The Importance of Failure

The line, "learn from my mistakes" has often been been used as a cliche or a method to reconcile from wrongdoing. Our tongue-in-check heroes use it all the time. Politicians use this when caught doing...anything. Sports figures do it after breaking the law. CEO's said it during and after the bailouts. In Education, perfection is sought out and expected. The "f" word may as well end in "uck" around here as anything below a "C" (or satisfactory) is not acceptable. However, Paul Tough presented an article in the New York Times, "What if the Secret to Success is Failure?"


http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/magazine/what-if-the-secret-to-success-is-failure.html?pagewanted=all

This counters the whole "failure is not an option" line from NASA. A line borrowed in Alan M. Blankstein's "Failure Is Not an Option(TM): Six Principles That Guide Student Achievement in High-Performing Schools."

Again, "Balance" is the word of the post once again. Interesting, both approaches discuss the importance of individuals to possess certain character traits to achieve or maintain success: optimism, persistence and social intelligence. Students who excelled, whether in a high-achieving school or not, were able to recover from a bad grade and resolve to do better next time; they were able to bounce back from a fight with family or classmates; to persuade professors to give them help after class (or the help was offered).

In teaching technology, I offer yet another parallel - these are the same traits that those who achieve success with technology possess. Anyone who is learning new technology for the first time should remember and strive for optimism, persistence and social intelligence.

Optimism allows us to see one, five and ten years down the road and into the future. However, it also keeps us engaged in learning a new technology. Lose it and there is a long uphill battle with the technology in question. Maintaining optimism is not easy, but has a lot to do with persistence.

Persistence is more than "try, try again." The key to persistence is finding answers, trying new things, and breaking them only to put them back together. In other words, not letting failure stop everything and keep one from learning from mistakes. When one gets good at persistence, optimism is produced.

Social Intelligence is at new levels with social media. When we learn from our mistakes in adapting to a new technology it is usually at the heels of new information or knowledge. Our ability to search and locate the information or knowledge is essential. This type of intelligence is not a gene nor is it evolving in our brains - we all need help. This is where librarians, teachers, and peers become the most valuable pieces in the process.

Optimism, persistence and social intelligence mean absolutely nothing if people do not realize them and use these characteristics to their advantage. It starts from within as everyone and anyone can learn a new technology.

Pay Attention, SpongeBob!

Short Attention Span Theater has a new addition - SpongeBob Square Pants! Poor SpongeBob can't seem to catch a break. After accusations, of all sorts, have been thrown at the popular cartoon a new study in the journal "Pediatrics" suggests that the cartoon may impact the attention span of 4-year-old children:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44460161/ns/health-childrens_health/

As a person who watched MTV launch into the airwaves, I am reminded of similar studies that suggested the same thing regarding music videos and high school students in the 1980's. Studies will be conducted on attention span and other important areas as we continue to grow accustomed to technology and new sources of media. After reading this recent study, I am struck by several questions:

1. How many children, 4 and older, do any form of school work or draw pictures immediately after watching SpongeBob?
2. What do college students do before and after watching SpongeBob? Seriously.
3. Why SpongeBob?

On a serious side of this topic, as human beings - we are highly adaptable. As Nichols Carr illustrates in his book, "The Shallows," the research shows us that the elasticity of our brain's memory and ability to adapt is incredible. Furthermore, in Kevin Kelly's book, "What Technology Wants," and the research he cites tells us that this evolutionary process our brain is going through has historically shown that we continue to adapt to new media as well as technology.

So, here I am wondering that if way back in time there were a few of our ancestors gathered outside of a cave. One person remarks to the other (I will loosely translate here), "You know, these cave paintings in there are really impacting the attention of our clan! They hardly even listen to our storytelling anymore and go straight to the symbolism on the cave wall...In fact, I tried to tell a story to a few people after they studied your 'painting' and they didn't even understand what I was saying!"

Okay, so back to being serious here...the point is that we are constantly evolving as humans and as we are introduced to new media or technology - we adapt and we learn how to create balance. I think SpongeBob is a great escape and can be funny, sometimes. We need our own escape to create that balance I mention over and over again. Just don't do school work, anything serious, or complete drawing lessons directly after your escape. Especially if that escape is SpongeBob Squarepants.

Mobile Devices in the Classroom

http://gamification.org/wiki/Gamification_of_Education


The above article, "Gamification of Education" posts three unique videos that illustrate a new approach to learning in the classroom. The following article (as you scroll down), defines three different classifications digital games play in schools: classic edu-tech games, how students can build their own games, and "gamification." In short, the "gamification" class is illustrating how students can become engaged and motivated in the classroom (and in the workforce as well). Many of the methods of implementing "gamification" utilize mobile devices.


So it came to my surprise that my step-son's school sent out an email yesterday and set a "New Technology Policy" regarding mobile devices in the classroom. The email, in part, stated:


 "Although the students themselves feel quite strongly that they should continue to have the right to use their PEDs throughout the school day, we have decided as a faculty that the importance of their developmental need to find deep focus and learn to communicate in the human sphere should trump their right to retreat into a handheld virtual world: during the school day, inside the school building, and during school activities.


Effective immediately, students will be asked to turn off and put away their PEDs (all handheld electronic devices: cell phones, iPods and MP3 players) whenever they are in the school building, and leave them off–and away–until the end of the school day or the end of the school-sponsored activity in which they have chosen to participate. (iPad usage will for the time being be permitted on an individual basis, for schoolwork only)."

My immediate response was outrage. I thought that they were losing a tremendous learning opportunity to illustrate the proper use of these technologies and closing the door on applications of the technology such as "gamification." I still feel this way. However, after I had a chance to discuss this with my step-son he indicated that the students had a voice, the teachers talked to them about the issues and discussed the reason for the new policy. I felt better, but I am still uneasy. I will continue to be uneasy if it is left at just a few initial discussions with the students and that there is no further exploration of how to change.

Isn't change what we strive for in education - transformation, reflection, and growth? Does making a policy that restricts technology rather than explores new approaches make any sense? If the policy is left in place without any further discussions or ideas on how to over come the main issue - utilization - we are losing an opportunity to teach our students the correct ways to use these technologies. Instead, policies like these, when left alone, communicate to students, "No! Why? Because I said so!" What we should be doing is "Carp Diem" and take the opportunity to turn this into a "Teaching Moment" or several of them!

Another Argument for Balance in the Digital Age of Reason

http://singularityhub.com/2011/09/07/from-the-creator-of-the-webby-awards-a-new-film-about-our-addiction-to-all-things-digital/

At the end of every school year, I "unplug" for at least a week or two. Now, I am shifting my opinion to "unplugging" in increments throughout the semester (and having my students do the same)...

Killing Creativity

One of my heroes, Sir Ken Robinson, discusses how schools are killing creativity:

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html#.TmTCH7p1sGs.facebook

An excellent view point on preparing for an unpredictable future...

Classrooms of the Future?

Front and center on the Sunday edition of the New Times last week was the headline: "In Classroom of Future, Stagnant Scores" (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/technology/technology-in-schools-faces-questions-on-value.html). The article describes an Arizona School District that embraced technology with an uncertain effect on results. Why? In my opinion, the application of technology went too far in actually replacing teachers. In order for technology to be successful in education, three important factors need to be considered. First, the use of technology needs to be linked to measurable objectives in learning outcomes. Second, technology in education is more effective when implemented around proven learning methodologies such as reflective, transformational and constructive methodologies (to name a few). Finally, technology and human factors in learning need to find a balance. There is only so much technology can accomplish in the learning process. Human factors such as contact with a teacher, group collaboration in the classroom, and simple human interaction are essential to the learning process. In reading the article above, it seems that some of these factors, if not all of them, have been lost in the implementation of technology in education. What are your thoughts?

Welcome to Open Source Thinking

As we continue to shift our paradigm in the use of technology in education it is important to understand the impact each method of transferring knowledge means to different people. Open Source Thinking is a place to define how media and technologies both implemented or emerging impact the way we think. New concepts and methodologies will be brought to the table in order for us to discuss, evaluate and study how uniquely defined each individual is to learning.