Learning is Change

05.02.07

Cores 1-4:

  1.  AR Update and Partner Points Passes.
    • All books are in by May 11
    • No tests after May 11
    • I will still accept book talks, book reviews, and blog posts until May 25.
    • Modified AR Point Requirements:
      • 21 Points for an A
      •  Lowest setting for your own B level is 11.5
  2. All Personal Curriculum Due by May 28.

Core 1:

  1. First rate discussion and collaboration.
  2. Discuss-on: How easy is it for you to become someone you don’t like?
  3. Read to the end of the chapter in Animal Farm looking for signs of Napoleon becoming something that he would never have imagined at the beginning.

Core 2:

  1. Real Movement Ideas
    • Fleshing out a convention of ideas?
  2. Highlighting an -Ism
  3. Work on your Ism with a specific purpose.

Core 3:

  1. Group A: Read and Discuss the Rumble.
  2. Group B: Start working on a question that interests you, think about slideshare and spresent.
  3. Podcast Discussion Question:
    • The book has always been called a coming-of-age novel. How does Ponyboy come of age?

Core 4:

  1.  First rate discussion and collaboration.
  2. Reflection Question: What is the hardest section to flesh out within your utopia and why?
  3. Work on your Utopia for specific purposes.

05.01.07

Before Core Time:

  1. Flesh out icom4students.
    • Start discussions, ask questions, create new pages that you want to talk or think about, figure something out that you want to collaborate on, etc.
  2. Blog about your FutureMe.
  3. Work on either your Utopias or My Meaning or Learnerblogs.

Cores 1, 2, and 4:

  1. Help Mr. Wilkoff name his podcast.
  2. Work on your wiki projects and submit an edit to delicious for Sem2_Week15 or Blog about your FutureMe e-mail.

Core 3:

  1. The Art of Time-Suckage:
    • What is Time Suckage?
    • Why are we drawn to it?
    • How do we combat it?
  2. Options:
    • Work on your Meaning wiki page and submit an edit to delicious for Sem2_Week15.
    • Blog about The Outsiders and submit it to delicious for Sem2_Week15.

What’s in a name?

 ,

I hate to resort to cliche, but I’m afraid that there isn’t much that I can do about that now. I have already committed way too too much of my time to choosing a name for a podcast that doesn’t even exist yet. Cameron Reilly over at The Podcast Network in a recent conversation over Skype has charged me with producing a podcast about the following (my words, not his):

Creating an educational movement based upon technology integration, student-directed authentic learning, and anywhere/anytime collaboration. However, this show is not merely for educators, rather it is an easily accessible look at what 21st century classroom are capable of. The show will be grounded in practice rather than theory, so as to convince all of the students, parents, teachers, and bystanders who may still be clinging to the ways in which they have been taught. The show will have an interview-based format, in which I will be probing the experts on what can be done to create change. I will be searching for ways to cultivate School 2.0 in the minds of all who are interested in seeing our children meet their true potential as thinkers, leaders, and doers.

Sounds pretty exciting, right? Well, here is the rub. I have no idea what to call the thing. All of these really terrible names are jumping around in my head asking me to use them for a project that may go on for years. I can’t be tied down like that. I need something clever, something with hope and promise. Not something like the ones I have already written down:

  1. The EdTech Vision Podcast.
  2. The EdTech Community Podcast.
  3. The Open Education Podcast.
  4. The TEACH Podcast (Technology in Education through Authentic Collaboration and Heuristic learning)
  5. Technology in Authentic Education Podcast
  6. The Next Generation of Education Podcast
  7. The Education Collaboration through Technology Integration Podcast
  8. The Education 2.0 Podcast (This one was Cameron’s)
  9. The Educational Technology Collaborative Podcast

None of these will do, mostly because I don’t think that any of them really encompass what we, as a community of teachers and learners, are trying to accomplish in transforming education. So, I put it to you, humble readers. What should a podcast be called that is trying to spearhead an entire movement into a weekly episode. If I am going to envision so much collaboration in the classroom, it had better start with me.

04.30.07

Core 1:

  1. Write-On: What is the line between leadership and dictatorship.
  2. Read the next chapter of Animal Farm and figure out where/if the line has been crossed.
  3. Utopia update, Icom update, and War update.

Core 2:

  1. What are the favorable Pre-Conditions for a movement to start? (What conditions would make a movement more ripe than others?)
  2. Icom, -Ism, where do we go from here?
  3. Work on your -Ism with specific purpose.

Core 3:

  1. Podcast Discussion Question:  What does the rumble solve?
  2. Group A to keep reading until the end of the rumble, Group B to start work on their first My Meaning Question.

Core 4:

  1.  Utopia update, Icom update, and War update.
  2. Discuss hero question from Friday.
  3. Work on Utopias with specific purposes.

04.27.07

Core 1:

  1. Review the revised Discovery Online Code.
  2. Write-On: How would you know if you were being controlled?
  3. Read the next chapter in Animal Farm looking for controlling situations.
  4. Work on Utopias.

Core 2:

  1.  Review the revised Discovery Online Code.
  2. Explore the Promethean Movement and write down the answers to the following questions on a sheet of paper:
    • What is the Promethean Movement?
    • How does it try to grow and convince people?
    • What is the Promethean Movement doing that you can do with your -Ism?
  3. Work on you -Ism wikis with a specific purpose.

Core 3:

  1. Split into A and B.
    • Group A will be either reading to 104 or working on the Family Affects.
    • Group B will be creating their Meaning Statements and helping the new people to set up accounts.
  2. Podcast Discussion Question:
    • Does Ponyboy and Johnny’s one act of heroism cancel out the murder?

Core 4:

  1.   Review the revised Discovery Online Code.
  2. Write-On: Who are the heroes of your utopia? (Have you provided an opportunity for people to stand out as humans, not as successful businessmen, writers, or political leaders?)
  3. Work on your Utopia for a specific purpose.

04.26.07

Core 1:

  1. How do we need to update The Discovery Blogging Rules so that they include wiki-specific ideas.
  2. What can we do with our new found collaborators from Wallingford, Ct?
  3. Work on your Utopia with specific goals.

Core 2:

  1.  How do we need to update The Discovery Blogging Rules so that they include wiki-specific ideas.
  2. How are your own spaces different or the same as our -Ism space?
  3. Work on your -Ism with specific goals.

Core 3:

  1. Group A:
    Patrick M. (until he finishes) Adam G. Majid M. Colby S. Aric V. Rhiannon R. Sean C. Michael D. Haley O. (until she finishes)
    Brook B. (until she finishes)                
  2. Group B:
    Matt G. Trey F. Eric P. Mark B. (Engagement team) Garret O. Stephanie S. (Engagement team) Zach H. Breanne N. Radha K. Daniela B. Bryce Erin L. Nick R-S.
    Taylor (Engagement team)                        
  3. How will groups differ, and how will we come together?
  4. Work at your pace.
  5. Our Meanings Podcast Discussion Question: Why does Johnny care more for the lives of the kids he saved than for his own? Is this right?

Core 4:

  1. How do we need to update The Discovery Blogging Rules so that they include wiki-specific ideas.
  2. What can we do with our new found collaborators from Wallingford, Ct?
  3. Work on your Utopia with specific goals.

Visions of Change

itunes pic
Well, I guess it was bound to happen sometime, but I really didn’t expect it to happen this soon. We have received funding for our School 2.0 within a school idea, The Academy of Discovery. So, what do we do now? How do we continue to articulate the vision in the face of overwhelming support. Adversity I can handle, but what do we do now that everyone is behind us, just waiting to see how we can pull this off. It leaves me very excited to have the freedom of collaboration and experimentation within my community, but it also leaves me scared for blank page that we have been given to write on. I just hope all of our posturing and framing doesn’t signify nothing.

Show Notes:

04.23.07

Core 1:

  1. Check out the Clustr Map.
    • How does this change the nature of our writing/project?
  2. Discuss-On: What kind of leader usually wins a fight/debate?
  3. Read the Snowball and Napoleon showdown.
    • How does this fundamentally change the society?
    • Is it better or worse than having your two leaders argue all of the time?
  4. Work on your Utopias with specific goals in mind.

Core 2:

  1. Social Movement Theory #1: All movements have an initiating event.
    • What is, or will be, the initiating event of your -Ism that will allow people to rally around it?
  2. Work on your -Isms and work toward a movement.

Core 3:

  1. Introduce My Meaning.
  2. Why would Cherry spy for the greasers after a greaser had just killed her boyfriend?
  3. Take a look at what happens next.

Core 4:

  1. Check out the Clustr Map.
    • How does this change the nature of our writing/project?
  2. Write-On: How does your society commemorate birth and death?
  3. Work on your Utopias with specific goals in mind.

Creating the School 2.0 Movement

itunes pic

I have become dissatisfied with talking about School 2.0 only among educators. It seems to be this feedback loop that creates a lot of noise, but in the end, really doesn’t create any massive change. So, I am proposing a change in tactics. We need to begin talking to anyone who has the time to listen about School 2.0. We need to show them artifacts of authentic learning so that they know just how effective it can be. We need to get outside of the blogosphere and podcast communities, and talk to the parents that don’t get it yet. Although “consciousness raising” is important amongst teachers, it really should be our only tactic in bring about a transformation in education. Most of this is why I will be starting up another podcast over at The Podcast Network. I am looking for educators and non-educators alike to interview, anyone who is willing to think critically about the shared vision of student-centered education. Please contact me for details.

04.19.07

Core 1:

  1. Who do you think the animals represent in a society?
    • Boxer
    • Clover
    • Benjamin
    • Muriel
    • Squealer
  2. Read Chapter 5:
    • What does a societal shift look like?

Core 2:

  1. How do you start a movement?
    1. Steps
    2. “You know, if one person, just one person does it they may think he’s really sick and they won’t take him. And if two people, two people do it, in harmony, they may think they’re both [idiots] and they won’t take either of them. And three people do it, three, can you imagine, three people walking in singin a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and walking out. They may think it’s an organization. And can you, can you imagine fifty people a day, I said fifty people a day, walking in singin a bar of Alice’s Restaurant and walking out. And friends they may thinks it’s a movement.” -Arlo Guthrie
  2. Work on your -Ism with a purpose.

Core 3:

  1. Read about “gold.”
  2. Why do we want to hold on to our “gold” for longer than we can?

Core 4:

  1. Work on your Utopia with specific goals in mind.
  2. How does the concept of beauty function in your utopia? (What is beautiful according to your citizens?)