Twitter and Google Reader for Productivity

Bigger than pedagogy

The last two posts that I have written have talked about ideas vs. Tools. I didn’t realize it until after I had written them that I had not used the word pedagogy once. I was speaking of ideas in education, concepts, schemas for how learning works now.
 
At some point I would like to figure out a new word, though, for what I would like to see happen in schools. Pedagogy is too small and idea is too large. Pedagogy is all about the art and science of teaching. It is about best-practices and research in the classroom. And ideas are simply the supporting structures that allow us to carry on a conversation.
 
What I would like is a word that describes an understanding of connected learning, a word that explains the use of a tool for all stakeholder’s learning, not just the student’s. I want a word that keeps a network in focus at all times to show that learning is not an isolated act.
 
Well, I will be thinking about this for a bit, but what I would love to know what your word for what you would like to see within people in education. Do you want them to know the pedagogy? Do you want them to have a schema? Do you want them to just get a clue?
 
I’m interested in moving this conversation along.
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The Ripe Environment: Change cannot be Institutionalized

Well, when I first started blogging about The Ripe Environment, I didn’t know that I was being edupunk, but now that I have read the powerful thinking behind the theory (Students 2.0, Stephen Downes, Bavatuesdays, D’Arcy Norman) and I believe I was. I don’t know that I really want all of the baggage that goes along with labeling myself, but I truly believe in the idea that change is about people not processes.

It takes a person to create change because vision isn’t enough. It is great to create documents and blog posts and do research projects on creating change, but unless a teacher in the classroom does something differetly or a student asks for more in the classroom, there is no way that things will shift one iota.

I happen to love the nitty gritty.

I like talking about working through significant roadblocks to change. I like convincing others that change is worth their time, that it is important.

And not just any change, we need to be moving toward Authentic Learning with such passion and ferocity that it cannot be boiled down a powerpoint presentation. Passion doesn’t come from such things. Passion only comes from a place of specific experiences, not a generic goal of creating change.

The Ripe Environment should not be about creating a hope among people that there is a movement afoot, that technology is the silver bullet or that golden jargon will save us all. The Ripe Environment is about personally expressing a need to do things better and focusing on what better really is.

I have to constantly tell myself that learning is sacred. I do it for myself. I do not share because I know what is best. I share because I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that it is only through this act of rebellion that change will occur within others.

(I may be abstract in talking about this concept from time to time, but I really do want to talk about the personal stories and experiences that create change. Share yours in any way you know how.)

Digital Ex-Patriots and The Formula for Transparency

Well, I may be going out on a limb with this one, but I have described in the podcast a level of discomfort with technology that goes beyond the simple immigrant/native debate. The fear and panic that is associated with technology in the classroom comes from Digital Ex-Patriots. These people (parents, teachers, administrators, etc.) are so sure of their anti-technology stance that they are actively pursuing a life (of education) away from technology integration. These are the people that we must win over if we are going to continue our collaborative efforts and truly create change. Please let me know what you think about this concept in the comments or in an e-mail (benjamin.wilkoff@dcsdk12.org)




Show Notes:

• 00:00:00: Intro to Online and Offline Life
  Internation Community of Minds

• 00:03:17: Safety Vs. Panic
  The Most Discussed Post I’ve Ever Written

• 00:05:07: Creating Discussion
  Bud Hunt’s Blog

• 00:06:07: Twitter as Tool

  My Twitter

• 00:07:28: Formula for Transparency
  Discovery Online Code

• 00:08:16: Twitter as Classroom Communication
  Remote Access Twitter

• 00:09:40: Digital Ex-Patriots
• 00:11:37: Google Paper: Good or Bad Idea?

  Google Paper

• 00:13:14: Mass Phone Call Newsletter
  Pheeder

• 00:13:53: Paths to Transparency
• 00:18:03: The Role of Students in Classroom 2.0
• 00:19:20: Transparency as Conversation
• 00:21:35: Conclusion with Challenge
  Podcast Blog

The Embedded Classroom

The two wiki project that my students have started to work on have taught me that an open framework that allows for embedded materials is preferable to any all-in-one solution that tries to do too much at once. I also would like to apply this concept to my classroom in a concrete way. My students should be able to embed their knowledge and experience into the framework of the classroom. They should be allowed to use whatever service/method they can to prove that they have learned something.

Show Notes and Links:

• 00:00:00: Introduction to The Embedded Classroom
  The Podcast Blog

• 00:00:29: Wiki Project 1: Utopias/Dystopias
  The Discovery Utopias

• 00:03:42: Wiki Project 2: -Isms
  The Discovery -Isms

• 00:04:21: A Content Management System

  TTT Episode

• 00:07:02: The Framework for Embedding
  Example Embed

• 00:09:44: The Metaphor for Embedding
• 00:12:36: The Drawbacks of All-In-One CMS
• 00:14:27: Pulling Spaces Together
  Grazr

• 00:16:32: Conlcusion
  My Blog