Simplicity in just 10 minutes. Too bad that the conversations rarely get to this level.
For What Do You Need an Interactive Whiteboard For?
If you use an interactive whiteboard & learning management system (what is it in the first place?) for example sending out questions or assignments to students, who for example have hand helds or their own mobile devices, what does it change? In the core, how is the learning process significantly different?
If you have a class polling system, what new does that bring? Instead of negotiating meaning of some topic, instructor introduces a question (stimulus) and see who has the right answer (response). What does this imply? How does it change anything when you compare this to the regular “raise your hand if you think this is the right answer”?
In conclusion: The instructor is in front, in control, deciding what is meaningful to learn (actually to teach) and what in itself, is important at that time.
Once again the process, from which learning actually consists of, is destroyed meaningless. The learning is still understood as the chunk of content which the instructor delivers to the receivers (learners). Only now, coated too often with lousy user interfaces, bad usability (which creates frustration) and more importantly, wrong pedagogy.
Scott Warren
“Are we interested in teaching fixed world views and respect of authorities (modernism) or criticism and scepticism (post-modernism)?”
What (video) games can actually teach us? Directly, indirectly?
Compare e.g. Civilization’s “you can win by destroying your enemies” and “the state has the power to survey and command their people, and they should do as they are told.” In what ways can we use this, and other game situations and contexts in learning?
Paul Kim
Learnings from the field around the world (India, Ruwanda, Palestine): Simplify things (e.g. user interface).
SMILE: People in all ages can ask questions, answer them, rate and evaluate them. No textbooks. The students take pictures around them.
Findings:
Hardware, software and pedagogy must be all integrated as a cohesive whole.
Grand challenges:
Rigid instructionism: We still think we need to teach.
Research must look at ecosystems, not just technology.
Conclusion:
Remember unique local clock speed. People often go back to teach the way they were taught. Sustainability.
SITE 2012: Larry Johnson, The Horizon Report
Notes from the keynote:
“Our strategic planning is based on a world that no longer exists.”
People expect to be able to work, learn, play and socialize where ever, whenever.
From
“Network connects us”, to “Network is us”.
and to
“The network is invisible.” We just want it to work.
“Principals should know the principles of education”
In a short period of time I and Hanna Teräs, my wife, have done two conferences in the Middle East; Hamdan Bin Mohammed e-University Annual Congress in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and IEFE 2012 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In both of them our presentation was primarily about the changing roles of teachers and students, and how we believe our faculty development programme could offer a one solution for this complex matter.
The comments and active (sometimes almost heated!) discussions with the participants have offered a true learning experience for the both of us. Some comments below, both from Dubai and Riyadh, which made us feel we truly are on the same page with those who see the need for change.
e-Learning…
Isn’t just about technology doing it by itself, but how we use it.
(a Quote from an excellent Saudi research paper): “e-Learning is still mostly used for content delivery.”
The students need…
Instead of just passive teaching, our students need more basic research, critical thinking and problem solving skills.
…skills for positive interaction with each other.
…to become socially responsible, not just aiming for themselves.
…skills for actual life.
Teachers…
…should attain a role and skills of a facilitator
…go to the level of students, not just be the one who “knows”
…should make students understand the [actual value of] technology
(About innovation and teaching) To achieve something different, should do something different.
…should become as important and respected as lawyers and doctors
…should understand how to get the students to think, not just “make them learn”
Other questions and remarks:
Are our teachers (mentally) ready for this shift?
Principals should know the principles of education.
To conlude…
How much is this discussion different from what we see in the West, or other places? Some super-interesting conversations with local people have made me question who actually needs who to teach about what in the global world and who actually has the strongest will and environment to change their education system?
The Changing Roles of Teachers and Students
The Future of Education is…
In short: Those who say they know, lie.
Trends:
Fear. Fear of digital natives, their needs and how this changes everything, in every level.
Assumptions of various kinds, like
- Students want to use digital media just because digital media is something they have grown up with. And there is nothing to do with self-expression, freedom to choose and the definition of the self.
- The technology has created a generation of humans who know how and what they should learn, intuitively.
- The future of education is X (your perception of the world here).
