How do I learn?

1. I learn by doing.  To understand something I need to take it apart, stumble through building or rebuilding it – whether that be a physical object or procedure or term paper.
2. I learn by reflecting.  When I read I imagine and visualize variations and applications of what I am reading about – from a spy novel to educational theory.
3. I learn by showing and watching others.  I never really learned Physics until I had to teach it.  I learned how to facilitate in an online web conference when I had to teach others how to do it, but first I watched how others better than me did.
4. I learn by changing how I do routine tasks.  For this one-hour interaction I deliberately choose to use a blog rather than resurrect old PowerPoint presentations.

What was the most powerful learning experience in my life?

• My divorce.  I learned for the first time once I was out of the equation how to put my needs last.  I learned how to be patient with my ex-wife, still trust her and be trustworthy, how to nuture and really care for my children.  I learned what was important for the people that had shared their life with me for years.  I learned patience, oh and how to be aggressive with lawyers.  I truly learned that creating a vision of life 10 years down the road could not only help me through depression, fear, anger, and failure but bring change that seemed impossible before.

What was the most powerful learning experience in my formal schooling?

• Without a doubt earning my PhD.  I was alone and on my own in learning for the first time in my life.  While I had people to lean on, it was me that carried responsibility for and guided the learning agenda and timeline.  Suffice to say that the PhD took me 7 years – but I was too stubborn to quit.  In both my personal and formal powerful learning experiences – they were powerful due to emotional factors, with emotional investment I learn best.
• Of note in my high school experiences was Coach Coates – my English 10 teacher.  He turned learning upside down and we wrote school newspapers and letters to editors.  We played simulation games and worked in groups and teams.  He put problems in front of us and challenged us to research, write, and solve the problems.  If the quality of our work was poor, he sent us back to do it again and again.  For the record he was walked out of the school for failing to teach us grammar…

How do I learn in a digital learning environment?

1. I learn by doing.  I tweet, blog, post on social sites, tag and save interesting articles and ideas on sites like Evernote and Delicious.  I search for information and learn how to refine my search but also test the credibility of what I find.
2. I learn by reflecting.  I blog, converse with others by email, direct message on Twitter, I post on Facebook and LinkedIn.  I read blog sites, news feeds, Twitter links, Facebook and LinkedIn posts
3. I learn by showing and watching others.  I follow interesting people on Twitter.  I ask questions of my Twitter colleagues and I answer their questions.  I share interesting sites and information. I search blog sites, Twitter, and my own Evernote files – and volunteer to be a guest speaker.
4. I learn by changing how I do routine tasks.  I try new technologies to complete tasks even though the familiar is more comfortable and often quicker at first.

In short, in the digital world I am connected, networked, and moving to a mobile and cloud-based existence.  I don’t even miss my old PC hiding inside my Macbook and not visited it in over a year.  Oh, can’t wait for the money to buy iPhone5 and an iPad to really become virtual, connected, and engaged.

A good friend and colleague invited me to speak to her class on emerging trends in e-learning.  My initial thoughts were to look at personalized learning in a digital learning environment.  I was thinking about picking up on 21st Century learning, creating interaction through problem-based learning approaches, and designing and assessing for learning.  Likely I would just need to hit a number of websites, blogs, etc.  Access to Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, WordPress, Blogger, Google, and other websites is likely all I would require.  I was thinking that I would post everything on my hardly-ever-used WordPress blog.

So here I am.  I am more likely to rattle off and show a number of ways and approaches that have influenced my own personal learning from Evernote to Twitter to MOOCs.  I want to bring in spontaneity and creativity to the group, so I could design some questions for reflection – do the write, pair, share approach then launch into some show and group discussion and then wrap with a question/challenge for reflection.

What questions?  What agenda to guide my hour with them??

I read with interest the February 2011 Education Leadership article on successful implementation of one-to-one laptop initiatives, only to find an old story in education – without uniform buy-in of change across a school or organization, involvement of all stakeholders, time for teacher training, and integration of the change into daily practice, little effect was found.  In the case of one-to-one laptops, unless the technology was used daily for student online collaboration and cooperative learning, teachers were provided training, and the laptops were used across all classes (not just in one class/grade), there was little improvement on achievement (in some cases there was a drop).

So, why invest in technology at all?  There is some evidence that technology can be a catalyst for change and improvement.  It all comes down to leadership and an investment in the desire for a different outcome.  I still like doing what I do and I am comfortable with it, but I have started to get a deeper desire to get different outcomes than I repeatedly seem to get – and I do want to be known as being sane.  Hence the start to making public my inner machinations.  As George Couros so aptly put, if I don’t then I am a hoarder of ideas.  Of course, it could be because I would rather drink wine…

Greetings, and welcome.

I live on Vancouver Island in British Columbia Canada.  The picture at the top of the blog was taken from my study – which explains why I live where I do.

I am interested in this course to challenge myself to learn more about social networking online, improve my technology skills, and to ponder how these technologies and social networking – connectivism – could be employed in K-12 education.

Success in this course for me will be applying ideas and approaches in my professional work, sharing ideas I learn with others in the K-12 space, and seeing ideas take hold in teaching practice.

On a personal note, I am the proud grandfather of Nicholas, and Kira

and love to ride my Concours (touring motorcycle) – it makes me feel green and mean.  I studied leadership and technology in my doctoral work, and have been lucky to pursue my passion for learning and technology in my consulting work.

I look forward to interacting with you!

WELCOME!

In the 60’s, Bob Dylan told us “the times, they are a’changin’” and he was right, but never so much so as now.  The pace of change in the Information Age is nothing less than astounding…and increasing every day.  Today’s students and the ways they relate to the world and each other are very different than they were a decade ago.  So what can educators do to keep up with these changes and still find ways to engage their students in learning?

 

Fortunately, the problem has also provided us with the solution: amazing new technological tools for every aspect of communicating, collaborating, sharing, creating, publishing, critiquing, and problem-solving.  These next generation web-based tools, generally referred to as Web 2.0 applications, are transforming the way we use the Internet and moving us from passive receivers of information, to creators of it.

The video “Web 2.0” is a great introduction to Web 2.0 and the clips “The Machine is Us/ing Us” and “Did You Know? 2.0” are real eye-openers for the need to change the way we teach today’s kids.