Group items tagged

Courses should encourage open participation and meaningful engagement with real audiences where possible, including peers and the broader public.

Students have the right to understand the intended outcomes--educational, vocational, even philosophical--of an online program or initiative.

n an online environment, teachers no longer need to be sole authority figures but instead should share responsibility with learners at almost every turn.

course modules focused on developing students' understanding of big ideas and global concepts,

have a daily learning practice that involves myriad social media platforms, a whole range of devices and connectivities, lots of interest in learning about new platforms and means of expression, and an intense inclination to be a learner around technology.

instructors who

We are aware of how much we don't know: that we have yet to explore the full pedagogical potential of learning online, of how it can change the ways we teach, the ways we learn, and the ways we connect.  

As we begin to experiment with how novel technologies might change learning and teaching, powerful forces threaten to neuter or constrain technology, propping up outdated educational practices rather than unfolding transformative ones.

All too often, during such wrenching transitions, the voice of the learner gets muffled.

There's no one teaching them about the nuances involved in creating a positive online footprint.

if you’re not transparent or findable in that way—I can’t learn with you.

“Without sharing, there is no education.”

Every student needs one-on-one access to computers and other mobile technology in classrooms.Every teacher needs professional development in the effective use of digital tools for teaching and learning, including the use of digital tools to promote writing.All schools and districts need a comprehensive information technology policy to ensure that the necessary infrastructure, technical support and resources are available for teaching and learning.

"It can take weeks of discussion, reading and searching, but once you have struck their passion, their eyes light up and you can't stop them," he says.

"There is really only one way to learn how to do something, and that is to do it."

Harnessing entirely pupil-led, project-based learning in this way isn't easy. But all of this frames learning in more meaningful contexts than the pseudocontexts of your average school textbook or contrived lesson plan, which might cover an area of the curriculum but leave the pupil none the wiser as to how it applies in the real world.

Have we really hit the tipping point with online communities and collaboration– true collaboration? Is deep collaboration (moving past talk and cooperation to appreciative and collective action ) so prevalent among education that we can call it “old hat”?

Shouldn’t we be trying to  understand what is happening in those spaces that were new only a few years ago, determining how to best use them to learn and help our students learn?

re people confusing talking to people online with deep, connected learning?

Despite the considerable differences among all those institutions, one idea binds them together: the understanding that reflection and practice together are the best pedagogy. As Andrew Delbanco puts it in College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be: "Learning is a collaborative rather than a solitary process.

Computers will enhance learning, but they will never replace the profoundly personal dimension in deep learning.

We know that the best learning involves practices—lots of them. We know that effective learning is best achieved through the engagement of other deeply attentive human beings. The learning might occur in a traditional classroom, but it might happen in a different space: a lab, a mountain stream, an international campus, a cafeteria, a residence hall, a basketball court.

When the school was created, a research and design studio known as Mission Lab was integrated into the design of the school by founding partner Institute of Play. The goal of Mission Lab is to help teachers teach the way they wish they could — the way they dream of engaging their students, were it not for the lack of support and other obstacles that often get in the way. Mission Lab supports teachers by pairing them with a game designer and a curriculum designer (staffed by the Institute of Play) who help make the teacher’s vision a reality, providing support throughout the process of design and implementation.

Teachers in their first year at the school have two weekly curriculum meetings built into their schedule, and meetings for returning teachers are scheduled on an as-needed basis, usually once a week.

he mission narrative, or context, is developed once the teacher, game designer, and curriculum designer have identified the big ideas, learning goals, and standards for the trimester.

1. Learning Centered - Everyone (adults, children) is a learner; learners have agency; emphasis on becoming a learner over becoming learned.

2. Questioning - Inquiry based; questions over answers

3. Authentic - School is real life; students and teachers do real work for real purposes.

Organizations maximize innovation if they embrace distributed leadership that truly amplifies opportunities for anyone in the organization to imagine, prototype, and build on new ideas. 

nnovative schools focus on teaching each individual user, not on the process of content transfer.  Differentiated learning, truly adapting the learning experience to the needs of the student-user, leveraged through the differentiated resources of the teacher-user, will be the tsunami of educational change in the next decade.

uccessfully innovating organizations make numerous bets, many of which are small, and some of which shoot for the moon.

Each class has students divided into groups of four to five paired together to learn course material and create projects. Teachers work with the groups to create a more individualized learning experience and enhance comprehension.

"We aren't just adding technology for technology's sake here," he said. "It really is a culture change taking place. There's nothing traditional about the way our students are learning. We really focus on creating an environment where students can learn subjects in a way they can relate to and a way that interests them."

Since classes are now project-based, students are graded on a variety of skills, including content, oral communications and work ethic.

in true motion leader style, motivated me (ok I was already motivated, but supported me) to shift my perspectives on the role of teacher and by extension the role of principal from facilitator of learning to activator of learning.

Alternatively, there is a .84 effect size on student learning when teachers serve as activators of learning through offering feedback, accessing thinking, supporting challenging goals, and monitoring learning. It does not take extensive training in statistical analysis to find this research compelling.

Offer respect to others before it is earned Engage in impressive empathy, meaning empathy even for those who stand in your way Invest in capacity building – human capital and social capital Build social contagion Eliminate non-essentials Focus on a small number of ambitious goals.

Social Justice Teacher Preparation Technology Integration Networked Learning Twitter Parents as Partners – Building Learning Networks Posted by Shannon Smith on 2/20/12 • Categorized as Best Educational Practices,Distributed Leadership,Parental Involvement,Twitter 5 "fist bump" cc by Mark H. Anbinder on flickr Many schools are beginning to use social media to send out information to parents. Examples include twitter feeds and facebook pages. These initial forays into social media are a first step. They provide parents and the community with greater access to information regarding the school and the learning happening within its walls. A key facet of school leadership is developing relationships, both within staff and also with families and the community. This relationship building must include seeking feedback and listening. Most of this work is done face to face, through school events or outreach programs and even through informal conversations in the hallways or at drop off or pick up time. We live in a time w

nstead of classrooms, PlayMaker School has a suite of spaces that are interconnected physically and visually. There’s an ideation lab, a maker space, and an immersive gaming and learning zone where the students can try out the games they create and the software they develop.

When you put math and science teachers together, they can cross-collaborate on lesson plans. If they’re teaching trigonometry or wave properties in math, they know they have to pull in the physics faculty also.” Schools that embrace STEM end up retraining. “They have to stretch their conception of what’s being taught.”

They were inspired by facilities that “let spontaneous collisions happen,”