Modeling co-learning and other conference take-aways

At a conference in Pennsylvania this past week, I got the chance to meet ed tech leader Kristin Hokanson of ConnectedClassroom fame. She tweeted my keynote and workshops and helped me out a lot as I bumbled through my Second Life presentation/demo. I e-mailed Kirstin a note of appreciation for the kindness she showed during my visit, joking that I need to be more careful about what I say during my talks knowing (because of Twitter) that people are actually listening. And this was her reply:

I had to chuckle at your comment about being " more careful about what (you) say if (you) know people are listening" ...while I sometimes think that myself, I realize that the message that we are sharing is SO very important we NEED to keep sharing, and tweeting and RE-tweeting and hope that folks DO listen and that we can make a difference in helping kids to become more information literate. I live with those digital natives, I want them to be prepared for their future. I want public school to prepare them for life in the 21st century! AND I think teachers, administrators, and educational leaders who model co-learning is exactly what our kids need!

OK, so how do we clone Kristin - or at least her passion?

One of the biggest delights of doing workshops/presentations about SecondLife and Web2.0 tools is that I always seem to learn new stuff as the presenter. I commented a while ago about the increasing range of skills and knowledge one encounters in Web 2.0 workshops. And I realize that I've come to actually depend on the greater expertise on those attending to make the workshop richer for everyone, just feeling a little guilty about it.

Now I find that I am modeling being a co-learner. I like that.

In PA, I also got to hear Alan November give a keynote. He, along with Jamie McKenzie, was a primary influence on my thinking about educational technology when I was a little director growing up on the prairie. One of the suggestions that he made that I particularly liked was that teachers stop answering questions in class, and instead turn this task over to the students themselves. Talk about everyday practice in information literacy!

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On Friday, a number of students and teachers presented on what they had learned as a part of a year long information/technology literacy program called MILI sponsored by MetroNet. One high school girl's comments about how GoogleDocs "organized her life" and made working with her teacher and classmates more effective made me think we need to get rolling with Google Apps for Education in our district. I believe it WILL help kids. End of story.

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Here's good question that came up during one of my workshops...

One of the reasons often give for teachers not being more willing to infuse technology into their classrooms is that they are intimidated because the students are more proficient in its use. Yet we have many educators who expect their students to be better at what they teach than they will ever be, including music teachers and atheletic coaches.

Why do some teachers delight in students who lap them in knowledge and ability and others seem to fear it?

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Happy Monday. Getting excited to be going to NECC!

Comments

[Linda Fox]

Doug; I have always thought it inappropriate for librarians to answer student questions as well. Instead of just chirping "SITUATION" for that student who asks "How do you spell...?"- I tried to remember to say - "Let's take a look in this book - the dictionary." Of course, that was before google online dictionaries. Some students thought I was annoying, some teachers thought I was just being a prissy old library lady. Ach!
Still - this is a real pedagogical change. We are all so acculturated to educators being that "stage on the stage" that often we just automatically play our role. We have to consciously remember not to answer the question.

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Linda,

I agree it will take a conscious effort. It's always less time consuming to do something for a person (like answer a question) than to teach someone to do it for themselves (like how to find an answer.) At least in the short term. But it's time well spent in the long run.

Thanks for comment,

Doug

Oh, my parents always made me look up words rather than give me the spelling!

[Shannon]

Small, authentic learning opportunities... so much better than any dictionary worksheets!

I like November's Learning Farm- with students having the role of class researchers for the day, then reporting on their findings. It makes me think of an earlier Blue Skunk post were you recommended many, repeated, authentic research tasks. It's a strategy I hope we can adopt at my school next year. I love how the summer break makes all seem possible!

[Doug Johnson]

Hi Shannon,

Thanks for the comment. I agree about today's kids especially needing authentic learning experiences!

All the best,

Doug