Worth Reading...

Sharing some articles and videos from the past few weeks.


 1. 3 Principles for the Future of Gaming, From A Google Game Designer (Fast Company)- ideas about the future of gaming from John Hanke, the man at the helm of Google’s experimental game, Ingress.

Video games have long been the province of the sedentary. But Hanke sees that more as a consequence of the limitations of technology than something inherent in the medium. "The game console had to be hooked up to your television and a power outlet," he says. "After that you had to have your connection to the Internet." But now, with devices that keep us connected no matter where we are, Hanke believes that gaming and the real world are ready to mingle. If Wii and Kinect were designed to get us up off the couch, Ingress aims to get us out the door entirely.

2.  School Design, Classroom Layout Can Heavily Affect Student Grades, Learning: Study (Huffington Post)- demonstrates the impact space has on learning.  Samples included of innovative school designs.

It has long been known that various aspects of the built environment impact on people in buildings, but this is the first time a holistic assessment has been made that successfully links the overall impact directly to learning rates in schools," Peter Barrett, a professor at the University of Salford, said in a statement. "The impact identified is in fact greater than we imagined and the Salford team is looking forward to building on these clear results.

 3. Philosophical Teaching Will Get Students Thinking for Themselves Again (Taylor)- guard against teaching to a test, and continue to push students to be reflective critical thinkers

As an antidote to teaching to the test, I recommend a philosophical approach. This means teaching students to be critical, reflective enquirers. It is all about putting in their hands the tools they need to find answers for themselves, and stimulating them to begin thinking more deeply and critically about ideas and arguments.

4. Our New Value: Making Stuff With Kids (Richardson)- discusses problem-solving initiatives with 6th graders at the Marymount School in NYC.  

We have to become the places where we help kids make interesting, meaningful, useful, beautiful artifacts of their learning that they can share with the real world. That’s our value moving forward. That stuff that can’t be “Khanified.”

5. Got A Problem?  Students Can Find The Solution (MindShift)- examples of how schools can be breeding ground for fostering students’ questions, a place to spark students’ interests and ideas for designing innovative solutions to real problems.

Issues like these arise every day in schools. For educators, the key is to listen to students, enlist them in looking for and building solutions, and empower students to become change makers and innovators. It all comes down to listening to the questions.

6. 1 90 Metacognition Dylan Wiliam Learning and teaching 

7. Meet the YouTube Next EDU Gurus 

Space As A Change Agent

Sharing highlights from the e-book Space As A Change Agent.

The emphasis today is on active construction of knowledge by the learner. The importance of prior experience, the fitting of knowledge into existing schema or the establishment of new schema, and the active processing of information are all components of this model that emphasize high learner involvement. Environments that provide experience, stimulate the senses, encour-age the exchange of information, and offer opportunities for rehearsal, feedback, application, and transfer are most likely to support learning. 

Spaces that are harmonious with learning theory and the needs of current students reflect several elements: Flexibility. A group of learners should be able to move from listening to one speaker (traditional lecture or demonstration) to working in groups (team or project-based activities) to working independently (reading, writing, or access-ing print or electronic resources). While specialized places for each kind of activity (the lecture hall, laboratory, and library carrel) can accommodate each kind of work, the flow of activities is often immediate. It makes better sense to construct spaces capable of quick reconfiguration to support different kinds of activity

Decenteredness. Emphasizing the principles of socioconstructivism, spaces must convey co-learning and co-construction of knowledge. Implications for architecture include thinking of the whole campus as a learning space rather than emphasizing classrooms

The key, therefore, is to provide a physical space that supports multidisciplinary, team-taught, highly interactive learning unbound by traditional time constraints within a social setting that engages students and faculty and enables rich learning experiences

real community, however, exists only when its members interact in a meaningful way that deepens their understanding of each other and leads to learning. Many equate learning with the acquisition of facts and skills by students; in a community, the learn-ers—including faculty—are enriched by collective meaning-making, mentorship, encouragement, and an understanding of the perspectives and unique qualities of an increasingly diverse membership.

that in a world where wireless connectivity is increasingly ubiquitous, and with wireless devices that enable navigating a proverbial sea of digital resources, practically anywhere but the classroom is an informal learning space. The majority of space on any wirelessly networked college or university campus is informal learning space. On campuses not fully wirelessly enabled, the preponderance of informal learning spaces still exists, but the potential for them to be recognized and “activated” depends on the disposition of the digital learners and the tasks they wish to accomplish. 

The learning commons is human-centered. The term learning signals a significant change: the focus is not just finding information but applying that information in productive ways to deepen and strengthen learning as well as to construct knowledge

 

If people aren't comfortable and don't have a sense of well-being, they become distracted. We must first consider what will make people feel comfortable, freeing their brains and bodies for learning.

Social, community space. Learning is a social activity. Community and social space connects individuals with other people and other activities. Students and faculty participate in a mutual endeavor—learning—and forge connections that reinforce learning and create a sense of belonging.

People learn from other people. If the environment limits random encounters, discourages conversation, or provides no comfortable place to sit, learning opportunities are lost.

 

Creativity and Time

It has been a good week of conversation.  I have been working with teachers to develop an introductory experience for a new 9th grade program starting in September.  The conversation was instigated by the Sol Lewitt exhibit at MASS MoCA a few of us had the chance to see.  Also, as prior posts revealed, I have spent a considerable amount of time this summer reading about Design Thinking and the creative process.  In my last post I shared several resources related to design.  Personally, exchanges this week have been inspiring with the promise of what could be achieved come September.

 There is one resource I failed to include in my last post that has influenced our discussions.  It is a short two minute video on Youtube about the relationship between creativity and time.  In the video, a classroom of students are given the task of drawing an image.  Each student is provided with a semi-constructed image (sort of resembles a clock) before they start.  They have to work of the semi-constructed image to create their own piece.  In the first set kids are provided ten seconds to create an image.  In the second set students are granted ten minutes to complete the task.  The difference between what was produced in ten seconds and the images displayed after ten minutes is stark.  It was apparent that students, when provided with more time to think, reflect and work, produced images that were more detailed and precise.  Additionally, at the end of the ten minute segment, there was greater diversity between the finished products.  The ten second set resulted in artistic outcomes that were strikingly similar, but a wider range of interpretations existed at the conclusion of the ten minute period.  The task assigned to students was simple, but outcomes from the experiment captured in this short video highlights how time is a significant factor in fostering creativity energies.

Creativity and inventive thinking is not something that could be rushed or boxed into a specific time frame.  Yes, to an extent the professional world operates under a set of deadlines, but deadlines in schools are compressed and often rush a finished product to the table.  One could wonder how this video would be interpreted or compared against commentary about the need to "get through the curriculum" or the pressure to finish a certain unit by Winter Break.  In a larger context,  I see that this video pushes back against standardized testing and the onset of the Common Core.  Is there going to be more stress and anxiety over preparing students for standardized exams?  Will this result in restricting the amount of time students have to engage in the design loop?  Further, it does not make sense to rush the creative process.  Solving problems through creative and inventive thinking takes time.  I can't see anyone arguing against this reality.  Is this a skill we want to rush? Considering the current and potential complex problems the global community faces, we will need to rely on generations of innovative thinkers.

I embedded the video below.  Again, it is only two minutes of your time.  I would recommend watching the video and reflect upon the message revealed through the experiment and what it means for students and in regards to instructional design.

What's More Inviting?

I was thinking about the impact the environment has on learning and wanted to share the following thought from the video game developer Valve:

Why does your desk have wheels?  Think of wheels as a symbolic reminder that you should always be considering where you could move yourself to be more valuable.  But also think of those wheels as literal wheels, because that's what they are, and you'll be able to actually move your desk with them...  There is no organizational structure keeping you from being in close proximity to the people who you'd help or be helped by most.

Compare this intent against the image below.  

Which if the following fosters, invites, promotes, welcomes genuine collaboration?  Which environment would you prefer to work in?