Climbing up the Rabbit Hole by Catherine Volschenk

After saying our last goodbye's, it is time to climb back up the rabbit hole, getting back to the life we left behind. However, we will always keep with us the experience that we gained in the travels through the wonderland of 21st Century education. It has been a real honor serving people with new and crazy ideas about education.

Thank your for all your support, comments, laughs, readings, etc.
We hate to leave you but your know - places to go, people to see... We, as mad Hatters need to get back to making hats, enjoying what we have created, and Alice... well she needs to get back to the crazy, scary guy to answer his rediculous question...
We love you and leave you!xxx

Saying our Last Good Bye By Catherine Volschenk

Coming to the end of a journey in Wonderland, we look back like Alice and see the change that can be done when one have the courage to live up and exceed.

However, there is only one discussion left before we have to climb out of the rabbit hole and live the life that is set for us by society, so this is our last good bye…

Looking at the theory if Jean Piaget he states that we, as educators, have to come down to the level of the child we are teaching, so that we can think on their level and know what they want and expect. Alice had to do exactly that, the whole land waited for her return to come and save them from their misery. She had to come to their level of thinking, know what they want and expect and believe what they believed to be able to succeed in making their world a better one.

Alice needed to go through many stages to become the Alice the land expected her to be. First she had to figure out how to go through the tiny door, then, when she eventually got into wonderland, she had to find her way, this by following the rabbit that ran away. She eventually meets all the strange creatures of wonderland that was waiting for her arrival. They send her on a journey through wonderland, from the Red Queens castle to the White Queen and then eventually getting herself ready to face the dragon.

Piaget’s theory states exactly that, that there are many stages to go through to achieve cognitive development. The stages he developed are:

·         Sensory motor (birth – 2 years)

·         Preoperational (2-7 years)

·         Concrete operational (7-11 years)

·         Formal operational (12-15 years)

Just like Alice is going through the cognitive developmental stages to get to know the land and what is expected of her to make a difference and live her life, so are the stages of a learner in the 21^st century, going through the stages of life, getting acquainted with the world around him or her and eventually figure out what are required of them to live life and make a difference.

Education and school by Nadine Taft

What is the purpose of education?

The purpose of education is to equip learners with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive in the 21^st century. It involves learning to create meaning of the information provided and the ability to use this knowledge outside of the classroom.To help learners to become creative and innovative thinkers.The purpose education is help learners to develop on a social and personal level as well so that they can reach their full potential.

How do we define school?

School is not just a building, with desks, chairs and chalkboards. School can be defined as a place where learning takes place. Where learners gain knowledge and develop their full potential. A place where learners and educators connect.

Curriculum, plain and simple.. By Elani Venter

How do we now define curriculum?

The curriculum is the basis from which you start to work and plan and what you have to teach the students.

Curriculum is the planned educational experience (Kern, 2009).Curriculum is the sum of the whole learning experience that the students had and that helped them develop the general skills and knowledge that they need to go into the world.

Curriculum is planning about what you will have to learn the students that includes content, philosophy, approach and assessment. Curriculum can be in the form of a document but it also includes non-formal elements that you have to include in the learning process.Curriculum includes activities that will be done, experiences and opportunities that will be followed and that the teacher will take responsibility for. Curriculum should also be seen as the relationship between learners and the teacher. This comes down to the ‘hidden curriculum’ which is what you will teach the students that is not in the formal curriculum. This includes self-control, respect, how you treat others, morals and values.

According to Coles (2003), there are thee phases of curriculum: the curriculum on paper; the curriculum in action; and the curriculum that participants actually learn.

Wojtczak (2002) defines curriculum as:

An educational plan that spells out which goals and objectives should be achieved, which topics should be covered and which methods are to be used for learning, teaching and evaluation.

We as educators have to take the curriculum and make sure that we provide the students with the best possible learning experience.

Kern, D.E. et al. 2009. Curriculum Development for Medical Education. The Johns Hopkins University Press.

http://www.qualityresearchinternational.com/glossary/curriculum.htm

http://coefaculty.valdosta.edu/stgrubbs/Definitions%20of%20Curriculum.htm

“Deep inside all of us, we are all Mad Hatter Monkeys swinging around in a Wonderland, trying to find our way.”

When Alice falls down the Rabbit Hole, she first needs to get acquainted with her surroundings, figure out how everything works, and follow the creatures and people who knows what is going on before she can operate on her own and have the confidence to discover thing on her own.

This is the same with the generation living in the 21^st century and all the new technology discovered and that’s introduced to us. Without the skills to operate technology, the things we create are pretty useless. It takes time to get to know new creations and requires skills to know how to use it. we start off getting to know the new discovery, then we try to figure it out by using the manual and afterwards we learn other uses through the people we know who also use the same technological discoveries.

Skills required to operate media / technology literacy skills and it means to be literate in the 21^st century goes hand in hand. It means to be able to know what is – and how to operate, do or work with:

·         a computer or laptop

·         the internet,

·         communicate via technology but also have human of live communication skills

·         reading knowledge

·         world knowledge

·         writing skills

·         creativity

·         etc.

We need to explore the new world that is introduced to us on a daily basis. When we fall behind it is hard to catch up. Read, communicate, write things, use your creativity and expand your knowledge to get acquainted with the world around you.

“Deep inside all of us, we are all Mad Hatter Monkeys swinging around in a Wonderland, trying to find our way.” (Volschenk, 2012)

Volschenk, H.C. 2012. thmadhatters.blogspot.com.

Random idea from a Mad Hatter...

Guys this is C.R.A.Z.Y ... i went to comment on someones blog and actually noticed what it asks you when you have to fill in those silly words... it says "Prove you're not a robot"...

doesn't this just prove that technology and machines are really taking over our world?? that even the Bicentennial Man, E.T, the terminator or wierd creatures like edward of Jacob can try to comment on our blogs but won't get past the tricky non-sensable word questions...

WEIRD AND CRAZY don't you think?

A techno Wonderland by Catherine Volschenk

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While Alice wonders through this magical world, trying everything in her power to survive, she is adapting to what the world and the people are expecting from her. Having to go beyond what she thought she is capable of to save not only herself but the people of Wonderland.

In some way this is what the technology of the 21^st century asks from us – to think beyond our capability of understanding and achieving things beyond out imagination. Steve Jobs (I’m not the biggest fan) thought beyond what humans thought they could achieve. He had a vision of what he wanted technology to become and he and his company did everything in their power to make that happen, and now we have some of the best technological developments at our fingertips. Richard Branson had also a vision and followed what he believed in he could do to change the world (in some way) and make life easier for people.

Look at what the Japanese are creating and developing with their technological resources. They are striving for a world like the Jetsons – a techno genius world with robots as servants, automatic walkways and space cars.

The 21^st century is like a “technolized” 1960’s… The era of Sex, Drugs and Rock and Roll, the only difference is we have the privilege of documenting everything… We live in an era of documenting everything we do, think, going to think, going to do and even going to say. We tweet, facebook, my space, etc, everything is just a click away. It’s the world of iPads, tabs, mobile dstv, free chat sites, electrical cigarettes and much much more.

We are creating our own wonderland with all these technological discoveries. The only problem is we are becoming more and more incapable of doing things ourselves and machines and technological equipment are becoming our intellectual replacements.

Cutting out the problems of 21^st century technology and just focusing on what a wonderful world it is actually creating; education can actually benefit much more from it than we are allowing it. Schools can implement technology to make class more fun, using over head projectors and use slideshows with pictures and videos in class, iPads to have all the prescribed books on one thing, making the suitcases of the children lighter, play wii in class to get the children active again, etc. make school for the children lekker and unforgettable.

Like Alice we as educators wonder through this wonderland of technology having the world at our fingertips only focusing on trying to survive. Look beyond the trees and the flowers, look beyind the given facts and use your creativity to make something of this wonder lane we are strolling in.  Bring the joy of learning into your class, your own little wonderland, to save the lives of the children who is becoming the product of a lost education. Go beyond what is expected of you and what you think you are capable of and use the techo world as a resource to change from an ordinary teacher to extra ordinary, one that will save, change and encourage lives to become better people.

Save the lives of the Wonderlanders!!

A Wonder learner by Nadine Taft

How do we define the learner?

The 21^st century learner is a completely different being! Social, interactive and always on. They are constantly connected. Learning for them has become a life-long process and continues beyond the classroom. They are creative creatures, who think critically about the information they have been given. They are able to use this information, think out of the box, and apply it to the real world situations. Doing a million things at once, no problem! These learners are incredible multitaskers.  The 21^st century learner is digitally literate and world of technology is their playground. They have instant access to information and are able to take it all in quicker than we think.

References:

Kim cofino (http://kimcofino.com/blog)

Rodgers, M., Runyon, D., Starrett, D., Von Holzen, R. ()Teaching the 21^st century learner. 22^nd Annual conference on distance teaching and learning. Sited from: http://www.uwex.edu/disted/conference 

Structuring of a 21st Wonderworld by Elani Venter

How should education be structured to meet the needs of students in the 21^st century world?

The world is changing and so the education system should change as well to fit the 21^st century student.

In the past children grew up playing with toy cars outside in the dust, the dressed up their dolls and made them drink tea. Today they they have their own computers and play games and almost never see the outside.

By the age of 21, 21^st century students will have played 10 000 hours of games, sent 200 000 emails, watched 20 000 hours of television and spent 10 000 hours on there cell phones. They can multi-task and they want to use images, colour and sound wherever they can. They are digitally literate, they experiment and they are social. They want interactivity, they read visual images and have strong visual-spatial skills, they like parallel processing and inductive discovery, they want fast response and don’t want a long attention spans.

You have to focus the education more on solving problems, thinking processes and not on the content. Focus on peer-to-peer situations, and let them explore the situation themselves, learning through experience.

They are expecting technology in the classrooms because that is with what they grew up. You have to let them work on the computers to solve problems, use online quizzes, create games for them that will test their knowledge, provide forums for sharing information, let them share pictures, videos and anything they want to. The use of wireless networking in you classroom will make it easy for them to access in class and you can do exercises with them on the computer, like fit the words the picture. They can create a classroom concept map on the computer the will include videos, links to websites, pictures etc. If you use online collaboration via whiteboards, discussions on blogs, wikis and chats you involve the student because they love communication on line. Learning will take place and the will corporate. If schools have the ability to have computers you can do lots of fun activities with them in class. But also remember most children have cell phones that have internet connections. So let them use that in class to do a quick Google search on facts or things that they need to find in class. Keep it based on the lesson and relevant but let them play on Google. If the school can supply iPads, use that. MiPad has lots of applications that you can use to make the lesson interesting. You can let them change photos,make dairies, list and calendars. Teach them how to keep organised on that little devise. Everyday almost there are new applications on iPads that you can use to teach them.

The youth of today are technologically advanced, and they have lots of opportunities. We have to provide them with all the opportunities to develop skills so that they will be able to make a positive influence on the world. They are creative, cognitive and have the ability to learn!Students of today want to be mature on lots of levels, intellect, physical and social. You as a teacher needs to be we informed and trained as well to provide the best possible education for them. You have to know how to search on the internet, how to use technology effectively and you have to be able to teaches them from the technological point of view.

The whole education system must change and keep up with the rest of the world and the new 21^st century. We have to provide the students with the skills and knowledge that is world-class and of very high standard.

 please watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Y7eijNoiGc

http://www.nacfam.org/Portals/0/Workforce/21stCLS_WhitePaper_12-3-08.pdf

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/276651/raising-21st-century-child

http://depd.wisc.edu/series/06_4168.pdf

Plain and Straight forward... by Tintswalo mkansi

What is Green Education?

When we look at green education the first thing that should come to mind is “sustainable development”. Now what this means is we use our resources in such a way that they don’t harm the environment to such an extent that it destroys it over time. But how do we come to teach the learners this. Obviously we have to give them the basic knowledge of the issues such as of pollution, sewerage problems, saving electricity just to mention a few. Also as in the 21^st century the learners should also research these issues so that they may see the intensity of the problems. But information is not enough in order to have a green environment but the implementation thereof. It’s about putting the theory into practice on how to sustain our environment for example, with saving water don’t keep the tap running unnecessary, and by learning this in turn can benefit the community because these learners may go home and educate the community on how to conserve water and will become a habit that slowly but surely our water will be conserved and educating the elders on what to do and what not to do as the learners have a big influence on their community.

How do we now define a “Teacher”?

“Teacher- from primary role as a dispenser of information to orchestrator of learning and helping students turn information into knowledge, and knowledge into wisdom,” (Fessler, 2011:12).

Now days the approach has changed from a teacher –centred approach to a student-centred approach meaning that the teachers need to adapt to this. So the characteristics of how we define a teacher is as follows:

v  Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity so that they may be the best that they can be.

v  Activate students to maximize the potential of their formal and informal learning experiences.

v  Facilitate learning in a variety of ways best possible to suit the learners.

v  Using digital tools such as computers to improve student engagement and achievement.

v  Working with the students to create new and exciting learning opportunities.

v  Be lifelong learners and ready to adapt to change.

v  Be global educators

How do we now define a “Learner?”

The following characteristics will define the perfect 21^st century learner (Certiport, http://www.certiport.org/docs/IEAB_Whitepaper040808.pdf):

v  They like to be in control

v  They like choices

v  They are inclusive in all that they do

v  They are sociable and group orientated

v  They are users of digital technology

v  They are different in the way that they think

v  They like to take risks

Comment on if you agree or disagree on these characteristics????

Global Classroom

Isn’t it so amazing how technology has advanced in so many different ways? From the way we access information and how we use it. A global classroom can be seen as the way in which the education has evolved from teaching in classrooms to receiving your lectures via the internet in the comfort of your own home without even leaving your home. This in a way enables the learners from all around the world to study at any tertiary institution that they want without being present in that particular country, the way that the costs will be less for accommodation and all other expenses associated with studying.  This also involves the communicating with one another from across the borders like for example Skype, where you are able to communicate with family or friends even though you are far way from each other. With the lectures on the internet this enables all the learners across the world to also be able to interact with one another and share their own ideas and views, and this is to the advantage that not all people are the same and we are able to learn from the different views therefore getting a global perspective of everything. What do you think about the global classroom?