– live blogging –

Teaching in the New Digital landscape

Ian Jukes

KIds are born into digital world…speak DFL (Digital First Language)…adults speak DSL (Digital second language)…we come from another country …like all immigrants we retain some of the old country traditions and understandings…

Kids have digital minds…we don’t yet fully understand complex processes…but our kids are different…

When we are born only 15% of brain wiring is in place…critical initial functions…old assumption is that by age of 3 we all had fixed intelligence and processing power…assumed to be the same for all brains…

But with major scientific breakthroughs and discoveries, old assumptions are being thrownout…old idea that brain is highly adaptive…and that brain cells are continually being replenished and is being reorganized by input and experiences we have and the intensity and length of input…we can actually regrow neurons…IQ can rise depending on stimulation…”neoroplasticity”…the brian is plastic and creating new thinking patterns…but it requires intensive, sustained and progressively challenging stimulation…

e.g. watching television actually reprograms the brain…

several hours a day/seven days a week = video games

fMRI – new technology that has hi-res images of brain functions…research shows that generational chnages in how we process information is dramatically different how kids take in, process and store the same information…visual cortex is 15% larger in kids…eye processes and interprets 60,000 times faster than text…brain is designed for visual processes…30% visual of nerve cells vs 8% touch..

Eyes of digital natives work differently than digital immigrants…”Golden Mean”…digital immigrants scan in a z-formation…natives scan sides… they ill unconciously ignore bottom and right side of pages…could this have an impact on learning to reading …immigrants like blank text on white…natives prefer red/green texts easier to read…

digital natives = wired for multimedia = 87% of kids are not text-based learnersvisual-kinesthetic learners but are visual or visual/kinesthetic learners…but majority of assessment is still text /paper based…

can digital bombardement have an impact on way they think and view the world? we are beginning to see an accelerated gap with very young kids…digital kids 2.0…incredible changes taking place on the inside…they view and respond to the world very differently…begins to explain the fundamantal diffrerence between those kids and us…

Guess the question here is not changing understandings because we can all understand this stuff, but the real challenge is changing day to day practice…battling the traditional

Four things need to happen in classroom…

1. New content must be connected immediately…meaningful…short-term memory…difference between rote learning and meaningful learning

2. Previous knowledge and experience will dererime what, where, if they learn…most school work doesn’t interest students…learning must be personal & relevant

3. Learners must be given repeated and differentiated learning opportunities…we learn by practice/exposure in different experiences and over time…

4. Students need to be provided with consistent feedback and repeatedly reinforced…reinforcement looks like…”I really like the way you have done this…good notes…here’s a suggestion…if you box this here you can make it stand out”…kids won’t learn unless they have positive reinforcement first…

How does this happen? Qualitative/formative assessments…test scores were the same for kids tested…but then later gave the same kids the same exam…less than 15% recall on traditional teaching…but no-traditional taught students had over 70% retention after the year…

“Velcro learning” – memorizing facts for test…only supplies one side of piece of velcro…connections must be made for long-term learning to stick…

We are increasingly using standardized tests to increasingly measure non-standardized brains…they only have short attention spans for old ways of learning and teaching…we as educators don’t understand how truly different our digital natives are…today’s students are not who we were trained to teach or our schools were designed to serve..if we can’t see this and change, “who here has the learning problem?”

Our emphasis must be on more than just content recall…to create more than just school-smart people…this shift is so fundamental that the gap is so wide that we can go back to the way things were when we were kids…digital divide…

As adults, we need to have a 21st century cultural awareness and need to have and use the very same 21st century skills we tell our students they need to have…

What can we do?…cartoon strip ZITS…play video games…blog…MMPORPG…second life…become a thumbster…if you don;’t know what these are…you have defined yourself as a DI and that you are part of the digital divide…

This is not limited to a certain geographic or socio-economic section…world wide…

Respect their world, honour their world…we will set them free! If we want to leverage their abilities, we have to be able to go inside their world.

Are kids in your classroom because they have to be there or because they want to be there? If we want to unfold their full genius…their future not our past…we need to create a bridge between their world and our world…

This asks teachers to fundamentally challenge their core belief systems as educators…hard to change…stepping back and totally reconsidering everything we believe about education…we don’t have to throw out everything… “you can’t leap a canyon in two bounds…you either leap it in the first bound or you’re going down” -Tom Peters…what can we do to make the leap…small steps…one small change at a time…

committed sardine website / techsaavy group…resources available…

recommended reading

Ted McCain – “Teaching for Tomorrow” – Corwin Press

Will Richardson – “Blogs, wikis and podcasts”

– end –

Technorati tags: laptop2007, laptopinstitute07, laptopinstitute, ian jukes, education, technology, whipple, conference

Jeff Utecht’s post today about the growth of networks and technology in pretty much every facet of our commerce and leisure was interesting. Perhaps those of us who grow with the changes everyday don’t see them and it takes someone who is away for a bit to see just how things have changed – kind of like grandparents sho don’t see their grandkids for a while. I have to wonder though, with Jeff being based in Shanghai for the past bit, just why this would be such a drastic change. Maybe I am mistaken, but I guess I would have expected this to be not a new experience for him.

There is perhaps no better testament to the changing nature of information than the transportation industry. You can shop, evaluate and book pretty much all your travels needs from anywhere, anytime.

As I sit here halfway through a six-hour layover at Chicago’s O’Hare International, it is amazing how critical the digitization and networking of information is to the operations of a large, modern airport. Hustle and bustle, screens changing, connections being missed and rebooked with decisions being made on the fly based on the latest information. My flight from Toronto was held 30 minutes after a later flight was cancelled and the airline wanted to try and catch a few more customers who had connections here in Chicago. This was played against the needs of existing customers who also had connections. They seemed to know just how long was the optimum time to hold the plane to catch the greatest number of following passengers without causing disruption to the current bookings and on-going flights.

I can’t even begin to imagine the networks and information United Airlines staff used to make the decision to push-back, but I am sure everything, inclusing the weather forecast, was included. The ability of individuals in the decision-making chain to access, assess and communicate their knowledge into the decision must have been som ething unheard of even ten years ago.

But, as I sit here working on Tuesday’s workshop at Laptop Institute in Memphis, I was witness to something I had never seen before at an airport. This plane, All-Nippon Airway’s Flight 011 from O’Hare to Tokyo-Narita, pushed back from the gate and waited while the ground crew did their usual checks and cut the cords. But then it waited, while two men, one a Japanese man in a suit (presumably an ANA gate agent) and a ground crew member, stood near the front of the plane.

As if on cue, the two men bowed towards the front of the plane just as the giant started to move. Then, as the plane continued to move past them towards the airfield, they stood and waved, almost excitedly, together to each and every window. Unfortunately, I was busy digging for my camera.

In this day and age when too many of us are busy trying to get ahead, this old-fashioned gesture towards the people in the plane was kind of refreshing. In all our rush to manage information better, maybe a simple wave can communicate best.

Technorati tags: all-nippon airways, laptopinstitute07, laptopinstitute, education, technology, whipple, jeff utecht

Presenters: Jane Krauss / Suzie Boss

NECC: Monday, 11am – 12 noon

This session was from Monday morning…Jane (standing in pic) is an educator and Suzie (seated) is a journalist/author…they are currently writing a book entitled “Reinventing Project-Based Learning: Your Field Guide to Real-World Projects in the Digital Age”, scheduled for release in the fall. This session is designed to introduce the audience to their book and problem-based learning ideas.

I was particularly interested in this presentation as I am one of the 20 or so educators from around the world who are featured in the book…I am not sure why me…but I am honored…it certainly is humbling considering the stature and innovation of the other teachers in the circle.

Below are some notes and ideas from the session. Jane and Suzie have also created a Reinventing PBL blog where they hope to continue the conversations stemming from their book.

++++++++++++++++++++

The room is pretty much full…also Tom Hemingway (Turkey) / Linda Hartley (London?) on skype….

– why reinventing PBL? What needs to change? “reinvigorating”…we know value of PBL…we also know about today’s learners…
– new context for learning in digital age
– new context for teaching with collaboraton and digital tools
– new possibilities for reinvigorating PBL to achieve greater results…

why PBL…what does it have to offer? Relevance?

– real world
– highly motivating
– cross curricular / interdisciplinary
– helps students to connect to future
– authentic, formative, on going assessment
– build a bridge to portfolio
– helps develop emotional intelligence
– extension of material
– meets all learning styles
– fun!
– Application of knowledge
– Authentic engagement
– Deep-learning

Key features – “field guide”

– examples from around the world
– guided instructional design process
– focus on essesntial learning function of digital tools
– suggestions to guide collaborative practice

audience

– capable
– optimists
– learners
– connectors

pbl interacting with technology…

Tom H – Ankara
– working at a school as project manager and coordinator of IB program
– doesn’t distinguish between teachers and students, assume everyone is a “learner”
– “what do we want to leave behind?”, what things should we do in order to reach that goal?”

PBL’s are front end loaded – students become workers / teachers facilitate

Building connections – finding partners important

Celebration and reflection (student and teachers both)

“Google Lit Trips” – Jerome Burg…googlelittrips.com
iHistory Podcasts: David Fagg – used mp3 players
Flat Classroom/Horizon projects – Julie & Vicki

Create lasting artifacts for others to learn from – sharing is important

How to use book?
– on your own
– with colleagues in shared professional learning
– as a guide for PD
– as courseware for teacher education

“Classroom Displays” – flickr…different classrooms –tagged images of what is going on around the world….

“echoes of other peoples displays in new images…idea sharing and eveloping”

flip the equation from “I have this cooll tool, what can I do with it?”= “I have this learning function – what tools helps me do this?”

what can tech help with?
– collaboration
– -teamwork
– -documenting project
– student expression
– communicatuion
– finding salient information
– combining various media

essential components (in appendix A)
– ubiquity
– deep learning
– making things visible & discussable
– expressions, building community
– collaboration (w kids, experts, etc)\
– research tools
– project management
– reflection & iteration
–

book is first step…
– blog
– flickr
– PD

http://reinventingpbl.blogspot.com

Technorati tags: necc07, necc2007, education, technology, n07s606

It seems like Edublogs is back up and running…thanks for the guys behind the scenes for working so hard to get us all back on…it’s too bad that it had to go down during the meat of NECC, but sometimes these things happen…

I have lots of notes, thoughts and random ideas that I will try and share over the next little while…stay tuned…

Technorati tags: necc07, necc2007, education, technology