Archive for December, 2007

Royal Changes

Published by Sean "The Bass Player" on December 26, 2007 in Leading, and Teaching. 19 Comments

RoyalThe Queen’s speech, formally known as The Christmas Broadcast, is something of a Christmas tradition here in the UK. It gives the Monarch a chance to send her message to the nation on Christmas day at 3pm GMT, giving us her views on what is happening in the world today, and more.

The Christmas Broadcast was started in 1932 with King George V and was first televised by Her Majesty the Queen in 1957. Now, 50 years on, this broadcast has been uploaded to YouTube for the first time... but why? I suppose the answer is simple really, the PR people at Buckingham Palace knew fine well the sort of reach YouTube has and saw it as a new medium for getting the Queen’s message out to the nation... and to the world.

To me, this begs the question: if someone of such a high stature can adapt with the times, and incorporate the technologies found around us in to something that has done its job over the past 50 years then why do these technologies not have a place in our classrooms right now? Why are the schools the only places left that don’t seem to want to adapt? We all know that schools do their job: they work... they train students to pass exams. What they don’t do is do what the Queen’s PR people did so simply. Say right, ok... it works, but we could make this better just by doing something new, just by incorporating a bit of technology here and there. This sort of approach is really valuable for students, for the main reason that technology is taking over: the YouTube broadcast proves that. The thing is, if students are not exposed to technology then when it becomes so important it can’t be ignored they will be left behind, it’s that simple.

We are being taught how to pass exams... not how to stay on top of the technological advances in the world, not how to communicate effectively in the modern world and at the end of the day, why can’t schools do both? After all, the Queen managed...

The Bass Player.

  1. Photo by Southbank Steve on Flickr

Interview with Steve Hargadon

Published by Morgante Pell on December 18, 2007 in Asides. 5 Comments

Steve Hargadon conducted an interview with Students 2.0 authors Kevin, Lindsea, and Sean last Friday. They discussed the Internet, its uses in the classroom, as well as the launch and reactions to the blog. If you would like to hear the voices of three articulate students two articulate students and a Scotsman, this interview is well worth a listen. Thanks, Steve!

One Sweet Dream

Published by Lindsea on December 17, 2007 in Learning. 34 Comments

Hello, I’m a 3.6 and 2100 on my SAT’s.

The further into my high school career I go, the more my face, name, and personality gets traded out for a couple of numbers. It seems as though modern high school is becoming less about personal growth through learning, and more about preparing your resume for Dream College.

Even before high school, college always seemed like it was the end of the road; it was something that was always on my mind, sometimes stressful, sometimes very exciting. In middle school, I made a video about where I wanted to be in four years. Looking back on it, I cringe. I quote my mock senior year statement:

Well, I am a high school senior now! I got a 4.0 unweighted, and I got a 1500 on my SATs. High school was great. There was a lot peer pressure to go to parties and have sex, but I tried to stay away from all that. I set the state record for the high jump, and have 8 varsity letters in 2 different sports, and I’ve acted in 3 plays. I’m the captain of the debate team, and I’m the editor for the school newspaper. I also got into Princeton, Stanford, Yale, and UCLA.

“Um, what?”, I think now. Who did I think I would become? Who is this person, and when do they have time to breathe? Did I think high school was like Gilmore Girls? Yes, actually, I did... but let’s keep that a secret.

Original artwork by LindseaFreshman year was this impossible dream attempting to be lived out, because I thought it was necessary for me to get into that Dream College. Unable to see outside myself, I had tunnel vision on my one goal of getting into Dream College. Learning was important to me, but secondary to the grade I got in the class. Obsessed with getting all A’s, I studied non-stop in the library and at home. I practiced for the notorious SAT, three years ahead of time.

My perspective has shifted since then. The closer I get to college, the more I see that college isn’t this big illustrious dream like it was in middle school and freshman year. It’s kind of like seeing a giant walking on the street and realizing later that it wasn’t that the giant was big, but rather that the street was small.

People (specifically those who are most influential in my life) tell me (good-heartedly, with the best of intentions) that in order to get far in life x, y, and z need to happen, letting x=good grades/good resume, y=prestigious college, and z=good (read: well-paying) job. Though it may be partially true, is that the kind of limiting dream that students should have? Where is the room for growth, experimentation, living? Why does society set these parameters for success?

The path of x, y, and z has been stomped clean of passion, of adventure.

This is something that has been so rigorously conditioned in students: fear of the unusual. This is because the unusual is sometimes regarded as “failing,” at least at the time. For 13 years we go to school, learn curriculum, take tests, read books, etc., all within the context of x, y, and z. Each year we are taught about facts and figures, and tested on them—with the importance being placed on the good score. We get good grades, graduate from elementary, then middle, and finally high school. Mistakes are counter-intuitive to students growing up in the school system, because mistakes are usually connected to the Big Red Pen of Death (bad grades).

What I’ve painfully learned through my own mistakes: it’s easy to live the expected and conventional. It’s when you live the unexpected that you start having fun with your life.

Left with a fresh canvas and a complete set of crayons, I plan to take my own future in my hands, all the while retaining who I am—not my numeric representation.

But what do the rest of you plan to do?

  1. Original artwork by Lindsea

Teaching Brevity

Published by Morgante Pell on December 16, 2007 in Teaching. 98 Comments
Teacher: “For the holidays, I would like everyone to write an essay with their thoughts upon tradition.”
Student: “How long should it be?”
Teacher: “Use a standard 5 paragraph format. I expect at least 1 page from each of you.”

If you have spent any time in the classroom, this scene should not be at all foreign to you. I still cringe every time I see it played out—the fact that we measure quality in terms of length when the two are really independent variables. However, I blame neither the teacher nor the student. The student has come to expect specific directions on how to do every assignment. Meanwhile, the teacher realizes many students will be lost without some sort of standard to be measured against. Unfortunately, the dangerous cycle is perpetuated.
Berlin Wall
In reality, some people can say so very much with a simple message scrolled on a wall. Meanwhile, nothing can be said with oh so many words. (Politicians are particularly adept at this.) The mark of great writers is not how many words they use, but which ones. The art of brevity and choosing the right words is a fine one; it is also becoming increasingly important as our information overload continues. Those who master the art of brevity hold great power.

If we recognize that the art of brevity is an important one, why do absurd length requirements continue to be enforced? I understand the student’s need for some sort of standard scaffolding to write with, but how about trying a new one? Instead of having requirements, how about constraints? Force students to think about each and every word by limiting the number of words allowed. Try it yourself—can you tell a fragment of a story in just 140 characters?

This is not a new concept; I have participated in many chain stories where each contributor adds just a single sentence. However, using the power of Twitter, we get Twittories. By using the power of the network, a very interesting collaborative story is being developed. Since the contributors come from so many cultures, the perceptions and voices vary and add an element of surprise to the story—you never know what will come next. If you haven’t already, register to participate in a little collaborative, creative and brief writing.
42
What if students were asked to do the same thing? Imagine the thought which would have to be put into each and every word if the grade was based upon only 42 of them. Students would learn the art of brevity, and how to use their entire vocabulary to express their ideas clearly. It is not what is said, but what is not said.

What are your thoughts on brevity? How do you teach it in class? In the spirit of word choice, see if you can keep your comments to under 42 words. How concise can you be?

Or, in another word: brevity.
Continue reading ‘Teaching Brevity’

Arrogance, perception, and mistakes

Published by Kevin Walter on December 13, 2007 in Meta. 33 Comments

This post has absolutely no educational value.

Things have been said about Students 2.0. Most are good, a few are bad, several are skeptical. No links needed (yet). You know who you are and where you stand.

On one hand, we have our supporters. Those who recognize that student voice is an important component in the educational process. Does anyone dispute that concept? (We’ll worry about implementation later.)

Our detractors. After all, we are not the norm. It’s not easy being the early adopters. Are we (and others like us) the only students who care enough about their education to write about it? Yeah, no arguments there.

The educational institution has been ingrained in my peers as evil. Homework, standardized tests, reading “boring” books, learning “useless” knowledge, and on top of that, teachers are of course out to get us. Trust me, they are all bad. :-) Except the ones like Clay Burell. He’s the guy who linked all of us student “edubloggers” together. He understands the importance of student voice, and takes action about it. That, in my mind, sets him much farther apart from any other teacher or administrator with a blog, because on top of being a full-time teacher and “de-facto tech coordinator” at his school, he organized a global, student-run blog in less than a month. Don’t get the wrong idea, though. I disagree with Clay on a multitude of issues, only a few of which he is aware of. ;-)

I do digress. For 85% of students, school is evil. Before I’m accused of such, I’m not taking a pessimistic view here, unfortunately. The top 5% of students care about the education. The other 10% don’t necessarily care, but they understand school’s long-term value. Sort of.

That can change. I can’t speak for the group, and I haven’t even bothered to read our mission statement, but I know why I’m here. I want to change the students. The digital natives and the digital immigrants can continue to be at odds over one another’s methods. But when teachers see the change in their own students, they’ll figure it out.

Moving right along, we reach the skeptics. I love these people, because I am so much like them. Pragmatism and logic rule our world. They see a bunch of students writing a blog together. The first reaction: so what? Their second reaction: what a bunch of punks. Their third reaction is to bookmark our site and come back for more. These are the people we, as Students 2.0, desperately need to prove ourselves to. More than the gushing supporters, who gave us awards before we even launched. (But don’t get me wrong, we’re very grateful.) More than the detractors, who have already made up their mind: students are made to be taught, never the other way around. We need to show the skeptics what we’re all about. It’s time to deliver. (And I’ll be honest, Clay’s Twitter marketing blitz of our splash page bothered me. With no content and nothing to show, it created more skeptics than a month-long, whet-their-appetite launch would have.) These skeptics are the people I want us as a group to challenge head-on. We don’t need to preach to the choir, or come up with abstract, impossible, or improbable ideas. We need to find a happy balance–separating the wheat from the chaff. Like it or not, we made a splash, and we’re here. And now, the pressure is on.

Like I said, this post has absolutely no educational value. Take it with a grain of salt.

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