Schools: we are not the only shop in town. A lesson from DeadPool

It occurs to me that as leaders of schools we often forget that we do not have the monopoly on learning. This first hit we when my own two sons found Kerbal Space Program (KSP). It's game where you build space ships to complete missions. My boys loved this program and have returned to it several times over the years. Their eye lit up when they talk about connecting to a real astronaut on Reddit to ask questions about how to build their space ships better. But the real moment was a conversation we had about their learning in KSP. My boys were telling me all they build in this game, how they connected to real experts in the field, and with excited voices they said the statement that killed me as an educator.

"We've learned more about space in KSP than four year of science at our high school."

And my heart sank. They go to a good school. It's ranked top ten by US News and World Reports. They get good grades. The teacher there are great. But all that learning and resources were nothing compared to this game. KSP engaged them in a greater community. It connected them to real world experts. It allowed them to personalized their learning through choicing missions. It is project-based learning. It's got all the educational buzzwords.

So after I got over the shock and moved into the 21st century, I started to think "Is this so bad?" They are engaged. They are learning. Isn't that what we want for all our students?

That was a few years ago. Since then I have bumped into this outside of classroom learning often. I mentor robotics team after school. At first it was funny but now I am use to the time each season where a student suddenly says "Oh this is where I can use that math I learned in class."

I am ashamed to admit I play a sim game on my phone where you build a town with fields, animals, and factories all that produce things to meet goals in the game. It's probably time to feed my cows now. This would be a great tool for teaching Economics. Let the kids play this for two weeks, then introduce your terms, topics and problems. See what that added knowledge does for their game play.

DeadPool is a great movie in part because it breaks that fourth wall.  Our classrooms should do that to. Break that wall between the kids' learning outside the classroom and students' learning inside the classroom.

We can find ways to do this starting with the kids themselves. Ask them how they learned about a new game or improved their sports skills. Look for other successful places of learning. Today what sparked this for me was the articule at the end of this post. Think about museums, these are places of learning that are optional. They have to make it interesting enough that kids WANT to go there. Or at least parents are interested in taking their kids there. It's like a free market classroom. This is a great place to look for ideas! ( mic drop)


What Schools Can Learn From a Science Museum That Makes Learning Irresistible for Kids  

#iste17 reflections

Back in another lifetime, I was a LotusNotes gurl. I developed courses and taught NetWare and LotusNotes when the industry certifcations were just coming out. I have been to a few tech conferences in my day. I was at iNACOL last year.

But ISTE is a whole another level.

20,000 educators, footballs fields of vendors, sessions, playgrounds, and posters. I had no idea what playgrounds and posters were before I went there but I highly recommend them. ISTE is a huge event. Plan before you go, get there the day before and stay until the closing.

The first day was great. I was with my poeple. Not that I went there with anyone but all the people there - they're my people. They get it. They get the constant learning and comfortable shifting sands of technology.

The second day the vendor floor opened and I was off chasing shiny things. The free stuff otherwise know as trickets and trash. I cramped my hand writing raffle entries. I watched product demos I will never use for the tee-shirt. I got a dozen ribbons for my badge.

Then I hit a wall. Suddenly it all looked trendy and flashy. There were robots everywhere. I have been mentoring robotics on a team founded in 1999 but apparently it all just caught on. I ended the second day with a pretty good haul. At least four tee shirts. One is really soft. Another says "The Code is strong with this one" (star wars!). A great book ( Ditch that textbook). and about 30 pounds of flyers.

Time to regroup. What was I there for?

I work in a vaccum. I am the only person leading online learning and virtual program in my school. My mentor just retired. The position I report to have been vacant for sox month and my dep. supe. does not know what I do.

I'm not a ISTE for the trendy products. I am not here for the tools. I am here for the thought leadership.

So I started my third day planning to listen to Will Richardson. At the bus stop, I learned about a sketchnote meetup in the blogger cafe. I attended and got my start at sketchnoting. I met @SylviaDuckworth. I listened to Will Richardson remind us that technology should amplify the learning not drive it.

Overall ISTE was a great experience. I learned a lot. I connected with many people.  and I found my focus.