Tuesday at NECC -- Session 1

Tom March, Drive for 2005, Drivefor2005.org

The first session I visited was Tom March. He was one of the original developers of WebQuests and has extended the idea to emphasize reaching beyond the classroom and making a difference in the world. Last year, the session was full before I got there so I left early.

Snippets

• New 3R’s – real, rich and relevant learning


• The new WWW – wherever, whenever, whatever


• In 2008, market for ring tones is estimated at $4 billion


• Scott Fitzgerald: “The victor belongs to the spoils.”


• Martin Seligman – studies “authentic happiness” – 3 paths only the last 2 work (30 years of research)


• Pursuing pleasure


• Taking meaningful actions


• Service to something larger than yourself




• William James: self-esteem = success/pretension (pretension means expectation)




• March: pretension > success = The Real “Whatever” because so much expectation is forced at kids via TV, phones, web, etc.




• Construct rather than Consume


• Ipod – you make your own radio station

• To capture student interest:




• Create a Class Portal – ex. Immaculata HS with essays on slavery – not a lesson, not a unit – living


• Create a hotlist


• Create/monitor wikipedia page


• Create blog

Drivefor2005

• Steps to create one of the involvement strategies


• Filamentality – ozline.com – search here for links vetted by educators


• Learning to Look as a Class – encourages students to look differently at things




• Submit sites that are “ah-ha” – something is unique, weird perspective




• Class Act Portals for all -- blogs, wikis, etc.




• modeling passion about learning


• Meaningful learning


• Evolving, ongoing learning