EdTechTrek

The concept of creativity and the great opportunities for problem solving that present themselves when individuals are given the luxury to be creative in schools has been on my mind for the past few days. I have been watching my son “play” with the design game, Phun, and it has been very interesting. If you are not familiar with Phun, it is a free, cross-platform creative design environment where the  user can draw what he/she conceives and watch it work. David Perkins would describe this type of software as a “construction kit“. David Jonassen would define it as a “mindtool“. Physical attributes like gravity, wind, water, slope, motor speed and direction… and so much more can all be manipulated. The Phun website describes it in this way:

“The playful synergy of science and art is novel, and makes Phun as educational as it is entertaining.”

and

“Phun is a fantastic toy for children, where they can learn and appreciate physics, science and simulations in an open ended gameplay with rich creative and artistic freedom, including colorful freehand drawing.”

But, the name is so well chosen because it is just so much fun! My son has now spent a great deal of time trying to design creations that work according to his ideas. Because he has had no formal lessons in how to use Phun, it is all trial-and-error and studying some of the predesigned scenes that come with Phun. Through his creative exploration and problem-solving, he is wrestling with concepts that drive the physical world, like gravity, surface tension of water, how water takes the shape of it’s container, how motors can drive actions that get work done, cause and effect - and I could never list them all. We have also been working at things together because I have been so engaged with it as well and want to figure out how to design things that I can conceive in my mind. The social and collaborative aspect of this has been fantastic as we learn together. He shows me as much as I show him. However, my knowledge and experience allows me to ask him the questions he need to be thinking about and considering as he builds… a perfect scaffolding opportunity and chance to make metacognition explicit.

So, how much will happen like this in school this year? How much room is there in the tightly controlled curriculum with preparation for the myriad of tests he will have to take this year for creative problem-solving and strategic opportunities for social, collaborative metacognitive problem-solving and scaffolding? I like the following quoation found on NCREL’s website:

“Recognizing what you do know in a problem, as well as what you don’t yet understand, are aspects of metacognition in problem solving that are similar to a scaffolding approach. Perkins & Solomon (1989) point out that an expert’s behavior appears to be strongly driven by prior knowledge. When faced with an unfamiliar problem, he or she may construct a similar but simpler problem. In this way, the expert learner manages his/her own gradual self-regulation and enables him/herself to grow to meet the new task successfully.”

So, watch the video below, and, if you can indulge yourself, download it and have some Phun. Challenge your students, your children, your neighbors… to have some Phun. It may be the only opportunity for this type of learning they get all year.

It never seems to fail every semester when my students seem blown away with the advances in information technologies that they were unaware of that the idea of teachers being replaced by computers comes up. I have been digesting (and it really takes some serious digesting) Neil Postman’s book, Amusing Ourselves to Death, and read this today:

“We delude ourselves if we believe that most everything a teacher normally does can be replicated with greater efficiency by a micro-computer. Perhaps some things can, but there is always the question, What is lost in the translation? The answer may be: Everything that is significant about education.”

I must say that his thoughts here resound with me as well. A teacher’s job is far too complex for any computer, regardless of its processing power. It makes me wonder, though,  what the impact of virtual schooling is when the physical teacher and “schooliness” is removed. What gets lost? I am thinking more and more that a great deal gets lost. And to many a student, a teacher can be a truly significant and powerful force in his or her life.

No doubt, there is a great deal of wasted time and “down time” during the physical school day. But how much time to you waste while sitting in front of the computer? If I am to be totally honest here, I waste quite a bit… of course it is all in the name of learning

On an unrelated note, Postman’s ninth chapter, titled Reach Out and Elect Someone, sheds some interesting light on this upcoming election and the influential role that media is playing in presenting politics as advertising and image, not on ideas. I may have to write about this next. I highly recommend this book and especially this chapter.

I just got back from my son’s first baseball practice of the season. The kids were quite excited and jittery. But, here’s the kicker. When the coach called them all over, they came. When he spoke, for the most part they listened attentively. When he have the rule about sportsmanship (any insults or unsportsmanlike conduct, you’re out of the game or practice), everyone understood. Then, we broke up into groups for small group work - infielding, batting, pitching, outfielding, catching. Coaches modeled, guided practice, and left time for independent practice, with small cycles of reteaching and modeling continually interspersed where needed. The kids were engaged, challenged, and having a good time learning and playing the game. We finished with a short game to put all of the skills to practice. That is when I was reminded of a poster that I used to have up on my office door. It was by Alison Gopnik. It reads,

“…But routinized learning is not an end in itself. A good coach may well make his players throw the ball to first base 50 times or swing again and again in the batting cage. That will help, but by itself it won’t make a strong player. The game itself — reacting to different pitches, strategizing about base running — requires thought, flexibility and inventiveness.

Children would never tolerate baseball if all they did was practice. No coach would evaluate a child, and no society would evaluate a coach, based on performance in the batting cage. What makes for learning is the right balance of both learning processes, allowing children to retain their native brilliance as they grow up…”

So, what does this all mean? Well, for one thing, unless we make learning relevant and give it practical application, students will never experience the true love of learning - love of the game. For, without practical and authentic application, all that remains is information and decontextualized skill acquisition. Students need to experience the thrill of the game and its inherent skillset, strategies, problem-solving, creativity, inventiveness, flexibility, teamwork…

So, ask yourself anew - are your students experiencing authentic information and skill acquisition situated in larger context of “the game”? Are they getting a chance to play the game, or is it just practice, practice, practice? Are we preparing our students to be successful at “school”, or are we preparing them to be successful at [the game of] life? And, ask yourself if the “game” has changed over the years since you were in school. Are there new technologies to prepare for and play the game? Are there new ways to facilitate the playing of the game? Are there virtual ways to experience the game and take part in it like never before? If there are, then it stands to reason that the game can be kept fresh and real if we embrace these new and powerful tools for becoming better players of the game. But, yes, if the game is not important, then we can just be happy with learning about the game and practicing the skills that were needed for the game a few decades ago.

Oh yes - there has to be assessment, right? The test….  In baseball, the true test is what one does on the field… in the game. Imagine if baseball players, or any athlete for that matter, where assessed primarily by their performance on a written test on the rules and strategies of the game. Would  such performance ensure excellent players and a winning team?

I never thought that tonight’s practice would bring up so many things to think about. Play Ball!