Teaching in the 21st century

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In his Introduction to his book, Personal Learning Networks, Will Richardson identifies why networks and connecting are so important for teachers of the 21st century. He explains how today’s learning landscape is vastly different than what we have seen in the past 150+ years. As I read I was reminded of the RSA-Animate where Sir Ken Robinson breaks down what is no longer working in the current education system. (If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. I also encourage you to share it with your students, and their parents. In fact, view it together to create a dialogue about where you want your classroom to go.)

Both Richardson and Robinson agree that the world wide web, and 24 hour access to information, is changing the way we learn, and the process of learning as a whole.  Personally, I can attest to this; I see it every day. I have more and more students accessing information on their smartphones than the classroom computers; there are more students asking if they can email me their homework than ever before, a parent told me the other day that she found it strange that I didn’t have a facebook account so she could “connect with me” – her words! At breaks students are hanging out on   twitter and tumblr instead of in the yard or the cafeteria. The world it is a changin’! And I for one want to be a part of it.

 Richardson is a strong advocate for helping teachers embrace 21 century technologies and all that they have to offer; he believes that teachers and schools need to “plug into this vibrant worldwide network of learning to stay relevant and to prepare our children for a vastly different landscape” (p.3 ).

Below is a short 3 minute video of Richardson discussing the need for teachers to embrace PLNs in this new learning (and teaching) climate.

The 21st century is upon us, and  it’s filled with technologies – mobile technologies, technologies to enable communication, technologies to facilitate collaboration, technologies to inspire creativity, and technologies to promote innovation.  It is our job to ensure our students acquire the skills essential to success in the 21st century and beyond.  As Richardson says in his intro, “teachers need to: stay relevant in order to prepare students for the “vibrant worldwide network of learning” (p.3 ).

 In 2010, in my first MET course, ETEC 511, I was introduced to the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE)  NETS for students (2012) and NETS for teachers. I highly recommend you check them out. You can even download a pdf version. These short and sweet documents will help you get a better understanding of the skills that are important for today’s students and teachers.

If you want more information on 21st learning skills I highly recommend Bernie Trilling and Charles Fadel’s book, 21st Century Skills: Learning for Life in Our Times. I read this book two years ago and it really helped me bring theory into practice in my classroom. In my opinion it is a must read. (Several libraries have the book available in ebook format as well).

I would also encourage you to check out the Canadian Council on Learning’s 21st Century Learning Initiative ,as well as the United States’ initiative – Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Every province and every school district across the country should have their own version of the 21st century skills available to teachers, and resources  to help teachers meet those skills.  Here is a link to the British Columbia Teachers Federation (BCTF) site addressing 21st century learning skills.

Be sure to check out your own province’s stance on 21st century skills as well as your school district’s. There should also be a person available in your school or district to help you along the way. And if not, you’ve found me, and together we can start making the essential connections to become effective 21st century educators – relevant educators, educators who are able to turn pedagogy into practice and model the use of learning networks rather than just talking about them.

 

Will Richardson – the guru of of PLNs

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Happy Victoria Day!

Despite the fact that it’s been “May long weekend” (a.k.a. May 2-4,) I’ve managed to spend several hours this weekend getting to know Will Richardson, who I am officially naming the “Guru of PLNs”.  (Although I am sure someone somewhere has already beat me to it!) Richardson is an educator,  motivator, co-founder of Powerful Learning Practice, parent, and self-proclaimed outspoken advocate for change in schools and classrooms in the context of the diverse new learning opportunities that read/write/create technologies offer. Richardson has been blogging since before blogging was cool!  Seriously! His first blog ran for 10 years and provides a wealth of information on everything to do with networking and learning in the 21st century, on a read/write web via web 2.0 tools.   (Be sure to check out his Resource page). Currently, Richardson can be found at his new website. You can also check out his two wikispaces: willrichardson.wikispaces and weblogged.wikispaces which offer a wealth of useful links and information.

This weekend I managed to track down copies of his books: Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom (2008) and his most recent work, Personal Learning Networks (2011), (quoted in an earlier post).

While I have accumulated several articles on the steps for creating PLNs, and I am eager to jump in and get down to the business of creating networks, I know the importance of  grounding practice in solid pedagogical theory. (Thank you ETEC 511 and ETEC 530). So, I want to spend this next phase of this journey exploring the WHYs of PLNs before I jump into the HOWs.  I believe Will Richardson’s book, website, and blog are going to help me do just that…

stay tuned!

Connectivity and feeling connected

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Over the past few days I have been scouring the web and the UBC library for articles, books, blogs, wikis, basically anything I can find, on personal learning networks, and I made an interesting discovery – many of the reviewed articles are written by librarians.

Initially I thought this was a little unusual, until I came across this brief piece written by Kelly Werthmuller, My Crazy Road to Finding My PLN. In it she talks about the isolation associated with being the sole librarian in a brick and mortar school; it was her feelings of collegial confinement that motivated her to create her own PLN.

As an alternate high school teacher I can relate to Kelly. For the past 16 years I have worked in various alternate schools throughout Vancouver and the lower mainland. My first school had 4 teachers, my current school has two and a half, and in my previous school, I was the only teacher. I felt incredibly alone. I lived to see other teachers. I kid you not! I yearned to talk about teacher things – lesson plans, modifying curriculum, using technology, meaningful assessment, etc.

For Kelly, initiating a PLN and connecting with people from around the globe has helped her take control of her professional development. It has helped her stay current on issues and trends that matter to her personally and professionally. She no longer feels isolated, she feels empowered and liberated.

I’m with Kelly, while the people I work with are wonderful, knowledgeable people, they are not enough for me, and I am not enough for them! I want to be ethereally surrounded, as Kelly so perfectly says, “with people who will help me THINK, CREATE, SHARE, and GROW.” And the broader my network, the more refined my practice will be, and that can only serve to benefit my students, my colleagues, my administration, and even the parents of my students.

So now the challenge is to start investigating the most effective means of forming meaningful and relevant connections around the globe.

What is a PLN?

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If you do a search of the term PLN you will be directed to some interesting websites…most of which do not pertain to the focus of this blog. When I say PLN I mean Personal Learning Network. A PLN is not the same as a PLE but in some ways they do compliment one another. Ironically, during my first MET course, ETEC 511: Foundations of Ed. Tech, I contributed to the on-going class wiki by adding information on Personal Learning Environments (PLE). It looks as though my learning, and my interests have come full circle.

In my original research I looked at how students could use PLEs to document their learning in an online platform – think e-portfolios! (Interestingly enough, the other course I am currently completing is ETEC 590 which offers a capstone opportunity for teachers and focuses on creating an e-portfolio of my MET experience).  But I digress.

What a PLN is essentially is a network. That’s obvious; it’s in the name. But a network of who? or what? Will Richardson, in his recent book, Personal Learning Networks: Using the Power of Connections to Transform Education, defines them as ‘a set of connections to people and resources both offline and online who enrich our learning” (2011, p. 2)  Flanigan (2011) describes PLNs as “teacher-driven, global, support networks”. I like the combination of the two definitions as they suggest the empowerment that comes with creating your own PLN, while recognizing the power of external supports.

When I think of my own PLN, I think about people, people that I know, people that I call, or see at meetings, or conferences. But in such a global world, a world that has been opened up by the web, I realize that my thinking is limited. I have to go beyond the people I see every day and instead start to create a network of people and resources  that I can not only access, but communicate with, on a regular basis to enhance my learning and my students’ learning as well. This is where the web becomes unquestionably critical.

If you click on the image below you will see a snapshot of  my current PLN, as I begin this journey. Notice that there are a lot of links but the links are not connected. I have made some connections with some people and some web sites and social media tools but they are all one way connections at this point.  The connections are not inter-connected; I believe, this is the piece that is missing. The piece that this course will help to solidify. If solidification is possible in the read/write world in which we live and learn.

Click on the map above to see a larger version. If the map is too small once opened remember you can always click on ctrl key and the + key to enlarge it.

Let my PLN journey begin!

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I blog... Prior to undertaking this blog I did some research on what constitutes effective blogging.  Problogger identifies 10 Tips for writing an effective blog post. I will try to stick to their recommendations as much as possible.

Who?  My name is Stephanie Myers and I am enrolled in the MET Program at UBC. I am also an alternative high school teacher working in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.   Also, Diane Janes, my supervising faculty member, has generously agreed to support and guide me through this journey. I am incredibly fortunate to have along for the journey.

What? ETEC 580 is a course offered through the Master of Educational Technology (MET) Program at UBC. Although you won’t see it in the course offerings – it is available as a means of developing your own course while enrolled in the MET program. This blog constitutes part of my 580 course. Feel free to check out my full proposal below.

When? Summer Session, May 13-August 9, 2013.

Where? I have no idea where this journey will take me; I simply know that it will inevitably lead somewhere, as journeys always do.  My hope is at the end of week 13  I will have expanded and solidified my own PLN.

Why? As I near the end of my three years in the MET Program I recognize that I have had the incredible opportunity to connect, collaborate, and communicate with people from diverse fields of study, from around the globe. This connectedness has led to a radical transformation, not only in who I am as an educator and in my approach to teaching and learning but in my day-to-day teaching practice as well.

The world wide web and web 2.0 tools have become an integral part of my classroom and have enhanced the learning experiences for me and my students.It is because of the ongoing communication with my MET peers, readings, research, and projects, that I have grown and I do not want that growth to cease when I graduate from the MET program in August.

So, as I type this, I realize I have just thirteen weeks, 91 days, roughly 2180 hours, to create a meaningful and sustainable network, a network that will take me beyond the MET Program.

I hope you will join me!