Buckaroo PD

PROLOGUE

"Wherever you go that's where you are." -- Buckaroo Banzai

BUCKAROO

I can't be certain. It was so long ago. Maybe it was Roy Rogers? I loved watching Roy and Dale Evans prevail over numerous bad guys most Saturday mornings. There's a lot of the buckaroo in me.

Anyway, I was prepping my professional development (PD) calendar the other day. It looks like I'll be putting in a lot of miles traveling here and there. It got me reflecting on the EdCamps I've attended over the last 18 months aro so; I'm up to 16 so far. I've been at it long enough that the ones coming up, for the most part, are version 2s. I mean that I participated in them last year, too.

I have a few favorites: EdCampPACS is cool because it was there in Gilbert, Arizona last year I realized eachers face many of the same constraints instructional designers (well, at least this one) encounter every day. Last year's EdCampAwesome was, well, awesome. Texas EdCamps are special to me111. The events are great but what really makes them work is the time it takes to travel there and back. It was a 10 hour drive each way to EdCampAwesome from my temporary place in Roswell, NM. It makes for some amazing reflection.

PD

Many times along the way I'd stop, literally in the middle of nowhere, and ideate. Walking or hiking the countryside during these times, being out in the fresh open air, wow how the ideas flow. It helps me make sense of all the new and deeper learning. Sometimes it takes a lot of time for things to come together though.

I first learned about Speed Dating at EdCampSD last October. Having half an idea how it could apply in my practice I included it in my DevLearn presentation later that month. I got some stuff right but missed on a few of the finer points. No worries there. The good people at EdCampLA a couple of weeks ago really put it together into a solid model.

 

 

 

 

I recommend the unconference EdCamp model as solid PD. EdCamps have been so good for me. I enjoy sharing with the motivated educators that turn out. It was a watershed moment a few months ago when I realized I'm an educator, too. I produce transformational (not boring) learning experiences for adults. This is in the world of learning and development. Instructional designers, at least most of the ones I know, tend not to teach face-to-face. Somehow the perception prevails that to be an educator one must have contact with students/learners.

Maybe it's a fine point. Maybe I still need a thousand miles of reflective thinking before I can get this idea of instructional designers as educators out right. I think that if you're involved, however many degrees seperate you from a student/learner, in helping people learn something new then you're an educator, too. It's more about connections than contact.

EPILOGUE

Happy trails to you.

 

 

Outtakes and Sense Making

PROLOGUE

"Got to pay your dues if you wanna sing the blues" -- R. Starr & G. Harrison

OUTTAKES

What is school? School is being exposed to diverse ways of knowing (and questioning everything).

My professional development journey went off on a tangent today. More often than not that's how I seem to learn best. What force launched me in a new direction? Questions 1 to 3 of a Twitter book club chat with the hashtag #lrnbk. The book? Kio Stark's Don't Go Back To School.

Positive deviant that I am I may have tweeted my response too quickly and been misunderstood.

SENSE

Stark's writings make sense to me. One's development isn't, and shouldn't be, confined by walls, syllabi, or accreditation. I'll go a step further: Learning should know no constraints at all. Stark is saying there are constraints. The institutions of higher learning offer education on a range of topics. Employers require documentation that a specific type of learning has happened. Individuals need something to frame.

I've had several careers: electronics engineering, military service with the US Navy, programming multimedia, and learning and development. At heart I am a problem solver. Ms. Stark needs to restate the problem. I disagree with her about misfocused energy.

Consider what is happening in the K-12 space. Significant educational problems are being talked about and more.Educators are collaborating to make learning experiences better. Many of the people I meet there are actively involved in growing their know-how through exposure to diverse ways of knowing via higher education so that model of learning and development still works.

In the trenches there are teachers like Dave Burgess (@burgessdave) advocating for more engaging ways of presenting the learning experience. Teachers Erin Klein (@kleinerin) believe that the learning environment matters. Teachers like Don Wettrick (@donwettrick) are giving students the opportunity to choose their own path to learning. All one has to do is visit an #EdCamp to see this energy in action.

MAKING

I went through school in the 1960s and early 1970s. Back then learning was mostly rote memorization of facts and formulae. Worksheets figured in the learning process, too.

What are the limits of school? I think Stark is asking the wrong question. She needs to tweek its focus a little and ask what is school? One of Webster's definitions for school, the one I identify with the most, is "a source of knowledge." Maybe it's in a building. Maybe it's online. For me it's something that changes me: How I perceive the world around me. The change can and does happen any where at any time.I don't get why one would want to highlight those whom choose another path. They are everywhere.

• The coworker lamenting about a missed promotion
• The parent volunteering at their kid's school
• The supermarket cashier with a textbook tucked under her lunch bag

We are learning. All you have to do is look up at yourself and the people around you. If you're not having a conversation with those around you then you should consider starting one.We still need something to frame. If you're so inclined and not currently engaged in another form of learning give Todd Nesloney's (@techninjatodd) Educator Learning Series (#EDULS) a look and learn and earn.

EPILOGUE

I have an M.S. Ed. I made a couple of tries for a Ph.D. before putting it on indefinite hold. You know what? It's hard. No, that's not it. Not really. It got to be uninteresting. Like one of Stark's highlights I chose a different path. And, whether you realize it or not, you have too.

I wonder what path today's K-12 students might choose?

 

 

Design Thinking

PROLOGUE

"Walk a mile in my shoes." -- Joe South

DESIGN

Last year via a Stanford University MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) I learned how to put a new spin on an old problem solving process. I'm talking ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) and Design Thinking.

THINKING

Design thinking adds empathy with learners to the instructional design process. ADDIE's analysis phase typically involves working with subject matter experts (SME) to identify attributes, needs, and gaps. How learners feel usually isn't evaluated.

The instructional design process can benefit greatly if designers begin the process by empathizing with learners: feeling their pain and learning about their perspective.

Partnering with learners in designing learning means the chances of a miss are greatly decreased. Learners prototyping and tinkering with content and activities help produce experiences that meet real needs.

EPILOGUE

In my projects I advocate for eLearning that is brief and focused. Assessment comes in the form of making: producing evidence of mastery and sharing with peers and managers.

It's human science, not rocket science.