Wednesday, August 10, 2016
it's official: we're an open source learning network
It was great to meet you all today! We have a lot to do.
Tomorrow we will go live online, working with this blog and building
yours. This page will never look the same. Please take a look and make sure your name looks the way it should.
Tuesday, August 9, 2016
august 10
JOURNAL TOPIC: (today's tunes: "Move on Up" by Curtis Mayfield)
Hunter S. Thompson observed, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." How do you respond to challenges that arise from circumstances you didn't predict?
AGENDA:
1. To be an Open Source Learning network or not to be an Open Source Learning network?
2. Journal
3. "Richard Cory"
HW:
1. Memorize "Richard Cory"-- due in class Friday, August 12
2. Why "Richard Cory" now, when most American Lit courses start in chronological order with creation myths and Colonial Literature? Because the last time I taught this course, Robin Williams killed himself the day before school started. And I'm not sure our culture is improving. Please click the link & read the article by the beginning of class tomorrow (Thursday, August 11) and come prepared to discuss how literature reflects the versions of ourselves that only we know.
Hunter S. Thompson observed, "When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro." How do you respond to challenges that arise from circumstances you didn't predict?
AGENDA:
1. To be an Open Source Learning network or not to be an Open Source Learning network?
2. Journal
3. "Richard Cory"
HW:
1. Memorize "Richard Cory"-- due in class Friday, August 12
2. Why "Richard Cory" now, when most American Lit courses start in chronological order with creation myths and Colonial Literature? Because the last time I taught this course, Robin Williams killed himself the day before school started. And I'm not sure our culture is improving. Please click the link & read the article by the beginning of class tomorrow (Thursday, August 11) and come prepared to discuss how literature reflects the versions of ourselves that only we know.
richard cory
Here is the text of the poem. Please begin memorizing it (it's
short, but Friday isn't that far away, and if you struggle tonight you
can get help in class tomorrow).
For more on the author/background click here.
Richard Cory
by
Edwin Arlington Robinson
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich – yes, richer than a king –
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
For more on the author/background click here.
Richard Cory
by
Edwin Arlington Robinson
Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
We people on the pavement looked at him:
He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
Clean favored, and imperially slim.
And he was always quietly arrayed,
And he was always human when he talked;
But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
"Good-morning," and he glittered when he walked.
And he was rich – yes, richer than a king –
And admirably schooled in every grace:
In fine, we thought that he was everything
To make us wish that we were in his place.
So on we worked, and waited for the light,
And went without the meat, and cursed the bread;
And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
Went home and put a bullet through his head.
will this blog see tomorrow?
It's an open question. Think about today's in-class discussion, ask
yourself what you really want out of this semester, and then comment to
this post with your decision and at least one reason for it. (NOTE:
As Benjamin Franklin famously observed, "We all hang together or we all
hang separately." We won't move forward unless all of us participate.)
I've created an approach to learning in which students use 2.0 tools to create their online identities, express themselves, and show the public what they can do.
I call the model Open Source Learning and I define it with a mouthful: "A guided learning process that combines timeless best practices with today's tools in a way that empowers learners to create interdisciplinary paths of inquiry, communities of interest and critique, and a portfolio of knowledge capital that is directly transferable to the marketplace."
Students use Open Source Learning to create a wild variety of personal goals, Big Questions, Collaborative Working Groups, and online portfolios of work that they can use for personal curiosity, self-improvement, or as a competitive advantage in applying for jobs, scholarships, and admission to colleges and universities. You can see a sample course blog here, some member blogs here, and sample masterpieces here and here.
Several members of the first Open Source Learning cohort made this video about the experience:
In an era when it seems like all you hear about school is how much it sucks, it's nice to see student achievement make positive waves. Check out this Open Source Learning interview with students and Howard Rheingold, the man who literally wrote the book on The Virtual Community 20 years ago.
The defining characteristic of Open Source Learning is that there is no chief; all of us are members of a network that is constantly evolving. Another key element is transparency. What we learn and how well we learn it, how we respond to setbacks, and even some of our favorite inspirations and habits of mind are right out there in public for everyone to see. Readers will rightly perceive what we curate as the best we have to offer.
And all this is Open. In thermodynamics, an open system exchanges substance, not just light and heat. To us, the important idea is that the network can change in composition and purpose. Every time you meet someone new and exchange ideas, you're not only enriching each other, you're changing your minds and contributing opportunities for others to do the same. In other words, you're learning and teaching* (*one of the most effective ways to learn).
We're not limited to one source for curriculum or instruction. We have a full slate of online conferences scheduled this year including authors, authorities on the Internet and social media, entrepreneurs, and others. Last year a mother/daughter team presented a lesson on class distinctions in Dickens & Dr. Seuss online (I'd post & link if I hadn't forgotten to click 'Record'). Ricky Luna invited a champion drummer to talk with students online about music and its connections to literature and life. If we read something that makes an impression we can reach out to the author. As you get the hang of this you'll come up with your own ideas. Testing them will give you a better sense of how to use the experience to your greatest advantage.
No one knows how learning actually works--what IS that little voice that tells you what you should've said 15 minutes after you should've said it? How does a subneuronal lightning storm somehow account for our experience of being conscious? We are not sure how to account for the individual experience and demonstration of learning. We are also not sure what exactly the individual should be learning about at a time when factoids are a search click away and the economy, the environment, and the future are all increasingly complex and uncertain.
Maybe this is why learning still seems magical. Maybe it shouldn't be. Maybe if we learned more about how we think we'd be better off. After all, how we think is a powerful influence on how we act. If you think of your blog work as a list of traditional school assignments/chores, you will treat it that way and it will show. Your friends will miss your posts and worry that you've moved to The House Beyond the Internet-- or that you're still at your place but trapped under something heavy. At any rate you'll be missing the whole point. This work should help you connect the dots between the interests that drive you, an academic course that derives its title from words hardly anyone uses in casual conversation, and practical tasks like applying for scholarships and college admissions. The general idea is for you to: do your best at something personally meaningful; learn about how you and others learn while you're in the act; and fine-tune your life accordingly. In addition to mastering the core curriculum, improving your own mind is the highest form of success in this course of study.
As you well know (Put that phone away or I'll confiscate it!), many people are worried about the use of technology in education. They are rightly concerned about safety, propriety, and focus: will learners benefit or will they put themselves at risk? The only way to conclusively prove that the benefits far outweigh the risks is to establish your identities and show yourselves great, both online and in meatspace. As we move forward you will learn how the Internet works, how you can be an effective online citizen, and how you can use 2.0 and 3.0 tools to achieve your personal and professional goals. You'll also learn a lot about writing and the habits of mind that make readers and writers successful communicators.
Because Open Source Learning is a team sport, this is all your call. You have to decide if you want to pursue this new direction, or if you want to invent another possibility with or without social media, or if you prefer the familiarity of the traditional approach. There is admittedly something comforting about the smell of an old book, even if it's a thirty-pound textbook that spent the summer in a pile of lost-and-found P.E. clothes. My perspective may be obvious but I'm just one voice. Please add yours with a comment below.
I've created an approach to learning in which students use 2.0 tools to create their online identities, express themselves, and show the public what they can do.
I call the model Open Source Learning and I define it with a mouthful: "A guided learning process that combines timeless best practices with today's tools in a way that empowers learners to create interdisciplinary paths of inquiry, communities of interest and critique, and a portfolio of knowledge capital that is directly transferable to the marketplace."
Students use Open Source Learning to create a wild variety of personal goals, Big Questions, Collaborative Working Groups, and online portfolios of work that they can use for personal curiosity, self-improvement, or as a competitive advantage in applying for jobs, scholarships, and admission to colleges and universities. You can see a sample course blog here, some member blogs here, and sample masterpieces here and here.
Several members of the first Open Source Learning cohort made this video about the experience:
In an era when it seems like all you hear about school is how much it sucks, it's nice to see student achievement make positive waves. Check out this Open Source Learning interview with students and Howard Rheingold, the man who literally wrote the book on The Virtual Community 20 years ago.
The defining characteristic of Open Source Learning is that there is no chief; all of us are members of a network that is constantly evolving. Another key element is transparency. What we learn and how well we learn it, how we respond to setbacks, and even some of our favorite inspirations and habits of mind are right out there in public for everyone to see. Readers will rightly perceive what we curate as the best we have to offer.
And all this is Open. In thermodynamics, an open system exchanges substance, not just light and heat. To us, the important idea is that the network can change in composition and purpose. Every time you meet someone new and exchange ideas, you're not only enriching each other, you're changing your minds and contributing opportunities for others to do the same. In other words, you're learning and teaching* (*one of the most effective ways to learn).
We're not limited to one source for curriculum or instruction. We have a full slate of online conferences scheduled this year including authors, authorities on the Internet and social media, entrepreneurs, and others. Last year a mother/daughter team presented a lesson on class distinctions in Dickens & Dr. Seuss online (I'd post & link if I hadn't forgotten to click 'Record'). Ricky Luna invited a champion drummer to talk with students online about music and its connections to literature and life. If we read something that makes an impression we can reach out to the author. As you get the hang of this you'll come up with your own ideas. Testing them will give you a better sense of how to use the experience to your greatest advantage.
No one knows how learning actually works--what IS that little voice that tells you what you should've said 15 minutes after you should've said it? How does a subneuronal lightning storm somehow account for our experience of being conscious? We are not sure how to account for the individual experience and demonstration of learning. We are also not sure what exactly the individual should be learning about at a time when factoids are a search click away and the economy, the environment, and the future are all increasingly complex and uncertain.
Maybe this is why learning still seems magical. Maybe it shouldn't be. Maybe if we learned more about how we think we'd be better off. After all, how we think is a powerful influence on how we act. If you think of your blog work as a list of traditional school assignments/chores, you will treat it that way and it will show. Your friends will miss your posts and worry that you've moved to The House Beyond the Internet-- or that you're still at your place but trapped under something heavy. At any rate you'll be missing the whole point. This work should help you connect the dots between the interests that drive you, an academic course that derives its title from words hardly anyone uses in casual conversation, and practical tasks like applying for scholarships and college admissions. The general idea is for you to: do your best at something personally meaningful; learn about how you and others learn while you're in the act; and fine-tune your life accordingly. In addition to mastering the core curriculum, improving your own mind is the highest form of success in this course of study.
As you well know (Put that phone away or I'll confiscate it!), many people are worried about the use of technology in education. They are rightly concerned about safety, propriety, and focus: will learners benefit or will they put themselves at risk? The only way to conclusively prove that the benefits far outweigh the risks is to establish your identities and show yourselves great, both online and in meatspace. As we move forward you will learn how the Internet works, how you can be an effective online citizen, and how you can use 2.0 and 3.0 tools to achieve your personal and professional goals. You'll also learn a lot about writing and the habits of mind that make readers and writers successful communicators.
Because Open Source Learning is a team sport, this is all your call. You have to decide if you want to pursue this new direction, or if you want to invent another possibility with or without social media, or if you prefer the familiarity of the traditional approach. There is admittedly something comforting about the smell of an old book, even if it's a thirty-pound textbook that spent the summer in a pile of lost-and-found P.E. clothes. My perspective may be obvious but I'm just one voice. Please add yours with a comment below.
this classroom sucks
When I arrived at the classroom where I'll be teaching this year I was excited. New students, new campus, great to roll my sleeves back up and get my learning on.
Not even the [insert adjective here] painting on wall outside the door threw me.
The thing is, I like choice. I like making a place my own. Even if it's a musty trailer on someone else's lawn. But instead of an empty room, a blank canvas waiting for me to paint, this is what I found when I unlocked the door and walked in:
None of this crap is mine. I don't want it. Now I have to fill out forms and talk to nine different people just to throw it away.
So, dear friends, our first job is to hack our learning environment. I'd like to know in what kinds of places you learn best, and I'd like to know what you'd like to see in here. Sure, I could bring in my old posters or make this look like my old room (we had a graffiti wall and about 300 mounted CD jewel cases) but my idea of cool or creative may not look like yours.
We will start this conversation in class tomorrow, and then-- unless you want to use that stack of crappy old textbooks-- we will post our ideas online and start designing for learning.
Wednesday, July 6, 2016
the right tool for the job
In the words of Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish philosopher whose work influenced prominent thinkers from Charles Dickens to Ralph Waldo Emerson:
It's easy to mistake the use of the Internet in learning as a simple way to make the same ol' same ol' seem a little more entertaining. What we're doing goes way beyond that. You now have the ability to use multiple media in ways that most effectively communicate your ideas and your sense of self. As you select from a rapidly expanding online toolbox, keep in mind that every tool we use has a form, a function, a capacity to be interpreted (and sometimes hacked) by users, and even a "DNA" instilled by its creators that influences the way it's perceived and adopted.
Technology doesn't necessarily mean electronics. If you ask any serious writer, s/he will tell you that the action on a keyboard, the balance of a pen, or the texture of paper can make just as much difference as processing speed. And there are those times when nothing does the job like a simple, classic, well-made tool. Here is a picture of me holding a 2 million year-old Acheulean Paleolithic bifacial hand axe-- the longest used tool in human history. It fit my hand perfectly, right down to the indentations for thumb and fingers, like it was custom-made for me-- an especially rare experience for a lefty.
Apart from the perfect feel/form/function, there is something about an enduring classic that doesn't hold true for the phone you buy today that will be non-state-of-the-art in a few months. This is about more than craft, art, or even quality: this sort of attention to detail is the product of loving care. It's the difference between home-cooked and store-bought. For real practitioners of anything worthwhile, tools aren't just about techne, they are extensions of our humanity. Ask anyone who plays their music on a turntable, develops their own photographs, or sends handwritten letters.
And if all that didn't convince you to re-examine the tools you use and why, maybe a 39-second commercial is the right tool for the persuasive job:
Man is a tool-using animal. Without tools he is nothing, with tools he is all.
It's easy to mistake the use of the Internet in learning as a simple way to make the same ol' same ol' seem a little more entertaining. What we're doing goes way beyond that. You now have the ability to use multiple media in ways that most effectively communicate your ideas and your sense of self. As you select from a rapidly expanding online toolbox, keep in mind that every tool we use has a form, a function, a capacity to be interpreted (and sometimes hacked) by users, and even a "DNA" instilled by its creators that influences the way it's perceived and adopted.
Technology doesn't necessarily mean electronics. If you ask any serious writer, s/he will tell you that the action on a keyboard, the balance of a pen, or the texture of paper can make just as much difference as processing speed. And there are those times when nothing does the job like a simple, classic, well-made tool. Here is a picture of me holding a 2 million year-old Acheulean Paleolithic bifacial hand axe-- the longest used tool in human history. It fit my hand perfectly, right down to the indentations for thumb and fingers, like it was custom-made for me-- an especially rare experience for a lefty.
Apart from the perfect feel/form/function, there is something about an enduring classic that doesn't hold true for the phone you buy today that will be non-state-of-the-art in a few months. This is about more than craft, art, or even quality: this sort of attention to detail is the product of loving care. It's the difference between home-cooked and store-bought. For real practitioners of anything worthwhile, tools aren't just about techne, they are extensions of our humanity. Ask anyone who plays their music on a turntable, develops their own photographs, or sends handwritten letters.
And if all that didn't convince you to re-examine the tools you use and why, maybe a 39-second commercial is the right tool for the persuasive job:
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