January 2011
6 posts
6 tags
I'm an educator, I mean designer, I mean...
I had the chance to attend CompostModern this past weekend. It is a conference for designers by designers. As an educator, I was not exactly sure what to expect. I initially felt as though I would be the odd man out. I mean, I was no where near as fashionable as 99% of the attendees and at no point have I or will I pretend to be an artist. Just ask my old students, I was the master of the stick...
4 tags
Next Generation of Makers
This cartoon by @howtoons exemplifies the kind of curiosity and desire to create that can empower students and make them the “life-long learners” we always hear about. When students take ownership of their learning, the game changes. They become passionate about learning. The image also speaks to the idea that students are learning more on YouTube and elsewhere than inside a classroom....
3 tags
Why didn't I think of that?
When it comes to learning and design, the first hurdle is simply looking around and asking yourself, “how could this be better?” For instance, someone applied the design process to a traditional watering can and came up with something much better. So it stands, rather than asking ‘Why didn’t I think of that?”, we should frame the way we approach learning with this...
2 tags
New rules
When I was growing up there were simple rules I was to follow. 1. Be a good person 2. Brush your teeth after you eat 3. Don’t hit your sister In a world that has been forever altered by the age of the Interwebs, these rules are still very much relevant (especially the one about not hitting your sister) but there are some very important rules that we must also understand. We are no longer...
1 tag
Three Ways of Learning
Diana Laufenberg, a friend and teacher at Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia, PA, gave a great TED Talk that speaks directly to what learning is and what it is not. Specifically, Diana mentions that schools should not be repositories of information but rather opportunities for students to learn in the three ways mentioned above.
3 tags
Design as a mindset. Design as a methodology.
I recently joined the Be Playful team. After a year of transition, I have found an opportunity where I will help others understand the process of Design Thinking in order to engage our students and help them solve problems. The concept of Design Thinking is something that is not necessarily new, rather it is a mindset that enable students to solve problems. When faced with a world where students,...