Mobile Learning is coming but...

I saw a tweet that included the poster shown below. As I scanned the poster I was in agreement with the overarching thesis:

YES

mobile technologies are here.

YES

they are transforming how our students learn/interact/think.

YES

we must be aware of this and think about how we can best incorporate mobile technologies in to our teaching.

BUT

before we do, let us take a step back and think long and hard about the approach. Is the technology allowing the curriculum to be something much more transformative? Is archiving our notes or being able to record your voice going to transform how our students learn in a world that is changing before our eyes or is it simply creating a shinier tool for an outdated model of learning?

As you examine how technology can be incorporated into your school, make sure you think through these questions:

1. How is [fill in the blank] creating a more engaging and dynamic learning experience?
2. Will this empower students to be self-directed learners?
3. Is it allowing students to create their own knowledge?
4. How is this extending the classroom?
5. Is it helping students realize that learning is not about getting to the next step?

YES

there will be some technologies that simply improve how we operate and effectively transfer information.

BUT

if we are able to answer these questions knowing that we are using the available technologies to transform our learning environments, then we will be headed in the right direction.


Via: Voxy Blog

Photo Credit: Yagan Kiely

How Space And Time Can Transform A School

I ran across two sites today.

One was about the phenomenon of co-working spaces:

"Office Party? Let's Tweet It"

In an era where more and more people are taking the entrepreneurial spirit and working in coffee shops or in their homes, the idea of a co-working space is something that is quite intriguing from an educational standpoint.

What if schools created spaces and opportunities that centered on the same principles mentioned in the article?

"the group lunches, the whiteboard brainstorming sessions, the Friday beer parties — that puts Studiomates at the forefront of an innovative new model for doing business."

What if our students were given the opportunity to learn in spaces like these? Ok, sans the beer, but still. What defines the success of co-working spaces, like Studiomates or the General Assembly, is the intersection, of play+creativity+productivity+community+inspiration.

We must be more thoughtful about how students worked together and create spaces and opportunities that lead to interactions and ideas like Creative Mornings, which in my opinion offer exactly what students need: a 20 minute break from the day and access to ideas that will broaden their horizons.

When we create spaces and opportunities that allow creativity and play to flow freely, you'd not only be surprised at the quality of what is produced but how much of it.

The other site I found was:

72 Hour Challenge by The Better Block

The team at The Better Block created a website that is

"a demonstration tool that acts as a living charrette so that communities can actively engage in the buildout process and provide feedback in real time"

In other words, they are working to improve city blocks around the country.

Their 72 Hour Challenge asks groups to create a new vision for a street block in 3 days and nights. This same challenge could be applied in schools.

Why can't we give our students a challenge, a deadline, and asked to "make" something? We could ask them questions like:

How could our students revise a playground?
How could you reconstruct a communal space to be more collaborative and fun?

These are challenges that our students would thrive on, it would create a culture of play, and help re-think the idea of school space from our users' point of view. If we can embrace challenges like these, we will breathe a breath of fresh air into our schools and you'd be surprised how much our students are learning.

What does this mean?

If we look at these ideas, they offer people to opportunity to connect, share, learn, play, and make a difference. These are all things that schools are meant to represent as well. While I am not advocating that schools need to be co-working spaces or have all learning happen through 72 hour challenges, I do believe the core ideas behind these initiatives can help improve our schools.

Photo credit: duncan

Collective Action

The video below is of Marshall Ganz, an community expert and a key player in developing the 2008 Obama campaign. In his talk, at the Berkman Center in 2008, he spoke about how to create collective action. While he may have been referring to the political world, the same principles apply now when we look at creating action in the world of education.

In particular, Ganz focuses on how to use organizing, collective action, and mobilization to initiate change. He mentions that change comes when individual preferences are turned into common focuses, which can lead to the capacity to act upon them. When we look at making changes in our schools, we must find a common thread among the teachers and administrators. This does not mean we must have mandates, rather it means we must find a common idea or belief and give individuals in this group the ability to take action as a group.

How do we make this happen?

Leadership

It is the "practices that enable others to achieve purpose in the face of uncertainty". In other words, leadership is comprised of practices that enable groups to work effectively. This could mean creating teams, or Personal Learning Communities, that bridge departments to enable this to happen. These groups could be run by seasoned facilitators to ensure success. This role of facilitator would rotate after others were trained on how to run the groups.

Community

In addition to strong leadership, a community rises from a stable entity capable of exercising collective agency. If this is the case, teachers will feel empowered and not isolated; they will be willing to make a change.

Power

The power of a community rests in its ability to use resources (time, energy, materials) purposeful to take change. We must evaluate how we, as schools, use these recourses to create change.

Key Factors

Along with the previous three factors, Ganz mentions that the following are necessary conditions for effective collective action.

Shared values

Values are broader than interests and sources of motivation. Values are communicated emotionally. To achieve this we need narrative and empathy not just metrics and data.

Shared interests

To build this collective capacity, we must create relational interests (1 on 1 meetings are key for this to develop). Is there a basis for working together? Are we able to commit to one another?

Shared structure

We must have common purpose and shared norms. There must be trained leaders and structures for our initiatives to succeed. Structure leads to ability to create change.

Shared strategy

"Turn what you have into what you need to get what you want." Adapt based upon real time information and needs. It is the purposeful and most creative part of organizing. Any strategy will shift but as long as the group buys into the common goal, it will happen.

Shared action

Resources are time, material items, and energy. The mobilization and deployment of resources are essential to make change. Resources can only be effective when "the outcomes are clear, ... specific and...can be learned from".

Finally

While technology can be at the center of making this all happen, Ganz reminds us about carpenters and tools. Investment in skilled carpenters allows the tools to be used in effectively. We must spend our time in developing the human capital in schools. We must understand the community and determine the human needs before we blindly invest our time or money in technology.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhCoz5hMhTI[/youtube]

Photo credit: mike.bendetti