21st Century Learning

Culture Change- Breaking Down Tradition

Interesting discussion over on Student 2.0 by Sean (the bass player) a student in Scotland and a group of teachers.

The post was inspired from some well meant questions from a caring American adult (teacher) who was chatting with Sean at 1:30am (Scotland). I think it was more the perceived inferences Sean drew from the questions that inspired his post, not necessarily the intentions of the asker, but regardless, the conversation struck a chord with me.

Where do we draw the line?
Sean asks, "Where do we draw the line?" in response to the question- “Does it seem strange to you to associate with a bunch of adults?”  There is more to the conversation- I encourage you to go read Sean's post for contextual reference for this discourse that follows.

The line Sean is talking about has more to do with the hidden rules of tradition and territory than it does with a moral or digital citizenship line of sorts. It is one that while more visible in the 21st Century has been around since Amateur radios began showing up in homes.  It also has a bit to do with motivations, goals, intellect and family culture I think. Let me explain.

It is a matter of family norms and culture
Sean's preference for adults is not new and he certainly isn't the only one. There are others who don't quite fit the mold and in some families it is by design. I homeschooled my four kids. Amber, my oldest (http://myaimistrue.com), only attended 1 year of conventional education. And Grace, my youngest, entered the traditional system in 5th grade(11-12 year olds).They mostly hung with adults and each other- which had some real advantages. Sure, they had some friends that were their own ages who they mostly saw at church or later in the collaborative school I created, but mainly they preferred adults. Why didn't that bother me? Because in our family the culture (mantra) was- I am raising adults, not kids. I wanted the end product to be adults, so having lots of interaction with adults seemed to make sense.

My kids were mature for their age and had lots of questions and interests that other kids simply were not into, so it just made more sense for them to connect with folks who could help them learn what they wanted to learn. Besides, learning in our family took place 24/7 even at 1:30am-- as we all had people we spoke to around the world. And I do not think that is so different than it was for my father as he was a Hamm Radio nut when he was a kid and up at all times of the night trying to accommodate for time zones.

And being a homeschooling family, the more interesting or diverse the adults my kids befriended, the better. Since my kids could pursue their passions in terms of content studied, we actively sought out adult mentors who could serve as SMEs (subject matter experts), and technology helped a great deal with that. My kids would often attend the college classes I taught and participate in the discussions. They felt as comfortable around adults as they did children, not because they were so different- but more because our culture and experience was different. 

Tools today are more powerful
While we didn't have the same tools we have now, we did have some. Bulletin boards and asynchronous chat boards were popular, IRC chat, and various protocols that gave us direct access to each other's machines. Sometimes I would make the relationships online and introduce my new found friends to my kids and sometimes they would introduce me to who they had met. I will admit- in the beginning of all this- there were typically more "techie types" online than there was Joe average, so less chance for a need to exercise digital citizenship (safety)  skills. It simply hadn't caught on yet. However, if I had been given a choice between my kids being online at 1:30 am talking to someone in Scotland who was a responsible adult or having them out riding around in a car, breaking curfew with other immature, age-specific peers-- well you get the idea. Plus, when you raise your kids to be responsible online and have open lines of communication there is a level of trust that is developed. And until that trust is broken, there is no reason to doubt that the relationships  they are making in person or online aren't healthy. Staying involved is the key.

I say all this to say- not all kids are the same. Not all parenting styles are the same. My kids now are all very successful and madly creative. They are well adjusted and have lots of friends. They all say they have fond memories of growing up in a house that included such different learning opportunities and access to a variety of interesting adults through both hands-on and virtual experiences. And they all have continued to develop relationships with interesting adults from around the world.

Teachable Moments and Networking

Let me help you understand the different mind set. Because the culture in our family was learning as a life style and not just when school was in- we were always on "game" in terms of teachable moments.
I remember going to WalMart and seeing two young adults (my age at the time) on bikes who were traveling long distance. I thought, what a cool experience this would be for my kids. I struck up a conversation with these strangers and invited them to stay at my house for a few days. Turns out, Jenny and Dan were from Seattle and had just gotten married. As part of their honeymoon, they decided to take a cross country bike trip for a year and Jenny, a writer was documenting it all on a laptop!!! (Remember 15 years ago laptops were not as common). Boy did I score. Here we had young, interesting adults who used higher order thinking to plan a year long trip, one was a writer, they were traveling and could share their experiences with my kids.

We got out a map and documented everywhere they had been with pins and yarn. (picture shows how we used this technique to study other things too) We researched the geography, culture, and landforms. We talked about how you plan a year long trip and the kids planned their own using their newly found skills. We  looked at bikes in general, the mechanics, how to wrench, the science behind them and the environmental impact. The curriculum we discovered in Jenny and Dan was endless. When they left- they emailed back their locations and we continued to track them on the map.

Well meaning friends asked-- How did you know they weren't mass murders? What if they had been drug addicts or had hurt your children while you slept or what if they had stolen things? All valid questions I guess but  not part of our reality, much like Sean 's feeling of  surprise, " I surprisingly hadn’t thought about it before."

Not Wrong- Just Different
That isn't to say this way is "the" way to raise a family. Homeschooling sure has gotten its share of criticism as well. It is to say that there are different ways to raise kids that are acceptable even if they do not fit into the traditional vein. And adults are not the only ones who feel discomfort with breaking tradition (Sean's post).  Teens also feel territorial about places like MYSpace. My kids use to get asked all the time if it creeped them out that I was on MySpace and Facebook. They would laugh and say not at all as I was there first. 

Bottom Line
I think the most important message I got from what Sean wrote was this- Teachers we need to ask ourselves...

Do we want what we are preaching or not? Do we want kids who know how to use these tools in powerful and pervasive ways to connect and collaborate with others from around the world-- even at the cost of breaking our comfort and relationship with the status quo. Are we willing to unlearn most of what we know and relearn new ways -- new norms-- for how healthy relationships are established and nurtured in the 21st Century? Do we believe in learning ecologies made up of very diverse people who help inform our student's interests and passions?

Model for your students how to build a personal learning network
The kids are ready for relationships defined by community and what each learner has to share- and not bound by the traditions of teachers having to be the expert. I feel I have come full circle. Now rather than looking for teachable moments with interesting adults so my kids can learn what they need to learn, I find myself looking for opportunities to learn with/from interesting students who have garnered skill and wisdom through their use of these participatory medias. I want to learn all Sean has learned in his late night ventures with interesting adults. I hope he doesn't hang with kids all the time and that his parents continue to allow him to be part of a learning community that is trying to leave education a better place.

As educators we need to get ready for a real shift in culture. The shifts that are coming will not allow "business as usual" rather it will be "business as unusual". That is why it is critical for all of us to first own these emerging technologies and the pedagogy/culture that surrounds them, by using Web 2.0 tools to connect- in an effort to chase our own passions. Through the experience of building of your own PLN, not only will you model for your students how this should be done, but you might find some transformational moments along the way -that like mine with Jenny and Dan- will leave you a better person. And do NOT discount what those younger or older than you have to offer. Use expertise and passion- not age- as criteria for who you should learning from and for who should be part of your learning network.

I look forward to your comments, concerns, and push back. Let's have this hard conversation.

Photo credit: http://www.ky4ky.com/yhn.htm

Humbled and Amazed

New Years is a traditional time of reflection. But for me, the entire month of December became a time to reflect and take account. I turned 50. Just the sound of it is daunting-- -5-0-  I remember thinking someone who was 40 was really old. However, my children did something to mark this important time that removed the sting and basically blew me away. I wanted to share it with you.

They got into my email and contacted any friends from my past they could find and invited them to send in stories, memories, and well wishes. Then they combined it all in a Web site. A Web tribute for all to see as a testament to my life. I cried and laughed as I went through each precious entry. For those of you reading this that contributed-- thank you from the bottom of my heart. For those who didn't-- check it out. It is way cool! I also am grateful for the cards and letters I received from those of you who didn't send your stories to Amber. The overwhelming response was humbling for sure. Reading your stories made 50 not so bad after all.

http://www.sherrys50thbirthday.com/

Save the Date

I have the most amazingly creative daughter. These are her Save the Date cards for her wedding. She made them to look like they were taken in one of those photo booths at the fair. Aren't they just the best?

Creativity Podcast Series- #2 Amber Nussbaum

This podcast is the second in a series of podcasts with highly creative people. I am interested to see if there is anything to learn from creative people in terms of reforming education, especially as it relates to digital and media literacy.

Amber Nussbaum is a  24 year old graphic designer for a Fortune 500 transportation company and my oldest daughter. She is without a doubt one of the most creative people I know. In this podcast she shares her own thoughts on creativity, her growth as a blogger (she has been at it for 8 years), and her memories about receiving her education as an unschooler.

Here are Amber's Show Notes:
1. Amber introduces herself.
2. Examples of the creative projects and venues with which she finds herself involved.
3. Amber describes some of her home improvement projects and the magazines that have featured her work.
4.She defines creativity: "Looking at what you enjoy most in life and putting that as an outward manifestation of yourself."
5. Amber started blogging at 16. She didn't know that was what it was called at the time. It started as a Web site where she would post her poetry and her ideas trying to find her voice. She had something to say and wanted a place to gather her thoughts. She wasn't as concerned about audience when she got started as she was about documenting her thoughts.
6. Next, she moved to Moveable Type, she has been using it since the first version became available. She began promoting local band's shows and would post news, pics and blog about upcoming shows and after show performance reviews.That was when Amber's site really started getting some real traffic. She wrote for BlogCritics.org for awhile, writing record reviews.But then when she switched Web hosts she lost a lot of her files and took her site down from frustration.
7. Aug. 2004 she put her domain back up. She describes her blog as a mishmash of her life and creations. But rather than just blogging as a journal or diary, she uses her blog to document her life in photography and as a way to help others learn how to do the projects she has recently mastered herself.
8. Amber averages about 1500 unique hits per day. (After this podcast recording Life Hacker featured an artsy home improvement project she did and she got 6000 hits in one day.)
9.  Amber helps out artists who display their wares on Etsy.com, a site with all original pieces by independent artists. Typically, she will feature one item and it will sell in a few hours due the numbers of readers looking at what she posts. Amber says it is satisfying to feel she is helping the artist while giving the person who buys the object a beautiful piece of art and giving her readers something lovely to look at on her blog.
10. Amber describes how her unconventional schooling experience helped her to become the self-directed, creative thinker she is today. She credits he way she was taught for her ability to think critically. People will say to her, "Oh you are a knitter... Where can I take a knitting class?" Amber  didn't know how to respond as she never took a knitting class. She believes in using books, the Web, and folks in her network online to learn new things. Just like she use to do in her homeschool.
11. Amber encourages us all to go after things yourself rather than depending on someone to teach you. She describes how the web provides community and how by reading "do it yourself" information found on other like-minded blogs, she has made real life friends. Some folks say that socializing on computers distances you from true human touch. But Amber argues that it is not so today with blogs and other social networking sites. She connects with others all the time who like the same things she does. No matter how obscure what you are into is-- the web will help you find others who love it too.
12. Amber shares how her early experiences online shaped her Internet use today. Only old people used Telenet and talked about it, no one her age. But she knew about it and connecting with others online in 1993 in our homeschool got her attention. She felt invested in the Internet as a communication medium.
13. The creative process for Amber begins with being somewhere and seeing something wonderful and taking out her camera and capturing the moment and then coming back and blogging about it. Often her real life experiences will inspire her creations. In terms of her Web site, Amber fears that some might think it is "nerdy" but pretty much all the time she lives her life thinking this moment would be cool to post about. She likes sharing her experiences online.
14. How can creativity improve education overall? Amber shares creative lessons she remembers from her middle school experience. "Giving a kid a camera is giving them power. The power to create." She recalls having to be "in character" all day as part of a book report project.
15.Teachers might be intimidated by giving their students the amount of control over their learning she had in her educational experience.But Amber feels that being in charge of her learning helped her graduate in the top spot of her college class. Her education taught her to make decisions.
16.Amber compares college "read a book and take a test" to the more organic way she learned in our home. She said when you are vested in the learning process, you want to learn.
17. Amber describes the learning experience of going different places... being there and doing it.  "Retention is amazing when you are taught like that."
18. She feels college should be more project-based. She describes an engaged, creative lesson done in one of her art history classes.
19. The most incredible moment of the interview was when Amber called me a dynamic instructor who is passionate about what she is teaching. It was a defining moment for me, both as her teacher and her mother.
20. A passionate teacher is "that teacher"- passion makes the difference!
21. Forced learning doesn't appeal to Amber at all, even in the world of work. If you feel vested then you are going to be 100% there in the process making it happen.
22. Her theme is "If you feel you have a stake in what you are doing you are going to give it your all."
23. Since she has an authentic audience via her blog she puts more into refining her writing. She feels this would work for students as well. 
24. Problem/project- based learning requires more work from the teacher-- but cool things will come out of it. Teachers will have to give more of themselves, but it will make the product more valuable. Being creative means taking risks.
26. "How many of you remember stuff you did in the 6th grade? Well I do. Because I was a part of the learning. I was in charge."
27.Give a kid responsibility and they will act responsible. Give them the opportunity to create.

Listen to the interview in MP3 format

Rob and Mae

Everyone in the family but me went to hear MAE play over the weekend. I had posted about Rob in the Tune Your Run post. Amber blogged about the show and posted pics on her site. But if you would just like to hear my son-in-law's amazing talent on the keyboards-- check this out. Video stinks but sound quality is great!