Will Richardson

Speaker, consultant, writer, learner, parent

What Do We Need?

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So I’m asking for a little crowdsourcing feedback for a chapter I’m writing. I’m trying to frame out all the things that ideally need to be in place for an existing school to make the transition to one that provides a more relevant learning experience for kids in the context of the social online technologies that are disrupting the current model. Call it School 2.0, a 21st Centuryized School, or something else, but I’m wondering what qualities or conditions should we be working toward in order to successfully make a transition like that?

Here’s what I’ve been thinking (in no particular order in terms of the big buckets):

  1. Technology

    1. Personal technology (computer, mobile phone, iPad, etc.) in the hand of every student, teacher, administrator, support staff

    2. Ubiquitous access to the Internet for every student at school and at home

    3. A robust network infrastructure at school that permits real-time access for all students simultaneously

    4. Excellent real-time support

    5. Responsible Use Policies that encourage technology use

  2. Curriculum and Instruction

    1. A deep understanding on the part of every staff member of how to use technology, and specifically the Web, to learn

    2. Sustained, continuous professional development

    3. Performance-based assessments

    4. Teachers fluent in how to translate their personal understanding of technology into the classroom

    5. Personalized learning opportunities for students

    6. Student centered pedagogy

    7. Inquiry-based curriculum

    8. A balance between meeting the requirements of state testing and reshaping learning to teach students the skills they need

    9. Instruction for teachers and students about web-safety

  3. Change Management

    1. A shared vision for modern learning in the school

    2. A shared vocabulary to facilitate conversations around change

    3. Support for trying (and failing) when implementing changes in the classroom

    4. Teachers working with each other across disciplines

    5. Common planning and discussion time for staff

    6. Community education around the new vision and how change will take place

    7. Measurement of progress and adjustment along the way

  4. Leadership

    1. Making a strong case for change with every constituency including students, parents, teachers, staff, administration, board of education and community

    2. Leadership that encourages modern learning among teachers and students

    3. Teacher leaders that embrace and extend the vision

    4. A innovative budgetary approach

What have I missed?

The New Story…Who's Doing It?

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Probably about five years ago now, I remember David Warlick and others trying to frame the conversation around the shifts we’re seeing in learning under the umbrella of “Telling the New Story” of education. And I also remember being frustrated for a number of years after that at our inability to come up with that new definition of schools, that new story of learning at least in a school sense. I’ve come to realize that we’re not going to be able to write “a” new story for schools, that there will be many new stories in the coming years as the institution tries to adjust to the explosion of learning opportunities outside the school walls. Should be fun to watch (or not.)

But through reading the comment thread on the last post here, it looks as if there might be a desire for some type of site or listing of schools that are telling a “new story.” Schools that are doing things differently in terms of taking advantage of what the Web and other technologies afford around learning. Schools that have a more “progressive” approach to learning through inquiry or immersion using social technology or something other than standards based learning. I know there are many pockets of innovation in individual classrooms, and many of those are well documented. But what about entire schools and, perhaps, systems that are modeling a different path? A few come easily to mind: Science Leadership Academy, High Tech High, CIS 339 in New York City, VanMeter High School in Iowa, and Hunterdon Central High School, my old stomping grounds here in NJ. From what I’ve seen and heard, these schools are beginning to significantly rethink what’s happening in their classrooms, not just infusing technology and tools, but really delivering networked learning to their students at a schoolwide level. And I’m sure there are others.

So I guess I’m wondering if it might be time to create a resource of these types of schools. Maybe a wiki where if people were interested they could create a page of overview for what they are doing that’s different? Anyone have any thinking to share around whether or not that might be a useful idea and how it might be structured?