Value of a Conference

I had the opportunity to attend the OESIS West Conference last week and was reminded of the value of a conference. I attended some really interesting sessions and heard some great keynotes. I was really looking forward to hearing Angela Maiers speak and she certainly lived up to her reputation. I was blown away when she introduced Brigadier General John Michel, Commanding General NATO Air Training Command - Afghanistan, to share how technology is changing lives for the better in Afghanistan. I had the opportunity to present a few sessions and have some great dialogue with educators who are passionate about using blended and online learning to reach students. The added bonus is that I was in Los Angeles and dodged another winter storm back home in Ohio. But neither the change of scenery nor the sessions/keynotes are what I will carry back with me as a reminder of my conference experience.

For me, it’s the relationships that I formed while attending the conferences that will help me to continue to grow professionally. The real learning didn’t happen in the sessions or keynotes as I sat passively and listened (even though the content was good).  The real learning happened in the halls between the sessions, at the social events, on Twitter, during meals, anywhere that people who were fueled by the interest to improve education were congregating, talking, and networking. It was the sessions that sparked many of these conversations, but the real value came from continuing those conversations.

Conferences are a great opportunity to get away from our home base, our comfort zone, and expand our thinking by networking and connecting with others who may have a different perspective but share the same passion.

It can be totally awkward to talk to someone you never met or just walk up to someone you know from social media and say “Hi”, but in every case it is worth the risk. It’s in these unique moments that we build relationships with folks who will continue to challenge, inspire, and help us grow.  In return, we get to do the same for them.

If the real learning happens, for adults, in the conversations and relationships, don’t you think the same can hold true for students? Are we building in enough time for them to collaborate, discuss, and connect their learning with their peers, both inside and outside of our classrooms? Blended and online learning can be a bridge to open up new collaborative opportunities for students. Education isn’t about how much we teach in a 50-minute period, it’s about how much they take with them and use over a lifetime.

It's Just There...

This post originally appeared on Keeping Pace on January 24, 2014

Recently Keeping Pace blogged on “Getting computers and high-speed Internet access into schools: the Louisiana example.” This post reminded me of a story I heard Dr. Michio Kaku share at the eTech Ohio Conference a few years ago. The story he shared went something like this...

Years ago people walked into a room and were in awe that electricity was present. They noticed the indoor lighting and it became a topic of conversation. Over time, electricity was accepted as the norm and we no longer walk into a venue and note that it has indoor lighting or power. It’s expected.

Today we walk into a classroom and comment on how many iPads, Chromebooks, or other devices we see. We should have the same expectation of technology in a classroom as we have in electricity. We shouldn’t be focused on the technology (or the electricity) in the room; it should just be an expected part of any classroom. The conversation should be on what the students are creating and learning - not on the tools that they are using to do so. When this happens, we will truly be preparing students for college and career readiness.

Candy Crush Education

This post was originally published at kpk12.com/blog on January 17, 2014

A few months ago I decided to join the throngs of folks who were playing Candy Crush Saga. My kids had been playing for a while and other adults I know had dabbled a bit with the game. At first, I found the game to be a bit sophomoric, but then I hit level 33 and realized that the game can be a little challenging at times. I stuck with it and this weekend I realized that I’ve actually learned a lot about good education from my Candy Crush addiction experiment.

When you start playing Candy Crush, there are only a couple of candy colors to play with and limited obstacles in your way. Mastery comes relatively easy and encourages you to play on. As you master the beginning levels there are new colors, new obstacles, and new episodes (levels where new layers of complexity are added). In education, when we are learning something new we start at the beginning to build our foundation. Once we have the basics down we learn more, apply our knowledge in new ways, and better understand the intricacies of our knowledge. Think of your K-12 education where you started math by counting but by the end you were able to understand the derivative of a double angle (hopefully). Candy Crush is a great example of Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development.

In Candy Crush, sometimes you succeed and sometimes you fail. Yes, you literally FAIL! I know this because I’ve experienced it first-hand and listen sympathetically (not really) when my husband complains that he sees the “you failed” message. But the truth of the matter is that in real life, we fail all the time. Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times, yet we don’t view him as a failure. In Candy Crush, when you fail a level you just start over and try again, just like Edison. Failure is an iteration in the Candy Crush world. However, in education sometimes we accept failure as the end of the event and not an opportunity to reboot. If my son fails an Economics test at the end of the chapter, that’s his grade and they move onto the next chapter. He doesn’t have the option to attempt the material again or show mastery at a later date. It’s pass or fail at a given point in time and the march goes on.  This model doesn’t encourage real learning or mastery. Instead it sends the message that failure is bad and can’t be overcome.

In Candy Crush Saga, you earn a life every thirty minutes, up to a five live maximum. Sometimes I can blow through all of those lives in a matter of five minutes. When this happens I have to wait to earn more lives. This is the game’s way of pacing me so that I don’t rush through everything. It forces me to take a break (or change the time on my iPad) and clear my head. It’s harder for me to get burned out this way. We should allow students the same opportunity to take break and come back to something when the going gets too frustrating. “A growing body of evidence shows that taking regular breaks from mental tasks improves productivity and creativity — and that skipping breaks can lead to stress and exhaustion” (New York Times, June 2012).

New episodes in Candy Crush introduce new challenges and objects. If I don’t know what a new piece is or how it will behave I have two options. I can experiment with it and see if I can figure it out on my own or I can visit the Candy Crush Wikia and learn more. The wikia is a collaborative site created by Candy Crushites (I just made that up) that shares tips and tricks to help you understand and master Candy Crush. I can choose to experiment or collaborate when I’m confronted with the unknown. These are both great strategies that may be underutilized in the classroom. In fact, collaboration and experimentation (problem-solving) are both recognized as important 21^st century skills.

Candy Crush is a free download and while I’ve never personally paid for any extra lives or boosters, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution reports that Candy Crush Saga makes over $860,000 a day in revenue. This is a staggering amount of revenue and clearly indicates that there is a large population of folks who are willing to pay to continue on their journey. I think there is more to be learned about education from Candy Crush and am already drafting part two of this post. In the meantime, I’m going to continue my Candy Crush Saga adventure – level 263 is vexing me.