I’ve been thinking about conferences recently. And unconferences. And a new kind of get-together that I don’t quite have a name for. It kiind of began when Hadley said she said that she didn’t need more ideas so much as time to implement the ones she already has. Isn’t that the truth! Maybe it’s time to take a step back, temporarily, to reflect and put some ideas into action?
Face to face conversations are part of how human beings have interacted since the beginning of time. They will never go away even though the barrage of technology greatly expands how we communicate with one another. That said, I believe educators need to teach both ways of communication to students. We are obliged to do this because, as educators, we are preparing our students for the jobs of the future — and for lives in a digitally shifted world.
Is it possible for primary and secondary students in two very different countries like Lesotho and Norway to collaborate using technology? What can we learn from each other and how would we even attempt to start such a project? Based on written applications, four high school students from Norway were chosen to accompany me to Lesotho and stay for 4 days. Our goal was to help a primary school with technology and teach the students how to use laptops to make presentations for a joint project with our school. It was an amazing experience!
Framing a lesson is important to me. I try and do this in varied ways; sometimes I’ll share a story, sometimes I’ll use a quote related to a theme, sometimes it’s a picture, and quite often it’s a short video. Something inspiring that helps my students understand its relevance to what we are learning, something that will fire those brain neurons, something that frames our lesson. Something from TED.
It makes perfect sense when you think about it. Creativity is an invaluable tool in problem solving. In a digital age where innovation is highly valued, teaching creative problem solving is essential. It seems everything I’ve been up to recently has been leading to a focus on creative problem solving. The convergence of these events has had quite an impact on my thinking and teaching.
I am a proponent of BYOD (bring your own device) learning. I very rarely travel anywhere without my iPhone or iPad, and I can’t really blame my students if they do the same. I see the “addiction†students have to their cell phones as an opportunity to engage in learning since I view cell phones as another teaching tool, not a distraction. The technology is in their pockets. It’s a learning resource. Let’s use it!
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