Technology Integration – A response

While reading some recent blog posts coming from my Google community this week I came across this one from Andrew Marcinek who works as a Technology Integration Specialist.   Marcinek is writing about how technology has changed across time, but that it’s the teachers’ job to adapt and incorporate technology into their teaching.   He is confident that teachers have done that, and continue to do it, which is a great thing.

What struck me a little further along were these words,

From the advent of the chalkboard, to the integration of the iPad, technology has been provoking teachers to reexamine the way they deliver content and transfer information to their students. But, education has never been about technology or devices. It has always been about good teachers who deliver content or information to their students, adaptability, and a progressive mindset.

And later,

In short, the classroom teacher, who is an expert in his or her field is still going to command that room with the intellect and array of ideas, but now, with a dynamic device in place.

If you know me, you know that I’m skeptical about thinking about ‘delivering content’ and ‘transferring knowledge’ and ‘commanding the classroom’ as the principle role of teachers either with or without technology.   This may not have been Andrew’s intent, but those are the words that jumped out at me.  Is this language an improvement over traditional practice of days (hopefully) gone by?  What about technology as a tool of inquiry, or creativity, or a source of exceptional resources that lets the teacher’s role change from a transmissive one to one that evokes passion and interest from students?

Is it okay to use a shiny new tool to replicate ineffective practices?   I find myself asking this question a lot lately.

I’m also reminded that we need to be conscious of the wording we choose and for the meaning we interpret from blogs without the opportunity for a conversation with the writer.    Of course,  I’m just a comment away from starting that conversation so I had better do that!

PBL Experts Are Among Us

Originally Posted by Brenda Sherry on Feb 8, 2013 in Voices From the Learning Revolution,  Voices

For a long time I’ve watched my husband Steve, a drama teacher, work his magic in his classes and dramatic productions. Lately, I’ve been reading posts from core subject teachers (e.g., science, math, history) who are beginning to move from the transmissive pedagogy more likely to be found in traditional subjects and wanting to explore a more student-centered, inquiry, or project-based approach.

This growing urge among teachers to put students center-stage has made me revisit some thoughts about the wealth of knowledge the arts teachers in our buildings have about this topic. The trouble is that they don’t often speak up. They quietly go about their work, often marginalized to the ‘extras’ or the ‘fluff’ of the school program — and yet, I would argue that they are the PBL experts that we seek!

Check out this quote from David Booth’s book called Story Drama. Doesn’t this sound a lot like the project-based classroom many of us yearn to create?

This is the drama teacher’s struggle: listening, watching, setting up situations that will foreshadow the direction of the journey, knowing when to intervene, when to use a particular strategy to open up discussion, to move the students into action, to cause them to pause, to reflect, to rethink, and all this without predetermining the learning, the content, the meat of the lesson.

What hit me is that this quote really typifies the kind of work we all ought to be doing in our classrooms. The delicate dance of teaching involves watching, inspiring, coaching, providing choices, respecting, motivating and providing rich content experiences…such a complex task indeed!

So what are the fundamentals that we might we borrow from the arts teachers to support student-directed learning in other domains?

Arts teachers know that knowledge is a private reflection until we give it social value

This is really the key to much of our discussion about 21st century learning these days. New tools afford us the opportunity to articulate our understanding in new ways and make it far more accessible — no longer just text-based, and no longer created for just one teacher, or just one class. Audiences have moved from the single classroom to the global community.

In much the same way that students are motivated by the performances in arts education, student engagement goes up when students are creating artifacts to share with their community, either virtually or face to face — or they correspond with people who have experiences to share that relate to their own studies — or they bring their questions and new understandings to experts (e.g., scientists, authors, or other classes) via online conversations.

Arts teachers know how to build communities where all voices are valued and taking risks is safe

This might be one of the most difficult parts of transforming the classroom from a teacher-directed space to a student-focused space. Arts teachers have expertise in this area.

New skills such as accountable talk, self-regulation, and the ability to build and maintain a comfortable, equitable and safe space for communicating need to be acquired by both teachers and students. How does that happen in an arts classroom? Team-building, trust-building, conflict resolution and teacher modeling of effective feedback helps that emerge over time. Routines are established that teach students how to cooperate; how to lead sometimes, and how to be led by peers other times.

In the arts classroom, effective teachers also participate as co-learners; sometimes leading, sometimes letting students take the lead, always modeling the kinds of interactions they are hoping to see within the learning community. It’s crucial that they sometimes play the role of ‘student’ in order to do this modeling of what learning looks like.

Not only do arts educators create supportive social environments, they promote risk-taking by stressing the real work of the arts. Students BECOME actors, painters, dancers and musicians and they explore with the teacher who invites them into this ‘tribe’ through modeling the ways of BEING and DOING in their particular domain.

Shouldn’t this happen in other subject areas? As Seymour Papert puts it: “(B)eing a mathematician, again like being a poet or a composer or an engineer, means doing rather then knowing or understanding.”  Authentic projects can bring students into “being and doing” as they personally connect to curriculum. We don’t have to be arts educators to employ this potent learning strategy.

Arts teachers are skilled at differentiation

Differentiation is the name of the game in the arts classroom. Most often the courses are open, bringing together students with a variety of backgrounds and abilities. Individuals are valued for their unique strengths that make team work more effective. Through the use of technology, teachers in other subject areas are beginning to see how students can blend images, sound, music, and text to create powerful messages and artifacts that allow all students to be successful.

Teachers of the arts know this secret: feedback that is immediate, descriptive and supportive of the whole group changes the role of assessment — and students often share in this process through peer and self-assessment.

Arts teachers approach learning as a balance of process & product with a focus on reflection

Arts educators believe that process, structures and techniques are important to their craft, and that since the arts are meant to be shared, a product is equally important. This understanding of balance keeps the focus on acquiring and improving skills while also creating public artifacts that demonstrate this learning.

The work of the arts is never quite finished, and reflection is a constant part of the process. Imagine rich portfolios of students’ work as scientists, historians or mathematicians, expanding and demonstrating increasing mastery throughout their years at school.

So how do you get help from teachers of the arts?

One thing is a given – inquiry-based approaches involve following students along paths that you might not be able to predict – and that involves responsive teaching. I’d recommend that you go and search out your arts teachers. They are usually really passionate about their subject area, just as you are, and may be eager to share their expertise.

For starters you might ask some of these questions to get a conversation going (and glean an invitation to observe):

• What techniques are used to build an effective community of learners?
• What strategies and structures are put in place to manage a classroom that focuses on discussion, sharing and reflection?
• How do teachers handle the fact that the endpoint isn’t always what is planned or expected?

Copyright Matters – Canada!

Many of you will have already seen this, but you can now download the newly updated version of Copyright Matters.

Students and teachers now more freedom with images, music and other web-based works so it’s good news!

Check out page 12 which I found most relevant to my work in schools:

Pedagogical Documentation

Our Ministry of Ed recently released a monograph called Pedagogical Documentation that is based upon the Reggio Emilia approach for early education. This philosophy is grounded in the idea that as educators become more precise in their observation of the work of children, they will be better able to guide them into new learning experiences – essentially, using assessment for learning! You can read more about my summary of the Reggio Emilia approach here, but the core principles are:

• A holistic approach to educating the whole child
• Learner-Centred
• A carefully organized environment engages children in a stimulating learning environment
• Children are encouraged to inquire, observe, record, reflect upon and share their experiences
• Community members are involved members of the learning community
• The delight in learning is a major goal of this project approach

In Pedagogical Documentation, our Ministry makes the following statement which I think fits nicely with the way that many of us are trying to transform our classrooms with technology tools:

As educators become more adept in the use of documentation, they embrace it not so much as a technical process but as an attitude toward teaching and learning. They understand the value of knowing their students and how they thing so that learning is maximized. This transformational change moves the focus away from product and “becomes an approach of knowing, making it possible for the adult to be and know together with the child” so that the students’ interests, thinking and understanding drive instruction (Turner & Wilson, 2010).

Help me unpack this a little more – here’s what I’m grappling with…

How might our conceptions of teaching and learning change if digital documentation played a bigger role?

How might documentation make assessment more authentic?

What happens to our thinking about public and private knowledge?

Hoping to hear your thoughts on this!

Response to “Teachers’ Unions are Obsolete” by Margaret Wente, Globe and Mail (January 13, 2013)

Welcome Guest Blogger – Jessica Patrick

Jessica Patrick is a teacher-librarian from Upper Grand DSB who, like many Ontario teachers, is diligent about keeping up with the constant learning that is required of educational professionals.   She has given me permission to publish her response to Margaret Wente’s recent article from the Globe and Mail which is Jessica’s attempt to share some of the real facts about the transformation that is occurring in education.  Ms. Wente chose to quote Salman Khan as her one and only expert on education…hmmm…I bet there will be teachers who will have a comment on that.  A better source might be Andy Hargreaves and Dennis Shirley in their most recent publication called The Global Fourth Way, where they highlight Ontario as one of 4 outstanding educational systems along with Singapore, Alberta and Finland.   Thanks so much for sharing your letter,  Jessica!  

Re: “Teachers’ unions are obsolete” Saturday, January 12

Margaret Wente’s commentary is just one more example of the uninformed media coverage surrounding teachers and education.  She states that “[a]lmost every aspect of our lives has been transformed since grandma went to school.  Yet the education industry is remarkably impervious to change.”  Perhaps Ms. Wente’s ‘extensive’ research for this piece involved peeking her head into a classroom and observing that yes, students do still sit in desks (some of the time) and yes, they still listen when the teacher talks (most of the time).  However, I’m not sure this means that education is “impervious to change.”

Is Ms. Wente aware of the significant movement from teacher-directed towards student-directed learning?  Does she know what project-based learning is?  While “grandma” most likely completed her work on her own, students are now involved in collaborative learning.  Completing research through inquiry circles, discussing and dissecting literature through literature circles, solving math problems, and completing science experiments are just a few examples of the many ways in which teachers now have students learning from their peers and thus enhancing their own learning.  In addition, there is an emphasis on learning that is authentic, meaningful, and rooted in students’s own interests.  For teachers who for decades planned their units down to the fine details, they have had to make huge changes in their pedagogy and leap into the unknown and unpredictable world of student-directed learning.  Today’s story has led to a question about why some communities can’t access water? Okay, well then how are we going to answer that?  And suddenly today’s teacher is off and running with the students, finding resources, helping groups form questions, and later trying to figure out how this exciting research might fulfill some of the many, many expectations of a constantly updated curriculum.

Is Ms. Wente familiar with the massive changes in assessment that have occurred over the past few decades?  As well as huge changes in teaching and learning, approaches to and regulations about assessment have been, and continue to be, transformed.  Again, in her ‘extensive’ research for this piece, I’m sure she read the entire document Growing Success, which all teachers were expected to learn and put into practice beginning in 2010.  I’m sure she spoke to teachers and administrators about the importance of focus boards, immediate feedback, success criteria, and differentiated instruction.  And let’s not forget the huge amount of testing required by the provincial government, including the annual grade 3 and 6 EQAO tests (which, incidentally, the government will not release the cost of), the recently required 6-week cycles under the School Effectiveness Framework, and much, much more.

Finally, I wonder if Ms. Wente ever goes on-line to research her opinion pieces.  She mentioned in her commentary that “[o]ther fields have been revolutionized by new technology and new ideas.  Why can’t education do the same?”  Is she kidding?  She only has to do a simple Google search to find some incredible examples of how technology is being used in schools.  At my elementary school alone, students are responding to literature on their own blogs, creating graphic novels on Comic Life, completing math problems on the Smartboard, checking their homework on our school wiki, and deconstructing ads on-line.  Two of our grade 3 classes just used ipads to film t.v. commercials about the importance of going to school.   And it’s not just the students learning technology; it’s the teachers too.  Last year, as many teachers do regularly, I spent $700 of my own money to pursue an Additional Qualification course. This one was about technology.  In the course there were several teachers who had been teaching for decades.  They were intimidated by technology but they knew how important it was for them to integrate it into their practice, so they spent the money and the countless hours necessary to make this happen.  Ms. Wente might want to have a look at the ECOO web site to see how teachers are embracing technology and using it to engage and challenge their students.  While she’s at it, Ms. Wente should try googling Royan Lee, Aviva Dunsiger, Colin Harris, Brenda Sherry, and Peter Skillen (or follow them on Twitter).  Education absolutely is being “revolutionized by new technology and new ideas,” and it’s because of teachers such as these who continuously go to great lengths to change, adapt, and improve the education that we provide to our students.

To suggest that our education system is “impervious to change” is an absolute falsehood.  I wish I could say the same about newspaper editorials.

Jessica Patrick

Elementary Teacher-Librarian

Thanking our Minds on Media Presenters!

Thanks to Facilitators for Excellent Minds On Media at ECOO12

We want to thank, and to celebrate, the facilitators at Educational Computing Organization of Ontario’s Minds On Media event held on Wednesday, October 24th.

This year we had a full house of 120 participants and 9 centres! It was a hive of activity and the energy was phenomenal.

We heard many wonderful comments throughout the day, but one we overheard was a teacher saying to her colleague, “I have learned more in the last three hours than I’ve learned in years!”

Another teacher was seen to be leaving the event after an hour, laptop in hand, and we were discouraged! But, she said to us, “Wow! I’ve learned so much I am going to find a quiet spot to put it into practice. I’ll be back!” And she did return – hungry for more!

What is Minds On Media?

Minds On Media (MOM) is a model of professional learning that respects the learner’s ‘desire to know’. Teachers come to learn and we respect their choices in how they wish to do that. We want them to take a ‘minds on’ approach.

Our Core Beliefs

We believe that:

• the locus of control for learning should be in the hands of the learner
• the facilitator must be aware of, and respond to, the learner’s desires, needs and expertise
• the learner should leave empowered to learn further – beyond the MOM event
• there are always experts among us

Facilitators at MOM sessions look forward to, not only teaching but, learning with others. They respect the knowledge and expertise that each person brings to the table.

2012 Facilitators and Their Resources:

• Using iPad for Knowledge Construction in the Learner-Centered Classroom – Tanya Morton, @tanyamorton & Natasha Skerritt, @NSkerritt
• Thinking, Learning, Creating – Melinda Kolk, Owner, Tech4Learning: @melindak
• Making Thinking Transparent and Collaborative with VoiceThread – Royan Lee , Teacher, York Region Board of Education: @royanlee
• Using Audio in the K-12 Classroom – Zoe Branigan-Pipe, Teacher of Gifted Grade Seven Class, HWDSB; @zbpipe
• Social Networking with Edmodo – Peter McAsh, Teacher, St. Marys DCVI: @pmcash
• You’re Never Too Young To Learn: Using Technology To Document Student Achievement In The K-3 Classroom – Aviva Dunsiger, Grade 6 Teacher (Have Taught K-2 For 11 Years Previously), Hamilton-Wentworth DSB: @avivaloca
• The Idea Hive Classroom Community: Students Sharing, Creating and Learning Together in Online Spaces – Heather Durnin, Gr. 8 teacher, Avon Maitland D.S.B @hdurnin
• Connecting and Collaborating with Social Media – Kim Gill, Sp.Ed. Teacher, WRDSB: @Gill_Ville
• Discover how to Create an Inclusive Classroom by Infusing Powerful Equity Messages Throughout your Day – Susan Watt, Technology Support Teacher, Waterloo Region DSB: @susan_watt & Trish Morgan, Gr. 5 Teacher, Waterloo Region DSB: @tmorgan1234 Here is the link to our site, with all of the activities, links and resources used in this session >>> Creating an Inclusive Learning Space

Pedagogistas

Pedagogistas are there to ensure that we don’t get lost in the mechanics of the tools – but rather remind and support us to think deeply about the role of technology in learning and teaching.

• Jaclyn Calder, ICT Consultant, Simcoe County District School Board: @jaccalder
• Doug Peterson, Educator, @dougpete

Most sincerely,
Brenda Sherry
Peter Skillen

First Days of School – A Collaborative Activity

I’m participating in Connected Educator Month where educators from the US (and beyond) are gathering online to share best practices, hear  wonderful keynote speakers and participate in online sessions both asynchronously and synchronously.  For many, this is a chance to check out what becoming a connected educator is all about and if that’s you, there is a great Starter Kit to help you on your way.    For me, it’s a way to make new learning connections and both share and receive practical ideas for teaching and learning.

One session, called The First Six Weeks, was a panel discussion kick-off, followed by a forum where folks are sharing their ideas about ways to make the first six weeks of school really sensational!   If you’d like to join in, you can hear the initial panel discussion recording here and participate in the forum now: http://connectededucators.org/forum-kick-off-connected-education-and-the-first-six-weeks/

I shared an idea in the forum that I’ve used in the past and @snbeach, co-author of The Connected Educator, asked for a little example of how it works so I thought I’d share it here and include a graphic.   You might like to try it in your classroom, and I’d love to hear about  how it worked and how you tweaked it for class!

This activity gives students a chance to get to know each other and to find out what they have in common with some of their classmates.  It begins with students in a group of 3 and using a 3-circled venn diagram – one circle for each student.   They  record information about themselves and what they have in common with the other 2 in their group.   Students can share facts about themselves, their passions, their summer, their family etc., using sketches or words/phrases.  If 2 of the 3 like soccer, for example, they sketch a little picture or word about soccer in the section that overlaps their two circles.  If they have an interest or experience that is unique to their group, then they put that into their own circle, with no overlaps, and if something is common to all three it goes into the centre space – you get the idea!

It’s neat to see a visual representation of what they have in common and what is unique about them.  This also gives me a chance to see them interact to get a job done by talking together and asking lots of questions of each other –not to mention making observations about group dynamics.   I get to observe what modes students prefer when recording their ideas – text, images, phrases or a combination.  They also look great to display teamwork on the first day and to lay the foundation for that culture of collaboration and co-construction that is important in my classroom.

I’ve also done this on return from a school break – works well then too!  I’d love to hear your feedback on this idea – either how it worked for you, or what you would change!

ISTE 2012 – Day 2 and Beyond

Beautiful San Diego

Finally getting to some reflections after a busy start to summer!

By Day 2 at ISTE the conference hadn’t even started yet, but folks were busy with pre-conference events.  I attended the ISTE Affiliate Day with another ECOO Colleague and ISTE Ambassador, Peter Skillen.  It’s a great time to hear from other affiliates who are sharing their struggles and successes.   We enjoyed sitting with the Ohio Affiliate - they were really upbeat and fun!

Susan Larson and Peter Skillen with our ASTE basket at the Affiliate Reception

The evening affiliate reception was a fun gathering and we exchanged a gift basket this year.  Coincidentally, we exchanged with the Alaskan affiliate and it was wonderful to meet Mark Standley as he inspired so much of my learning about digital storytelling and the creation of the annual Digifest at Upper Grand DSB which is still going strong in its 5th year.

Day 3 was ISTE’s inaugaral leadership symposium where Michael Fullan (yeah Canada) gave an opening keynote followed by breakout sessions.  I attended one about creating authentic learning experiences where we spent time discussing driving questions around inquiry based learning with some folks from BIE.  It was nice to see Sara Armstrong once again – what a wealth of knowledge about PBL!

When I talk with educators from the US I feel so proud of the work we do here in Ontario to create a curriculum that works and testing that is less about high-stakes and more about student learning.   Don’t get me wrong.  I’d like to see those testing dollars directed elsewhere, but I feel such empathy for our friends to the south who are suffering with different conditions -  it does make me understand their impatience for school reform.

Colin Harris, Melissa Murray and Kim Stolys

Days 4-6 were a whirlwind of great sessions and events.  Inspiring keynotes, Poster Sessions where students and teachers share their work, Ignite sessions where several presenters gave their two-cents worth, individual sessions about mobile technology, coaching, PBL and other topics – the choices are always diverse and interesting!  A little time was spent talking with people in the exhibit hall from the PLP booth- I enjoyed that too!  A big highlight was going to see our own Colin Harris from YRDSB for his session with Melissa Murray and Kim Stolys.  They were sharing the great work they are doing with teacher inquiry in York Region, Ontario.

As a connected learner/educator, it’s now often in the hallway spaces that my best connections happen as I meet people f2f and make those initial connections.  I don’t need to attend a session to find out about their work – it’s usually online and only a tweet away if I have questions.  I’m reminded that Brown, Hagel and Davison wrote about this in The Power of Pull, “serendipitous encounters with people prove to be far more fruitful than an isolated encounter with new objects or data…Serendipity becomes much more than a one-time encounter or an end in itself: It becomes the crucial means of access to rich flows of tacit knowledge both now and in the future.”

Obviously, the Edcamp, or unconference, experience fits into this model of building in serendipity and I’ve enjoyed that model.  At our Minds on Media sessions,  we create a physical space to support self-organization and serendipitous encounters.   At ISTE a variety of great places are intentionally created to support this as well – blogger’s cafes, playgrounds and networking spaces are really effective.   I’d like to find more ways to enhance that in other learning spaces!

Diving Deeply: Networks or Communities

Originally Posted by Brenda Sherry on Apr 13, 2012 in Voices from the Learning Revolution, PLP Network

I’ve begun teaching an Additional Qualifications course for inservice teachers, about the integration of technology into their classroom practice. I’ve written about this new learning journey before, and I began revising and rethinking the course as soon as it got rolling the first time around. This is what I miss most about being a classroom teacher — the creative process involved in shaping learning environments that work!

In planning courses we continue to find that many of the resources we turn to for guidance are often traditional, text-based models of learning, especially in higher education. This doesn’t often sit right with me. My goal is to help teachers imagine new possibilities in their own classrooms as they begin to shift their practice.

In setting out to model some more innovative practices, I hope that by seeing a variety of options as learners first, teachers will understand the power of these new approaches and feel free to play with some of these new tools and then reflect on them with a critical eye. Most of the teachers who will join me in these courses are newly connected to social networks, and therefore my aim is to plan a meaningful experience that is not too overwhelming.

These newly connected educators often look for some advice about where to jump in: Twitter? Blogs? Facebook? Social networks for teachers? There are so many choices! As a result, I’ve surfaced some thoughts about the difference between the work I do with networks and communities and how I might advise teachers who are newly connected.

Virtual colleagues? Business as usual

In an earlier blog post I was asking this question:

“I’m gravitating towards more collaborative work that involves a different kind of connection than something like twitter — what should I be recommending to others just starting down this path?”

I’ve been thinking about where I’m finding my best support for my own learning these days. While I’ve been going to my twitter network and saving links, resources, and graphics to help me plan this course, I’ve found that it’s actually my community of inquiry within Powerful Learning Practice that has lead me to the deepest learning along this new journey. Only a handful of these people are actually in the realm of my f2f connections and none of them are people I see day-to-day. Working virtually with people from my online community is just becoming business as usual!

As I begin teaching this course, I think I owe it to my learners to help them understand that while twitter networks might lead them to incredible contacts and resources, our classroom community will be where they can get down and dirty with some really messy learning.

Let me share a recent example. I was extremely lucky to be taking Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach’s PLP e-course Teaching Online: Becoming a Connected Educator back while I was building the first rendition of my own course curriculum. It gave me a source of feedback and critical friends when I was first drafting, asking questions, and pondering my next moves. Even now, 6 months after the PLP e-course, I am still in contact with several of those folks who I know would help me with revisions. This potential for an extended conversation about my work would not often happen on twitter, and actually I don’t know that it’s ever happened to me in a f2f context, either!

A great discovery

Next, something Sheryl recently posted in the PLP Community Hub caught my eye. It was a document that Howard Rheingold had shared, inviting folks to work on collaboratively transforming a course about social media for high school students. I had been cocooning a bit, thinking through my plans, and while following some of Howard’s links I discovered — a visual syllabus!

This was great. I already had the very (19th century) text-based one I’d created from the traditional University model I had been given as an exemplar. And I had the video version that I had made for my students as a course introduction for the first week. However, the ‘good’ thing about video is also the ‘bad’ thing about video…you have to watch it! You can’t scan it well. So a graphic organizer was just the thing I needed to turn the syllabus into more of an infographic. I got busy creating and came up with a first draft:

I posted this to my community inside the PLP Ning space, where Howard’s course outline is also posted, knowing that I would likely get some feedback, suggestions, and perhaps even a discussion wherein more folks share what they are doing in this area – and then BINGO – we’d be building collective knowledge.

Sure enough, the sharing began to happen almost immediately. Suzie Nestico posted a reply that caused me to think more deeply about some of the requirements that will need to be in place before my students will be able to understand the difference between “knowledge sharing” and “knowledge building.” This will help direct some of my next steps in planning.

While I learn lots and connect well with Twitter and my other networks, it’s my community of inquiry (both f2f and online) that helps me to dive deeper, which is where I like to be!

Gamers: What Can These Superheroes Teach Us?

Along with my colleague, Peter Skillen,  I’m  getting ready to talk to some Ministry and Curriculum Forum folks about gaming next month in Toronto.  In doing so, we are putting together our thoughts and experiences about students and teachers who are using gaming in the classroom.   Not specifically gamification, but a discussion about what educators can learn about learning by watching and thinking about what happens through gaming.

This TED talk by game designer,  Jane McGonigal, challenges us to think of our gamers as superheroes who have accumulated hours of expertise that we could be putting to good use.  Jane suggests that these superhero qualities might actually save the planet…but I’m wondering how we could leverage these skills to transform our classrooms?

What do you think?  Is she way off base or is there something to it?