Colorado Conversation: Learning Is Change February 23, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Conference Sessions.trackback
Ben Wilkoff, Cresthill Middle School (DCSD) - Starts with a discussion about learning. What is learning? Lots of different ideas, which reinforces my own working definition. Learning is an individual journey to know yourself, and your place in the world.
The presentation from Learning is Change does a nice job of asking the question: http://learningischange.com/
The next question to spur conversation is: How do you create context? Is connecting a way to create context? Is community? Is currency? Ben brought his students to the Students 2.o blog to provide a conversation. His students started from there and extended the conversation to their own world. One teacher in the room said that he has a ‘no tech’ zone in his classroom to limit the wired connections. It is quite true that technology doesn’t create quality learning or teaching. Someone else made the point that technology is just another tool. The demands of the content, and the standardized tests, sometimes limit the connections or context that can be created in the classroom.
Ben moved along to Google Docs and a conversation his class had around the book The Lord of the Flies. Guiding questions around utopia/distopia are placed in a Google Doc and the students work in small groups to respond. What is collaboration? For me, it is a setting that allows for the opportunity for participation and input from every member of the group.
Change directed classrooms: “All knowledge is constantly changing, and so are students’ understanding and demonstration of knowledge.”
Conversations are another component to developing context. Context is also a Continuous process that isn’t limited to a single classroom but relies on access.
Where do we go from here? How do we make our classrooms more authentic?
http://colearning.wikispaces.com/LearningIsChange
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Thanks for the link. I appreciate having someone with your level of understanding and experience to continue the conversation with. I hope to hear from you again soon.