At our third meeting we discussed many new ideas, welcomed the Dwight School from New York and uncovered another heuristic about working in virtual worlds.
Lindy McKeown joined us and proposed an idea. Basically she challenged us to stop thinking small.
We (the partner schools) had started by recruiting our interested students. We began by creating small items and being mentored by our volunteers. We could build chairs and markets, manufacture new clothes, construct a church or mould a new beach. We had reached agreement on the need to create 'design briefs' etc but still struggled around how to make Skoolaborate a 'whole school' and meaningful initiative.
Back to Lindy's idea. Why not think of a greater purpose or target an 'authentic context' for learning? For example, plan a community service, a fund raiser or a social action.
Let me use a social action as a sample. At MLC School we have been approached by the Mitrata foundation to assist them to 'improve educational opportunities for students in Nepal'. By focusing on that goal, everything can suddenly have a focus and purpose.
Recently, I blogged about 'step by step' planning - some use backward design. Let's apply that here.
Our big idea could be to run a fund raising or awareness event as far ahead as 2009. One component of that event could be to have a concert. Ofcourse that concert would need a stage or concert hall where music could be played to the visiting crowd. There for we need to learn how to build a concert area, build the seating, learn how to stream in music, learn how to design and make promotional t-shirts, signs, run an advertising campaign and on it goes.
Very quickly all the activities make sense, all the activities can be mapped backwards or milestones planned 'step by step' towards what we want to achieve. The little beginning things that we want to do now - no matter how small, have purpose. Even more impressive is how you can instantly see that all the curriculum areas would have something to contribute and how they can integrate in order to reach a common goal.
The point again is not to say that we can't start our journey by making something small. But in that learning we must keep, in the back of our minds, the goal. By doing this we create a shared understanding around the vision we see.
I hope that the above thoughts have stimulated some thinking for you as they did for me.
So, do you want some more ideas? Some practical scaffolding to lead you through the log jam? Below I have listed a pretty cool list of 'organisers' (thanks Lindy). The larger pictures items, or contexts, are listed at the top, followed by the 'learning possibilities for each of those contexts.
Let me consolidate by providing one more sample.
Back to the 'improving learning outcomes for students in Nepal' idea. That 'Social Action' is our 'top level' organiser. Next I would scan the list of 'learning possibilities' for some ideas. Hmmmm, I notice 'role play' - how could that work?
How about this? We create an environment that mirrors that of the students in Nepal. A 3D virtual Nepalese village, with classroom. We work with the teachers from Nepal and their students to gather the true stories that surround them and that they wish to share.
We then get our English and Drama classes to brainstorm and construct scripts around those stories. On the day of the event, we schedule in re enactments that tell the stories, in the virtual environment for all to see. We could schedule other schools to also do reinactments so that they continue around the clock.
The audience (wearing authentic Nepalese clothing, designed by our creative arts students) can see what learning is like under those trying conditions, and research what works and doesn't. Add the ability to hear what it is like and the audience will actually feel (to some degree) what it is like. As a result we hope that this will motivate our visitors to contribute in whatever way they can towards our aim of 'improving educational outcomes for those students'.
Please remember that these are initial thoughts only, gained from a brainstorm between myself and our (MLC's) service learning co ordinator Rosemary. With such a sensitive subject, we would need considerable more thought here.
Now for the goodies....Lindy's List follows:
Approaches to establishing tasks and contexts for learning
• Social action (not to be confused with social interaction)
• Community service
• Enterprise
• Design challenges
• Problem based learning
• Performance and exhibitions
Learning possibilities
• Information/Awareness of content
• Immersive environments
• Data visualization
• Simple simulations
• Historical recreations and role play
• Role play
• Libraries
• Museums
• Models
• Campus sites
• Virtual offices
• Collaboration & meeting spaces
• Social interaction
• Entertainment
• Events
• Performances – music, theatre, film, poetry
• Conference / Symposium
• Activism & political campaigns
• Building
• Scripted tools
• Film making
Here are some samples of large projects that can incorporate many smaller projects:
Somano Somano (Festival)
The story of the learning
Semano Semano - a forty hour festival in Rosario
Ramapo Island by Suffern Middle School
Also look at the work done by:
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