Wednesday 7 October 2015

Reflections on Day One of ULearn15

1- the what?
2- so what? 3- now what? easy prompts for quick and easy reflections

(Shout out to Mark Buckland (@mjbuckland) for the guide/template/outline/whatever)

1. The What

  • Powhiri was awesome
  • politician's address not so much
  • Keynote 1: Grant Lichtman was brilliant - Break down the silos; paradigm shift from industrial model to ecosystem model (teachers as 'farmers' who tend and nurture a student that will grow, in some way, whether we tend it or not); Dewey - Ecosystems: Dynamic, Adaptive, Permeable, Creative, self-correcting; Cognitosphere; we have the hardware (buildings, infrastructure, people), we have the software (books, apps, internet etc), we need a new operating system!
  • Breakout 1: The Pond - went slightly differently to how I imagined (many didn't know much about it at all).
  • Breakout 2: Death by Powerpoint. They meant well and possibly had a good message, but 'they lost me at hello' with so many words on their slides that I just couldn't take it all in and gave up (sound like our kids?)
  • Movie night: Bloody Brilliant! Most Likely to Succeed (@MLTSFilm #MLTSFilm) echoed what I have said from the start. We are not preparing Ss for life if we use standardised tests/exams where we teach to the test and the Ss forget the material as soon as they leave the test/exam. And none of the tests assess the skills that are most useful in the world - the 'soft skills,' the ability to collaborate, problem solve, communicate, learn/unlearn/relearn, find/evaluate/synthesise information to create a solution, perseverance, empathy.
2. So what?
  • Must work on my reo!
  • More blah/fluff/politic-speak, but at least the Minister was busy elsewhere... and those that fronted, did so. Kudos for that.
  • Keynote 1: Burn down the silos. We have to have a new operating system if we are going to remain relevant (see comment on Movie)
  • Breakout 1: Burn down the silos. Share, share and share some more. Communicate, collaborate - SHARE!
  • Breakout 2: Greedo shot first.
  • Movie Night: Burn down the silos (am I detecting a theme here?) Revolutionise the way Ss can learn. Assess through authentic audience/project-based output. Nurture those soft-skills.
3. Now what?
  • Where are my matches? "Be the change you want to see!" he cried as he poured more petrol on the fire. Connect more and in more meaningful ways. Share, collaborate, innovate. To fail IS to succeed if we learn from it.


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