Getting Started with Education Futures
Welcome to Week 1 of Future(s) of Education.
Dave and I are looking forward to sharing eight weeks of dialogue, debate, and exploration on methods of sensing and responding to trends in education. This email includes information on getting started in the course and week 1 readings and activities.
The main course site is available here: http://edfutures.com/
Dave's blog: http://edfutures.com/blog/1
My (George's) blog: http://edfutures.com/blogs/gsiemens
We will be sharing our thoughts on course readings and resources on these blogs.
Information on the course:
This is an open, decentralized course...which means that you can participate in the discussion forums on the http://edfutures.com/ site, or, if you have created an account on the edfutures site, you can use the blog associated with that account. Or, if you blog on your existing site please use the edfuture tag so we can find your post if you use your current blog.
Each week, on Sunday night, we will send out a list of weekly readings and activities. Most discussion in this course will happen asynchronously, but we will hold at least one live session in Elluminate.
For more information on open decentralized courses, please visit this post and share your comments and questions.
What you need to know for Week 1:
Readings for week 1:
View Dave's Intro to the Course
View George's Intro to the Course
Read Part 1 of this OECD document (.pdf) on Futures in Education (pages 3-12)
Read: An introduction to futures thinking (.pdf)
Activities for week 1:
- Attend the elluminate discussion (if you are unable to attend, the session will be recorded for viewing later) at 2 pm EST on Tuesday, April 20. (see different time zone conversions)
- On your blog, or in the course discussion forums, post an introduction detailing why you are interested in this course and why it is (or is it?) important that we study, through rigorous methods, futures in education?
Through out this week, we will build a case why it is important for educators to be able to discern key trends from hype using reliable methods (such as futures thinking).
George
1 comment so far:
Laura Herrera says: Schooling for Tomorrow!
The Schooling for Tomorrow reading is a very interesting approach to what is REALLY needed and urgent in Schools around the globe. Our children and young are born and grow sorrounded by a sea of information and interactive instant media which build a new reality to them than the one we (the parents) know.
Despite the fact that we have been trying to adapt to it, trying to understand the way they see and learn from the world, most of the times we fail the try and give them the same "soup" we have always eaten.
And this is not the way it should be. Because they lose interest and get bored. Education and formation in schools have to change urgently and transform into an interactive system which helps them learn in a fun, colaborative, constructive way.
So, how to renew methodologies? how to trian ourselves in this different ways to teach? how to get the children's attention and be able to teach them something?