What if your high school teacher said to you, "teach me something", instead of "you need to learn physics because you're going to need it someday"?
I really enjoyed watching Chris Lehmann talk about fixing education in the high school setting because the "fix" seems like a no-brainer: teach kids how to learn not what to learn, and teach kids how to live as citizens as opposed to workers.
Mr. Lehmann briefly discussed a civics lesson about research in the community: research building names, find a building named for a person, find out why, and who they are, then present your findings to the class in whatever format you choose. In other words, teach me something.....create real stuff and share it.
Students aren't being told what to learn, but how to learn.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Social media and overcoming shyness
Today I read an interesting article in the Washington Post about Facebook enhancing the lives of people who consider themselves shy. Facebook has given them a way to connect with people they would not normally have a relationship with or connection to in a way that doesn't stress them out or cause anxiety. Being somewhat shy myself, I could resonate with some of the people mentioned in this article.
Last month, when Will Richardson came to talk to our e-learning group, he used TodaysMeet to create an online back channel discussion for the group while he was making his presentation. For the shy-type like me, it was a great way to ask questions, present ideas and communicate with others in the group without having to say a word. Somehow, typing my question and putting it out there was less scary than physically asking the question myself even though I'm sitting right next to other group members.
How I wish TodaysMeet (or any of the other social media tools) would have been around during my 7th grade algebra class! But, it wasn't and that's the way it goes, and now I'm math-phobic (add science to the phobic list, too).
Last month, when Will Richardson came to talk to our e-learning group, he used TodaysMeet to create an online back channel discussion for the group while he was making his presentation. For the shy-type like me, it was a great way to ask questions, present ideas and communicate with others in the group without having to say a word. Somehow, typing my question and putting it out there was less scary than physically asking the question myself even though I'm sitting right next to other group members.
How I wish TodaysMeet (or any of the other social media tools) would have been around during my 7th grade algebra class! But, it wasn't and that's the way it goes, and now I'm math-phobic (add science to the phobic list, too).
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
New teacher chat
Again, Twitter (and my PLN - personal learning network) has tipped me off to a great resource for new teachers called New Teacher Chat. New Teacher Chat is a wiki "created to provide weekly mentoring and focus on the needs of new, new to the profession and pre-service teachers. The goal is for the chat to be supportive and practitioner focused. It occurs on Twitter from 5pm-6pm PST/8pm-9pm ET on Wednesdays."
So, challenge yourselves. If you have never used Twitter, sign up. Don't know what a "wiki" is? Do some investigating. Create your own Personal Learning Network.
So, challenge yourselves. If you have never used Twitter, sign up. Don't know what a "wiki" is? Do some investigating. Create your own Personal Learning Network.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Twitter and Mindmaps
One of the people I follow on Twitter had a link to this very cool "mindmap" which maps out several different tools for e-learning. It's a great way to see a lot of valuable information in one place which the author keeps up to date on a regular basis.
I think a lot of people regard Twitter as just another way to announce or broadcast their daily activities, however, I'm finding a lot of collaboration and sharing of ideas among people who have the same interests. Twitter, for me, has been a very valuable source of information about e-learning.
I think a lot of people regard Twitter as just another way to announce or broadcast their daily activities, however, I'm finding a lot of collaboration and sharing of ideas among people who have the same interests. Twitter, for me, has been a very valuable source of information about e-learning.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Digital media literacy
What does the future of reading and writing look like for students? As I'm sifting through tweets on TweetDeck, I find some interesting answers to my question.
I read an article about a high school English teacher who, instead of having students write traditional-style essays, allows them to produce digital stories or essays as well. In another article I read about a 3rd grade classroom where students create their own online portfolios and discuss progress with their parents during parent-teacher conferences. Both of these stories discuss collaboration, networking, and learning to use various multimedia platforms, which all are very student-centered, lead by teachers who obviously are very well prepared and knowledgeable in digital media and technology.
Just a couple of things I'm wondering: what is your school doing to promote digital media literacy? What would you like your school to be doing to promote digital media literacy? Do you even have the tools to promote and teach digital media in your classrooms?
I read an article about a high school English teacher who, instead of having students write traditional-style essays, allows them to produce digital stories or essays as well. In another article I read about a 3rd grade classroom where students create their own online portfolios and discuss progress with their parents during parent-teacher conferences. Both of these stories discuss collaboration, networking, and learning to use various multimedia platforms, which all are very student-centered, lead by teachers who obviously are very well prepared and knowledgeable in digital media and technology.
Just a couple of things I'm wondering: what is your school doing to promote digital media literacy? What would you like your school to be doing to promote digital media literacy? Do you even have the tools to promote and teach digital media in your classrooms?
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