I’ve been so busy with work that I’ve been lacking the processing power for blogging – both reading, writing and commenting. However, I’ve put some effort into Twitter instead and the experience has been great. I’m learning all sorts of interesting things about teaching and learning by following all sorts of interesting education people.
I’ve also expanded my connections beyond education, which has proved very valuable. For example, a link from Twitter sent me to The Long Now Foundation, which fosters long-term thinking and responsibility in the framework of the next 10,000 years. The Long Now is like the slow food movement for thinkers. It’s about thinking about the long term, and it’s also about slower, better thinking. Obviously they intend to be around for a long time.
They’ve got a bunch of interesting projects and wide-ranging seminars, including the option to place bets and vote on predictions about the future. At the moment, it’s Kevin Kelly’s prediction that “By 2060 the total population of humans on earth will be less than it is today.”
Startling news about the state of my local harbour here in Porirua has got me wondering about whether we need a New Zealand chapter.
The beauty of things like The Long Now and TEDTalks is that they are broad churches – education is but one of their foci. We need to keep a broad (and long) view when it comes to seeking influences and shaping our own thinking and learning in education.
Maybe you’re thinking it’s ironic that I got a tweet about The Long Now? Even in 140 characters, I’m finding plenty of evidence of smart, deep thinking in the peeps that I’m following. Thanks, guys!
Here’s a link to 25 Interesting Ways to Use Twitter in the Classroom (also sent to me over Twitter). I particularly like ideas #2 and #12. It’s been put together by Tom Barrett.
On the subject of slow, I’ve been meaning to blog about Geetha Narayanan’s article A Dangerous but Powerful Idea – Counter Acceleration and Speed with Slowness and Wholeness. There’s a lot to talk about in this. I’m interested in the idea that our own key competencies – and, indeed, the development of local, school-based curriculum – provide ‘slow’ opportunities for deep, meaningful, engagement and exploration of learning – ‘synchronicity with actual real life processes’. Slow pedagogy.
Geetha says:
The thoughtless and widespread use of technology as the universal solution to the rising need for fast knowledge is wrong and must be questioned. … To me the new digital technologies are tools that allow for learners to develop their imaginations, to be able to play and to have fun, to be able to tell stories in different and exciting ways. But in order to generate value they need to be integrated into new forms and structures in an invisible and contextual manner so that they work slowly and with great finesse to create an unquiet and critical pedagogy – one where new media arts can sustain social change.
Her warning about seeing technology as a solution, without real understanding of the effective pedagogy needed to lead learning experiences, is clearly a message to support. This is why our national curriculum ‘makes sense’ of ICT, as some wise person (apologies for not recalling who it was), said to me the other day.
All too often we are “talking to ourselves”. I agree it is a good thing to get out into the world… Working or otherwise. If we don’t how do we stay relevant in our teaching.
I suspect that this ‘closed community’ idea is part of the reason that world’s needs form education changed while we were ‘sleeping’.
The end game is to produce successful, thoughful reponsible, productive and positive members of society. If that is going to hppen we need stop and look around once in a while and take the temperature of our society, economy and culture.
Thank you for the 25 uses for twitter in the classroom, it’s just what I have been looking for.
Simon’s last blog post..Letters and notices
An interesting post