We live in a world surrounded by technology. Information, commerce, communication, and entertainment all rely on computers. But only a tiny fraction of us learn computer science, the basics of how computers work, or how to create software, apps, or web sites. Computer Science provides a foundation for virtually any career and everybody can benefit from learning the basics.
Did you know:
Software jobs outnumber students 3-to-1. The gap is 1 million jobs over 10 years – these are some of the highest paying jobs.
In many countries, it’s required (China, Vietnam, Estonia…)
The basics can be learned by anybody, starting in elementary school. But fewer than 10% of students try. Only 2% are women.
1% are students of color.
The Kean University Writing Project is joining a massive campaign to prepare students OF ALL AGES for the 21st century during Computer Science Education Week (Dec 8-14). The Hour of Code campaign has an audacious goal: to introduce 10 million students to one hour of computer science.
The invitation is extended to you and any of your fellow colleagues, friends, students, or children of your own, to celebrate the national celebration known as the Hour of Code. HERE is the link to discover the world of computional thinking via fun, engaging tutorials. HOMAGO!: Hang out, Mess around, Geek out!
For more information on what the Hour of Code celebration is all about, click HERE. For fantastic teacher resources, click HERE.
I’ve just been reading Howard Rheingold‘s case study on the Connected Learning website on Jim Groom’s “DS106″ course, and was inspired to write down a couple of ideas. Coincidentally, one of the central elements to the success of the DS106 course (and Connected Courses in general) seems to be blogging – or maybe simply writing. Or maybe even more simply, producing materials/texts/ideas to share with the world – regardless if anyone is going to read it. I was particularly inspired to write down these thoughts when I got to Rheingold’s section on the “Assignment Bank” – a repository of various assignment types from which students could select to “[model] their learning for others.” What I found interesting about this wasn’t just that Groom had handed over logistic (and epistemic?) authority over to his students by letting them come up with their own assignments (and assignment genres), but the purpose of so doing was to encourage students to be accountable to their own learning, as well as to the larger learning community (i.e., the course). In my own teaching and research experience at the K-12 level, and perhaps even more so in higher ed, assignments seem to take on a weird role that straddles 1) the maintenance of a tradition of rigor (sometimes for rigor’s sake), and 2) getting more stuff “into the heads” of individuals (this is, presumably, important in formal educational contexts because of limited class periods – or in other words, limited access to “instruction”). But in the context of DS106, assignments seem at least to have a different, and arguably more impactful purpose. Assignments are meant to draw upon relevant themes and the production of digital artifacts, and additionally, to serve as content/material for exploring the ideas and concepts that are central to the course. It’s kind of meta, but it’s also an insanely awesome feedback loop, where the topics of the course are explored through student-produced artifacts. The success of the course as a learning experience is therefore dependent on the participation of those taking the course. In other words, the students are accountable for making the course what it is, and what it can be.
Stepping back a bit, it seems to me that one huge advantage of this is that the purpose of the assignment is to create and maintain two levels of accountability. Assignments that are interest-driven in this way are a vehicle for encouraging students (maybe we should just call them “participants”?) to be accountable for their own learning (i.e., they learn by participating in the creation of a digital artifact), as well as to be accountable to the knowledge community – their digital artifacts are, in a way, levers for collective knowledge construction. They support the group’s learning discourse. This seems particularly difficult to do in learning settings where all the decision making regarding assignments, assessments, and activities lie with a privileged authoritarian or institution. Just some thoughts…
The coming two weeks will no doubt engender a dynamic (and hopefully playful) conversation about co-learning in the Connected Courses community. I am honored to facilitate the topic along with colleagues Alec Couros and Howard Rheingold who have been exploring these issues for some time. Of all the topics we considered tackling when designing the Connected Courses “spine”, this one seemed to me at the heart of our collective desire to identify transformative learning. But co-learning is not a simple switch. A changing relationship to authority and hierarchy in the classroom is no small or easy feat.
How can the master teacher drop the mastery impulse and open up the classroom to what is untapped and unapparent? We have heard quite a bit about the limits of the “sage on the stage” approach and the dawning of new affordances in teaching with the “guide on the side” model. But what does this really mean in terms of practice? What exactly does empowered co-learning look like and what paths do we take to get us there? And what role should grades, evaluations, and assessments play in a co-learning environment?
This topic yields anxiety for teachers. For what we are speaking about is a practice of “unlearning” as much as a careful cultivation of both strategic risks and a culture of openness. We must unlearn the hidden curriculum of compulsory command and right & wrongs plain to see. And we must understand that vulnerability is actually the true seed of knowledge and growth. With co-learning what we are really striving for is new ways to learn how to learn. And in many ways this issue is urgent as we try to envision our collective future.
I must offer the admittance that I haven’t “gone all the way” here in the co-learning experiment. I have certainly incorporated connected practices in my teaching, and I have made student agency, student choice, and student instinct a listening and actionable priority as I embark on each new semester. I work to make sure there is always the space for my students to teach me. And God knows, they continue to teach me in profound and surprising ways. But there is also much I can learn from all of you. I still struggle to come up with smart approaches to evaluation in this context. In addition, I find I must reassure students often as I try certain open approaches, as many are truly disorientated and express a need for traditional authority in this co-learning environment. (i.e. What do you want me to write about? What are you looking for in my project?, etc) It seems to me “unlearning” is not easy for everyone involved.
A lot of what I have learned over the years intuitively about the challenges of co-learning have been inspired by the National Writing Project community, an organization whose motto is “teachers teaching teachers”. The NWP believes that teachers at every level—from kindergarten through university—are the agents of reform. Peer learning is a NWP cornerstone (and a key to the organization’s scalability). Along with this foundational commitment to peer learning comes the belief that access to high-quality educational experiences is a basic right of all learners and a foundation of equity. I have learned so much from my NWP colleagues in a network whose core instinct is to constantly share and explore together.
Mostly, I find that co-learning is somehow linked to a kind of “life attitude”. When I became a mother, I realized quickly that everyday my children teach me a myriad of vital things. These brand new people, who have so little experience, are in many ways masters of what is significant in life. A truly wise person learns from every person he or she connects with in the most unforeseen moments. This is of course the soul of co-learning. But it is not necessarily easy to maintain this outlook, especially as we continue to navigate institutional demands, programmatic expectations, and expected outcomes.
Please join us in this important conversation about what it means to empower through teaching. You are welcome to jump right in no matter if you are just discovering the Connected Courses community for the first time or you are an old friend. Here is the full schedule of our networked events for the Co-Learning Unit from 11/10-11/23. And if you use twitter, be sure to add the hashtag #ccourses in your tweets!
Looking forward to the extended chat and learning from so many. -Mia
We are writing all the time. We are texting, blogging, divining poems, making grocery lists, tweeting, tinkering with song lyrics, making infographics, tweaking lines of code, designing storyboards, or shooting off more emails….
At the Kean University Writing Project we believe that writing, in its many forms, is the signature means of communication in the 21st century. We envision a future where every person is an accomplished writer, engaged learner, and active participant in a digital, interconnected world. And each October we carry on the tradition of celebrating the National Day of Writing.
On Monday, October 20, 2014 we invite you to celebrate the 6th annual National Day on Writing. Officially recognized by the U.S. Senate, the National Day on Writing aims to celebrate writing in all its forms. The theme this year is writing on community, and writers are encouraged to interpret that in whatever way they choose.
image from dogtrax.edublogs.org
Here are a few ideas for how you might celebrate the National Day on Writing:
Participate in a national “tweet-up.” Share your writing in the national Tweet-Up on October 20 by using the Twitter hashtag #writemycommunity. In addition, look for tweets from @KUWP (the Kean University Writing Project) and @KeanWriting (the Kean University Writing Center) and retweet our enthusiasm for so many forms of writing.
Start a novel. November is National Novel Writing Month (#NaNoWriMo). What better day to start planning a novel than the National Day on Writing! NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program offers an online space for young writers to support one another through the process. Young writers can exchange ideas and questions in the forums, and fill out a profile to share excerpts of their novels-in-progress with Writing Buddies. For teachers, NaNoWriMo has Common Core-aligned lesson plans, fun writing exercises, an assessment rubric, a “Virtual Classroom” for tracking kids’ progress, and an educator community.
Expand your definition of writing: How about expanding our notion of what writing is in this day and age? Embrace multimedia and multi-genre projects as a form of writing by applying the writing process to videos, slideshows, podcasts, and more. The National Day on Writing is a fun day to try out a new creation tool. Create engaging, resource-rich slideshows with Shadow Puppet EDU or Biteslide, design an original video game with Pixel Press Floors, or Scratch, create multimedia storybooks with Book Creator or Scribble Press.
Join an online community: Giving young writers a chance to exchange written ideas through online communities helps broaden their world view and develop critical digital-citizenship and literacy skills. Youth Voices is a vibrant, moderated student community where young writers can share and discuss writing and multimedia compositions on topics that interest them. For more current-events-focused discussions, have students check out The Learning Network from the New York Times. Daily posts challenge young writers to think critically about current news stories and to make meaningful connections to their own lives and communities.
On Kean’s campus: Swing by the Kean University Writing Center and add your words to the Kean University Writing Wall. Students, faculty, and staff are invited to write a short message, signature, etc, on the paper lining the Writing Center entrance, in celebration of writing in the most freeing of formats. Anyone can add their reflections to the collaborative writing space – a simple tribute to the power of a community’s words.
Looking for a special writing community?: Consider an MA in Writing Studies at Kean University. We are a unique community of writers who are exploring the variety of ways that writing matters in the 21st century. The Master of Arts in Writing Studies offers three tracks: theory and practice for teaching writing, creative writing, and professional writing. Students create a focus suited to their professional, practical, and creative agenda. Kean’s Master of Arts in Writing Studies is customized to each individual writer who joins us. The program is specifically designed for individuals who want to create a course of study that will support their particular professional aspirations. For more information contact Dr. Mia Zamora
My CLMOOC friend and colleague Kevin Hodgson (@dogtrax) recently wrote a blog post for the Connected Courses community that prompted us to think about the importance of “lurking” in a connected learning environment. For those of you who might not be familiar with the term within the context of online behavior, to “lurk” means to click here and there (and check out what content and commentary is being generated by a community) while remaining an observer more than a contributor to the unfolding conversation.
As Kevin aptly pointed out, people need time to process before entering into the fray of an open online discussion. Those who lurk also learn. I think the trick in emboldening our evolving open learning community (here’s to you #ccourses!) is to build a culture of guilt-free participation. People should know that is ok to dip in and out of the open online networked experience because it is a dynamic, ever unfolding phenomenon, and each perspective brings new energy…. it is indeed OPEN.
But how do we ensure that everyone feels the “vibe of open”, rather than racking up that sense of guilt that grips a busy soul when a bit of time marches on and one has not “weighed in”. We are all prone to that familiar fear of “losing momentum”, or (heaven-forbid) – the dreaded sense of failure that can so easily seep into our academically-wired mindscape. There is work to be done in “unlearning” the message from the hidden curriculum of lifelong schooling. As academics and educators we have been pummeled for years by evaluations, deadlines, tests, authorized outcomes. We have jumped through many hoops in order to become professionalized. One result of this is the easily-come-by guilt stemming from fear of not meeting prescribed expectations. “I should have blogged last week, I should have read that already, ….should’ve, could’ve, would’ve….”. But as co-learnersin open connected learning, we must free ourselves of that guilt prone habit of mind.
As we collectively kick-off Connected Courses I officially declare this a guilt-free learning zone. What a relief to know that even though you might have missed a couple weeks of Connected Courses (or you never even heard about it until mid-October) you can still jump in and your participation is welcome. What a relief to know that you can customize and calibrate your “take-away” from this experience based on what matters to you. What a relief to know that even if you would rather lurk-to-learn, you are still a valued member of our community of co-learners.
I for one want everyone to know that their own learning pathway (whatever that may turn out to be) is perfect. Such is the particular affordance of truly open learning. In my experience, magical things happen when we let ourselves unlearn the criterion of institutionalized conventions. So let’s drop the guilt instinct, and just learn by self-design (interest-driven lurking is the foundation!). What “open” really means is that YOU are the true center of the learning.
There has been a great deal of buzz lately about “making” and production-centered learning. As a professor of literature and writing, I have been enthusiastic about the role “making” might play in the classroom. (Even those classrooms or courses that don’t inherently seem to lend themselves to making in the most obvious sense.) But the truth is, this new found enthusiasm is sometimes an uphill march. Should we relinquish our valuable classroom time to such endeavors that seem at best a crafty indulgence, or at worst, a waste of precious instructional time? This summer I have continued to ruminate on these significant challenges, and certain moments have helped clarify my thoughts:
On July 9, the National Writing Project and the Educator Innovator network helped launch “Hack Your Notebook Day,” which featured a special writing-engineering-art “make” challenge developed by NEXMAP and its partner CV2. Working with circuit stickers developed by Jie Qi, a doctoral candidate at the MIT Media Lab, we were charged with lightening up our writing with copper wire, circuits, LEDs, and more. We had many resources to guide us in this unique endeavor. Through our Paper Circuitry workshops (in varying locations throughout the world), we lit up our collective inspiration and our voices, as we crafted through a hands-on STEAM learning lens.
Could this artful hands-on approach to writing serve pedagogic goals in any significant way? In spite of nagging doubts, our paper circuitry “making” brought to our attention crucial aspects of learning. The chance to engage in creative expression through the venue of writing, circuitry, drawing and light drew out many important reflections. And while we all experienced this innovative approach to writing in our separate local venues, we also simultaneously connected through our social media platforms throughout the day. Our learning was both localized and networked. Here is a brief video which shares a glimpse of the Kean University Writing Project’s “Hack Your Notebook Day”:
What was intriguing during the “Hack Your Notebook Day” was the transformative power of this work. I think that the the general consensus before the workshop was most likely that the time spent on this engagement would be a pleasant “time-out” craft session. …A bit of time away from the “real work”. But for all that, this “detour” workshop effectively opened up the heart of the teaching and learning enterprise. Our KUWP teacher/writers were now assuming the position of the learners, embarking in unknown territory for reasons still somewhat vague to them. In many ways, their positioning mirrored a similar resistance that kids today might feel when introduced to some “random” writing approach in their classroom. By the close of our time together, we found we were transported to a fresh perspective.
What a revelation to consider the palpable frustration we experienced when we couldn’t make the circuits work (and the feeling of rising failure that might overcome us if we couldn’t make it work). We also discussed the first time the LED lit up – the very real empowerment of that little light coming into view. (There were several audible gasps and exaltations from our group when the circuits started to light up). We considered why we chose certain aspects of our composition to illuminate, and what kind of thought went into selecting certain words and images to highlight with illumination.
The particular care and craft of writing was brought to the collective (and intuitive) foreground. A poet considers the power of each word when composing. With paper circuitry we all experienced the rich nexus of visual and textual representation (and the importance of the choices we made in order to produce certain meaning in this work). We also considered the added layer of circuitry. In this context, the additional engineering knowledge was harnessed to punctuate certain meaning in our compositions. We agreed that this experience was indeed writing, par excellence. KUWP teachers expressed a renewed empathetic understanding of their own students’ learning processes. They considered anew how their own students might feel compelled to create and express ideas with this medium. And we all thought further about how our students turn certain corners. ….How they might discover new openings for communicating in meaningful ways. As educators, we want our students to become engaged complex thinkers and expressive writers. Perhaps “making” (as a methodology applied to writing) might help us get there.
Our work with Paper Circuitry was a perfect realization of the Connected Learning experience. We gained a hands-on understanding of how making, creating and producing are powerful paths to deeper learning and understanding. These important learning tenets emerged as we hacked our notebooks together:
#1. Peer Learning – We helped each other learn. We leaned over each other’s shoulder to explain when we figured something out. We extended ourselves by describing what we discovered and we brought others along with us. What a powerful “natural” resource that exists in every learning environment. Imagine if every teacher could effectively harness that kind of learning empowerment?
#2. Interest-driven learning: We chose to write about things that mattered directly to us. We were able to express the personal in our individual projects. We found creative inspiration in our immediate lives, and those motivations were valid and counted as real learning. (i.e. -an upcoming wedding, -an upcoming birth, -the reflection on one year in a life, -the habits of a writer, etc).
#3. Networked Learning – We were part of a conversation that linked our local network with a broader learning community. We tweeted with National Writing Project colleagues, we posted our work on the #CLMOOC google+ board. We extended our learning beyond the bounds of our classroom’s four walls and we realized we were apart of a community of practicioners.
#4. Academic learning – Our work went well beyond whimsy crafting as a time out. We discussed the implications of composition enriched with such complex entry points for writing and meaning production. We discussed how a “maker” approach to writing practice might be an opening or gateway for reluctant writers.
#5. Shared purpose – The work helped us empathize with the younger learners we are employed to engage. We experienced the possibility of cross-generational learning and connection as we ventured into new territory. We remembered that learning never ends, no matter your age or position within a learning context.
The Summer 2014 “Hack Your Notebook Day” clarified for me that a when a learner is positioned as a “maker”, they are given fresh license to imagine, to design, to assert a new vision. They are given the space to fail, and the chance to recuperate with a bit of persistence and help from peers. Writers-as-makers are called to imagine new possibilities.
…And this is where true innovation is born. This is where our collective future seems brightest.
I’m so thrilled to extend a heartfelt invitation to all my fellow learners and educators out there who are intrigued by the proposition of “open education”. “Connected Courses” is a new online learning experience being put together by a group of amazing educators from the Connected Learning community. We are a collaborative community of faculty in higher education developing networked, open courses that embody the principles of connected learning and the values of the open web. Starting September 15th we’re going to be talking about openness and blended learning in a 12 week course that aims to help people run their own connected courses. The course is free, open, and you can jump in at any time. Everyone is welcome and no experience is required.
Jim Groom, Howard Rheingold, Gardner Campbell, Lisa M. Lane, Kira Baker-Doyle, (yours truly), Kim Jaxon, Helen Keegan, Michael Wesch
A group of inspired (and inspiring) educators met about two weeks ago at the Digital Media & Learning Research Hub in order to brainstorm the vision and planning of this important undertaking. You might have called this moment a transformative “summit” where we all committed to the notion of turning the ship of a “HigherEd in Crisis” around. Can we imagine HigherEd connected learning experiences that reach above and beyond the immediate goals of certification or better job prospects? Can we engender lifelong learning while making learning interest-driven and relevant (for both individuals and our society as a whole)? ….I can’t understate what a special week it was. Meaningful connections were made, plans were hatched, a vision emerged. I think it is safe to say that we all feel that this is going to big. We all feel we are part of a movement that will ultimately be world changing. We want to invite everyone along with us.
Connected Courses selfie: myself, Kira Baker-Doyle, Helen Keegan, Mimi Ito
In Connected Courses we will discover and learn together while demystifying the tools and trade of openness. We will explore why you might want to run a connectivist learning experience, how to get started, how to connect online and offline participants, and how to MAKE things that support this kind of learning. We will talk about building networks, maintaining networks, and diversifying networks. Let’s start to make action plans together for connected teaching in the 21st century.
Amazing femtechnet minds: Lisa Nakamura, Liz Losh, Anne Balsamo
We have been excited about the “Connected Learning” movement for some time at the Kean University Writing Project, and our team has been thinking about how to incorporate connected learning principles into our overall Invitational Summer Institute experience for our new Teacher Consultants. I thought I would share a bit on my own entry point into this work as a way to illustrate why I think “Connected Learning” is so important for today’s educators and their students. As a literature professor, I have a passionate new research focus on Electronic Literature.
ELit (otherwise known as Digital Literature) is a literary genre born entirely in a digital environment. ELit requires digital computation in order to be read. These literary works might include links, generative aspects, multimedia content, animation or reader interaction in addition to the actual text, the actual words. As I have been engaging this exciting new field in literary studies it has become apparent to me that in order to really read these texts (in the sense of practitioner close reading), one would also need to develop the skills that would allow one to understand the “back end” or code involved in producing these texts. So, as I have been facing this scholarly challenge, I have also been wearing my other professional hat as a National Writing Project Director. In this context, I have been thinking so much about 21st century literacy skills, and what it means to be digitally literate in this day in age.
It is often said that our students are digital natives and that they are born into a tech-steeped world. (Perhaps you have seen that YouTube video of a baby that tries to swipe a magazine page because she assumes the analog text will work like a tablet). To be nimble with technology is perhaps second nature to our students. But I think we need to look more closely at this assumption. I think our students most definitely have a level of comfort with technology due to its ubiquity in their everyday lives. But that doesn’t mean that they are digitally literate, which is the source of our profound challenge as educators. Students play games and are quick to use apps, but the do not know how to write that new media world that they exist in. In short, they are more likely to be consumers, but not producers of new media. Said another way, perhaps they can “read” an electronic environment, but they cannot necessarily write it. This crucial distinction is why it became so apparent to me that the “Connected Learning” movement is a vital engine for preparing our students to read and write and to think critically in a digital age.
“Connected Learning” is about reimaging the experience of education in the information age. It draws on the power of today’s technologies and embraces hands on production and open networks. Many teachers feel overwhelmed by the prospect of using technology and digital tools in their classrooms. But the embrace of digital tools to enhance learning potential can be such a transformative part of teacher professional development. At the Kean University Writing Project, we use to have a choice of “tracks” that a new Teacher Consultant could choose from at the on-set of their own Summer Institute experience. One of those tracks was the “Tech” track. In other words, gaining more facility with technology and digital tools was an option. Gaining more digital confidence was essentially an elective.
But for the first time this year, we are taking a new approach. And I know this is an important paradigm shift for us at the KUWP: Tech is no longer a track to be selected, but instead, “Connected Learning” principles will be inherently woven throughout our entire Summer Institute experience. We are all participating in the MakeLearningConnected MOOC (better known as #clmooc). Everyone will be gaining further facility with digital tools and open networks throughout the course of the Institute. And with this embrace of digital tools and making, therein lies an essential identity shift for teachers. Teachers also become designers. The emphasis on the idea of making – an embrace of a more production-oriented approach to learning, will offer all of us some inspiring examples of peer-supported learning and interest–driven learning. By embracing “Connected Learning” not only will teachers build a new professional learning community for themselves, but they will practice the kind of creativity that will eventually catch a spark in their own students.
The weekly #clmooc “make cycles” will give all of us at the Kean University Writing Project a chance to tinker and make. In addition we will have face-to-face lunch workshops during the Summer Institute which will give us the chance to share our “makes” and chat about new digital skills that we have acquired. This is always fun and informal, but it tends to be the glue that seals a teacher’s new digital confidence. In particular, I look forward to the very special “Paper Circuitry” workshop we have planned. The KUWP Makerspace will lead a “Hack Your Notebook” project that combines the traditional paper notebook with LED lighting circuitry. I know we will have fun lighting up our writing, our artwork, our ideas! We will also be hosting innovative educator, author, and maker Meeno Rami on Thursday, July 10, 2014, for a day of conversations and workshops focusing on the art of “hacking your writing”. We will be sure to share this work through live webinar, sent out to everyone in our global network.
Finally, our culminating collaborative “make” will be the KUWP E-BOOK. We are planning on pulling together some evidence of the “learning pathways” experienced by different members of the KUWP community over the course of the 5 weeks of #clmooc. I cannot attest for what will emerge yet, but that is the beauty of it! We will try to include both our “lightbulb moments”, and our “fails” as well. I hope the compilation will be at heart a reflective e-book on “Connected Learning” in an open network.
