I began to prepare for my final project for OLTD 505 and at the same time I was offered an interview for my dream job: K-2 curriculum integration teacher for NIDES' fine arts eCademy. The skills I have developed through the first part of the OLTD program made me an excellent candidate for the position. I decided to combine my interview preparation and final project with a summary of my skills, attitudes and experiences of blended, open and personalized learning. My first idea was to create a remix of resources, quotes and ideas that resonate with me as a teacher and learner. My idea became too big too fast and because I only had one weekend to accomplish the task decided to save my foray into the world of remixing for the summer. I don't know how to remix music and it is my goal to learn to do so. One key piece of OLTD 505 is to contribute to the learning of others. As I reflect on my contributions to the learning of others, I would liked to have done more. While I shared many resources and suggested an "open creative challenge" I did not engage openly in meaningful conversations about my learning or the learning of others in my cohort. Frankly, the last 6 weeks have been intense: massive amounts of interesting and engaging reading about openness in education, job applications and an interview (update: I got the job!), year end report cards, putting my house on the market, wrapping up my year teaching kindergarten and single parenting an lovely and oh-so-lovable 8 year old. What I let slip was deep engagement with my OLTD colleagues. I decided that for my final project I would create a resource I could share with the interview panel for my dream job as well as a resource that would contribute to the learning of my colleagues. Along my OLTD 505 learning journey I discovered learni.st, a tool similar to pinterest but dedicated to teaching and learning. I love learni.st's layout, the way ideas and resources are presented and the ability to develop lessons or learning to share with others. One of the things I have lacked in my learning is a consistent place to house resources and ideas. With learni.st I have found my solution. I intend to continue to add to these boards and create new ones as I learn more. I created ten boards that summarize my dedication to and understanding of openness in education and reflect my 21st century approach to teaching and learning:
In some ways I surprised myself by choosing such a practical way to summarize my learning from OLTD 505. This collection of tools is useful to me and I hope it is useful to others. Developing this evolving collection makes me feel part of a connection of educators interested in openness in education and 21st century teaching and learning practices. My artistic, creative side, however is hungry and as I wrap this learni.st project up I'm starting a collage that represents my experience with and understanding of openness in education. ***Stay tuned...something more reflective of me will be in this space shortly. In my first blog post for OLTD 505 I wondered about a possible link between open education and intrinsic motivation. I've been working on opening my kindergarten classroom over the past weeks. We started a class blog and are beginning to make our learning more visible and connection to a wider learning community. Openness in my classroom has also meant letting go of control and allowing for more learner autonomy. I recently had a powerful learning experience of my own as a result of this new approach. Once a week we do a directed drawing. This has always been a special time and much anticipated. Students follow my step-by-step instructions while listening to quiet music. Often we draw animals, sometimes 3D shapes or plants. Then the students embellish their drawing with their own creativity. I love how each piece of artwork ends up completely unique. I have one student who does not like our directed drawing lessons. In fact, he detests them. In general, he resists participating in activities where he is not in control. This is his drawing of a turtle. As he was doing the drawing I observed him rushing through to get the whole ordeal over with. He didn't care to finish the colouring or adding creative detail. One of the things I introduced as part of my goal of encouraging more autonomous learning is the "cahier n'importe quoi" - the "anything book". Each students has a book with blank pages where s/he can draw anything s/he wishes. Students can draw in this books during centres, free time, after lunch, quiet time or if s/he finished a learning activity early. I was surprised when my reluctant directed-drawer began to choose his "n'import quoi" book over Lego. He began sharing his drawings with me - most of them looked like variations of this picture. He was so into his "scribbles" as he called them and proud of the variation of shape and colour he was experimenting with. One day he came to show me this drawing. He described the process and how he discovered that inside his "scribbles" were a bunch of unique shapes. He decided to colour the shapes so they would stand out more clearly. I was astounded at the deep learning this child was experiencing AND expressing! The following day I decided to make my thinking transparent and open to my students and do some fun re-mixing at the same time. I introduced my lesson by telling the students I was borrowing and building an idea I got from L (the "scribbles" artist). With his permission, I showed his work, described how it inspired me and how I'd created a lesson based on his idea. I wrote each student's name in block letters and suggested two ways to make shapes - lines going back and forth or L's "scribbles". All of my students were highly motivated to do this activity. They loved describing the shapes as they emerged and enjoyed creating patterns with colour. L took on a positive leadership role, helping and encouraging students experimenting with his "scribble" technique. What I learned from this experience of letting go, allowing for autonomy and sharing my thinking about remixing lessons is that by embracing and executing open education principles I also open learning to possibility. As I process our discussion on Open Educational Resources with Stephen Downes, I'm discovering more and more directions and paths I'd like to explore in the world of open education. Stephen Downes is a modern day Plato: he asks questions that open ideas and he guides learners towards personal epiphanies. At least that's what happened for me. My Romantic self was thoroughly inspired and fulfilled. I'm going to use this blog post to pick up on a few threads that Stephen Downes wove into his tapestry during this May 2013 open discussion on OERs and MOOCs. I'll likely return to these as I continue to open my own teaching and learning. Conditions for a Constructive Dialogue Downes suggested these as both conditions for a constructive learning dialogue and design principles for a MOOC: autonomy, diversity, openness, interactivity. S. Downes, May 25, 2013, #OLTD505 I wanted to look more deeply at these conditions in reflection of my own teaching and learning theory. Autonomy: The Greeks define autonomy as "self law". While Martin Brokenleg and William Glasser use slightly different language (independence) they both highlight autonomy as a fundamental human need. So often learners are directed and prescribed what to learn and how to learn it. BC's Ministry of Education even describes provincial learning outcomes as "prescribed". As an educator who values personalized learning, the autonomy of learners is crucial. While it might sound oxymoronic, I believe individual autonomy and a collaborative community are essential for not only constructive dialogue but also for optimal learning. I have a student this year who resists any learning that is imposed or prescribed. He makes up his own rules and plays to his own tune. At first I saw this as a challenge to our classroom community - the child would paddle in the opposite direction of the community "flow". I struggled to find ways to engage this child and finally, in frustration, I let go. All of a sudden the boy was inventing math games and sharing them with his friends, taking a leadership role during computer time and drawing beautifully complex patterns in art. Observing this child thriving in a learning situation he had created I realized the importance of autonomy. Diversity: People are diverse and communities are diverse yet we are all share basic emotional needs: independence, belonging, a sense of freedom and fun (see my eLearning theory for more details). Though fundamental, they are expressed and met in diverse ways. Diverse learners require diverse teaching strategies, diverse projects and diverse ways to make their learning visible. This means providing choice but also being open to new options. Openness: Openness means letting go of control. In a learning situation it means not being attached to specific outcomes or ways of reaching an outcome. Openness means sharing and remixing and making something new out of existing ideas. Interactivity: Connectivity. Connectivism. The internet has made connections with more people and across longer distances not only possible, but natural. Learning has always been about making connections between self and text, self and the world and self and prior experiences, dreams and the imagination. The internet expands the possible connections infinitely. John Abbott states simply that "education is the ability to perceive connections between phenomenon". Stephen Downes echoes this idea: learning is the creation and adjustment of connections between entities. I like how the word adjustment is included in this description. Change is constant and connections fluctuate. Accessibility "If you don't have the means to access it, it's like it doesn't exist." S. Downes, May 25, 2013, #OLTD505 I guess this answers the old question about the tree falling in the forest. It all depends on one's perspective. I would love to be a teacher of a class where each student has access to a device that can access the internet. So far in my career this hasn't happened. Nevertheless, I've brought my own devices into the classroom so I can share accessibility with my students and I can access videos, photos, podcasts, blogs, etc. to enrich the teaching and learning in my classroom. This raises an issue: if I'm "in charge" of accessing information on the web and "controlling" what gets posted on my students' behalf - is this open learning? Without student access to open learning resources and open-ended inquiry-based projects, how can learning truly be open? What is Learning? "Learning is not the possession of a collection of facts, it's an expression of capacity." S. Downes, May 25, 2013, #OLTD505 I have to acknowledge some of the little voices in my head as I learn openly, write my blog posts and respond to others. "Is this what my teacher wants?" "Will I pass this course with what I've said?" "Am I getting it?" This kind of thinking reiterates the fact that I am a product of the education system of which I was a part growing up. In many ways this system continues to replicate itself. I'm trying to change this. I don't want to worry about what others think and nor do I want my students to participate in learning that pleases others. And yet this way of thinking pervasive. To answer my question with a non-example: learning is NOT following a teacher's script. It is not for external reward. It is not uniform or predictable. As Alfred North Whitehead wisely quipped in The Aim of Education at the turn of the 20th century: "Culture is activity of thought and receptiveness to beauty and humane thought. Scraps of information have nothing to do with it. A merely well-informed man is the most useless more on god's earth." While I'm quoting the "greats" of educational theory, I must include John Milton, a favourite of John Abbott. In Of Education he says "I call therefore a complete and generous education that which fits a man to perform justly, skilfully and magnanimously all the offices of both private and public of peace and war." This reminds me of how George Siemens' describes the purpose of education in this 2010 TEDxTalk. First he quotes Edgar Morrin: "Education has one vital task: to prepare individuals for the vital combat for lucidity." In another presentation Siemens describes the purpose of education as suggested by Harvard University: education prepares learners to be part of society by creating, sharing and interacting; education helps learners understand themselves as products of and participants in traditions of art, ideas and values; education prepares learners to respond critically, creatively and constructively to change; and education develops learners' understanding of the ethical dimensions of what they say and do in all aspects of their lives. Stallman's 4 Freedoms I'd never heard of Richard Stallman until today when Steven Downes mentioned his Four Freedoms. Stallman developed these Four Freedoms in relation to software. Nina Paley, in her blog, applies these freedoms to culture: Four Freedoms of Culture (Nina Paley)
It sounds to me like the foundation of Creative Commons and the foundational theory behind open learning. MOOCs and Gift Economy Theory During the course of our discussion, the reality of the sustainability of MOOCs was addressed. What are the costs of MOOCs? Who absorbs them? This started me thinking about generosity and gift economies. I found this fascinating article in the Harvard Business Review. What stood out for me was when the author made the distinction between a market economy and a gift economy. A market economy focuses on transactions; a gift economy focuses on relationships. In some ways, the difference is subtle. In gift economies, which I'm relating to open learning communities, relationships are paramount. Learning is about the meaningful, humane and generous connections made between learners. I'll pick up on these threads as I continue my open learning journey. |
AuthorThe author of this blog and website is me, Laura Mann. Teacher, mom, learner. Archives
June 2013
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