Thursday, May 30, 2013

Connected Learning

Mimi Ito response to what's emerged from her work:

What I think is interesting is that my passion point has ended up having a broader relevancy as digital culture and the Internet have become more central to people’s lives. I’d say my work is about understanding how young people are really innovating and using new technologies to further their interests. There have always been people who are really passionate about their learning and interest-driven, but with the advent of new technology, this kind of learning becomes something that is not only more accessible but also, really, required. In earlier generations, if kids were into something, they could go to the library; they could find peers and mentors who shared their interest—there have been geeks in every generation. But what has made this form of learning much more important is the fact that digital networks are becoming ubiquitous and information and social connection are much more abundant.

Expressing Some Frustration

In the past I have written about The Classics Academy.  The theme-based academy for 12th grade students is in its third year of existence.  Next year we are extending the academy down to 11th grade.  Part of the rationale for extending the program is to create a feeder system. It has always been a struggle to build our numbers for senior year due to scheduling conflicts or graduation requirements which still need to be fulfilled.  The academy has run but we have always operated under a cloud of whether, due to numbers,  the program will continue.

In particular we have lost interested students due to conflicts with advanced placement courses or because taking a fourth year of science and or math looks "good" on a college transcript.  Most recently, we lost two students who initially enrolled in the academy but this week decided to go in another direction their senior year.  As was the case for the most recent cases and in the past, I speak with students who are weighing whether to enter the academy or decide to leave after enrolling.  Never once was I truly convinced that students were making a decision purely for the love of learning.  Decisions it appeared were more along the lines of following a prepared script that had been handed down from one generation of learners to the next.

I wonder about the long-term costs when a system is created where a love of learning and personal passion for the content takes a back seat when it comes to constructing a schedule.  I started by referencing the Classics Academy but similar decisions impact other programs.  I'm not sure who decided what the perfect college resume looks like and to an extent I do not think an answer to this question matters.  It comes down to those who are involved in helping students make decisions about where they want to spend their time.  We have to coach / collaborate with students to put them in classes where a love of learning is fostered and personal interests flamed.  Think about what is lost or what is ever gained if these two core principles are muted?

I offer this story in closing.  The other day two recent graduates returned to say hello to a few teachers.  Both students happened to be alumni of The Classics Academy.  One student shared an experience from college.  This student happens to be a Classics major but is also minoring in education.  As part of a teaching fellowship this student taught a lesson on the Trojan War to 6th graders.  The Classics alum shared that 6th graders were spellbound learning about the "wrath of Achilles, Odysseus, the horrors of war and the difference a journey makes."  The Classics alum also said that it was one of the best experiences of her life and has caused her to consider pursuing a career in teaching. 

This story is a bit revealing and offers a juxtaposition against filling out a prescribed template.  The Classics alum was able to share her passion with 6th graders and invite them in on her personal quest to see the relevance in studying the Classics.   For this particular student genuine and sustaining inspiration was realized by simply having the chance to make a free and unrestrained choice.  I imagine that her love of the Classics was only furthered by this teaching experience.  The great fear is whether the story briefly explained above is a rare an unique experience. 

Are values such a choice, lifelong learning, curiosity, experimentation and play pushed aside in favor of an arbitrary set of rules, procedures and expectations?





Friday, May 24, 2013

Makerspace Playbook

Highlights from the Makerspace Playbook


Makers are enthusiasts who play with technology to learn about it. A new technology presents an invitation to play, and makers regard this kind of play as highly satisfying.

We must try to bring this kind of magic into schools, hard as it may be. Formal education has become such a serious business, defined as success at abstract thinking and high-stakes testing, that thereʼs no time and no context for play. If play is what you do outside school, then that is where the real learning will take place and thatʼs where innovation and creativity will be found.

The rigid academic system is short-changing all students, even though an elite few seem to do well by academic standards. However, there is increasing skepticism that even those who succeed academically are not the kind of creative, innovative thinkers and doers that we need.


Our biggest challenge—and the biggest opportunity for the Maker Movement—is to transform education. Our hope is that the agents of change will be the students themselves. Increasingly, technology has given them more control over their lives, and even the simplest cell phone can change a personʼs sense of agency.
 
This is our challenge. It isnʼt enough to train current students for the world of today — we have to train them for tomorrow, a tomorrow that will require them to master technologies that donʼt yet exist. Think about it: a child in middle school today will be entering the prime of their careers in 2040. We have no idea what the world will be like then
 
Nobody who uses the space is required to be an expert. The most important thing is to have a passion for and a curiosity about making in many different forms.

While there is no simple recipe for how to mentor, mentors will be most effective if they think like Makers: staying curious, interested, respectful. Mentors should always focus on the studentsʼ interests, not their own, but they can share what they love to do so that the students can see that mentors are passionate about Making too.  

Dweckʼs growth mindset maps very well to the maker mindset, which is a can-do mindset that can be summarized as “what can you do with what you know.” It is an invitation to take ideas and turn them into various kinds of reality. It is the process of iterating over a project to improve it. It is a chance to participate in communities of makers of all ages by sharing your work and expertise. Making is a social experience, built around relationships

Fostering the maker mindset is a fundamentally human project – to support the growth and development of another person, not just physically but mentally and emotionally. It should focus on the whole person because any truly creative enterprise requires all of us, not just some part. It should also be rooted in the kind of sharing of knowledge and skills that humans do best face to face.

Education happens everywhere. Learning happens in our community, not just on campus. Our current education system struggles to tap the resources available in the community, yet our culture is richer with information and opportunities than ever before.





Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Importance of Play

Dr. Stuart Brown, in his book, Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul, tells the story about how the Jet Propulsion Laboratory realized that, although they were hiring the best and brightest college graduates, it was hiring the wrong kind of people. Something had changed in the kind of people that came to work at JPL.

“The JPL managers went back to look at their own retiring engineers and ... found that in their youth, their older, problem-solving employees had taken apart clocks to see how they worked, or made soapbox derby racers, or built hi-fi stereos, or fixed appliances. The young engineering school graduates who had also done these things, who had played with their hands, were adept at the kinds of problem solving that management sought.

Those who hadnʻt, generally were not. From that point on, JPL made questions about applicantsʻ youthful projects and play a standard part of job interviews. Through research the JPL managers discovered that there is a kind of magic in play.”

We must try to bring this kind of magic into schools, hard as it may be. Formal education has become such a serious business, defined as success at abstract thinking and high-stakes testing, that thereʼs no time and no context for play. If play is what you do outside school, then that is where the real learning will take place and thatʼs where innovation and creativity will be found.

The rigid academic system is short-changing all students, even though an elite few seem to do well by academic standards. However, there is increasing skepticism that even those who succeed academically are not the kind of creative, innovative thinkers and doers that we need. -Makerspace Playbook

Important to remember what can be learned from play.

Importance of Play

Dr. Stuart Brown, in his book, Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul, tells the story about how the Jet Propulsion Laboratory realized that, although they were hiring the best and brightest college graduates, it was hiring the wrong kind of people. Something had changed in the kind of people that came to work at JPL.

“The JPL managers went back to look at their own retiring engineers and ... found that in their youth, their older, problem-solving employees had taken apart clocks to see how they worked, or made soapbox derby racers, or built hi-fi stereos, or fixed appliances. The young engineering school graduates who had also done these things, who had played with their hands, were adept at the kinds of problem solving that management sought.

Those who hadnʻt, generally were not. From that point on, JPL made questions about applicantsʻ youthful projects and play a standard part of job interviews. Through research the JPL managers discovered that there is a kind of magic in play.”

We must try to bring this kind of magic into schools, hard as it may be. Formal education has become such a serious business, defined as success at abstract thinking and high-stakes testing, that thereʼs no time and no context for play. If play is what you do outside school, then that is where the real learning will take place and thatʼs where innovation and creativity will be found.

The rigid academic system is short-changing all students, even though an elite few seem to do well by academic standards. However, there is increasing skepticism that even those who succeed academically are not the kind of creative, innovative thinkers and doers that we need. -Makerspace Playbook

Important to remember what can be learned from play.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

The 6 essential lessons of a satisfying, productive career

The 6 essential lessons of a satisfying, productive career:
JBunkoSmallJust in time for graduation season, Johnny Bunko is here to remind you of the 6 essential lessons of any satisfying, productive career:
1. There is no plan.

Make decisions for fundamental, not instrumental, reasons.
2. Think strengths, not weaknesses.

What do you consistently do well? What gives you energy rather than drains it?
3. It’s not about you.

The most successful people improve their own lives by improving others’ lives.
4. Persistence trumps talent.  

There are massive returns to doggedness.
5. Make excellent mistakes.

Commit errors from which the benefits of what you’ve learned exceed the costs of the screw-up.
6. Leave an imprint.  

Recognize that your life isn’t infinite and that you should use your limited time here to do something that matters. 
* * * *



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My Global Life, Our Global Living

By Alicia Rice posted on the Cooperative Catalyst:

My Global Life, Our Global Living:
In four short months, I learned more than I had in the rest of my educational career.  And it wasn’t that the rest of my education wasn’t valuable, but that those 4 months were able to open doors to me that fundamentally changed who I was as a person.

In 2008, I flew to Thailand for the first time to study globalization and development.  We were able to learn about issues such as mines, dams, and urban poverty.  But, more importantly, we were able to live with people who were being affected by these issues.  We got to sit down and hear exactly how they felt about how an underground mine would affect their lives.  And while I had some issues with the way the program worked at times, it introduced me to concepts and ideas that nothing else before it had been able to do.

There’s something about sitting down with someone from another part of the world and sharing a meal.  All of the cultural differences that separate you become blatantly obvious.  The food, the utensils, the way you eat, the atmosphere: they can all be unfamiliar.  But at the same time, a meal is the great unifier.  It’s the thing that reminds us all that, at the bottom of it, we’re the same.  We all value family, food, and love.  And so no matter how many differences there are, it’s the similarities that stand out.

When we realize this, we are closer to creating a world in which we can all live together.  Because, no longer is the man who eats with their hands a foreigner.  No longer is the woman who wears a veil over her face radically different from us.  These things become what they should be: semantics.
Because, the things that cause hate in our world are not caused, for the most part, by bad people.  They’re caused by a lack of understanding.  It’s an inability to see someone else’s point of view.  It is when empathy does not exist.

The cultivation of global empathy is more important now that ever before.  While my personal opinions of globalization are mixed, the fact of the matter is that we are all connected.  And it won’t change anytime soon.  Our lives are interconnected to people across the globe in more ways than we can recognize.  If one of us falls, we all fall now.

And so, the lesson that the ways in which we choose to live our lives has an effect globally is more important than ever.

I consider myself incredibly blessed to have been able to begin to be exposed to this lesson.  I was given the opportunity to travel to the other side of the world and live with people different from myself, different from anything that I’d known up to that point.  I was able to eat, sleep, bathe, garden, cook, clean, and play the ways that they did.  Every moment of it was an incredible learning opportunity, one that has profoundly changed my life.

But I know that not everyone is so lucky.  Travel is a privilege that not everyone is afforded.  So the question then becomes, how do we promote global understanding when not everyone has the ability to explore the global community?

One such organization working towards creating global empathy is Global Lives Project.  What started originally as a little idea that seemed impossible has expanded to allow thousands of people around the world to get a glimpse into the lives of others.  With the unique idea to film 24 continuous hours in the lives of people around the world, they are able to create an unbiased view of how others live.

It’s the closest thing I’ve seen to actually going and visiting another country.  And in some ways, you’re able to get a more unadulterated view.  As a foreigner abroad, you’re not always given a pure look into someone’s life.  You are a guest and they are a host, which creates a different dynamic.  But with these videos, you see people as they are daily.  For those of us who aren’t able to fly across the world, it’s a valuable, and much needed, experience.

Personally, I take my privilege very seriously.  I understand how incredible the opportunities I’ve had are and try my best to share them with others.  I talk about my experiences to those around me.  I write about the lessons I’ve learned.  And I use film to try to bring the stories of those whose voices are often not heard.  For me, my purpose in life is to help create understanding.

What personal experiences have you had abroad which have helped to expand your views?  What do you do to create greater global understanding?  How do you work towards helping students become successful and active global citizens?

Interested in Global Lives Project and want to use it in your classroom?  They have resources just for you!  To learn more visit: http://globallives.org/resources/educators/





Test Run

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

iPads

The district where I work piloted a 1:1 iPad program starting in the 7th grade.  The initiative will grow next year to include grades eight and nine.  Recently, there have been some questions as to whether we should continue with iPads or switch to Chromebooks.  I believe the push for Chromebooks stems from the fact that they are a cheaper alternative and that the integrated keyboard is better suited for PARCC exams.  In short, brief discussions have emerged comparing the two options.

In the course of one conversation a colleague had the following to say:

I've seen how kids, first-hand, unkindly treat our the netbooks, simply because they don't value them.  Put iPads in their hands and it's a different story.  The kids cherish the iPads because they cherish the experience that the device gives them.  The tactile nature, the immersive experience, the ergonomics of the thing...none of it can be replicated on anything resembling a laptop.  User experience is #1 and there's no competition here in my book.  

I was reminded of this comment last night during one of my daughter's choral concert.  During the concert parents and relatives were filming and taking pictures of the performance with either an iPad or smartphone.  After the performance we used our iPhones to take pictures of my daughter and her friends.  It was on our way for post-performance ice cream at the local scoop shop where I connected my colleague's commentary about iPads and the popular device of choice for archiving the choral concert.  I thought about why would we engage in another discussion that draws a separation between school and life outside of school.

I understand that there is a budget and our district is like any other in that a range of needs have to be addressed.  Maintaining diverse programs and continuing to be innovative is a challenge under the current fiscal parameters.  However, so many of us, and in particular our students, live in a connected world where we have the freedom to take pictures, shoot video and create content.  In my mind moving to Chromebooks would establish a wall between how we observe, archive, reflect and create in and out of school. We should foster an organic flow between school and not school.  Leveraging the potential of iPads to the fullest equally addresses any concerns about mandated testing and the desire for our students to see a connection between life in and outside of the classroom.
 

 

Friday, May 3, 2013

Design School Four Year Sequence


Sharing updated work for our Design School.  Starting to build out a four year sequence for the Academy.  The sequence is provided and a draft of descriptions for the individual course/experiences.  We are particular excited about the Designer Practicum and Designer Portal which empowers our capstone architects (still searching for a name) to build a design team from our 10th and 11th grade design school students.  We have to figure out how it will work so feedback is greatly appreciated.  Our school is moving to an A/B schedule with 4 80 minute blocks each day.  Sequence also reflect New Jersey graduation requirements.


Year 1

A Day (Design Day)                       
  • American Experience I                   
  • Intro to Technology and Design                
  • Design Pathway                      

B Day (Traditional Day)
  • World Language  
  • Math
  • Physics
  • Gym


Year 2

A Day (Design Day)                     
  • American Experience II                   
  •  Design Theory and Practice I               
  •  Design Pathway                      
                                 
B Day (Traditional Day)
  • Math 
  •  Chemistry 
  • World Language  
  •  Gym 

Year 3

A Day (Design Day)                       
  • The Global Citizen                       
  •  Design Theory and Practice II            
  •  Design Pathway                   
                                  

B Day (Traditional Day)
  • Math 
  • Biology/Environmental 
  • Gym 
  • Elective (could continue with World Language) 

Year 4

A Day (Design Day)                    
  • English Independent Study                   
  • Designer Practicum                       
  • Design Seminar                      
                                  
                       
 B Day (Traditional Day)
  • Design School Portal  
  • Elective #1
  • Elective #2 
  • Elective #3     

        *Design School TA experience 


Description of Courses

American Experience and Global Citizen
American Experience and Global Citizen are interdisciplinary humanities courses.  Through the design school students will be able to address core graduation requirements for Language Arts and Social Studies.  The course will be co-taught and generally follow the thread of transitioning from American to World History.  Both American Experience and Global Citizen will take a thematic approach and be influenced by the design process.  For example, students in American Experience could examine the theme of economic disparity.  Readings and a developing understanding of American History will support students as they engage in examining the the socio-economic divide in this country.  Students will research contemporary developments/scenarios and offer solutions to disrupt the debilitating cycle of poverty afflicting countless Americans.  Global Citizen would mirror American Experience.  A potential theme could be the exploitation of natural resources.  Again, the core subjects will support students investigate and pose solutions to current issues such as Global Warming, Deforestation, Pollution, Water Deficits, shrinking Biodiversity.

Design Pathway
Design Pathway is an elective option for students.  The goal is for students to “major” in a technical or performance arts content area during their tenure as a student in the design school. Additionally, the opportunity will exist for students to seek certification in the Design Pathway.   

Intro to Tech and Design
Introduction to Technology and Design furthers the current curriculum.  The current version introduces students to various technology systems such as structures, mechanics, electronics, transportation, and aeronautics. In Introduction to Technology and Design Students experiment with designing a problem solving process and using technological systems to address design challenges.  An updated version will further the materials/systems students are introduced to.  The revision builds off a premise that students coming to the high school have limited experience  with the content presented in our elective offerings. Introduction to Technology and Design would provide a place for our students to experiment with samples from our elective offerings and further shape the interests/passion of design school students.


Design Theory and Practice
Design Theory and Practice serves a dual purpose with both outlets connected to the design process.  Students would work on a series of mini-projects where they are investigating a community or school-based need.  Design Theory and Practice would allow students to experiment on a smaller more controlled scale gradually building the capacity of students to engage in the design thinking process and enhance their understanding of core beliefs expressed in the Design School Manifesto for Growth.  Additionally, the course will allow 10th and 11th graders to contribute towards a 12th grade capstone project (see Designer Practicum).  10th and 11th graders will be part of a team working to address a need defined in a capstone project.

Designer Practicum
12th grade students in the Design School will be required to develop a year long capstone project.  In conjunction with a mentor(s) a senior student will have to uncover a human need and work towards addressing that need.  The senior will be viewed as the architect of the capstone experience and initially, assume responsibility for interpreting and defining the problem.  Once a need has been uncovered, each senior must build a plan on how to address the problem.  A required part of of the plan is for each senior (lead architect, head designer, capstone CEO) to build a team which will assist in executing the plan.  10th and 11th grade design students will be recruited (have to define what this actually means) to join a capstone team(s).  

Designer Seminar
Designer Seminar is a space for 12th graders to meet to discuss their capstone experience.  Designer Seminar serves as an internal network where capstone architects share ideas and resources and seek feedback from peers.  Additionally, materials presented in Designer Seminar will stimulate discourse about leadership, conflict resolution and social entrepreneurship

English Independent Study
Senior year English will function as an independent study.  The contents of each independent study will be dictated by the Designer Practicum experience.  The idea of offering 12th grade English as an independent study stems from the belief that after three years as members of the Design School, students are capable of collaborating with a mentor to determine a personalized language arts experience.

Design School Portal
Once the program supports four grades the plan is to group freshman and seniors together on A Day and hold design school course for sophomores and juniors on B Day.  One reason for this arrangement is to allow seniors to work with sophomores and juniors on the capstone project.  


*Additionally, we envision an opportunity for design students to serve as teacher assistants.  As part of senior year, as one of their electives students will have the chance to spend the year int he classroom as a teacher’s assistant.