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Like most people I use the phrase, “back to school.” I mean back to learning in school, but don’t say it that way. And in reality, until we shake ourselves out of the paradigm we live, we will continue to use the language of the past and act accordingly. What do we need to learn to talk and act for learning? Here are my reflections written while I was participating in a live blogging session of John Seely Brown’s keynote, Re-Imaging Dewey for the 21st Century: Learning in/for the Digital Age, from Alberta, Canada’s Banff Centre.

Thank you to “two Texas tech chicks,” Helen and Anna for live blogging with CoverItLive today. They were covering John Seely Brown’s keynote from the Emerge 2010: One-to-One Laptop Learning Summit. More on Alberta’s Emerge Laptop Learning Project can be found here.  John Seely Brown’s talk covered concepts similar to those he discusses in the video below and in a PDF of an earlier presentation, which can be found here.

More on the Homo Ludens reference can be found here. Not sure if JSB intended the connection, but it seems plausible.

P.S. I learned of this event minutes before it began. I live 2,667 miles from the Banff Centre, but techchick94 is in my Twitter community, and I noticed this tweet from her.

I think I have found a new vision, a new paradigm, a new story of learning in the 21st Century. It is creative and innovative. It is passionate and kind. It is natural and real. It leads me down a path to the truth and beauty of learning and the beauty and truth of humanity. It describes for me how we can learn to know, do, be, and live together. You will find all this in a book written by Stephanie Pace Marshall, The Power to Transform. Dr. Marshall is Founding President and President Emerita of the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy®.

Dr. Marshall’s language is so powerful and universal that is it not a story for educators only. It is a story that invites conversations, conversations among educators and people from every discipline and field of inquiry or human pursuit. The more perspectives the better.

So this post is a little different. It presents you with a digital tool called a VoiceThread. Many people, including students, teachers and other educators, are using this platform to invite participation. You have to register to use the VoiceThread, but that is easy and although using it is fairly intuitive, their tutorials on the website.

In the VoiceThread I’ve created below, you’ll find seven quotes from the book, The Power to Transform. One quote per VoiceThread page, or “slide,” is presented for you to read. Here’s an example of what it looks like.

The 1st arrow points to the button you click to add your comment (text, audio, video, or file uploaded to the page). The 2nd arrow points to where you click to “turn the page” forward or backward.

You can participate in this “New Story of Learning” conversation by

• reading this VoiceThread,
• commenting on one or more pages,
• visiting Dr. Marshall’s website for more information about the book and her work, and
• reading The Power to Transform.

David Weinberger Keynote Podcast

As I was perusing today’s posts in my Google Reader, at Lucacept I came across Jenny Luca’s funny and touching story, Students are doing it for themselves, about a student, who posted to the class Ning just when Jenny needed a pick-me-UP. For me it is always good idea to remember not to take myself to seriously, to come DOWN from my perch and remember why we all put so much of ourselves into helping students become self-directed, life-long learners. I wrote this post for the fun of it, I guess.

P.S. It will help you savor the beauty of connectedness if you read Jenny’s post at some point.

DOWN. A little word with a lot of meaning.

SETTLE DOWN AND PAY ATTENTION:

“down”

Lovers of the English language might enjoy this. It is yet another example of why people learning English have trouble with the language. Learning the nuances of English makes it a difficult language. (But then, that’s probably true of many languages.)

There is a four-letter word in English that perhaps has more meanings than any other four-letter word, and that word is ‘DOWN.’ It is listed in the dictionary as being used as an [adv], [prep], [adj], [n] or [v].

It’s easy to understand DOWN, meaning in a lower place or position, esp. to or on the ground or another surface, but when we move about, why do go DOWN the street? And why do so many people live DOWN south while I’m living up north?

At a meeting, why does a topic sometimes make me feel DOWN, and why do people sometimes shout DOWN speakers? Why are candidates for office DOWN in the polls, and why is the secretary responsible for writing DOWN what is said?

If I am sick, I may find it hard to keep my food DOWN, but to recover I probably should DOWN my medicine. At times like that, going DOWN to the pub is out of the question. Of course, lately the ups and DOWNS in the stock market are the reason why so many people are DOWN on their luck!

At other times the little word has a real meaning. People put DOWN others they don’t like, we may decide to stand DOWN if a cause seems lost, I work DOWN the grocery list, and I always seem to be on a diet to slim DOWN.

To dressed up is special but to dress DOWN is more comfortable.

And this “down” seems confusing:

If a football team has four DOWNS to make a first DOWN, why does a player with the ball work so hard to avoid falling DOWN on each DOWN.

We shut DOWN a store at night and return home so we can lie (1) DOWN on the sofa to rest awhile, but we turn DOWN the lights when the sun is bright and we open the store in the morning.

If you plan to chop down trees, you must look DOWN your line of sight to be sure no one is in harm’s way, and (if it is cold out) be sure to wear your DOWN jacket. Also don’t forget to stare DOWN any fear you have for cutting the tree, postponing the work until another day might cause you to miss out on your sailing trip DOWN the coast.

One could go on & on, but I’ll put DOWN my mouse, for now ……. It’s time to go DOWN stairs to turn DOWN the lights and the sound from the TV for a quiet evening at home with the kids!

Oh….despite what I’ve said, there is little I can do to turn your world upside DOWN:

What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night?

That’s right. U P

Jenny, I don’t have access to your class Ning, but if you see fit, feel free to pass this post on to the student who’s post prompted me to model this post on the post she and her dad shared with you and the class through the Ning.

1 “If you exclude the meaning “to tell an untruth” and just focus on the setting/reclining meaning of lay and lie, then the important distinction is that lay requires a direct object and lie does not. So you lie DOWN on the sofa (no direct object), but you lay the book DOWN on the table (the book is the direct object).”

Source of this quote and the correct use of lie in the post: Grammar Girl – http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/lay-versus-lie.aspx CAPITALS: mine.

KBIRI.NL – Sir Ken Robinson @ Creative Company Conference from KBIRI on Vimeo.

Blowin’ in the Wind

From MIT: New Analysis Shows Warming Could be Double Previous Estimates, May 19, 2009

The most comprehensive modeling yet carried out on the likelihood of how much hotter the Earth’s climate will get in this century shows that without rapid and massive action, the problem will be about twice as severe as previously estimated six years ago – and could be even worse than that.

The new projections, published this month in the American Meteorological Society’s Journal of Climate, indicate a median probability of surface warming of 5.2 degrees Celsius by 2100, with a 90% probability range of 3.5 to 7.4 degrees. This can be compared to a median projected increase in the 2003 study of just 2.4 degrees.

From the Public: Comment Section -Professor Anthony Costello: Climate Change Biggest Threat to Humans, May 14, 2009

Real scientistts using scientific data, not Junk Science , have stated by the hundreds, that the only thing that will change the earths’s climate is the sun. When will the media quit giving a platform to those who want to control us all via climate control.

Chester, WV, USA

When will these so called experts look out of the window and see what is really happening to the climate. They forecast Spain becoming a desert, and the UK having a mediteranian climate. For the past two years Spain has had record levels of rain fall plus the coldest winter for 60 years.

Pego, Spain

Image Sources:

1. www.flickr.com/photos/97831130@N00/2179047732
2. www.flickr.com/photos/49968232@N00/70584289
3. www.flickr.com/photos/49968232@N00/60865004

This morning President Obama gave what I would call his ‘We’re-Going-to-the-Moon’ speech at the 146th Annual Meeting of National Academy of the Sciences. Earlier today I wrote a post, Once-in-a-Lifetime Opportunity for Our Children, on a comment by Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan about the need to challenge the educational status quo. After listening to President Obama’s speech, I realized it was a Part 2 to my earlier post so I retitled the post ‘We’re-Going-to-the-Moon:’ Part 1 and titled this post Part 2. Please listen to the entire speech and read the full text, but here I quote the President’s comments on STEM education.

… since we know that the progress and prosperity of future generations will depend on what we do now to educate the next generation, today I’m announcing a renewed commitment to education in mathematics and science.  This is something I care deeply about.  Through this commitment, American students will move from the middle of the top — from the middle to the top of the pack in science and math over the next decade  — for we know that the nation that out-educates us today will out-compete us tomorrow.  And I don’t intend to have us out-educated.

We can’t start soon enough.  We know that the quality of math and science teachers is the most influential single factor in determining whether a student will succeed or fail in these subjects.  Yet in high school more than 20 percent of students in math and more than 60 percent of students in chemistry and physics are taught by teachers without expertise in these fields. And this problem is only going to get worse.  There is a projected shortfall of more than 280,000 math and science teachers across the country by 2015.

And that’s why I’m announcing today that states making strong commitments and progress in math and science education will be eligible to compete later this fall for additional funds under the Secretary of Education’s $5 billion Race to the Top program.

And I’m challenging states to dramatically improve achievement in math and science by raising standards, modernizing science labs, upgrading curriculum, and forging partnerships to improve the use of science and technology in our classrooms.  (Applause.)  I’m challenging states, as well, to enhance teacher preparation and training, and to attract new and qualified math and science teachers to better engage students and reinvigorate those subjects in our schools.

And in this endeavor, we will work to support inventive approaches.  Let’s create systems that retain and reward effective teachers, and let’s create new pathways for experienced professionals to go into the classroom.  There are, right now, chemists who could teach chemistry, physicists who could teach physics, statisticians who could teach mathematics.  But we need to create a way to bring the expertise and the enthusiasm of these folks –- folks like you –- into the classroom.

There are states, for example, doing innovative work.  I’m pleased to announce that Governor Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania will lead an effort with the National Governors Association to increase the number of states that are making science, technology, engineering and mathematics education a top priority. Six states are currently participating in the initiative, including Pennsylvania, which has launched an effective program to ensure that the state has the skilled workforce in place to draw the jobs of the 21st century.  And I want every state, all 50 states, to participate.

But as you know, our work does not end with a high school diploma.  For decades, we led the world in educational attainment, and as a consequence we led the world in economic growth.  The G.I. Bill, for example, helps send a generation to college.  But in this new economy, we’ve come to trail other nations in graduation rates, in educational achievement, and in the production of scientists and engineers.

That’s why my administration has set a goal that will greatly enhance our ability to compete for the high-wage, high-tech jobs of the future –- and to foster the next generation of scientists and engineers.  In the next decade –- by 2020 –- America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.  That is a goal that we are going to set. And we’ve provided tax credits and grants to make a college education more affordable.

My budget also triples the number of National Science Foundation graduate research fellowships.  (Applause.)  This program was created as part of the space race five decades ago. In the decades since, it’s remained largely the same size –- even as the numbers of students who seek these fellowships has skyrocketed.  We ought to be supporting these young people who are pursuing scientific careers, not putting obstacles in their path.

So this is how we will lead the world in new discoveries in this new century.  But I think all of you understand it will take far more than the work of government.  It will take all of us.  It will take all of you.  And so today I want to challenge you to use your love and knowledge of science to spark the same sense of wonder and excitement in a new generation.

America’s young people will rise to the challenge if given the opportunity –- if called upon to join a cause larger than themselves.  We’ve got evidence.  You know, the average age in NASA’s mission control during the Apollo 17 mission was just 26. I know that young people today are just as ready to tackle the grand challenges of this century.

So I want to persuade you to spend time in the classroom, talking and showing young people what it is that your work can mean, and what it means to you.  I want to encourage you to participate in programs to allow students to get a degree in science fields and a teaching certificate at the same time.  I want us all to think about new and creative ways to engage young people in science and engineering, whether it’s science festivals, robotics competitions, fairs that encourage young people to create and build and invent — to be makers of things, not just consumers of things.

I want you to know that I’m going to be working alongside you.  I’m going to participate in a public awareness and outreach campaign to encourage students to consider careers in science and mathematics and engineering — because our future depends on it.

And the Department of Energy and the National Science Foundation will be launching a joint initiative to inspire tens of thousands of American students to pursue these very same careers, particularly in clean energy.

It will support an educational campaign to capture the imagination of young people who can help us meet the energy challenge, and will create research opportunities for undergraduates and educational opportunities for women and minorities who too often have been underrepresented in scientific and technological fields, but are no less capable of inventing the solutions that will help us grow our economy and save our planet.

And it will support fellowships and interdisciplinary graduate programs and partnerships between academic institutions and innovative companies to prepare a generation of Americans to meet this generational challenge.

For we must always remember that somewhere in America there’s an entrepreneur seeking a loan to start a business that could transform an industry — but she hasn’t secured it yet.  There’s a researcher with an idea for an experiment that might offer a new cancer treatment -– but he hasn’t found the funding yet.  There’s a child with an inquisitive mind staring up at the night sky.  And maybe she has the potential to change our world  –- but she doesn’t know it yet.

As you know, scientific discovery takes far more than the occasional flash of brilliance –- as important as that can be. Usually, it takes time and hard work and patience; it takes training; it requires the support of a nation.  But it holds a promise like no other area of human endeavor.

For me there is no doubt about where this president wants to take us in education, STEM education, and in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering. He is committed to fostering innovation and challenging the status quo in a way that is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We’re going to the moon!

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity unless you are old enough, like me, to remember President Kennedy calling upon the nation and the scientific community to go to the moon. Let’s embrace the hope of this opportunity and invest our wisdom in the potential and future of our children.

Here is the speech audio. Here is the text.