Alan November–NECC 2007 Notes

Expanding Boundaries of Learning: Designing Rigorous and Globally Connected Assignments

Alan November

Recording of presentation

Location: GWCC Murphy 1 Tag: n07s722

 

Questions by Alan

 

1. Have you traveled outside U.S.

   1. Yes

2. Will you students compete globally?

   1. Yes

3. Do you students connection w/ others outside U.S.?

   1. Yes

4. Do you students have a global work ethic?

   1. No

5. Have you been to a presentation by someone not from U.S.?

   1. Yes/no

6. Web 2.0 tools blocked

   1. Majority block 3

7. Who currently owns the learning?

   1. 38 government

   2. 26 teachers

8. Who should own the learning?

   1. 95 students

 

Alan

Shares idea that students should own learning.

• Not a technology issue

• Question is global work ethic

Brother MIT educated engineer

• Team is now in shanghai

• Once he is done training unsure what to do

• Not motivated to work on own, organization dependent not self directed

• Culture of school is dependent on students to be managed

• Should reverse dependency to interdependence

• Daughter’s graduation speaker said students ready to conquer the world

• Alan states student able to but only ready to take courses

 

To create students who control learning teacher must create authentic audience

• Research says students need instant feedback

  • Students recording poems needed second takes

  • Not happy with first recording

• Students need global, not paper, voice

  • Students need to be taught courage with their voice

• Teacher from Maine, Bob Sprinkle 3rd grade

  • Every Mon producer review of academic matter from previous week

  • Jobs: writer, reader, producer, actor

  • Kids rotate

  • Evolved into math corner, writing show, everyone wanted their own show

    • Student show work ethic

    • Must know content to create show

  • Teachers do not need to know how to podcast, kids will do this

  • Teachers need to know when and what to podcast

Marco Torres

• Video produced by former students who graduated already

• Students realize the need for a change in the system

  • Technology allows students to be with teachers

  • Teachers are not ready to hand over classroom

 

Teaching in a prison school

• Student motived by real problems

• Motivated those who do not want to learn

Teaching American history in Lexington

• Should we teach American version or British version

• If you confront people with a version of the truth they do not know they interact

• Have students find this information

• Textbook limits this information

• Allows students to build curriculum and build research skills

Great Gatsby

• One version read across the world

• How do those outside the US view the work?

• Then you can fully understand impact of book

• Students own learning when they bring in the assignments to complete rather than given assignment

 

Do not need technology integration team, rather global integration team

 

Hiroshima

• Read essays by student in Japan written in English

• Need to understand views of others

• Can hold debate via Skype

• Class debate or debate b/w two cultures: which is more authentic?

 

Searching for authentic audience

• Need to understand how to search properly

• Using country code when searching

 

Closing

• Underestimated ability of students

  • Need job and can create podcasts

• Need for global audience

  • Fill iTunes will content rather than block it

• Need global interaction

  • Skype groups

  • Ability to receive comments from audience listening

• This will allow for boundaries to go beyond time and space

• RSS will allow for control to shift to students while viewing results