Transformation, continued…

I wanted to add a few more thoughts to my last posting about transforming education. We know that technology can serve as a disruptive force (as opposed to a sustaining force), compelling us to change the way we do things, instead of “keeping on” with what we know. But how about this for being disruptive…I was reading the Marc Prensky’s blog and he mentioned an experience he had at the ABEL (Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning) Summer Institute. Marc is always talking about the fact that we should have students at our education conferences, not just teachers. I love this idea–talk about a true learning community! Teachers and students learning and working side-by-side. So the students had the opportunity to create various projects that used all kinds of technology (wikis, blogs, podcasts, websites, etc) and then present to the teachers what they enjoy doing and why these tools should be used in the classroom. How powerful! Instead of trying to figure out what engages students, why not have our digital natives show us?! What a concept, right?! Anyway–teachers learned a lot and designed projects that they would go back and use in the classroom. Not only did teachers learn and students become involved, but I can’t help but think how affirming that must have been for those students. Working as peers with teachers validates what they know and shows that we value what they bring to the classroom. Goes back to that idea that we (educators) don’t know everything–we are not the holders of all knowledge, waiting to disseminate and fill the heads of our kids. We are merely fellow travelers, who, because of our experience, might be able to share what we know and help guide students, but we learn right along with them. WOW! That’s my vision of schools…

On a side note, I posted last night, and to my surprise, the keynote speaker at this conference I’m attending was talking about how fast communication is today. Then he mentioned that someone had already blogged about the keynote from last night–and it was me! It’s such an example of how small our electronic world is…his aggregator must have picked up on some of the key words from my post on our little blog here–very cool. If you’d like to know more about the organization that is sponsoring our conference, click here. The Schlechty Center for Leadership Reform is working with our district as we work on transforming our district from good to great. It centers around the idea that our core business is to design engaging work for students. The whole concept of “designing work” is very intriguing and has so much potential. I’ve found that their philosophy really supports the innovative uses of technology with students to engage them in their learning. The more I learn, the more I realize how much I don’t know…the journey continues.