May 14 2011
Flight Path
sandbox.aaronkoblin.com/projects/flightpaths/index.html
I am in the midst of a visioning exercise with my senior administrators about the future of learning in our schools – from the classrooms and the “learning commons” to the staff rooms and home offices of our teachers. I have taught in both elementary and secondary schools. But learning for the 21st century was not on the agenda then, and now I am asked to develop a school board vision that answers the question, how do we move toward a more constructivist, student-centred authentic learning experience when we still have traditional physical settings and resources and hold tight to our outdated theories of how we learn? How do I propose a model that will be accepted by administrators, teachers, students, and parents? I need to be sure that it provides the best learning opportunities as possible and addresses how we learn best.
My goals include a new format of learning – perhaps a blended learning model – but not just by adding a wiki or blog now and then to a mostly traditional teacher-centred model. I see too many examples of low-level thinking in wikis and blogs, mostly directed to the teacher, less with their peers and far less with the global community. I need to learn how to develop an authentic and relevant learning environment that will allow for face-to-face interaction with teachers, yet allows them to explore the vast world of online learning too. I need to learn how to create a learning management system that does not require huge budgets, intensive PD for the teachers and students, constant updates of hardware and software licencing, and countless hours of preparation by teachers. Does this system exist? I am anxious to know. Bates and Poole (2003) refer to many criteria to base my choice of a system and its technology components and I need to keep all of SECTIONS model in mind when designing this “Utopia” I wish to promote as our 21st Century teaching and learning plan. Will this new system of learning provide opportunities for the adults in our schools to increase their own knowledge and skills? With reduced budgets on an ongoing basis, providing PD for teachers is a challenge. I would like to include their own learning in a model such as communities of practice touted by Etienne Wenger (2006) through the use of the same learning management system that the students use.
The resources that I need to develop my own knowledge and skills to create such a learning system would include the types of tools needed for blending technology effectively with pedagogy. A variety of applications that allow students (and teachers) to explore audio, video, simulations, and games, while collaborating and interacting with others often. These tools would allow me to include most of the 7 principles of Chickering and Ehrmann (1996). The selection of tools is nearly limitless but with the sharing that is done by my colleagues in these MET courses, I know that I will be introduced to a wide variety of useful ideas.
Bates A. W. & Poole, G. (2003). A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In A.W. Bates & G. Poole, Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education (pp. 75-108). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 4.
Wenger, E. (2006). http://www.ewenger.com/theory/
Chickering, A.W. & Ehrmann, S.C. (1996). Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6. http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples.htm