When I was growing up we had a playroom. In fact we had several playrooms - one upstairs, one downstairs, and the entire world outside of our house. We explored night and day and created. Creating things is a vital part of learning and growing. The ability to create should be a seamless part of the educational experience.
I am very fortunate. In my role as the Digital Learning Facilitator, my classroom space is the media center. Prior to my arrival, this space functioned as a library. Students checked out books, used the computer lab, listened to instruction - the standard operating procedure for many libraries. I spent my first year (last year) observing how things worked and getting control of the basics needs of a functioning library. I took over a corner where student books were stacked on tables and floors. This became a collaboration zone with chrome cast TVs and seating. Added a little technology and provided a great place for students to work together on lessons - not a bad start. This year (my second) things are still changing. We are purging many of the reference books which sit idly by, collecting dust. The furniture has been rearranged. New displays have been added. And still many things left on the ever growing list. One of those things is a PLAYROOM. Now I probably will not call the space a playroom, but that is the purpose. I want a space where students feel free to come and create. To make things that fit into their curricular needs or not. It really doesn't matter if it is called a maker space, tinker studio, fab lab, etc.
The beginnings of this playroom will be humble - we really do not have any funding, yet. But that is okay and maybe better. Creating is all about taking the leftovers and repurposing, no matter the material. This video has a great approach to creating a space, applying procedures, being available, and handling the materials. So how will this impact learning. With the implementation of the DLCs, the staff is exploring many different ways to incorporate new learning possibilities. A castle or catapult or medieval weaponry could easily support a history lesson. What about a visual poetry board for english or moving gears made into automatons for math? Sometimes the initial reaction we all have to something new and different is fear that the change will take away from our time "instructing". When the opposite is usually true. Let's PLAY!
I love the changes you are making in your school and think the innovation of play is a perfect accoutrement to any learning space. Congratulations and best of luck on your continuing evolution of the space!
You raise some interesting points, and the idea of a visual poetry board piqued my interest. A creativity inspiring space would be an asset in every school. Great post!
I think most people agree to the idea of communication being a critical aspect of learning as we discuss and explore new ideas. However, when learning moves from a face to face environment into the online elearning arena, the type of communication to insure effective learning needs to be addressed. Should learning be driven online as a timed and structured event where everyone is moving at the same pace and schedule with real-time chat rooms (synchronous) or do students learn effectively in a more self-paced environment (asynchronous)? Or should the two be blended to create the ultimate elearning experience? In a blog post addressing the pros and cons of synchronous versus asynchronous, the author describes the two types of learning facilitation. (Paula, 2018) She details some of the positive qualities of real-time synchronous learning as more of a social interaction with immediate feedback and answers and the down side of synchronous learning is timing constraints, lack of on...
Elizabeth and I worked on developing a course concerning Creative Course design and Multimedia. Sometimes "group" projects can be frustrating and one sided, but we made a great team and I thoroughly enjoyed the process. At the onset we used Zoom to develop our blueprint plan of the course and deliverables. Once this skeleton was in place, the design process flowed smoothly. One of our goals involved not only highlighting tools not yet used in class, but also to spotlight how "old" tools could be used with a fresh vision. For instance, sharing a slide deck among the learners versus everyone creating their own presentation. The design offered a platform for creative thinking and provided a collaborative environment for further learning. As Elizabeth and I worked through the development of the course, we were able to share new tips and tricks and best practices from our own experiences. We also learned new features within Canvas and used those during the build -...
The Future of Learning - Sugata Mitra One day Sugata Mitra punched a hole in a wall and filled it with technology. Then he asked "How far can it go?". I strongly suggest you take a few minutes and watch the video link at the beginning of this post. Mitra put technology in the hands of children as an experiment. The technology was in English - a foreign language to these local youth. The topics discussed far surpassed there current assumed ability level. Yet, despite all of the obstacles, they learned. Why? Mitra continued his pursuit and branched out to include Grannies as part of his school in the clouds. They provided support to children a continent away. They learned. Why? As education slowly evolves and technology sky rockets past us, isn't it time to think about the Why? Classroom need to transform into the hole in the wall where Grannies are pushing students forward with questions instead of directing them like stop lights. It is a scary transition for many....
When I was growing up we had a playroom. In fact we had several playrooms - one upstairs, one downstairs, and the entire world outside of our house. We explored night and day and created. Creating things is a vital part of learning and growing. The ability to create should be a seamless part of the educational experience. 
I love the changes you are making in your school and think the innovation of play is a perfect accoutrement to any learning space. Congratulations and best of luck on your continuing evolution of the space!
ReplyDeleteYou raise some interesting points, and the idea of a visual poetry board piqued my interest. A creativity inspiring space would be an asset in every school. Great post!
ReplyDelete