What Ifs?: Education Provocations

@amyburvall#R2SCMS16

Thoughts, Words, Action

#whatifs

Provocation !over !

Pontification

MINDSET

…we had a “what if?” mentality?

Learning

…we thought of knowledge as connection?

…tapped into the emotion of learning…

the poetry of knowledge?

…we had less “learning” and more yearning?

…we kept learning from Dr. Seuss?

…we broke the glass ceiling

of an idea?

…a network

…was a graduation requirement?

…radical transparency was the new cv?

School

…school moved from brick-based

…to affinity spaced?

Space as Muse… …mise en scène

…there was less direction…

…and more discovery?

…the question was more important

than the answer?

…Process was the Product?

…we privileged context over content?

…we taught like a concept album?

…we played more than planned?

…there was less drill more thrill?

…we used mind peeks / peaks

as an exit ticket?

…teachers were more like Madonna?

…we made like Billie Holiday and

never sing the same song

the same way twice?

…made like Hitchcock cameos … set scene and get out of way?

…we embraced the power of storytelling

in all disciplines?

…thought of tech as salt?

…the tool came first and inspired tinkering / forcing

into the curriculum?

…the WHEN and WHY to use a tool was as important

as the HOW?

Creativity

…there were absolutely no constraints, where would our

imaginations take us?

…we drew more “wild cards”?

…we thought of “Open”…as a “spirit”?

…we

…expand our umwelt?

…we thought of Creativity as a Garden

…REMIX was the ultimate

demonstration of learning?

…we juxtapose two seemingly opposite concepts to create something new

(like use of anachronism)?

…we thought “toolBOX” rather than “tool”

colour PALETTE rather than colour?

…we hyped “hybrid”?

Paul Rand midcentury graphic artist

…we got to the “‘ness” of things (pulled a Picasso)

…we embraced the dooba dooba dooba?

…we were more artists than artisans?

…we had more “whitespace”?

…we could find the Wow in the Now…

Lingerlust over Wanderlust?

…we thought of making

as a drug?

…we all drew on the desk?

M.I.T. Media Lab

…we thought in series?

…we used our Inner Instagram more?

…we turned TIRED to INSPIRED?

…we used melancholy as a muse?

“Quellancholy”

…we looked to “making something good

everyday” and leaving a legacy

like Van Gogh

WORDS

Learning

…we ditch “best practices”?

…Hackstorm instead of

brainstorm?

(or “framestorm”)

…Remix Labs and Deconstruction Zones were as important as Maker Spaces?

….we all had a mission in a tagline?

ask people what they LOVE to do not what they do

!

…vlogging and drawing

…were as important as writing essays?

…teaching grammar included visual grammar?

…we had water colours in lieu of water coolers?

…”mobile learning” included sketchbooks and pens?

…our curriculum was more like Wired Magazine?

…we said ‘studio time’ instead of work time?

…we thought of learning as a wandering trail…

a “derive”

…we replace the word “learn” with “explore”?

….the new search engine was your network?

Technology!and!

Emerging!Literacies

…we remove the E from “e-learning", the “digital” from “citizenship”,

the “tech” from “ed tech”

…we changed digital “footprint”

and “tattoo” to “presence”?

…if “IT dept” stood for “Invention Team”

…and had to make something?

…SAMR rhymed?

SAME SAME (substitution) !

NOT SO LAME (augmentation) !

REFRAME (modification) !

CHANGE THE GAME (redefinition)

…we had a #glassclass?

ACTION /!PRACTICE

Pedagogy

…we had a vox box in every room and used it for

parent night too?

…we did less defining

and more designing?

…backchannelling was basic practice?

…we took something we did in an analogue way

and made it “tech” – and vice versa?

…we used a different medium or different tool set to accomplish this?

…we had DEAD (Drop Everything and Draw) time?

…we broke the 4th wall of the media we consume?

…even high school seniors got to play with Play-Doh?

…the “group” in “group project” was the world?

…we treated network as skill

…we made connection maps?

Culture

…#FF was for students… what if teacher role is also amplifier?

…Expression trumped perfection?

…class became a studio with no walls?

…we did a twitter Q of the week?

or student “passion questions?

…there were class paparazzi?

…we had TAG WALLS in the classroom?

…we built our courses

…around hashtags?

…our classroom communities

became more like “fan culture”?

…resident artists were a part of

the school

…there was a class bard?

…Wonder Walls were more important than Lecture halls?

…we got King Arthur round table on class room hierarchy?

…we built class around a metaphor

…we could write on the walls?

…students were the tech curators?

…we celebrated the victory du jour?

…made the abstract into the tangible, articulating ideas visually…

Assessment

…we had less testing

…and more questing?

…every course had a #TIL like on Reddit?

…we thought more in 3s?

…assessments had the 3 Vs: Verbal, Visual, Vocal

…if slide decks were only

pictures and a question?

….we encouraged students to create

a movement or meme?

…we expected students to discuss process

and influences, and have a lineage tree

that archives attribution?

…museum time and field trip time

replaced test time?

…students, as part of their portfolio or final exam,

had to come up with a lesson?

…there were universal project specs?

beautiful relevant poignant unique

transparent

…all tests were open resource…

…what if they had ‘artifact bags”?

…we evaluated using “Love it…What if…?”

…we reflected using cartoon structures?

@anasalter@dogtrax

…we used tags and emoji as reflection

of each assignment?

…we used “Weird, Wonderful,

and Worrisome” as a reflection?

Professional!Development

..we invited Guestperts

…we had more guerrilla PD?

…we became tourists in our own land?

… we had PD “walkabouts”?

…PD were more like genius hour?

…we truly listened to students?

@KaseyTamamoto

…we remembered the “white crayons”?

your big takeaway

a question

your personal challenge

#R2SCMS16#whatifs

@amyburvall

(on all social media)