This is my presentation at the CALICO conference, Amherst, June 10, 2010 as part of a panel to discuss the book I helped co-edit called CALL in Challenging Technology Context: https://calico.org/page.php?id=452. A draft version of the text of my chapter, from which this presentation was distilled, is here: http://tinyurl.com/vance2010calico
1. Shifting sands, shifting paradigms: Challenges to developing 21st century learning skills Vance Stevens Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi, UAE Presenting at CALICO 2010, Amherst June 10, 2010
2. The challenge To prepare students for careers as knowledge workers in jobs not invented yet, teachers must Transition from one mindset to another on ten fronts simultaneously, each involving a substantial break with past thinking Grasp how a baker’s dozen of unfamiliar tools and concepts can further learning in the emerging paradigms Cannot be done in one step… only in many SMALL steps SMALL = Social Media Assisted Language Learning Vance Stevens CALICO 2010 Amherst
3. Ten Paradigm Shifts Pedagogy - shift from didactic models of “teaching” to constructivist ones of learning Networking –connectivism: learning as a social vs. isolated activity Literacy –from reliance on print to functioning in multiliteracies Heuristics – from client-server to peer-to-peer Formality – from hierarchical power centricity to informal learning and F.U.N. Transfer - applying social networking skills and concepts from personal life to professional Directionality – from push to pull dissemination of knowledge Ownership – proprietary vs. open source, OER, and fair use Sharing – from guarded copyright to creative commons Classification – taxonomic to folksonomic systems Vance Stevens CALICO 2010 Amherst
4. Baker’s dozen of skills, concepts, tools, and genres for the 21st Century Web 2.0 and social networking RSS and feed readers Podcasts Harvesting them, through RSS Also producing them Blogging Multiliteracyskills Following via RSS Microblogging Twitter Edmodo, Yammer, etc. Push/pull technologies Aggregation via folksonomic classification (tags) Digital storytelling and applications of multimedia to new literacies PLNs (personal learning networks) Communities of practice Connectivism Informal / just-in-time learning Synchronous communications: instant messaging, online presentation venues incorporating interactive whiteboard, voice, and video Asynchronous collaborations tools: blogs, wikis, Voicethread, Slideshare, Google docs and similar collaboration tools Vance Stevens CALICO 2010 Amherst
5. Making IT happen (Freedman, 2006) Article on change agency advises: Careful preparation Anticipate counter-arguments Avoid evangelicalism Plan steps beyond acceptance of your idea Request specific action when approaching administrators Assuming doubters are trying to do their best Vance Stevens CALICO 2010 Amherst
6. Making IT happen (Coffino, 2008) Several conditions for making "the shift to a 21st century learning environment" happen: Make clear why change is needed Clear vision and expectation that change will happen Dedicated support person to Ensure that models for change are embedded in curriculum Ensure the infrastructure is in place Set out clear roles for each staff member Publicize success Vance Stevens CALICO 2010 Amherst
7. Organizing teachers to use Web 2.0 Get them familiar with project organization and collaboration online: Cloud collaboration in Google Docs Wikis Etherpad clones Delicious and Diigo Tapping into PLN’s Microblogging (Twitter) Ning and alternatives Listservs Facebook Vance Stevens CALICO 2010 Amherst
8. Design materials to train teachers while teaching students Simple, practical, hands on exercises in: Cloud collaboration in Google Docs (i.e. wiki) Reading blogs (before creating them) Following blogs via RSS Via blocks added to LMS / CMS & other aggregators At a more advanced stage, in Google Reader Tagging in Delicious (and/or Diigo) Organizing bookmarks in the cloud Using Delicious to communicate through tags Expanding Internet searches through suggested alternate key words Vance Stevens CALICO 2010 Amherst
9. F.U.N. with tags and backchannels Play tag games with: Spezify and Addictomatic Flickr and TagGalaxy Writingmatrix Backchannel tools Lists in Twitter Edmodo Wallwisher Voicethread Vance Stevens CALICO 2010 Amherst
10. Class-roots professional development Students and staff must Recognize potentials of social media for learning Model best practices for one another Refine skills by training one another Training Not just through reading about IT and attending lectures or workshops Necessary to “do” it. This requires PLN of peers who will interact and scaffold one another Vance Stevens CALICO 2010 Amherst
11. Making the shift happen Teachers as“master” lifelong learners must: Move toward greater socialization in their learning environments Become aware of and incorporate 21st Century skills and paradigm shifts Seek out, and become, models of best practices Vance Stevens CALICO 2010 Amherst
12. Vance’s presentations are always online http://slideshare.net/vances http://tinyurl.com/vance2010calico Sorry, no “handout” but …