Challenge 2015; Contribute To The Worldwide Classroom

Reinforcing suggestions from favored PLN (personal learning network) contributors, A.J. Juliani, Silvia Tolisano, and Jackie Gerstein, one challenge for the coming year becomes clear; learners regardless of age or status, should find ways to contribute to the worldwide classroom. The Internet, and the unlimited accessibility to information means that our traditional concept of classroom must change. Modern learning spaces are built upon networks sharing knowledge and experiences. Thriving in these new learning spaces means being able to connect, curate, communicate, create, and contribute. The value of a learning network depends upon contributions from its members. Today, educational thought leaders are those people making consistent and impacting contributions to their learning networks. "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Now, more than any other time in the past 100 years, education seems on the verge of a paradigm shift. You see, for the past century, most of the educational change has been “doing old things in new ways”. Today, we are beginning to see educators, educational institutions, and educational companies do “new things in new ways”. - A.J. Juliani

Networking is built on a concept of sharing. Networking is defined by the Merriam_Webster dictionary as “the exchange of information or services among individuals, groups, or institutions”. In order for an exchange to take place, someone has to step up to SHARE. Without sharing there is no network. - Silvia Tolisano

The Internet of today has become a huge picture window and portal into human perceptions, thinking, and behavior. Logically, then, we would expect that schools would follow suit in matching what is happening via the Internet to assist children and youth to function, learn, work, and play in a healthy, interactive, and pro-social manner in their societies-at-large. - Dr. Jackie Gerstein

What did you learn from others? What did you contribute to the learning of others?

Dean Shareski

Three ways learners can contribute in the worldwide classroom

Connect and Share - Social media are popular "virtual" meeting places for educators, with the most popular being Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Linkedin. The Educator's PLN and Classroom 2.0 are supportive online communities for educators. Knowing the power of the hashtag, and knowing when Twitter chats occur jump starts one's ability to connect and share.
Curate and Share - The Internet provides access to unlimited access to information easily and inexpensively. The ability to effectively search and sift information is essential in a Web 3.0 world. Equally important is the ability to analyze and compare digital resources for their learning value. RSS readers and tools like IFTTT, help increase search efficiency by delivering subscribed material to the learner. Many apps have a "share to" box for distributing valued resources to the learning network. I use Twitter, Pinterest, and Flipboard for the bulk of my saving and sharing.
Create and Share - Following processing and reflection, a new learning resource can be created. Blogs, presentation slides, podcasts. and videos are examples of artifacts that perpetuate and expand learning in the worldwide classroom. These artifacts can be used as evidence in a digital learning portfolio. Transparently sharing learning to authentic audiences raises performance expectations and creates opportunities for feedback, discussion, and the sharing of varied perspectives.

The big shift isn't that content is digital. It's that the learning culture is participatory - @AngelaMaiers #beyondthetextbook
— Audrey Watters (@audreywatters) March 19, 2012

According to Dictionary.com, "a classroom is any place where one learns or gains experience". The traditional concept of classroom needs updating to fit the socially networked world in which we live. More than merely raising a hand, contributing to learning in modern learning spaces means connecting to others, effective curation of information, and creating new resources supportive of a worldwide culture of learning.

Self-Directed vs. Self-Determined Learning; What's the Difference?

"We need to move beyond the idea that an education is something that is provided for us, and toward the idea that an education is something that we create for ourselves." - Stephen Downes In this age of abundance of information, shifting classroom pedagogy isn't nearly enough to make learning in school more relevant and authentic for the learner. Self-directed learning ( andragogy ), and self-determined learning ( heutagogy ) are the ideals necessary in making students " future ready " to live and learn in a web-connected world. While original research applied these concepts to mature learners, it has become apparent that even young children have an abundant capacity for recognizing and directing their learning. Anyone who has observed toddlers learning how to walk and talk understand the motivation and skill development that quickly develops during these processes. Considered by some to be on a learning continuum, self-directed learning, and self-determined

Board Games in the School Library: 3 Reasons Why It's a Winning Play

"Play is the highest form of research." - Albert Einstein “Play is the work of the child.” – Maria Montessori In our recently remodeled school media center, we have a space dedicated to active engagement in fun learning activities. Part maker space, part literacy lounge, board games are being incorporated to promote a culture of joyful learning. Whether it's a game of Rummy , Yahtzee , or Scrabble , family game night serves as a communication elixir and solidifies our domestic climate of togetherness. Shouldn't similar opportunities for interaction, challenge, and fun exist somewhere in our schools? Broken families, cultural fragmentation, and poverty are impacting opportunities for children to play. As we unpacked and tagged our new media center games, I was more disappointed than shocked by the number of students who had never played Monopoly , Boggle , or Sorry . One skeptical teacher commented, "Oh great, now we're letting students pl

The Classroom Experiment - Strategies to Promote Engagement and Learning

Dylan Wiliam is a prominent educator in the United Kingdom. His ideas and strategies are consistently mentioned in education reform circles. On an uncharacteristically quiet evening at home, I stumbled across these BBC videos, The Classroom Experiment . Although it took nearly two hours to get through the videos, I came away thinking that the teacher is certainly the most important factor in student learning, and that student learning can be improved with persistence and a willingness to become better at failure. For those folks that feel that teachers can be replaced by technology, these videos suggest otherwise. The Classroom Experiment - part 1 (58:00) The Classroom Experiment - part 2 (59:00) Dylan Wiliam at The Schools Network Conference (38:00) Here is a summary of the strategies and changes that Dylan Wiliam instituted to increase student engagement and advance student learning. No raising of hands - use Popsicle sticks, or some other mechanism to randomize th

Nocking the Arrow

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