I am taking a moment away from the learning to capture some of the key ideas emerging from Educon 2.6:
Click on the image if the Axioms are too small to read. Consider how they might inform your daily practice.
Educon is held at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. I took this shot during Kevin Jarrett’s (@kjarrett) photography workshop on #makeartnotpics. I wanted to capture the heart in the window. So appropriate!
Jaime Casap (@jcasap) is always talking about how schools need to inspire digital leaders. Digital citizens should be the norm, not what we work towards.
A key comment at the panel on Friday night and then again from the keynote on Saturday was the idea that we need to now step back and rethink education. Classrooms? why? Let’s use technology to make it different, not for the sake of being different but because learning can now be so much more powerful and inclusive.
The engage vs. empower conversation was really refreshing. So often the conversation barely reaches engagement because it is focused only on achievement, which can mean only test scores. Don’t we want so much more for our learners than a test score?
I love this conversation. It’s not enough that we just empower kids to do what they want. They don’t know what they don’t know. Don’t they also have the right to be exposed to so many other things to wonder about and be curious about?
One day of learning on a note paper. I love how this makes thinking and learning visible.
One of the highlights of #Educon for me was finally meeting David Jakes (@djakes) f2f. To be mentioned on a Bill Ferriter note paper graphic with David Jakes is such an honour!
This particular graphic went viral during #Educon. I strongly believe in ownership vs. buy-in in everything to do with learning. It’s a distinction I first heard at #ECOO13 (I think) and it has permeated all of my work since then.
Ah, Richard Culatta, our Saturday morning keynote. I had no idea what I was in for at this session, but I thought it would be USA Government stuff. I was not even really looking forward to it. But this guy rocked the place. My takeaway was his analogy of pencils and our school system. You can sharpen that darn pencil until your fingers bleed but it will never be a pen, nor will it ever be Siri. Now is the time to step back from the pencils and rethink what it needs to look like. http://www.ed.gov/edblogs/technology/richard-culatta/
Wow, wow, wow! I sat down on Saturday morning and there I was, right behind David Warlick. 🙂 I worked to get @dwarlick to Thunder Bay a few years ago and he wowed us with his thinking. I love how he takes a little nugget and wraps it up with his own flavours and then hands it to you in a conversation to go and do good work with.
I had several conversations with David over the course of #Educon. He is a generous and thoughtful gentleman.
Think like Gretzky! Don’t pass the puck to the player, pass the puck to where the player will be when the puck arrives! We need to stop planning for today and think about how exponential change will impact what we are doing.
Like joy. Learning, hope, joy, all reason enough to go to school.
Ah, see! I was really there! This panel discussion on open education was so thought-provoking. I love the conversations that spiraled out of it.
Love the simple, positive focus to the code of behaviour.
It’s.not.about.memorizing.Really.
My proud moment. My heart sang when I saw this tweet. What a beautiful construction!
I love this. We talked a lot about vulnerability at #Educon. How does it feel to be “knocked off balance”?
A “willingness to be disturbed” – to have our beliefs challenged by what others think. We must admit we don’t know. We have to let go of certainty.
http://www.ode.state.or.us/opportunities/grants/saelp/willing-to-be-disturbed.pdf
Ayla Gavins told powerful stories of how Mission Hill School in Boston runs “without a principal”. Everyone takes responsibility for the success of the school.
I have a lot of time for Jackie Gerstein (@jackiegerstein). She tweeted this gem while I was at #Educon and she was watching the live stream of the keynote.
More of Sylvia’s brilliance. I have followed her for years. Love her work! (@smartinez)
Amen!
The importance of access to devices and connections (wifi) was emphasized over and over again at #Educon. This graphic says it all. Do you think that spending on giving access to all learners should be a priority?
http://blog.markwcarbone.ca/2014/01/14/setting-the-stage/
Professional learning is one key to change. We must all be learners.
So important! Conversations must push us and challenge our thinking, and we have to be okay with that. It’s okay to be wrong! It’s our best thinking at the time!
It always starts with us. Change the world. #CTW
Yes, it is really about relationships.
So be courageous. Get into the driver’s seat. Progressive thinkers need to consider their sphere of influence. How many progressive thinking teachers choose to move on and become school and system leaders?
On the wall at #SLA Science Leadership Academy.
Reflection in the glass at #SLA. Let’s all enable the people in our school communities to soar.
Reblogged this on Transparent Christina.