Flat Students – Flat Learning Global Understanding
Julie LindsayGlobal Education Conference 2014
Flatconnections.com @flatconnections
Meet Julie Lindsay…..Global Educator, InnovatorTeacherpreneur, AuthorMA Educational Technology LeadershipMA Music EdD Student, University of Southern QueenslandAdjunct Lecturer, Charles Sturt University, Faculty of EducationGlobal collaboration consultantApple Distinguished EducatorGoogle Certified Teacher
Director, Learning Confluence Pty LtdFounder, Flat Connections
@julielindsay | #flatconnect | @flatconnections | about.me/julielindsay
What is a ‘Flat Student’?
What is ‘Flat Learning’?
“It’s when a technology becomes normal, then ubiquitous, and finally so pervasive as to be invisible, that the really profound changes happen, and for young people today, our new social tools have passed normal and are heading to ubiquitous, and invisible is coming”
Clay Shirky, 2008
We need to ‘flatten’ the learning
hierarchy. Students, teachers, ALL
learners, must have freedom to
communicate ‘across’ rather
than up or down
FLAT LEARNING?
http://www.slideshare.net/dwarlick/flat-world-flat-web-flat-classrooms
What does this mean?
• Authentic, real-world tasks - students are engaged with the world
• Develop partners for the learning process - with other learners who are not in the same time and space, with the extended community
• A shared understanding - of what it means to learn within a Digital Learning Environment
• Independent and personalised learning - responsibility for personal branding and choices for learning outcomes
What are enablers for flat learning?
• Web 2.0 tools – access at home and at school• Curriculum redesign• Promoting the ‘networked student’
– PLN and PLC development– personal branding– global digital citizenship
• Student independent learning– Choices– Collaboration
See ‘Who says global collaboration is hard? http://www.julielindsay.net/2014/08/who-says-global-collaboration-is-hard.html
What are barriers for flat learning?
• Technology infrastructure• Technology access• Digital fluency• Global digital citizenship skills• Conformity – all must be the same• The ‘we are already collaborating’ response• No idea where to start…..
See ‘Who says global collaboration is hard? http://www.julielindsay.net/2014/08/who-says-global-collaboration-is-hard.html
Building bridges between learners
Technology must be the bridge, not the barrier to new connected teaching and learning modes
Beyond merely ‘integrating
technology’ This is a new
‘category’ of tools and learning
habits that supports 21C skills
and global collaborative
objectives
Disruptive Innovations.....
http://www.waggrakineps.wa.edu.au/21st-Century-Learning.aspx//
http://www.waggrakineps.wa.edu.au/21st-Century-Learning.aspx//
Our long-term goal is to bridge the divide between what students know and
do at school and what they know and do in real life.
http://www.waggrakineps.wa.edu.au/21st-Century-Learning.aspx//
We believe increased global links will provide
new catalysts to build on our focus of leading our
students towards becoming effective global
citizens
What is YOUR digital learning environment?
How do you connect your students to the learning and the extended ‘flattened’ classroom?
Share your ideas via the chat window.Raise your hand if you wish to share via the microphone.
Students who ‘flatten’ their
learning through connected
workflow. Students develop
PLN’s and PLC’s to support
personalised and global
learning.
FLAT STUDENTS?
“The pipe is more important than the content in the pipe.”
Connectivism – George Siemens
Siemens, George. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1), 3-10. doi: http://www.ingedewaard.net/papers/connectivism/2005_siemens_ALearningTheoryForTheDigitalAge.pdf
The Networked Student
“Emerging web applications and open educational resources are integrated to support a Networked Student Model that promotes inquiry-based learning and digital literacy, empowers the learner, and offers flexibility as new technologies emerge.”
Drexler, Wendy. (2010). The networked student model for construction of personal learning environments: Balancing teacher control and student autonomy. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 26(3), 369-385.
The ‘flat’ student has a PLN and PLC’s to connect with at anytime
The ‘flat’ student can learn (connect, collaborate, co-create,
take action) anywhere at anytime without constraints
Teachers must promote and support independent student learning
The Millennial Condition...
Intercultural understanding in a
global context.
Design to ‘Connect’
Construct a ‘legacy’
Amplify the ‘impact’
Global Understanding?
Working and Co-Creating with
Global Partners
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20130715-reading-the-world-in-365-days
Global UnderstandingTo what extent will a book help us?
http://thelearningcurve.pearson.com
Global CompetenceWhat skills do we need for the future?
Leadership for flat learning
Learning
fluency while digital
Community
action
Social change & new leadership modes
‘Teacherpreneur’ Leadership
A teacher gets an idea for learning
Fosters excitement amongst other
teachers
A group of teachers come together to
do something significant
‘Outlier’ Pedagogy...Understanding digital collaborative and global communication paradigm.
– Extend learning beyond physical classroom walls– Non Traditional pedagogy modeled for peers:– Collaborative in nature– Reach out to educators globally
“Learners in collaborative and global outlier teaching paradigms participate
in a new educational ecology”
Arteaga, S. (2012). Self-Directed and Transforming Outlier Classroom Teachers as Global Connectors in Experiential Learning. (Ph.D.), Walden University.
A New Paradigm for Educational Leadership
• Online learning communities are leveling the playing field to advantage learners
• Leadership must address:– School revitalization in a digital world– Teachers as providers of new forms of leadership
in schools and communities– Support of the ‘teacherpreneur’ or ‘outlier’
John Hattie – Visible Learning Laboratories http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/media-speeches/guestlectures/pdfs/tgls-hattie.pdf
Teacher as ‘change agent or activator’
Once the teacher is not the gateway (or the barrier) to global learning,
then what?
As a leader do you understand...
• How to be a connected learner?• Tools and strategies to learn digitally?• Digital citizenship themes?• Policies and guidelines to support digital
citizenship?• How to design digital learning environments
to suit curriculum and learning outcomes?• How to promote independent student
learning?
Flat, Connected, Global Learning...
• Who can you collaborate with? • Global CONNECTION
• What can you create together?• Global LEGACY
• What are some actionable outcomes to change the world?• Global IMPACT
Synchronous ‘flat’ learning
We must be able to sustain connections beyond the face-to-face experience and beyond the virtual, synchronous experience e.g. Skype call.
The future of ‘flat’ learning includes collaboration online.
How are we supporting this?
Asynchronous ‘flat’ learning
What is Collaboration?
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http://www.thinkingcollaborative.com/norms-collaboration-toolkit/
Collaboration in a digital world
Global collaboration by its very nature implies asynchronous collaboration
“…..while insular, ‘stand alone’ teaching has characterized the teaching of a paper-based world, collaborative teaching could well characterize that of an increasingly digital and networked world; a world where collaboration and integration are the norm…”
Lee, Malcolm, & Ward, Lorrae. (2013). Collaboration in learning : transcending the classroom walls. Camberwell, Victoria: ACER Press.
Why global collaboration?
• It is imperative• It is one of the major reasons for using mobile and
ubiquitous digital technologies• It does support global awareness and competency
and intercultural understanding - and we believe this is a GOOD thing, so good in fact that....
• It will change the world - it already has for the many teachers and students who have taken the opportunity to connect and collaborate.
1% Rule – Internet Culture
• In a collaborative learning environment eg a wiki:o 90% view or lurko 9% edit contento 1% actively create new content
• Also called the 90-9-1 principle
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1%25_rule_%28Internet_culture%29
Collaboration: On the edge of a new paradigm
http://flatconnections.net/video/collaboration-on-the-edge-of-a-new-paradigm
Who says global collaboration is hard?
True global collaboration in the classroom needs a shift in teaching that allows teachers and
students to 'flatten' the learning experience to bring the outside world in and put themselves out there - to build bridges for global empathy
and create workable structures where all participants can learn with and not just from each
other.
http://www.julielindsay.net/2014/08/who-says-global-collaboration-is-hard.html
THREE easy steps……
1. Build online learning communities
2. Design for success3. Move to collaboration
and co-creation
Interact and Share with the World
Collaborative Learning
Community Network
Spaces for Global Learning
Flat Connections Global Project (FCGP)
• 500 students• 20+ classrooms• 6 countries• 36 student teams• 1 Keynote• 24 Expert Advisors• 18 Judges and 3 Meta-judges• 213 Videos• 15 eBooks
February-June 2014!
http://flatconnections.com
FCGP Community for Learning
Spaces for Connection……..
Spaces for Collaboration……
Student Leadership…….
What do student leaders think?
Communication was difficult. I don't think that it was necessarily just being in different timezones, but also that it was all based online.
I found that the majority of the students in my team never contacted me, despite being messaged several times with the expectancy of a response. I often felt more dedicated to the task than a lot of other people in the team.
However, in saying that, there were also other students who contributed significant amount of information, and should be commended for it.
Students as global project leaders……
This project was a great experience for me to be able to collaborate with people from all over the world and learn how to communicate with people who have different ideas and perspectives.
It was like herding cats…….
Challenges to global collaboration…..
I would often send messages to my team members, but I think most of those messages went unnoticed. It would be great if the inbox would do something more to alert you that you have a message - it would help a lot!
The thing that did not work with student leaders was I felt like most people in my group just felt that it was the student leaders job to do everything and they didn't have to do anything. This could be improved by making sure people know that being part of a group means everyone needs to help and do their job.
“When I don’t collaborate globally, I feel disconnected”
Michelle (Berea Student)
How do we ‘connect’ students to the world?
Singapore American School International School of the Sacred Heart, Japan
Theme 2014-15: Global Peace and
Security
http://globalyouthdebates.com
Asynchronous global debates between classrooms
Tools: Voicethread & Fuze
‘A Week in the Life…’A Flat Connections Project for Elementary School students
Grades 3-5, age 8-10
Co-Created Showcase Multimedia
Tool: Voicethread
NEW PROJECT now with a focus on ‘global issues’
A Week in the Life 14-2
THEME: Environmental Issues
The aim of this project is also to explore global issues and to foster meaningful discussion and sharing between students. Outcomes will include student-driven solutions shared through creative use of technology.
Essential Questions which will be answered as part of the project
• What are the similarities and differences among the environment around the world?
• How can we connect with each other through our commonalities?
• How does your geography, history and lifestyle of where you live impact your environment?
• What are essential solutions to researched global issues and how can we share these?
1. Do some research on a week in the life of children in your school around these topics:
• Air pollution• Coal mining and effects on land• Droughts• Eating locally• Farming with chemicals• Flooding• Forest fires• Fracking• Logging and effects on land• Reducing waste• Water pollution• Wildlife conservation
2. Collect multimedia and share with team members
• Multimedia choices: video, audio, slideshow, cartoons, etc.
• Share multimedia online via team wiki pages• Discuss differences and similarities between
multimedia
3. Complete a final project demonstrating your information to the rest of the group.
• Each classroom will be responsible to assemble a number of team projects
• Upload finished projects to the wiki• View all the group projects and compare and
contrast the results.
The change we need.....• Community building as a prerequisite to
learning• Collaboration that leads to co-creation
with other learners who are not in the same time and space,
• Pedagogical independence and leadership for change within a school/institution
• Curriculum re-design to embed flat learning
Global Learning: Holistic and ‘Flat’
Flat Connected Learning
Blended Learning
Project & Challenge
-basedCulture of
sharing
Flipped Classroom
Inter-connected
Web 2.0
Global Project Design Leadership for connected
learning
Pedagogy
My ‘Moonshot’…….. #gtasyd 2014
https://www.flickr.com/photos/29131777@N03/8309024612
An alternative approach to ‘school’
A redesign of the learning paradigm where STUDENTS take
the lead in connecting and collaborating and co-creating solutions to global problems.
‘Learning Collaboratives’• Supports student passion and choices in learning• Global teams• Learning concierge support• Design thinking structure
Announcing!Social Entrepreneurship Learning Collaborative• Dates TBC for 2015• Schools, teachers, independent learners invited
to apply to join
Connect with China
Collaborative
Full details on the website: http://goo.gl/MqG2Lh
For Chinese language learners Grades 6-12
Pilot: April –June 2015
Students CAN work with the world
Available from Amazon – Hard copy and Kindle
http://flatconnections.comhttp://flatconnections.net
Learning about the world, with the world