Notes on “…adequate connections to outside sources of knowledge that might influence your thinking or support the formation of your beliefs: educational research, educational writers, journal articles, and educational bloggers.”
I have not had the opportunity to do any such reading or research over the last 10 years of teaching. I work overseas in the IBO.org world. All of my information comes from the IBO and I trust them as policy makers and standardized education to be on top of things educational trend wise, and that being said since others in the class are struggling with becoming “inquiry based” and I have already been doing that for over 10 years, I would consider myself quite fluent and well versed in the topic.
In addition, at the beginning of this class I put myself at the 8/10 side of the scale for ICT use and knowledge. Yes I have learnt a lot, and a lot of what was brought to the table were websites to manage my bookmarks, making class websites (which I already have), and some great educational sites for games and publishing material (which was greatly appreciated and will be used). Therefore I do not think of myself as behind the times of education. In fact being part of the progressive IBO world, I feel that I am in many ways ahead.
That being said, I do not think of myself as perfect, and I keep myself up to date with professional development, but yet again inside the IB. I am at level 3/3 for Language A English, History, and Performing Arts- Drama. I have also spent the last year working very hard on my Performing Arts skills and had two workshops with the Royal Shakespeare Company! I am also now 30/180 hours into a second Masters that I am doing concurrently with this LIBE one! I look forward to becoming both a teacher – librarian from UBC and a Master in Shakespeare Education from the University or Warwick (Stratford Upon Avon, the Globe theater, and the Royal Shakespeare Company)! I also keep myself up to date in my IBO Middle Years Program, by reading the updated “coordinators notes” that are emailed out on a yearly basis.
Therefore I might not have been a “VSB BC salmon” in this course, but I am well trained in my field “somewhere over the rainbow” in a land far, far away.
Here are a few articles and notes that I did read this summer in relation to ICT:
“Pay Attention” Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEFKfXiCbLw
That was both informative and sad. My initial reactions while watching, were thank God I don’t teach in the USA! However how close are we in Canada to them? I work overseas I have a very different demographic than when I taught in the inner city of Winnipeg. My students all come from a middle class, white collared, education appreciated background. That alone makes the WORLD of difference! I liked some of the ideas. Again for me it all depends on the resources that are available to the students and in the school. When something doesn’t work in class I ask the students “how can you solve this?” and there are always other ICT tools for them to use, and then at the very last attempt the good old pen & paper while they share a laptop with a friend while in class. I personally have never had any issues with phone or iPods being used as long as they are on the table top and visible, to hopefully ensure the students’ being on task.
I don’t think that I am intimidated by technology therefore that is why I do not use it ALL the time, but I am rather indifferent to it. I didn’t grow up with a lot of it (besides TV & VHS) therefore it is not all that life consuming, addictive, can live without it feeling that my current students now have. Their need for instant gratification, and false fame is sometimes rather shocking and leads to a lot of inappropriate and dangerous behaviour as parents do not parent them and no guidelines or rules are given outside of school. Now we have to teach online safety as well as sexual education. I make the face of “Oh for the love of God” face here! Personally, I try to keep professional and personal online matters separate. I also would rather deal with people, so I unplug and go offline after 5pm to enjoy life and communicate live and in person to other sentient human beings. Some of my students are now starting to understand this and are cutting back on their over usage of posting – tweeting.
In English & History analytical skills are just that no matter how you teach them or which ICT tools you use. Performing Arts is more hands on however the written reflections need to be analytical and require higher levels of thinking and writing. ICT is slowly creeping its way into that too. Again it all depends on what resources I have at my disposal. Now that I pretty much have Carte Blanche in my current school, it is just a matter of picking a few appropriate choices and working with them. I am constantly finding better questions to ask them, better ways to get them to show me their ideas, and better ways to analyze their performances. I choose 2-3 new things per rotation and see what the results bring, and from there I adapt and repeat with the next batch. I have found that after each batch I have been getting better and better. I have very supportive colleagues and we are all trying to be consistent over the 3 Arts rotations as well.
In English we have a fairly prescribed syllabus. I have a fair amount of wiggle room for the formative tasks, but none really for the summative – common assessments. However my students know that I am grading them on content so they are not to use/waste ALL of their time on the bells and whistles, as that does not show me any of their ideas or analytical thoughts about the text, only their ICT skills. Which I already know are better than mine, and they also have an actual ICT class to strut their stuff in.
I enjoyed this video. It was both educational (I got a few good ideas from it) and affirming (as I already do some of it in class).
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2008/07/is-google-making-us-stupid/306868/
Is Google Making Us Stupid?
What the Internet is doing to our brains
NICHOLAS CARRJUL 1 2008, 12:00 PM ET
As much as I agree with the overall sentiment of this article, I find it rather pessimistic.
I am going to go with Darwin here and say, “Adapt or die, as survival is not mandatory.” I myself am not a lover of technology. I kick and scream as I drag my butt into the future of it all.
I am indeed weary of ICT; did no one else sense the impending doom of humankind from the “Terminator” and “Matrix” movie series? How about the dangers of cloning from Star Wars, or AI blends from the Borg in Star Trek? Are we not creating a new kind of Frankenstein monster here?
That being said in todays’ world ICT is the new medium of information, and a necessary evil. It is a “jump on the bandwagon or be left behind” moment, and I do not want to be unemployed in the Education field as a career woman with 30 years left to teach and no rich spouse to fall back upon.
I am also curious to see how brain science can prove how our brains are changing and adapting to all of our new ICT these days. I believe that “old dogs can learn new tricks” and I am proof of that myself! I have managed two bachelors’ degrees (Arts & Education) and am up to my ninth language or so, while living overseas and accumulating knowledge first hand about new countries and cultures. Not to mention improving my own personal professional development through the IBO courses, in house training, UBC, various Singaporean Performing Arts schools, and the Royal Shakespeare Company! I am willing and therefore able! (I wonder how many other relevant clichés I can use here?)
In conclusion I must reiterate, that as much as I agree with the overall sentiment of this article, I find it rather pessimistic. I am going to go with Darwin here and say once again, “Adapt or die, as survival is not mandatory.”
http://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_kelly_tells_technology_s_epic_story.html
Kevin Kelly tells technology’s epic story Response:
I am LOVING this guy! He has basically reiterated my entire cultural Geogrpahy & Anthropology minor from University! I found him engaging and exciting. His ppt was simple, easy to read, and understand. He did not need a lot of bells and whistles as I found him to be a very interesting and enthralling speaker. I agreed with him when he said that there are no such thing as bad children. I personally believe that there are no bad children, only bad parents. However this is after four years of teaching in inner city schools and seeing some people at their worst. Even overseas this mantra is applicable despite socio-economic backgrounds. Overall a great video as I believe that one should “Keep It Simple Sweetheart” (KISS) when doing any sort of explanative writing or presentations. I enjoyed this brief world history of Technology.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri4_CW9P41s
Dr. Susan Greenfield: The Internet and “mind-change” Response:
I enjoyed the evolution of the individual personality and brain connections. After taking Psychology and Sociology courses at university (My BA was a major in Criminology which is a branch of Sociology, as I thought I was going to go into Law after the completion of my BA) this was a nice review. In addition, Dr. Greenfield had a lovely British accent, a dry sense of humour that I enjoyed, and rather odd choice of Star Trek-esque leather jacket that I found amusing!
I then picked up my ears when I noted a slight anti-technology tone and comment about her interpretation of the usage by the hour graph that she displayed, as I too feel it is important for the “human connection” and that humans are indeed “social creatures” it is one of the things that have enabled us to evolve and grown as a species.
The next slide was even more fascinating as she went on to discuss “communication in three forms.” Words do only mean so much, as our actions or body movement do denote so much more (55% on her chart) especially as I am a Drama teacher, and I ask the students to “transform” into their characters by changing their daily nuances, body language, and voice in order to accomplish this. I also found that voice (35%) was also interesting as “tone” is always such a HUGE issue when emailing and texting in todays world. How often have we gotten into an argument or in trouble as someone misread or misinterpreted the tone of what we typed? I will add in a GIANT sigh “there but for the grace of God goes I” here… I also liked her mentioning rate and volume as they do have different connotations to different cultures and are something that we try to control as teachers since we do speak in public to an audience all day every day.
I also liked her discussion over lack of empathy and potential of isolation when addicted to being online. I call it “people wanting their fake 5 minutes of fame.” No one really cares, so why post everything you do every minute of every day? Even my mother wouldn’t care about photos of my food, just as long as I remembered to eat!
Information versus knowledge… was a good topic of discussion.
“Thinking is movement confined to the brain. Movement is a series of sequential steps.” I found this quite fascinating and a good argument for the random nature of online search engines versus a human brain taking into account context clues.
“Living for the moment” was an interesting concept as well. The explanation of dopamine being addictive and inhibiting or repressing the prefrontal cortex’s of the brain which trumps cognition, was also an interesting scientific explanation of people’s behaviour when online. I was also slightly surprised about how this is similar to people with obesity (over eating – oh God I’m in trouble!), gambling, and the declining mind of a schizophrenic.
The science behind the brains’ consciousness and “Mind change” as our world changes was an interesting and informative video. I enjoyed how Dr. Susan Greenfield discussed the changes we are seeing in children and how slightly anti-IT she was. I believe in balance, and I believe that is also what Dr. Susan Greenfield was reminding us of too. This was a tale of caution and awareness of change.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c0xa98cy-Rw
Rethinking Learning: The 21st Century Learner MacArthur Foundation Response:
This was a great snippet! It was interesting and raised a few good points on teaching pedagogy and it also raised a few good topics of conversation. I found it a bit too fast, as I was trying to take down notes of the ideas that I felt were relevant. I did indeed rewind and replay the video. There was a good message and encouraging tone to this video, but I felt that the fast pace made it lose some of its power and meaning.
“The love of embracing change.” (Not all of us are willing to love change or change at all). Gamers are bottom line driven and want to be measured and to see how much they are improving. (Does this denote a life long learner or competitive spirit?)
Digital natives are born consuming media versus producing media. Inspiration to develop media came from outside sources or people. (I would agree, as we are NOT born with microchips for brains, and most behaviours are learnt).
Students now need to learn the tools and skills to remake the content. Learning outside of school influences what happens inside school. Importance of home and peer environment, and community, and how can we be more active in linking them together? (Were we not doing this already? Are teachers not checking for prior knowledge anymore before starting a new topic or unit? Whatever happened to the simple KWL chart, brainstorming, or class discussion?)
Technology in schools “bring it out when you need it.” ICT is not always the most effective tool to be learning with.
21st century skills are not just or the potential workforce but for creativity, engagement, and social life and a full range of experiences for the future. (Is this not still us teachers trying to create a well-rounded future citizen?)
Teachers still have an important role, giving students access to a baseline of standards, literacies, expectations, being reflective, a safe and sanctioned way to learn, explore, and reflect. Value informal learning and get them working together in a more coordinated way. (Once more the concept on dealing with prior knowledge pops up again!)
Are people forgetting these things? Or is this an attempt at validating what we already do as teachers? I am curious as to who this video was initially intended for. Should I be insulted that this foundation has ass-umed that I have forgotten how to do my job?
In the end there was a good message and encouraging tone to this video, but I felt that the fast pace made it lose some of its power and meaning.
Prensky Article Response:
This article started out very nicely with a good analogy of digital immigrants versus digital natives. Being 36 and watching the change of technology and trying to keep up or care, which I really don’t, has been a journey. I could easily agree with this article.
However it then started to sink as the middle and ending of the article became a blah blurb on “let’s make every subject into a video game because the kids will like it.” This was a very disappointing end to a really good article. If there were other ideas as to how to use technology into various subjects, I would have perhaps liked it better. However just resorting to video games for everything and everyone was a bit of a let down, as it does not account for the different styles of learners, or account for any students with learning disabilities or ESL issues, which is HUGE in my job and part of the world. Even after reading part two, I am still NOT convinced that video games are the answer to teaching ALL subjects! I found the drill and repeat message more “old school” actually.
On the flip side, I would like to discuss these terms with my students if we do have a “teachable moment” on this topic. I wonder what they would think.
For as much as I am an immigrant I did not fit into the stereotype of one. However upon reading this article for a second time, I actually fall into the category of a digital native; as I grew up with technology (angry 13 year old girl with a Sony Walkman at the dinner table, TV over school any day, and my parents refusing to buy me a Nintendo system as I never do my homework!) and learning was made fun by Sesame Street (which I watched in 3 languages!), plus I listen music while working and multi task. In fact I am doing that now as I read, write, and am listening to my Star Wars soundtracks (John Williams is a God in my world)! I can do quite a lot online and in the digital world. I just choose not to do it or pay attention. This again according to the article places me as a native, yet my loathing of being on my laptop for 12 hours a day is rather infamous at work.
I also found the section on reflection interesting. As both my students and I often have difficulty with this. I often need some extremely quiet time to sit down and write out a reflection when things go wrong or I am unhappy. I also find that my students require explicit instructions and prompts when having to write reflectively for English class, their drama developmental workbook, MYP personal projects and DP extended essay. Again being put into a digital native category by my rather gregarious and slightly selfish personality baffles me…
Plus I believe in brain science and being flexible for all types of learners, digital or not. Therefore I do not think that this article was demonstrating the best pedagogy for teaching either. Overall an interesting article that started with a bang and then fizzled towards the end.
On an aside firstly; teachers LOVE to grouse, it is the only time the are ever happy, unless there is free food involved. They might even grouse about that too! Secondly, “Nike” which should be pronounced “Knee-kay” means victory in ancient Greek. “Dike” pronounced “dee-kay” means honour.
http://video.pbs.org/program/digital-media-new-learners-21st-century/
Digital media – new learners of the 21st Century PBS full video Response:
The love of embracing change
The need to navigate in a buzz of confusion and how to trust the information you find & feel confident is a 21st century skills
Stop being driven by fear, recognize this is the world the students live in, and go from there
Literate need to critique media
Skills for the workplace no longer, now need to be for creativity, engagement, and social life
Text tweet blog Facebook social networks online games
Distraction or instant connection of internet resources
Interact with experts outside of the classroom
Find the right balance
Need to be able to creatively use these tools
Student based learning – inquiry based learning?
Example of a digital based school – hands on activities games, and online, NOT staring on the computer all day
Renamed the subjects names math – code worlds, science the way things work, – history – being space place, design technology – sports for the mind
Mind maps for brainstorming
Video game design
Structured guiding questions for the tasks
The power and importance of play
Tinkering brings thought an action together in some magical gelling ways an epiphany – that is a lifelong learning event
Storyboarding & using templates to translate a story into a 3D video game environment
Need to solve problems in the real world and not just know about facts that they cannot use
Video game as a set of problems you have to solve in order to win
Wireless and laptops, and to be put away when not the best tool to use
Digital comics, Collectable cards as PDFs for ancient civilizations, Video podcasts
Videos from Internet and not whole movies
Math games online
Motivated by trying to win the game
Having fun while learning
Rigorous assessment at each stage of the project
Social & emotional learning from the collaboration aspect (teamwork)
If you finished the game – you learnt it – like a learning system
Concern about competition and addiction (term used to police the culture)
Needs to be a balance
Dedication & accomplishments versus addiction terminology
(Really? How can one compare a “commitment” to a sport team or theater performance, to the “commitment” of staying up till 2am playing video games? Seriously. Am I committed to watching an entire season on TV until 2am or am I addicted to the screen?)
Symptoms of addiction are closer to symptoms of depression (withdrawal from people)
Having a say in what people are watching and listening to
“Giving people a voice” because they may not be good writers or have access
A place to explore your passion
Library’s going digital for high schoolers
Inspiration & tools
Mastery of facts that may become obsolete
Learning requires practice
Passion becomes how do you become a learner.
Becoming self-taught from experts and media online
Media’s changing the ecology of reading & writing
Different practices & types of text
Media is building upon traditional literacy
Shapes = graphic design
Movie = Script
Writing down a great song
Collaboration is needed
Be open minded and how to connect to people
Make you more well rounded because you can fit into any pocket of society.
Showing commitment
Older students are using skills outside of school into other communities
Showing people how to…
Learning does happen outside of the classroom
Children whose interests are being supported at home are doing better in school
Every kid has an interest (articulated or not)
This day in age the responsibilities of libraries, museums, schools, extra curricular activities/groups are to help kids identify those interests & progress through them
Turning into an academic coach
Cell phone – text message scavenger hunt
(Been there done that)
Can also use www and photo requirements
(Uber fun, whole school, team building event! :D)
Are cultural institutions in synch with today’s audience and young people?
The concept of a museum being “boring” (look but don’t touch!) – vamp it up!
Getting them involved with mobile media – devices & hands on activities
Getting out ‘n about for education (new age field trip! Duh.)
Taking responsibilities for your own learning
Actively and participating in their education
Institutions job to become more progressive not passive
Lots of tools out there – for free – to make you (institution) more accessible
Visual literacy – how to look and interrupt the artifacts and then express your understanding
21st century – learning the tools and skills to remake the content (become the producer)
From production to participation
Collective expertise
Learning coming from interaction
Peer based collaboration both teaching and learning
By explaining you are discovering what you yourself do and don’t know
Empowering the students onto their own personal path or education
Harness the enthusiasm for the technology
Confidence gained and creative process and belief that they can make a positive contribution to the world
Learning from experience and recognizing the patterns in those experiences
Digital media designed to have a guided positive experience; real world is not always so malleable
Mobile game design – exploration of your own backyard – making connections to yourself (teacher guided historical walking tour)
Aspect of helping the community – bridging the generation gap & addressing local community issues and offering possible solutions
Debates made faster via online information (wiki’s)
Going from paper & pen testing to laptops – the want to use it and do something different
Assembly line – factory education model – buildings and scheduling – society have evolved past that – just not schools
Ignoring tech is negligent
Using Google applications to share education
Giving students the opportunity to produce the content – instant feedback and potential to change and improve
Everyone wants to be seen and heard, more effort is given if the work goes beyond the school or teacher.
Technology needs to be everywhere yet invisible – it’s necessary
Choose the right presentation methods – tool (verbal podcast, artwork scanned or animated) knowing that it will become public
Becoming a life long learner as there is so much out there
All students have a voice – need to voice – chats or posts
This is in its infancy – things will go wrong and we don’t have all the answers
What do we want our schools to be?
What do we want for our kids?
Tech is a tool that a teacher uses to teach – it’s a resource
The practice of teaching changes as students take responsibility for their learning; owning their education, develop their own expertise collaborating, & polling their resources
Letting them figure out the larger pictures
Teachers who are innovative, dedicated, and willing to explore, and be open minded about education – that’s a good battle to fight for
Poor: Standardized accountable school system with guaranteed basics for a service job
Rich: Need to learn all the same facts but use them to solve authentic problems and will innovate and produce new knowledge, and they will do well in a global system
New: system not about your job but making everyone able to participate in society with dignity and innovation.
In the long run – aspirations (like star trek) everyone is too smart for some of the jobs.
On the other hand, becoming an intelligent society where everyone can produce knowledge and collaborate with each other to make a better society that would make us more successful in the future global economy.
Bennett Matton Article Respsonse:
Overall I agreed with the article, however I did find that this article was slightly “long winded.” I agree that Prensky makes too many generalizations and absolutes, which you cannot do in such a heterogeneous society as Canada or the USA. Even though Prensky’s criterion makes me out to be a digital native, it truly has had no repercussions with the exception of making me laugh and a small boost to my already inflated ego.
The article began with the debunking of Prenskys’ terms. They sited that there is a difference between access and usage. The article continued to discuss the different ways in which technology was used and that one person did not fall into any one category. The idea was also called into account that the differences in socioeconomic status and gender will cause more discrepancies as opposed to age alone.
The next chunk of the article discussed the idea of Prensky’s over generalizations with little evidence to support it. The article also hinted to the cyclical nature of educational and that there is always a movement of panic and concern over one issue or another; plus that each older generation tends to fret and label the younger more “subculture” generation. With this mindset Prensky’s terms were thus used without any evidence, which in turn caused the current crisis, spurred on by the media sensationalizing the issue, and use of wrongly made labels.
The next section went on to discuss the implications of this issue. The conclusions raised were that the education administration needs to do better research into the heterogeneous student population; in order to gain a better and more accurate insight into their students uses and needs for technology. The issue was also raised that education needs to incorporate the new literacies that are now coming into play with the use of technology and the ever changing web (2.0) software and applications.
The conclusion stated three main points. Firstly that Prensky’s terms were generalizations and had little evidence to back up his claims. Secondly that the use of these terms created both a moral and education panic that was truly not necessary. Thirdly that education needs to have more authentic and transparent research to show just how different students needs are now a days in terms of technology.
This article was slightly repetitive, however I did agree with some of their major points, plus I really enjoyed their one rather out of place use of slang in order to bring some humanity and humour into their article. At the end of all things, we should consider the idea that “It may not be as sexy to proclaim evolution rather than revolution,” in the field of educational research regarding technology.
Bennett Maton Article LIBE447B
Social Networking and Education – Neil Selwyn
Social web in education in the UK
How do we make sense of web 2.0
Try not to be skeptical
Sorting through the hype and hope
What should the education system be doing next?
Informal tech & formal education system
Being social, reflective, and expressive
Find and maintain contact with others
Not constrained by geography anymore
Sharing & building of knowledge
Collaboration & communities
Appropriateness
Lots of types of technology
When it should be or should not be used
Education under umbrellas of curriculum
Informal learning – incidental learning by everyday events or nuances
Critically thinking and often criticizing others, info, school
Translate the potential to practice
How can social networking be used in schools?
Checked with the North American Library Association:
Teaching students how to use the web safely and smartly
Using blogs, boundaries, and expectations
Role modeling by teachers
Moving beyond how to use them “properly”
(Rude. Where are the British policies? At least NA’s are trying! :X)
Public libraries using social media to connect with YA
Realities of YA use of technology
Imaginative use of web
Present a reflective piece of writing
At university level creating websites to create networks for pre-moving/attending info
Interconnecting with each other and learning informally
The clash between the potential and reality
(UK is such a rote learning “teach to the test” caste system of education! (A levels, O levels, IGCSE’s) I truly am annoyed with this guy and his smarmy attitude towards NA. I don’t see him changing policies at a national level? Only whinging, so instead of complaining, is he actually going to do anything about it? I know this is form 2008, but I haven’t seen any changes in the UK teachers yet, as I work with them in an inquiry based education system. The majority have been frightened of change, admin, and inquiry based – open ended ways of IBO. On the flip side of no absolutes, a few have been stellar!)
Critical thinking about media literacy!
1980’s & 90’s were teaching about how to use the computer
Digital native is too simple and people are not homogeneous
Many people (children & adults) are not making any good use of the web 2.0 tools
(Age gaps have closed on who uses what – out of date. Plus, for someone who is talking on the topic of ICT, all he has is a VERY long speech and an occasional PPT slide! 😛 Practice what you preach buddy!)
Tools being used distinctively in or out of school!
Looking up information not creating or commenting (using vs adding to a wiki)
Mostly just “passively consuming”
Evidence is sketchy at this 2008 moment
Working side by side is not the same as working together on web 2.0
Ambivalence about social networking in education through out (k – uni)
Learning games
When learning is informal and social students are learning too
A clear need to reach some form of compromise between what we do and what we need to do
Clash between the informal learning and the constraints of the formal education community
What is actually new here in social media and subjects?
Some will ignore social media, some will sanction or ban (filter) social media
Bottom up vs top down rules & regulations
Heterogeneous group of users & knowledge levels
Changing education pedagogy with the expressive, reflective, inquiry, spirit of social media
Rethink the role of the teacher if social web will be used
Social media does not automatically lead to learning
Teachers can manage and orchestrate the use of social media
How will children express themselves?
Students need support, confidence, and facilitated learning
Difficult to achieve in practice (in the UK buddy!)
Move beyond the “acceptable use policy”
Needs to be assessment driven change
Need to change assessment procedures that value and reflect that web 2.0 collaboration and reflection
Can we incorporate creativity, exploration, and critical thinking in the curriculum and policies?
Teachers get blamed for results, but it doesn’t have everything to do with them
Reengineering the technologies to be less configurative and more critical
Need to have educators input in social media creation and usage
Need to be involved in the change, education system and parents
It’s all our responsibility
Ask good questions, say no if needed
Lots to think about for the near future
Over all I was not impressed with this speech. To me he was rude, condescending, and offered nothing in his conclusion. I feel that he was passively “old school” teaching and I was annoyed with him the entire time. If I attended this conference, I would have walked out after 15 minutes. There were a few good points, however the tone of this speech felt like one giant complaint with no solution offered, only the mantra that the UK needs to change. He wasn’t very helpful or inspirational.
http://www.ted.com/talks/mitch_resnick_let_s_teach_kids_to_code.html
Mitch Resnick: Let’s teach kids to code
Make interactive cards, games, animations, and share with one another “scratch”
Becoming “fluent” with new technology – being able to express themselves
Digital natives – sceptical term
Often using games, texting, browsing, chatting – doesn’t make you fluent
Lots of experience and interactive, but not creative
“Read but not write ” which means to write their own computer program or code
Coding does not need to be a select specialized few
http://scratch.mit.edu/ “blocking” by snapping – stacking instructions together!
(I think my evil super genius little sister would’ve made more money if she went with MIT instead of Oxford! :P)
Connecting to the world around you
Many opportunities to learn
Learn to code, code to learn
Learn how computers work
How often are teachers thanked about math variables?
Learning better and more deeply with a real word experience
Learning in a meaningful context
Learning the process of design
How to experiment with new ideas
Take complex ideas and break them down into parts
Persistence, and perseverance in face of problems
Most people don’t need to grow up to become a professional programmer
Important skills, thinking creatively, reasoning systematically, working collaboratively
Express your personal feelings, making a connection
Continuing to learn new things, express creativity, developing new ways to express yourself
This guy was great fun to listen to! I enjoyed his talk and I was inspired to actually look into his website.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNfPdaKYOPI
Games and Education with James Gee
What is a video game? A set of problems that need to be solved in order to win
Is this an excerpt from the PBS documentary?
Started as a linguist
Game needs to teach people how to be successful at it; otherwise no one will buy it
Strategy games, has commands and variables, extremely complex
Assessment and testing run our current school system
We are not going to change the system unless you change the test
The game already tests the child as they win or beat it
Situated in a body learning – being able to solve problems with what you know
Being able to do stuff
Schools have competition now as outside learning is now customized to you
Based in this digital learning
Where you can articulate your knowledge
Two systems for popular culture and producing their own knowledge and the system giving you the basics of numeracy and literacy
That pressure will cause change
Learn more about James Paul Gee on his personal website at
Video Games In Learning LIST, these 50 Videos Explain What’s Possible…
http://www.teachthought.com/technology/video-games-in-learning-these-50-videos-explain-whats-possible/
“What video games have tot each us about learning and Literacy” by James Gee Reading Response:
Games need to be learnt well otherwise people will not buy them
Learning games is capitalist driven Darwinian survival of the fittest
Most gamers do not want short and easy games
How to get young people to master something that is long and challenging, and enjoy it?
Learning principals that good games incorporate have been proven by cognitive science
They make connections to other games, media, texts, and the world
Give good information on demand and just in time
Make it clear how the information relates to the world
Make-work challenging but doable
Customize the work to their levels of ability and style of learning
Adjust as their competency grows
Allow players to produce and co-create
Initial steps are hidden tutorials
Present problems in a fruitful order
Repeat problems until routinized and mastered certain skills
Then confront with a new problem
Motivation is the most important factor that drives learning
There needs to be a willingness to make an extended commitment to engage in a new area of learning
The more one can manipulate the character and make decisions that impact the character, the more one invests in the game
When in multiplayer mode, they will collaborate in teams using different but overlapping skills, share knowledge, skills, and values with others
James Gee Article learn from games LIBE447B
University of Manitoba vs. Social Media and their hurt pride…
I found this news clip extremely funny, as I am from U of M and their Education faculty, and I know exactly what the students are complaining about! In some ways it is nice to know that some things do not change, including the ineptness of the professors in the education faculty at U of M.
I graduated in 2000 and I know first hand how bad the professors truly are. I only like done professor and she was a guest as she was a retired superintendent who taught us school history and politics. I only remember how bad my professors were and how little I learned from them.
My classes were all theory and very little remains of their teachings both inside my head and in my storage bin. In fact when I was moving to China I used over FOUR, six – foot tall paper recycling bins behind my apartment. I then unceremoniously recycled all of my university materials and textbooks that I was unable to return or sell. I was dreadfully tempted to set the papers into the metal garbage bin, set them a flame, and roast hot dogs on them! Alas I did not want to get arrested and China was calling my name!
At U of M; I had professors who had barely taught for a year or two during the 1970’s, and then they scurried back into academia because they were either too scared or too incapable of teaching children! They actually had the audacity to tell the class that all of out student body would be Caucasian, love school, and will love to read. That did not even describe the people in the room attending the class!
We were all part of the “after degree” program and had already completely a bachelors in either Arts, Science, or P.E., and these theoretical classes were an enormous waste of time! I had the same lecture three days in a row from my history professor. That was after wasting several classes watching a film (that needed a projector also from the 1970’s) that was not in English, that was titled “…Eskimo’s…” that was not in English, had no subtitles, and then when it ended the professor returned to us and asked us what had we learnt. Wow, and he probably still has a job in Manitoba and I don’t!
I had an English professor talk about the word “Swiffer” for three lectures in a row as an example of the changes in languages. Which I don’t think she actually knew any other besides English!
Then there was the math teacher who never graded us, and let her TA fail the entire class. After that she lost an entire working math unit of mine, which included all my worksheet s and overheads. After she admitted to losing them I had one day to reprint the document. She actually had the audacity to complain about the print job smudge on the corner and that I did not have examples of my work to show her! My friends in the science department kindly offered to key the side of her car for me…
In conclusion the students at U of M who went on Facebook and complained that their professors “suck”, is because they do! I think that it is completely unfair that they are being punished because U of M has lost face. In fact according to my mother who still lives there, there has been several articles in the Winnipeg Free Press asking and encouraging for the closure of the faculty because there are no jobs afterwards for the graduates! It has been TEN years since I left the province and clearly things are NOT getting any better!
I am curious about the new Dean at Education, as he is new to me. I do not recognize the man or the name.
I was also surprised to hear and then read that the Dean was using Student Council to aid in this situation. I found this surprising because I was on Student Council and all we could do was raise funds, host socials, and be a kind ear for any distressed student. We had no real power. Is this the Deans’ attempt to broach the 21st century and their learners?
I will therefore side with the students after being a product of the faculty, and seeing first hand at what shoddy professors are there. I say shame on you Dean! Perhaps it is time to clean house, and hire professionals who are modern in the field of education, instead of punishing those who made you look bad!
After the clip there was a poll at the bottom of the written article “Should students be punished for making negative comments about their teachers on social media?” 64% said yes! 35% said no. I actually said no, because as long as the student is not defaming or being slanderous (i.e. accusatory of illegal actions) then why not? Being angry with your teacher or complaining about homework is not new to any of us. If university professors are so thin-skinned, then perhaps they should do something about their skills or lack there of.
Most of my secondary school students would post complaints about school or mean teachers on Facebook. I would be surprised if they didn’t. Some would be more cautious NOT to post anything like that online, in case it got back to the teacher and they might suffer retaliation via detention or poor scores for hurting the teachers’ feelings. However that being said, are we not supposed to question our leadership? Is that not one of the great freedoms that we have here in Canada or any other democratic society?
Honestly Faculty of Education, you have indeed “sucked” for a very long time; and instead of complaining about your hurt feelings, why don’t you actually DO something about it, and STOP punishing the students that you are supposed to be educating, as you take their tuition money for an empty degree with no job prospects. Shame on you!
