... i love you.
MaryAnnReilly Thinking about this: "Incremental change can be self-defeating; it's not a step on the way to the big change." Seymour Papert
MaryAnnReilly I have written a lot about the fact that we cannot cause learning. At best we may occasion it. Y so much of curriculum is fraudulent #edchat
MaryAnnReilly @ianchia think I am interested only in work that learners create; not work that is created for them in an attempt for them to learn
MaryAnnReilly @ianchia guidance occurs alongside (real or virtually) as determined by learner. It's Vygotsky.
tenure decision
Saturday, April 30, 2011
passion panel
steve hargadon, george couros, amy sandvold, angela maiers, lisa nielsen...
love them all.
1) larger cultural context - nice steve - nail on the head
is passion important for everyone - or just certain personalities
the obsession with measuring must switch to the obsession with mattering
ecrook: http://prezi.com/1bmvnznjhnbq/breaking-free-of-vanilla-education/
TerriReh: Another great school leader. Check out his words on rewards http://mrwejr.edublogs.org/
2) the student context -
the color code context - don't all have to be the same
jackiegerstein: Mimo Ito's & other's research demoed how young people are connecting online informally based on their interest http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/report
leonard milewski: monika - I agree we are putting the cart before the horse.
jackiegerstein: http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/flow-a-measure-of-student-engagement/
3) Can you have passion-driven learning for students if you don't have passion-driven experiences for teachers?
4) don't know what passions are...
Moderator (@gcouros - George Couros): Our PD Plan: http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/586
5) how could we promote this in our schools..
http://innovatemyclass.org/
bravo all - such great people.. thank you.
_________________________________________
love them all.
1) larger cultural context - nice steve - nail on the head
is passion important for everyone - or just certain personalities
the obsession with measuring must switch to the obsession with mattering
ecrook: http://prezi.com/1bmvnznjhnbq/breaking-free-of-vanilla-education/
TerriReh: Another great school leader. Check out his words on rewards http://mrwejr.edublogs.org/
2) the student context -
the color code context - don't all have to be the same
jackiegerstein: Mimo Ito's & other's research demoed how young people are connecting online informally based on their interest http://digitalyouth.ischool.berkeley.edu/report
leonard milewski: monika - I agree we are putting the cart before the horse.
jackiegerstein: http://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/flow-a-measure-of-student-engagement/
3) Can you have passion-driven learning for students if you don't have passion-driven experiences for teachers?
4) don't know what passions are...
Moderator (@gcouros - George Couros): Our PD Plan: http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/586
5) how could we promote this in our schools..
http://innovatemyclass.org/
bravo all - such great people.. thank you.
_________________________________________
kate fridkis
from the college test: does homeschooling work
Let me just clarify something: Whether or not homeschooling works has nothing to do with college. College is full of arbitrary measures of success and intelligence, even though it can be fun and you might happen to learn a lot. Also, “does homeschooling work?” is a question that doesn’t make any sense in the first place ....
Does school work? What about being alive? Well, sometimes, I guess.
____________________________
Let me just clarify something: Whether or not homeschooling works has nothing to do with college. College is full of arbitrary measures of success and intelligence, even though it can be fun and you might happen to learn a lot. Also, “does homeschooling work?” is a question that doesn’t make any sense in the first place ....
Does school work? What about being alive? Well, sometimes, I guess.
____________________________
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
dale stephens
Hi! I’m Dale. I was unschooled from 6th until 12th grade and enrolled at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas following ‘high school.’ I was frustrated with some aspects of my college experience and spent much of my first semester thinking and writing about what could be done to address my concerns.
Over winter break, some unschooled friends and I — namely Rebecca Goldman (attending Dartmouth) and Demetri Sampas (attending Pacific Lutheran) — were conversing about our frustrations with higher education. We found that we had precisely the same frustrations about college, even though we attend different institutions.
After pondering this conversation I came to the conclusion that our frustrations with higher education stem not from the specific institutions we attend but rather from what we had in common: unschooling. We threw around some ideas via email, and Rebecca suggested “we should just start our own college a la the movie ‘Accepted.’”
I loved the idea.
Unschooling provided an excellent education. As unschoolers we were free to learn whenever and wherever we pleased. We researched areas of interest, sought out mentors, and connected with other learners. We took our knowledge from theory to practice by starting organizations and creating internships. We learned for the sake of learning — not to pass a test. We found innovative ways to apply what we learned. We were forced to think independently and analytically. We learned how to interact with our peers and function in a classroom setting by taking college courses. By serving as both teacher (planning our courses) and student (doing the coursework) we practiced goal setting, self-evaluation, and created an unconventional yet vital leadership experience.
I decided that as a former unschooler I could make Rebecca’s homeschooler college a reality.
I launched UnCollege on January 21st, 2011.
how do you define success: the impact you have on others
link from Lisa Nielsen
Brad Opfer: Great video on What makes someone successful? -- David Brooks Interview by Fareed Zakaria on GPS http://t.co/wvL2tyT
the beauty of the internet - we can show what we've done
we can get a college degree w/o having to submit to the system
ackiegerstein: The difference now is that "students" have access to masters"
jackiegerstein: via online
Travis Allen: Facts are now free because of the internet! Universities that are just providing students facts are ripping them off....
Larry A: What the workplace wants, logica or not, is some way to show that we've had some type of higher education training for the needs of today's world
http://blog.skillshare.com/post/4985124715/8-tips-for-new-skillshare-teachers
no destination, that path is life for me
roll of higher ed
is going to college really a maturing place?
core idea for uncollege - it's ok to be different..
learning how to work and interface with institutions is a great learning experience
Moderator (Steve Hargadon): http://uncollege.org/academicdeviance.pdf
so much of the barrier to our success is ourselves..
Lisa Nielsen (The Innovative Educator): Dale should friend Laurie Coulter and Regina Calceterra on Facebook to find out about forever homes for foster kids
Over winter break, some unschooled friends and I — namely Rebecca Goldman (attending Dartmouth) and Demetri Sampas (attending Pacific Lutheran) — were conversing about our frustrations with higher education. We found that we had precisely the same frustrations about college, even though we attend different institutions.
After pondering this conversation I came to the conclusion that our frustrations with higher education stem not from the specific institutions we attend but rather from what we had in common: unschooling. We threw around some ideas via email, and Rebecca suggested “we should just start our own college a la the movie ‘Accepted.’”
I loved the idea.
Unschooling provided an excellent education. As unschoolers we were free to learn whenever and wherever we pleased. We researched areas of interest, sought out mentors, and connected with other learners. We took our knowledge from theory to practice by starting organizations and creating internships. We learned for the sake of learning — not to pass a test. We found innovative ways to apply what we learned. We were forced to think independently and analytically. We learned how to interact with our peers and function in a classroom setting by taking college courses. By serving as both teacher (planning our courses) and student (doing the coursework) we practiced goal setting, self-evaluation, and created an unconventional yet vital leadership experience.
I decided that as a former unschooler I could make Rebecca’s homeschooler college a reality.
I launched UnCollege on January 21st, 2011.
how do you define success: the impact you have on others
link from Lisa Nielsen
Brad Opfer: Great video on What makes someone successful? -- David Brooks Interview by Fareed Zakaria on GPS http://t.co/wvL2tyT
the beauty of the internet - we can show what we've done
we can get a college degree w/o having to submit to the system
ackiegerstein: The difference now is that "students" have access to masters"
jackiegerstein: via online
Travis Allen: Facts are now free because of the internet! Universities that are just providing students facts are ripping them off....
Larry A: What the workplace wants, logica or not, is some way to show that we've had some type of higher education training for the needs of today's world
http://blog.skillshare.com/post/4985124715/8-tips-for-new-skillshare-teachers
no destination, that path is life for me
roll of higher ed
is going to college really a maturing place?
core idea for uncollege - it's ok to be different..
learning how to work and interface with institutions is a great learning experience
Moderator (Steve Hargadon): http://uncollege.org/academicdeviance.pdf
so much of the barrier to our success is ourselves..
Lisa Nielsen (The Innovative Educator): Dale should friend Laurie Coulter and Regina Calceterra on Facebook to find out about forever homes for foster kids
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
ira socol and pam moran
Background Information from the speakers: Educators face a multitude of barriers in their efforts to support contemporary learners - changing learning demographics, decreased funding, increased high-stakes everything, the most rapidly changing communications technologies since at least the 1840s, and little to no professional practice learning time. The scientific management system we use in educational leadership today tends to bring us consistently to the four failures of information learning and applied action identified by the 9/11 Commission Report: failures of management, imagination, policy, and capacity. We fail to properly use our people and resources. We fail to imagine both what is possible and what is likely. We fail to create adaptive conditions which can respond rapidly to changing circumstances. and we fail to create either the human or technological capital necessary to meet oncoming needs.
What is the cause of this cycle of failure? How can we change?
We structure everything we do in schools and departments through a 20th century scientific management model that has led to the current industrial school approach permeating all that education is today. Educators continue to work in egg crate environments, isolated from each other even though they all simultaneously need to be learners, leaders, teachers and decision-makers. The current scientific management system fails students, teachers, and administrators despite our attempts to address problems generated within the industrial school model. These problems won't disappear until we transition into a model that changes the way we manage, use policy, build capacity, and imagine differently for today and tomorrow. We know the silos of departments, schools, and classrooms work against the natural human inclination to work together to solve problems, share ideas, work for the good of the community, and nurture the next generation into the work and play of the community.
The "Age of Reason"/"Industrial Revolution" system of scientific management system accomplishes exactly what it was intended to do one hundred and thirty years ago - high dropout rates, gender-differentiated pay, widget-learning, and Theory X leadership styles. We'll challenge the old scientific management model in use today and bring forward for discussion a contemporary community-driven mindset that pushes our "what if" thinking about the topics of management, imagination, policy, and capacity. We see "what if" thinking as leading away from tiered hierarchies, isolated work, cookie cutter solutions, and dis-integrated decisions. Instead, "what if" thinking can lead to educational communities that function together to make decisions that respond to real needs within the community, gives voice to community members in new and powerful ways, and change teaching places to learning spaces. We'd like to consider with the audience how decisions are made to select and use learning tools and technologies,set-up professional learning, structure class activity and teach learners; keeping in mind that the system we use today is one we created and also have the power to change, a few voices at a time.
Pam, the Superintendent of the Albemarle County Public Schools in Virginia has worked in every level of K-12 education, teaching science in high school and middle school, serving as a secondary assistant principal and an elementary principal, and as adjunct faculty for the University of Virginia. She has led curricular and professional development, and now supports a 13,000 student school division covering 726 square miles.
Ira , a research and teaching assistant in the College of Education at Michigan State University, has worked in law enforcement, architecture, art and design before becoming a leader in technological services to those with special needs, working in universities, K-12 schools, businesses, and vocational rehabilitation services. His research explores both the re-design of educational institutions with Universal Design technology and the history of education and technology, research which is done and presented globally.
Though Moran’s experience as a student was continual success, and Socol struggled through school as a special needs student, both have come to understand that the system design of the American school fails far too many children, and that real change, real reform, requires both new paradigms of leadership and new understandings of the process of learning.
Moran works in leadership roles in Virginia and national organizations, Socol through Michigan’s technology leadership program and conferences around the nation. The two have combined to begin rethinking top to bottom leadership in schools, working in part from the historical viewpoint that the post-industrial, post-Gutenberg age needs to reconnect with the human leadership forms which dominated previous ages, just as many of our communication skills now must look to models which existed prior to the invention of the printing press.
The inside-out and outside-in perspectives brought by these educators are unified through interactive storytelling, co-facilitated conversations which lead to direct change actions which begin to shift schools and classrooms from traditional environments to contemporary learning spaces. They believe that educators who think, laugh, dream, create, design and build together will accomplish deep change with agility, commitment, and understanding within their own school communities, moving teachers away from the teaching wall as the dominant form of instruction, engaging learners in passion-driven, project-based learning work, and using the communications technologies of the present and future to re-write the rules of access, inclusion, and connectivity.
ira: the curriculum of schools is truly how you rank and sort them. that drives everything
Moderator (Ira Socol): My history of this (in 5 blog posts)
1841- fighting against chalkboard - because it's strange and new vs the book
and hand tablets - because they're expensive and kids could break them
What is the cause of this cycle of failure? How can we change?
We structure everything we do in schools and departments through a 20th century scientific management model that has led to the current industrial school approach permeating all that education is today. Educators continue to work in egg crate environments, isolated from each other even though they all simultaneously need to be learners, leaders, teachers and decision-makers. The current scientific management system fails students, teachers, and administrators despite our attempts to address problems generated within the industrial school model. These problems won't disappear until we transition into a model that changes the way we manage, use policy, build capacity, and imagine differently for today and tomorrow. We know the silos of departments, schools, and classrooms work against the natural human inclination to work together to solve problems, share ideas, work for the good of the community, and nurture the next generation into the work and play of the community.
The "Age of Reason"/"Industrial Revolution" system of scientific management system accomplishes exactly what it was intended to do one hundred and thirty years ago - high dropout rates, gender-differentiated pay, widget-learning, and Theory X leadership styles. We'll challenge the old scientific management model in use today and bring forward for discussion a contemporary community-driven mindset that pushes our "what if" thinking about the topics of management, imagination, policy, and capacity. We see "what if" thinking as leading away from tiered hierarchies, isolated work, cookie cutter solutions, and dis-integrated decisions. Instead, "what if" thinking can lead to educational communities that function together to make decisions that respond to real needs within the community, gives voice to community members in new and powerful ways, and change teaching places to learning spaces. We'd like to consider with the audience how decisions are made to select and use learning tools and technologies,set-up professional learning, structure class activity and teach learners; keeping in mind that the system we use today is one we created and also have the power to change, a few voices at a time.
Pam Moran and Ira Socol bring differently diverse backgrounds to the conversation about leadership in contemporary education.
Pam, the Superintendent of the Albemarle County Public Schools in Virginia has worked in every level of K-12 education, teaching science in high school and middle school, serving as a secondary assistant principal and an elementary principal, and as adjunct faculty for the University of Virginia. She has led curricular and professional development, and now supports a 13,000 student school division covering 726 square miles.
Ira , a research and teaching assistant in the College of Education at Michigan State University, has worked in law enforcement, architecture, art and design before becoming a leader in technological services to those with special needs, working in universities, K-12 schools, businesses, and vocational rehabilitation services. His research explores both the re-design of educational institutions with Universal Design technology and the history of education and technology, research which is done and presented globally.
Though Moran’s experience as a student was continual success, and Socol struggled through school as a special needs student, both have come to understand that the system design of the American school fails far too many children, and that real change, real reform, requires both new paradigms of leadership and new understandings of the process of learning.
Moran works in leadership roles in Virginia and national organizations, Socol through Michigan’s technology leadership program and conferences around the nation. The two have combined to begin rethinking top to bottom leadership in schools, working in part from the historical viewpoint that the post-industrial, post-Gutenberg age needs to reconnect with the human leadership forms which dominated previous ages, just as many of our communication skills now must look to models which existed prior to the invention of the printing press.
The inside-out and outside-in perspectives brought by these educators are unified through interactive storytelling, co-facilitated conversations which lead to direct change actions which begin to shift schools and classrooms from traditional environments to contemporary learning spaces. They believe that educators who think, laugh, dream, create, design and build together will accomplish deep change with agility, commitment, and understanding within their own school communities, moving teachers away from the teaching wall as the dominant form of instruction, engaging learners in passion-driven, project-based learning work, and using the communications technologies of the present and future to re-write the rules of access, inclusion, and connectivity.
ira: the curriculum of schools is truly how you rank and sort them. that drives everything
Moderator (Ira Socol): My history of this (in 5 blog posts)
1841- fighting against chalkboard - because it's strange and new vs the book
and hand tablets - because they're expensive and kids could break them
alfie kohn
gaps
the accountability movement simultaneously narrows test-score gap & widens learning gap
______________________________
the accountability movement simultaneously narrows test-score gap & widens learning gap
______________________________
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
michael wesch
Michael Wesch: What killed their souls? from Palomar5 on Vimeo.
he reads this twice a year
this has been around a lot of people are doing it
why is it not happening...?
lot of reasons..
why is there no systemic changes - there are systems with a lot of inertia already
like the buildings we are in,
like the beu
we've got this habitual mindset that says this is what ed is
when you really look at it, the big learning occurs in a transformative moment
every act of significant learning involves a damage to oneself (thomas sass)
when you have a new leap in learning, you have to tear down your old self
transformation is a dangerous thing - so that makes it hard to take into the class period
subjects into 15 wk periods is crazy
ie: if someone hasn't made it through the transformation, you leave them in a broken shell at end of 15 wks
so unless you can see that you can see this thing through - a lot of profs avoid it
tech comes in - in creating informal learning environments that never stop, that have no boundaries
it's so outside today's structure - but it wouldnt' count toward my job.
very definition of it being informal - outside the system
in the US - when you talk about the "real world" what we mean is - not in the classroom.
crazy.
doesn't connect with the real world - we call it merely academic
perfect ie of how disconnected we have become
cliches - i gotta go to my class -
how is it your class?...
we have the blessing of a shared space,
so many things i'd like
why it's not happening on a large scale - people are living off the way it works now.. the new way isn't getting financed..
buck minster fullers, 1962: we will basically no longer have teachers by early 70's
alan kay
whole slew of books in lat 60's where everyone is saying what we're saying now. late 70's back to basics
late 60's war over, level economy, utopia height that never happened..
danger that we are going to relive the late 60's
a good day - when he starts class and rather than everyone being quiet - they are confused as to why he is taking the stage...
what killed their soul?.. how did we train them into this...
__________________________________
Monday, April 25, 2011
josh kaufman
http://personalmba.com/
super advice
get your degree from the library
get a business degree in 1 yr for 4000 from harvard
11,000 business books published every year
The #1 International Business Training Bestseller
A World-Class Business Education in a Single Volume
Master the most important concepts in business with Josh Kaufman, author of The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business...
site is to help others filter those books
became less about books and more about the ideas - mental models
learn them first - you'll be as well prepared for the business world
the goal - learn enough about how businesses work - to ask the right questions
from a reader - book helped me defrag - all i learned from business
5 parts of any business:
1) value creation
2) marketing
3) sales
4) value delivery
5) finance
once you add more people to team - communication overhead - need mtgs to plan the next mtg
more than 3 but less than 12 - seems to be team capacity
the more you understand how people work - the better your business will be..
_________________________
the more you understand how people work - the better your business will be..
_________________________
Sunday, April 24, 2011
carl aldrich
unschooling: homeschooling without the school
Aldrich says unschooling offers a blueprint for meaningful and relevant education, helping children learn to be — who they are and who they want to be — and learn to do, developing skills through practice and passion.
At conventional schools children learn neither to be nor to do. Instead, schools focus almost entirely on learning to know, cramming kids full of facts that most of them will be able summon on their smart phones in seconds.
Aldrich says unschooling offers a blueprint for meaningful and relevant education, helping children learn to be — who they are and who they want to be — and learn to do, developing skills through practice and passion.
At conventional schools children learn neither to be nor to do. Instead, schools focus almost entirely on learning to know, cramming kids full of facts that most of them will be able summon on their smart phones in seconds.
mark pesce
add to game/share/click/match idea
what Mark is foreseeing, those capabilities are already here
as he says, up to us to jump in
if we have the boldness to jump in now, today, we'll not only be unleashing our greatest resource, the human mind/spirit (young and old, because no doubt, most of both are currently bound, and both will naturally find/connect to each other), but also unleashing what tech wants... the good, the sharing... wholehearted living..
the web as connector of human souls, rather than ai-ish ideas most fear.
Digital Citizenship
what Mark is foreseeing, those capabilities are already here
as he says, up to us to jump in
if we have the boldness to jump in now, today, we'll not only be unleashing our greatest resource, the human mind/spirit (young and old, because no doubt, most of both are currently bound, and both will naturally find/connect to each other), but also unleashing what tech wants... the good, the sharing... wholehearted living..
the web as connector of human souls, rather than ai-ish ideas most fear.
Digital Citizenship
Saturday, April 23, 2011
dennis littky
oh my - i love the man.
just finishing his The Big Picture, Ed is Everyone's Business.
i almost underlined every word. no white space left in the book.
interviews:
resonated 99.9% with what we are doing in the lab. and the met opened in 1996? dang. where the heck have i been.
the blueprint,... perfect for dreaming with artspace - and ace-loveland
they now have 73 schools around the world, and in aug 2009 started college unbound
more notes when i finish the book..
just finished. bravo Dennis Littky.
well - besides thinking everyone should read the book.. my biggest take-aways:
take away from these below - the saying that change is slow, just got changed in my head, it's been slow, it's been radically happening at the Met since 1996, Dennis has been at this 30 years, and in 1892 they were saying what we're saying now - nothing is for everyone - (how can that be radical?)
the Mets mantras: p. 190
how to live both in and out of the system:
________________________________
just finishing his The Big Picture, Ed is Everyone's Business.
i almost underlined every word. no white space left in the book.
interviews:
resonated 99.9% with what we are doing in the lab. and the met opened in 1996? dang. where the heck have i been.
the blueprint,... perfect for dreaming with artspace - and ace-loveland
- i've ordered his movie.
- on his book and college unbound - i love the comment
- his tedx nyed
they now have 73 schools around the world, and in aug 2009 started college unbound
more notes when i finish the book..
just finished. bravo Dennis Littky.
well - besides thinking everyone should read the book.. my biggest take-aways:
take away from these below - the saying that change is slow, just got changed in my head, it's been slow, it's been radically happening at the Met since 1996, Dennis has been at this 30 years, and in 1892 they were saying what we're saying now - nothing is for everyone - (how can that be radical?)
- 1892: created secondary ed - and said it's not for all, p. 20
- 1993: Boyer, president of Carnegie Foundation that created seat time and carnegie unit, said that seat time is no way to measure how a kid learns, per minute? p. 32
- 2000: Reich, us secretary of labor, says curriculum is not needed for everyone, (ie: science, math, etc) p. 34
- he says that the atmosphere, the culture, needs to be the main focus. p. 45
- that the curriculum is inside each kid. p. 81
- their goal: seek out whatever resources they can to help students bring their personalized curricula to life p. 83 - help kids think
- on 1-1 mentors/internships/etc - in Providence, 500,731 adults in workforce and 40,651 hs students p. 128
- found - it's even better for kids to find own mentors than to facilitate match up p. 129
- the city is the floor plan of the school p. 130
- from gang research: young people need to feel a part of a culture, part of something larger than themselves. p. 194
the Mets mantras: p. 190
- one students at a time - no agendas
- real work - not even fake real
- learning through interests - town is school, mentor up
- family engagement - best mentors
how to live both in and out of the system:
- assess students by measure if they want to learn more -do they crave to share - look on real places, like in the community, on wikipedia, etc
- if at the end - kids want transcripted grades - do that p. 162
- use exhibitions and narratives and portfolios - always being there... curriculum changes daily - uses advisories/small hs's - 14 kids to 1 adult. every kids needs to be known.
What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must be what the community wants for all its children. - John Dewey p. 145Littky reads Dewey's Experience and Education every year. p. 30
________________________________
ken robinson
Ken Robinson on Passion from The School of Life on Vimeo.
in our culture - not to know is to be at fault socially
people pretend to know lots of things they don't know
the worst thing is to not know, to not have an opinion
[no one is quite so funny/witty/spot on]
the other climate crisis.. (maybe this) most people have no idea what they're capable of - many conclude that they have none
if you're a human being - talent comes with the kit
the most distinctive - power of imagination
biologically like many other species, but culturally - way diff
like power of imagination we also have the power of creativity
some discover those and some don't, those who don't, think they don't have any
some are in their element
1) doing something for which you have a natural capacity - you get it
2) doing it because you love it
we are not linear
being good at something isn't a good enough reason to do it - not to spend your life at it..
being in your element doesn't necessarily guarantee you financial riches.. but it does garner you - what' animates your life..
at the end of the day....it's about energy
if you're following your passion - you get energy from it
i'm not what has happened to me - i am who i choose to become - carl jung
_______________________________
Friday, April 22, 2011
mark pesce
Sharing Power (Aussie Rules)
Power has always carried with it the ‘burden of omniscience’ – that is, those at the top of the hierarchy have to possess a complete knowledge of everything of importance happening everywhere under their control. Where they lose grasp of that knowledge, that’s the space where coups, palace revolutions and popular revolts take place.
In the 21st century we now have two oppositional methods of organization: the hierarchy and the cloud. Each of them carry with them their own costs and their own strengths. Neither has yet proven to be wholly better than the other.
We need to think about the interfaces that can connect one to the other.
Jimmy Wales has said that the success of any language-variant version of Wikipedia comes down to the dedicated efforts of five individuals. Once he spies those five individuals hard at work in Pashtun or Khazak or Xhosa, he knows that edition of Wikipedia will become a success. In other words, five people have to take the lead, leading everyone else in the cloud with their dedication, their selflessness, and their openness. This number probably holds true in a cloud of any sort – find five like-minded individuals, and the transformation from cloud to storm will begin.
Authority in the cloud is drawn from dedication, or, to use rather more precise language, love. Love is what holds the cloud together. People are attracted to the cloud because they are in love with the aim of the cloud. The cloud truly is an affair of the heart, and these affairs of the heart will be the engines that drive 21st century business, politics and community.
Power has always carried with it the ‘burden of omniscience’ – that is, those at the top of the hierarchy have to possess a complete knowledge of everything of importance happening everywhere under their control. Where they lose grasp of that knowledge, that’s the space where coups, palace revolutions and popular revolts take place.
This new power that flows from the cloud of hyperconnectivity carries a different burden, the ‘burden of connection’. In order to maintain the cloud, and our presence within it, we are beholden to it. We must maintain each of the social relationships, each of the informational relationships, each of the knowledge relationships and each of the mimetic relationships within the cloud. Without that constant activity, the cloud dissipates, evaporating into nothing at all.
..When the hierarchy comes into contact with an energized cloud, the ‘discharge’ from the cloud to the hierarchy can completely overload the hierarchy. That’s the power of hyperconnectivity.In the 21st century we now have two oppositional methods of organization: the hierarchy and the cloud. Each of them carry with them their own costs and their own strengths. Neither has yet proven to be wholly better than the other.
We need to think about the interfaces that can connect one to the other.
Jimmy Wales has said that the success of any language-variant version of Wikipedia comes down to the dedicated efforts of five individuals. Once he spies those five individuals hard at work in Pashtun or Khazak or Xhosa, he knows that edition of Wikipedia will become a success. In other words, five people have to take the lead, leading everyone else in the cloud with their dedication, their selflessness, and their openness. This number probably holds true in a cloud of any sort – find five like-minded individuals, and the transformation from cloud to storm will begin.
Authority in the cloud is drawn from dedication, or, to use rather more precise language, love. Love is what holds the cloud together. People are attracted to the cloud because they are in love with the aim of the cloud. The cloud truly is an affair of the heart, and these affairs of the heart will be the engines that drive 21st century business, politics and community.
mary ann reilly
Between the By-Road and the Main Road: The Need For Story: "“Tell me a story. In this century, and moment, of mania, Tell me a story. Make it a story of great distances, and starlight. The name of..."
NASA
NASA 360 - NASA from Space to Everyday Life
via @rmbyrne
and
NASA - 50 yrs - inteactive website for kids
via learning today
____________________
via @rmbyrne
and
NASA - 50 yrs - inteactive website for kids
via learning today
____________________
Thursday, April 21, 2011
david shenk
the genius in all of us
product of genes depend very much on the environment
get past nature vs nurture paradigm and get on with thinking about it
product of genes depend very much on the environment
get past nature vs nurture paradigm and get on with thinking about it
barry schwartz
live...
thank you @stevehargadon and future of ed
Barry Schwartz is the Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action at Swarthmore College. He has been there since receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971. He has written 11 books and more than 100 articles for professional journals. He is a fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science.
The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less![]()
was named one of the top business books of the year by both Business Week and Forbes Magazine. The book explores how too many choices can paralyse people into inaction and cause them to be dissatisfied with even good decisions. The themes of his newest book, Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing![]()
, with co-author Kenneth Sharpe, are outlined in the following TED talk video.
freedom is the highest good, the way to freedom is choice, so more choice,
book - is evidence that this is false
if people have too much choice instead of being liberated they are paralized
when everything is possible people don't know how to make decisions,
see earlier post on you blog on Barry's TED
30 yrs of research - in general - people make sub-optimal decisions
when you add options you do make things worse off - because people start thinking.. maybe i want that..
[but what if k-8 is helping and even 9-12 is helping kids to narrow down and make those choices.]
cell phone choices have reached our cognitive limit
ed is going to reward the autodidact
[why can't that be the role of the school, helping choose schools for kids]
![]()
book written for individual choices..
message to institutions - people need constraints, what makes people free is choice within limits, not unlimited choice
[can't 1-1 mentors help filter open choice for k-12]
thing about religions is they have a moral dimension... how to live
we've left that to individual choice..
people need moral anchors and moral guideposts
practical wisdom - incentives
aristotle into the 21st cent, only way to have people doing good things is to have good people
cant said it was to have good rules
aristotle's key virtue - practical wisdom - when to be hones when to be kind, when to persevere, when to abandon, wisdom tells you how to balance
public ed:
either give people scripts to follow to do the right thing, or give them good reason to do the right thing???
don't trust teachers - to do right thing - so hand them scripts, then you incentivize them to do the right thing.
rules/incentives won't get us there..
less wise drs lawyers etc will be, because they aren't having time to practice good judgment
bad assumption - that no one wanted to work... and so they had to be paid off well
make work maximally efficient - no matter if value is there.
[kelly - offer everything, help filter to small amt]
a wise person is made not born
[peter - have to make yourself - kids see the expected]
he's impressed with kipp schools
[what if we focus on 1-1 mentors.. and the entire city becomes a space for the multiple choices to be offered]
![]()
thank you @stevehargadon and future of ed
Barry Schwartz is the Dorwin Cartwright Professor of Social Theory and Social Action at Swarthmore College. He has been there since receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1971. He has written 11 books and more than 100 articles for professional journals. He is a fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the Association for Psychological Science.
The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less
freedom is the highest good, the way to freedom is choice, so more choice,
book - is evidence that this is false
if people have too much choice instead of being liberated they are paralized
when everything is possible people don't know how to make decisions,
see earlier post on you blog on Barry's TED
30 yrs of research - in general - people make sub-optimal decisions
when you add options you do make things worse off - because people start thinking.. maybe i want that..
[but what if k-8 is helping and even 9-12 is helping kids to narrow down and make those choices.]
cell phone choices have reached our cognitive limit
ed is going to reward the autodidact
[why can't that be the role of the school, helping choose schools for kids]
message to institutions - people need constraints, what makes people free is choice within limits, not unlimited choice
[can't 1-1 mentors help filter open choice for k-12]
thing about religions is they have a moral dimension... how to live
we've left that to individual choice..
people need moral anchors and moral guideposts
practical wisdom - incentives
aristotle into the 21st cent, only way to have people doing good things is to have good people
cant said it was to have good rules
aristotle's key virtue - practical wisdom - when to be hones when to be kind, when to persevere, when to abandon, wisdom tells you how to balance
public ed:
either give people scripts to follow to do the right thing, or give them good reason to do the right thing???
don't trust teachers - to do right thing - so hand them scripts, then you incentivize them to do the right thing.
rules/incentives won't get us there..
less wise drs lawyers etc will be, because they aren't having time to practice good judgment
bad assumption - that no one wanted to work... and so they had to be paid off well
make work maximally efficient - no matter if value is there.
[kelly - offer everything, help filter to small amt]
a wise person is made not born
[peter - have to make yourself - kids see the expected]
he's impressed with kipp schools
[what if we focus on 1-1 mentors.. and the entire city becomes a space for the multiple choices to be offered]
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
john hunter
i love how he says all his mentors were on the stage with him, he say them in his character in his movie
what goes on around an empty space
what do i do?
what do you want to do....
that clears such a space...
i could not have designed that in teaching, it comes about spontaneously.. through their collective wisdom
i can't design it, plan it, or even assess it
there's self-evident assessment
he calls his students his friends. love it.
i don't deny them the reality of being human
i could watch this again and again. @pammoran
_______________________
kathryn schulz
the present tense is where we live
we get stuck in the feeling of being right
how does it feel to be wrong: thumbs down, terrible, etc
how does it feel to realize you're wrong....
just being wrong - doesn't feel like anything
before we realize we're wrong, we're like the coyote off the cliff, before he falls
it does feel like something to be wrong - it feels like being right
error blindness
we learn to succeed in life is to never make mistakes
we're perfectionists who freak out if we think we got something wrong
this rightness keeps us from causing mistakes when we need to and helps us treat each other terribly
we want everyone to think like us
the miracle of your mind isn't that you can see the world as it is, it's that you can see it as it isn't
our capacity to screw up isn't a defect, it's totally fundamental to who we are
when it comes to our stories, we love being wrong,
because our lives are like that
if you want to rediscover wonder, you need to step outside of that tiny terrified space of wrongness...
________________________________________
clay christensen
In using this model to address the question, How can I be sure that my family becomes an enduring source of happiness?, my students quickly see that the simplest tools that parents can wield to elicit cooperation from children are power tools. But there comes a point during the teen years when power tools no longer work. At that point parents start wishing that they had begun working with their children at a very young age to build a culture at home in which children instinctively behave respectfully toward one another, obey their parents, and choose the right thing to do. Families have cultures, just as companies do. Those cultures can be built consciously or evolve inadvertently.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
chip conley
a new way to count...
the real enjoyment of living
thank you Barry.
_____________________
Monday, April 18, 2011
seth godin
A number isn't who you are, and your status compared to other people isn't how you're doing.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
deborah meier
part of her foreword for Dennis Littky's the big picture, ed is everyone's business:
Thousands of years of history suggest that the schoolhouse as we know it is an absurd way to rear our young; it’s contrary to everything we know about what it is to be a human being. For example, we know that doing and talking are what most successful people are very good at – that’s where they truly show their stuff. We know that reading and writing are important, but also that these are things that only a rather small and specialized group of people is primarily good at doing. And yet we persist in a form of schooling that measures our children’s “achievement” largely in the latter terms, not the former… and sometimes through written tests alone.
and here's where we get - no?
and here..
what we're missing isn't how to get the math up.. it's - should the math even be compulsory...
how to get wholehearted participation?
let kids learn per choice
girded with at least one face-to-face mentor
we are failing our kids, by not collaborating with our communities.
_____________________________________________
michelle holliday
TEDxConcordia
something missing - the wonder of life..
divergent parts
convergent whole
dynamic relationships
self-integrating property
_________________________________________________
something missing - the wonder of life..
divergent parts
convergent whole
dynamic relationships
self-integrating property
_________________________________________________
kaplan
@funnymonkey Kaplan contracting in schools: http://is.gd/HbtyLp Kaplan laughing all the way to the bank as a result of NCLB/testing via @RachelAnneLevy
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/09/0082166
__________________________
http://harpers.org/archive/2008/09/0082166
__________________________
Saturday, April 16, 2011
common
A COMMON STORY from m ss ng p eces on Vimeo.
what would you do if you could do anything..
thanks Adam
these guys are in Boulder?
__________________
Friday, April 15, 2011
Thursday, April 14, 2011
patchwork school
only requirement - attend morning meeting..
scaffolding, modeling and mediating
zone of proximal development - raises level of operation - conflict resolution - zpd - gi
unscheduled time - boredom is a great teacher - helps you clear up who you are
4 teachers to 28 - one roams, one outside, 2 working with kids
the idea that we have to watch kids at all times
1) self-direction - inner compass
2) meaning
3) joy
safe as necessary - but not as safe as possible - 8:22 2nd video
encourage risk taking and instincts
3) provocations - provoke a thought
4) offerings -
role of teacher is just to deepen the thinking
show up in the morning and don't know what is going to happen
things are always led by someone's interest
and injustice - if you show up with an agenda
invitations... i'll be walking out side in the park later if you want to join me
less explicit with younger kids - to like 6 yrs, with kids over 7, might talk more about the process
kids have a sense of each other - because it's all about relationships
don't see one as the perpetrator and one as the victim because there is always a why (langer)
the kids are with me - because this is their question in the first place (track, research, clarify, share)
no other point for education other than relationships
from mary osborne
pay attention
be astonished
do something
adgent for change.. this is not working, we need to shift this..
morning meeting:
promotes community - 30 min, 30 min snack
any ideas for this day....
sing.... (dance too - no?)
space for disagreeing
you can disagree all you want as long as you have an alternate suggestion
used to make plans for meeting - but it pinned us down - like - this is what matters... - but they scraped it
they often just share what they are planning to do and add - join us ... if you're interested..
http://aeroeducation.org/2010/05/22/democratic-education-with-young-children/
____________________________________
scaffolding, modeling and mediating
zone of proximal development - raises level of operation - conflict resolution - zpd - gi
unscheduled time - boredom is a great teacher - helps you clear up who you are
4 teachers to 28 - one roams, one outside, 2 working with kids
the idea that we have to watch kids at all times
1) self-direction - inner compass
2) meaning
3) joy
safe as necessary - but not as safe as possible - 8:22 2nd video
encourage risk taking and instincts
3) provocations - provoke a thought
4) offerings -
role of teacher is just to deepen the thinking
show up in the morning and don't know what is going to happen
things are always led by someone's interest
and injustice - if you show up with an agenda
invitations... i'll be walking out side in the park later if you want to join me
less explicit with younger kids - to like 6 yrs, with kids over 7, might talk more about the process
kids have a sense of each other - because it's all about relationships
don't see one as the perpetrator and one as the victim because there is always a why (langer)
the kids are with me - because this is their question in the first place (track, research, clarify, share)
no other point for education other than relationships
from mary osborne
pay attention
be astonished
do something
adgent for change.. this is not working, we need to shift this..
morning meeting:
promotes community - 30 min, 30 min snack
any ideas for this day....
sing.... (dance too - no?)
space for disagreeing
you can disagree all you want as long as you have an alternate suggestion
used to make plans for meeting - but it pinned us down - like - this is what matters... - but they scraped it
they often just share what they are planning to do and add - join us ... if you're interested..
http://aeroeducation.org/2010/05/22/democratic-education-with-young-children/
____________________________________
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
peter thiel
we're in a bubble and it's not the internet - it's higher ed
interesting comments..
just found out @dalejstephens is one of the finalists... cool jets
_____________________
interesting comments..
just found out @dalejstephens is one of the finalists... cool jets
_____________________
scott harrison
i love charity: water
The story of charity: water - The 2009 September Campaign Trailer from charity: water on Vimeo.
thanks for the reminder Simon Sinek..
Scott's story is incredible as well..
Scott Harrison - charity: water from Big Omaha on Vimeo.
_______________________
The story of charity: water - The 2009 September Campaign Trailer from charity: water on Vimeo.
thanks for the reminder Simon Sinek..
Scott's story is incredible as well..
Scott Harrison - charity: water from Big Omaha on Vimeo.
_______________________
jack taub
via allan jones - first video..
Every child is born with unlimited curiosity and a genetic need to learn
individualized plan for every student
_______________________
Every child is born with unlimited curiosity and a genetic need to learn
individualized plan for every student
_______________________
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
the innovation schools in uk
did she really say - tricking them into learning?
lovely video..
it's got to be about sharing..
if tech only did one thing - teach people to collab - would be worth any amount of money.
_______________________
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Friday, April 8, 2011
hippola sigur
peter just showed this to me...
Sigur Rós - HoppÃpolla from Sigur Rós on Vimeo.
goes well with reality is broken...
_______________________________
Sigur Rós - HoppÃpolla from Sigur Rós on Vimeo.
goes well with reality is broken...
_______________________________
intelligence
after a great convo with Lucas and Amy - Amy sent me this..
ongoing..
________________________________
ongoing..
________________________________
student voice
after a long convo of kids saying how much they want to do/learn their own thing,
and talking about how much time in the day they feel they own - or are participating wholeheartedly,
we started talking about why we are just complaining about or discussing it - and not doing more about it.
their first response was that they can't do more.. that they are just kids - so i shared with them the mad cow protest in s korea, how teenage girls changed their presidents mind.
these poignant comments followed:
so we discussed what behind meant,
behind what?
and how much behind of that same thing they are now... ie: once they take a test they claim to not remember much, etc
then the comment:
i'm not even talking about school/schoolwork
so more talking about the truth or reality to that statement, one said
then being behind turned into a discussion of what waste was
what determined if your time had been wasted
the conclusion:
if i feel after that what i'd done didn't matter to me or didn't help anyone
and no one could define that - does it matter - for another.
they could group define.. and that's what they often did, but that wasn't an ultimate.
we talked about ideas from Jane McGonigal's Reality is Broken, how in a sense, they see themselves using her strategies of getting through difficult situations, or situations you don't want to be in by connecting to others via texting.
some of them watched Gary Stager talk about creating environments with no stakes.
__________________________________
they so want to own their day/time, yet they are so used to following the crowd, we're all so afraid of being rejected or being behind.. or sticking out..
but without taking the time to think what all that means..
without realizing how many others (teachers included) they could/would unleash if they decided to notice more and respectfully question everything..
what we are doing now, those of us who spend more time in a day stressed than not, is much more risky/ridiculous..
and talking about how much time in the day they feel they own - or are participating wholeheartedly,
we started talking about why we are just complaining about or discussing it - and not doing more about it.
their first response was that they can't do more.. that they are just kids - so i shared with them the mad cow protest in s korea, how teenage girls changed their presidents mind.
these poignant comments followed:
if we do this - and we fail - i'm afraid of being far behind
so we discussed what behind meant,
behind what?
and how much behind of that same thing they are now... ie: once they take a test they claim to not remember much, etc
then the comment:
if you aren't with the mass, you are behind.
with the clarificationi'm not even talking about school/schoolwork
so more talking about the truth or reality to that statement, one said
what if you're more ahead if you aren't in the masses
then being behind turned into a discussion of what waste was
what determined if your time had been wasted
the conclusion:
if i feel after that what i'd done didn't matter to me or didn't help anyone
and no one could define that - does it matter - for another.
they could group define.. and that's what they often did, but that wasn't an ultimate.
we talked about ideas from Jane McGonigal's Reality is Broken, how in a sense, they see themselves using her strategies of getting through difficult situations, or situations you don't want to be in by connecting to others via texting.
some of them watched Gary Stager talk about creating environments with no stakes.
__________________________________
they so want to own their day/time, yet they are so used to following the crowd, we're all so afraid of being rejected or being behind.. or sticking out..
but without taking the time to think what all that means..
without realizing how many others (teachers included) they could/would unleash if they decided to notice more and respectfully question everything..
what we are doing now, those of us who spend more time in a day stressed than not, is much more risky/ridiculous..
carol dweck
via dan meyer
Dweck has no slides. She's four-feet tall, sitting on a table, feet dangling beneath her, positively /owning/ the room. #gradskool
___________________________
Dweck has no slides. She's four-feet tall, sitting on a table, feet dangling beneath her, positively /owning/ the room. #gradskool
___________________________
Thursday, April 7, 2011
bernajean porter
future search process
communities with a common purpose can't be pushed around
jackiegerstein: Interview with Michael Fullan: Change agent http://www.learningforward.org/news/jsd/fullan241.cfm
jackiegerstein: schools often are in a survival/bandaiding mode
needs to be owned by enough people to change
jackiegerstein: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199909/take-job-and-love-it
who owns the situation? who owns the solutions
we want to disturb the system and get people focused
Moderator (Steve Hargadon): http://WWW.FUTURESEARCH.NET
Moderator (Steve Hargadon): http://I-IMAGINE.WIKISPACES.COM
push people's passion buttons
people want to help...
traditional future search - says 60 people
did this in denver public schools
are there many schools doing this?
she said not many - and the ones that do, do it as a one night stand
you need to do it ongoing
if you really want to change an organization you need to change it's metaphors, not it's action plans
need to bring community along and engage
Moderator (Steve Hargadon): http://i-imagine.wikispaces.com/Future+Searches
Moderator (Steve Hargadon): http://www.amazon.com/Future-Search-Getting-System-Commitment/dp/1605094285/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302222568&sr=8-1
Moderator (Steve Hargadon): http://www.amazon.com/Future-Search-School-District-Change/dp/1578861659/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302222581&sr=8-1
jackiegerstein: http://i-imagine.wikispaces.com/Vision+Videos
culture is the story we tell ourselves about who we are
jackiegerstein: Imagining what could be - positive endings, powerful stuff
get story field ready
roll out prototypes
traditional future search is 3 days... but doing now in a single session
trade off - never going to get enough stake holders together for 3 days
i understand that you can't make it happen, but these are your kids, you have to make it happen anyway
the power of story, buzz words aren't going to do it
jackiegerstein: Imagining alternative, positive endings is a powerful strategy
at the end - where is your commitment - vote with your feet
in illinois - if you didn't do the community mtgs you couldn't get the funds
systems thinking and schools don't go together?..
jackiegerstein: http://i-imagine.wikispaces.com/Vision+Videos
jackiegerstein: Peter Senge tried with Schools That Learn http://www.fieldbook.com/STL/STL.html
jackiegerstein: http://i-imagine.wikispaces.com/I-imagine+Project
Peggy Sheehy: http://zhaolearning.com/2009/11/14/3/ his book Catching Up or Leading the Way
__________________________________________
communities with a common purpose can't be pushed around
jackiegerstein: Interview with Michael Fullan: Change agent http://www.learningforward.org/news/jsd/fullan241.cfm
jackiegerstein: schools often are in a survival/bandaiding mode
needs to be owned by enough people to change
jackiegerstein: http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/199909/take-job-and-love-it
who owns the situation? who owns the solutions
we want to disturb the system and get people focused
Moderator (Steve Hargadon): http://WWW.FUTURESEARCH.NET
Moderator (Steve Hargadon): http://I-IMAGINE.WIKISPACES.COM
push people's passion buttons
people want to help...
traditional future search - says 60 people
did this in denver public schools
are there many schools doing this?
she said not many - and the ones that do, do it as a one night stand
you need to do it ongoing
if you really want to change an organization you need to change it's metaphors, not it's action plans
need to bring community along and engage
Moderator (Steve Hargadon): http://i-imagine.wikispaces.com/Future+Searches
Moderator (Steve Hargadon): http://www.amazon.com/Future-Search-Getting-System-Commitment/dp/1605094285/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302222568&sr=8-1
Moderator (Steve Hargadon): http://www.amazon.com/Future-Search-School-District-Change/dp/1578861659/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1302222581&sr=8-1
jackiegerstein: http://i-imagine.wikispaces.com/Vision+Videos
culture is the story we tell ourselves about who we are
jackiegerstein: Imagining what could be - positive endings, powerful stuff
get story field ready
roll out prototypes
traditional future search is 3 days... but doing now in a single session
trade off - never going to get enough stake holders together for 3 days
i understand that you can't make it happen, but these are your kids, you have to make it happen anyway
the power of story, buzz words aren't going to do it
jackiegerstein: Imagining alternative, positive endings is a powerful strategy
at the end - where is your commitment - vote with your feet
in illinois - if you didn't do the community mtgs you couldn't get the funds
systems thinking and schools don't go together?..
jackiegerstein: http://i-imagine.wikispaces.com/Vision+Videos
jackiegerstein: Peter Senge tried with Schools That Learn http://www.fieldbook.com/STL/STL.html
jackiegerstein: http://i-imagine.wikispaces.com/I-imagine+Project
Peggy Sheehy: http://zhaolearning.com/2009/11/14/3/ his book Catching Up or Leading the Way
__________________________________________
even badges
Sun Badges and Beyond | LASD and Khan Academy Pilot
and
via
all from Zoe Weil's post (actually comments) on the coop
________________________
and
via
all from Zoe Weil's post (actually comments) on the coop
________________________
gary stager
Loris Malaguzzi - things about and for children are only learned from children
young people have a remarkable capacity for intensity - leon botstein
it's incumbent upon us to build upon that capacity for intensity
while the prescribe one school for their kids, they prescribe obedience schools for others' kids
gates - extreme budget cuts and larger class sizes
innovation is a synonym for cheaper
reform tm - their one model - it ignores all the good potential
if test scores don't improve, they offer yelling louder or lengthening the day
reform tm is insanity
it's doing the same thing over and over
we know what to do - we must do better, we can
1917 - angelo patri - a school master of the great city - wrote about and solved every single problem in ed
how can we expect people to take geniuses like Dennis Litky seriously
worked with Seymour Papert for 20 years, father of ed computing
3 yrs worked creating an alternative learning environment inside a state prison for teenagers in main
most at risk members in society, told over and over again that they weren't capable, they were damaged
yet they too have a remarkable capacity for intensity
if we are serious about innovation in education we have to be willing to change everything
what if school were the best 7 hours of a kids day
what if we were free of all the assessment and curriculum requirements
what if there were no discipline problems
in their 3 yrs there were none
we can have high standards without standardization
turned school on it's head to do this
normally do projects, etc in order to convince them to learn skills
skills per their desires
only rule - you have to be doing something
13000 word autobiography
i just like reading about puppies, i liked reading about nasa
we didn't have a curriculum, we had a list of prompts
1) a good prompt, challenge, problem or motivation
2) appropriate materials
3) sufficient time
4) supportive culture (including expertise)
he knew this was a place where he could do hard things
project ideas are everywhere
can you help me make a guitar - 500 hours
a funny thing happens when you make a guitar - you want to play it, then you can use that to tell about what you've done
we need to create environments that are cohersion free - where kids do what they do because it matters to them
we need to remove all of the stakes - everything i know about reading instruction i learned from oprah winfry
no grading, no ranking...
______________________________
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
dennis littky
if we didn't know there was such a thing as school.. what would it be?
learn through passion, then twice a week - with a mentor in the community, then come back and work more on it..
no tests,
providence college and brown
they get to study something deeply
kids weren't talking about homework, etc, they were talking about passion
have 60 schools around the country
started college unbound
if you're not standing on the edge you're taking up too much space
thank you Jodhbir - for sharing that it was Littky's The Big Picture, Ed is Everyone's Business
__________________________________________________
will richardson
learning piano - at whatever level, whenever you want
mark klassen
moral imperative to get everyone connected
what does better look like? is it just test scores??
all investments measured on how kids do on tests
if don't pass tests... huge ramifications
what exactly are the ramifications? money
what about happy kids... people?
if you want test prep- that's fine - but if you want test prep - you don't need schools any more
we've done the same things as the kids, and forgotten the same things they will
this system is killing our kids...
we all have easy connections to learning. we need to jump in..
other posts on will
[another incredible slidedeck of his.]
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Tuesday, April 5, 2011
tunnel jam
mashing up kids ideas
with this spot (n railroad ave, w 3rd)
and this idea:
adding perhaps a large screen so spectators can view from all angles, so avid skateboarders or bikers can critique and learn from all angles, having camera helmets,..
different ideas on painting, even to paint on the wheels, so it's always morphing..
why do this?
per kids' discussion: perhaps architect for humanity, or anyone that could mentor us, can see that while we might not have the visibly urgent needs of disaster relief in Japan, or hunger/thirst in Africa, or countless other needs in other places in the world, we are dying as well, from not participating wholeheartedly in life... we want to create spaces to bring people together...we want to create more community in our town... in the people right around us...
Cristian and Gabe and others...were over the edge inspired by this...
____________________________
with this spot (n railroad ave, w 3rd)
and this idea:
adding perhaps a large screen so spectators can view from all angles, so avid skateboarders or bikers can critique and learn from all angles, having camera helmets,..
different ideas on painting, even to paint on the wheels, so it's always morphing..
why do this?
per kids' discussion: perhaps architect for humanity, or anyone that could mentor us, can see that while we might not have the visibly urgent needs of disaster relief in Japan, or hunger/thirst in Africa, or countless other needs in other places in the world, we are dying as well, from not participating wholeheartedly in life... we want to create spaces to bring people together...we want to create more community in our town... in the people right around us...
Cristian and Gabe and others...were over the edge inspired by this...
____________________________
jane mcgonigal
from Reality is Broken:
p. 124:
To participate wholeheartedly in something means to be self-motivated and self-directed, intensely and genuinely enthusiastic. If we're forced to do something, or if we do it halfheartedly, we're not really participating. If we don't care how it all turns out, we're not really participating. If we're passively waiting it out, we're not really participating. And the less we fully participate in our everyday lives, the fewer opportunities we have to be happy. It's that plain and simple.
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p. 124:
To participate wholeheartedly in something means to be self-motivated and self-directed, intensely and genuinely enthusiastic. If we're forced to do something, or if we do it halfheartedly, we're not really participating. If we don't care how it all turns out, we're not really participating. If we're passively waiting it out, we're not really participating. And the less we fully participate in our everyday lives, the fewer opportunities we have to be happy. It's that plain and simple.
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gerald weinberg
this is tough.. because on a whole, i think we need to abandon any standard testing, and i think school should no longer be compulsory. [yeah - i know - ridiculous no? i really think not.]
i'm reading Jane McGonigal's Reality is Broken - which is simply yet another affirmation that we are continually weeding out the zeros because we think they are worth nothing. (as a math teacher, also more proof that we've spent too much time talking about the zoom in rather than the zoom out part of math.)
i'm having a hard time and need major help here.
spending less on testing would be a great help financially.
making school a game, is brilliant, and i'm sure i'm doing it disservice by speaking now, because of how little i know of it. but i'm currently stubborn on this, who decides what basics are - that are put in that game, or in the project (based learning) or whatever?
yes - this is all better, but why do better when we can beat that? isn't our aim indispensable people? happy people? people who have defined and attained their own success? isn't our aim a better community? society? world?
haven't we looked around enough to see that we are not drinking life in?
ok. so - in helping a district decide their curriculum goals - when i believe that's a major part of the problem. or how to improve testing - when i believe that is a major part of the problem.
and yet - helping a district to jump ship may not even be listened to.
do keep making tweaks? at least suggestions that are better, or do you keep focusing on the jumping ship?
anyway..
these are great posts by Weinberg.. whether we're testing the way we test now (or slightly better)- or whether we have jumped ship and these are iterations within a person, continual 24/7 feedback, where bugs are embraced, celebrated...
the parable of the ones
testing without testing
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i'm reading Jane McGonigal's Reality is Broken - which is simply yet another affirmation that we are continually weeding out the zeros because we think they are worth nothing. (as a math teacher, also more proof that we've spent too much time talking about the zoom in rather than the zoom out part of math.)
i'm having a hard time and need major help here.
spending less on testing would be a great help financially.
making school a game, is brilliant, and i'm sure i'm doing it disservice by speaking now, because of how little i know of it. but i'm currently stubborn on this, who decides what basics are - that are put in that game, or in the project (based learning) or whatever?
yes - this is all better, but why do better when we can beat that? isn't our aim indispensable people? happy people? people who have defined and attained their own success? isn't our aim a better community? society? world?
haven't we looked around enough to see that we are not drinking life in?
ok. so - in helping a district decide their curriculum goals - when i believe that's a major part of the problem. or how to improve testing - when i believe that is a major part of the problem.
and yet - helping a district to jump ship may not even be listened to.
do keep making tweaks? at least suggestions that are better, or do you keep focusing on the jumping ship?
anyway..
these are great posts by Weinberg.. whether we're testing the way we test now (or slightly better)- or whether we have jumped ship and these are iterations within a person, continual 24/7 feedback, where bugs are embraced, celebrated...
the parable of the ones
testing without testing
___________________________________
Monday, April 4, 2011
david mangene
is he thinking it'll rub off?..
gosh i hope it does. i wish i spoke/understood everyone's language..
listen to it here.
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gosh i hope it does. i wish i spoke/understood everyone's language..
Fijne dag nog. Maak er iets moois van.
Fine day. Make something beautiful.
listen to it here.
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Sunday, April 3, 2011
john hagel
post on next wave..
couldn't get my comment to post.. so posting it here:
it seems we spend so much time creating spaces to share and things to share (esp in ed) and then even more time creating ways to get people to come to those spaces and to take a look at what we've done. and once there - we try to build the right culture. etc..
while these are all good things.. can we do better? can we save all that time in creating/inventing/inviting and rather combine/innovate with things that already exist?
too often.. if not always - not enough come, and our creations don't see their potential. we're not open enough for the element of possible adjacencies (Steven Johnson) to kick in.
what if the glue tying us all together is a culture of sharing/trust. what if our desire is to help each person on the planet to have access to anything we've learned. like - we are all participating in the game of life, and it behooves us if all the players are the best they can be. (currently reading Jane McGonigal’s Reality is Broken)
we live in the perfect time. the edge is us. we can now become the web, we can swim in the knowledge flow. i'm thinking - we just need to give up our urges to manage our own specialized space and rather - meet up first where the crowd already is. ie: wikipedia, youtube...
what if these became the universal sharing spaces. the web is alluring, wikipedia is a great platform for organizing the alluring. like the web, wikipedia has just about something for everyone, and if it doesn't have what you are seeking, cool jets, you get to add a page.
i see your world of warcraft reference esp in wikipedia, groups forming within the links. and your surfers reference perhaps within youtube, communities forming as we change the spirit of comments.
what if the new culture is about sharing in these spaces as we embraced them as our home base. then people can learn per passion, they can follow their fancy.. but within a wide open space filled with adjacent possibilities. and everthing is usable, as opposed to disposable.
what if we could/would spend less time creating our own little ponds - and just jump into the ocean. to me, it’s like the ponds are slightly improved stocks. yet - what’s bad - because it is an improvement, we’re under the illusion that we are in the ocean.
what if going straight to where the people are - the ocean - allows us time. time for more of both:
1) exposure to unlimited opportunities
2) richer conversations/experiences - i was thinking through some virtual coffeehouse, but better yet - perhaps, aerotropolis..
_______________________________________
couldn't get my comment to post.. so posting it here:
it seems we spend so much time creating spaces to share and things to share (esp in ed) and then even more time creating ways to get people to come to those spaces and to take a look at what we've done. and once there - we try to build the right culture. etc..
while these are all good things.. can we do better? can we save all that time in creating/inventing/inviting and rather combine/innovate with things that already exist?
too often.. if not always - not enough come, and our creations don't see their potential. we're not open enough for the element of possible adjacencies (Steven Johnson) to kick in.
what if the glue tying us all together is a culture of sharing/trust. what if our desire is to help each person on the planet to have access to anything we've learned. like - we are all participating in the game of life, and it behooves us if all the players are the best they can be. (currently reading Jane McGonigal’s Reality is Broken)
we live in the perfect time. the edge is us. we can now become the web, we can swim in the knowledge flow. i'm thinking - we just need to give up our urges to manage our own specialized space and rather - meet up first where the crowd already is. ie: wikipedia, youtube...
what if these became the universal sharing spaces. the web is alluring, wikipedia is a great platform for organizing the alluring. like the web, wikipedia has just about something for everyone, and if it doesn't have what you are seeking, cool jets, you get to add a page.
i see your world of warcraft reference esp in wikipedia, groups forming within the links. and your surfers reference perhaps within youtube, communities forming as we change the spirit of comments.
what if the new culture is about sharing in these spaces as we embraced them as our home base. then people can learn per passion, they can follow their fancy.. but within a wide open space filled with adjacent possibilities. and everthing is usable, as opposed to disposable.
what if we could/would spend less time creating our own little ponds - and just jump into the ocean. to me, it’s like the ponds are slightly improved stocks. yet - what’s bad - because it is an improvement, we’re under the illusion that we are in the ocean.
what if going straight to where the people are - the ocean - allows us time. time for more of both:
1) exposure to unlimited opportunities
2) richer conversations/experiences - i was thinking through some virtual coffeehouse, but better yet - perhaps, aerotropolis..
_______________________________________
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