In 1969, Jerry Levitan — then a 14-year-old Beatles fan — found his way into John Lennon's hotel room and persuaded him to do an interview. Jerry's reel-to-reel recording has since been augmented with animation by director John Raskin and the resulting work was nominated for "Best Animated Short" in the 2008 Academy Awards.
Thanks to Colin Beavan for the link.
A cherry-picking of some of Michael Wesch's most thought-provoking and fascinating works. For more information, visit Michael's site.
An Anthropological Introduction to YouTube
Understanding how people use new media to express themselves and connect with the world.
Information R/evolution
This video explores the changes in the way we find, store, create, critique, and share information.
A Vision of Students Today
A short video summarizing some of the most important characteristics of students today — how they learn, what they need to learn, their goals, hopes, dreams, what their lives will be like, and what kinds of changes they will experience in their lifetime. Created by Michael Wesch in collaboration with 200 students at Kansas State University.
The Machine is Us/ing Us
"Web 2.0" in just under 5 minutes.
Spent the morning at Devon Middle School redoing the locates for water, gas, and power from a year ago. Now our paperwork is up-to-date! Another "check" on the wetland to-do list :)
As it's been a while since I've visited the school, I decided to check out our tree nurseries... Whoops! Looks like we need to do some weeding! There's a lot more than just white spruce in there now :) It all looks good, though. Another year and the trees will be large enough to plant out.
Elsewhere, at the native wildflower garden, everything is filling in nicely and looking great:
It's been a pleasure to work with both David Smith and the City of Fredericton on this project. This garden of native Maritime species continues to draw a lot of attention and acts as an inspiration to many an existing and would-be gardener. The fact that it continually changes its appearance throughout the seasons makes for a visual feast in such a high traffic (foot and bicycle) area.
Other Canadian municipalities aren't quite so understanding, unfortunately; at least when it comes to homeowners and their properties... Franke James writes about her experiences with the City of Toronto throughout her project to landscape her front yard and driveway in this ultimately inspiring — and very educational — visual essay. A little taster is included below — be sure to check it out, leave a comment, and pass it along!
Well, the project I spoke of in my previous post has all but engulfed me, hence the lack of updates for the last few weeks.
It continues to be a busy summer. Planning for the installation of the constructed wetland at Devon Middle School is ongoing, and I'm working to put together a weekend environmental education camp for Grades 6–7 at Yoho Lake (see map below) to be offered the weekend of Oct 18–19 for up to 40 students.
If you're an educator reading this, and you're interested in having your students involved, please contact me.
My writing will likely take a back seat over the coming weeks as work on these projects continues. However, if you're still curious as to what I'm up to (and have a short attention span), FriendFeed is a good place to catch all my shorter ramblings from the disparate online communities I inhabit — see my FriendFeed page.
For now, I wish you an auspicious 08/08/08 and I'll leave you in the tranquility of Hays Falls, which I had the pleasure of visiting a few weeks ago.
It's education that's meant to take us into this future that we can't grasp.
The above quote is by Sir Ken Robinson, from a magnificent talk which I've been meaning to post here for some time. I am moved to applaud every time I watch this.
One of my current projects is the development of knowledge translation tools for watershed groups and their community members: tools, we hope, which will better educate groups and individuals on issues surrounding the management of water resources, and provide people with the information and skills they need to participate more fully in decision-making processes.
Information and skills. Thankfully, there is no lack of the former with respect to watersheds and their management. As for skills, Ken would challenge us to think outside a traditional curriculum, to foster skills that enable people to enter the ever-increasing stream of information at any point and understand it, personalize it — even contribute to it — and apply it in new and changing situations.
What are the essential skills to help one adapt and thrive in a world of increasing uncertainty?
Stephen Downes has, I think, successfully addressed this very question in his article, "Things You Really Need to Learn" — a rewarding read, if you haven't seen it before. It is encouraging, finding this article following the completion of a year-long needs assessment for our project, that the learning needs identified by our participants overlap with six or seven of the ten points listed by Stephen.
The months ahead will see us translate these needs into what I hope will be engaging and meaningful learning experiences for watershed groups and their members. I hope to write more about this as we move forward.
Dave Pollard recently posted an article which I think is a fine supplement to my earlier thoughts on storytelling as a tool for education and building community capacity. Go check it out.
I bumped into Franke James recently on Twitter and have since discovered her marvelous visual essays. I'm a visual thinker myself, and Franke's approach strikes a real chord with me. Her style of art and re-visioning of photographs pulls me in with effective (and affective) imagery that lingers long after viewing — key elements for any successful story.
Telling a story by co-opting imagery or presentation styles normally reserved for more "academic" concerns is something Jessica Hagy has made famous. Her index card cartoons appeal both to my geekier side as well as my appreciation of simple aesthetics.
Finally, I just had to include the video below as an example of the "entertaining, funny, and/or imaginative" characteristic Dave mentions in his article; it also allows me to make the appalling pun in the title of this post ;) The father of the director was a scientist who impressed upon his son that science was never boring if you talked about it in the right terms. Using metaphor, the video is both educational and entertaining. Enjoy.
The last few days have seen the online education community come alive with talk of Edupunk.
The term was originally coined by Jim Groom, who continues to elaborate on the ideology in his blog. Just a few days old, Edupunk has already spawned its own website and an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
So far, most of the online discussion seems to be focused on what the term actually means as an approach to pedagogy. Jim Groom himself refers to a "DIY ethic", where educators make the most of the, often basic, materials they have to hand — sounds like the majority of teachers, to me! Its association with technology, in particular the read/write web with which many of us are now so familiar, has suggested, to some, a connection to the cyberpunk movement and its emphasis on technology's role in societal change. Finally, the anti-authoritarianism of punk is manifest in the distaste expressed for the corporate appropriation and repackaging of tools often born of individual enterprise.
But is any of this actually new? Many educators, perhaps more privately, considered the process of education to be a subversive act long before the works of Paulo Freire and Neil Postman (Socrates, anyone?) and, of course, many still do. I would certainly concede that Edupunk is a rebranding of existing ideologies, both historical and recent, but herein lies a strength.
In a profession as conservative and resistant to change as education, Edupunk — as a word, an idea, a burgeoning philosophy — has the potential to resonate with teachers and students alike and possibly galvanize them into action in new ways, connected as they are through technologies that were absent from our institutions only a few short years ago. The discussions over the last few days alone on Edupunk and the opening up of education have revealed deep passions around the subject; many identifying with the ideas, with others perceiving it as this week's hot topic.
Of course, it's name may change, but these ideas of "radical pedagogy" have always been with us and, I trust, always will be. Whether Edupunk endures or morphs into something else, I believe a conversation has now been (re)started that will persist beyond this initial flurry of excitement and express itself in our classrooms and lecture theatres, wherever they may be.
So — let's get to work!
From Chris Corrigan:
Hey reader(s). Wondering if you would join me in a little exercise…
A few months ago I was sitting with Christina Baldwin in a World Cafe on the question of “What question, if asked, would change everything?” and we realized that the answer for us was something like “What would it take for you to be curious?”
That question is powerful because a curious person is a non-judgemental person. A curious person is a learner, not a passive participant in the cultural stream. If people practiced not only asking questions, but being curious about the answers I think that would change everything.
Last month, I was in Ontario with a friend of mine and he asked “what are your goals? What would I see if I talked to you in six months?” I told him that I don’t have any goals, but instead I run these little research projects. I get curious about things and start noticing them in my life and work and I usually use a combination of this blog and a moleskine journal to record my results. It keeps me moving forward.
So, I’d like to invite you to try this approach out and see if there is something that gathers your attention and piques your curiosity enough that you’d be willing to engage in a a somewhat public 30 day research project. For myself, I am looking at the question of how to be of service in large scale change work from the perspective of someone who has limited contact and influence. As a facilitator, I come into processes, but often I am not involved in a day to day role. So how do I help encourage shift where I can?
I’m going to be thinking and reflecting over the next 30 days on this question and I invite you to choose a question and engage in a research project as well. See what we can learn. [...] You in?
What a great idea and shared opportunity — I’m in, too.
My question to myself relates to being part of the process as an effect on the process; i.e. how can I best step out of my own way and let change happen as if I was not there.
Make sense? Hmmm. Let’s see what happens… Chris has suggested posting something about what we have learned about the 30-day journey once complete.
Project Rationale
FAWA’s (Fredericton Area Watersheds Association) schoolyard habitats projects are geared toward middle schools in the City of Fredericton who lack opportunities for outside education due to tight budgets and short class times, preventing students from participating in field trips. The construction of schoolyard habitats, their cross-curricula integration, and the use of “hands-on” learning experiences that embrace these local resources, serve to address this deficiency.
Late in 2005, we met with the Principal and a number of art, science, and social studies teachers at Devon Middle School, all of whom were in enthusiastic support of a full outdoor classroom. The group agreed to work with us to develop a site plan for the school and to identify means by which outdoor activities can be effectively integrated into their existing curriculum.
Utilization of a schoolyard habitat resource also provides participating teachers with a professional development opportunity through the acquisition of the tools and skills necessary to deliver a true hands-on, inquiry-based approach to extending the classroom into the outdoors, while fostering the goals of environmental education.
Beyond the school, the construction of an outdoor classroom also benefits community members by providing opportunities to increase their environmental awareness and knowledge, while offering additional means of participation in both their child’s education and local environmental stewardship.
Achievements To Date
Thanks to the support of the Fredericton Community Foundation and in-kind support from School District 18, the City of Fredericton, and JD Irving, we were able to complete the installation of both a tree nursery (50 white spruce trees) and a native wildflower bed (13 species) at Devon Middle School before the onset of the first fall frosts. Students were involved at all stages of the project — design, installation, and maintenance.
Site designs by Devon Middle School Grade 6–8 students.
White spruce nursery beds.
Species guide for the current native wildflower species established by landscaping the concrete school sign at the north-east corner of the playground.
Community response to the project is overwhelmingly positive. The installation of the native wildflower bed generated a lot of interest from the public as to the species of plants chosen and their benefits (attracting birds and insects; educational opportunities; and 3-season inflorescence, the colours of which complement the school sign) and what could be possible in
their own gardens.
To date, no vandalism or disturbance of either the nursery beds or the native wildflower landscaping has occurred. This is significant, given that the schoolgrounds receive considerable traffic after hours and have experienced defacement and destruction of property in the past.
We are continuing to work with the educators and administration of Devon Middle School on the development of approaches to integrate this new resource across grades and curricula. Later this year, it is our intention — resources permitting — to further expand the schoolyard habitat facility (see below).
Future Plans
After 1 year in the nursery beds, the white spruce trees will be large enough to be transplanted into the green space behind the school. It is intended that the trees be planted in clusters of 5–7; students at Devon Middle School have indicated that they would like some shade from the sun in this otherwise open space.
In the meantime, the Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management at the University of New Brunswick has invited groups of students from Devon Middle School to tour the nursery facilities at the Hugh John Flemming Forestry Centre as well as join existing undergraduate students for lessons in tree identification. Seeds of a variety of native New Brunswick tree species will also be made available to the middle school students for germination in the classroom. After a few months, these seedlings can then be transplanted to the school’s nursery beds, offering a more complete
learning experience.
Monitoring and planting at the native wildflower bed will continue, with student assistance. It is intended that additional species be introduced.
Later this year, with in-kind assistance from District 18 and the Department of Education, a constructed wetland will be installed on the site.
Aerial view of proposed constructed wetland.
Plan view of proposed constructed wetland.
We have also been approached by Garden Creek and Connaught Street schools to aid both in the development of a nature trail system and in the production of cross-curricular materials linked to a proposed outdoor classroom, respectively. We hope to pursue these projects in 2008–2009.
Proposed trail system at Garden Creek School.
Proposed outdoor classroom at Connaught Street School.
Finally an audience member asked Van how he sustains his vision. He replied that when he started out with this new way of seeing the world there was no one around him who got it. So he created a Board of Directors for himself. He invited Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Bob Marley and others to be on his Board. He consulted the imaginary Board on a regular basis when he needed advice, imagining what they would say, the points they would argue with one another and taking inspiration from their writings and speeches. I turned to my friends and said that this is the kind of thing you do until you find real people that will spar with you and make you better. Very cool idea.
—Chris Corrigan
Read Chris' complete post here.
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