A bracing, challenging, informative talk from Heidi Hayes Jacob enlivened our afternoon. What year are we preparing our students for? I embedded below (after “more”) her Ted Talk; I hope you find these resources, suggested action items, and conversation starters and you reflect on her talk.
Resources, Links, & Key Points
Curriculum 21: Essential Education for a Changing World
Jennifer Lockett’s blog post about Jacobs’ talk.
Everyone agrees today that we are going to learn something.
A new pedagogy is emerging: more student self-navigation.
At the end of every proficiency you have as a goal for your student, there should be an adverb: “Independently.”
New Tools, New Literacies: Digital, Media, and Global
The tool we use impact learning: Paper is over.
Every student should read and write a screenplay.
Curriculum 21 Learning Commons
A New Kind of Learner Needs a New Kind of Teacher
Research means Search Again.
The Curriculum 21 Clearinghouse.
Gapminder World visualization tool.
Digital Literacy is the thoughtful and deliberate development of web 2.0 applications.
Media mediates experience.
What would Romeo’s Facebook page look like? Blog Post.
Action Items
Learn Prezi and learn when it is is most usefully employed: Prezi activates the mind: it is a good genre for activating ideas.
Move your curriculum maps/guides online to wiki formats.
Diversify student writing assignments: screenplays, blogs, etc. Promote understanding of a wide variety of genres and the differentiation each requires.
Model as educators the use of different communication genres: blogging, tweeting, wiki-contributing, video-making, etc.
Decide one thing this year you are going to replace in your current curriculum.
Join a Professional Learning Network.
Use the Curriculum 21 “Clearinghouse.”
Make a plan for every one of your students make an app.
Conversation Starters
“How can we prepare our learners for their futures?”
“Who owns the learning?”
What are the new/key literacies? What are we doing to facilitate student learning of them?
“What year are you preparing your learners for?”
How can we believe we are being current in our teaching if we are using printed materials and dated curriculum guides?
“Are students, how are students, processing information differently today than ten years ago?”
“How are you going to have your kids share what they are learning?”
Visitors to the blog: Please use the comment option to offer your own resources, action items, or discussion questions.
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