Moving at the Speed of Creativity by Wesley Fryer

The Future is Unwritten by Miguel Guhlin

These are my notes from Miguel Guhlin’s OTA 2008 keynote, “The Future is Unwritten.”

In my free time, I serve as instructional technology director for San Antonio ISD

Miguel Guhlin presentating at OTA 2008

All resources from today’s session:

http://snipurl.com/ota2008

My core values
#1 share more

In New Zealand last year, Jenny Litchfield
– has a face that tells a story

#2 practice transparency and openness
a managed conversation is a failed conversation

it is important to align that outer reality
– it externalizes our knowlege

#3 start or join the conversation

examples
#4 share response-ability (e.g.g create conditions that promote authorship)

we are all creators, we all have the right to create, but sometimes we deny that

#5 collaborate with others
– collaboration with others is critial

am I succeeding?
– picture of clustermap

How can I keep up with everything?
– question which I asked many years ago

I became aware of conversations that were taking place RIGHT NOW about how to change education
– change is coming, but do you have an idea of what it looks like

change is inevitable
– happening very quickly
– changing is happening as fast as there are people here

“Given the realities of our modern age and the demands of our children’s future, it is really okay to allow teachers to choose whether or not they incorporate modern technologies into their instruction?”

– we DO have other factors: unfunded mandates
– we have 41% of our computers in our distract that are too old to use

Think Pair Share
– thoughts go here: http://mguhlin.wetpaint.com

Our group discussed the obstacle of FUNDING, where our schools don’t have the technology they need
– I asked why Oklahoma funds education at such low levels, when we are apparently quite wealthy with oil and casino money
– what is the distribution of legislative expenditures in Oklahoma now?
– we also discussed service learning groups, and getting stu

other group responses:
– there needs to be a mandate for teachers to use the technology
– if the technology will solve some sort of problem for the teacher, then there will be more teacher buy-in
– parents are a driving force, want to be connect
– perception among teachers that the technology is not dependable
– lack of access: we can’t access the computers, we get bumped from the laptop

the 4 pointss
1- tech is essential
2- students aren’t waiting for us to join them online
3- think globally, act locally
4- engage in passion-based teaching

Videos
– Isleta ISD (El Paso) video

– Dermic Sanchez

Dorothy Burt, New Zealand
– Collaborative Online Learning

very different education system in NZ, very different way of organizing things

how many of our kids are waiting for the opportunity to be creative in our schools

video: TeacherTube walkthroughs

video: digital students, analog schools (Marco Torres’ students)

2- students perceive what we do as insufficient… and are takign action into their own hands
– “lectures limit my learning”

3- thinking globally, act globally

video: Our Hero, Mohamed Sidibay from Sierra Leone
– by Emily Kristina…

Movie “Take the Lead” with Antonio Banderas

sometimes our kids don’t recognize the passion we have, maybe we have buried it in something else

allow us to have new conversations
– heard of Amazon’s Kindle

new literacies require a level of fluency, new ways of conversing… The Internet is an ever-changing tool, molding itself to the mind of its users, forcing reading, writing, and communication to be as changable as the technology it is dependent on.

how are we going to change the ways we teach and lead in schools, if the very technologies which define literacy are changing constantly

– together we can come up with that answer

if you are not part of the conversation, then the conversation is poor and we are not going to get there
– you have to become part of that conversation

people are connecting anytime, anywhere, to share what they know and DON’T KNOW

start with 1 technology
– Twitter

song you heard coming in is about “making mistakes”

Women of Web 2.0: setting a great example exploring and learning about new technologies together
– it IS about making mistakes and sharing what you are learning with others

We have to be willing to make mistakes!

NOW IS THE TIME

It is about learning 24/7 rather than every once in a while
– we are making those connections out in the hallways, and maybe learning more out in the hallway than we are in the presentations
– when we go home, we are still thinking about those things
– when we teach writing, we should be inviting

technology is ecological
– Neil Postman: “Technologial change is not additive…”

What does web 2.0 mean to our children?
– “Life is an iPod, press shuffle and see what you get. Is it mellow, happy, upbeat sing along. Every beat has its own drum, many diverse tunes, long or short, many hidden messages. Boom, boom, my ears poudning with the louadness and all you have to do is listen.”

familiar with MySpace

If myspace were a country, it would be the 12th largest country in the world (between Mexico and the Phillipines)
– this stat is now 1 year old, however

How long before the online community…..

image of revised bloom’s taxonomy, asking how we need to use technology

How are we using technology to encourage higher order thinking?

new ISTE standards, talking about creativity and collaboration
– but all of that is happening now OUTSIDE the classroom

Image of Oklahoma WWII stories project

students see what we are doing as insufficient
– they see the Intenret as a massive playground of digital bikes

7697 views of that video “Our Hero, Mohamed Sidibay”

57% of online teens are content creators

skip to a true story: KidPub
– Miguel’s 14 year old daughter
– part of an online community of writers: KidPub
– published an 18 chapter book online with KidPub: “Alone in the Middle”

my daughter received a message: “My sister and I need your permission to create a cartoon based on your story. We will post it on youtube and email you for advice Please respond. Thanks, Nathan.

YouTube video

Final Production: Alone in the Middle wirtten by Rosalie on Kidpub

Nathan and Nicole have never met my daughter, they had this conversation through KidPub

The story of KidPub and Miguel's daughter

– there was not a teacher involved
– Nathan and Nicoe are homeschooled and live in a log cabin in Tennessee
– my daughter does not use technology like this in her school district (NorthEast ISD)

I encourage you to join the conversations

computers are not the catalyst for change: reflecting on your instructional practice each day is

difference for you: are you going to take a good long, hard look in the mirror and ask if you are doing everything you can to engage your students

join the conversation, let’s get connected

snipurl.com/ota2008

today is not the end of our conversations, just the beginning!

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On this day..

Comments

3 responses to “The Future is Unwritten by Miguel Guhlin”

  1. Andrew Boatman Avatar

    What great fun. This conference is really a real time experiment in Web 2.0 and live interaction.

  2. Diane Quirk Avatar

    Wes,
    On the slide about Bloom’s taxonomy, what does the question say? (“If yes, how do we…) Thanks for this post about Miguel’s keynote.

  3. Wesley Fryer Avatar

    Diane: Miguel’s presentation slides are available on this wiki page of his site via slideshare.. That is slide 43 of the preso, and the text you’re referencing was, “If yes, how do we extend creative learning beyond the classroom?” Here’s the slideshare embedded within this comment: