tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79858796678758206962024-02-06T23:42:14.885-08:006AM ThoughtsDiscussing ideas in the freshness of the morning sunrise. MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-10802971761793709042016-03-09T09:51:00.001-08:002016-03-09T09:51:58.485-08:00<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">To put it simply, innovation in schools today is far too focused on improving teaching, not amplifying learning</span>. -Will Richardson</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Will Richardson has come over to the side of students and written a great piece that teachers like me were calling for years ago and as a result were driven out of schools. These ideas are the new mantra and being put forth as new ideas. I am happy that we are finally realizing that the internet has truly made education self education. Read <a href="https://medium.com/@willrich45/stop-innovating-in-schools-please-b9246151be7#.uscn2bufs">Richardson's article</a> and jump on the bandwagon if you are not already there!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="color: red;">We don’t let students pursue the questions most in their minds. More often than not, the sole audience for the work students do is the teacher, and it serves no real world, authentic purpose. Our kids’ passions and interests are ignored in favor of compliance to the curriculum.</span>-Will Richardson</span></blockquote>
MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-78644628453752128922013-10-29T02:14:00.003-07:002013-10-29T02:14:25.504-07:00Relationships continues to transition<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TDP Relationships gathered the school in Room 10 in a surprise gesture of thanks and well wishing for Young who left for Korea on Wednesday October 23, 2013. We also celebrated with cake and rice in the lunch room. She led the TDP in an in depth study of Korean culture, especially in language and food. We will miss her as she touched the hearts and minds of us all. She intends to return to SFT and the TDP for the 2014-2015 school year. The TDP will stay in touch with her through electronic means.</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-49e87bea-037b-73a2-9dba-7328ec3b1401" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><img height="265px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/9qKkj7k_CTnhzC0nyE1lUPWSQ2RO4ydVtJ_xtQyVPWComdJ-cqlnqJnTtrBP4VruhAc67sp3m1HijZdDT3fkOrLV83gA5np4166uTzls4Mevwb6MpuDW_4OAHA" width="177px;" /><img height="263px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/OankdBDljEr_itqJ3p4nlOuXi3LR8xmuCBLcQhDSrLWDoDYBMYQE6E7jz3BUpJ65nuXiyZbSwEm_0poY5xYIQZixf9SVggj7nMtgVixoCI1A9sT_xIDCvVKMzA" width="176px;" /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Thursday the TDP explored the concept of the dialectic as a way of organizing ideas and examining how concepts change over time. One area we will use it, is in the exploration of the interaction of cultures as we study the competitive relationships of the United States and Asia, particularly the relationships of technology and work.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday saw us viewing the autobiography of Dorothy Day, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Entertaining Angels. </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dorothy Day was an American Social activist whose entire life was dedicated to helping the poor and forgotten survive day to day. It was a moving experience for us all. The relationships of rich and poor are also important as well as the idea of social mobility.</span></div>
MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-59534032385132865182013-10-22T04:13:00.005-07:002013-10-22T04:13:54.432-07:00In a Learning World<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">TDP Relationships had a spectacular week last week. We took another trip to the Korean Cultural Center, cooked 유부초밥 (Youboochobap) and Korean noodles in the classroom and outside on the picnic tables, played a “vicious” game of Diplomacy, and examined the differences between Korean and American resume writing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Tuesday we journeyed to the Korean Cultural Center to present the Center with gifts of thanks for their hospitality on our last visit. The gifts were handmade by the students in TDP. They included handwritten placards, framed photographs of the group taken by students, and a signed note from all of the students, signed with their Korean names in Hangul. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We traveled entirely on Metro, walking to the Ride On bus stop and taking the 49 Ride On to Rockville Station. From there we took the Red Line train to Dupont Circle. Before proceeding to the Cultural Center we enjoyed a sit down lunch at Mandu Korean Restaurant on 18th street. The students enjoyed lunch and were exceptionally well behaved and polite while we Korean dishes. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Once at the Korean Cultural Center, we presented our gifts to Adam Wojciechowicz. He expressed his sincere thanks to the students and invited us to tour the Hangul calligraphy exhibit on the second floor. We had the honor and privilege of meeting the artist and having our photographs taken with him. After leaving the Korean Cultural Center we visited the Korean Embassy and experienced a modern diplomatic mission in operation.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On the way back to the subway we stopped off at the Indian Embassy where students Ricky and Sita conversed in Hindi with officials from the embassy. It was the third language the students used that day. It was an extraordinary experience.</span></div>
<br /><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><img height="468px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Csewgjiw2oziTPMbp9ZYgq2szEL93BVO9h6XmERsXRkXLq-DWf8VsgjOmmqgaGZx51Wy5FhTQcdMBj7xG8FWrvwbFy-wYibNJEIWytsKqhSHM3TLWdr_pDyhmQ" width="624px;" /><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.15; white-space: pre-wrap;">On Thursday we had another cooking experience as well as a fierce game of Diplomacy. Norm is still smarting from the defeat imposed on him by Brady who conquered Venice and burned all of Norm’s barges. (in jest of course). It was a great game. Leora, Jonathan, and Sita led the cooking crew in the creation of 유부초밥 (Youboochobap) and Korean noodles. The 유부초밥 (Youboochobap) was created inside Rm 10 and the Korean noodles were the cooked outside at the picnic tables on the playground. </span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Friday saw us explore the differences between applying for jobs and preparing resumes in America and Korea. Young was gracious enough to share her Korean resume with us and explain the difference between expectations for applicants in Korea and the United States. We also saw clips of Young’s high school friend who is now a weather person on Korean television. </span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It is with a sad heart that we all say good-bye for now to Young, who has led us in our study of Korean culture and language. She is going back to Korea on Wednesday, October 23, 2013. She intends to return for the 2014-15 school year. We look forward to her rejoining the TDP and the general school community.</span></div>
MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-81513992645577492322013-09-02T15:17:00.001-07:002013-09-02T15:17:12.688-07:00Maybe the Revolution is starting....I discovered a new type of "school" that is spreading across the Netherlands. It includes so many ideas that I have thought about and tried actually in a face to face world. Rather than try to write about them I thought that I would just embed a video that describes the school so well.
<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/72815459" width="500" height="316" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe>
Let me know what you think. MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-89822705671270478982013-07-26T07:12:00.000-07:002013-07-26T07:12:39.501-07:00Learning in a Digital Reality<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMQVq_Rw5Uf9x8jelxS9GprU3gh5AeJ8CcxYMr1MmpuUX15P0Ewxt8RopgEa1kepqfx7DGP2JjklYuVpvcUxa8AlGmtTDFqIdsj7dLh60RJgMR8zO3M1quBLFJ7IwyoAzCNSDEOm88q70/s1600/smartphoneHands.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: white;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMQVq_Rw5Uf9x8jelxS9GprU3gh5AeJ8CcxYMr1MmpuUX15P0Ewxt8RopgEa1kepqfx7DGP2JjklYuVpvcUxa8AlGmtTDFqIdsj7dLh60RJgMR8zO3M1quBLFJ7IwyoAzCNSDEOm88q70/s400/smartphoneHands.jpg" /></span></a></div>
<span style="color: #cc0000;">"Students still need guidance, so that part of the job is still very much relevant. Students also need knowledge to be explained, and shown how it all fits together. In other words, teachers and schools are still required"</span><br />
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The above statement serves as the standard apology for the school paradigm. It is almost mandatory to be included in some form in any article or video that calls for a new way of learning or you will be branded a radical with nothing to say. It is what prevents and real change from taking place. The classroom of school where things are explained and fit together in the patterns of prevailing world view needs to give way to a conversation where information is fit together in a collective analysis. School was not friendly to Einstein, to Bill Gates, to Steve Jobs, to Ken Robinson. The essential power that human beings now have to access the sum total of human knowledge from their hand (smart phone) make school, as it is presently professionally organized, not only irrelevant, but a hindrance to human creativity. <br />
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<span style="background-color: white;">"Information is now available to anyone who is connected, and is available practically whenever they want.</span>" is a brilliant insight that does not need to be apologized for. We no longer need a professional teacher class teaching a fixed body of knowledge. <b><span style="color: red;">We need to share the code of the alphabet and other literacies with learners and join them in the social construction of reality through past experiences, present data input, and future rearranging of the elements of reality. We do not need to learn to think outside of the box, we need to throw the box away</span>.</b>
When ever you are thinking about learning revolutions and school reflect on this statement from Montaigne.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWM_0TLG8ikqOmRJpX7KYnIKinSRFNhHxqeUGgxlujz5D3ttIGedWkUioDNrOUNldp56IbhypNX4aKKxI2qHhdx1ARQgBODHFzTKman1l9ddmHwffIjQwn1ykBOnnLMVVIe9xslfxVAm8/s1600/Montaigne.jpg" imageanchor="1" ><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWM_0TLG8ikqOmRJpX7KYnIKinSRFNhHxqeUGgxlujz5D3ttIGedWkUioDNrOUNldp56IbhypNX4aKKxI2qHhdx1ARQgBODHFzTKman1l9ddmHwffIjQwn1ykBOnnLMVVIe9xslfxVAm8/s320/Montaigne.jpg" /></a>
<blockquote>For, in truth, custom is a violent and treacherous schoolmistress. She, by little and little, slily and unperceived, slips in the foot of her authority, but having by this gentle and humble beginning, with the benefit of time, fixed and established it, she then unmasks a furious and tyrannic countenance, against which we have no more the courage or the power so much as to lift up our eyes. We see her, at every turn, forcing and violating the rules of nature: "Usus efficacissimus rerum omnium magister." -Montaigne </blockquote>iMrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-62396052596786358752013-06-11T05:23:00.002-07:002013-06-11T05:23:33.367-07:00A Philosophy of Education<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-Cfv8jbnU5M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-6981906088765284432013-02-12T06:49:00.000-08:002013-02-12T06:49:11.744-08:00A Student's VideoMinecraft is a very popular game-like construction world which many students are very interested in. A student of mine has begun to create a series of videos about his experiences in the Minecraft world. Enjoy.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/o3EnSJ6nxEA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-77985086675883967032013-01-01T13:56:00.003-08:002013-01-01T19:57:15.409-08:00Happy New Year
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Happy New Year to everyone out in the blogosphere!!! The spirit of liberation is blowing through the School For Tomorrow. The first of the fixed periods has disappeared in the morning sessions as the floaters (math and science) no longer have assigned times and lengths of presentation. We are moving forward!!! It began with breakout TDP and is now gaining momentum.<br><br>
I want to attempt a definition of a Trans-Disciplinary Program. Bruder describes it "The transdisciplinary approach is a framework for allowing members of an educational team to contribute knowledge and skills, collaborate with other members, and collectively determine the services that most would benefit a child." He goes on to say "A transdisciplinary approach requires the team members to share roles and systematically cross discipline boundaries. The primary purpose of this approach is to pool and integrate the expertise of team members so that more efficient and comprehensive assessment and intervention services may be provided. (Bruder, M.B. (1994). p71). <br><br>
In German speaking countries, a trans-disciplinary approach looks to the " integration of diverse forms of research, and includes specific methods for relating scientific knowledge in problem-solving" ( Mittelstrass, 2003).
Jean Piaget introduced the idea of trans-disciplinarity as the unity of knowledge beyond the disciplines. The International Center for Trans-disciplinary Research (CIRET) established the idea that trans-disciplinary approaches transfer the methods of the disciplines to each other to examine a problem and is radically different from interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approaches.<br><br>
Basarab Nicolescu, a Romanian philosopher, describes three methodological postulates that are necessary to operate from a trans-disciplinary perspective. First is the idea that reality exists on many different levels and must be approached from as many of them as possible. Second, the logic of the middle of reality, where things tend to go, must be recognized and finally, third, the immeasurable complexity of reality. The purpose of trans-disciplinary study is to understand the present world in terms of its social reality. The space between the levels of reality and the disciplines is full of information which we can make sense of only through a trans-disciplinary approach.<br><br>
Collaboration is also an essential characteristic of a trans-disciplinary approach. Everyone involved in the learning must be a part of the definition of the learning objectives. It is through this collaboration that everyone involved in a trans-disciplinary approach "becomes uniquely capable of engaging with different ways of knowing the world, generating new knowledge, and helping stakeholders understand and incorporate the results or lessons learned by the research" (Wickson, & Carew, . Russell, A.W., 2006).<br><br>
So a trans-disciplinary approach starts from a simple premise. There are many ways of knowing the world. A TDP group must then look at the world using many different methodologies or ways of knowing. The ways of the poet are as valid as the ways of the research physicist or the historian. They examine reality from a distinct perspective. All members of the group learn and use the different methodologies to examine what "they want to know". The purpose of the rest of the group is to help a learner do that. Sort of how your guild helps you on a WOW quest.<br><br>
Whatever we do in our TDP sections, we must all be involved, as both teachers and learners. We all want to know stuff and we all have experience in ways of learning, of coming to know. We have to learn what others know as learners and we have to teach what we know to those who want to learn it. <br><br>MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-60194249975056820862012-11-15T07:48:00.001-08:002012-11-15T07:48:36.257-08:00A Norm Story<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TQ62XqzF-x8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-49149757216958074802012-11-15T02:18:00.003-08:002012-11-15T02:18:34.728-08:00a test<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/hCnJ7pgKkXA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
This is a testMrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-52011760751746193472012-11-13T05:32:00.001-08:002012-11-13T05:38:42.513-08:00Gaming is back on my mind!!!Here are a series of Ted Talks which sum up my feelings and thoughts about the place of games in school.
<iframe src="http://embed.ted.com/talks/seth_priebatsch_the_game_layer_on_top_of_the_world.html" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
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<iframe src="http://embed.ted.com/talks/will_wright_makes_toys_that_make_worlds.html" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
<iframe src="http://embed.ted.com/talks/david_perry_on_videogames.html" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>
MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-67581168948292756192012-10-30T05:11:00.001-07:002012-10-30T05:11:05.760-07:00Power Still On In DC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTfQThY-q5BSYicZ_rZhMJAMtxidkBUj67DvenxeTTYnzLcCTP_Y5tPQRUtaEpcvHPyIJiBl4lwhc1I2_ZfCGGHwP0v9pdassaKH45p8bSHTzlZQCEXE2a8g3Em4TZLsZHDmy-0PltuV0/s1600/shore1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="171" width="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTfQThY-q5BSYicZ_rZhMJAMtxidkBUj67DvenxeTTYnzLcCTP_Y5tPQRUtaEpcvHPyIJiBl4lwhc1I2_ZfCGGHwP0v9pdassaKH45p8bSHTzlZQCEXE2a8g3Em4TZLsZHDmy-0PltuV0/s400/shore1.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>I am awake in Bowie, Maryland this morning and happily we still have power. Sandy passed us by with hard steady rain and strong winds for the past 36 hours. The sights and sounds from the Jersey shore and New York City have revealed massive devastation. I guess we should all be glad that we have FEMA still. I have not posted in two months but hope that I can increase that frequency. </p>
<p>I really wonder if we should keep placing homes and businesses along the shore. They are destroyed so frequently and cost the country so much money that we need to at least consider why we allow them to go there.</P>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnysH5oS9t1A2FL0K2R3IagCmMYDuiTi8CaL2bfwBygFkDN-lReZf3VhSWyKyhrFRU6dwbHwb45DKd5Gl66ggWE8VkU_L5cL0iMKqT7IOjWxBlOB3teUptXX3coklRjFpTrwxYRLhnEtk/s1600/shore2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnysH5oS9t1A2FL0K2R3IagCmMYDuiTi8CaL2bfwBygFkDN-lReZf3VhSWyKyhrFRU6dwbHwb45DKd5Gl66ggWE8VkU_L5cL0iMKqT7IOjWxBlOB3teUptXX3coklRjFpTrwxYRLhnEtk/s400/shore2.jpg" /></a></div>
<p> We owe a great debt to all of the fire, police, and health personnel who have selflessly thrown themselves into saving everyone.</P>
MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-4097670909954356282012-10-30T05:09:00.002-07:002012-10-30T05:09:55.225-07:00Power Still on in DC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTfQThY-q5BSYicZ_rZhMJAMtxidkBUj67DvenxeTTYnzLcCTP_Y5tPQRUtaEpcvHPyIJiBl4lwhc1I2_ZfCGGHwP0v9pdassaKH45p8bSHTzlZQCEXE2a8g3Em4TZLsZHDmy-0PltuV0/s1600/shore1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="171" width="294" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTfQThY-q5BSYicZ_rZhMJAMtxidkBUj67DvenxeTTYnzLcCTP_Y5tPQRUtaEpcvHPyIJiBl4lwhc1I2_ZfCGGHwP0v9pdassaKH45p8bSHTzlZQCEXE2a8g3Em4TZLsZHDmy-0PltuV0/s400/shore1.jpg" /></a></div>
<p>I am awake in Bowie, Maryland this morning and happily we still have power. Sandy passed us by with hard steady rain and strong winds for the past 36 hours. The sights and sounds from the Jersey shore and New York City have revealed massive devastation. I guess we should all be glad that we have FEMA still. I have not posted in two months but hope that I can increase that frequency. </p>
<p>I really wonder if we should keep placing homes and businesses along the shore. They are destroyed so frequently and cost the country so much money that we need to at least consider why we allow them to go there.</P>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnysH5oS9t1A2FL0K2R3IagCmMYDuiTi8CaL2bfwBygFkDN-lReZf3VhSWyKyhrFRU6dwbHwb45DKd5Gl66ggWE8VkU_L5cL0iMKqT7IOjWxBlOB3teUptXX3coklRjFpTrwxYRLhnEtk/s1600/shore2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="200" width="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnysH5oS9t1A2FL0K2R3IagCmMYDuiTi8CaL2bfwBygFkDN-lReZf3VhSWyKyhrFRU6dwbHwb45DKd5Gl66ggWE8VkU_L5cL0iMKqT7IOjWxBlOB3teUptXX3coklRjFpTrwxYRLhnEtk/s400/shore2.jpg" /></a></div>
<p> We owe a great debt to all of the fire, police, and health personnel who have selflessly thrown themselves into saving everyone.</P>
MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-16424478503503754482012-10-09T05:35:00.002-07:002012-10-09T05:35:57.598-07:00Reprint from Free Digital Game Based Learning<a href="http://digitlearn.blogspot.com/2011/08/tapscott-video.html">Here is a reprint from another blog that I keep.</a>MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-21022891767720698292012-08-28T05:16:00.001-07:002012-08-28T05:16:45.887-07:00Matthews on the Offensive!!!!!!Chris Matthews finally confronted the hidden issue in the campaign...Mitt is White and Barak is Black..
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Yiet_fyN_ng" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-53969328452480399402012-08-21T04:44:00.003-07:002012-08-21T04:44:24.148-07:00Communication after Text Here is a great slide share from Stephen Downes on the world after text only!!
<iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/Downes/slideshelf" width="490px" height="470px" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="border:none;" allowfullscreen></iframe>MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-34018893347913749602012-08-06T04:53:00.002-07:002012-08-06T04:53:52.898-07:00GYOD (Grow Your Own Dinner)A great Ted Talk that the Innovative Educator (Lisa Neilsen)brought to my attention and I thought I would bring to you. Stephen Ritz, a South Bronx teacher, made school real for his students. If only we all had his courage and imagination.
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<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SSXyfX8ABhA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>AMrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-7699512259435191202012-08-01T04:19:00.001-07:002012-08-01T04:19:47.744-07:00<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9336055-american-uprising" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="American Uprising" border="0" src="http://www.goodreads.com/assets/nocover/111x148.png" /></a><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/9336055-american-uprising">American Uprising</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4361485.Daniel_Rasmussen">Daniel Rasmussen</a><br/>
My rating: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/143590801">4 of 5 stars</a><br /><br />
American Uprising changed the way I look at the world. The measure of a book to me is<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFuPyPnkSfM7xLFoL6em6zT5mfYdgRDC3pvKDlNs6Eij7f_kgN10ZN1Jmad4eNsJbAyf9DXCA8CKtnjHR8m3hIHZ6FrZ1eqRmz-IqvpAkwDMGiUh0WlgHN34U_O2qBznE6uM4_p4OjIkc/s1600/Rasmussen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="275" width="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFuPyPnkSfM7xLFoL6em6zT5mfYdgRDC3pvKDlNs6Eij7f_kgN10ZN1Jmad4eNsJbAyf9DXCA8CKtnjHR8m3hIHZ6FrZ1eqRmz-IqvpAkwDMGiUh0WlgHN34U_O2qBznE6uM4_p4OjIkc/s400/Rasmussen.jpg" /></a></div>
that it teaches me something about something I am interested in and changes my mental image of this subject. In the case of American Uprising that subject was slavery. I never understood the relationship between the sugar islands and the Louisiana Purchase. I knew there were sugar plantations in Louisiana but not to the extent that they existed. Sugar Slavery was different from Slavery in the rest of American states and territories and this book illuminates that difference clearly. <br /><br />The book's problem is that it lacks the usual historical method of verifying of its conclusions about how the Uprising occurred. The nitty gritty of the uprising is not what is important about this book. The real value of the book is its illumination of slavery in the new American territory. This may not have been what Rasmussen set out to do, but it is what he accomplished brilliantly. <br /><br /><br />
<br/><br/>
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/891984-norman">View all my reviews</a>MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-90166117472401397642012-06-13T10:11:00.003-07:002012-06-13T10:11:30.246-07:00Shotguns Blues--the Blues BrothersListened to this this morning about 6AM. It is the real deal in Blues!
<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7Hwt5lvQ3zw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-82989516605243415002012-05-04T07:28:00.000-07:002012-05-04T07:28:02.608-07:00Revolution not EvolutionI just watched a TED talk by Ken Robinson that called for a revolution in the way we educate children. I am sure the audience was filled with teachers and administrators from independent schools who think they are reforming the schools that they work in. Sir Ken called for an end to the linearity and standardization of curriculum. Everyone rose and cheered when he was finished. Is there going to be a revolution?
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGG64Rba_fgwKoWNIsbiE8Xbeim_wpxmqu7IkCCvsy3zeOAuuXS9oe8SYzDDusxvJ4CEXi9yRBR8YglnkIrvNs9-oAND5nXWgsJ-sElQxtr5_pZCXa1hLiSpytYGK61LyywtdX0ckArzs/s1600/clio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="225" width="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGG64Rba_fgwKoWNIsbiE8Xbeim_wpxmqu7IkCCvsy3zeOAuuXS9oe8SYzDDusxvJ4CEXi9yRBR8YglnkIrvNs9-oAND5nXWgsJ-sElQxtr5_pZCXa1hLiSpytYGK61LyywtdX0ckArzs/s400/clio.jpg" /></a></div>
I know that is has been almost two months since I have posted to this blog. If you are reading it I thank you and hope that your time is considered to have been well spent when you are finished. Spring has perked me up again. <p>I love history, to teach it, to read it, and to write it. I like to do all of those things at the same time. Modern technology has not changed history but it has changed the way we create it, explore it, and present it. <p>I also love games. I learn so many things from playing games, utilizing my imagination, and creating new narratives of human history with me in the cat bird seat. I have lived and fought the American Revolution more times that I can remember and will fight it again and again as long as I play or read about it. I have sat in rooms and tents with great generals and political leaders in France, Russia, and Germany and China. I have thought the thoughts of the great thinkers of my culture. I have done most of this by reading and playing games.
<blockquote>In life, we learn lessons by trial-and-error. We burn our hand on the stove as children and therefore learn that the stove gets hot. Over time we realize it gets hot because its purpose is to cook food. Some of us learn how the stove works and become mechanics or industrial engineers; others of us become chefs. Most of us just realize to keep our hands out of hot stuff. But we all learn by doing and by making mistakes.<a href="http://teachpaperless.blogspot.ca/2012/04/problem-with-ted-ed.html">-Shelly Blake-Pollock</a> </blockquote>
This morning I was reading the post on <a href="http://teachpaperless.blogspot.ca/2012/04/problem-with-ted-ed.html">Teachpaperless.</a> It made me think of history and how we can re-write the narrative over and over inside of a simulation and and learn so much about how to exist inside of a culture. When I was reading this I began thinking about teaching and learning history which has been my passion since I can remember. Teaching history is really just telling stories about our memories, our past. Learning it is the same--a pure act of imagination based on scrapes of evidence in the present which we re-arrange into new patterns and pictures as we discover more or gain new insights from what we have. We cannot touch the stove any longer to see if it is hot. We have to trust our memory for where the stoves are. Unless we simulate the past we cannot really learn from it. We have to find someway to "re-heat" the stove.<p> These thoughts remind me of Jane McGonigal's incredible book, <b>Reality is Broken</b>, which reminded me that reality is constructed and can be re-constructed through gaming, which re-heats the stove. Games <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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allow us to re-do the past in terms of our present and learn about who we are as human beings. Games allow to re-heat the stove without real burns. Games allow us to practice for life! Games allow us to teach!!MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-26646760190935873412012-02-28T08:24:00.001-08:002012-02-28T08:24:58.271-08:00Strike at the Root of Evil<iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/30090293?byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="255" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/30090293">Striking The Root of Wall Street Corruption</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/filmandnoise">Sean McDaniel</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-3688412284359787062012-02-03T10:55:00.001-08:002012-02-03T10:57:03.304-08:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Students have rights. School treat students as if they do not have rights. They are forced to attend, have little or no no choice over what is included in the curriculum,and no choice over what technological tools they are allowed to use to learn. As to political rights, they are non-existent. The Bill of Rights stops at the school house door. I find that to unacceptable. Everyone should read Justice William Brennan's dissent in the schoolhouse rights case, <a href="http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/hazelwood-decision-and-student-press">Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier</a>. <a href="http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/cas/comm/free_speech/hazelwood.html">The text of the decision and Brennan's dissent can be found here.</a> Schools also can search students person and lockers (personal spaces) without a warrant. Right now the Bill of Rights stops at the schoolhouse door. We are in a new age now and students more than ever also need a technology Bill of Rights.
Here is one that I believe fits the bill very nicely .
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<p>posted by Lee Crockett on Twitter
Feb 3, 2012
<p>Educational Technology Bill of Rights for Students
<dd>by Brad Flickinger
<p>The following are what I believe are the rights of all student to have with regards to using technology as an educational tool, written as a student to their teacher:
<p>1) I have the right to use my own technology at school. I should not be forced to leave my new technology at home to use (in most cases) out-of-date school technology. If I can afford it, let me use it -- you don’t need to buy me one. If I cannot afford it, please help me get one -- I don’t mind working for it.
<p>2) I have the right to access the school’s WiFi. Stop blaming bandwidth, security or whatever else -- if I can get on WiFi at McDonalds, I think that I should be able to get online at school.
<p>3) I have the right to submit digital artifacts that prove my understanding of a subject, regardless of whether or not my teacher knows what they are. Just because you have never heard of Prezi, Voki, or Glogster, doesn’t mean that I should not be able to use these tools to prove to you that I understand what you are teaching me.
<p>4) I have the right to cite Wikipedia as one of the sources that I use to research a subject. Just because you believe the hype that Wikipedia is full of incorrect information, doesn’t mean that it is true -- besides we all use it anyways (including you). I am smart enough to verify what I find online to be the truth.
<p>5) I have the right to access social media at school. It is where we all live, it is how we communicate -- we do not use email, or call each other. We use Facebook, Twitter and texting to talk to each other. Teachers and schools should take advantage of this and post announcements and assignments using social media -- you will get better results.
<p>6) I have the right to be taught by teachers who know how to manage the use technology in their classrooms. These teachers know when to use technology and when to put it away. They understand that I need to be taught how to balance my life between the online and offline worlds. They do not throw the techno-baby out with the bathwater.
<p>7) I have the right to be taught by teachers who teach me and demand that I use 21st Century Skills. Someday I am going to need a job -- please help me be employable.
<p>8) I have the right to be accessed with technology. I love the instant feedback of testing done technology. I live in a world of instant feedback, so to find out a couple of week later that I didn’t understand your lesson, drive me crazy. If you were a video game, no one would play you -- feedback is too slow.
<p>9) I have the right to be protected from technology. I don’t want to be cyberbullied, hurt, scared or find crud online that I would rather not find. Please help me use technology responsibly and safely. Please stay up-to-date with this kind of information, and teach me to make good choices. I am not you and we don’t see eye to eye about what to put online, but help me to meet you in the middle.
<p>10) I have the right to be taught by teachers that know their trade. They are passionate about what they do and embrace the use of technology to help me learn. They attend trainings and practice what they learn. They are not afraid to ask for my help; they might know more than me about the Civil War, but I know Glogster like nobody’s business.
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-dN8r9QMwMlgkgSnt0EOQpU65yRRqftH8Oj_FORJ68TQpl3eeAcNions4IL8MEwYwgRlYDpfIWtsJYkUY9_w1CiNyLB2RFwDSIIJbwSKOjBKPZtRUAE02cNXpKfHJKWP6aRjnp8m-B7Y/s1600/Victim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="192" width="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-dN8r9QMwMlgkgSnt0EOQpU65yRRqftH8Oj_FORJ68TQpl3eeAcNions4IL8MEwYwgRlYDpfIWtsJYkUY9_w1CiNyLB2RFwDSIIJbwSKOjBKPZtRUAE02cNXpKfHJKWP6aRjnp8m-B7Y/s400/Victim.jpg" /></a></div>MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7985879667875820696.post-32125852757259458732012-01-21T14:48:00.000-08:002012-01-21T14:50:48.735-08:00The Learning Hive<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<p>I created a post where I outlined what I thought should be the guiding principle for 21 century learning centers. In what follows in this post I intend to present what the philosophy of teaching and learning that I believe should guide the learning environments that we create.
<p>I believe in learner-centered learning. A learning environment exists for the learners. I am an unrepentant constructivist. I define constructivism as developmentally appropriate learning that is learner initiated and directed that is supported by the connected physical and digital network of the teacher and partners of the learners. Like Huzinga and Piaget, I see play as instrumental to human learning as it is quite literally, practice for life. I also believe, like John Dewey, that learning should have a practical aspect to it and relate to the learner's world. Learning should be hands on, touch and try rather than the prevalent mode of tell and test. I believe in dialogue and story telling as the primary structure for communication in a learning environment. Like Jerome Bruner and Roger Schank, I believe we organize our world with narrative order by telling stories and that we should encourage learners and teachers to interact in this way. Learning environments should prepare us for the world by allowing us to interact with the world to, as Sir Ken Robinson encourages “find their element”. In this technological flat world this is very possible, necessary and doable.
<p>The primary task of a teacher is to discover the passions of the learners and to connect those passions to the curriculum in the learning environment. The learners need to feel safe so that they will try things and risk failure. Learners should proceed at their own rate and not be penalized for failure but rewarded for success. Assessment should reward the learner for what they can do rather than penalize them for what they cannot do yet. The feedback loops need to be as immediate as possible much like in a video game so that the student will continue to “level-up”. Progress is marked by benchmarks set by the teacher and learner and should proceed at an individual pace and design in collaboration with classmates ( games). I believe that the learning environment should be a constant dialogue between the members of the learning reality with each other and the world around them. Technology should play a large role in expanding the world of learning. Students should be engaged with the real world.
<p>Learners should have real world experiences in their learning worlds. We should strive to put students in situations where they are practicing being what they are interested in. Rather than being lectured to about history for instance, learners should practice being historians by writing history whenever possible. Learners should be journalists by creating newspapers and magazines, not just reading about it. If a learner wants to write, the learner should publish short stories and novels or magazine articles and journal articles. Learners should be encouraged at all times to share what they learn with the world, to find an audience for what they know. The purpose of the learning environment should be to put the learners’ names in lights. The environment should be a dialogue and have no physical limits or time boundaries. The learning world should be a place where learners and teachers share stories about the world around them with each other and with the larger world through the use of digital technology. The learning environment should be as interdisciplinary as possible. Curiosity should be encouraged rather than destroyed as it is so often in learning environments. Learners' interests should drive the learning, within a broad curriculum. Every group is different and every member of the group different from the others. No groups should be taught the same way and no learners learn the same!
Learning is an active verb, something you do yourself and not something you have done to you. Learning is empowerment.
<p>Everyone in the learning environment should be encouraged to see the world from as many vantage points as possible. That is how a community begins to join together into a new vision of sharing and collaboration. Imagination creativity, group formation are the special traits of human beings that learning environments should be trying to encourage in everything that they do. Learning is a social activity!
<p>I believe everyone in a learning environment is a teacher and a learner. Human beings learn best by example. Our every action presents a way of being to those watching us. That is a tremendous responsibility that I have always been anxious to shoulder. When we leave learning environment at the end of the day we should all have sore shoulders from all of the students standing on them and leaping into the new world.MrChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05825255080995135384noreply@blogger.com1