Desktops, Tabletops, and Tablet-Ops

PROLOGUE

Blackboards and college ruled notebook paper: Back when I started school these were the media teachers and students wrote on. Period. Mediums have, of course, evolved since then. During last Saturday's EdCampAwesome (session notes) in Royse City, Texas I had a glimpse on how much has changed.

DESKTOPS

One of the EdCampAwesome sessions I participated in was Moving to Learn/Kinesthetic Learning facilitatedby Cheri Froehling.

One of the images she shared was of a young girl smiling over a sketch she had drawn, in marker, on the top of her desk. My immediate thought was, "Wow! Wonder how many erasers she had to clean after school?" Only of course, she didn't have to clean anything except her own dry erase markings on the desk. Said Cheri: "Naughty is engaging. Doing something you're not supposed to do in class helps learning stick more easily." Cheri and many of the teachers in the room with me had some great ideas, out-of-the-box for me, on how to engage body and mind in learning.

TABLETOPS

Which brings me to the adult learning environment I design for. Dry erase boards are everywhere in this space. Flip charts are common as well, providing places for notes to be written; hanging them on walls to be referred to later is a kind of group memory.

I wonder what might happen if the next training I develop has learners take notes or collaboratively work out problems on their tabletops? I haven't seen this done before, at least not with the encouragement of an instructor and the participation of others. I'm a big fan of the maker movement. Working out problems on something you think you shouldn't be writing on might make for an interesting learning activity.

In the adult learning spaces I design for learners working out problems collaboratively on their desktops might be a stretch. Maybe not. I don't know for sure but it's something to think about, talk about, and play with.

TABLET-OPS

Which brings me to a project I'm working on now. It involves design thinking and rapid prototyping. What would adult learning look like if learners worked out problems collaboratively using the mobile devices, smartphones and tablets, many use every day? I've learned tons from the teachers I meet at EdCamps I've been to in Texas, Arizona, and California. I'll be sharing what I've learned during my Mobile Rapid Prototyping Through AppSmashing concurrent session at the eLearning Guild's mLearn Conference in Austin, Texas this June.

EPILOGUE

The other EdCampAwesome session I attended was Flipping PD with Don Jacobs. It involved doing brief video clips, micro podcasts I guess, to share know-how with peers. So I think I'll give this a try soon. My weekend was EdCampAwesome.

 

 

High-Speed Reflections

INTRO

Mrs and me have been married going on 24 years. One would think life partners would know everything there is to know about each other in that time. In my case, you'd be mistaken.

HIGH-SPEED

Somewhere near Weatherford, Texas driving along Interstate 30 at 75 mph something Mrs said as we were leaving Abilene struck a chord. I'd mentioned this cool job (for her) that I saw in an email. There was a pause as she absorbed the information. She told me how she would perform the tasks required by the position.

REFLECTIONS

My initial thoughts were that she was jumping the gun a bit. She should be thinking of how she might apply for it. Later on, in the just before dawn darkness, I realized that this must be how Mrs orders thoughts in her mind. Many of the conversations Mrs and I have had over the years started like this. It's in my nature to start doing early. Mrs likes to think about doing before she commits to action.

OUTRO

So, where does this leave me? I think it offers me the chance to think a little deeper about the learning experiences I design. Typically they begin with a story to set the stage. I learned some time ago about how learning styles are a myth. But do people have doing styles? Do we have habits that frame how we respond to stories, case studies, and simulations?

 

Ed-Pa-Camp

PROLOGUE

I'm a John Wayne fan. Maybe it's because he looks like papa? There's this line he has In Harms Way where The Duke says, "She's a good ship headed in harms way." It's an allusion to a U.S. Navy warship headed out to sea during the opening days following Pearl Harbor. Thinking about raising children and helping them along the way so they're successful in school reminded me of the harm we can do to our children if we don't get it right.

ED

My youngest is about grown. There is so much about her that's new. It scary, in a very good way, when I marvel at what she will do in her life. Though Mrs. and I raised her from a seed there is much about her that is unknown. I think this is wonderful. Realizing this while my daugther and I chatted over breakfast a few minutes ago reminded me there is always at least one more thing that can be learned.

PA

I was lucky to be out of work here and there during the first few years of parenthood. I got to know each of my three girls in a very fundamental way. It's a wonder that I can still see in each one snippets of what they were like when they were little. Along the way being parents Mrs and I made difficult choices regarding where to live, who stays home with the kids because child care can be so expensive, and so on. You've probably made similar decisions, too. Anyway, reflecting on raising my daughters reminded me there is always room for improvement.

CAMP

A few days ago someone asked for my perspective on how the curriculum night experience could be improved. Curriculum night is a rite of passage sort of event in Arizona (maybe everywhere) where parents meet their children's teachers a week or two after the new school year has begun. Topics of discussion include school and teacher policies along with a brief overview of what teachers will teach and students will learn. I replied, foolishly it occurred to me later, that I'd blog about it the next day. Only I didn't. I reflected on what I might say for most of a week.

I thought about the many constraints all those involved in the process face: children, teachers, parents. Time and distance were my main concerns. I usually worked far from home. With curriculum night happening on one night for all grades, classes, and students you can imagine what just getting there in front of a teacher requires.

A year and a half ago I encountered the EdCamp model of professional development courtesy of EdCampWestTexas. The unconference experience, where there is no preset agenda and participants make it up based on the interests of participants and know-how of those in the room, has had a profound effect on my personal and professional life. The EdCamps I participated in were always held on Saturdays; most were on site at a school; several were online via a Google Hangout.

So, after much reflection I think shifting curriculum night from its current model, where it's held for several hours after school on a weeknight, to an EdCamp model is worth a try. Making it an all day, say over six hours, on a Saturday might make it easier for parents to attend. Curriculum night could include all it had before plus a crash-immersion in what teaching strategies teachers use. This is a big deal. Until I started going to EdCamp I had no idea what teaching and learning was really like in my kids' schools.

EPILOGUE

So there it is Jeremy. Remake curriculum night so it looks more like an EdCamp.Take your time with it. Open it up so it's about more than policy. Curriculum night is not something you want to scale: Where, like Christmas, it happens over the span of two or three hours one night.

It'd be cool if the children could come, too. It's in everyone's best interest that we get this education thing right.