Lesson Plans/Projects
The Valid Visual Deconstruction of Art?
Submitted by mott on November 16, 2008 - 16:52
A TED Talks video by Ursus Wehrli on "Tidier Art" that may be useful for visual arts, Theory of Knowledge, and other classes to get students to think about the meaning and creation of art - particularly at the older grade levels. The video presents a humorous concept to help generate class discussion, and Wehrli uses famous paintings as examples. Particularly worth the price of admittance (free) for his use of props to make a joke about PowerPoint presentation "slides" at the high-tech TED conference... that is, if visual gags are your thing.
Something a Vogon Wouldn't Be Proud Of
Submitted by mott on November 12, 2008 - 20:13
I’d like to take back my not saying to you
those things that, out of politeness, or caution,
I kept to myself.
- "Regret" byTroy Jollimore
A wonderful poem, "Regret" by Troy Jollimore in the December issue of The Walrus magazine about regretted passion-lessness, and written in double-negatives. Good for poetry class, reading wistfully alone over a glass of wine, or maybe a digital photography starting point for grade 8s.
Learners Teaching Learners Teaches Learners to Learn (and Teach)
Submitted by mott on December 24, 2007 - 16:29
(This contribution is adapted from a current project proposal. It has been approved. Updates soon.)
The XO Laptop is a brand new technology, and more than this, invokes a new philosophy of education. For the first time, students are empowered to be the “experts” in the introduction of a project. They will teach us. The OLPC is an operating system, computer hardware and GUI designed specifically to put students at the centre of the technology in every capacity.
Learning Benefits
Schools have traditionally implemented technology with proprietary software, expensive hardware, and a battery of IT professionals for support - a system certainly designed with the health of the industrial complex in mind. The instructional model in such a system requires trained gatekeepers of knowledge to decide what, where and when children learn. A system designed to promote current structures of instruction.
The One Laptop Per Child philosophy, from its inception, has been to make the child the centre of technology. This is more than just creating machines to be used by children. This means providing computers that avoid the price, complexity and support barriers to accessing, manipulating and creating information. In short, the child is not only the centre of the learning, but is more importantly, the centre of teaching.
For countries where there isn’t any supporting infrastructure in place - no schools and no teachers, for example - this is the only possible model of implementation. Happily, it is a well-researched finding that this model of learning is highly effective and it is thus just as ideal for use around the world - in developing and developed countries. (Education Week: Peer Tutoring's Potential to Boost IQ Intrigues Educators - free membership membership may be required)
The XO is designed for self-paced learning that is critical, authentic, and collaborative in nature. The XO’s operating system is designed to be understood by a child. The XO’s hardware is designed to be cared for by a child. The XO’s software can be created by a child. In short, if we are interested in creating child-centred learning, we can start with a child-centred computer.
Implementation
Five proposed XO (One Laptop Per Child) computers could provide a school computer club with a perfect micro-mobile computer lab to put child-centred teaching and learning into practice.
A possible implementation would be where students are both learners and teachers. Students would work to learn to use the XO laptops effectively, and then the students themselves would prepare and deliver a unit to younger students.
As an essential element of the project, the students would participate in the larger OLPC program by sharing their learning in the global open-source community participating in the project. The students would add their suggestions for hardware improvement, lesson ideas, educational applications, software testing, quality assurance and bug tracking, curriculum and content development, translation, and even software development.
Thus, this unit combines:
• best-practice use of modern educational theories of learning,
• supporting inititatives including child-centred learning, differentiated learning and critical thinking initiatives,
• the practical application of Information Technology integration,
• collaboration among teachers and students,
• modelling moral leadership, and
• actively participating in a global initiative.
Cost
The total cost of the unit for a school would be $2000 (5 X $399). This would fund 5 XO computers for the school, and 5 XO computers to be donated to the OLPC program (ten computers total).
Deadline: The XO computers must be purchased by December 31, 2008.
Links
CSpan Interview with Negroponte
Peer Tutoring to Boost IQ - Education Week
