Alan Novemer 8/22

Notes from opening day: Real revolution is information, not technology. Challenge students with provocative ideas so they think. The answers are on the Internet, not the answers. I need to learn to think now. Main ideas: critical thinking on the Internet, global communication, student jobs (tutorial designers, scribes, researchers, global communicators) Wolfram Alpha- knowledge engine, not search engine Who owns the learning? Walk down hall in classroom, who is working harder, teacher or student? How can school be boring if we have a natural love for learning? Too much control in teachers hand since 1923 (end of 1 room school house). We should go back to the 1 room school house and Socratic method (like Andover). Role of teacher is to ask most provocative questions, not give answers. Pedagogy trumps technology. Good teacher more important than laptops for every student. Too much confidence on part of teachers that kids know technology. Kids and teachers think the kids know tech, but do need instruction. Global warming example: get source from ice land in global warming (country code site:is) Popes speech riot turkey: to find impact of pope's comment criticizing Islam in turkey, Alan told west point to use site:edu.tr for turkey higher Ed and gov for gov. Western media reported quote, but turkey higher Ed did not. Technology isn't real revolution, information is. First 5 days most important of the year. During these days, find out how your students learn. First day, have them find the most important image in us history. Learn abou conceptions and misconceptions. Reason for American revolution "site:sch.uk" - British banks were told not to invest in slave trade anymore. On 5th day have kids Skype with students in Britain. Ear mouse- is it true? Photoshop? Does it function? BBC "grow" an ear. Wikipedia (vacantly mouse)- ear mold sewn on. Which one is true? Go to lab it's from site:MIT.edu ear mouse vacanti. Or site:Harvard.edu. Create learning with purpose to motivate. Math train site of student tutorials that help learned around the world. The four walls of the classroom are the enemy. We need to communicate with the world. Classrooms should be global communication centers. It may be more important to teach how I learn than what I know. (hash tags in twitter, dashboard, diggo) - build capacity to manage own learning. Alan's library (diigo.com/user/globalearner) All of Alan's doctoral students use diigo, set up account on first day- library in cloud accessible from whole world. If class group has diggO, can build a library together. (watch tutorial on YouTube).  "it's not the teacher but the method that matters"-article we should read. Harvard high test scores did not mean that there was learning.  Set up a class with Flip model (taught) by grad students learned better than class taught by nobel prize winner). Eric Maazur (created Facebook-like  social network at Harvard pre FB) had cataloged 3,000 questions over past years.  Found his own knowledge was in way b/c can't predict a new learners questions. Found students contribute more online than face to face.  Now he bases his lessons on students questions from night before.