Global Voices - Universal Vision

Back in March, I had the great fortune to attend the Microsoft Global Forum, a conference that brought together educators from around the world.  While there, we shared projects from our home countries and collaborated in the creation of new projects like One World.  While the work was meaningful, it was through side conversations I had with educators from across our planet where I came to realize how common the experience of teaching really is.

The prompts:

Who are you?
What do you see as the most significant barrier to learning?
What advice would you give to teachers today?

 


My hope is that as CEA continues to host regional "What's Standing in the Way of Change" workshops, that my Canadian colleagues will come to realize that we are playing active roles in a global movement to reimagine education.

You Don't Have Time to Read This

You got past the title?!

I'm taking that as a sign that you may be the type of person who's willing to make a few ripples (maybe even a few waves) to help reshape the educational landscape.   We need more people like you, people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world.  When you take on the challenge of redesigning approaches to teaching and learning, you are indeed participating in such a high calling.

Back in 2007, I adopted the moniker "The Clever Sheep", a tongue in cheek acknowledgement that I see myself as one who both follows and leads.   In addition to towing the line, I'm cheeky enough to try a few unexpected things as well, sometimes things that have never been done before.  Like Harold, the most dangerous of animals, I recognize that we're in a situation that requires innovation in the face of numerous obstacles.

As learning facilitators we have the duty to follow the lead of formally titled leaders, but each of us is also a leader in his/her own right. If every teacher (and every student for that matter) simply waits for directions to follow, then how can change possibly happen?  How can an entire system possibly grow into the uncomfortable spaces where true evolution takes place?

Modern learning is a question in search of an answer... and there is no single solution that will revolutionize the lives of teachers and learners.  There are countless strategies that are superior to last century's models for learning, but it will take a legion of clever sheep to invent, test and modify them.

You, dear reader, have a choice to make. Either limit yourself to doing what you are asked to do; or make the decision to get one with what you are called to do... to be a teacher who models learning, experimentation and risk-taking.

You really didn't have time to read this.  You have much more important work to do.  Join the crazy ones... get going and change the world!



Photo Credit: slimmer_jimmer

It's Time for Change

I recently attended the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, and one of my big takeaways, was that the auto companies have finally figured out that it's time for a change. New cars are digitally smart; environmentally economical; forward thinking. While it took bankruptcy and a threat to their very existence to turn things around, I can't help but wonder why the departments that manage technology in our schools have been slow to acknowledge the need to reinvent themselves.

If you are a person in charge of making decisions about the direction a school or board takes regarding Information and Communications Technology (ICT), I challenge you to plan a way forward from where you are at this moment in time, rather than letting past history dictate where you spend your available resources in time, money and people.

Limit Desktop Software to what the Machines Can Handle
In my school board, like many others on Ontario, we have access to a wide range of OSAPAC-licensed software. While recent web-based resources have been included in educational licenses, it has been common for most applications to resides on outdated disk drives. In my experience, these drives have been very sluggish in delivering apps to the networked computers that serve our students, resulting in slow uptake of the most powerful of tools. The result of populating our schools with refurbished computers, is that students and teachers are commonly working on computers that are 8 years old. (The workstation I am provided through work, is a 2004 refurbished desktop.)
Question: How old is the computer you use?
Challenge: Teachers and students may need to say goodbye to favoured tools. Remember WordPerfect?
Opportunity: By phasing out desktops, you can pave the way for the ideas that follow.

Acknowledge that the Web is the One App that Matters Most
Prioritize making the Internet the app we serve to all students and teachers. Realizing that browser-based apps are usually optimized for access by multiple simultaneous users, students and teachers are likely to these alternatives to be more nimble than their desktop alternatives.
Question: What is the one app that you couldn't live without?
Challenge: Educators will need to find alternatives for the programs they do use. The ICT department will have to increase the budget for bandwidth.
Opportunity: Educators will eventually discover more online resources than they might have imagined.

Facilitate the Use of Personal Devices
There is little excitement in doing technology based projects when the tools we're using are out-of-date. Move to a model that allows and encourages users to use their preferred devices. Of course such a strategy needs to provide a range of handheld devices to level the playing field for those unable to provide their own.
Question: Does the hardware supplied by your employer meet your personal needs?
Challenge: Someone will need to write a 'Personal Devices Policy'.
Opportunity: Once approved, such a policy will open doors to cross-platform multi-app learning.

Migrate to the Cloud
At great cost, in the name of security and privacy, school email accounts are often managed on board-owned servers. Why did so many boards fail to introduce email to students? In the face of other choices, this tool has become less relevant to the younger generation. Still, providing a collaborative communications suite to learners makes sense... especially if such a tool allows students to take their communications and creations with them upon graduation. It's past the time when schools should have moved to a web-based service for email, calendars, and word processing. While I've been advocating for years that this might best be done through Google, there are alternative web-based office suites available.
Question: Do you access your files from multiple devices?
Challenge: We may have to say goodbye to something everyone has grown comfortable with.
Opportunity: Learners might gain long term access to their work... from anywhere.

Introduce Digital Note-taking
I maintain that the move towards digital notebooks will signal to all that education is changing. The use of web-based multimedia notes can enable the archiving and retrieval of information using a wide range of web-enabled devices. While the saving of content in any kind of notebook may still seem archaic to some, the use of individual collaborative e-notebooks is a skill that I expect will remain relevant for future generations.
Question: Do you collect your learning in a paper binder? Why not?
Challenge: Parents and teachers who prefer paper to bits and bytes will need plenty of handholding.
Opportunity: e-Binders are searchable, shareable, and sustainable.

Focus on Skills Rather than Software
Whether learning takes place in a professional development workshop or during a classroom lesson, the emphasis should be on skills rather than on software titles. Workshops on 'PowerPoint' or 'Smart Ideas' should be replaced with lessons on 'The Power of Presentations' or 'Learning through Visualization' and should be accompanied with access to a menu of relevant apps.
Question: What was the focus of the last tech workshop you attended?
Challenge: Modelling differentiation is a greater challenge than speaking about it.
Opportunity: Transferable digital skills can naturally evolve into differentiated teaching and learning.

Say Goodbye to Desktops; Say Hello to Wireless
By embracing banks of mobile wireless devices, teachers and students will have far greater flexibility in how they do their work. By partnering such initiatives with a movement towards BYOD and ubiquitous wireless, desktop anchors should gradually fade from our classrooms.
Question: Do you still work on a desktop computer? Why?
Challenge: Out-of-date desktop computers have been inexpensive to purchase... but expensive to maintain.
Opportunity: Savings on maintenance will free manpower and funding to pursue the other pieces of the puzzle.

Diversify
There is no one answer for what educational technology should look like. As an organization, I recommend embracing variety and diversity. Allow schools to choose the types of tools they would like to use in their classrooms. Whether you are a fan of Smartboards, iPads, PCs or Macs, there is room for almost any device in a wireless, web-centred system.
Question: What is your vision for the learning space you'd like your child or grandchild to experience?
Challenge: Varied choices and local decision-making will lead to questions about equity.
Opportunity: Through variety, pockets of excellence will emerge.


Recreating our ICT infrastructure for an unknown future is a challenge. Whether or not you agree with these suggestions, I hope these ideas encourage decision-makers to carefully consider how we can best support the learning of our children.


Photo credits: Rodd Lucier, TarynMarie, Burnt Pixel, aperture_lag, binarydreams

Are You a Virus?

Recently, I had a chance to hear Ron Canuel from CEA speak about the need for change, and the barriers faced by change agents. In viewing the change agent as a virus, he observed that it is common for innovators to be attacked while followers prosper. Finding it easy to relate to Ron's words, I'd like to extend the metaphor.

Viruses often innovate in the relative safety of a closed door classroom. If you use attempt to use technology in unexpected ways, or if you use tools before they become the norm, you may be a virus. There are many innovators out there, but most, like viruses, are difficult to see. It is only through the sharing of stories, that they become visible.

Virus can replicate but only within living host. If you are a virus, do you dare share your strategies and learning experiments with colleagues? In my experience, viral replication begins through such conversation and conversion. Open sharing may be just the thing that ensures that your district; your school; your department remains vibrant.

Once your peers or members of the ICT department identify you as a change agent, it may trigger the natural defenses of your school or system. The immune system is made up of those who want to maintain the status quo. It might be the technicians who place limits and filters on the tools you use, or it may be the colleagues who aren't ready to adapt their practices to the realities of a changing world. Regardless of the antibodies you face, know that it is natural for any body to defend the status quo. The most intrepid change agents are used to barriers, and though they may be slowed, their viral nature will be resistant to the system's natural defenses.

While viruses are immune to antibiotics, they do need to be aware of vaccination programs. Innocuous policies are commonly adopted in order to protect the system from disruptive change. "Personal devices are not allowed on the network." "Facebook and other social media sites are filtered." "Cell phones will be confiscated if they are seen." While effective in protecting the system in the short term, such inoculations tend to expire as neighbouring school systems evolve.

The metaphor leads me to believe that our education system is in need of an epidemic. Innovative practices will have to go viral in order to infect the practices of educators at all levels. If we are to re-imagine education, schools will need the services of an ever-evolving range of viruses. Care to join me for an educational pandemic?

Image credits: Viral Flu via Novartis AG; Ambulance by chriswong3238

Retire the Binder

As a student success teacher, I spend many hours helping students organize the chaos that happens when a backpack is used as a filing system. When I think about the fact that learners spend countless classroom hours copying chalk notes onto lined paper, I can't help but see the three-ring binder as one of the great anachronisms of modern education.

A few months ago, we learned that we would be supported in re-imagining some of the learning spaces in my school. Now that a colleague has managed to garner the support of Apple Canada, we'll be collaborating to deliver an iPod/iBook pilot in his geography courses. In concert with this project, we're taking the leap to leverage cloud-based course binders.

EverNote will be the linchpin of student and teacher digital notebooks, allowing each participant to tag, organize, and share text, audio, photo, and web-based resources. Ideally, each student will be able to access 'curated' course materials on any of a wide range of devices.

We'll also be introducing students Google Documents, and DropBox, as planning and sharing tools for the rich multimedia elements students will be producing with Apple's iLife suite. It's going to be an exciting project, and it all starts when we 'retire the binder'.

Photo Credit: Rodd Lucier; Nick Findley

Incubating Change

I've been in discussions with colleagues in my school about setting up a wing of our school to be a Teaching With Information Technology zone. Ideally, we'd begin with 3-5 teachers representing a range of subject disciplines, who would teach from classrooms equipped with mounted data projection; a bank of sharable notebook computers; a set of handheld devices; a few cameras; and wireless Internet access.


With my office being located just around the corner, I would act as a resource and team-teaching ally, assisting students and teachers in leveraging modern learning tools. We could have students host guest speakers via Skype; produce and publish multimedia content; participate in collaborative projects with international colleagues; and much more.

During this year of teaching and learning on TWIT lane, we would teach with open doors to model transparency for students, teachers, and visitors alike. Participating teachers would act as collaborative supporters for one another, and would benefit from regularly scheduled planning and debriefing sessions. The following year, a new cohort of teachers could set up shop, with the previous year's pilot teachers acting as mentors.

I'm rather excited about the prospect of working collaboratively with teacher-learners in modern classrooms, but I'm not so sure that TWIT corridor has much of a ring to it. Can you suggest a more apt name for our incubation zone? Do you know of similar projects that we might learn from? Might you be able to play an active role in supporting us?

--- Late Addition ---

We've settled on the name 'TEL-Wing' for the cluster of Technology Enhanced Learning classrooms now under development.

Photo Credits: shapeshift; Timothy K. Hamilton

Student Success: Surviving vs Thriving

As a teacher responsible for Student Success in my high school, I've grown fatigued with dealing from the fallout from one-size-fits-all educational approaches. Specifically, I find myself sharing the frustration of my students as they make every effort to avoid completing work they see as irrelevant.

In the past year, I've spent most of my time at school in supporting students who don't do homework; who are disengaged from school; who don't like to write; and who are too challenged with distractions of the day, to demonstrate an interest in lessons designed by their teachers.

This year, I've been more proactive in working with teachers to develop learning experiences that are more closely tailored to the interests and abilities of my clients. Here are a few examples of the work I'll be doing in coming days and weeks, that I hope will lead students to become active participants in their own learning.

Case 1: "I don't do writing..."
For a student who needs one more language credit, but who finds it painful to put pencil to paper, we're pursuing an independent project. In the next few weeks, I hope to scaffold the work of 'Trevor' who is designing a high school to meet the needs of unique students.

Using Smart Ideas concept mapping software to scaffold the writing, 'Trevor' will be designing a whole new high school experience. This work grew out of a small writing assignment, and although it's been a struggle to get rolling, I've promised to share this student's work with a real world audience. If the project gains traction, you're likely to hear and see more about it in this space.

Case 2: "I can't sit in a desk..."
Like many teens, 'Jake' needs to be physically active in order to survive the school day. While our board's alternative education focuses on career skills and co-op, the remote site that hosts the program is inaccessible to this student. In order to develop a unique program to suit his needs, I'll be hosting a meeting of the special education department, the guidance department, the co-op department, and our school administration, to design a pilot learning experience that may one day be made available to other students at our school.

The plan is to cluster a few accessible courses, and to design rich cross-curricular projects that will lead 'Jake' to demonstrate the achievement of the interdisciplinary course expectations. Ideally, we'll twin this project work with a co-op experience, and will provide access to multimedia tools and training so that 'Jake' can document his experience.

Case 3: "This class is a challenge..."
One of our grade 10 language classes has a disproportionate number of special needs students who chafe at the rigors of reading and writing. In completing the course and in preparating for the provincial literacy test, students are required to respond to a wide variety of 'media texts', so why not engage students in creating their own media texts?

After consulting with the teacher and department head about movie-making and podcasting, we've settled on a few performance tasks that will allow students to play the roles of advertising executives, multimedia engineers, and movie-makers. What's more, students will have choice in the roles they'll play, and the best of their work will be seen by an online audience.

While many of my Student Success colleagues around the province may find themselves working in triage, I'm trying to be proactive in helping teachers to create academic challenges that are compelling and relevant. I'm hopeful that my job will gradually become one of enriching the high school experience, rather than surviving it.

Photo credits: br1dotcom, vancouverfilmschool, Proctor Archives

Redefining the 21st Century Learner

Earlier today, I was asked to demonstrate my understanding of the term '21st Century Learner'. I was pleasantly surprised by the question and found myself mentally reviewing a few of the conversations I'd had with colleagues in recent days.

The term may have been adopted to spur educators to consider the relevance of learning experiences being offered to students; to embrace emerging tools in the classroom; and to inspire an evolution in our practice. Now that it's 2010, and we're well into the new millennium, my observations are that the term has failed to engage a majority of educators in critical reflection of their own teaching practice.

By the time I was finished critiquing the term, I was faced with a follow-up question: What term would you use in place of 21st Century Learner?

In considering a more apt term to represent today's school-aged learners, I put forth the term 'refugees'. I went on to explain that I see students every day, who have to unplug, disconnect, and go solo in a world whose terrain is foreign to the way they regularly interact. Rather than interact via mobile devices tethered by invisible signals, most of today's students have to wait for teacher permission to communicate, and even then, can only network with students in the same room. In many ways, it's like being forced to speak a unique language while being contained in a foreign land. What they wouldn't give, to have the freedom to return to their 'home country'!

How would you have responded?
Have you grown tired of the term 21st Century Learner?
Do terms like Digital Native and Digital Immigrant now strike you as failed attempts to categorize youth and their not-quite-so-techy parents and teachers?
Do you have an apt metaphor for today's learners in today's schools?
Do you see today's learners as 'Time Travelers', 'LOST passengers', 'bats without radar', or something different?

The audio version of this story is available as today's episode on The Clever Sheep Podcast.

Image Credit: Alex Mickla

The Future of Games

If you have the 30 minutes to spare, Jesse Schell's recent talk at DICE 2010, is quite a cage-rattler. The financial strategies that underpin many of today's games may be surprising, but there is no arguing the fact that today's games captivate an audience hungry for social play.

In 'Design Outside the Box' Jesse paints a future where point systems and emerging technologies form the scaffolding for an economy that is dependent upon gameplay.



Knowing such a world may be on the way: What role should gaming play in education?

What does Quorum Sensing have to do with Me?

I admit it, I'm hooked on learning. I get a rush when I discover something new, especially if it's something known to relatively few people. Today, I learned about Quorum Sensing, and a whole lot more, from the behavior of bacteria.

Bonnie Bassler's hyper-enthusiastic TED Talk from one year ago, is focused on bacteria and bio-chemistry, but if you pay attention, she weaves many lessons into her talk.



Prone to thinking metaphorically, I'm left wondering how our own networked learning might one day lead us to collectively shine our light, to brighten the paths of tomorrow's learners. Is it possible for the online ed-tech collective to enlighten our 'hosts'?

Let's Ban Chalk

A week from today, I'll be making a presentation called "Let's Ban Chalk". Assuming I'm successful in making the case: What will we do with our chalkboards?

I'm voting for IdeaPaint to help transform our classrooms.

Learning to Change: Changing to Learn

I'm hopeful that the realities expressed in by the luminaries in this short piece will open a few more minds. Here's to the death of Education; and the dawn of Learning:

How High Can You Jump?

At the 1968 Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City, the world of competitive high jump changed forever. That was the year that Dick Fosbury won the Olympic gold medal, while going over the bar head first, and backwards. Almost overnight, the 'Fosbury Flop' became the 'new normal'.



What will become the new normal for Education?
In an interview from the Atlanta Games, Fosbury recounts the gradual evolution of the 'flop':

"The interesting thing was that the technique developed in competition and was a reaction to my trying to get over the bar. I never thought about how to change it, and I’m sure my coach was going crazy because it kept evolving. I believe that the flop was a NATURAL style and I was just the first to find it. I can say that because the Canadian jumper, Debbie Brill was a few years younger than I was and also developed the same technique, only a few years after me (and without ever having seen me)."

As an example of coincidental innovation, Canadian, Debbie Brill, became the first North American female to clear 6 feet with the "Brill Bend".

What can we learn from Fosbury and Brill?
Many factors should encourage teachers to 'jump higher':
- A variety of Web tools allow us to share our learning experiments;
- Online mentors abound for teachers ready to explore ICT;
- Modern resources are becoming more accessible, and less expensive;
- Curriculum expectations require students to create;
- Global connections are but a few clicks away.

In the late 60's, foam landing pits gradually replaced piles of sand and sawdust, reducing the risk for modern era high jumpers. Maybe we just need a softer landing spot, one that invites teachers to model creativity, risk-taking... and learning?

A Google Renaissance

There have been so many innovations announced by Google in recent weeks, that intermittent visitors to the search site are sure to be surprised. While new developments are routinely posted at the official Google Blog, with supporting videos at the Google Channel on YouTube, today's podcast is my attempt to put many of the most recent developments into context.



Is individualized search a good thing? See what Google suggests when you type the word 'Renaissance'...


And just in case you missed Google Goggles and the changes in store for mobile devices:

An Invitation to Bleat

The map that anchors this blog, is evidence that networked learners are capable of sharing their ideas around the world. But these global connections become more real, when words, images, and audio are leveraged to bridge the geographic boundaries that separate us.

And so, to celebrate the 200th episode of the Teacher 2.0 podcast, I'm inviting you to share your voice around the world. Simply forward an audio shout-out that identifies your school, teaching assignment, city & country. I'll do my part, by tacking one or more such 'bleats' onto the closing credits of future podcasts.

Your invitation is the focus of today's podcast:



It's just an idea, and it may not take off, but I'm game to give it a shot if you are. I suspect that listeners will revel in the knowledge that authentic voices are working as educational agents of change in classrooms around the world.


Thanks to Marie-Therese Le Roux for the inspiration.

Imagining Conversations with Former Students

Have you ever bumped into former students and been surprised by what the students remember?

"Hey, I remember you! You taught me how to copy notes from the blackboard!"

"Remember when we did that algebra work, where we all filled in the spaces on that photocopy?!"

"Oh, and that time we read from the text book and answered the questions at the end of the section!"

In reality, these sample recollections are never celebrated. More commonly, the students with these memories are likely to pretend not to notice the teachers in question.

In preparing students for a future so difficult to predict, how is it that such activities still comprise a significant portion of a typical student's day?

The Classroom Matters

This weekend, I came across a The Fun Theory, a post at Mashable, that demonstrates how the environment significantly alters the way participants behave.



I look forward to the day when it will be the norm for classrooms to be arranged for discussion, rather than for teacher presentation. I anticipate the day when teachers regularly connect their learners with those in other classrooms; in other cities; and in other countries. I await the day when students can expect assessment of their learning to include performances that are beyond essays and exams.

If students walk into learning environments designed for interaction; with tools for meaningful collaboration; challenging future citizens to demonstrate their learning in engaging ways, then we will indeed be preparing our charges for a future of lifelong learning.

Though modern tools can be the catalyst to reforming our schools, significant changes to the classroom are beyond hardware & software. Whether or not we leverage emerging technologies, we can amplify the engagement of today's students by creating environments for interaction.

When you cross paths with your present students 10 years hence, how do you anticipate the conversation will begin?

Re-Imagining Education: Part 1

As the future continues to beckon, I hope more educators will feel a sense of urgency to re-imagine classroom learning. This series of podcasts will consider how school can be made relevant for today's learners.

The Changing Workplace: Change is rampant everywhere... so why do our classrooms continue to function in the same old ways?



Related Links:

10 Principles for the Future of Learning: Miguel Guhlin
The Future of Work - Time Magazine
"The Future of My Kids' Work" - Will Richardson
A Whole New Mind - Daniel Pink
Seth Godin's Blog
Coke & Pepsi on Twitter
Linux & Microsoft on Twitter
TMZ

Photo Credit: naraekim0801

Five Years New

Earlier today, this tweet proved to be a thoughtful way to start the day...

The responses that trickled in through the morning lifted my spirits as I came to realize that a wide range of teachers do get it! I only wish more folks had been able to see the wide variety of posts that followed. Alas, Twitter's new 'replies policy' restricted live views to the few who are lucky enough to be following many of these Twitterers AND myself.

Next time, we'll use a #hashtag; until then, I hope you'll find these responses as uplifting as I do:


These are the types of classroom teachers I'd love to work with! At least, we can follow the continued learning of these round-the-world colleagues on Twitter.

If you missed out on the chance to respond in 140 characters, feel free to add your response below. Alternatively, you might choose to respond to the provoking followup questions contributed by @lmockford and @biggmaxx.

Chasing the Horizon

I've been thinking about how educators are consistently challenged to arrive at ever elusive end points. New tools, new expectations, new technologies... all of the newness that continually refreshes education, reinforces the fact that we will never have a final template on which to anchor education.

The best we can do, is realize that the place we now stand, is not good enough... we have to choose a direction and start heading for the horizon.

Upon arrival at a destination, leaders in education need to reassess their situation; to realign themselves; and to head towards new distant horizons.

In times of continual change, each of us is called to embark on a non-stop voyage. How will you decide which distant horizons are most worthy of exploration?


Photo Credits: Terje Enge, noinkstains

Do You Have a Tribe?

Shift happens when change agents connect with like-minded individuals to create a movement. Even if you have yet to read or listen to Seth Godin's book "Tribes", the presentation that Seth recently gave at TED, may well inspire you to connect with, inspire, and lead your own tribe...

Go ahead, be a heretic!