Whatisschool August 28, 2014

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Thank you for sparking my imagination!

Tonight's chat #whatisschool brought me back to the roots of why I started in this chat in the first place. Education is shifting rapidly from training students for an industrial workforce to educating for a tech driven, communications based workforce that interacts on a global stage. Through my own children I see possibilities I never imagined as they create, code, invent and inspire. I see things I wished for as a child myself, like holograms, which are now becoming common place as stars, alive and dead, are transported into live shows and onto runways. We are living in an amazing time and you, as educators, are at the core. Spread the word about ideas discussed here, make it grow so as education evolves it will do so in the image teachers envision, not those who seek only to profit or gain power through control. Do it for the students, they are counting on you.  Archives are posted below. 

I have a bit of deep thinking to do. -Laura

Re-imagining school, what will you do this fall?

#WhatIsSchool August 28, 2014 7PM EDT

As we speed towards graduating the first generation of digital natives it is still unclear; what jobs will they hold? How will their education serve them? Will they be prepared to be the communicators, inventors and thinkers that this century needs or will they be left behind?  

This week #whatisschool goes back to its roots, creating change in education that is good for students, parents and teachers. Join us as we explore the opportunity to re-create school in a way that serves the people who rely on us.  

Questions for this week's chat #whatisschool 

Thursday, August 28, 2014 7PM EDT are posted below.

Q1) Is teaching a job, a lifestyle or a responsibility?

Q2) What skills will your students NOT have when they graduate school?

Q3) What jobs are YOU preparing your students for?

Q4) Through technology, method and new ideas how are you changing school to keep pace with the evolving communications economy?

Q5) A hundred years from now how will school have changed? What do you want it to be?

Q6) How can you change to ensure students get the education they need to succeed in a global economy?

Co-moderated by children's book author and education thought leader Laura Hill @candylandcaper and international educator Craig Kemp @Mrkempnz  Please contact either of us with your questions and ideas, we'd love to hear from you!

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Co-moderated by children's book author and education thought leader Laura Hill @candylandcaper and international educator Craig Kemp @Mrkempnz  Please contact either of us with your questions and ideas, we'd love to hear from you!

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Whatisschool August 21, 2014

Thank You!

For making #whatisschool the #1 trending chat.

Thank you for making #whatisschool a roaring success! This week we trended in the top three in US, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, and for the first time, #1 in Canada. Teachers in Europe and South Africa are checking in during the middle of the night to join the conversation.   All this is due to your passion and dedication to evolving your class, to preparing students for a workforce that is largely undefined.  As we go forward it is clear to me that to not implementing ideas we share is not a matter of choice or being stuck in a mindset, it is a disservice to students around the world.  Please continue spreading the word so we can make a change in education that is GOOD for students, GOOD for teachers and Good for parents.  We have the opportunity to re-create school in a way that serves the people who rely on us, not government or big business.  The archive of this week's chat is below.

Be A Now-ist: Implementing Your PLN In The Classroom

#WhatIsSchool August 21, 2014 7PM EDT

  

When Joi Ito needed to solve the problem of disaster information disbursement he didn’t turn to business, he turned to the internet and found people who could solve his problem right now.  Each week thousands of educators do the same, meeting with their PLNs to share ideas and create solutions to some of their most pressing educational problems, but what then?  Is implementing a great idea as easy as creating it?  Join #whatisschool Thursday, August 21 at 7PM EDT as we tackle the problem of implementing PLN ideas in your class, school and district-wide curriculum, and explore the effects a now-ist attitude can have on your teaching and your students as they prepare for work in a marketplace that no longer follows the rules.

Questions for this week's chat #whatisschool 

Thursday, August 21, 2014 7PM EDT are posted below.

  

Q1) What social media channels do you use in your PLN and what are the pros and cons of each?

Q2) How would classroom dynamics change if you had support from district teachers, admin and staff implementing ideas generated in your PLN?

Q3) What innovations would you create if you had a district wide PLN that inspired teamwork and problem solving? How would integrating your global PLN help?

Q4) What are the successes and stumbling blocks have you encountered implementing chat ideas in your classroom, school or district?

Q5) How can using a now-ist approach to ideas generated in your PLN strengthen your curriculum to better prepare students for a global workplace?

Q6) How can you integrate the PLN model into student learning?

Archive for #whatisschool Thursday August 21, 2014

Co-moderated by children's book author and education thought leader Laura Hill @candylandcaper and international educator Craig Kemp @Mrkempnz  Please contact either of us with your questions and ideas, we'd love to hear from you!

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Whatisschool August 14, 2014

Thank You!

Once again I am blown away by the amazing conversation at #whatisschool tonight. The amount of people who joined us was staggering as we trended in the #4 slot globally for more than half the chat. It is a testament to you!  Please spread the word to other amazing, passionate educators who want to make a difference in the lives of their students, districts and to better themselves through this amazing PLN. As I go through the archives to devise next week's questions, I will be thinking deeply and reflecting on the issues you are most concerned with, and the big picture that has brought as all this far in re-imaging #whatisschool.  Archives are posted below. 

Student engagement vs. work readiness, how to teach both

#WhatIsSchool August 14, 2014 7PM EDT

(Friday 9am AEST, 11am NZT, 7am Singapore)

For the past few weeks we have been talking about global classrooms and the conversation has brought about innovative ideas for using methodology and technology to create an experiential learning space for students. It’s been very exciting! However, the execution can be more daunting as many educational institutions prescribe to test based measurement systems.  In an excerpt from her 2010 Coxsackie-Athens HS valedictory speech, Erica Goldson said the following:

“…While others sat in class and doodled to later become great artists, I sat in class to take notes and become a great test-taker. While others would come to class without their homework done because they were reading about an interest of theirs, I never missed an assignment. While others were creating music and writing lyrics, I decided to do extra credit, even though I never needed it. So, I wonder, why did I even want this position? Sure, I earned it, but what will come of it? When I leave educational institutionalism, will I be successful or forever lost.  I have no clue about what I want to do with my life; I have no interests because I saw every subject of study as work, and I excelled at every subject just for the purpose of excelling, not learning. And quite frankly, now I’m scared…”

The video of her speech went viral. Four years later you could argue that little has changed. This week we explore ways that educators can make room in their curriculum for education that will prepare students for the future and the testing they are required to take.

Questions for this week's chat #whatisschool Thursday, 

August14, 2014 7PM EDT are posted below.

Q1) What are the benefits of technology in your school, do they outweigh the cost in time and money?

Q2) What are the benefits of testing in your school, do they outweigh the cost in time and money?

Q3) If you could only have one, technology or common curriculum, which do you think would better serve your student population? Why?

Q4) Has technology and modern teaching methods you’ve employed increased student engagement in your class?

Q5) Which is more important for students, to be engaged in their careers or to be work ready for their careers?

Q6) If you could do one thing that would super-charge your student’s education for the better what would it be?

Co-moderated by children's book author and education thought leader Laura Hill @candylandcaper and international educator Craig Kemp @Mrkempnz  Please contact either of us with your questions and ideas, we'd love to hear from you!

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Whatisschool August 7, 2014

Teaching methods for a changing classroom.

#WhatIsSchool August 7, 2014 7PM EDT
(Friday 9am AEST, 11am NZT, 7am Singapore)

For the last few weeks we've been exploring ways to turn classrooms into global learning centers that would fit the changing needs of students entering a communication and technology based workforce.  We’ve discovered the world is much smaller than we think and to prepare our students we need to devise new ways of blending technology and methodology to create effective teaching environments.  Join us August 7 at 7PM EDT for #whatisschool as we dive into the nuts and bolts of how teaching has changed, is changing and needs to evolve to nourish the leaders, dreamers, and inventors of tomorrow.

Here are some ideas from classrooms where students tackled global issues.  

What could your students do?

Questions for this week's chat #whatisschool Thursday, 
August 7, 2014 7PM EDT are posted below.

Q1) How has technology changed the way you teach?

Q2) What new teaching methodologies have you employed to make technology successful in your classroom?

Q3) How can you combined methodology and technology to create your global classroom?

Q4) How would you prepare your students for a lesson taught with children from around the world and what would that lesson be?

Q5) What lessons would you like a teacher from another classroom in another part of the world to teach your students?

Q6) How would your global classroom reach out to underserved students around the world? Why?

Co-moderated by children's book author and education thought leader Laura Hill @candylandcaper and international educator Craig Kemp @Mrkempnz  Please contact either of us with your questions and ideas, we'd love to hear from you!

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Transforming Classrooms Into Global Learning Centers

#WhatIsSchool July 31, 2014 7PM EDT

For the last two weeks we’ve been talking about what a global classroom is and how our ideas about  school are change when a global component is added.  This week we shift our focus to harnessing the power of classroom dynamics; reimagining teaching methodology and technology to transform classrooms into global learning centers in which all students learn to their highest level of ability.

To get the conversation going we are welcoming back guest moderator Mark Weston who has spent the last 36 years working with heads of state in 13 countries, 42 states, the US congress and tech leaders Apple and Dell to enhance education for all children around the world.  His 2X strategy to increasing engagement and success for all students can be viewed below. 

Questions for this week's chat #whatisschool Thursday, July 31 7PM EDT are posted below.

Q1) How can you turn your classroom into a global learning center?

Q2)What physical attributes would you change to make your classroom more conducive to global learning?

Q3) How would your teaching methods change to prepare your students for a lesson with students in another country?

Q4) What strategies would you use to get students excited about a global exchange?

Q5) How does technology fit into your global lesson/s?

Q6) What are 2 things you have taken away from this chat that you can implement in your classroom immediately?

Co-moderated by children's book author and education thought leader Laura Hill @candylandcaper and international educator Craig Kemp @Mrkempnz  Please contact either of us with your questions and ideas, we'd love to hear from you!

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