Learning places

Looking back has me looking forward.  In the article,

Educations love affair with consuming technology written in 2014, it discusses technology consumption.  So COVID-19 has created a situation where kids aren’t allowed in schools and for many years we have believed that schools are the place where learning takes place.  Now, might be the time to really look at where does learning take place.  Technological reach, in more immersive ways, is more possible to any place and with that, learning could take place everywhere. Unfortunately or not, our kids are consuming more through technology than ever before. 

If we look at learning places and expertise instead of schools and buildings...what does that look like?   Right now kids are learning in their homes at a level that a month ago we would have thought impossible.  Are there perfect classrooms decorated with perfect bulletin boards?  No!  Are there human home's with messy rooms...a few.  What is a classroom?  Does it have to be located in a specific building? NO.  

Let's imagine learning places.  Let's imagine no boundaries within a city. Let's imagine teachers teaching their passion.  Doctors aren't doctors of everything, they specialize, they excel.  Is it time for educators to do the same?

Learning places and learning spaces.  When we think of all the places that have amazing learning potential we come up with amazing possibilities that lots of students never get to. Museums, National Parks, Zoo's, Factories, Capitals, Forests, Deserts, Stadiums, and the list can go and go and go.  Why do we  teach about animals without being there?  What about being IN what we are learning?  During this COVID19 time we have learned school buildings are not a necessity for learning.  We have learned technology can help but can't replace learning professionals as well.

Different schools have different ratings.  Parents want kids to go to best schools but often there are imaginary lines that prevent that.  Ponder that for a minute...imaginary lines determine quality of eduction that students receive.  If learning spaces were where teachers were and any kid and parent could join, would that be equitable?  Could busses still be run...of course.  Why aren't we using technology to open these spaces up? Teacher's are in need of a push to move to a learning environment and COVID19 has created the shove.  With immersive technology like Augmented Reality, learners can be engulfed in the environment but in order to do that we have to accept that the need for the old school building has changed.

So what do we know?  We know parents know their children best!  We know teachers know how to help children learn!  We know kids have exposure to more information than ever before!  We know most children get tired of school midway through the process.  Let's eliminate teacher's least favorite subjects and let them specialize in their passion.  Let's build networks of learning experts that are so regarded they have more youtube followers than gamers.  

Can we do it?  I hope so...will it take businesses and parents willing to do what is best for our future, yes.  Will it take teachers embracing the new frontier and moving past the idea we should go back to what it was, yes!  Will it be easy, no!  Will it be challenging like nothing we have seen, yes.  Let's set this generation up to be the greatest learners from our willingness to change.  Let's not re-invent the wheel, let's create a new way of transportation.

What will our children learn?

As we enter into ongoing uncertainty with COVID-19 and its impacts on the world let look at what students might take away from this historical time.

Will they look back and think about what we should have done?  As our lives are more isolated to our own homes and the news is relentless about what is happening, what do they see and think?  Unfortunately we don't have all the answers on what is the "right" thing to do so we are learning together.  Are we talking to kids that this is an ultimate example of learning, learning together and finding solutions (not answers) or are we discussing things from that traditional educational mindset?  Are we focusing on we should have an answer and we should have known it?  Thinking about how we discuss this pandemic is a key step in setting the stage for what learning looks like after it resides  Learning is ever-changing and this is a real-life example of that the solutions to all problems are everywhere but we must be able to continue to re-assess and try a different routes.

Are our children learning empathy in this time of need?  When we see the coverage of shortages at grocery store when there has not been a true increase in need what do our children learn?  In a time of need are our children learning about helping each other?  Are we focusing on needs and appreciating all we have?   How are we helping each other in a time of isolation will set a standard that our kids  will hold onto for a generation.

What are our children learning about school?  Education will most likely look different in years to come but what are students, parents and community learning about education as we go through this crisis?  Are they learning packets are how we learn?  Are they learning pre-recorded videos can replace classes?  Are they learning how to better work with teachers to help students learn?  Are parents becoming an integral team member in the learning process?  Are teachers finding ways to make content come alive in the world students are already accustomed?  We can defend what is good about schools with a backward facing perspective but to our children and their families that shows we are about what was, not what is now.  Can we change the conversation from school to education during this time?  Can our children see that we are committed to building a an educational process that looks at them as individuals and not someone in a bus or classroom. 

The children/students of today will guide what is accepted as education in the very near future.  Are we helping them develop the learning, empathy and understanding to learn now and lead into the unknown.

Learning attached to music

My kids and I decided we would embrace the Corona message by incorporating it in to songs and remaking lyrics.  We challenge anyone to share your ideas and create your own. 

We dug deep, used My Sharona, My Adidas and Stitches.  Enjoy and please share your videos.  #coronamusicchallenge

What is truly needed for "School"?

As the country deals with the ramifications of the current pandemic and schools are facing new challenges, Never Waste a Crisis, I am left pondering what is needed for school to happen.

The idea of school is quit simple.  

Let's ponder some initial questions.

1. Does it have to be physical location?

         I would argue, not anymore.  We need space but not necessarily assigned classrooms.  We need places to share an experience, an experiment or an activity.

2. Where does content come from?
        Everywhere, we just need to harness.

3. Can assessments still be the measuring stick?
       Yes, but more universal and can allow students to show mastery when ready, not when class gets there.

4. Can parents be more involved?
       This a chance for parents to be the lead in helping their students learn.  By empowering parents we can help students excel.  Think in a medical example for a minute.  Doctors prescribe treatment and parents administer those treatments, whether medicine, foods or exercise.   Teachers can be much more prescriptive with parents while customizing to the needs of children.

5. Can we invest more in learning and less in schools?
       The big question...to be answered.


There will be obstacles but how do we move education forward?

Never waste a crisis, the Covid - 19 change to education.

Winston Churchill is credited with the statement, "never waste a good crisis" and we are living through a crisis  period today.

Homeschooling, virtual education and alternative ways to educate our students has been talked about forever and more fervently in the last 10 years.  Today is different from any day in the past.  We have all seen the meme's about parent's schooling their children since the pandemic has shut down schools across the country and globe.
 

These make teachers smile and feel a sense of security but we should all remember, never waste a good crisis!

School & education will look different after this historic event.  Schools, very well, might be more focused on competence and understanding versus seat time.  School budgets will reduce positions and take savings to improve technology and events for learning.  Parents will question educators more, not less, after the pandemic subsides. 

This is a great opportunity to really look at what education is, and what it should be! 

Expect more businesses to allow more flexibility in working away from the office from this moment forward.   Expect parents to see the value in spending more time with their kids. as well. 

How will we react as educators? 
How will we morph into what educators are needed to be, not what we have been?
How will we provide the support that parents don't know about?

There are lots of questions, but I think we would be foolish to think that education will ever look the same after this event. 

"Never waste a good crisis!"  Winston Churchill.

Robotic teachers

Working with a group of elementary students recently, I asked what jobs will be gone in the next ten years. One answer resonated with me for obvious reasons, teachers will be gone was their reply. Upon further investigation they did not believe schools would be gone, just teachers. Teachers would be replaced by robots.

When I think of the technology usage seen in a multitude of schools, there is always a sense of frustration. Is the technology being used for a good educational purposes? Or Is it being used for substitution, digital pacifying or behavior management? We want it to be taking students to places they can't possibly go without it.

Back to the students comments, what does this say about their opinion of educators? Think about it from this perspective, the robots students know today are very mechanical. They perform specific programed tasks. A robot vacuum is simple example, C3PO brings a more life-like sample to mind. Teachers are mechanical, in some students minds, they deliver content, they monitor them and than they test us. Is that what a teacher really is?

Teachers are continually striving to use technology better but we can't beat a computer at what it is best at. My continued conversations with teachers help highlight this idea. Technology is a tool and tools don't replace the operator, if used correctly. What is correctly? If the classroom is about delivering content in order to pass a test, than technology can replace us. Teachers need to start pondering if using technology is as important as questioning it? Why does my search on Google return these results? Why does my page generate these possible ads? Why does it say these people might be worth following? Using technology is becoming more and more ubiquitous and children are being more conditioned, as all of us are, to simply do what technology tells without questioning how that happened. A good example is navigation systems. Have you ever gone to the wrong location, when your instincts were telling you it was wrong, simply because that's where the digital navigation system told you to go? Next time you are headed home from work or a store, get directions from your digital device. Does it take you the way you would go? Does it take you a way that you hadn't thought of? These are the questions we need students to understand instead of the simpleness of using technology?

When thinking about what we do, how do you answer these questions?

Could you be replaced by a robot in your class today, this week, the year?

              Do your students think so?

How can you be what technology and computers aren't?

Are you helping students understand the world they live in and the technology around them? Are you helping them create questions about it?

If you feel like commenting that would be awesome....if you feel like tweeting, be brave and lets use #Notrobotteach for the tag.


Be what we are...people and use the passion that brought you into education to make it the remarkable experience are kids deserve.

Reflection and looking forward

It has been a little over two years since my last blog post.  One of  the cool parts of a blog is that it also acts like a journal.  In five years of blogging as inspiration hit, I posted thoughts on various topics.  Looking back over those post, there is both disappointment and excitement.

Educationally, the world moves slowly. Some things have changed but so much has barely moved.

In the last few years, I  had the opportunity to lead change from the district office level.  Leading a district to be more open with communication was rewarding.  Using social media to open up conversations with some of our more vocal and hidden shareholders led to greater transparency.  School board member now actively reach out to all stake holders.  Schools regularly share daily happening and parents are interested.

We had the chance to step back from a 1:1 movement of one size fit all to a purposeful technology deployment.  Opening up our network so student devices could more easily be used was a beginning step.  Working with teachers to find out what students needed to be able to be a great student changed the view that technology was being done to them.

Was any part of change easy?  No.  It was amazing to see how fast technology used in very basic ways can become acceptable.  Technology that makes classroom management easier but takes the classroom no further than traditional means is not a great use of educational dollars for sure.

As I look back, I reflect on the changes that can be made and the changes we choose not to make.

Moving forward:

I will strive to find and share posts and thoughts that keep challenging us all.  I hope you go back and read some previous post, go to your favorite blogs and look at some of their early post and see just how much your classroom, school or district has changed.

I hope we all find renewed motivation to keep our children in mind.  They are calling from the future and hoping we fight for improvements to better help them prepare for a very exciting future.

If not now.....when