Connected Learning ‘in the wild’: connecting learners, experts, networks and information through open systems

A fantastic post by Mandy Lupton to support the inclusion of PLNs and Digital Citizenship in School Curriculum

Hooking into #geniushourmta

We are in for an exciting term in Retech (Research and Technology) this term.  After a really successful trial with one class last year, this year we have the whole year 8 cohort participating in iSolve – #geniushourmta.  I have discussed the concepts behind Genius Hour in a previous post and have found the majority of students can’t wait to work on their genius projects when you provide  them with an effective hook to start them thinking about their passion and how they might use this passion to inspire others.  There are two particular ideas we use to generate interest for #geniushourmta.  The first inspires students to think about the people who have gone before us and left a footprint on the world, eg. past inventions and people who have created something to inspire others.  The video below created by ‘Google’ is a fantastic way to do this:

We then like to follow up with a real life example of a young boy who used his passion to inspire others and (inadvertently) create a worldwide movement.

The example of Caine’s arcade works well to motivate students and inspire discussion around what they are passionate about and how they could use this to make a difference.  However, what really ‘hooks’ the students is part 2 of Caine’s story and the completely unintentional impact his story has had on creativity and learning in schools

This video also provides an excellent of the power of collaboration and social media.

I can’t wait to follow the progress of our Year 8 students in #geniushourmta and look forward to sharing this with you as they begin to explore their passions.

I’ll leave you with an initial reflection from one of our student’s after being ‘hooked’ onto #geniushourmta

Shifting Perspectives and Global Competency as Keys to Learning

People often ask why I believe Inquiry learning is such an important approach and to be honest, this can be a really difficult question to answer persuasively in fifty words or less.  In fact, numerous educators have admitted to me that they knew about inquiry, could define inquiry but didn’t really have that lightbulb moment of understanding on the effectiveness or positives for adopting inquiry learning, until they used it in their classroom.  This is completely understandable as approaches to inquiry are so vast and broad-ranging that it can be difficult to articulate the foundation behind this concept in one fell swoop.

Recently, I was fortunate enough to listen to Veronica Boix Mansilla‘s keynote address on Global Competency at the Adolescent Success Asia Pacific Conference of Middle Schooling in Singapore.  Whether or not this was the intention of Mansilla’s keynote, this presentation provided for me one of the most persuasive arguments for inquiry learning and reminded me of exactly why inquiry is so integral in creating learners who are active participants in the  twenty-first century.

Essentially learning is about perspectives.  Students enter the classroom with a range of different understandings, knowledge and skills, i.e, a range of different perspectives.  Learning happens when our students investigate, challenge and add to these perspectives to create a shift in the perspective they had when they first walked into the classroom.  We want our students to take, use and understand perspectives in their learning as they build their own understandings, rethink what they ‘know’ and add to this.   We want our students to be future-proof learners and this involves ensuring that they are globally competent. Mansilla describes the concept of global competency in the video below:

It is easy to see how this notion of global competency relates to inquiry learning.  The essence of inquiry learning isn’t about simply answering questions, it’s about asking questions and taking action.  True inquiry doesn’t discriminate against discipline or subject area, instead it pushes students to challenge identities and perspectives through encouraging them to identify problems and issues that require investigation and act on these.  It is the understanding created and shifts in perspective that result from these investigations that ensures students are truly learning.

As a convert to the work of Project Zero, I look forward to examining Mansilla’s work further and strongly suggest the work of both Mansilla and fellow Project Zero researchers such as David Perkins as a great starting place for those interested in inquiry learning.