As I have been thinking about what collaboration means, I found this excellent presentation.  As you watch and listen, can you hear the Gospel message of loving one another?  I can!  Listen for this notion of "failure recovery" and think about the truth of that notion!

Relational Technology

As I listened to Greg Bitgood's podcast I connected most with these three statements:

• What technology really does though is it extends ourselves into larger spaces much more efficiently and quickly... They extend our influence, experiences and ultimately our relationships.

•  Does your class move through virtual space as well as physical? Do you help your students nurture a virtual persona? Do they publish online? Do they tweet? Do they Skype? Does each have a profile page representing their current learning? Do they answer questions from other students in other schools, and ask their own questions in turn?

•  Let’s forever cast away the idea that technology hinders or prevents “real” relationships. 

Just this morning I have had the opportunity to   confront, in love, an online student who has all year avoided the work, ignored my invitations for relationship and defied her mother’s tears.  We worked through presumption (you owe me a pass), manipulation (my mother is crying), and got all the way to the student taking initiative (if I.. would you consider...?).That's relational technology!

Then I  read yet another Socials 5 assignment where students were asked to compare technology today and interview their grandparents about technology of their day. Without fail, the older generation sees technology as limiting relationship... despite the fact that many of  their grandchildren have relationship with them, with teachers, with other students around the globe through technology!  Talk about a myth that needs to be exposed! 

Every day I use technology to extend my teaching world to Brazil, China and Horsefly BC!  Everyday our students have the opportunity to use technology through our online library, through various resources to be taught by teachers (through videos, links, webinars. Let's enter that space with them and learn together!http://www.thechristianeducator.org/content/view/189/27/

I just read a great blog: Adolescents Crave Purpose.  We know it's true!  I am no adolescent but I haven't stopped craving purpose!  I can't help but think the church and Christian Education are missing out on the obvious. Christ offers the greatest purpose of all - purpose for life, purpose for learning, purpose for doing and being!  We must do our utmost to remove the obstacles we set in the path of today's learners (tomorrow's leaders).  

What obstacles?  

• thinking that meaningless regurgitation of facts indicates learning
• presenting uninspiring learning activities, outdated textbooks, assessment that doesn't measure for learning
• defaulting to the methods and materials of our generation
• accepting mediocre resources because it's got the Christian label denying our students the training and opportunity to think deeply, to ask and be asked in a variety of learning communities.  

Let's give our disciples-in-training meaningful learning experiences that involve their hearts, minds, hands and voices!

Getting Ready for Graduation

"Who are your students becoming?  What experiences do they need to become that?"

(thoughts from The Vancouver Symposium on 21st Century Christian Education) 

I have spent 3 intense days with many incredibly deep-thinking educators from various corners of God's Earth, wrestling with the notion of how we need to change education's paradigms so that our students are prepared for a world we cannot begin to conceive of.  

How clear is your idea of who God has created your child to be?  What might His purposes be?  How are you designing educational experiences to allow your child to 'apprentice life' in a real, safe, and developmentally appropriate environment with the freedom to risk, to fail, and to try again?  We have such an amazing opportunity to move boldly forward.  Let's not "default" to the educational experiences we endured in rows of desks with dated textbooks and teachers standing up front... especially in a home school world!  

Hands on experiences, field trips, interactive web site learning venues, talking with experts, building and creating, and using technology tools allows our students a more dynamic learning environment than reading textbooks, filling in workbooks, and raising hands to ask for permission to go to the washroom.  With educational tools such as Blooms Modified Taxonomy and Garner's Multiple Intelligences, we can be intentional in the way we vary and leverage the learning opportunities for our students.  With Scripture open, we can explore every topic and concept through the lens of Truth, to the glory of our God and King! 

21st Century Learning

To continue my thoughts on the Premier's Council on the directions Education needs to take.  It is exciting to think about what transformation for 21st Century Education might look like!  Consider what this document suggested:

• From Learning Information to Learning to Learn
• From Data to Discovery
• From One Size Fits All to Tailored Learning
• From Testing to Assess to Assessing to Learn
• From Classroom Learning to Lifelong Learning Transformation

Think about it!  There is no reason to fear Classroom-learning based PLO's, to cling to "One-Size fits all" workbooks, to bore our children with learning meaningless information rather than learning to learn!

Let’s DO this!!  How exciting!! There is NOTHING stopping us from seeking this kind of transformative education.  As you write your weekly update, look for ways to move in this direction.  If you carefully examine your choices for learning activities, you can make intentional decisions to move from Learning Information to Learning to Learn, from Data to Discovery.  We have the best of all environments in home school to Tailor Learning and Assess to Learn what the student needs next.  What better way is there to equip tomorrow’s Disciples than to teach them to be lifelong faith-engaged learners!

After listening to Greg Bitgood's podcast on April 4

http://www.thechristianeducator.org/content/view/180/27/

I would like to propose we completely re-write our report card and base our final portfolio assessment on the goals highlighted in The Premier’s Technology Council report which focused on four specific areas of change.

 

Think about it!! What would learning and assessment look like if we focussed on:

1. The “Needs of the Knowledge Based Society.” (Greg discusses this in podcast #138)

• Functional Numeracy and Literacy

• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

• Creativity and Innovation

• Technological Literacy

• Communications and Media Literacy

• Collaboration and Teamwork

• Personal Organisation

• Motivation, Self-Regulation and Adaptability

• Ethics, Civic Responsibility, Cross-Cultural Awareness Skills

Take a look at your last month’s learning! How would you grade your program, your students’ progress in these essential skills? How relevant a report would be if it listed these as Learning Outcomes!! Wait a minute! Why can’t they be our Learning Outcomes? They are, after all the Ministry’s stated goals!

Easter

With a few "Twitter word"... the Gospel comes alive!!