Flat Students – Flat Learning Global Understanding

Julie LindsayGlobal Education Conference 2014

Flatconnections.com @flatconnections

Meet Julie Lindsay…..Global Educator, InnovatorTeacherpreneur, AuthorMA Educational Technology LeadershipMA Music EdD Student, University of Southern QueenslandAdjunct Lecturer, Charles Sturt University, Faculty of EducationGlobal collaboration consultantApple Distinguished EducatorGoogle Certified Teacher

Director, Learning Confluence Pty LtdFounder, Flat Connections

@julielindsay | #flatconnect | @flatconnections | about.me/julielindsay

What is a ‘Flat Student’?

What is ‘Flat Learning’?

“It’s when a technology becomes normal, then ubiquitous, and finally so pervasive as to be invisible, that the really profound changes happen, and for young people today, our new social tools have passed normal and are heading to ubiquitous, and invisible is coming”

Clay Shirky, 2008

We need to ‘flatten’ the learning

hierarchy. Students, teachers, ALL

learners, must have freedom to

communicate ‘across’ rather

than up or down

FLAT LEARNING?

http://www.slideshare.net/dwarlick/flat-world-flat-web-flat-classrooms

What does this mean?

• Authentic, real-world tasks - students are engaged with the world

• Develop partners for the learning process - with other learners who are not in the same time and space, with the extended community

• A shared understanding - of what it means to learn within a Digital Learning Environment

• Independent and personalised learning - responsibility for personal branding and choices for learning outcomes

What are enablers for flat learning?

• Web 2.0 tools – access at home and at school• Curriculum redesign• Promoting the ‘networked student’

– PLN and PLC development– personal branding– global digital citizenship

• Student independent learning– Choices– Collaboration

See ‘Who says global collaboration is hard? http://www.julielindsay.net/2014/08/who-says-global-collaboration-is-hard.html

What are barriers for flat learning?

• Technology infrastructure• Technology access• Digital fluency• Global digital citizenship skills• Conformity – all must be the same• The ‘we are already collaborating’ response• No idea where to start…..

See ‘Who says global collaboration is hard? http://www.julielindsay.net/2014/08/who-says-global-collaboration-is-hard.html

Building bridges between learners

Technology must be the bridge, not the barrier to new connected teaching and learning modes

Beyond merely ‘integrating

technology’ This is a new

‘category’ of tools and learning

habits that supports 21C skills

and global collaborative

objectives

Disruptive Innovations.....

http://www.waggrakineps.wa.edu.au/21st-Century-Learning.aspx//

http://www.waggrakineps.wa.edu.au/21st-Century-Learning.aspx//

Our long-term goal is to bridge the divide between what students know and

do at school and what they know and do in real life.

http://www.waggrakineps.wa.edu.au/21st-Century-Learning.aspx//

We believe increased global links will provide

new catalysts to build on our focus of leading our

students towards becoming effective global

citizens

What is YOUR digital learning environment?

How do you connect your students to the learning and the extended ‘flattened’ classroom?

Share your ideas via the chat window.Raise your hand if you wish to share via the microphone.

Students who ‘flatten’ their

learning through connected

workflow. Students develop

PLN’s and PLC’s to support

personalised and global

learning.

FLAT STUDENTS?

“The pipe is more important than the content in the pipe.”

Connectivism – George Siemens

Siemens, George. (2005). Connectivism: A learning theory for the digital age. International Journal of Instructional Technology and Distance Learning, 2(1), 3-10. doi: http://www.ingedewaard.net/papers/connectivism/2005_siemens_ALearningTheoryForTheDigitalAge.pdf

The Networked Student

“Emerging web applications and open educational resources are integrated to support a Networked Student Model that promotes inquiry-based learning and digital literacy, empowers the learner, and offers flexibility as new technologies emerge.”

Drexler, Wendy. (2010). The networked student model for construction of personal learning environments: Balancing teacher control and student autonomy. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 26(3), 369-385.

The ‘flat’ student has a PLN and PLC’s to connect with at anytime

The ‘flat’ student can learn (connect, collaborate, co-create,

take action) anywhere at anytime without constraints

Teachers must promote and support independent student learning

The Millennial Condition...

Intercultural understanding in a

global context.

Design to ‘Connect’

Construct a ‘legacy’

Amplify the ‘impact’

Global Understanding?

Working and Co-Creating with

Global Partners

http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20130715-reading-the-world-in-365-days

Global UnderstandingTo what extent will a book help us?

http://thelearningcurve.pearson.com

Global CompetenceWhat skills do we need for the future?

Leadership for flat learning

Learning

fluency while digital

Community

action

Social change & new leadership modes

‘Teacherpreneur’ Leadership

A teacher gets an idea for learning

Fosters excitement amongst other

teachers

A group of teachers come together to

do something significant

‘Outlier’ Pedagogy...Understanding digital collaborative and global communication paradigm.

– Extend learning beyond physical classroom walls– Non Traditional pedagogy modeled for peers:– Collaborative in nature– Reach out to educators globally

“Learners in collaborative and global outlier teaching paradigms participate

in a new educational ecology”

Arteaga, S. (2012). Self-Directed and Transforming Outlier Classroom Teachers as Global Connectors in Experiential Learning. (Ph.D.), Walden University.

A New Paradigm for Educational Leadership

• Online learning communities are leveling the playing field to advantage learners

• Leadership must address:– School revitalization in a digital world– Teachers as providers of new forms of leadership

in schools and communities– Support of the ‘teacherpreneur’ or ‘outlier’

John Hattie – Visible Learning Laboratories http://www.treasury.govt.nz/publications/media-speeches/guestlectures/pdfs/tgls-hattie.pdf

Teacher as ‘change agent or activator’

Once the teacher is not the gateway (or the barrier) to global learning,

then what?

As a leader do you understand...

• How to be a connected learner?• Tools and strategies to learn digitally?• Digital citizenship themes?• Policies and guidelines to support digital

citizenship?• How to design digital learning environments

to suit curriculum and learning outcomes?• How to promote independent student

learning?

Flat, Connected, Global Learning...

• Who can you collaborate with? • Global CONNECTION

• What can you create together?• Global LEGACY

• What are some actionable outcomes to change the world?• Global IMPACT

Synchronous ‘flat’ learning

We must be able to sustain connections beyond the face-to-face experience and beyond the virtual, synchronous experience e.g. Skype call.

The future of ‘flat’ learning includes collaboration online.

How are we supporting this?

Asynchronous ‘flat’ learning

What is Collaboration?

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http://www.thinkingcollaborative.com/norms-collaboration-toolkit/

Collaboration in a digital world

Global collaboration by its very nature implies asynchronous collaboration

“…..while insular, ‘stand alone’ teaching has characterized the teaching of a paper-based world, collaborative teaching could well characterize that of an increasingly digital and networked world; a world where collaboration and integration are the norm…”

Lee, Malcolm, & Ward, Lorrae. (2013). Collaboration in learning : transcending the classroom walls. Camberwell, Victoria: ACER Press.

Why global collaboration?

• It is imperative• It is one of the major reasons for using mobile and

ubiquitous digital technologies• It does support global awareness and competency

and intercultural understanding - and we believe this is a GOOD thing, so good in fact that....

• It will change the world - it already has for the many teachers and students who have taken the opportunity to connect and collaborate.

1% Rule – Internet Culture

• In a collaborative learning environment eg a wiki:o 90% view or lurko 9% edit contento 1% actively create new content

• Also called the 90-9-1 principle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1%25_rule_%28Internet_culture%29

Collaboration: On the edge of a new paradigm

http://flatconnections.net/video/collaboration-on-the-edge-of-a-new-paradigm

Who says global collaboration is hard?

True global collaboration in the classroom needs a shift in teaching that allows teachers and

students to 'flatten' the learning experience to bring the outside world in and put themselves out there - to build bridges for global empathy

and create workable structures where all participants can learn with and not just from each

other.

http://www.julielindsay.net/2014/08/who-says-global-collaboration-is-hard.html

THREE easy steps……

1. Build online learning communities

2. Design for success3. Move to collaboration

and co-creation

Interact and Share with the World

Collaborative Learning

Community Network

Spaces for Global Learning

Flat Connections Global Project (FCGP)

• 500 students• 20+ classrooms• 6 countries• 36 student teams• 1 Keynote• 24 Expert Advisors• 18 Judges and 3 Meta-judges• 213 Videos• 15 eBooks

February-June 2014!

http://flatconnections.com

FCGP Community for Learning

Spaces for Connection……..

Spaces for Collaboration……

Student Leadership…….

What do student leaders think?

Communication was difficult. I don't think that it was necessarily just being in different timezones, but also that it was all based online.

I found that the majority of the students in my team never contacted me, despite being messaged several times with the expectancy of a response. I often felt more dedicated to the task than a lot of other people in the team.

However, in saying that, there were also other students who contributed significant amount of information, and should be commended for it.

Students as global project leaders……

This project was a great experience for me to be able to collaborate with people from all over the world and learn how to communicate with people who have different ideas and perspectives.

It was like herding cats…….

Challenges to global collaboration…..

I would often send messages to my team members, but I think most of those messages went unnoticed. It would be great if the inbox would do something more to alert you that you have a message - it would help a lot!

The thing that did not work with student leaders was I felt like most people in my group just felt that it was the student leaders job to do everything and they didn't have to do anything. This could be improved by making sure people know that being part of a group means everyone needs to help and do their job.

“When I don’t collaborate globally, I feel disconnected”

Michelle (Berea Student)

How do we ‘connect’ students to the world?

Singapore American School International School of the Sacred Heart, Japan

Theme 2014-15: Global Peace and

Security

http://globalyouthdebates.com

Asynchronous global debates between classrooms

Tools: Voicethread & Fuze

‘A Week in the Life…’A Flat Connections Project for Elementary School students

Grades 3-5, age 8-10

Co-Created Showcase Multimedia

Tool: Voicethread

NEW PROJECT now with a focus on ‘global issues’

A Week in the Life 14-2

THEME: Environmental Issues

The aim of this project is also to explore global issues and to foster meaningful discussion and sharing between students. Outcomes will include student-driven solutions shared through creative use of technology.

Essential Questions which will be answered as part of the project

• What are the similarities and differences among the environment around the world?

• How can we connect with each other through our commonalities?

• How does your geography, history and lifestyle of where you live impact your environment?

• What are essential solutions to researched global issues and how can we share these?

1. Do some research on a week in the life of children in your school around these topics:

• Air pollution• Coal mining and effects on land• Droughts• Eating locally• Farming with chemicals• Flooding• Forest fires• Fracking• Logging and effects on land• Reducing waste• Water pollution• Wildlife conservation

2. Collect multimedia and share with team members

• Multimedia choices: video, audio, slideshow, cartoons, etc.

• Share multimedia online via team wiki pages• Discuss differences and similarities between

multimedia

3. Complete a final project demonstrating your information to the rest of the group.

• Each classroom will be responsible to assemble a number of team projects

• Upload finished projects to the wiki• View all the group projects and compare and

contrast the results.

The change we need.....• Community building as a prerequisite to

learning• Collaboration that leads to co-creation

with other learners who are not in the same time and space,

• Pedagogical independence and leadership for change within a school/institution

• Curriculum re-design to embed flat learning

Global Learning: Holistic and ‘Flat’

Flat Connected Learning

Blended Learning

Project & Challenge

-basedCulture of

sharing

Flipped Classroom

Inter-connected

Web 2.0

Global Project Design Leadership for connected

learning

Pedagogy

My ‘Moonshot’…….. #gtasyd 2014

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29131777@N03/8309024612

An alternative approach to ‘school’

A redesign of the learning paradigm where STUDENTS take

the lead in connecting and collaborating and co-creating solutions to global problems.

‘Learning Collaboratives’• Supports student passion and choices in learning• Global teams• Learning concierge support• Design thinking structure

Announcing!Social Entrepreneurship Learning Collaborative• Dates TBC for 2015• Schools, teachers, independent learners invited

to apply to join

Connect with China

Collaborative

Full details on the website: http://goo.gl/MqG2Lh

For Chinese language learners Grades 6-12

Pilot: April –June 2015

Students CAN work with the world

Available from Amazon – Hard copy and Kindle

http://flatconnections.comhttp://flatconnections.net

Learning about the world, with the world