XMind

Professor Angela McFarlane

1. Growing Tention in the UK

   1. What tended to happen in tradition classrooms

   2. What tendes to happen when people interact with digital technologies

2. barriers

   1. Most of us think it is

      1. not enough traing for teachers

      2. Teachers aren't good with technology

      3. The assessment is all wrong

      4. Not enough money, enough technology

   2. But its really a lack of vision

      1. bold

      2. coherrent

      3. inspiring

      4. but realistic view

3. Myth

   1. if we leave children with the technology they will learn "teachers have to get out of the way."

   2. This is not true

   3. Most of us are doing what we do because somebody helped us.

4. There is a prediction that computers will change everything

   1. We have been disappointed for the last 20 years and if not careful, the same will be the case for the next 20 years

   2. The missconception is that learning is deliverable

   3. Learning must be construtivist

      1. Angela confesses to being a constructivist

5. Impact study was the biggest study to measure the benefits of technology

   1. The IMPACT Model

   2. Findings

      1. We've taken traditional ICT skills and expected teachers to bring them into some activity

      2. The problem is that we have done nothing to change the curriculum

      3. But expected the same expectations

      4. Absolutely no indication that technology is helping

   3. Problem

      1. We haven't reached the threshold -- need more tech

         1. If this is true and we pour more money and it works, education will change in the wrong direction.

      2. They are learning things that aren't being tested

   4. What's really happening is that kids are learning to learn at the computer without knowing it.

      1. In western culture we give our children a great deal of autonomy

         1. A lot of choice

         2. We listen to them

      2. But not in school

         1. Some are having great experiences

         2. But most of what they are doing is benal and trivial.

      3. A lot of research on learning done with video games

         1. Most kids who said they were good at games were really not so good at them

         2. The learning is not achieved by most kids

   5. meaningful learning empowers people

      1. When people are empowered, they become antsy and that is disruptive

      2. But we have to have content

         1. Learning to think, you have to have something to think about.

      3. Do you have a framework, do you have a pedagogy?

         1. We have pedgogic models, we just don't use them

6. Choices for continued discussion

   1. A. Handheld device using students project

   2. B. Looking at variety of learning communities that form spontaneously online

   3. C. University of Santeogo social software to help kids learn negotiation skills

7. B. Looking at spontaneous learning communities

   1. Fan Fiction Sites

      1. Classic 2.0

      2. Many are centered on games

      3. But just as many sites about books

         1. Not all about Harry Potter

         2. There is no evidence that digital will end books

            1. Cultural practices rarely erase others completely

         3. Talks about Palunion Site (Chinese Language) based on Paladin games.

            1. Similar to the Authurian Ledgends (but much older)

            2. Many users of the Fanfiction .75 million postings.

               1. From single entries to entire novels & novels are not unusual

            3. Very conservative, must be true to the culture of the game

            4. Posting tende to be serialized and the build up a very demanding readership

               1. How many 15 year-olds have people clammering for the next chapter...

            5. Negative and unhelpful comments are stamped on by the community

            6. Lots of comments that are detailed feedback, as well as the more shallow ones.

               1. Reader imput informs the final outcome of the novel

               2. Genuinely collaborative activity

   2. Communities

      1. Minister of education in Singapore wrote a paper about the instructional potential of blogs

         1. Blogging

            1. Most people who blog do not get comments

            2. Tend to think of blogs as solatary, but it doesn't have to

            3. Rich conntent (anything that is digital)

            4. Searchable (good search engines)

            5. Very flexible

            6. Good platform for the exchange of ideas...

               1. Community

                  1. It's hard

                  2. Rare

                  3. Must interact in a common problem or interest space

                  4. Can be the kernal of the problem

                     1. We talk about collaborative learning

                     2. But we only credit the individual

                  5. Mostly collaboration is copying and we penalized

                     1. Children are neverous about collaborations

                        1. They done want others taking their ideas

                        2. They don't want to be thought of as copying others' work

                  6. We must overcome the tendency to put place the individual over the group

                     1. MacFarlin has had students beg her not to make them use collaborative site

                  7. Collaboration/community

                     1. Requires more than infrastructure

                     2. Requires cultural change

      2. We have completly lost site of formal education as a process of personal enrichment -- and that's criminal!

         1. Parents

            1. Want their children to be happy

            2. Also want their children to be successful

         2. People who love what they make a living doing are incredibly lucky

         3. Vast majoriety do not!

         4. We do not educate kids any more. We are training them

      3. We need to educate kids to ask good questions...

         1. Lots of questions happen in interest communities

         2. Best online sites are those that enable commenting directly to the creative work

      4. You give students access to good commiunity environments and they'll be fine

         1. Some will

         2. Many will not:

            1. They do not have good filtering of information

            2. They are easily influenced by production quality

            3. They're not good at drilling through the content

               1. Cut & paste is problematic

               2. Not that Cut and Paste is bad...

            4. Do not question the authority of information

            5. And there is no evidence that schools are teaching these things

            6. Their vocabulary is less than previous generations

               1. Bright kids can't explain "what they think," because they do not have the vocabulary

            7. Teachers say that their students "Don't like to think!"

               1. Because we overtest, and there is evidence

               2. Look "Assessment reform group web site."

               3. Paper on testing and learner motivation

               4. We are turning out a generation of children who can test but can't learn

               5. The only difference between the rich kids and the poor kids, is that we give the rich kids certificates for not being able to learn.