Moving on … 21st Century Learning

Cross posted to Tech & Learning  Advisor Blog

Image by hubertk

It was graduation day for 6th graders at my school a few days ago. WhenI started working at the school, I was teaching these same students (as 6 year olds) Spanish. It was bittersweet to hear them sing “Time of your Life” from Green Day, since I will be moving on to another school as they are.

Another turning point; a fork stuck in the road.
Time grabs you by the wrist; directs you where to go.
So make the best of this test and don’t ask why.

I have accepted a one year consulting position as the 21st Century Learning Specialist at the Martin J Gottlieb Day School here in town. A new challenge, new perspectives and above all  excitement in working and learning with the faculty, administrators, students and parents of the school community.

Try googling a “21st Century Learning Specialist” You will get relatively few results. Most of them will point you to Kim Cofino and her position as the 21st Century Literacy Specialist at the International School of Bangkok (ISB), Thailand.

Kim, as one of the pioneers of such a position defines her role in one of her blog posts.

The 21st Century Literacy Specialist position combines the process and best practice approaches of successful technology facilitation with the wealth of resources available in the library. ISB is actively seeking to build a Learning Hub that successfully blends the traditional role of a library with the requirements of the 21st century global student. The role of the 21st Century Literacy Specialist is to bridge that gap. The focus of this position is to help core subject teachers utilize web 2.0 technologies in the classroom, to create a global and collaborative approach to learning. The design of authentic and engaging international projects which incorporate social networking, blogs, wikis, and podcasts, and whatever comes next, is paramount to the success of this position. The 21st Century Literacy Specialist works in collaboration with the Media Specialist and Technology and Learning Coordinator to ensure a seamless transition between traditional and digital literacy skills.

So, what is a 21st Century Learning Specialist?

Here is my vision.

In a previous post of mine, I documented my thoughts on Changing-Shifting a School Culture- Train of Thought. It took me to one of Will Richardson’s post Wanted: School Chief Learning Officer where he asks if schools:

• Welcome innovation and contributions from its teachers?
• Encourage (and provide time for) reflection on successes and flops?
• Tolerate mistakes and reward thinking out of the box?
• Share information openly?
• Foster learning for everyone?
• Experiment with new ways of doing things?
• Work across departments and unit boundaries with ease?

I see a 21st Century Learning Specialist ( 21stCLS) bring awareness to these questions and facilitate a shift towards answering them.  Her/his  primary goal is helping others become self directed learners. If learning equals experiencing plus reflecting, then the 21st Century Learning Specialist needs to create an environment in the school community that allows those two things to happen.

Is there a difference between a Learning Specialist and a 21st Century Learning Specialist? Did the latter evolve from the first or is it  “just” a technology add-on?

The 21st Century Learning Specialist works within the Framework of 21st Century Learning.

21ST CENTURY STUDENT OUTCOMES:

1. Core Subjects and 21st Century Themes
2. Learning and Innovation Skills
3. Information, Media and Technology Skills
4. Life and Career Skills

21ST CENTURY SUPPORT SYSTEMS:

1. 21st Century Standards
2. Assessment of 21st Century Skills
3. 21st Century Curriculum and Instruction
4. 21st Century Professional Development
5. 21st Century Learning Environments

The  21stCLS  is part of the support system and works with all the stakeholders of the school community including

• Teachers
• Administrators & Staff
• Students
• Parents

The  21stCLS models and helps (in planned and unplanned moments) all stakeholders involved understand how learning is changing and the way technology is changing society. He/She is making her own learning transparent in order to teach. He/She creates, maintains and facilitates a learning environment for independent-self directed learners.

The 21stCLS spends time with teachers in their classrooms, not to criticize their teaching nor overthrow their lessons, but to listen and observe. He/She will encourage awareness and reflection in teachers on their teaching AND learning practices as it relates to 21st century skills.  The 21stCLS will identify leaders and coaches among the faculty as an integral part to the success of a learning community. By observing and reflecting together with the teachers, the 21stCLS will be able to understand better where each teacher fits within the learning community. Who is receptive, motivated, passionate  (about what?) and ready to take initiative? Who will take responsibility in their area of influence?

The 21stCLS becomes the community’s connector for (global) learning opportunities, relevant and current educational discussions. His/Her goal is to equip and enable others to collaborate, connect, communicate and create. He/She helps shift and (return if necessary) the focus on student and life long learning.

image by afagen

Albert Einstein said:

I never teach my pupils, I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.

A 21st CLS cannot MAKE anyone learn. He/She can only provide the conditions and environment where learning and communication is possible and more convenient. An environment where its members feel safe to try…fail..try again…and succeed.

Shifting the mindset of a school and its stakeholders towards  21st century learning and skills is a process NOT a program. It requires each member to recognize that they are an important component in the overall process. The 21st CLS is present to help identify learning goals of the community and facilitate communication and collaboration among its members.

I want to close this post with yet another quote (by Socrates) that summarizes my vision of a 21st century learning specialist.

I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think

Skyping in Author and Illustrator Jan & Phil Huling

After the success of Skyping in Author and illustrator Mike Artell (from Louisiana) into our sixth grade classes this past February, the fifth grade classes had the opportunity to visit with Jan and Phil Huling (from New Jersey).

The Hulings are the author and illustrator of “Puss in Cowboy Boots”, a remake of the traditional fairy tale story of “Puss in Boots” with a setting in Texas/USA. While the Hulings visit schools to talk to students regularly, it was their first time to visit via Skype.

Just like Mike Artell, they are exploring the opportunities and possibilities a virtual visit can bring to students around the world, who otherwise would never have the opportunity for these experiences. Thank you to all authors, illustrators, artists who are pioneering and paving the way for more opportunities like these. Pssst, if you an author, illustrator or want to share your passion for your work with students virtually, please contact me to arrange for a Skype visit).

Students had read the Huling’s book previously in class and had created their own fairy tale story from traditional ones, yet retold from a different character’s perspective. Students asked the Hulings many questions, such as how long did it take to write the story or illustrate the book? When did they know that they wanted to be a writer or an artist?

I was very proud of one student’s question, when she asked if Jan Huling was afraid of infringing on someone’s copyright when she used the “Puss in Boots” as the storyline of her own book. It was the same groups of 5th graders, who a few weeks earlier were taught  About Using Images off Wikipedia, while creating a photostory as a book report of a bibliography.

It seemed that that student had made a CONNECTION to what we had discussed before. While she might not understand  all of the copyright laws (who does?), she seemed to have UNDERSTANDING and AWARENESS of the issue.

Here are 90 seconds (time limit imposed by Flickr) of the Skype conference with Jan & Phil Huling, including the copyright question and Jan’s answer. The recording was done using a Flip Camera and it was edited in iMovie09.

Changing- Shifting a School Culture- Train of Thought

Cross posted to TechLearning & Advisor blog

Lately my thoughts and efforts are shifting from figuring out how to get educators familiar and comfortable enough to use technology  as just another teaching tool to how to change or facilitate a shift of a school’s culture into a learning community.

I invite you to jump on and take a ride on my Train of Thought, which is defined on Wikipedia as:

The train of thought refers to the interconnection in the sequence of ideas expressed during a connected discourse or thought, as well as to the sequence itself, especially in discussion how this sequence leads from one idea to another.

I am hearing, reading and thinking more and more about the change (or shift) we so desperately are trying to inspire in our schools. That change does not seem to come from “whether we integrate technology or not”. It goes much deeper. Back in March, I cautiously wrote a post “Take the Technology out of the Equation“.

I know that I am NOT the only one, who is re-thinking and re-evaluating what we, as educators, who believe in the power of 21st century skills, literacies and web 2.0 tools, feel is the right path to bring CHANGE to our schools.  I am coming across more and more blog posts and tweets that are reinforcing my thoughts that we might have been approaching the evocation of change from a wrong angle.

Take a look at some of these blog posts that have the common thread “The change is not about Technology”:

• Letting go by Alec Curousa
• Marco Torres: Focus on the Verbs by Martha Thornburgh
• If is not about the technology. Then What is it About? by Heidi Gable.

Gable uses a powerful analogy when she compares playing basketball barefoot with teaching without technology. You COULD play without shoes, but why would you want to, when there is a tool that would allow you to grow, expand, soar higher and further than without it? The sport of Basketball is NOT about the shoes… Teaching and learning is not about technology!

image licensed under CC by lavannya

In her post Heidi writes:

Because a tool is there that helps them play better – shoes give them support, protect their feet, give them better grip, help them run faster. No one is saying it is not about the shoes, so we shouldn’t even TRY to wear shoes. [...]

AND computers can support learners, open doors to a world of possibilities and learning opportunities and global thinking. They can provide a chance for every child to learn their own way and construct their own knowledge.  They can facilitate conversations with other people and other children around the world. They can knock down the isolation of a classroom’s four walls and invite in the voices, experience and passion of the entire planet. They can engage a bored, disengaged student – whether because they’ve already learned the current topic and they can explore it to a deeper level, or because they don’t get it and they can find another perspective, application or explanation of that topic from another source.

For the past two year, I have been making available / showing/modeling/supporting/familiarizing faculty and administrators with/through technology :

• Hardware such as  Smartboards, digital cameras, flip cameras, document cameras, AlphaSmart Neos, scanners, etc.
• Software tools for productivity, digital storytelling, social networking and collaboration
• tools that support multiple learning styles and reinforce skills taught in the classroom
• planned with teachers to connect new ideas with THEIR existing curriculum
• generated ideas and projects that engaged their students and exposed them to global awareness and different media
• offered professional development in a small /large group, 1:1, just-in-time and just-in-case settings
• made How-to guides available as a hard copy handout, in digital form, as visuals and in different media
• supported and co-taught in a lab and classroom environment
• took the groundwork and often tedious “tech part” such as editing, converting, uploading, digitizing, etc out of classroom projects for teachers
• connected them to educators and experts from around the world

Did the approach/ effort pay off? Has the school culture changed? Are teachers less resistant, less “afraid” of technology, more convinced (understanding) that change in the educational system is not optional?

David Truss wrote two fascinating posts (Part I & Part 2) about “The Fourth Way of Change” an article written by Andrew Hargraves and Dennis Shirley.  According to the Forth Way of Change, there are:

1. Pillars of Purpose
2. Principle of Professionalism
3. Catalysts of Coherence

David speaks about

Initially the visual pyramid on his post attracted me, but I quickly got excited with the rest of the the post, which in turn was just the beginning of following Truss’ train of thoughts that connected to several other links.

Maureen Dockendorf spoke of:

Not the Knowing, but the Process of Inquiry. Not covering the curriculum, but ‘uncovering’ the curriculum. A focus in innovation and creativity… how do we model this… every day?

David responds:

We model this by creating meaningful learning communities based on professional inquiry and by giving those learning communities the time and resources to make things happen.

Creating meaningful learning communities for teachers…mmmhhh…  so they can grow as professionals and in turn model being a learner and the creator of a learning community for their students….

Will Richardson is also reflecting along the same path on his post Wanted: School Chief Learning Officer. He highlights the importance of emphasizing the process of learning not the outcome.

I wondered how many schools could point to someone, anyone, who is in charge of learning. By that I mean someone who manages the culture of the school by focusing not on outcomes as much as how learning is writ large in the system. Someone who also understands the ways in which social Web technologies accentuate the need for the learning skills we’ve desired all along: creativity, critical thinking, independent thought, collaboration, etc.

So far, my train of thought has taken me by the following stations:

1. It is not about Technology
2. Professionalism
3. Learning

What if we are dealings with the issue of learning that is two levels deep? Each level, of course, bringing their own sublevels and issues?

What if  there are two levels?

1. Teachers need to shift to teach, so students are actually learning
   1. not to the test
   2. not to get a grade
   3. not to recite facts
   4. learning to learn
   5. higher level thinking skills
2. Teachers need to shift and recognize that learning has changed
   1. changed from the way they have learned in the past
   2. the brain is wired differently for students of today
   3. the skills and demands of a future we don’t know how it will look like.