One of the most inspiration teachers I get to work with…do buy his book!
The Lazy Teacher
1
Tag Archives: C21st Learning
Confident Communicators Project Is Go!
I’m just recovering from an amazing day at Bath University where we launched our collaborative schools’ research project. I work with a wonderful, dedicated team who are making all of this innovative learning a reality.
The ‘Confident Comminicators’ project is designed to work on several levels:
1. Develop learners’ self confidence through their communication and collaboration skills.
2. Provide a learner-led research project which will run over the next five months.
3. Create opportunities for teachers to adopt the role of facilitator and observer of learning, using strategies adapted from EYFS practice.
4. Allow learners to work in teams to ‘research the future’.
5. Raise aspirations of learners & teachers.
6. Use podcasting to develop ‘quality learning conversations’.
What a day! A special word of thanks (tinged with buckets of awe) for the ‘glue’ of the day, Mr Jeremy Stockwell (follow on Twitter @jeremystockwell). He absolutely pinned down the essence of the day in what, how and why he said & did what he did.
Suffice to say, I now know how to breathe and, as one teacher reflected on how tired she was at the end of the day (the students were similarly exhausted!), “…it’s great to be tired in a different way.”
Indeed it is. More on the project as it develops.
Sometimes it’s just nice to sit back and watch
Future learners, present learning…Generation M2
I’ll be using this video in my work with teachers over the next couple of months and with the students who are part of our Confident Communicators’ Project which launches in February. They’re researching and developing their own future scenarios in response to the question… “What will life be like for an average 15 year old in 2025?”. I’ll be posting information about the project over the forthcoming months – I may start up a separate posterous blog to capture it all.
Anyway, the creators of this video and the report associated with it, The Kaiser Family Health Foundation, says, “…this video explores the powerful force that media can be in the lives of teens and tweens. The three young people who are profiled explain what types of media they use—such as smart phones, computers, TV, video games—how much time they spend with media and what impact it has on their lives.”
Simple, concise and insightful – it raises some interesting questions about future learners, present learning.
Twitter Educators LOVE collaboration!
I’ve just taken a screen break, which in truth means a task-switch…and found this great feedback on Twitter! Not only does it prove that Twitter is the most powerful professional development tool around but it reaffirms my belief in teachers-as-learners-as-sources-of-quality-feedback.
What a fantastic learning community I am part of. Need to stop now for fear of getting gushy about the whole thing!
RT @fullonlearning Educators collaborate on Twitterhttp://post.ly/IxEy
Folens A tiny glimpse at what twitter can do for the future of teaching… RT @fullonlearning Educators collaborate on Twitter http://post.ly/IxEy
sandynay RT @fullonlearning Educators collaborate on Twitter http://post.ly/IxEy what a gr8 idea could process be explained 4 others to try #NSWDET
fratel RT @vahva A book made on Twitter with tips 4 teachers. RT @fullonlearning Educators collaborate on Twitter http://… http://bit.ly/85vceG
fratel RT @vahva: This is brilliant! A book made on Twitter with tips 4 teachers. RT @fullonlearning Educators collaborat… http://bit.ly/6BCCkB
HodderHumanity RT @fullonlearning Educators collaborate on Twitter http://post.ly/IxEy
GreatTwitTips RT @vahva: This is brilliant! A book made on Twitter with tips 4 teachers. RT @fullonlearning Educators collaborat… http://bit.ly/63FGjf
GreatTwitTips RT @vahva A book made on Twitter with tips 4 teachers. RT @fullonlearning Educators collaborate on Twitter http://… http://bit.ly/6uGOIR
LJCreate A book made from the Tweets of teachers in Twitterhttp://post.ly/IxEy (via @fullonlearning @hopkinsdavid & @vahvatter)
Twit_Expert RT @vahva A book made on Twitter with tips 4 teachers. RT @fullonlearning Educators collaborate on Twitter http://… http://bit.ly/6uGOIR
hopkinsdavid RT @vahva A book made on Twitter with tips 4 teachers. RT @fullonlearning Educators collaborate on Twitterhttp://post.ly/IxEy
vahva This is brilliant! A book made on Twitter with tips 4 teachers. RT @fullonlearning Educators collaborate on Twitterhttp://post.ly/IxEy
Creative Tallis
Thanks to Jamie Portman (@jamieportman) of Campsmount School for tweeting this from The Thomas Tallis School (@creativetallis)
What would schools be like if they all had this sort of inspirational thinking underpinning their learning culture?
Making learning sticky (inspired by ‘Made to Stick’ www.madetostick.com)
After reading Malcolm Gladwell’s ‘Tipping Point’ a few years ago, a group of us started to talk about ‘making learning sticky’. It was around the time that Mick Waters, then Head of Curriculum at what is now QCDA, was talking about ‘Making Learning Irresistible’. Since then, we have used this concept as the focus for many discussions around learner motivation, pedagogy and use of new technologies and Web 2.0.
Yesterday, I was following up a number of references to books from the world beyond education and ‘Made to Stick’ was one of them. The website is interesting, particularly the way in which the Heath brothers make links between communicating an effective an powerful marketing message in the commercial and business sectors and how the education sector constantly strives to engage students in their own learning.
To be honest, this is right up my street, all this connectivity stuff. I think there needs to be a lot more cross-over between what we know in education about organisational change, motivation and learning and how business, industry and the public sector address these issues. Anyway, I really like this pdf and I’m now working on translating it into ‘education-speak’ for future work. The book ‘Made to Stick is available on Amazon. (Click in the centre of the box to read in full screen).
Educators collaborate on Twitter
Having listened, once again, to yet another media commentator deriding Twitter as ‘pointless & banal’ I felt I had to post this. This fantastic collaborative piece of work is evidence of the quality of interactions that are shared every second of the day around the world by some of the most inspirational educators.
The document was put together by @dajbelshaw and @stuartridout (see their biographical information in the book). It came into existence after a collection of previously unconnected people joined forces and contributed to a Twitter Hashtag entitled, #movemeon. I have not met ANYBODY else who contributed to this document, other than by following some (not all) of them on Twitter. The people I follow share their thoughts and ideas about effective education , they provide links to resources, webpages, articles and events that they recommend. I use my Twitter account as a very specific, targeted search engine for everything about learning. For me, it’s the most valuable source of professional development in existence on the web. I hope you enjoy the publication.
Keep on Learning…
This article was Tweeted by @DerrenBrown today. I selected it because of the emphasis it places on the need for everybody to continue learning.
HOW TO KEEP YOUR BRAIN SMART
“Until just a few years ago we doctors believed that the brain stopped making new neural connections ? meaning that your memory began to get irreversibly worse ? when the body stopped developing usually in your early 20s. And we knew that like any other body part neurons weaken as we age. Loss of brain function due to neural breakdown was assumed to be a normal unavoidable part of aging.
It turns out we were wrong. In the past few years it has become clear that you can in fact make new neurons starting in your 20s and continuing well into old age. You can literally rewire the brain with new parts as the older parts wear out. How? Simple: Keep learning. Just as your body can pack on and condition new muscle your brain can rebuild used-up neurons.
How strong is the evidence for this? Strong enough that a $200 million industry devoted to brain-boosting software ? products like Brain Age MindFit and Lumosity that supposedly improve your memory function ? has sprung up out of nowhere. The jury is still out on whether these programs actually sharpen the noggin as much as they claim to. But frankly you don’t need a fancy video game. All “mental fitness” means is keeping your memory intact ? everything from phone numbers to how to throw a football.
Mehmet Oz is a heart surgeon and the coauthor of You: Staying Young (Free Press $26).
Why do we educate?
I’ve just posted an answer on the Wallwisher (www.wallwisher.com) belonging to an English class I’ve never met, prompted by a teacher who I only ‘know’ through Twitter. Through the delights of Web 2.0, however, I get to interact with students from around the world. (see the wallwisher at http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/leaness2). Thanks to the Tweet-prompt from @aleaness.
It reminded me of this…
A very good friend of mine passed on the answer to an ultimate question. I always thought that an ultimate question was, by definition, ‘ultimate’ and therefore, unanswerable. Perhaps, just occasionally, however, the answers to ultimate questions are just very very simple…
The Question: “Why do we educate?”
The Answer: “For peace.”
Full On Learning 