiday time, with everyone home and friends and relatives visiting, it’s easy to be driven batty by the number of personal electronic devices going off when I just want to visit with friends, have a family dinner, or enjoy some quiet time. No matter where I am, something is buzzing, ringing, singing, vibrating, or just being totally distracting. Telling everyone (including myself) to turn everything off for a short break may seem like a simple solution, and it’s do-able. But maybe that’s missing the point – a point that’s being made over and over again in every magazine and newspaper. Kids today interact with their world differently. Those devices are part of how they think, choose, play, work, connect, and generally know how and what they are in this world. Intellectually this is easy to accept, but realizing this at a more visceral level is different. During some casual conversation or trivial everyday task, something happens and the realization of how differently kids today think can hit you like a ton of bricks. And it’s not just the mere presence of a device, it’s the radical change in thinking that this ubiquity of devices and the immersion in all areas of technology have brought about. This different worldview colors (some would say taints) so many other parts of their lives and their thinking and impacts the world in so many ways. For example, the question of who owns intellectual property and what constitutes consumer rights became a big discussion point in our house. Why buy without trying? And if you try it and you don’t like it, why pay? Today, if you buy a shirt online and realize, once in your hands, that you don’t like it, you can return it. Why, kids ask, can’t you do this with everything? You should be able to hear the music, watch the movie, play the game before you buy to make sure you’re willing to invest in it. Why pay for music at all if the songs are used to entice people to buy tickets for a live concert where the real money is made? Paying for a song is like paying to see a commercial. The movie industry, contrary to all fears, had their best year ever in terms of revenues. Forcing people to pay just to try something only creates waste. So, downloading isn’t evil, it’s just different. The software industry – who creates software and who owns it – has been completely turned inside-out with the growth of open source, Web 2.0, cloud computing. Who owns ideas? Anyone? Should anyone? It is a different culture. This cultural changes also mean anyone can now create and distribute without having a select few determine what you can or cannot see and hear; the sharing of ideas, democratized. Whether you agree with these changes or not (for example, I like to believe that intellectual property has intrinsic value that should be acknowledged for what it is. I also like the phrase “Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should”), they are happening. And there’s lots of room and opportunities for discussion about what this means in terms of the future job market but also around the idea of what is “fair” and what do we value. Our kids are immersed in this dramatic change and are demanding more rights, a greater recognition of their needs, desires and goals. Then they enter too many schools that offer them nothing more than a pre-packaged education that needs to be accepted as is, no refunds, no exchanges, no changes at all. While we’re plodding along with an old model of thinking, of business, of school, young people are shaking their heads at the restrictions we’re so willing to accept and the unquestioning acceptance of the old order. But watch out - the times they are a’ changin’. |
| January 14th, 2010 @ 1:19PM | 0 Comments | Post a Comment |
My Own Personal Learning |
| This month I'm focusing on project-based learning. No, not for students or even the Foundation. I'm focusing on it for me. Early this year I signed up to participate in National Novel Writing Month, held every November. My project? I, and all NaNoWriMo participants, must write a 50,000-word book in one month (and a 30-day month at that!). That comes to 1667 words a day for 30 days. Doesn't seem like too much, but that's on top of working, parenting, and community volunteer work. And it means writing 1667 words EVERY DAY, not just some days. Why would I do this? I liked the challenge of setting a difficult but thought-provoking goal for myself and working to achieve it. The NaNoWriMo organization suggests participants tell everyone they know that they're participating in this month-long event so they're motivated to continue if, for no other reason, than to save face. The month is about writing, not editing. Editing, we (me and the other "WriMos) are told, is what we do in December. To win NaNoWriMo, you just have to achieve your goal. No one else needs to read your text, books aren't judged or critiqued (although some WriMos have been published), there's no "fastest writer" or "best vocabulary" award. Winning is about personal accomplishment. And in the writing, the "doing" of this challenge, I'm learning - about writing, structure, character, plot, and how I approach a challenge. In the process, I am being supported by an online community that is providing insight into the process of writing, a community sharing its frustrations, achievements, and quirks. The NaNoWriMo organization has arranged for various authors to cheer us on and help by describing what the writing process is like for them. Last week, I (and all WriMos) heard from Jaspar Fforde, author of two series of popular, quirky books, including The Eyre Affair. Here are some of his words of encouragement, "The overriding importance is that the 50,000 words don't have to be good. They don't even have to be spelled properly, punctuated or even tabulated neatly on the page. It's not important. Practice is what's important here, because, like your granny once told you, practice does indeed make perfect....a concerted effort to get words on paper is one of the best ways to do it. The lessons learned over the next thirty days will be lessons that you can't get from a teacher, or a manual, or attending lectures. The only way to write is to write." (click here for reference.) What has been even more interesting for me is that my 14 year old daughter, Madison, also signed up for NaNoWriMo. At first she kept erasing lines, not sure if what she wrote was good enough. She was doing so much self-critiquing she couldn't get started. Then Madison realized that she'd just write for herself, tell her story, and, voila, the words began to flow. When I asked if she liked her book, she said, "I like writing it. I'm not sure if I'd read it." Honest. She has already written over 15000 words and we've had some great conversations about the writing process. So.... what does this have to do with 1:1 learning? One-to-one and anytime, anywhere learning isn't about getting laptops for all students. It's about what students do with their laptops and the learning that goes with the access that technology makes possible. It's about having the ability to tap into and communicate with a community of learners with whom to share and experts from whom to learn. And, finally, it's about finding easy fun, engaging challenges that make us think and help us learn, no matter what our age. Comments? Thoughts? Read more about NaNoWriMo and schools by clicking here. |
| November 11th, 2009 @ 1:54PM | 0 Comments | Post a Comment |
Student Voice, Democracy and 1-to-1 |
| As anyone who\'s ever talked to a teen can attest, young people have strong opinions about many things, especially about school and their education. Why then is education too often something we do TO them rather than with them? Where is their \"voice\" in this process? Recently I heard about a large-scale example of student voice being included in the process of determining what educational policy should be. In Ontario, Canada, every school board is required to include representatives from the local Student Senate, which is composed of student trustees from each high school in the board. The student trustees represent students and ensure that students\' ideas and opinions are heard at the school board level. These student representatives have joined together to form the Student Trustee Organization which is, according to their website, \"the largest student stakeholder in education and the voice for the student vision\" and they act as consultants at the provincial Ministry of Education level. This is probably one of the most ambitious efforts in the world to listen to and heed \"student voice\" in the development of education policy, and over the years, they have impacted some major school reform efforts. But student voice can be effective at a more local and even more individual level. A number of schools include students on various decision-making committees throughout the school. Students actively engage in designing and planning curriculum, learning spaces, and other school activities. And the learning experience isn\'t limited only to the classroom, but can extend to local as well as international issues. Giving students the opportunity to speak up and let their voices be heard whether in the classroom or in service projects, combined with a teacher\'s pedagogical guidance empowers students and helps them learn invaluable lessons about democracy and how each individual can contribute to society. The pitfall in adding students to committees is that their participation can be mere tokenism, and their contributions don\'t really play any role in the final decisions. As Paulo Freire discusses, schools should practice democracy and not just teach it. I recently had the opportunity to hear Deborah Meier speak at Constructing Modern Knowledge 2009 and she echoes Freire\'s beliefs and sees schools as the one place where all young people can learn what democracy is through the modeling and practice of real democratic decision-making at all levels throughout the school. What does all this have to do with 1-to-1? One-to-one increases the opportunities to hear and heed student voice. The assistance provided by students becomes almost essential as the learning environment begins to dramatically change. There is no way teachers (or anyone else, for that matter) can know everything, and, particularly when it comes to technology, our students often have more time to experiment and play with the hardware and software than we have. So their advice on how to get started with the technology and also on new ways to represent their ideas is invaluable. As you\'ll see in our articles below, participating on a student tech support team helps students develop skills that will help them in university and beyond. Providing these opportunities to participate in the design of their learning experiences or in supporting the technology is not only helpful to you but probably the most enduring learning experience they will have in school. What examples do you have of \"student voice\" impacting change in the learning environment? What challenges have you had to face? Please share your stories with us here. |
| September 9th, 2009 @ 3:15PM | 0 Comments | Post a Comment |
It's More than Just the Laptops |
| Transforming learning is easy to say, but oh so complex to do. As I'm sure most of you realize, it takes more than just providing each student and teacher with a laptop (although those laptops are essential). But too often governments or organizations get dazzled by the technology and forget all the other essential elements to truly make a change. That's why I was pleasantly surprised when I received the latest newsletter from DesignShare, a company whose mission is to help transform learning through the reconceptualizing of learning spaces. There's been some news and a great deal of discussion about Portugal's countrywide programs to make available low-cost (and, in some cases, no cost) laptops to all its students. Primary school students will be able to get a version of the Intel Classmate under the Magellan Initiative while secondary students can get one of several brands of laptops under the e-Escolar program. Any program of this size is sure to have its issues, and this one is no exception. There have been some glitches - for example, internet access seems to still be a problem for many - but Portugal's technology plan is indeed bold in a time when bold steps and the people to take them are desperately needed. (For an interesting discussion on the programs, check out Don Tapscott's article here. Now I see that Portugal also has a Secondary School Modernization Programme focused on creating spaces that make possible a variety of learning scenarios. Having learning spaces that encourage collaborative efforts, project-development, both construction and presentation, shows that we value and support these activities. It's good to see that the government of Portugal recognizes the need for these programs. Let's hope their efforts don't stop here but they continue to look for ways to provide the learning opportunities all children deserve. |
| August 11th, 2009 @ 9:52AM | 0 Comments | Post a Comment |
Sustaining an Innovative Culture |
| Considering all the constraints, rules, and political regulations with which public schools contend, is it possible to create and sustain a school that has a culture of innovation that reaches all classes and students? Let me rephrase that - how is it possible to create and sustain such a culture? The schools frequently showcased as being innovative usually have some pockets of creativity or innovative thinking but only a subset of the students get to participate. For too many of their students their role is strictly audience/viewer. Do you know of a school with a school-wide culture of innovation and, if yes, how did they create and sustain it? |
| June 3rd, 2009 @ 2:52PM | 1 Comments | Post a Comment |
Girls and Technology |
| This past month I was invited to attend the National Center of Women in Technology conference (NCWIT). NCWIT is an alliance of diverse organizations, ranging from large corporations (such as Google) to universities to non-profit organizations involved in K12 education (Society for Women in Engineering) or dedicated to girls (Girls Scouts). What they all have in common is a commitment to encouraging more young women to study and have a career in computer science, technology and engineering (the TE part of STEM) and supporting these women as they begin to work in these fields. Ensuring that all learners, girls as well as boys, have access to technology anytime and anywhere would seem to be an excellent first step. No inequitable representation in the computer lab, no fighting for control of limited computer facilities. Has having a 1-to-1 program in your school changed girls' interest in technology? If yes, how? |
| June 3rd, 2009 @ 2:51PM | 0 Comments | Post a Comment |
"Digital Immigrants" |
| Once upon a time, people who took a chance and began to experiment with technology in education were called "pioneers". Then when Marc Prensky began using the term "digital immigrant", everyone of a certain age suddenly was lumped under this new label. We went from being daring innovators to being newcomers, outsiders. Now, one could say that an immigrant is someone who is taking a risk to achieve a better life (really, both a literal and figurative trailblazer), but unfortunately, I never get the feeling that this is what is meant when digital immigrants are compared to digital natives. There must be a better term for whatever it is these labels are supposed to describe. Thoughts? |
| June 3rd, 2009 @ 2:50PM | 1 Comments | Post a Comment |
