Eclectic Technology

Although this was posted in 2013, the ideas of what we should look for in our classroom are still relevant. George Couros provides an image (as seen above) as well as more detailed explanations for each suggestion. Ask yourself if your learners have these options in your classroom.

1. Voice - the ability to learn from others and share their learning.

2. Choice - about how they learn and what they learn.

3. Time for reflection  (often overlooked in our very busy classrooms).

4. Opportunities for innovation

5. Critical thinkers - asking the questions and challenging what they see, respectfully.

6. Problem solvers/finders - what is a problem the learners see? How would they solve the problem?

7. Self-assessment - do your learners assess themselves or do you do the assessment? What would happen if they were given this opportunity?

8. Connected learning - bringing in experts from your community or further afield (perhaps by using Skype).

The post is worth reading as he provides additional insights to each area. In addition he provides one more piece that is also critical in your classroom. Click through to the post to learn more.

As we look at education today ask yourself does the process support students ability to dream their vision? Do we promote a vision of the future as they move through the school system (and think K - 16)?

This post explores these issues and provides resources to help you explore them.

Find a link to Seth Godin's book Stop Stealing Dreams (What is School For?). Check out a video where students share their dream of the future. Consider the guiding questions provided to help your students think about the future (and see two answers from students in Grades 5-6). There are many resources to help you and your class think about this issue and how it relates to the 21st century.

Technology comes into play in that it provides students with a wide range of options to find and show their voice. This post looks at five areas:

* Writing

* Multimedia

* Speaking

* Performing and/or Direction

* Artistic Expression

Within each area there is a strategy listed, a number of tools suggested in four areas a short look at "terms of success."

Helping students find their voice through technology also provides opportunities for students to be creative and to connect with an authentic audience,  helping to build 21st century skills as defined through the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and Common Core.

If you are looking for a variety of information on Design Thinking this post is for you. Gestein share many resources including:

* An Introduction to Design Thinking, a Facilitator's Guide with a script, talking points, takeaways, and set-up considerations (available from Scribd)

* A slideshare presentation "Design is hacking how we learn (presented at AIGA Into the Woods 2012)

* links to a variety of articles, including "The d.school's Virtual Crash Course of Design Thinking"

She also discusses some of the problems with Design Thinking, once again providing links several articles. She shares views from people in business who have turned Design Thinking " into a linear, gated, by-the-book methodology that delivered, at best, incremental change and innovation." She expresses concerns that this may also happen in education.

The final section of her post looks at hacking, but with a different flavor than we often read. A number of definitions of hacking are provided and one is below:

"In developing hacking as a skill, an attitude, and/or as an approach to construct and de-construct the world, it is more than just hacking in terms of computer science.  In order to hack the world, we need to tear it apart, deconstruct it and analyze its components parts and how they operate in relation to one another within various systems.  This is a mental, social, emotional, and whenever possible, a physical process."

Challenge yourself to read this post. Chances are you will come away with some new ideas.