"You can't do that if you're standing all Alone" (Lee Ving)

Problem-solving, collaboration and creativity are ubiquitous in 21st century educational lingo. These skills have by no means become important only now; they have been essential ever since the time of hunters and gatherers. Unfortunately, we educators don't always do a great job in championing such qualities. 

This year, I attended a workshop let by my colleague and buddy Corey Topf. In his presentation, Corey was explaining how, very often in the IB Diploma, teachers focus on grades at the expense of process. This approach inevitably stifles creativity. The teachers attending seemed to nod in agreement. Midway into his workshop, Corey separated us in groups of four and asked us to prepare a 3 minute video explaining how the IB fosters creativity and what can be done to implement more creative tasks in the programme. 

The purpose of this 45 minute exercise was to model authentic assessments and have teachers creating engaging videos using the 3 skills. It was at this point that the atmosphere in the room took a shocking downturn. While some teachers seemed pumped about the activity, others were visibly perplexed. The same participants who only a few minutes before seemed radiant, all of a sudden started to emanate a somber vibe. And I was left in a quandary; had I missed anything?

It did turn out that some teachers did not feel comfortable appearing on camera while they "criticized" the IB Diploma. Fair enough. However, that did not seem to be the full story.  As my group was working on the video, one of the members said that she did not feel comfortable doing this activity because she thought "that we were only going to have a discussion" implying that she did not expect to have to do any work. This comment was an eye-opener: this teacher was seriously expecting to merely attend a workshop and not be required to produce any product. Unfortunately she was not the only one who had deserted the workshop. One could easily sense a certain uneasiness of some teachers to create videos.

Apart, from highlighting the low expectations some have of professional development, this example sadly emphasizes the discomfort some teachers have (I also find myself guilty of this at times) collaborating with peers especially when the task includes a certain amount of unfamiliarity. Indeed, the task had some important challenges such as having to work collaboratively with strangers under a time constraint and talking in front of a video camera. Many were not experts at this, but isn't that the point? Would these same teachers accept such kind of working ethic from their students?

I believe that we teachers are way too self-conscious about making mistakes. We can get so scared of failing that we shut down and resist learning new things just because the fear freezes us. As a result we just close the doors and do our thing hoping for the best.

Yesterday, I watched an inspiring documentary called Sound City. I always wondered what made rock music seem so hip. Yes, the leather pants, the long hair and the electric guitars certainly help create an appeal, but there's more behind the myth. As I watched this documentary, I couldn't help but be in awe at how organic songwriting is . Creating music usually happens collaboratively and it's intensely genuine. There's the notion of a group of individuals coming together to create something from scratch.  

The Sound Board From Sound City

Sound City, used to be a hip recording studio that has witnessed the creation of some stellar albums such as Fleetwood Mac's Rumours and Nevermind by Nirvana, just to mention a couple.  In the last part of this documentary some of the biggest names in music come together to record Real to Reel using the legendary console from the recording studio that had been used to create many masterpieces in the past. And this is when the documentary hit a chord. These musicians were deeply immersed creating works of art collaboratively. Their eyes were lit up as they took pride in doing something that they believe in, that they are passionate about.  (On a side note, it is interesting how when creating works of art musicians are not separated according to the different instruments or disciplines. They come together to create one unique sound. People are not wondering if it is possible to blend the sound of a cello with that of an electric guitar, they just make it happen. This is yet another important argument for transdisciplinarity in education) 

I wonder what would happen if you threw a bunch of passionate educators (ad not) to "jam" together strumming learning experiences. There is something that is so rock n'roll about curriculum design. Like artists, we are required to create something from scratch. Designing learning experiences, as Corey calls it,  should be a matter of deepest pride for us teachers because it transforms the students' educational journey. We spend way too much time worrying about classroom management, lesson delivery, and student motivation. Those aspects would all fall into place with a kick ass learning experience. (In my first years of teaching I wasted my days focusing on obedience because I failed to see the big picture). 

Time is indeed a factor and we often find ourselves running running short of it. But sometimes we use this as an excuse and we settle for less. We should not limit ourselves to create cover versions and delve more into "jamming". 

At one point as Dave and Paul jammed together,  there was an intense flow of energy. They were totally absorbed doing what they loved most and knew very well that they were up to something. No matter how hard I try, my writing cannot do any justice to the solemnity of this scene. As they discovered sounds and melodies, it was clear that there was a feel, which as Lars Ulrich from Metallica defines is "a chemistry, something that happens between people. And in this exact moment of chemistry Dave Grohl turns towards takes a sigh and asks "why can it always be this easy?" to which Paul Mc Cartney promptly replies "It is." Priceless!

Finally, this quote by Mick Fleetwood epitomizes the notion behind collaboration:

"I think the downside, these days, is thinking that "I can do this all on my own." Yes you can do this on your own, but you will be a much happier human being to do it with other human beings, and I can guarantee you that."

Clueless

Last week, one of the stories that hit the social media was the iPad debacle encountered in California. The iPads that had been handed out to students had to be recalled because they had managed to hack their devices to play games and access social networking sites. This has led many to question the effectiveness of this programme.  People, however, seem to be questioning more the hasty distribution of these iPads rather than the imposed  restrictions. I believe the latter is the one that ought to be questioned.

Imposing filters on gadgets that had been distributed to meet the needs of 21st century education is indeed counterintuitive. I do agree that students struggle to find a balance healthy balance between leisure and duty, but the imposition of filters will only send mixed messages to students. On one hand students are being given a majestic tool that could be used for different purposes yet they are not being allowed to use it in a "real world" context.  In the real world people iPads are multipurpose; they are used to access Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and games sites. Students have to be trained to be disciplined and responsible for their learning while taking advantage of such tools. Filtering websites does not address this issue at all, if anything it continues to alienate kids from education.  This is yet another example of how the people who should be driving education are usually the ones who are the most oblivious to it.

Implementation of technology in education is a must; however, this has to come with a vision.  Last year, during the national elections in my beloved Malta, the two competing political parties pledged that they'd give out iPads to primary school students if elected. Indeed, the implementation of technology that transforms learning should be celebrated irrespective of the political motive behind it. Nevertheless, if Maltese students end up doing repetitive Math problems and answering comprehension questions on online textbooks, then all that investment would have been one pathetic blunder.

Many people who are in education unwittingly mistake the use of innovative technology in the classroom as THE innovation in education. Little do they understand that technology without a sound pedagogy is a car without a driver. If we truly believe that the use of technology alone will solve all the issues in education then we are setting our children up for failure.  As a result, when big undertakings fall flat due to their shortsightedness, they fuel the noxious skepticism of those who are  still stuck in the 20th century and refute a much needed change in education.

In his SAMR model, Dr. Puentedura makes a clear distinction of the different purposes of technology in education, the most effective one being for the redefinition of learning. iPads can be used for students to contact experts using Skype and Twitter, they can upload videos using Youtube, and create websites and blogs. These tools would indeed transform and contextualize learning making it applicable to the real world.  Ironically, these same tools are deemed as a hindrance and are being filtered from children.