Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Who Owns the Learning?: The #cyberPD Conversation Begins Here

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"Learning how to learn is an essential lifelong skill."  
                                       Alan November p. 14 

The Conversation Begins Today
I've been waiting for this day for weeks:  the official kick-off of this summer's #cyberPD event.  During the month of July we're discussing Who Owns the Learning?:  Preparing Students for Success in the Digital Age by Alan November.  Again this year, I'm hosting this event with Jill Fisch and Laura Komos.

#CyberPD Dates and Host Site:
Today the first two chapters of Who Owns the Learning will be discussed here at Reflect and Refine.  If you are participating in this event by posting on your blog, please leave your link here in the comments.  As today's host blog, I will then move your posts up into this post.  If you do not have a blog you are welcome to participate by commenting on Twitter using the hashtag #cyberPD, by leaving a comment on any one of our blogs, or any other way you can think of to join the conversation.  We're flexible --- and we love a little creativity.

Changing Dynamics
I wonder how this book would have struck me if it were the first book I was reading about changing the dynamics of classrooms and moving toward student centered - truly student centered - classrooms.  I wonder what I would have thought if it were the first book I had read which asked me to rethink school, to rethink learning, to rethink ownership.  I wonder what I would have thought if it were the first book I read about digital learning.

Instead Who Owns the Learning is a book that is among many in this journey, along with many tweets, many blogposts, many conversations that have shaped my thinking.  In this book, November begins by sharing his vision for, what he calls, a Digital Learning Farm.  November states,
"We have inherited an organizational structure in which the teacher owns and manages the learning.  This industrial model underestimates the natural curiosity of students to direct their own learning." (p. 5)  
Instead he suggests ways to create learning environments where students own their learning; where purposeful work is done allowing opportunities to collaborate, create, communicate and think critically (yes, those 21st Century skills, but in real work).  These opportunities would allow learners to seek answers to real questions and create more global interactions.

November asks us to rethink the culture of school and shift responsibility to learners changing our roles in the classroom.  Our role as educators becomes helping students discover the ways they can contribute, to empower students to be autonomous, to support collaboration, to allow students to design learning.

Primary Classrooms
November is right about the "natural curiosity" of learners.  The first graders who enter our classroom each year are always full of natural curiosity and wonder.  They enjoy figuring things out and find learning fun.  In the last four years, I've worked to make this shift toward being learner centered.  In the last four years, digital opportunities for learning, sharing, and collaborating have grown.  However, as I read November's book I wondered if I was doing enough.  I thought more about what "A Digital Learning Farm" looks like in a primary learning environment.

As I followed tweets from ISTE Julie Ramsay tweeted,
"Are you integrating or innovating with technology?"  
(See more in her educflections post:  "Concerned Teacher....Thoughts from ISTE".)  Add to that thought this statement by David Warlick in his recent post Is School 2.0 the Wrong Conversation,
"Perhaps, rather than trying to define the classroom and the school of the 21st century, we should be imaging and describing the student/learner of this post-industrial and change-fueled time." (my emphasis) 
In his book, November sees students as "active drivers of their educational experiences and designers of their educational goals."  (p. 19)  November shares examples of students working as tutorial designers, scribes, researchers, communicators and collaborators.  How does this look in an elementary classroom?  I've been thinking a lot about this since reading the first part of November's book.  I've realized how much I rely on Twitter, blogs, and conversations with educators across the globe to revision learning in our classroom.

Here are some educators I rely on for pushing my thinking about innovating with technology and creating environments where students make decisions about their learning:

Kathy Cassidy:  Primary Preoccupation
Ms. Wideen:  Ms. Wideen's Blog
Kristin Ziemke (@1stgradethinks):  Room 106

These educators share continuous examples of learner centered environments where students are making a difference now.  There are so many others.  If you have favorites, please be sure to mention them in the comments.


Other Professional Books
Here are some other professional books I've read that support thinking about this topic:




I hope you'll join the conversation.

Who Owns the Learning?  
Co-host Jill Fisch shares her reflections at My Primary Passion:  Questions, Questions, Questions.  Jill shares her understanding of November's "Digital Learning Farm" and follows with questions she is left considering after reading.  (You'll want to check out her examples of ShowMes.)  

Co-host Laura Komos joins us from her new blog Ruminate and Invigorate with her reflections of Who Owns the Learning? #cyberPD Part I.  Laura discusses autonomy, mastery and purpose in her new work with intermediate students with tablets.  Oh the possibilities!

Rose Cappelli reminds us, "Questioning is at the heart of any new learning and nurtures the habits of curiosity and exploration that help all of us remain lifelong learners."  In her post, Reflection - Who Owns the Learning Ch. 1-2 at Mentor Texts with Lynne and Rose, she talks about the first steps in making changes.  

Linda Baie joins the conversation from Teacher Dance in Discussing Who Owns the Learning #cyberPD.  Linda shares her reflections and gives us a glimpse into her school where students do own their learning.  

Tony Keefer has been coerced into joining this discussion yet again --- and we're glad he's here.  In his reflection at atychiphobia 2.0:  , Tony says, “We need a major shift in the culture of schooling and we need it yesterday."  Tony asks hard questions about the role of administrators and allowing students to build autonomy, learn, share and collaborate in this digital world.  

Mary Lee Hahn joins the conversation at A Year of Reading (which, by the way, has been much more than one year of reading!) with her reflection #cyberPD --- Who Owns the Learning Ch. 1-2.  Mary Lee jumps over the obstacles and tackles the big questions for change in her classroom.

At Reading Teachers/Teaching Reading Barb Keister shares her thoughts in #cyberPD: Who Owns the Learning.  Barb talks about student motivation, engagement, and providing tools so students can work independently and purposefully.  

Deb Frazier shares her thinking about ways to grow the learning environment in her classroom.  At Primary Perspective (#cyberPD - Who Owns the Learning by Alan November), she shares some examples of digital learning and some thoughts of roles for students in sharing learning across the community.  

You have to stop by Lesa Haney's blog, Footprints on the Moon, for her VIDEO reflection of #cyberPD Who Owns the Learning.  Alan November talked about screencasting and video as a tool for sharing and Lesa dove right in!  Love it!

Julie Balen shares discusses, "power of purposeful and meaning contribution, not just "look what I made", but "look how I solved this problem," in her #cyberPD 2013 --- Who Owns the Learning reflection at Write at the Edge.

Stop by Teaching in the 21st Century for Maria Caplin's reflection:  Who Owns the Learning?   Maria discusses the changing roles for students and educators in our digital world.

Michelle Nero joins the conversation at Literacy Learning Zone:  #cyberPD part 1 Who Owns the Learning?.  Here she talks through the look and sound of a classroom in which students truly own the learning.

At The "Rudd"er, Amy Rudd invites you along her learning journey in "Let's Hit the Trail - Reflection for Cyber PD."   Stop by to read a little about Amy's personal digital journey as she reads and reflects using her Kindle.  She also shares some new ideas she may consider and colleagues who have helped her as she journeys down the path.

If you're a library media specialist, or like me an educator always trying to rethink what media might look like, you'll want to stop by Jamie Riley's new blog:  Rethinking Media Centers for her reflection, #cyberPD - Who Owns the Learning, Ch 1-2.

Barbara Phillips shares her thoughts on independence and digital learning at Wondering Through 2012 and Beyond:  #cyberPD Who Owns the Learning.  Barbara shares ways she sees students using tutorials for digital learning, collaborating and sharing in her classroom.

Noreen Chen joins the conversation at My Beautiful Planet Earth with her reflection:  Revolution.   Noreen reminds us we are in the middle of a revolution; a revolution that may have lost sight of what's most important.

Stop by Technology Tips where Anne Sexton shares her thoughts in Who Owns the Learning Book Study.  Anne talks about the role technology should play in student learning.


42 comments:

  1. Hi Cathy-
    Thanks for hosting the discussion. Below is the link to my reflection (hope I did this right).
    Rose

    http://www.mentortextswithlynneandrose.com/blogging-with-rose.html

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  2. Wow, Cathy! What a great list of resources! I will be checking them all out and will come back later with some thoughts. In the meantime, here is the link to my post:
    http://myprimarypassion.blogspot.com/2013/07/questions-questions-questions.html

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    1. Jill,
      I enjoyed your resources as well. Let me know if you find others. Honestly, I had to choose quickly as we have hardly any data left this month for our internet, but all four of these educators had so many great examples it didn't take many clicks to find some I wanted to use. I plan to spend more time on their pages this summer.

      Cathy

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  3. Hi Cathy! Thanks for being the host today and beginning this conversation. And for more resources. I am excited to see how others are meeting the challenges Alan November has set. My school is already student driven, but has further challenges with helping students realize the technology available. Here's my link: http://www.teacherdance.blogspot.com/2013/07/discussing-who-owns-learning-cyberpd.html

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    1. Linda,
      So glad you're joining the conversation --- especially with the philosophy of your school. Interesting.

      Cathy

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  4. I can always count on you to add more books to my "must read" list and to expand my thinking on topics! I love how you referred to more of our amazing #1stchat friends and their thinking on innovating in primary classrooms.

    Here are my thoughts this week:
    http://ruminateandinvigorate.blogspot.com/2013/07/who-owns-learning-cyberpd-part-1.html

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    1. Sorry about that, Laura, but I must say the above books will really help you think about ownership, autonomy, and purpose.

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  5. Thanks for sharing your insights today Cathy. Your outlook on how to embrace the thinking in November's book is far more optimistic than mine right now. I am getting to wrapped up in the what we can't do vs the what we CAN do. It was good for me to read your post today.

    Here's the link to my contribution http://tonykeefer.tumblr.com/post/54510505187/cyberpd-who-owns-the-learning-part-1

    Tony

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    1. Glad I "talked you into it" again. You know, Tony, I think you are just easily swayed.

      Cathy

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  6. Hi Cathy--After reading Tony's blog (http://tonykeefer.tumblr.com/) and your tweets last night, I thought it'd be a great time to stop by to "see" you and what's going on in your world. And boy am I lucky to stop by on the first day of #cyberPD with you guys! After I finish commenting, I'm off to one click Alan November's book so I can read and learn with you guys. I may be behind schedule, but I'll read and comment as I can....I'm learning not to "declare" and promise that I'm going to pursue and accomplish every little professional or personal opportunity I hear or read about. Thanks for sharing your insightful thinking, the ideas of others, and most of all, for being an inspiring, forever learning friend.

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. Ann Marie,
      I'm so glad you stopped by to comment. Let me know what you think of the book. I think we all do what we can, when we can. I have a stack of books I hope to read, a bunch of summer professional development opportunity pins, and many other things I'd like to accomplish before summer ends. I know it would be impossible to do it all so I just try to chip away at it a bit.

      Cathy

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  7. Now that I've captured my thinking, I'm looking forward to reading what others have to say!

    http://readingyear.blogspot.com/2013/07/cyberpd-who-owns-learning-ch-1-2.html

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  8. Cathy, thanks so much for all the resources and your thoughts on how this might look in a primary classroom - which was the question on my brain as I read!

    Here's my link: www.readteacherread.com

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    1. Barb,
      My primary students amaze me all the time. I'm pretty sure I'm their only obstacle. I try to keep an open mind, throw things out to them, and see what they do. They're quite a savvy bunch and I appreciate others who share the work of students to push my vision.

      Cathy

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  9. Can't wait to dive deep into this post with all the rich resources and the post of those joining the conversation but, like Jill for now here's my post.
    Thanks to everyone joining and to you and Laura and Jill for hosting!

    http://deb-frazier.blogspot.com

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  10. Cathy,

    Thanks for gathering all of the links of student examples. Your collection was very interesting and had a great variety of examples. It gave me lots to think about. I can't wait to see more and then begin the work of synthesizing it all to try to figure out what changes I should make this year.

    Thanks for hosting.

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  11. Thanks for getting our conversation started today. I appreciate all the links and suggested resources. On thing that really stood out in your post was your emphasis on shifting our focus from defining the environment of our post-industrial aged classrooms to imagining what the learners would be doing. I look forward to digging deeper into the links you provided and reading the blog posts from our colleagues. Here is a link to my post: bit.ly/15R06tJ

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    1. Lesa,
      I'm a strong advocate for public education, but I have been thinking a lot about the need to shift our focus from defining the environment of our post-industrial aged classrooms to imagining what the learners would be doing. I think there are a lot of people who'd like to say public ed isn't working, and I don't agree with that thinking. I do think there is always room to get better.

      Thanks for sharing this title,
      Cathy

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  12. Hi Cathy,

    I enjoy a good PD book, but I have to tell you -- I LOVE #cyberPD! I read with different eyes knowing that I'll be sharing my thinking and learning with others. I'm excited to take the week to read everyone else's thoughts too. Digging deeper and learning more!

    Thanks as always for helping me push my thinking forward! Here are my thoughts: http://literacyzone.blogspot.com/2013/07/cyberpd-part-1-who-owns-learning.html

    Michelle

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    1. Michelle,
      I have to agree with you the collaborative piece of this event always helps me to take more away from the book chosen. It also makes me realize:

      - the significance of blogging
      - the power in global communities
      - that everyone can read the same thing and take very different ideas away (yet we expect kids to leave reading with the same important messages)
      - autonomy and choice is important
      - commenting grows a conversation

      I look forward to next week's discussion,
      Cathy

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    2. You make 5 points in your reply to Michelle, and they easily represent 5 pd topics on their own! I think my last post for this event will be a reflective post on the merits of online pd generally, and #cyberpd, particularly.

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    3. Michelle, I am loving #cyberPD as well. I've participated in closed group online learning communities, but this incorporates Twitter, blogs, and a book! Love it!

      Delete
  13. Hi Cathy

    Great post as usual. Like you, I am thinking hard about curriculum design. Can students be co-planners? Can they design and direct their own learning? How do we get students to the place where they can be independent learners; not just for a task but in a more sustained way? And I know from working K to 12, that the job that the K3 teachers do makes a big difference. If primary teachers can avoid teaching students the game of learning, they have a significantly better chance of not falling into it later. I didn't post about metacognition, yet, but students who learn to be metacognitive struggle less with independent learning.

    This is such a great event. It pushes me hard to connect text with my context and the context of the bigger picture. Thanks Cathy for getting us off to a terrific start.

    Here's my link: http://juliebalen.weebly.com/3/post/2013/07/cyberpd-2013-who-owns-the-learning.html

    Julie

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    1. Julie,
      I look forward to thinking through some of these questions with you during this event. "Can students be co-planners? Can they design and direct their own learning? How do we get students to the place where they can be independent learners; not just for a task but in a more sustained way?"

      I had an interesting conversation with our gifted teacher last year. We were talking about how hard it was for older students to own their learning, to push the envelope, to take things a step further, to look for multiple solutions. First graders, on the other hard, are usually more flexible in their thinking, more willing to take risks, and excited to learn. (Although I do have young first grader with fixed mindsets about learning, but they're not the majority.) I wonder what we can do to grow and maintain this autonomy in learning? What would it look like if students truly owned their learning from K-12+?

      Julie, you always keep me thinking,
      Cathy

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    2. Julie, it's interesting that you mention connections to the text. My blog post talks of the text to self connections I had. Making connections is a powerful tool for all learners. Thanks for making yet another connection for me!

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  14. Hi Cathy,
    After many roadblocks today, I finally finished my reflection...Here is the link! http://theamyrudder.blogspot.com/2013/07/lets-hit-trail-reflection-for-cyber-pd.html
    I am excited to read everyone else's thinking as well.
    Thanks for hosting!
    Amy

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    1. Hi Amy! Don't worry. I think I'm the last to reflect, blog and post here. I'm so glad I saw this on the family blogs on Wonderopolis.

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  15. Hi Cathy,
    Thanks for hosting and for giving me a place to share my new blog! It has a few posts, but this is the first time I've shared it publicly. Here is the link:

    http://rethinkingmediacenters.wordpress.com

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    1. Jamie,
      Congratulations on your new blog. I look forward to following your journey. I'm VERY interested in your perspective in rethinking media.

      Cathy

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    2. Jamie, I look forward to reading your blog. I love the title!

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  16. I did not get a chance to reply with a post. My thought was to create a page on my blog with suggested tools for each of the roles of the student. What tools would you all suggest?

    Here is my thinking as of right now...
    Scribe: BossJock (podcasting), Evernote, Google Docs
    Tutorial Designer: Explain Everything, Voicethread, Educreations
    Researcher: Wolfram Alpha, Google Custom Search, Sweet Search, Symbaloo
    Communicator and Collaborator: Skype, Twitter, Google+ Communities and Hangout

    What would you add to this list?

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    1. Matt,
      Thanks for stopping by the conversation. We welcome comments, #cyberPD hashtag conversation, and posts. Whatever works for everyone! (However, if you decide later to write that post, let me know and I will add it.)

      When I first read about jobs I really wanted everyone to be doing all of those things in a more natural way --- with individual purpose. However, after talking with Deb (Primary Perspective) she talked about how we have some students who choose to work digitally and some that rarely choose it independently. Would jobs give them opportunities to learn more, get comfortable? Would jobs help students to see new possibilities? Hmmm, still pondering.

      I like the way you've added apps to your jobs --- and I see some I don't know. Hmmm. Deb, on her blog, had suggested a Global Communicator (twitter) and a Book Shouter (Shelfari) too: http://deb-frazier.blogspot.com.

      I think I have more to ponder....
      Cathy

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    2. Matt, What a fantastic idea to compile that list! For the "Researcher" role, adding a kid-friendly search engine like KidRex.org would be fantastic. Like Cathy, I think I have more to ponder now!

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    3. Hello Matt. Thanks for such an incredible list! It is definitely worth "copying" for later use.

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  17. Cathy,
    Thank you for hosting and organizing the #cyberPD. Also, thank you for sharing websites and links that have pushed your thinking.

    Here's my reflection...

    http://wonderingthrough2012.blogspot.com/2013/07/cyberpd-who-owns-learning-chapters-1.html

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    1. Hello to one of my favorite Twitterers! Thanks for your blog post that informed me of #cyberPD. I appreciate you so much!!

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  18. Though I don't have a post, I am spending some time reading others' reflections. I did read the book through part of Chapter 1. I think the idea of what school looks like to best help students be learners will be important to the conversations.
    Thanks so much for hosting this event again. It always makes me think!

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  19. Hi Cathy, Thank you for hosting and organizing the #cyberPD again this year! I completely missed the start of this conversation and would love to still join if possible. Thank you!

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  20. Although, I won't always have this much time to respond to as many posts, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading the comments. Thanks for spreading the love of learning through #cyberPD

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  21. Just arrived home from vacation and have been reading all the blog posts. It is amazing how we can all ready the same book and take away our own big idea. It is a great reminder for me as I teach a lesson and realize now all students are taking the same big idea. A lesson with in the blogs. Thanks for hosting.

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