Joyful Jubilant Learning

It's an All-You-Can-Eat Digital World

One of my family's favorite restaurants is the Golden Corral; a restaurant chain famous for bringing new meaning to the traditional "All-You Can-Eat" concept.  From salads to sushi, there is nothing one would want for. We enter with hunger, excitement, and anticipation to sample all the new tastes and flavors. Unfortunately, we leave the experience miserable, overstuffed, and frustrated that we did not make wiser choices. So...what does my family's eating habits have to do with digital citizenship?

Every time I enter cyberspace, I feel like I am at the Golden Corral. As I log onto my computer, the same hunger and excitement enters my gut.  In this digital smorgasbord, there are endless
tools, applications, and resources to choose from. It is easy to get overstuffed, but digital natives know this: No matter how great (or FREE) the eats, you gotta know when to say enough is enough!

So, here is my lesson for the day (The teacher in me, never goes away). I present my rules for staying happy and healthy as you enjoy the smorgasbord of the Digital World:

1. Grab a small plate: It is important to start VERY small. I know it is tempting with so many scrumptious choices of tools and tricks, but less is better.
2. Select your Entree: What tool or application is your staple for staying connected. Is Blogs, Twitter, Linkedin? This should be your primary nutrient.
3. Choose one or two side dishes: These tools are important additions to the main entree. They should enhance but not overtake the meal.
4. Let's not forget dessert!: It's okay to treat yourself. There are so many free tools that may not extend your business or enhance your personal networking capabilities, but man they are sure fun! Indulge, enjoy, and explore, but do so in moderation. Too much of a good thing, is still too much!
   

Here's what my digital plate consists of:

My main entree: Of course, my blog and blog networks
My two favorite sides: Twitter and StumbleUpon
For Dessert: This tool is a researcher's dream!  I LOVE SearchMe; an incredible visual searching tool. It makes searching and researching as sweet as a piece of chocolate!

Like any good meal, everyone can chose what to put on their plates. Think carefully about what will most satisfy and sustain you. For me, I think I have found a perfect balance. Are you ready to dig in?  Bon Apetite, my friends! 

A Blueprint for Innovation

I love innovation, creativity and invention. You know my love affair with the brain and curiosity of Albert Einstein. I have a similar love affair with the passion and creativity of Thomas Edison. That's one reason I devoured Innovate Like Edison by Michael Gelb and Sarah Miller Caldicott.

How is Innovate Like Edison Different?

Edison's genius and creative talents are well documented. With over 70 books written about his life and accomplishments,  Innovate like Edison is unique as the authors highlight Edison's most important contribution; his methods for HOW to innovate.

Before Edison, innovation was viewed as a random product of lone genius. Readers will explore, with hands and mind on exercises, the methods that Edison himself used and imparted to his teams throughout the innovation process; making the case that the greatest product of his genius, the establishment of a systematic approach to success, that could be replicated and applied in all aspects of life and learning.

Edison's Competencies of Innovation

1. Solution-centered Mindset - Edison had a clear purpose and expected to find solutions. The passion of his purpose was a strength, and the author creates an namesake acronym for those passions (E.D.I.S.O.N.)
2. Kaleidoscopic Thinking - Edison had an amazing (and well-practiced) talent of looking at things from all angles. He turned things inside-out and upside down. He also was a masterful practitioner of visual thinking.
3. Full-spectrum Engagement - Edison was always present with the present. No matter what he was doing at a given moment, he focused his energies and thoughts into that one thing at that one moment.
4. Master-mind Collaboration - Together we're smarter is a pet saying of mine. It was a principle practice of Thomas Edison and his master-mind groups were of great importance to himself and his work.
5. Super-value Creation - Inventions are one thing. Taking them to market is often another thing altogether. How does the creating help humanity or solve a problem (See #1 above).

Each section above includes five "Elements" and offers mini-lesson plans and exercises. The last section of the book expands on innovation literacy, offering a self-assessment test on each of the five competencies.

Why Educators Need to Read This Book
Education and business both pay lip service to buzz words like innovation and creativity, but the buzz stops at the words and rarely infiltrates the practice. As our world changes, the demand that our schools and universities to teach the skills of imaginative and analytical thinking become imminent. In the 21st century, innovation is a core competency.

The challenge for educators is that innovation can not be distilled down to isolated lessons neatly placed in 3-ring binders or packed in the latest computer software. Innovation is a mindset; a habitude. It must be nurtured and developed in the conversations we have and the work we do with students. What Edison offers educators is a systematic approach for creating the conditions that fostering the kind of thinking and behaviors necessary for innovation to exist.

This book is like a blueprint in our hands; the construction is up to us.

I believe that anyone, at any age can emulate these habitudes. And in Edison's words, "If we all did the things we are capable of doing we would literally astound ourselves."

So, let's astound our students and ourselves...shall we?

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I believe that learning is a lifelong journey. I conduct workshops and training sessions helping learners of all ages develop their skills in critical thinking, reading, and communication.
~ Angela Maiers

www.angelamaiers.com
~Opening up the World - One Learner at a Time~

The Beauty of His Genius

I love Albert Einstein! Recently, I received a wonderful book entitled, The Quotable Einstein, embodying two of my favorite things-quotes and Albert-needless to say, I was ecstatic.

Einstein was coined a genius with his theory of relativity and Nobel Prize winning work. I believe his greatest gift was Albert just being Albert. The beauty of his genius, was  his remarkable ability to say in one sentence what others have taken chapters and books to convey. His timeless wisdom transcends every field and discipline.

My commentary below each quote relates to my work in teaching and learning. I invite and challenge you to take these timeless words and let them resonate with you as you reflect on the important work in your life.

Here are some of the quotes that have impacted my life and learning most:

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

There are only three pure colors: Red; Blue; Yellow. But look at how Michaelangelo imagined these colors into majesty. Imagination is the active ingredient of creativity and innovation. Yet, it is something we take away by forcing students to memorize and repeat rather than think and envision. The very atmosphere that should develop imagination actually stifles it, ultimately robbing learners of their unlimited intellectual potential. The supreme art of teaching should be to awaken and embrace students imaginative spirit.

"I sometimes ask myself how I came to develop the theory of relativity.  The reason is that the normal adult never stops to think and wonder."

We can learn so much from children. If adults could see the world through child like eyes; asking "why's and how comes" about all we encounter, oh how our lives and learning could be different. In our search for immediate solutions, and quick fixes, we miss the pleasure of the journey.

"Never regard your study as duty, but enviable opportunity to learn the liberating beauty of the intellect for your own personal joy and for the profit of the community to which your later work will belong."

Professional development has almost become a dirty word in education. It saddens me to see teachers who have themselves lost the personal joy and fulfillment that lifelong learning brings. If we are to create lifelong learners, it is critical that we model that behavior in all aspects of the educational community.

“Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted.” 

We are teaching in the age of accountability. With increasing attention on standards, scores, ranks, and results, it is easy to obsess on what you can count, and disregard the rest. This paradox causes frustration and confusion in both teaching and learning. To be successful embodies more than grades or percentile ranks. Open mindedness, curiosity, creativity, persistence, may not scored but there is no question...they certainly count!

"It is better to know SOME of the questions rather than ALL the answers."

We have created generations of expert "question answerers", when the learner who asks the best question is more wise. I teach my students that successful learning is defined by the kinds of questions you ask, not the speed and accuracy in which you answer mine.

"The significant problems we face can not be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them. "

We are preparing students for a 21st century world with 20th century mindsets. Continuing to do what we have always done while expecting different results is the definition of insanity. New world, new economy, new opportunity requires NEW ways of doing business. Wouldn't you agree?

“Most people say that is it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.”

Same for teaching and learning. It is not the mastery of content or the level of knowledge that makes a quality teacher. Students care more about who we are than what we know. Need I say more?

Isn't Einstein's genius beautiful? There are so many books on my shelf, but this one will remain one of my favorites; for insight, for guidance, for inspiration.

How 'bout you, who sits on your shelf? How do their words help you live your best life?

 

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I believe that learning is a lifelong journey. I conduct workshops and training sessions helping learners of all ages develop their skills in critical thinking, reading, and communication.
~ Angela Maiers
www.angelamaiers.com
~Opening up the World - One Learner at a Time~

Please Welcome Angela Maiers to Joyful Jubilant Learning!

“Teachers need to be great learners to lead great learners. I believe that learning is a lifelong journey, an ongoing exploration and way of life. I challenge myself and others to always be striving to find and share big ideas in every million dollar conversation.”

Sounds like someone who should be writing for Joyful Jubilant Learning...

We thought so too!

Today we have the great pleasure and good fortune of welcoming Angela Maiers as our newest Contributing Author to Joyful Jubilant  Learning. A new blogger, and the author of several books, articles, and curriculum support materials, Angela strives to connect research and scientific theory to real world practices in her work as an independent consultant dedicated and committed to helping DOE’s, schools, districts and teachers reach their goals in literacy and literacy education --- take a look at the resources and innovative workshops she offers on her site.

For the past six years, Angela has created, developed, and organized multiple literacy institutes reaching thousands of educators across the United States. These summer institutes provide an innovative and unique venue for educators, administrators, and curriculum developers ready to take on leadership roles. As you can imagine, we are eager to be among Angela’s newest, very eager students, and we are sure you will too!

The first article Angela has written for us is called Teaching With Learning in Mind. Thoughtful to be sure... yet do visit her blog as well for a full intro to Angela and her more playful side. You will find she was game for bloggy tag, bravely offering 7 random/weird facts about Angela Maiers.
(I couldn’t resist Angela! Jack Bauer, huh?)

Aloha and welcome Angela, we are thrilled you will be sharing your many talents with our joyful and jubilant Ho‘ohana Community of learners.

~ Rosa Say for Joyful Jubilant Learning

Teaching With Learning in Mind

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. 

                             ~Chinese Proverb~

I have been in love with learning for as long as I can remember. The teachers most influential in my life were those that nurtured and fed my hunger for learning through their questions, challenges, and opportunities to explore.  Their classrooms were places where learning, not teaching took precedent. By sharing their own passion and persistence for learning, they paved the road that lead me to my lifelong learning love affair.

Now, as a teacher, my passion for learning is the greatest gift that I can pass on to my students.  And like great teachers who have come before me, it is my responsibility and privilege to help my students develop the motivation and skills to learn for the rest of their lives. I am not always sure that students fully understand and appreciate this gift, but, nonetheless it is my charge. 

We live in a time where education reform has become not only a personal, but a state and national level issue. As millions of dollars and literally hundreds of reform initiatives are bestowed upon schools, we have students still leaving our classrooms with neither the skills or the drive to engage in our world as lifelong learners. The disconnect between teaching and learning grows, as we turn our efforts and energies towards curriculum and programs as the means of achieving our goals.

The teaching profession is overwhelmed by mandates and content, while the national obsession with outcomes and results intensify. The score, the percentile, and the grade take precedence over the learning process. Content coverage and delivery have become more important than the learner's journey. We have lost our way.  Without conversations about what learners need to know, do, and understand in the world of ever changing  content, our students will never find their way.

There is no politician, administrator, parent, teacher, employer or citizen that would refute the power of " lifelong learning". So, how can we find our way back so that learning is the work?  I believe our best learning lessons come from those we seek to teach. Children are the most passionate, ravenous, fearless learners I know. They are insatiably curious, innately fearless, and miraculously adaptable -- continually reinventing themselves. If our schools become places where children are allowed to pursue these passions, investigate their questions, and be surrounded by adults who do the same, there will be different outcomes, scores, and percentiles.

Educational reform is possible. But it will not occur through legislative efforts and implementation of standards. Without question, the key factor in student achievement is the teacher. The greatest contribution we can make to our student's lives is to let them know that learning is the work. Here's how we can start:

1. Lead by Example. Each day demonstrate the kind of learners we wish our students to be. Don't tell them,expect them, or demand they learn- show them how it is done. Be the learner you want your learners to be.
2. Be Contagious. Share your passion and interests with your students. In doing so, you then, invite them into your learning life and they in turn will allow you onto theirs.
3. Scaffold. Frame other learners as capable, talented, resourceful and creative and watch these self fulfilling prophesies come to fruition! When students know you believe, they will achieve.
4. Celebrate the journey not the destination. In your classroom reward the effort, the risk,their vulnerability to try new things,  rather than the perfect score they got by showing you what they remembered.  Allow your learners to bask in the glory of the process not the product.
5. Embrace who you are. Who you are is far more important than what you know.  Let them see all of you. Be authentic. Be transparent. Be human.
6. Be a Learner First. Approach your work with a learners mindset. Remember, you are expert at what you do and know. When you share HOW you do it and How you came to know it.
7. Live a learning life. Stand before your students, colleagues, and peers as an individual who is still learning. Showing how it's fun, show how it is frustrating, and sharing with them your personal adventures and discoveries.

In my experience, this list drives me in both my teaching and learning life. In your experience, how do you drive home the point that learning is the work?

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I believe that learning is a lifelong journey. I conduct workshops and training sessions helping learners of all ages develop their skills in critical thinking, reading, and communication.
~ Angela Maiers
www.angelamaiers.com
~Opening up the World - One Learner at a Time~