Sunday, October 28, 2012

Reflections on Fall CUE Conference

Here in California we have a state organization called CUE or the Computer Using Educators.  They have several conferences a year and I just came back from the Fall CUE in Napa Valley.

I usually have a focus when I go to a conference, some learning goals for myself that I use to determine what sessions I attend.  This time I was looking for sessions about innovative schools and about motivating learners.

Here are some quotes/ideas from various speakers related to those topics that I thought were interesting:

Chris Scott said that students need three things: Autonomy, Purpose, Mastery


Roni Habib said when you foster creativity in the classroom, deeper learning takes place.
What role will technology pay in our student's future?
What is important to our students?
How do they approach their learning?
What do we prepare kids for that really matter?


James Brown said if we want deeper learning, we need sustained engagement, emotional connection, critical evaluation, and a high reward mechanism.

Rushton Hurley had questions that were important to ask:

What role will technology pay in our student's future?
What is important to our students?
How do they approach their learning?
What do we prepare kids for that really matter?


He also had this great quote about student engagement, "If they're not guessing, they're bored."

Vicki Davis: "Students should leave high school with a learning legacy." and "Our classrooms are microclimates."

Jon Bergmann: "Teaching is about the relationship between the teacher and the student."  and "Every kid deserves the right education for that kid."  He also asked, "What is the best use of your face to face class time?"

Fred Mindlin thought we needed to think about the difference between data driven and data informed and that we need to train students to be the creators not to be consumers.

Links to the speaker notes when available and other links can be found in this shared Evernote folder.

This was my first conference by CUE and I also have some thoughts about how it was run.  There were only 15 minutes between each session and only an hour for lunch.  That meant the organizers could squeeze in five sessions a day and a keynote, but there wasn't much time for reflection or connection between sessions. I would have preferred four sessions and time to chat with my colleagues or the presenters in a longer break in between sessions.  Second, in some of the other tech conferences I've attended, there was an emphasis on connecting with others not just as a fan, but for the exchange of ideas.  In this conference, I felt there was an "in" group and those "stars" weren't very welcoming or encouraging to bring others into that group.  That social piece is something I think CUE needs to work on.

Overall, I had a good time.  I feel there are so many teachers who just need to be convinced that technology can benefit them in general, so there isn't as much at conferences like this for those of us who are already convinced and now need to go deeper in leveraging that technology use for deep learning.




Saturday, October 13, 2012

My Dream School

This week I'm starting a new online course, called Designing a New Learning Environment from Stanford.  One of the things we have to do is to form teams around a similar idea for a team project.  This is a description of some of the inspiration and ideas that I have for what I think a new K-12 school system should look like.

Some of my inspirations include my experiences as a teacher and in working with the homeschooling community, the writings of Alfie Kohn and Will Richardson, the book Disrupting Class by Clayton Christensen, and the work in Alaska's Chugach School District.

I believe that humans are curious, self directed learners, that we are better together than apart, and that mentors are essential to the learning experience.  I also believe that the current high stakes testing climate and the Common Core standards are not in the best interest of students in the United States.

In one of his blog posts, Will Richardson sums up the problem by saying, "...if we don’t start writing and advocating for a very different vision of learning in real classrooms, one that is focused not just on doing the things we've been doing better but in ways that are truly reinvented, one that prepares kids to be innovators and designers and entrepreneurs and, most importantly, learners, we will quickly find ourselves competing at scale with cheaper, easier alternatives that won’t serve our kids as well."

My current thoughts are that the best way to model a different vision of what learning could look like in American classrooms (and those around the world, for that matter) is to create a non-profit that runs a demonstration school, develops a competency based k-12 curriculum, creates open educational resources so that the model and curriculum can be implemented in any school or district, and act as a research hub to compile research to support the model.  A non-profit could run a zero-tuition school that would be private but act as a charter school and in that way be exempt from following Common Core standards.

I also have a few ideas of what the curriculum might look like.  Kindergarten to 2nd grade would look somewhat like it does now.  There would be an emphasis on technology to learn skills and the teacher model technology tools to create and discover, turning over the reigns as appropriate.  Small, cooperative groups would create and discover with teacher guidance.  

In third through sixth grade, students would have an overview of history ancient to modern times, they would learn about the major concepts in sciences, and continue to develop skills in math and language.  The technology emphasis would be on creation, finding information, and evaluating sources, though technology would still be used for skill development.  In addition, students would learn basic programming in something like Scratch and participate in NVC style training.  

In grades seven to ten, big ideas guide learning so students can study areas of particular interest.  The emphasis in technology is on contributing to the online community, with more sophisticated creation and critical thinking skills improved.  Specific skills are studied in language and math where needed.  Students would also learn more sophisticated programming, human psychology, goal setting, time management, and independent study skills.  They would begin the process of developing their Personal Learning Networks.

In grades eleven and twelve, the emphasis would be on following individual passions, apprenticeship, business, and marketing.  The end of schooling is preparation for what students plan to do next with academics chosen to best meet those needs.

All this is subject to change and revision, of course, but it gives some idea of where I'm starting in this class.