Students in the West Vancouver School District participated in a real-world learning experience reporting on the 2010 Olympic/Paralympic Games through blogs and social media. The students gained over 1,000 followers within a school day and learned that good writing skills, photos, videos, and building an online community were keys to success. The experience showed how mobile technology can enhance learning when students are taught to use social media to their full potential and build networks. For both students and teachers, it was a profoundly impactful demonstration of learning beyond the classroom.

1. CHRIS KENNEDYDeputy Superintendent, West Vancouver School District StudentsLive! Real-world learning at the 2010 Olympic/Paralympic Games TEDxUBC Oct 23 | 2010

2. This is a story . . . of what personalized learning could look like

3. A story not about what we could do, or should do, but what we did do

6. StudentsLive! reporting . . . live

9. I have never been part of something where it was so evident how important good writing is

12. Students were native to technology . . . but had no idea how to use it to build community

13. 1,000 FOLLOWERS WITHIN HOURS DURING A SCHOOL DAY . . .

15. Need to build face-to-facecommunity first

16. Mobile technology is a game changer

17. The best writers stood out, photos were great, but those blogs building community all included video

18. NOT “mine is better than yours” BUT “yours can help make mine better”

20. THE BETTER THEY WROTE THE MORE INTERESTING THE TOPIC THE LARGER THE AUDIENCE

21. No going back . . . they had seen what was possible with real-world learning

22. MOBILE TECHNOLOGY CAN CHANGE LEARNING GOOD WRITING STILL MATTERS USING SOCIAL MEDIA NEEDS TO BE TAUGHT NETWORKS ARE ESSENTIAL THE REAL WORLD IS ADDICTIVE

23. Real-world learning is profound for the adults involved

24. ... friends ... parents ...parents’ friends ...friends’ parents ...parents’ co-workers The idea of building networks was new to students

27. The greatest teaching experience of my life

28. “Talk less. Listen more.” Daniel Pink