@CTIVATED Classroom - Conclusion
"Education @CTIVIST, I officially welcome and greet you. You've come through an amazing journey and now are officially an Activated Classroom Teaching @CTIVIST (Beta). Well done!"
What a journey! Thanks so much for joining me. This has just been a taste to get you to see the importance of applying an appropriate pedagogy in your classroom. The real learning now begins - where the teacher meets the student.
The ACT Approach
One thing I am hoping is really clear now - and that is the importance of using an active approach as part of our digital pedagogy. The Activated Classroom Teaching pedagogy is all about showing you how to use technology to encourage active teaching and learning that also leads to artefact production.
The results of using this type of approach are not only self-evident, as I'm sure you will have seen through your involvement in this course, but are also supported by research. Take a moment to listen to this short interview with Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman, who has been effectively researching and using active teaching in his classroom for years.
The ACT Approach
One thing I am hoping is really clear now - and that is the importance of using an active approach as part of our digital pedagogy. The Activated Classroom Teaching pedagogy is all about showing you how to use technology to encourage active teaching and learning that also leads to artefact production.
The results of using this type of approach are not only self-evident, as I'm sure you will have seen through your involvement in this course, but are also supported by research. Take a moment to listen to this short interview with Nobel Laureate Carl Wieman, who has been effectively researching and using active teaching in his classroom for years.
"Unethical to teach in any other way"
Wieman argues that "You give people lectures, and [some students] go away and learn the stuff. But it wasn't that they learned it from lecture — they learned it from homework, from assignments. When we measure how little people learn from an actual lecture, it's just really small."
Wieman's research has found that in some cases failure rates fell by 12 percent and test performance went up by half compared with pure lecturing. According to this NPR report, Wieman argues that "the data on the power of these techniques are so persuasive, it's almost unethical to teach undergraduates any other way." He goes so far as to say that "I know you can double how much a student learns depending on what method the instructor is using."
With such compelling evidence, it seems strange that everyone is not using active learning techniques in their classrooms. Why is this?
Well, beyond the obvious, that some teachers might not want to change - because change is uncomfortable and invariably requires effort, there is another important reason. Dan Schwartz, who is the dean of Stanford's Graduate School of Education puts the problem of poor adoption of this effective approach down to a "mountain of goo".
"The literature on how to do this stuff is a giant mountain of goo...I can tell people they need to teach better. But if I don't give them things that are easy for them to implement, they won't do it." (Dan Schwartz)
From Goo to Good - Becoming an Activist
Now for the first time there is a digital pedagogy that focuses on teaching before technology. A pedagogy that can take you from goo to good. What you have already learned puts you way ahead of most teachers who are sadly mired in PC approaches rather than AP ones. You now have a digital pedagogy to guide you in being effective in how you use technology in your classroom. You are now uniquely positioned to transform your students learning experience by engaging them in a pedagogically powerful way.
Beta now than never
We talked about the beta principle when discussing the pedagogy of correction. It's the principle that things, especially in the digital realm, are never correct but always correcting. However the beta principle has another really important application to you. When it comes to how you approach using technology in the classroom remember it is beta now than never. That means it is far better to try something, even if it fails - and it will - that not try at all. The digital world is built on this principle. Our students are used to trying software and not always expecting it to work. Just like modern tech companies, we can't wait until everything is perfect, until we have everything figured out, before we try it. By then it will be too late. We will have lost another generation of learners. Just give it a go. Let it fail - that's you learning through the pedagogy of correction. But out of this amazing things will arrive. Just try something and see what happens.
What's next?
What you have learned in this intro (ACT 101) course is exposure to the core principles of a new approach and the five pedagogies of the ACT model. We have touched on some of the tools that support these pedagogies, but there are many more. The key to successfully implementing a pedagogy-driven approach in your classroom is trying out different tools and finding the ones that suit you. And here's the good news. I've got lessons on lots more tools....but not just describing them, but showing you how you can use them within the ACT pedagogies.
So, if you want to find out how to setup and use Flipboard for curating, or the powerful HipChat app for conversation, or the fun graphical Padlet for correction, or Easel.ly for creating interesting infographics (the rage online), Stoodle for chaos then make sure you join the @CTIVATED Classroom Online Course HERE. The course is self-paced and contains over 100 lessons, with more tools being added all the time. The course is built around the ACT model and all tools that are shown are either free or can be used in a trial mode, plus most will work on any device - tablet, smartphone, laptop. The focus is all on pedagogy first and then the technology.
Email me for amazing group discounts for schools. For people who have purchased the @CTIVATED Classroom book or attended the Activated Classroom 101 course/MOOC email me to get your voucher code for the course.
Join the Edmodo ACT Teachers Network
"Beta now than never!" - This is not only a central principle of the ACT pedagogies (correction), this course, and life in general - but also a key principle for your ongoing learning journey. You have completed this course, and it is a great next step in your learning journey. It's a beta journey - which means there are mistakes, wrong turns, U-turns, right turns, etc. That's what makes it fun and interesting. However, as we all embark on this journey, one of the most important aspects is working together. We live in the Socratic 2.0 conversation-centric learning age. Our learning journey on this course has been based around conversations in Edmodo. That's how we learn best.
So...don't stop learning. You are invited to join the ACT Teachers Network. It's an exclusive network set up on Edmodo where teachers who are using the ACT model can share ideas, ask questions, and engage on a learning conversation. So join the ACT Teachers Network now - Use This Link or join with the code "7x47ey".
We talked about the beta principle when discussing the pedagogy of correction. It's the principle that things, especially in the digital realm, are never correct but always correcting. However the beta principle has another really important application to you. When it comes to how you approach using technology in the classroom remember it is beta now than never. That means it is far better to try something, even if it fails - and it will - that not try at all. The digital world is built on this principle. Our students are used to trying software and not always expecting it to work. Just like modern tech companies, we can't wait until everything is perfect, until we have everything figured out, before we try it. By then it will be too late. We will have lost another generation of learners. Just give it a go. Let it fail - that's you learning through the pedagogy of correction. But out of this amazing things will arrive. Just try something and see what happens.
What's next?
What you have learned in this intro (ACT 101) course is exposure to the core principles of a new approach and the five pedagogies of the ACT model. We have touched on some of the tools that support these pedagogies, but there are many more. The key to successfully implementing a pedagogy-driven approach in your classroom is trying out different tools and finding the ones that suit you. And here's the good news. I've got lessons on lots more tools....but not just describing them, but showing you how you can use them within the ACT pedagogies.
So, if you want to find out how to setup and use Flipboard for curating, or the powerful HipChat app for conversation, or the fun graphical Padlet for correction, or Easel.ly for creating interesting infographics (the rage online), Stoodle for chaos then make sure you join the @CTIVATED Classroom Online Course HERE. The course is self-paced and contains over 100 lessons, with more tools being added all the time. The course is built around the ACT model and all tools that are shown are either free or can be used in a trial mode, plus most will work on any device - tablet, smartphone, laptop. The focus is all on pedagogy first and then the technology.
Email me for amazing group discounts for schools. For people who have purchased the @CTIVATED Classroom book or attended the Activated Classroom 101 course/MOOC email me to get your voucher code for the course.
Join the Edmodo ACT Teachers Network
"Beta now than never!" - This is not only a central principle of the ACT pedagogies (correction), this course, and life in general - but also a key principle for your ongoing learning journey. You have completed this course, and it is a great next step in your learning journey. It's a beta journey - which means there are mistakes, wrong turns, U-turns, right turns, etc. That's what makes it fun and interesting. However, as we all embark on this journey, one of the most important aspects is working together. We live in the Socratic 2.0 conversation-centric learning age. Our learning journey on this course has been based around conversations in Edmodo. That's how we learn best.
So...don't stop learning. You are invited to join the ACT Teachers Network. It's an exclusive network set up on Edmodo where teachers who are using the ACT model can share ideas, ask questions, and engage on a learning conversation. So join the ACT Teachers Network now - Use This Link or join with the code "7x47ey".
Final Activity
You didn't think there wouldn't be a final activity did you? Your'e an @CTIVIST after all! Please take a couple of minutes to complete this survey. Your feedback is really valued and helps me get beta and beta at helping teachers ;-)
Click here or use embedded survey below.
This is not the end...it's just another beginning.
Activated Classroom Teaching 101 - ACTIVITIES
ACTIVITY 1 - Intro & Changing World
ACTIVITY 2 - Big Mistakes
ACTIVITY 3 - Missing Pedagogy
ACTIVITY 4 - Education Technology Assessment
ACTIVITY 5 - Activated Classroom Teaching (ACT) Pedagogy
ACTIVITY 6 - Curation Activity
ACTIVITY 7 - Conversation Activity
ACTIVITY 8 - Correction Activity
ACTIVITY 9 - Creation Activity
ACTIVITY 10 - Chaos Activity
ACTIVITY 1 - Intro & Changing World
ACTIVITY 2 - Big Mistakes
ACTIVITY 3 - Missing Pedagogy
ACTIVITY 4 - Education Technology Assessment
ACTIVITY 5 - Activated Classroom Teaching (ACT) Pedagogy
ACTIVITY 6 - Curation Activity
ACTIVITY 7 - Conversation Activity
ACTIVITY 8 - Correction Activity
ACTIVITY 9 - Creation Activity
ACTIVITY 10 - Chaos Activity