Lead by Example

I sat here in a gaze for a bit listening to Gary and then thought, “I need to write this down!”  Then I realized, I need to blog this.

Big ideas-

• Personal Inspiration: standing on the shoulders of giants
• Bricolage (tinkering)
• Using the computer as something besides a prop (to gain knowledge about things they could never have done before)
• Slide was advanced… shooooot

Gary’s experience- special teacher that inspired him and made him want to challenge himself.  Mr. Jones we all have those that inspire us.  He refers it to “swimming around in the beaker” as he challenges, recapture intellectual experiences.

Digital Natives (computers in their shoes, servers in their bedrooms)

Why are our students learning keyboarding and squandering the gift they have of computing?  Why teach gifted readers phonics?

At 14 years old he had an office and secretary because he learned how to use the only computer and programming.

Bricolage-  How can computers be a part of the popular culture?  Old way- codes, bugs, solutions; making something out of nothing.  Programming the new way- if every kid should Haiku…. why is that thought so normal and programming for kids so outrageous.  By policy we tend to keep them back.  Even ISTE standards don’t deal with coding and programming.

His daughter is knitting.  Why don’t people say, “Ditch that and go to Target to get one”?  Because their is a culture and aesthetic to it.  Computing & programming-  How do we return it to the level of knitting?  Real tinkering and projects (Make magazine).  Hey this sounds like something awesome for electives and our Career Tech Center… hmmmm.

Bad ideas are timeless.

Good ideas are incredibly fragile.

Computer as a prop!  Some is cool.  Admire it because of its innovation.  It does not have revolutionary educational value.  Bloggers promote Web2.0 technologies that are just doing the same thing.  Bandwagons!  Ask yourself, “What does that tool add to the real meat of the subject?”  Use it as an intellectual lab and vehicle for self expression.  Success- work more; Failure- debug.  Be able to back up and change course

He goes into schools where kids are sitting at laptops aimlessly surfing and staring at the screen.  What do kids do with computers at your school?  Ed computing is not about hardware its about software.  Free is not always the best.  What you can do defines what you are able to learn.

Design a video game and not just consume them.  Kids hate school, they like video games, make school like a video game (WRONG).  Options- Simulations (Sim- Middle Ages), Games (Microworlds), Geometer’s Sketchpad (Microworlds- build your own)  I am very intimidated by his talk of creating programming and writing code.  But I will not be whipped by that idea.

Constructivism vs. Constructionism

• process of constructing knowledge inside the head
• Create something tangibly sharable outside your head
• (Papert)

8 big ideas- handout in folder (Wrong- if you don’t get it right, you get it wrong)

“What can they do with that?”  The idea of transferability!

Programmable Lego Materials- build a killer robot!

Filed under: Conferences & Presentation | Tagged: cmk08, collaboration, constructivism