For the first time in recent memory, I didn’t present at the eTech Ohio Educational Technology Conference this year. Last summer, I decided to take a year off from conference presentations, and instead focus on some of the big questions surrounding the future of education. In the intervening months, I have done a lot of reading, participated in several online networks, and had countless conversations with smart … Continue reading Reflecting on #OETC12
It was February, 1990. I had been using the Internet for about four months. Usenet, a distributed messaging system, was all the rage. For the first time, I started to see the possibilities of connecting and communicating with other people who share similar interests. I weighed in on a discussion about the Blues Brothers band. Last week, twenty-two years later, I found that post online. It’s not … Continue reading Footprints
It’s 8:30 on a Saturday morning, and I’m sitting in a rapidly filling high school cafeteria in Philadelphia. As I look around, a see a few familiar faces, and even more familiar names. But for the most part, these are strangers. They’re not part of my world. They’re from urban schools. Charter schools. Parochial schools. Private schools. They’re teachers. Integration specialists. School leaders. Professors. Students. … Continue reading A Common Purpose
When I taught middle school, Grease was incredibly popular with the seventh and eighth graders. I remember discussing this with my colleagues. Why would a twenty year old movie, set twenty years before that, be so popular with the Gen-Yers? The best theory we could come up with was that it was the ideal, pop-culture vision of what high school was “supposed” to be. It … Continue reading A Community Effort
I learned early to play the “school game.” Do what is expected of you. Please the teacher. Don’t make trouble. Don’t ask questions. They will give you information. Then, they’ll ask you to give it back. If you follow the rules, you’ll be rewarded with a good grade. Good grades will get you into a good college, which will get you a good job. It’s … Continue reading 21st Century Workers
The two-week break in the #change11 MOOC has given me an opportunity to catch up a bit, and to reflect on the experience so far. It’s now sixteen weeks since the start of the course, which has included thirteen weeks of content, a week of introduction, and a two-week winter break. According to Stephen Downes, the course has 2,000 registered participants. The course web site … Continue reading What’s not to MOOC?
My superintendent was looking for an event to attend. He keeps hearing about iPads and 21st Century Skills and digital textbooks and iPads and 1:1 programs and social media and iPads and YouTube and Facebook and Twitter and iPads and he needed some context. He wanted some way to make sense of it all. I suggested the 21st Century Skills Summit earlier this month in … Continue reading The Death of 21st Century Skills
I started last week’s presentation on Google Docs with this xkcd cartoon. I’ve commented many times that my smartphone replaced more than half a dozen devices that I used to carry around with me. I no longer need a digital camera, digital video camera, mp3 player, navigation system, PDA, or wristwatch. I have access to the Internet all the time. But even if I didn’t, … Continue reading Analysis Paralysis
It was a message on Twitter from one of our administrators: @schinker ok now what? He had signed up for a Twitter account because he wants to connect to the community. He realizes that there’s a conversation happening online, using (but not about) social media tools. How is education changing? How are schools adapting to meet new challenges and increased demands with fewer resources? He wants … Continue reading OK, Now What?
And, in the blink of an eye, a week is gone. Two weeks. Still, the thoughts pile up. Scribbled notes on paper napkins, open browser tabs with pages I mean to read and comment on. A draft email. An unfinished conversation. We’re at the point in the Change MOOC that I’ve lost track of which week it is. There are a lot of unfinished thoughts about … Continue reading Building Blocks
I’m finally getting to the point with this MOOC stuff where I can reflect and react. This week’s topic, facilitated by Allison Littlejohn, was Collective Learning. She makes the argument that problem solving and collaboration are necessary for learning and life. In the United States, we’ve seen innovation save us over and over again as each generation has worked to overcome the challenges of growing … Continue reading Collective Learning
I’ve been familiar with the concept of MOOCs since Dave Cormier started talking about them a few years ago. The concept is pretty simple. Course materials are posted publicly online. Anyone can participate. Facilitators provide materials in a number of different formats to start the conversation. These might include journal articles, blog posts, videos, or other things. Participants react to this material through the media … Continue reading Relearning Learning
Taste of Tech 