Comments for Edustange

Comment on Weblogg-ed » Kids Owning the Learning by Alan Stange

Alan Stange — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:37:48 +0000

I am trying to reconnect with some of my past practices in this regard. Contracts, projects and being responsive to different styles of learning and communication. I have a good group to work with, so (our) failure (when it happens) is not a serious issue at the moment.

Comment on Weblogg-ed » Kids Owning the Learning by Mark Walker

Mark Walker — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 20:06:16 +0000

Alan
Sounds like you enjoyed your visit “down under” so to speak. We also have these new flexible / dedicated learning facilities. Our journey so far has been about building learning relationships between students and students and teachers so that the environment is safe to make mistakes, reflect, receive feedback and grow.

Our next steps are to teach personal learning skills so that students start to set their own learning goals and finally use a new statewide online learning environment that will help us personalise learning better for students.

Like the students and teachers at Wooranna Park its a work in progress.

PS We used the same furniture designer to build a variety of spaces for students to use and learn in.

Comment on When does a young person own their learning? by Deborah Snowden

Deborah Snowden — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:37:54 +0000

I’ve never truly thought of that before. I cannot help but think that it is still crucial that students are required to learn certain subjects, such as math, because they need those learned skills to succeed. There must be order in the classroom.

But I suspect that I may have missed something. What exactly is it that you are referring to when you say student “ownership”? I think I would be able to discuss this subject better if I further understood your meaning?

Comment on The Murgatroyd Blog: Making a Difference – Real Learning by Deborah Snowden

Deborah Snowden — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 23:13:24 +0000

Hi there I’m Deborah at the University of South Alabama and my EDM310 professor, Dr. John Strange has assigned your blog to me for an assignment that will take place over the next few weeks, during which time I will be reading and commenting on your posts. I will then write an overview about what I’ve learned on my blog on or before March 21. You’re welcome to take a look at http://snowdendeborahedm310.blogspot.com/

I think you have some excellent points, particularly about the fear of accountability many educators are experiencing. I’ve only been out of high school for two years so I remember a lot about it. Standardized testing is an epidemic. In my school system the county distributed nearly identical standardized tests every quarter with a strict curriculum in mind. It really restricted what teachers could teach us because they were tied down to the topics and discussions dictated to them by the school board. I think that’s shameful. There’s not opportunity to explore or expand.

Comment on When does a young person own their learning? by Dean Shareski

Dean Shareski — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:31:05 +0000

I wonder too. I wonder if there is some way that this could be a combination of both outcomes. “Here’s the outcome I want you to reach, what is yours?”

Comment on Capitalizing on a sad tragedy by Morgan Bayda

Morgan Bayda — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 02:31:19 +0000

“We live in a digital world. That need not make it a less ethical world.”

Very well said. I think that the media does not give people enough credit for liking positive content. So many people think that information only sells if it is about the more gory, often negative hot topics. I have never felt that way and I would love to see more positivity in the media.

Comment on Dean Shareski on the way it ought to be by Dean Shareski

Dean Shareski — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:57:51 +0000

One of my favorite quotes from Clay Shirky:

“These tools don’t get socially interesting until they get technically boring”

Comment on Putting my money where my mouth is… by Alan Stange

Alan Stange — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 02:12:37 +0000

I agree Dean and wish I had said that myself. I make it sound absolute when in fact I am fairly discriminating in my connections. There are times when it is not a good idea to engage with a student or group of students. Also, engagement is suggestive of sustained dialog. This has not been the case for me. Contact becomes minimal. It is almost as if the connection is more important than the conversation it might generate. It is important to remember that my students are quite young and relatively shy or inarticulate. An adolescent connection might be both more meaningful and more problematic.

Comment on Putting my money where my mouth is… by Dean Shareski

Dean Shareski — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 23:01:25 +0000

To me it can be a bit like chatting with students in the mall, or the hockey rink or at church. We occupy these same spaces with them and if it helps to foster relationships for learning or simply to be a good role model, to me that seems like the right thing. At the same time, I can understand those not wanting to engage with students too. I think each person needs to understand the environment and make the decision for themselves. Schools and districts shouldn’t be making these choices.

Comment on Putting my money where my mouth is… by Alan Stange

Alan Stange — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:27:22 +0000

What I think people don’t understand is the capacity for social networking to emulate that interconnected society. I frequently read observations that we need to discard the industrial model of education. The managerial relationship of teacher to student should be shunned in favour of a more egalitarian model where teachers and students are ‘co-learners’ collaborating together. If that is to be so, then our attitudes toward communicating with young people need to be modified. I hasten to add that I am speaking about communication, being receptive and responsive to innocuous conversation. I am not insensible to disparities in power between young and old people, I simply don’t think that social networking adds a unique dimension to the older person’s responsibility, nor does it excuse the older person from exercising those responsibilities.