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Education Revolutionaries
    • sharon_elin
      Sharon_elin on 2009-05-15
      This analogy of equipping sailing vessels with steam engines works well as an illustration of technology being plugged into traditional classrooms.
  • We need to get the teacher into
    the game. The teacher needs to get in there and be part of the
    learning process, actively engaged in solving the problem with the
    students and learning with the students—not teaching but
    modeling learning with the students by functioning as an expert
    learner solving problems and constructing new knowledge with the
    students.
  • modeling the
    learning process
  • Any
    organization that adopts a new technology without significant
    organizational change is doomed to failure. You have to change the
    organization. You cannot just add the technology. You have to
    actively work on changing the roles of the teachers, the roles of
    the students, the roles of the parents, and the roles of the
    administrators, and start to work toward building new relationships
    and new structures
  • we will get the same result if we
    introduce modern learning technologies in our schools but do not
    prepare teachers to work in this new learning environment.   If we want to take
    advantage of these new technologies and the billions we are
    investing in equipment for our schools, we have to prepare teachers
    very differently than we have in the past. We have to change our
    own model of teaching and instruction in higher education.
  • Trying to introduce new technologies into schools without
    these changes would be similar to efforts in the sailing industry
    during the 1800s, when steam engines were installed in wooden
    sailing ships.
  • We will not get
    out of our wooden ship schools until we use communication
    technologies for two-way interactivity that allows us to
    collaboratively construct the learning experience and new
    knowledge.

Public Stiky Notes

  • sharon_elin
    Sharon Elin on 2009-05-15
    This analogy of equipping sailing vessels with steam engines works well as an illustration of technology being plugged into traditional classrooms.
  • mhines
    Mark Hines on 2009-07-11
    After visiting the MET in Providence, I am convinced that Littky has already answered this question with an entirely new way of thinking of school - and he has plenty of data to show IT WORKS!
  • willrich
    Will Richardson on 2009-05-15
    Too true. This is a huge professional development undertaking.
  • shareski
    Dean Shareski on 2009-05-15
    This is exactly the focus on my course at the University of Regina. My disclaimer to my students is that they have grown up in a system that for the most part, worked for them. It's going to be hard for them to change as well.
  • pjhiggins
    Patrick Higgins on 2009-05-15
    Mary Ann,

    I agree that sending "changed" teachers out into schools that are unchanged would be a dangerous thing to do.
  • persei
    Mary Ann Harlan on 2009-05-15
    Changing before teachers enter the system - but my thought is that is has to be holistic, a system redesign
  • brkuhn
    Brian on 2009-05-20
    This statement really needs to be foundational in school construction project design and planning work. We need to completely rethink how schools are designed. A 100 year old design is not the right design to support the learning community model described here.
  • persei
    Mary Ann Harlan on 2009-05-15
    Teachers as learners, modeling a passion for learning, sharing enthusiasm, as well as strategies for learning
  • willrich
    Will Richardson on 2009-05-15
    That part about the distinctions between students and teachers fading away is a big, big shift for most. This is where the idea of Learning First, Teaching Second comes in.
  • willrich
    Will Richardson on 2009-05-15
    This is huge. "Collaborativly construct new knowledge."
  • mhines
    Mark Hines on 2009-07-11
    of course, the wonderful thing about this is that this is age-independent - it allows even a very young learner an opportunity to be the expert - we rarely enable this kind of human potential in schools.
  • jimfolk
    James Folkestad on 2009-05-21
    This is directly to the point. "Expert learners" help other learners build and increase their learning edgility (see edgility.net) and enter a space to connect with their passions.
  • shareski
    Dean Shareski on 2009-05-15
    "expert learners" That's what I"m talkin' 'bout! ;)
  • willrich
    Will Richardson on 2009-05-15
    This is such a great statement. Will be recognized for their ability to learn and help others learn.
  • persei
    Mary Ann Harlan on 2009-05-15
    mentorships, apprenticeships, models have existed - but question - I can see this with older kids, what about younger how does that look?
  • willrich
    Will Richardson on 2009-05-15
    Wow.
  • willrich
    Will Richardson on 2009-05-15
    Very true.
  • brkuhn
    Brian on 2009-05-20
    I wonder how this and other ideas here transfer to each level (eg, elementary, middle, secondary)? These statements aren't differentiated for age appropriateness. I'd like to see that fleshed out.
  • shareski
    Dean Shareski on 2009-05-15
    I hadn't really thought about this distinction before.
  • persei
    Mary Ann Harlan on 2009-05-15
    Wow
  • willrich
    Will Richardson on 2009-05-15
    I struggle with how this networked learning becomes tangible. What does it look like for the group as opposed to the individual?
  • mmossman
    Marilyn Mossman on 2009-05-15
    How do we get current teachers to accept this change?
  • mhines
    Mark Hines on 2009-07-11
    The image and what it implies gets the to heart of what needs to change to save education - in the day 2 keynote of NECC09, the debate on bricks or mortar, good or bad, ended up being a somewhat agreement that the problem isn't B&M - it is what happens in them - this is the best, research evidenced solution, and technology needs to play a critical role to support it.
  • brkuhn
    Brian on 2009-05-20
    This is transformational! I hear from principals all the time that teachers are uncomfortable using technology in front of their students... the teachers want to become proficient with technology before using it in class... in this model, they are learners alongside their students and each has their own domain knowledge and expertise to offer to the community. I like it!
  • mhines
    Mark Hines on 2009-07-11
    what a contrast between these two views on what to do with learners in an open environment. The big shift will have to be re-tolling teacher's mindsets about how to teach in these settings. Folks like High tech High and the MET have given up expecting to hire the right kind of teachers, and instead have opened their own schools of education to get teachers to develop the correct pedagogy and philosophy.
  • brkuhn
    Brian on 2009-07-09
    This is a key point. A failed school design does not mean the design is wrong. How the learning community is implemented within the physical space is absolutely key to success. The real challenge is shifting the culture of teaching from a traditional model to a networked learning community model.
  • brkuhn
    Brian on 2009-07-09
    How do we do that with teacher unions that are often resistent to change. "very differently" in this context is quite scary for traditionalists.
  • brkuhn
    Brian on 2009-07-09
    This is profound. For too many years we've added technology to schools and classrooms and continued with the same general model of teaching and learning. We use words like "enhance learning with technology" when we should be saying "transform learning through the use of technology". Technology projects are organizational change projects which implies transformation.
  • lindseybp
    Barbara Lindsey on 2009-06-07
    Exactly the response I hear again and again....
  • jimfolk
    James Folkestad on 2009-05-21
    This is a very nice metaphor for what is going on in today's classrooms.
  • willrich
    Will Richardson on 2009-05-15
    This is what I want to say to Gary Stager. This is a process. VIrtually nothing acheives excellence on the first try.
  • willrich
    Will Richardson on 2009-05-15
    I wonder how many people still don't understand this.
  • shareski
    Dean Shareski on 2009-05-15
    A great response to the arguement about whether or not technology improves learning.
  • willrich
    Will Richardson on 2009-05-15
    Sounds like Shirky.
  • willrich
    Will Richardson on 2009-05-15
    This is depressing. We're making the same argument today.
  • mhines
    Mark Hines on 2009-07-11
    the past 8 years of tech development have moved us even further along this proposition. Although there is a lot of hand wringing and "schools and teachers are resistant to change" the movements to charters, new school models, online education that works (check the research on this) and new models for schools indicate the disruptive wave (Christensen, Horn et el) are coming sooon!
  • willrich
    Will Richardson on 2009-05-15
    To me, this is the money quote. Helping kids to grow their own personal learning networks in safe, effective and ethical ways.
  • willrich
    Will Richardson on 2009-05-15
    I agree. And this is something that we don't talk about enough. Everything is customized for us these days...except learning.
  • bmuench
    Brenda Muench on 2009-07-02
    Web 2.0 Applications are the beginning of this change I think. Let the users decide what they need and how they want to use it but it's got to be collaborative in nature!

Page Comments

  • clrobertson
    Cory Robertson on 2009-06-10
    The problem is technology has progressed so much in the past 10 years, that saying, "Yes. Computers can be used to improve schools," is like saying, "Yes. VCRs can be used to improve school." Educators need to stop thinking of computers as the only form of technology capable of delivering curriculum and information.
  • bsherry
    Brenda Sherry on 2009-07-12
    RE: Knowledge creation/generation, Papert would say that the problem is often with curriculum; teachers are always teaching what is already known, so co-learning can't happen genuinely. Technology can help create other circumstances.

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