Will Richardson has some radical ideas about how we should be educating our students. Watch this video
http://vimeo.com/45152953 to see his ideas for change. Do you agree with him? Which idea do you like best? How do you think you can make this idea work in your classroom or future classroom?
145 comments:
I very much agree with his ideas and can appreciate his motivation! However, I am in the school system and I am working in district and it is going to take more than a voice to change the system. Colleges and universities are constantly teaching their teacher candidates to think out of the box and use their creativity; however it is not what the NYS is looking for anymore- they truly want positive results from these state tests and teachers are being held more accountable for passing grades on these tests. I do believe that technology should be in the classroom and that teachers should be allowed to use their creative side to teach but there is not enough time- it is very sad:(
M.P.
I completely agree with what he has to say. It is important to change the landscape of teaching and while it will take time it is possible if everyone joins together. I loved his idea of make one's own textbook. I would definitely use this in my classroom. Textbooks are very expensive and can be very biased sometimes because of who is writing them. They can be outdated and hard to understand as well. If a group of people got together and made a textbook, it could serve to help not only the students but the teachers as well. I also loved his ideas of unlearn, relearn and discover, don't deliver. Some teachers get into a rhythm and never take a step back to see if their teaching methods are being understood and grasped by students. The landscape of education is constantly changing and teachers need to adapt and constantly evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching. I think I definitely make these ideas work in my future classroom.
I agreed with a lot of Will Richardson's ideas. Technology is taking a huge role in the lives of our students that we as teachers need to keep up with these changes. A lot of his idea’s would be very helpful in preparing students for the real world and their future careers.
The first idea I really liked was the open network tests. To prepare students for the real world it would be beneficial for them to know how to search all of their sources for the answers rather than memorizing information or using one source, such as their textbook. He said that it was not about us being in the classroom but the students being able to use the tools and resources available to them in the classroom. As teachers we need to understand the technology being used to be able to show our students how to use it to find answers to their questions.
The next idea I thought should be used in classrooms was “Don’t do your own work”. I am currently a teacher and find myself saying, “do your own work” often, but when I think about it, it is very important for students to learn to work together, using multiple sources to find the answers.
The last idea I thought was very interesting was his idea of the “uncommon core”. Learning standards are focused on academics and we may not be teaching students the skills they will need to succeed in the real world. It is imperative that students learn not only how to do their math, reading and writing, but to explore and learn about the world around them.
I believe as educators we have a lot to learn, and these changes are going to take time, but these changes will improve education for all students.
Tom, I also loved his idea of unlearn, relearn and discover, don't deliver. I am currently teaching kindergarten in a local catholic school and see many teachers who are stuck in the same routine they have been using for many years. So much has changed in education and teachers need to keep up with these changes and not shy away from them.
I certainly can agree with many of the points made by Will Richardson, his ideas are very relevant to the ever changing and advancing world we live in today. Educators are definitely skeptical about using the internet in the classroom with students when in reality, the internet is probably going to be used by almost every student in their future careers.
I really like his views on the new role an educator should take. Teachers need to be willing and open to learning new ideas and exploring just as they ask their students to do each day. I also like his idea to stop delivering the curriculum and discover it. Strictly delivering the curriculum can leave the students uninterested and unable to retain information. Making learning a discovery process for both the students and the educator together is key to a better learning environment.
Unfortunately, I think richardson’s views sound great but are less likely to be used in classrooms today where educators main concerns are preparing the students for the standardized tests and for filling the wants of the NYS common core standards.
I do agree with what he has to say, but at the same time I think he needed to explain more. It went to fast for me, like he was speaking to win a contest for speaking the fastest. I really liked the idea of the students making their own text books. This is better because it is in the words of students and it will go to other students. Students will also understand the text book a lot better then reading words of some people in a text book company. Like he said in the video then these text books can be used over and over and can be expanded over the years.
All the other points I feel like I couldn't get a lot out of because he was talking SUPER fast. I wish he could of taken a longer time and do more explaining. Other then that he had great pointers.
I agree with a majority of the 19 ideas he has. He is extremely encouraging, but I feel some of the ideas are hard to actually implement in the classroom where everything is focused on testing. I love his idea about flipping the power switch and giving kids the power to do what motivates them. Obviously there must be some structure to the classroom, but it's important to have the kids excited and interested. Also the idea about not doing your own work. I completely agree that students should collaborate and bounce ideas off of one another in the appropriate setting. Sharing ideas can spark another that might not have been there in the beginning. As a current teacher, my department shares everything and is truly amazing! You shouldn't have to break you back trying to figure out a lesson that your colleague is willing to help you with.
I agree with some of Will Richardson’s points, but I do believe that it is going to take some time for all schools to conform to what he is saying because of the advancement in technology. I think for schools to really use all his points will cost a lot of money to teach teachers correct ways to do almost anything technology related. I really like his point Don’t “Do your own” work, because I think that students should work in groups as often as possible. Some students can learn from a teacher teaching and those students would be able to do their own work, but other students learn better when they hear it from a different perspective, like another students. I also liked the idea of having students create a textbook online. I can see myself assigning something like this as a group project, twice a year, one in the beginning of the year that the students can use as a study guide for the midterm, and then again at the end of the year that they can use as a study guide for the final. I also like that idea because then other students or teachers could also use our online textbook for their needs. Lastly, I really like his point Unlearn. Relearn, because I believe a teacher or anyone needs to be able to grow as an educator and not be stuck in one way of doing things.
Amanda- I very much agree with you- this idea about teachers creating their own textbooks and using internet and technology in the classroom- however, the main concern for educators is that state test at the end of the year.
I very mich agree with making learning into a journey that both educators and students are interacting and creating a better learning environment!
Brianne I agree with your comment "...it is very important for students to learn to work together, using multiple sources to find the answers," in reference to the speaker Will's statement "Don't do your own work."
I feel it is so important that students today learn to collaborate successfully and learn from their peers. Today students have so much information accessible to them. Students must learn early on to share with one another, learn from eachother, and offer their own experience and knowledge. Sharing with one another will only enhance their overall learning process.
I found Will's ideas to be innovative and releveant. His idea of teachers connecting on networks and sharing their knowledge and experience with other teachers to become better more successful teachers and collaborators.
Will is right, teachers are learners and we should be modeling learning to our students. As teachers we are life long learners we should always be improving and gaining new ideas and knowledge about education and the world. The internet has changed education and offers teachers limitless ways to connect with people and information, as well as access to free information.
I also agree with Will's statement "Don't do work that just exists within your classroom.....Do work that changes the world." It is so crucial that we utilize the internet and technological resources and show our students that they have the ability to connect and collaborate with people and information from around the world. As teachers we should offer our students every opportunity available to them to learn, grow, and become educated and connected citizens of the world.
-K.S.
I felt Will Richardson mentioned some interesting ideas. The main idea that reached out to me was that of teachers being more innovative and creative. Thinking outside the core curriculum and creating new ideas using creativity and the latest technology is something all teachers should be open to, especially since this may lead to better engagement on their students part and therefore better outcomes throughout the course. His notion of "Don’t do your own work" was also a great point, teach students to work with others . Almost all jobs of today require some form of socializing and interacting with others and teaching students to do this early on in their studies through group projects is a great way to prepare them for the real world and build their character and confidence. Overall I agree with his 19 ideas and hope more in education will be open to them as well. K Chin
I agree with a majority of what Will Richardson spoke about in this video. His ideas are incredibly innovative and steer away from traditional teaching/learning techniques. One idea that really caught my attention was "no more standardized tests." I agree with this to an extent because while I feel that standardized tests are not an accurate measure of a student's academic abilities, I do feel that they are necessary at certain times.
Additionally, his idea about getting out of the habit of doing work that is appropriate for only the classroom really stood out to me. I agree that students should be able to break free and do something that could affect/change the world. It does not always have to be about sticking something up on a bulletin board. If students are able to branch out and do something completely out of the ordinary that can cause a change, not only will it give them a sense of accomplishment, but I'm sure it will directly affect their self-confidence which I think positively affects academic performance.
There was not one thing he said that I did not agree with. Every point he had mentioned should be concidered by maany teachers/ professors. This to me sounded like someone who will not give up on advancing the education of students, to a level where students can enjoy learning. And the point he made that "Learn First. Teach Second." I LOVED THAT! like he said, Teachers want to be teachers first, and its said. I Also LOVE The fact that he brings out, students should do work that changes the world and also impacts the world, is also another point that should be concidered by teachers/professors. I hope these techniques are used within classrooms, because i believe it can really have a great effect to students around the world.
P.s - I admitt, I have googled myself. =)
I agree with most of what Richardson has to say, especially his thoughts on collaboration and discovery-based learning. The idea I identify most with is "ask questions you don't know the answers to." When you ask good questions that cannot be answered by having memorized something, you get into areas of real learning and struggle. It's important to learn this struggle and get comfortable in that uncomfortable place in order to become a lifelong learner. If you don't acquire real learning skills in the classroom, where you are supposed to be armed for your future, where are you supposed to get them? If we agree that we need to prepare students for society through formal education, we need to take a look at what skills adults need to do well as adults, and start to infuse problem solving, thinking, and communication skills more fluidly into the classroom.
Will Richardson has many great points throughout his presentation. The main themes that stood out to me where his topics regarding networking and technology. In a global society, people have the ability to be more influential in the educational processes on both macro and miro levels. Both students and educators now have access to countless networks, which hold vast amounts of knowledge. As Richardson stated, Google is no longer the sole source of information. Through the use of social networks like Twitter and even Pintrest creative and innovative ideas are continuously shared allowing everyone to learn new ideas more frequently and even old ones from different vantage points. The ability to share ideas with such ease not only allows people to continuously learn but for teachers to learn how to teach the same concepts in different ways to target diverse students. Thus improving the educational system as a whole and forcing teachers to reevaluate how and what they teach to young students.
In addition to Richardson’s beliefs on networking, his views on the use of the iPad are very similar to my experiences integrating iPads into the classroom. Last school year in my classroom, which was a K/1 self-contained special education class, we used our iPad as a reward for good behavior, a learning tool, an incentive, and even a communication device. The possibilities the iPad created and continues to create in the realm of education are truly limitless.
-LARhoden
I agree with Will Richardson’s assertion that the integration of technology into the classroom is important. In today’s society, technology is constantly growing. As educators, we must keep up with the times and help our students reach their full potentials. It is our duty to encourage our students and help them pursue their passions. Additionally, Mr. Richardson makes an interesting point that schools can save money by using technology instead of purchasing expensive textbooks. Also, networking allows students to collaborate with people all over the world; I thoroughly believe that students should share everything in order to make improvements on each others’ work. Moreover, I have had similar experiences to LARhoden. I have witnessed the benefits of the use of technology, such as the iPad, in a classroom of students with Autism. Clearly, there are many advantages to the incorporation of technology into the classroom.
Mr. Richardson delivered his points very thoroughly and quickly! I enjoyed watching the video. I agree with his comment on how teachers need to share EVERYTHING! We are all teachers, we all love children and we all have the same goals...to see our students gain knowledge and succeed. Why not chew each other's ear off? Education is changing constantly so we need to keep each other informed on such changes and on strategies we can use to incorporate Common Core Standards to better educate our students. I agree with his comment on WE NEED TO SAY NO TO TEST PREP but I agree with M.P. It is going to take more than a voice to change the system. NYS is riding our students harder every year, they want better test scores...thats it...and its not getting easier for our kids. WE should incorporate lessons that aren't in the Common Core Standards anyway because there IS information that NYS doesn't cover that our students need to know. Manners, hydration, recycling etc. I REALLY agree with Richardson's comment on RESUME SHMESUME...I know a lot of people looking to get into the teaching field but becaue of "lack of experience" cannot find a job. My question is, how can we get experience if we can't get hired?
I agree with the concept that technolgoy is changing and we have to expose the curriculum to students through technology, however implementing the actual ideas into the classroom is easier said than done. It is going to take money that schools must provide and not all schools will be able to afford technology based lesson plans.
By envolving technology into the classroom students can interact with other students by a more active rather than passive role. Technology will be a facilitator. As Mr. Richardson states that it is about teachers, doing whats best for kids, focusing on learning in a world that most of us grew up in. It is clearly evident that technology will not only engage students but also help them learn in a different aspect.
Mr Richardson made some valid points on how we need to reinvent the way we teach, think, and measure our students knowledge.Truely our teaching methods are behind the technology curve, however I do think technology is not everything, Finland who is number one ranked in education does not give standardized test (which Mr Richardson stated needs to be done away) but how much technology are they using to teach their children. Our education is much more than technology its what and how we give the information and not to mention MONEY with so many other factors that using the internet, twitter and linkedin will solve. mell worthy.
Mr Richardson made some valid points on how we need to reinvent the way we teach, think, and measure our students knowledge.Truely our teaching methods are behind the technology curve, however I do think technology is not everything, Finland who is number one ranked in education does not give standardized test (which Mr Richardson stated needs to be done away) but how much technology are they using to teach their children. Our education is much more than technology its what and how we give the information and not to mention MONEY with so many other factors that using the internet, twitter and linkedin will solve. mell worthy.
Mr. Richardson has great ideas that teachers can incorporate into their classrooms. His thoughts on collaboration are very relevant to today's education system. I think it is extremely useful for student to collaborate with their peers; Telling them to "do their own work" does not do them or society justice. Working together towards a common goal will give them much more than if they worked independently.
In addition, I like his idea about an "uncommon core." Students need to learn about things that will benefit the real world. There are so many things that students are not learning in the classroom that they should be learning to help them survive and positively contribute to the world they live in.
Lastly, I support Mr. Richardson's idea about letting students discover their own curriculum rather than be fed information from a standardized curriculum.
"Ask questions you don't know the answer to"-this is something I believe will encourage a higher level of thinking and dialogue between students. Discovering learning is much more pertinent I feel than teaching content informtion.
Will Richardson has some great ideas that need to be heard by more administrators. It is really true that technology is here to stay and students and teachers use it in our daily lives and we need to transfer this learning into today’s classrooms. He really is a great motivating speaker and tells things straight to the point.
Too many teachers teach the way they were taught 30-40 years ago, including myself and we really need to communicate successful projects using technology.
I am looking forward to using new technology in the classroom with my students. We need to spread out wings out more and let technology guide us.
K. Palmer
Mr. Richardson has some fantastic ideas. Most of which would be very simple for teachers to implement starting tomorrow.
I strongly agree with the need for teacher's to develop their own textbooks. In college it would save students tons of money and it could save districts money as well. It would also provide for a very personalized experience. Teachers could also share places on the internet or apps that would help students. I could definitely see myself creating my own text.
I think that not doing your own work and open network tests are fantastic ideas. Open networks exams give students the opportunity to use what the technology they have in a way they would use it in the real world. I know some teachers that are using Twitter as a way to post extra credit questions that encourage their students to use their smart phones or the internet to find the answers.
Sharing between educators is definitely something I hope to experience and be a part of. We are all teaching to benefit the children and sharing our knowledge and methods would only help the children.
I really hope that administrators start to change the way they allow educators to utilize the technology that we have to improve the education of our students sooner rather than later. The impact technology has on education will only continue to grow in the future.
Will Richardson many many valid points regarding the ideas for change in schools around the world. The world is changing at a rapid pace and schools and educators need to make adjustments to the core curriculum; to better educate their children. He brought up many excellent points that I strongly agreed on.
Just by taking this course, Technology for Inclusive Classrooms, I have learned the importance of networking through blogging. Networking allows for the exposure of creative, new ideas. When an answer to a question is needed, sites such as google aren't always trustworthy and may not contain valid information. Networking allows for individuals to connect, bringing people with common interests together and allowing for one another to give their two-sense about a certain topic.
This leads into what Will Richardson said about not having students 'do their own work' but having students take open network tests. Instead of having students 'do their own work', open network tests allow students to branch out and use computers to find answers to a specific question. It allows students to use networks like twitter and Facebook to post questions and gain feedback from peers who have input on that certain topic or question. Since in todays world, schools are balancing the use of textbooks and the use of technology in the classroom. Teachers should integrate open network tests into their curriculum, as they do with open book tests. It is important to balance both individual work and group work- since in todays society, the real world is all about communicating and working in teams or groups. Networking allows students to 'share everything', as Richardson said in his lecture. By sharing new ideas, students are learning from one another.
Lastly, I agreed with Richardson's point about educators having to 'unlearn and relearn' their roll as a teacher. I think it important that educators reflect on their teachings and constantly question their rolls in the classroom. I have had teachers in the past that were older teachers, who had been teaching for quite some time. They seemed to be bored of the material they were teaching- which makes it hard for the students to be motivated to learn. Those types of teachers should be open to learning new teaching strategies, methods and theories that are being introduced in todays fast changing world.
what a video! He really talks fast but gets his point across. He opens our mind to what really is instead of what is just out there. I liked his idea of no textbooks. So expensive we should just create our own or everything should just be an ebook. I also liked the idea of switching the power switch. In regards to teaching of course it should be everything to do with the students. I agree 100%. HIs idea of asking questions you don't know the answer to is also a great solution. Many people are scared to do that and they can't do that in this society, If you don't know ask. There is no harm in that. Society today is all about networking and communication. It's about "sharing everything" as Richardson said in his lecture. Everyone has something to learn from one another. His points about the resume's, I never really though about but its true. If you just google someone everything is on there already. It is quite frightening actually
Mr. Richardson makes some valid and interesting points during his presentation about education. I, for one, beleive that technology is the future of education, and we must advance with the times in order to teach our children.
Mr. Richardson's point on networking through blogging is beneficial in a classroom, in a sense that it creates new and innovative iddeas that we can present to our students. It also allows our students to use critical thinking skills and be more creative, and learn at their own pace.
I, for one, concur with Mr. Richardson's view about incorporating issues such as the environemnt into the core curriculum. The environment is a very important issue, and we must teach kids to treat the environment with respect, so we can all live in a healthy world. An issue is not only beneficial, it's also essential in a classroom I feel, since these will be the people one day running our country.
In retrospect, Mr. Richardson had some intriguing points during his presentation. I beleive that we can use this video as a guide, and incorporate it into our classrooms, and hope the students can receive personal knowledge from it.
-Tim A
I Love Will richard's ideas! Times are changing and in order to succceed we need to teach our students to roll with the punches so to speak.The ideas i liked the most were the first, "give open Network tests", In the real work we have the world at our fingertips by the push of a button, we should integrate this into our education system. The next idea i really liked was "change the world". I love the idea of teaching students subjects or lessons that actually mean something. Being bogged down to "teaching to the test" has done such a disservice to students and it us created a lag in our education system. We need to get withthe program and teach real world information and subject matter that will assist our students to be real world thinkers by opening up their eyes to what is happening out there right now. Have them investigate the world like we were never able to, we have the capability to do it so why not teach out students how to access greater things!
I think all his ideas are innovative, positive and beneficial for our students. These ideas really give our students the options to discover learning in their own individual way, to collaborate with their peers and find what interests them.
A couple of ideas really stood out to me."Do work that changes the world" I think this is such a great attitude towards how we can apply things we do inside the classroom to the world outside it. Students should be aware that they are able to impact so many more people than just the ones they are surrounded by during their school day. "Don't 'Do your own work" When I was a student my teachers would say this frequently. I agree so much more with the idea of students using their peers as resources, and collaborating with others. Many great ideas can be so much more powerful than one good idea alone. "Disrupt the system" I know this idea is much harder and difficult to do than the rest. We are given restrictions and rules to follow, but that doesn't necessarily mean its whats best for our students. We have to fight for our students and stand up for our beliefs of what will be beneficial for our students.
I really enjoyed watching this video. All he needed was a few seconds to get his ideas across and in my opinion, it was still extremely powerful.
-Liz A.
Mr.Richardson's theory of digital education being incorporated into lessons will transform how student view the quality of their education.Presenting learners new classroom materials that can be related to their everyday life by utilizing virtual worlds to communicate and question new ideas with other populations around the globe through technology; will definetely promote attendance,due to the enhancement of the curriculum as being relevent in general to life experiences.Then comprehensive and learning skills will be easely mastered by motivating the students to engage and participate in class.
Finally, the concept of technology as being the main tool in
school-settings makes me realize that as a future teacher,first I need to continuosly educate myself efficiently and effectively. As Mr. Richardson explains that the ideal leader is the one that first,sees his/herself as an active learner. Lastly, viewing this video makes realize that the role of a teacher is to keep on learning.
Nora R.
Wow, what powerful points he has mentioned in such a short period of time! When he was speaking I took the time to make a note of some of his ideas that I agreed with, while jotting down a few that I could not. I loved the idea of creating your own textbooks, I think that could be extremely helpful for many students and teachers in their classrooms today. To tag along with that, I believe these textbooks should include information from previous teachers and important excerpts from past textbooks that the teachers declared as useful information. Giving the students and teachers ownership over such an important aspect of learning could really motivate the class to do well. I definitely agreed teaching is about our kids and our future generations being in the classroom, not about anything else. We teach to develop their minds, and improve their learning and education. I liked the idea of changing the world. I believe we can teach students as well as many adults to do positive for the world, and to create an awareness that we should always be kind to others. Collaborating and working cooperatively with peers is definitely an idea that she be focused on in schools. We must learn how to work together as early as we can, in order to be successful at maintaining relationships and keeping the peace. I believe we as future educators and teachers must be learners. We have to be "powerful" learners and professional role models. Children take their cues from adults, we must be wise about what we say and how we act. I agree it is important to share so we can improve our practice, we undoubtedly need to ask more questions, and starting a network as a go-to to ask questions instead of asking google sounds truly brilliant. When you ask google you are not getting the feedback you need, you are getting an answer which most of the time is not the answer you were looking for. I loved the idea of instead of delivering the curriculum to discover, that was one of the most powerful points he had mentioned in this video.
Some of the ideas I do not agree with include: putting everything on the internet, it truly isn't always the safe place we want and think of it to be. Resume's will stand to be important. It is a way to list all of your many accomplishments and show yourself in the most positive light. If we no longer look for resume's, why would we stride to do things to better ourselves? Lastly, I think the common core standards are important. Although many teachers and teacher candidates are not familiar with the common core, I do believe it has potential to improve or nations education.
From this video and from what we as teacher candidates are learning now, we can see that education is constantly changing and we must constantly do what we can as effective educators to keep up to date adapt and evaluate what it is we are teaching. I will make sure to incorporate many of these ideas in my teaching in the future.
-Ariel Villandre
I agree with Mr. Richards, a change can be made with commitment and time. this is not something that can happen over night. I was intrigued by the idea of creating one's own textbook. This could give the teacher and students the opportunity to have a customized education, catering to the needs of the students with the strengths of the teacher. This gives students the opportunity to have optimal teacher instruction. Curriculum guidelines and teacher collaboration would be helpful for guidance. Teachers being creative and thinking outside the box will inspire students. Thinking about common core standards, this would be a great way to make the shift and model appropriate thinking.
Kaitlyn B.
I agree with certain of the ideas from “” one thing is the flipping the power switch of classroom where the students aren’t just the learners in the classroom but by them really having the power to focus on the importance of what they want to know and how it influences them. Having the students create or do work that makes an impact is such a great motivation to what must go on in the classroom. As well as a great education tool, which can teach empathy and perspective to students and having that work published is an added bonus to those students that shows them, how much of an impact they can have in the world. Of course, educators sharing their work with one another to help develop better practices in the classroom. less “how to” workshops, and more workshops that get right into the information that is needed for educators to endure growth. Use free resources that are available to us in the classroom. Most definitely the last two slides focused on standing up to what educators are supposed to be, they are there for students and learning and not for politics, furthermore push back on teachers assessment.
-Jonathan R
Richardson's presentation leaves you trying to catch your breath! However, in a short five minutes he does make very valid and motivating points. I specifically like his idea of "flip the power switch" and allowing students to be learners going in the directions they want to go. I try to take advantage of every opportunity I get to give my students the chance to make their own choices about their learning and I see how much they flourish when spending time on something that interests them.
Also, I agree with Richardson's idea of "unlearn. relearn." Richardson wants to see teachers constantly challenge their methods and strategies to constantly improve and incorporate the growing technological world in the classroom. However right now in my own teaching experiences I feel like I'm doing this, but not in the positive way described by Richardson. I feel this way because of the Common Core Standards, which I am struggling to understand their validity. This leads me to my support of Richardson's suggestion of creating an "uncommon core." I wholeheartedly agree that there are so many needs that the common core does not address, such as environmental issues and equity issues that need to be taught.
I certainly hope I can take some of these ideas into my classroom. Right now I feel like I am so focused on preparing my fourth graders for a brand new world of standardized testing that they are losing valuable time for creative, active and engaging learning experiences.
- K. Doria
I agree with every single thing that Will Richardson said. I loved how he incorporates networks and cooperative learning into the classrooms. A main problem in high schools is student engagement and I believe by incorporating some of Will's ideas we can better engage our students. I liked how he added in "saving the world" into his presentation. With common core being so demanding, when would we as educators have a chance to teach about real world issues that are currently going on? I know for sure I will be teaching my students about environmental issues and how they can help the earth. Also, as Tom said, the landscape of education is constantly changing and teachers need to adapt and evaluate their effectiveness. I notice many teachers becoming too comfortable with their lessons and refusing to change it up. It makes me sick. I hope Will's ideas spread and schools start incorporating his ideas into the classroom. -Dayna O.
A much as I enjoyed what Mr. Richardson stated, things will only change for the worse in our system. Personally, as someone who works in NYC. The delightful mayor will never allow for growth and creativity
-Nick C
I found many of Richardson's views to be interesting, but I do not think a lot of them are realistic. In a world where there is so much reform in education, it seems that the NYSED is determined to squash creativity. Unfortunately, much of the internet involves creativity. In fact, it took being creative to invent things such as twitter, pinterest and google. While it would be wonderful to say no to test prep and do away with standardized testing, which is neither an accurate nor fair assessment of a student's intelligences, realistically it is just not going to happen in this day and age. I think Richardson posed many essential question and delivered inspiring ideas, but I think it is just too difficult for one voice to be heard in education these days.
Melanie P.
Richardson’s 19 bold ideas for change are interesting, I agree that change can be good and inspiring creativity can be great, however with such strict standards with the implementation on the New York State Common Core many teacher are scared of these things. Open network tests sounds logical because today generation is always connected, but how can a teacher implement that into his/her classroom then not allow students to use it on standardized tests? Get rid of standardized tests…. yes this sounds great but again is it logical? Will your voice really be heard if you “scream.”?
-Ashley M.
Even though the presentation was short and quickly paced, it undeniably accurate. As a parent and an educator, I feel that school systems and the state testing are ruining the education system. Children are now expected to learn and perform at the same rate as every child at the same rate. It is ridiculous! The only way to stop this madness is what Tom Robinson said we must unlearn, relearn and discover. With the hindrance of NYS testing and teacher accountability it makes this theory almost impossible. It is a wonderful theory and I really do wish it was possible, but with today's Race to the Top nonsense it appears that Will Richardson ideas are quite unattainable.
I believe that in today’s society technology is important to have in the classroom. This is what Will Richardson’s position on this topic was. As teachers we have to keep up with the new technology that comes out even though it’s more complex and more frequent than we would like or could keep up with but we have to for our student’s sake. Richardson statement about school money does make sense because using technology in the classroom may be expensive in the beginning because of purchasing all of the new technology but then in the long run it ends up being cheaper than buying new textbooks every year. And new technology can definitely help students with disabilities especially for those who can’t communicate or those with Autism who need some sort of stimuli. The technology used for those students can make great improvements in their education and daily life all from the use of technology.
-Nicole A
I really enjoyed this video of Will Richardson’s presentation to teachers. I found myself agreeing with most of the topics he spoke about. He had intelligible and inspiring points that addressed the ways we should be educating our students. Many of his ideas were related to the importance of using technology in the classroom. The idea that I liked the best was for teachers to stop saying, “Do your own work” to students. I believe that if students worked together and shared their ideas more often, the final result would be a huge transformation. I also really liked Richardson’s idea about learning first and teaching second. Teachers should be open to sharing all of their ideas and materials with one another. “Unlearn and relearn,” I agree that teachers should be open to learning new things. I feel that there is always room to grow in any field of work, so teachers especially should put more effort into relearning and applying new information to engage their students.
- Holly P.
I definitely agree with many of Will Richardson’s educational ideas, but also felt a little overwhelmed with how into technology he is. I understand we are living in a very technology driven society, but I do not believe that everything must become about technology. I actually feel that is becoming an issue within today’s world. Many children growing up during this time are losing sense of human interaction and the development of appropriate social skills is decreasing due to the amount of technology that is out there. Aside from this, I really appreciated his strong sense of unlearn, relearn and discover, don't deliver. We are living in an ever-growing world and in order to be great educators we need to constantly change our outlooks and ideas about what works and what does not work. If teachers become stagnant, they will be doing an injustice to future youth.
While I did enjoy the video and listening to what he had to say about education, I think many of his ideas just aren't possible under the current education system. He basically wants to go against the common core and have a much more liberal way of instructing the curriculum. Something like this just isn't possible under the confines of the common core. Despite this, I did like some of the ideas that he had about how to teach students. What I most liked was his idea of "sharing everything." I think that this is a great idea because it allows for a constant information flow between teachers and students. In my future classroom, I would love to make this work by sometimes taking a back seat and allowing my students to teach me facts that they have researched.
-Victoria L.
Watching this video was very interesting. There was so much information stated in 5 and a half minutes. I agreed with most of what Will Richardson said. He made points that made me think about how education is changing rapidly and how it is benefiting students.
One idea that I liked best was that teachers should learn first and teach second. This is a very important concept because teachers need to understand and learn the information they are presenting to their class. Without an understanding of the material, the teacher will not be a good model to his or her students. The teacher needs to show the students that, they too, are learning new things everyday. Another idea I liked was that Richardson said, “Don’t do your own work.” This is a great idea because, in today’s classroom you see students working together more and more. I think this helps the students understand the information of the lessons better. It allows them to collaborate and share ideas.
-Joanna S.
Will Richardson's presentation on bold ideas for change was an excellent morale booster for all involved in educating today's children. I agree with most of what he said like having an open network test instead of an open book test. Using the same technology that our students are using is important. I also favor his build your own textbook idea to build upon it year after year with your students. He also touched on the importance of student collaboration and teachers sharing their own work. We can learn from one another as students and teachers.
And then he gave teachers permission to create an uncommon core as a much needed addition to the current Common Core. We want our students to ask meaningful questions and yet most teachers just accept the Common Core as the be all and end all. I know it may seem radical to challenge the establishment but I agree with Richardson's view that it is not up to corporations and politicians to dictate how to educate our children.
Erin H.
I liked most of the ideas that were discussed but my favorite idea was to discover the curriculum instead of just telling it. With literature, I feel that students have to be invested and engaged in finding answers to questions in the text and connecting the ideas. In this way, the text, whether liked or not, can at least be understood in terms of its relevance. Why are we reading this? How does it relate to today's class. Also, in my first two years, I have already realized that students think of things that I did not even consider. This enhances my lesson and helps me be open to other possibilities. This would not be hard to accomplish either. It just takes a change of approach in presenting a lesson, and it could be very effective.
-Sean C.
Will Richardson poses a lot of radical ideas in his presentation. I respect his enthusiasm and his optimism, however the changes he is suggesting are not all possible. Certainly some things are plausible (textbooks, flipping the switch) but he is making change sound simple. When you have so many people in a field that are used to teaching a certain way, it is going to be difficult to get them to give up what is comfortable. Don't get me wrong, I am all for change in the education system but it has to happen gradually. For example, he pushes for collaboration between students which is an awesome skill to teach our kids. However,collaboration on an exam doesn't seem effective. You are guaranteed to have some stronger students doing the work and some students riding their coattails. In social studies I think it is absolutely possible to implement what he calls the "uncommon core" simply based on the nature of discovery in history and the related fields.
I strongly agreed with his point about keeping politicians out of education, as well as the idea that teachers need to speak up for what they want/need in their classrooms. But I do see a problem with this. Administrators who are under pressure are not going to keep a teacher around who causes problems. More likely they will find a new teacher who will follow their instructions simply out of fear of losing their job.
Samantha F.
Will Richardson has a lot of great ideas. His ideas are against the normal. But, I agree with a lot of ideas that he was saying. There were several ideas that I agree with. Allowing students/teachers to create their own textbooks and adding onto each year is a very creative idea. I think I will use this concept in my future classroom, not sure for what subject. Events are occurring rapidly and technology is advancing so I believe this will be efficient.
Also, agree with Flip the Power Switch. When, students are more engaged in learning and studying subjects that they are interested in, their work and tests show it.
I love the Change the world idea, I believe this is something I will do definitely. With technology, social media and different media outlets there are ways to help change the world. It could be as small as one's community/town or as big as a nation. In my classroom, there will be several projects I will give. Pen pal via email, create a project that will benefit one's community, state, nation or another country. This requires a lot of research and group work.
Will Richardson's ideas are similar to those of educators who don't have the means to implement them. I enjoyed his presentation.
After watching the video, I agreed with a lot of what Will Richardson's bold ideas for change. A lot of his ideas concentrated around the new ideas of the new common core standards. The new common core concentrates on the students discovering their own learning. One of Richardson's ideas that I agree with was to have the students create their own textbooks instead of spending hundreds of dollars on publishing companies. Another idea I agree with was the idea of the flipped classroom. Students should not only learn from the teacher, but they should also learn from each other through discovery. This also goes hand in hand with the notion that teachers must have the students learn the material first and then teach second. This idea improves and promotes creativity from the students. Teachers should also share everything and ask a lot of questions. Teachers shouldn't be afraid to share ideas and resources if it is going to benefit all students. Many if his ideas were very bold; however, they are also heading in the same direction as the NYS Common Core Standards.
I agree with Will Richardson’s ideas for change about how we should be educating our students. My favorite idea of Richardson’s is to create our own textbooks. I think that this is an amazing idea, which would not only be more cost effective but would also provide student’s with a more personal learning environment. Throughout my college experience, I have had a few professors who had created their own textbook or compiled the assigned readings and lessons for the semester on a CD. I often found that I learned more deeply during these classes because the assigned readings and information provided was clear and to the point. I would definitely like to try to make my own textbook in my future classroom and I believe that this idea can work. I would start off on a smaller scale and still utilize the old textbook. I would also create projects for students to complete that would ask them to add on to the textbook in a “Student Section” of the book. With each passing year I would like to add to my textbook and edit as needed.
I loved Will Richardson's video. He has so many great thoughts and concepts. I love the idea of letting students use their phones for a test. All the answers to the test and their world is in their pocket, much more than the text books we waste money on. I also am against the Common Core and standardized testing. I love the concept of teaching the uncommon core. However I don't feel any of this is a possibility in today's educational world. Maybe some of this can be done in a private school or charter school, but so much value is placed on these state tests for students scores and teacher evaluations, I feel its just not possible.
There are three ideas that really stuck with me after watching this video. 1. change the world. Students have the ability to participate in the community and make a difference for a cause. When they see the impact they can have on others I think it gives them a global perspective on what they are learning and why it is important. 2. Create an uncommon core. Children are going to be presented with situations throughout life that are not taught through the common core. We call them students, but forget they are human beings, and individuals. Finally, 3.don't deliver discover. I would relate to this in my own classroom because the best way for children to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills is to discover the solution on their own with guidance rather than lecture.
suzie b
What he talks about is true, but unfortunately not an easy change. Just like politics there's a left and a right wing for academics. The main thing though that will separate the two sides is the fear of technology and the contemplation of all the negatives that come with it rather than the abundance of positives and the vast array of opportunities to learn.
- Doug Ferguson
What he talks about is true, but unfortunately not an easy change. Just like politics there's a left and a right wing for academics. The main thing though that will separate the two sides is the fear of technology and the contemplation of all the negatives that come with it rather than the abundance of positives and the vast array of opportunities to learn.
- Doug Ferguson
One of the ideas that I enjoyed from this video was that students should create their own textbooks. I think that this is a great way for students to learn and begin to care about what they are learning. How many times have students not wanted to use a math textbooks because the way in which the books is teaching the problems doesn't make sense, or a student dislikes a history book because it is boring and cannot grab their interest. By having students create their own books, students can find can grab and hold their attention and that do a better job at supplementing their learning because this particular author is interesting, or teachings in a way that makes the subject matter make sense. These personalized textbooks are also things that these students can keep and expand on after the class because there is no need to return it at the end of a year like a textbook. This information is now available to the student all year round making for a much more effective learning environment. I also like his idea of making sure that teachers are learners too. I believe it is easier to teach students if they see that teachers are just like them in that everyday they are trying to learn something new. There will always be a new or different view or opinion and by having an open mind to new things will help spread this a more open minded philosophy to the students too.
-Gabriel G.
Mr. Richardson had a lot of interesting ideas. I particularly liked his point that the world is changing out there as we as teachers need to change too. Students are not going to need to know the material they are learning in the same context as students 10 years ago or even 5 years ago when the curriculum was formed. We need to grow and adapt in order to help the students learn.
The second point I liked was that we need to create an "Uncommon Core". Create a curriculum that will help students go out there and change the world. That is what learning is for. We are creating the future learners of the world, why not give them the tools to make the world a better one? We need to see students as learners and our future, not just statistics.
I completely agree with Will Richardson. His ideas are not as radical as we may think. First of all, students are sponges!!! The attitude of the teacher matters very much. If I can demonstrate learning for my students, and show a passion for my own education, they will too. I think that idea includes the way we as educators present information to our students. If I present with enthusiasm, they will be more eager to learn.
Shaina Henry
I think that Richardson has some productive ideas for change, unfortunately I do not think that they can all be attained. My favorite one discussed making a text with your students that is evolving. I do not think this could take place of a standard text, but I do think it would be a great tool for the students to use to learn and you can always add new and relevant material to keep the lessons interesting. It would also make the students want to learn and research more so that they could feel like they made an impact on a tool that you will use for your future classes.
I liked the ideas of more cooperative work since it's more realistic. As a new teacher I wonder what principals and other observers will think if they constantly see group work? Will they think you can't teach because its not normal? I love the idea of making your own textbook. If we can somehow we can convince a student here and there to donate a worksheet they found to be useful to them(with link). Over a few years this can build up to a textbook.
I really thought Richardson's ideas were innovative and exciting. I like his idea of Learn first, teach second. I also like his idea of no standardized testing. Education today is being consumed with state testing and most classroom activity is aimed to teach for the test. His implantation of technology and group work are tremendous. Most students learn by doing and learn from their peers.
I like and agree with many of Richardson's ideas. There were a few ideas that stuck out such as share everything, learners and first teachers second, and don’t do your own work. I think with today’s technology there is no reason teachers should not share the activities, lessons, and ideas that are working in their classroom. The idea of learners first and teachers second is so important because teachers should be lifelong learners and setting example for their students. Lastly, the idea of don’t do your own work is great because in today’s world collaboration is key. Almost everything a student does should have some sort of collaboration because students will be interacting with others for their entire life. I think I can make these ideas work in my future classroom in numerous ways. Sharing everything with my fellow teachers is something that can easily be done through the use of technology and internet. Being a learner first is also another idea that I can incorporate into my future classroom by setting an example for my students by continuously learning and sharing those experiences with my students. Lastly, having my students collaborate with each other on their work is something that I can do through the lessons and activities I plan. Incorporating group work and networking on social media sites is something I can include into my lessons/activities that will encourage my students to interact with other people.
While I agree with Will Richardson that the world of education and the roles of teachers are changing, I feel as though these changes will take more time than people are willing to allow. Also, many of his ideas are now old rather than bold. Nowadays it is common for educators and students to advocate for using cell phones, tablets and any media on tests and I think once educators figure out how to teach students to use their cell phones responsibly in school students will be allowed to use them. Also, Will Richardson’s ideas about letting students be in charge of their learning and the curriculum not simply residing within the classroom are rather overused by many other speakers. It is true that learning takes place outside the classroom and will continue to more and more with the use of technology. I feel that instead of simply putting the same ideas out there in different ways it is time for people to suggest how teachers can use these ideas.
Although I felt that some ideas were not quite so bold, there were some that I really liked and think I could use in my future classroom. Will Richardson’s suggestion of a student/class made textbook that future students can add onto and reuse is a great idea. I could see myself using it for a grammar, vocabulary, or literary/poetic elements unit. As teachers, I think the expectation is that you know all the answers and the notion of asking students questions you don’t know the answer to takes the pressure off yourself as a teacher and your students. The answers to the questions are based on opinions rather than fact so even students who are afraid of getting a question wrong will be more inclined to participate in class since they can’t be wrong. I also think teaching an uncommon core is important because it gives students a chance to learn about topics that interest them; it goes along with the hidden curriculum of the school in a way. The hidden curriculum teaches students socially acceptable behavior and the uncommon core would teach students about important subjects (i.e. the environment, equality) that are outside the academic curriculum but equally as important.
After watching this video, I thought Will Richardsons ideas were very interesting. He has some very valid points for the change that he wants to see in education. I like what he says that instead of open book tests, there should be open network tests. The internet is just as information as the textbooks and sometimes could be even more informative then textbooks. I love the idea of having the students create their own learning experiences with technology such as creating a workspace with wiki. Students have better chances for success when they create their own learning environments with guidance and assistance from the teacher. The new view on education is a student centered approach and in my view, it should have been like that the whole time. The students need to see for themselves that they are able to create thinking order that will travel with them and help them progress into a well-rounded educated citizen. When Will Richardson talked about creating learning experiences outside the classroom, that stuck with me. I believe in a constructivist approach to learning which entails for children to learn using the world around them. I also believe that students have the power to create a bright and successfully future that involves collaboration and communication across the world. They are the people of the future and teachers should embrace technology for the benefits that it serves. There is a part of me that wishes that we don’t do away with books and textbooks completely because there is something that I cherish about them. I like the idea of looking in a dictionary sometimes for words that I don’t understand. Don’t get me wrong, most of the time I google it, but I still think that dictionaries are important. I also like reading books and articles in a hard copy. I have read a book before on my Ipad which I was completely comfortable with, but sometimes reading on a screen for a long period of time doesn’t suit well with my eyes. So overall, I think that Will Richardson’s ideas for change in the classroom are very beneficial for educators to understand and accept but I don’t want to rid the old system completely.
Will Richardson provides a variety of ideas of how education could be changed. I agree with many of the ideas that he provides in this video. Times are changing and teachers’ approach to education should be changed. One of the ideas that I like the best is “flipping the power switch.” This is when the students are given the power to decide how things are approached in the classroom. I agree that we should look to the students for ideas of how to teach in our classroom because they know what works best for them. For example, in my future classroom I will give my students an exit ticket at the end of a lesson where they can write what they enjoyed about the lesson and what are other strategies can be used to teach the topic. Additionally, I will have a suggestion box where students can suggest other topics they would like to learn about.
-Mariya L.
I agree that today education is all about teaching the students to the test. This needs to change so that students have the opportunity to explore topics that they are passionate about. To improve education, educators should take into consideration some of the ideas of Will Richardson.
-Mariya L.
That video was quite the rapid onslaught... But it was very enjoyable. Will Richardson's presentation offered a lot of great ideas. Yet, through the rush of 19 ideas, it remained the first which intrigued me most. The idea of giving open network tests is something I genuinely believe in. We are trying to prepare students to be college and career ready, yet we still measure student achievement on state exams in a way that is not reflective of college and career problem solving. Students should be free to use the myriad resources at their fingertip to grapple with problems. Despite a large push for discovery learning, the summative state assessments still maintain a "they know it or they don't" mindset. This is not in line with problem solving in a digital age.
-Jesse G.-
Will Richardson’s presentation revealed his passion and excitement as an educator, and his desire to bring about great changes in the educational system. Although several of his ideas struck me, #8 seemed to stick. He spoke of banning “how to workshops” for teachers. I find his observation to be right on when considering the workshops I’ve attended that focus on how to do something: how to blog, how to connect internationally, how to video conference, but, often enough, end there. Those who follow through are rare.
Down the road, someone has to be the one to move forward and take initiative with innovative ideas. This role is bound to fall on new teachers. Organizing a group of like-minded teachers interested in implementing new ideas and following through with them is one simple way to bring about new approaches to education.
-Peter L.
Will Richardson has many great ideas that can be incorporated in the classroom. His ideas are progressive with today’s education and technology. The one rule that truly stuck out with me was rule number 7, Learn First. Teach Second. This idea stood out to me because it deals with teaching social studies. One problem many early social studies teachers have is knowing the content. Social studies teachers need to know thousands of years of history so it can be difficult to remember all the information. This rule is smart because teachers should be refreshing themselves with old topics to make sure they can answer all types of questions. All teachers should be well versed on their subject and topics. It’s a great idea to have teachers learn even more than what they will teach, it allows for more talking points and can show your students you are knowledgeable.
-Liam
Yes, I agreed with many of Will Richardson’s ideas. I thought a great deal of his ideas were not all that radical. Many of them I found to be very practical. There were two ideas that I liked the most. One was that students should be learning outside the classroom and “flip the power switch” (meaning student-directed learning). Too many teachers have teacher-directed instruction 98% of the time. It’s a shame because student-directed learning can be a lot more powerful and memorable for students, especially for those who are kinetic learners. I can have more field trips and even a few lessons outside. I can promise myself to have stations at least once a month and frequent group projects/activities. As you can see, I also agreed with his point that one should not be always doing their own work and instead work with others because that aligns more with the real world. However, I do not agree with network test and I don’t know how you would even go about one.
-Jessica S.
I am a social studies educator as well and I agree with you Liam that teachers need to take some time to review old topics so they can answer questions on the spot. If teachers want to teach more effectively they need to know the content like the back of their hand. Teachers should also be altering and tweaking their lessons to ensure that they have an effective lesson that will engage particular students. This is will not only help the students, but the teacher will be likely be more effective and not be utterly bored with repetition year after year.
-Jessica S.
I loved the roll your own text and creating a wiki for the class that can be updated and changed each year. You can have students collaborate to improve it each year, or give extra credit to any student that can improve a section that will help others. The flip the switch and change the world I believe can go together a bit, allowing students to take charge of their own learning and go out into the world is one of the best motivations for learning. His ideas of teacher are also very interesting. The unlearn relearn topic i think sums it up best in that we as teacher must be able to change. Be ready and embrace change and be able to implement ideas that can help our students learn. Not just the common core but more than just the common learn and really challenge kids to take the next step toward higher level thinking and learning.
-John Ryan
I agree with Will Richardson's ideas that technology should change education. Teachers need to constantly reevaluate what they know about the material and teach it to the students in a way that is best for them. Open network tests can be beneficial because it opens students up to new ideas and opinions that they are not always exposed to.
-Patrick H.
I agree with Will Richardson with his ideas that he presented in the video. I think that it is very important to continuously change the way students are being educated. Now, more than ever it is important for students to get multiple forms of instruction in the classroom. My favorite idea that he had was to allow students at some point to "use their networks" Like he said in the video it is the only place where the students cannot use their phone to look something up. Although this goes against tradition theories of education I think that it is time for us to change in some ways to make our education system stronger.
-Nick Gilbert
I thought Will Richardson made some very valid points in his presentation. His first point was that children should be able to use networking like they do text books. We should not limit their resources and should let them use items such as their phone. We also must let our students work with other students, because they will be associating with others everyday. Educators must also be able to relearn the way that they teach and be open to new ideas. Learning is a process that everyone must participate in.
I agree with what he had to say. Especially about the resume, he's right. people are eventually not going to care about the resume, they're going to want to Google you and see how you are socially. He named a good point when he said teachers go into a class room as teachers instead of learners. We're always still learning, especially with the technology today. In the future I will make sure my class is able to have access to technology in the classroom.
I agree with what he has to say when he says that instead of using the textbook, students can collaborate and use technology to discover and share information. I believe that this is a great way for students to learn and helps them learn on their own and discover and experience things in their own way. Teachers should use this method as well and come into school as a learner and use new methods to see what works best.
I feel that Mr. Richardson mentioned some interesting points. I agreed with his concept that technology is changing and as teachers we need to expose the curriculum through technology. The computers and I pads are a great source and tool for students. I do feel that the children are more engaged with the computers compared to their textbooks. Technology is a useful resource if used properly. There are many apps that are educational as well as rewarding for children with special needs. As a future teacher I would definitely implement the use of the computer in conjunction with the curriculum.
After watching Will Richardson's five minute "rapid fire" presentation, I would have to say I agree with most of the sentiments he was proposing. He mentions a great deal of ideas and directions that education should be heading in, and in my honest opinion, it already is heading that way. During his presentation, Will spends much of his time explaining how students should be working collaboratively online in order to produce work that actually means something...possibly even things that could be published online. While I do agree with his ideas, I would have to say that this is already the direction that education is heading in. Students are working every day in a very digital classroom that provides them with the opportunity to create work that can be shared with other students all around the world. It is truly an amazing time for education in this respect.
Another one of the points that Will Richardson mentions in his presentation is that teachers should be learners first and teachers second. This is something that I am a firm believer in. The worst teachers are the ones who thought they knew it all and that their students should be honored to even be in the classroom with them. The best teachers are the ones that are willing to put in the work along side the students in order to create rich learning experiences for their classrooms. I will always strive to be a learner first so that I can continue to expand my content knowledge on a day to day basis.
I completely agree with his ideas and the changes he wants in education. The idea that I liked best was for students to focus on working together instead of doing work on their own. In the real world, most people do not work by themselves. At work, you usually have to collaborate or someone work with others. Why not teach that them at school? Of course independent work is important as well but the teachers who do not allow group work are hurting their students' futures. In my classroom I will try to scaffold my lesson plans by having students observe me model the work, then have them work in groups to learn from each other and collaborate and then work independently.
I felt like Will Richardson was extremely passionate during his presentation. He definitely knows what he’s talking about and had some extremely constructive points. The internet is definitely way more profound in our culture today than ever before and we do rely on the internet to answer questions we have all throughout the day. I thought it was an excellent idea when Richardson proposed we do away with open-book tests and exams of that nature and allow students to do “open-network” exams instead. Why should we not allow kids to use the very utensil our society relies on literally second-to-second of our everyday lives? I also liked that he brought up being so private on the internet and how parents need to get over the fact that kids are going to come across strangers in their lives. I understand being a little apprehensive, but I remember being in school and having almost every single website be blocked off for whatever precautionary reason. It left little to work with, when in reality that’s only detrimental to students by not allowing them to a full playing field.
Will Richardson presents some very interesting ideas in his five minute speech on '19 Bold ( Not Old ) Ideas for Change'. One of the ideas from his speech that would be most beneficial to implement would be to not have students do their own work. Students need to learn to collaborate with their peers effectively as collaboration is a life-long skill that they will need to master to be successful in just about any career. In addition, his comment regarding creating your own textbook that is continually updated and evolving to meet the needs of the curriculum is also interesting. Most school districts deal with antiquated textbooks that need to be supplemented with more current information anyway so why not make the process more interactive and engaging for the students and teacher by having them develop their own text book? While his ideas presented are exciting, there is still the need for teachers to be accountable for the success of their students with common core and high-stake assessments so I'm not sure of the viability of implementing some of his ideas in the classroom.
I enjoyed this Vimeo by Will Richardson. He raises some very concrete and relevant points about our roles as educators and learners and students roles as learners and discoverers. There are many strategies and methods that teachers can apply to their instruction that will allow students to take ownership of their learning, so that they are not simply regurgitating information. Sometimes, we benefit from the professional development workshops that we are subjected to, but mostly he claims that teachers need workshops that actually allow us to do and not just learn how. Another interesting point he mentioned was getting students to work collaboratively with others on various aspects that have a positive impact on the world. It is not in their best interest and will not benefit society to continue to impose individual learning goals on students. They need to be part of a community and learn how to rely and depend on one another. Finally, he encourages teachers to change the curriculum and create our texts and curriculum.
I agree with Alexandra F. that students need a little more wiggle room on the internet to complete assignments, do research or simple use it for leisure. Schools need to have more people adequately trained on how to utilize various forms of technology and safely navigate through these networks. In education, more sites that allow young children to get additional support in reading, writing, mathematics, social studies or science need to be in effect. Even if just some particular sites are unblocked so that teachers, students and parents/guardians may have access to them will make a tremendous difference in the retention of skills and overall learning experience of students.
Will was very enthusiastic in his presentation, but some of the changes he is suggesting are most definitely not possible. In reality, switching the ways teachers teach seems great and easy, but when you bring the idea up to everyone, they are not going to give up the way they teach. One of the key ideas that Will is enthused for is collaboration. This ‘change’ cannot just happen over night. Collaboration can only be used in some settings such as group work, projects, and certain teaching strategies such as turn-and –talk. This method of collaboration cannot be done during exams or any sort of testing. This will not help us gauge what our students know. I believe that education should be based strictly with the teachers and no input from politics. Teachers should teach how they want and educate the students thoroughly and not be ‘let go’ for standing up for what they want and being ‘ineffective’.
Will Richardson talked about many bold idea of change in education. He talked at a very rapid pace which made it a little difficult to understand his ideas. The ideas that I did hear were very interesting. He explains that everyone should google themselves. This is definitely a bold idea because it actually is something very useful. Students should realize the consequences of things that they post on the internet these days. Especially on social media pages. If they google themselves on a regular basis, they can monitor and police what future employers may see about them. I know I google myself periodically to make sure my social media is private and hidden. This idea was very interesting for someone to actually ask students to complete, but I do think it’s beneficial. I really liked how he explained that kids should have the power to pursue their own passions in education. Let them do things that they are interested in and even make them publish their own work. I think it is so important for students to take pride in their work and share what they love with others. Will Richardson had great points but those were the two that stuck out the most.
Will Richardson was very enthusiastic in his speaking. And while it all sounds well and good what he has to say, unfortunately in the school system we are in, it is not realistic. Technology will allow for many advances in our classrooms, but the curriculum will always be geared towards the common core. All we can do as educators is to try and make it more interesting for our students and seek more innovative ways to teach them the material at hand.It's unfortunate but true.
Will Richardson advice to Google yourself I found very useful especially when teaching Health. When talking about bullying and especially cyber bullying it is a problem that far to many students deal with on an everyday basis. Getting through to my students and teaching them the consequences of cyber bullying could lead to trouble in school or even worse trouble with the police is something very important. With the amount of students using social media, it is important that they understand the consequences and realize that once they put something up on the internet it is up their forever even if they want to delete it it can always be traced back to them. I'm glad Will Richardson brought up that topic and it is something I go over at great length in my classes.
I mostly agree with what Will Richardson is saying. I do believe that everything in today’s date can be found on the internet, but I don’t believe that we should resort to teaching students to use the internet for everything in school. Technology should still be in a privilege in learning and not a primary source or learning. I do like his approach on listen first, teach second. This idea is important when teaching because we need to constantly learn ourselves and adapt to the students, instead of just teaching one way to all different types of learners. This is one method I would use in my future classroom.
I agree completely with what he has to say. I think it is so important to "flip the switch." Students are so used to one way of teaching and creating a new way for students can help them learn even more. I like the idea of flipped instruction which was introduce to me by Professor Sheehan, and it is the idea to allow the student to come home to the information too. Telling the students to google or watch a youtube video about the lesson that was taught. Or to have them have some information before the lesson is taught.. all these activities are great in my mind.
Will Richardson has many radical but great ideas. I honestly loved all of his ideas, but I had a few favorites that I felt were most important. My favorites were students and teachers building their own textbooks to add onto over the years, not just doing work to hangup in your own classroom but doing work that changes and impacts people around the world, and teachers being learners first and teachers second in order to model learning for our students. I also agreed with his idea called, "SCREAM!" which called for teachers to be disruptive and call out how education is not about business and politics, but about the students and the greatest learning experiences they can receive. I believe that he thought out of the box and his love for and creativity with education really shows. I agree with his ideas and think they are very beneficial and effective if put to use.
I agree with Will Richardson and his video. I liked when he said the "roll out with text" comment. I feel that everything today is online and textbooks are nonexsistent. I think that watching a lesson on youtube and online is more effective than having a student listen to a lector in a classroom and miss important information. When watching a lesson online, the student can stop and go as they please, and wont be worrying about missing any information. Technology is a great way for students to understand the lessons better and I agree with everything Will Richardson said.
Will Richardson has some great points in his quick but to the point segment. I agree with several of his points but the two that stood out to me were "Don't deliver...discover" and "Roll your own text."
With all of the stress from common core, it is important for our students to understand that there is a world outside of the classroom and that what we do learn in the classroom can relate to their lives. Students need to be actively engaged in their learning rather than just learning to pass the tests. Also, in roll you own text, it allows the students to collaborate with one another to create their own version of a textbook. Students can and will surprise you. This is not only applicable for the students but for the teachers as well. The beauty of an online textbook is that it can be modified when needed. I definitely will keep Will Richardson's points in mind when I have my own classroom.
Christie M.
I enjoyed watching this video. The way he presented the information forced me to really pat attention so that I could catch everything he said, and I actually watched it twice. I agree with his 19 Bold ideas, but the 3 that really stood out to me was 4, 6, and 7. Number 4 was flip the power switch. I love the idea that it is no longer about the teacher but the students and allowing the students to be able to pursue their interests. Teaching should not be about molding someone to conform to the teachers expectations,but teaching should be about molding them to use the students own natural ability, mold them to have the confidence to be themselves and use it to their own advantage to learn. Number 6 was stop telling kids to do their own work - allow them to interact, collaborate and cooperate. Number 7 was learn first and teach second. I loved hi idea how some teachers can have the idea that I am the teacher and you have to learn from me. Unfortunately I am working with a teacher this year who has this attitude and it is so evident to see how badly it is affecting the students. Everyone sees it except for herself and how badly she is hurting and not helping the students. But then egos should be a whole other blog. I really enjoyed this presentation and of course agree with everything he said. His ideas have made me think about how I can work them into the classroom and give my students the best of these ideas.
One of the ideas I like from the video is that students should create their own textbooks. Many students do not even bother to open their textbooks because they are sometimes very confusing. This could give students the opportunity to learn the information in a new and unique way. They can create a textbook that they would enjoy using and put information in it that they see relevant. Especially in math, students can create a textbook that explains how to problems more efficiently. This can be a new way to teach students that is fun, different, and engaging.
I agree with Will Richardson's ideas. I liked his idea of creating your own textbook with the help of your students. By creating a textbook together, I think students will be more engaged in learning because it helps to make the lessons more hands on. Students don't always read the expensive textbooks these days and creating a textbook forces students to take part in learning the material. This is especially helpful in math where knowing formulas and understanding how to solve is essential. I agree with Allison that this can be a fun, new way to teach students. I think that this could definitely be an idea that I will use in my future classroom.
-Lauren G.
So this video was Jam packed with ideas, how can you just pick one?! Being uncommon core...considering I have limited knowledge as to what that is, I feel like hey, just teaching kids the fundamentals is key. Richardson talks about using an "open network" rather then open book. Creating our own textbooks. Considering there is so much info out there, not a bad thought. But the best thing I think he said was being a learner first, not a teacher. And in my personal experience, this is so true. Always being a sponge and gathering information. Its key. Its clutch!
Will Richardson had a lot of interesting ideas that he was clearly very passionate about! While I would argue that almost every single one of his ideas would benefit our students and change our education system for the better, the truth is that most of his ideas are quite radical, and implementation of most of them would be unrealistic.
With that being said, a few of his points really resonated with me. For one, I would agree with Cathy, in that I loved his idea about "flipping the power switch." A classroom is not about the teacher, it is about the students in it. Letting students pursue their own passions and interests is what will keep them engaged, and what will make them want to learn from you. I also found his suggestion of "Don't Do Your Own Work" really interesting, but probably one of the more untraditional ones. I'm sure we can all remember hearing that more than once from a teacher, whatever the variation- eyes on your own paper, do your own work, etc. However, Richardson is right- the world is such a collaborative place, that to prevent students from learning the skills they need to interact and work with their peers while they are in school would be doing them a disservice. I would hope to incorporate this idea into my future classroom by promoting group activity and allowing my students to use each other as learning resources.
Will Richardson is a very insightful man. In his video, he brought up some extremely good ideas. While I agree with Carly in saying that some of them are a bit “radical”, it does not hurt to at least make an attempt at trying them out and seeing where it goes. The idea that was mentioned in the video that really stood out to me, as well as many others who watched the video it seems, was having the students create their own textbooks. I think this is a great idea because reading textbook information can sometimes be overwhelming but if the students are reading what they created themselves, it could help spike and keep their interest as well as hopefully help them remember what is meant to be learned. There is no doubt that I will most definitely keep the ideas stated by Will Richardson in my head once I have my own classroom with my own students.
While I agree with some of Mr.Richardson's ideas, I think a combination of both his ideas and traditional teaching methods would work well together. I really like his thoughts about not only doing the work that just exists in the classroom- but work that can change the world. Although, it is important to teach our children what is essential for them to know-and unfortunately that means preparing them for state testing,teaching them to incorporate new technology as a learning tool, study guide, and most importantly to create new innovative ideas is something I will definitely try to do. Creating as uncommom core method of teaching is a great way of approaching it and an innovative way of thinking about curriculum.
Richardson has some great and insightful ideas to implement in the classroom, however, some are not rather realistic to the current state of education. Some schools are do not have the funds to fulfill some of them. But I do agree with the concept that technology is evolving and changing the ways of teaching. I believe it is imperative to expose students to technology within the curriculum because it is something that is not going away. Technology will only increase and get better from what we have already--although it seems impossible given all we have currently. Teachers need to be creative with technology and constantly evolve with times as well. More and more applications, programs, and social media products are coming out and teachers can use them to their advantage. With technology, I do not believe this should be reason for students to not work together. In fact, I believe the complete opposite. Children can learn from each other; learn from working together. I particularly liked the idea of "don't do your own work". It is a concept that can truly summarize the importance of cooperative learning, with and without technology.
Katie Risolo
I agree with Will Richardson and his ideas for change. I thought his ideas were extremely creative relevant. His idea of teachers connecting on networks and sharing their knowledge and experience with other teachers to become better more successful teachers and collaborators was excellent. I think all teachers should be doing this in order to enhance student's learning experiences. I agree with Will that teachers are learners and we should be modeling learning to our students. As teachers we are life long learners and we should always be improving and gaining new ideas and knowledge about education and the world. The internet has changed education and offers teachers limitless ways to connect with people and information, as well as access to free information. I also agree with Will's statement "Don't do work that just exists within your classroom.....Do work that changes the world." It is so crucial that we utilize the internet and technological resources and show our students that they have the ability to connect and collaborate with people and information from around the world. Especially in a foreign language classroom, it is an amazing opportunity to be able to connect with a person of a different culture and shares customs, languages, and traditions. There is so much to learn from one another, all around the globe.
Will Richardson has great ideas on how we should educate our students. I agree with him that we aren’t using all the resources and technology we have in the classroom and we should allow students to use it to answer questions. His ideas were very insightful and some a little far out of reach, but a great start to creating changes in the classroom. The idea I like best was Don’t “Do your own work” because he talks about the importance of collaborating with others. I am constantly working with others and I feel learning to work with others an important skill for students to develop. It can also be a difficult skill for students because they don’t always get along or agree with each other, but that’s why I think it is so important. Students should learn at an early age that you’re not always going to agree with everyone and that’s okay, but you need to learn how to work together and respect each other. I think I can use this idea in my classroom by having my students work with partners and groups to do work. I also think it important to have them change up who they work with so they get a chance to hear other ideas.
I absolutely agree with Will Richardson's ideas from his presentation. One point I agree with is that it is important for teachers to share their ideas and lesson practices with one another. Instead of using Google to find information and ideas, people should network and use technology as a source of communication. Teachers should have the responsibility to express their ideas so that other teachers can reevaluate their teaching styles and try different methods of instruction to fit the diverse needs of the students. I would definitely incorporate his idea in my future classroom of having students collaborate on how text is presented and create their own text in the classroom. I would also incorporate the use of everyday technology in the classroom. Students should use their networking sources to answer questions and participate in the classroom. This will allow students to find a connection between the classroom content and their constant use of technology. This can also help students be more engaged in the classroom.
I think Will seems like a bit of an extremist and although he has his students in mind he is asking educators to allow students to use their technology more. He asks that instead of an "open book" they should use their networks to answer questions. I think too much technology is distracting from some results oriented learning. Give a kid a phone to look something up they are going to check their Facebook or Instagram too. They aren't responsible enough to be trusted to stay on task with their internet in their hands during school time. Sometimes it is acceptable but technology can also be distracting... I agree when he said that we are not teachers first we are STILL learners. We need to talk more about other professionals and their actual experiences. Everyone can improve their practice with some intelligent sharing I am sure. I think he is right about many things and he gives it to the audience in a fast paced and straight forward way. The best idea is to toss the resume because we do see more about people from their interactions online. Networking with people shows more insight to who someone is vs. what people are like on paper. We should utilize the technological resources we have, especially if they are FREE. We can discover the curriculum we want to teach by exploring our own and our students’ interests. I believe that educations should be a true focus on learning and not revolve around regimented work, standardized test taking and delivered curriculum. I want to unlearn what I use to know about teachers when I was growing up and use the strategies I am discovering while I am learning to be a teacher. They are molding a new bread of teacher and I hope we are highly sought for jobs because of our new ideas and training.
-Gina A.
Currently, in the school I work in, there has been a major issue with the "no phones in school" policy. I found this video very interesting to watch because it's theme is what my coworkers and myself have been discussing over the last few weeks. Cell phones are apart of our life and our culture now, so why is it that we are not embracing this part of technology within our classrooms? As adults, we bring our cellphones with us to meetings, and we use it in our everyday lives. Why are we not teaching our students the positive and appropriate ways that we can use cell phones? Instead of rejecting them within our schools we should embrace them. On of Will's suggestions to have an "Open Network Test" was innovative and correct. I agreed with all of Will's points in this video. I believe that teachers are going to have to learn to embrace technology within the classroom as we continue to develop.
Danielle Collins says,
Teaching students to utilize technology, and learn real world knowledge is required and needed. Children are taught independent work instead of collaborating, thats reality. They arent allowed to chose what they want to learn, or their interests. Teachers are becoming the same, their not sharing new ideas. I fully agree with what this man is saying, children need to take their education into their owns hands. Chose their interests, and having teachers who are interesting, and utilize the internet and networking that is available to them.
Will Richardson brought up a lot of great and interesting points through his "Ideas for Change." One thing that I strongly agree with him on is creativity from the teachers. Bringing your own ideas and creativeness into the classroom is extremely important. It adds a nice touch to your lessons and makes it more fun for both you and your students especially through technology, something that children of this day in age are extremely familiar with.
I completely agree with Will Richardson's ideas and believe that technology is taking a huge role in our students lives. I enjoyed his idea of making your own textbook and agree with his ideas that students must discover ideas and information. Sometimes you need to forget everything you know about a subject to open up for further ideas and discover new things you never knew before. Students need to take their education in their own hands but it is up to us as educators to help them realize this.
-Michael O'Keeffe
I agree with what Will Richardson had to say in this video about technology and thinking/creating outside the box. I like the idea of using and creating an online textbook instead of using a hard textbook. I agree with the other students that having a textbook is becoming more expensive and a pain for the students to carry around school and back and forth to home and school. Technology is moving forward and beginning to become the center of our students lives. Students need to learn the content of the subjects but they also need to learn about the world and how these subjects apply to their lives outside of school and technology can really advance the subjects. Overall, I liked the video and he had a lot to say.
Will Richardson made an excellent point in his speech when saying that students are spending a lot of money on textbooks when they can all collaborate with one another year after year and share information. He believes that technology is an important factor in children’s lives, which is true, however, yes, it is important for students to make up their own textbook with knowledge they have learned. It is great to ask questions that we do not know and there are so many tools that will help us essentially learn more. Students would benefit from learning from each other and it would keep them engaged as well, considering it is a new method. Children are very inquisitive and would love to have a question answered with the assistance of a teacher.
I agree with Will Richardson, times are changing and technology keeps evolving. Therefore we must update how we are educating our students. I think he is right that resumes are now a thing of the past since we now have LinkedIn. I also like how he said that we should focus less on teaching and more on learning. The idea I like best is sharing our work. I think that I should share my work with my fellow teachers so I can get their input and help them out.
Will brings up a number of interesting ideas in his 5 minute rant. The first idea he mentions might be the most valid as he speaks about giving students "open network tests" which I think is a great idea as it is a more accurate replication of the real world. As teacher or in almost any profession you will have a computer or some sort of smart device at your disposal that will allow you to access the information and resources you need in a certain situation. Teachers should encourage students to become smart researchers and students should be assessed on that. I am not saying that in Social Studies for example that students should never study again for a closed book final exam, but open network assessments should be worked in. I think assessments can also be collaborative, which goes along with what Will talks about as far as collaborating and interacting with people to get work done. In the real world, very rarely will you work independently and learning to be a good teammate and work together is a skill that needs to be honed. Lastly, Will talks about textbooks and curriculum and the idea that the curriculum is everywhere now. I believe that there still needs to be a written curriculum but it is important to encourage students to ask questions that might go off topic and encourage them to explore the internet and other resources to get answers.
Will Richardson’s presentation was very interesting and I do agree with many of the things that he spoke about. I really enjoyed his presentation. I like the ideas he had about creating our own textbooks online, going beyond the classroom and letting the students publish their work online, having students collaborate rather than always saying, “Do your own work”, teachers should always remember to learn first and teach second, share everything that teachers and students create to help other teachers and students, resumes are not the be all and end all anymore, look beyond the Common Core in your classroom, disrupt the system and his idea of SCREAM! Teachers need to speak up and be innovative and let their voices, ideas, and thoughts be heard and to let the voices, ideas and thoughts of their students be heard. I think in the future I would like to work with students to learn history through different types of art forms. Then we could publish these creations online.
Giovanna Bove
Blog Reflection #9
Will Richardson brings up many valuable ideas during his video which would transform classrooms for the better. I agree with what he was saying because he is trying to make school better not only for students but for teachers as well. The idea I like best is “don’t do your own work.” For this idea he explains that throughout your entire life you never do work by yourself. In the work force you are constantly collaborating with co-workers to come up with new strategies and projects. It is important to teach team work from an early age because students will then get used to working with other people and sharing ideas. I would use this strategy in my future classroom by separating my students into groups to work on assignments. This will allow them to socialize and learn from each other. It will also give them the opportunity to ask any questions they have to other students.
Never doing work by your own self is a true statement, you are always collaborating with co-works, your peers, etc. Its all about team work, communication and socialization which are the key points that you must know how to do throughout your life. Learning first and teaching second is a great rule of thumb. How can you teach about an area if you have not lived it? sometimes moving away from the "norm" in a school curriculum allows teacher and students to learn more.
I agree with most things Richardson said during his speech. I disagree about using technology such as a student’s phone to take a test unless it is correctly monitored by teachers. This can lead to students cheating or using their phones for non-educational purposes. I agree with creating your own textbook as a group collaboration. It would be beneficial and engaging for each student. We should have our students work together. Schools would be able to save money from switching traditional textbooks to electronic textbooks. I would use technology to discover information with the students instead of me directly teaching them in the classroom. I believe it will help my students become more engaged during a lesson. In addition, students are more likely to process the content.
Tara Berglind
Will Richardson successfully articulates in his hyper-speed lecture many of the changing paradigms in education that modern educators are working towards. His descriptions of how he envisions the classroom of the future will operate are indeed quite inspirational, especially to a generation of new teachers who are entering the arena with aspirations to transform the world of teaching through innovative and dynamic practices. All of the suggestions and bold ideas that he enumerates are laudable goals, and reflective of someone who truly wishes to enhance and advance the educational experience for students. Like most laudable goals, however, the “devil is in the details” so to speak. The Ideas are solid; the implementations may pose significant difficulty in some cases, and may be more appropriate for different populations of teachers and students to varying degrees. I will try to explain the pros and cons of his ideas below.
1. Forget open book / phone tests.
Mr. Richardson is absolutely correct in his statement that in the real world, our students will almost never be cut off from the network of resources that they use every day, so doing so in school assessments make little sense in the context of preparing our students for life after school. He is absolutely right with on important and currently unavoidable situation: Standardized testing, which is only increasing in support from those that are in charge, and by those who profit handsomely from it. The teacher who does not adequately prepare his students for the “state tests” or whatever the equivalent is his area, will find himself in deep trouble. If all of my students don’t pass the Regents exam, you can bet that it will be both administration and parents looking for my head on a platter, and they will likely get it (figuratively only I hope)
2. Stop wasting money on textbooks.
Again it is difficult to argue against his logic, but the current trend toward e-texts, that are essentially rented and expire, and away from physical textbooks that can be used for years until they are obsolete or actually wear out, is in many cases more costly. A good indicator of the fact is that companies like Pearson and Wiley are actively pushing the trend. These are companies, not public service organizations. They are publicly traded companies that are motivated solely by profit. If it wasn’t making them more money, you can bet that they wouldn’t be doing it.
Making your own texts sounds like a good idea, and in fact it is, but he fails to mention how much work it takes. A busy teacher, particularly a new one, would not benefit by trying to re-invent the wheel . That is not to say that teachers should not be adding to and enhancing textbook content with other material, in fact any teacher that does not is being remiss in their duties. I have successfully managed to transition away from textbooks in my classes and have replaced them with almost all of my own content, but it has taken me nearly 15 years to do so.
3. Google yourself
This is a good idea. In fact, a teacher in particular should be adept at maintaining and controlling their own online presence, if at least for their own protection.
4. Flip the power structure from adults to learners.
To some degree, this is a goal of the common core curriculum if it is read closely. Like all good and innovative ideas however, it should be tempered in moderation. We are there to guide learning, and a student is first a child, with a developing personality, and in need of some guidance. We should be aiming for something in between 5the traditional classroom and Lord of the Flies.
5. Don’t do work for the classroom
Again his focus on preparing students for the real world absolutely makes sense, but testing, assessment, and teacher ratings based upon them are realities that are not going away anytime soon. We must do both, and unfortunately we are not afforded an infinite amount of time to do so, so all teachers make tradeoffs to find the balance.
6. Stop telling kids to do their own work
Again he is right, but they will be alone for those damned tests no matter what. Group work of course should be an element in all curricula, but to fail to teach students how to work on their own would be tantamount to training someone do short sprints and then suddenly making them run a marathon.
7. Learn first. Teach second.
I certainly agree. If I am not learning and trying new ways to reach students, then I am stagnating and it is time to pack it in and move on. Fortunately I get a new set of test subjects every year to experiment on.
8. No more how-to workshops
Mr, Richardson is right on with this point. Technology has evolved to a point where it can be very user-friendly. Watching my neighbor’s 1 and 2-year old children adeptly navigating their way through ipads is testament to that. Most technology can be effectively used by almost all users with a minimal learning curve. It is in implementing, deploying, and making effective use of this technology for teaching our students that is what needs to be taught an disseminated to teachers now. Unfortunately many districts don’t see it this way. Every district will have IT professionals, but very few have instructional technology coordinators tasked with training teachers in effective usage.
9. Share everything
There are many resources available where teachers can do just that. We have seen some of them in this class, like the Teaching Channel.
10. Ask questions you don’t know the answer to
I can tell you from experience that this is in fact a very productive method of teaching and learning, but it comes with a caveat of taking an extended amount of time. It is productive time, it is learning time, but it is also time taken away from preparing students for other required parts of curriculum if you are not careful.
I’m going to skip the next few, mostly because I am running out of space here, but I would like to address a couple more:
11. Go free and open source
As someone who has tried this route many times, there are pros and cons. One of the pros obviously is the price (free). I do use and encourage the use of many free apps, programs, and sites for my students, but there is in many cases a price to be paid in work and time. I have repurposed old computers outfitted with Linux and OpenOffice, and built a media system around open-source software, but it ended up being a Pandora’s Box of maintenance issues that eventually detracted from the user experience and outweighed any monetary savings. Also, in the spirit of preparing our students for the real world beyond school we should be preparing them to use things like Word and Photoshop, that they will encounter in their workplaces, not OpenOffice and Gimp, that they will not. A variation of the old slogan that “nobody ever got fired for buying IBM” would aptly apply.
12. Be subversive
I say yes, but for some teachers in certain situations, I also say be careful, If you are a new, untenured teacher in a competitive field, it might behoove you to toe the line for a while until your situation is more solid. If you are tenured, go for it. If you are like me in a private school, you had better be very confident in your position and in the support of your administration if you are employing non-traditional methods and are may have communities of parents turning against you.
I agree with majority of Will Richardson’s ideas. It’s hard to decide which idea I love best because they are all equally important. If I had to choose one it would be to do work that changes the world. One way students can make a difference is to write letters to the President of the United States of what they want to change. Have the students create an event to donate money to a charity. A second idea that liked was to have student centered learning. Teachers can observe and give advice to students when needed. A third idea is stop telling students to do their own work. I substitute and the teachers give me the option to have the students work independently or in a group. Most students love working in groups because they can work as a team to solve problems and it takes less time to do. Lastly teachers have to be learners too. I feel that I learn more from the students then they do from me. Some students have a favorite subject or topic that they know very well and can teach you about it. I read a book recently about the Holocaust, one of the boys in the class shared some information that I never knew before about Hitler and the Jews.
Will Richardson portrays the energy, innovativeness, and creativity that makes teaching students effective as well as enjoyable (for students and teachers). Some points that I would like to focus on would be going to more workshops. This is something that needs to be done by every teacher. It is too difficult to merely keep up with the new technology or resources by yourself. Workshops on technology need to be attended in order to give students the best opportunity to have an effective and engaging class. Another point that Richardson makes is related to flipping the classroom. Students need to have a more active role in their learning. The days of simply lecturing students with a Power Point is only spoon-feeding children information. If we want informative and innovative students for the future, they must be the ones fully contributing to learning.
Will Richardson does a great job in presenting the information he is trying to portray. He is very energetic and creative in his speech and presentation. Being an intelligent sounding public speaker is important when trying to be innovative. I believe that we must keep preaching the importance of technology within the classroom in order to receive funding for devices and new methods of teaching. Without money to further our ability to teach inclusively with technological devices/technology, our teaching styles will not be all that they can be. Technology is the new foundation of education and the sooner that is recognized by each school district, the sooner more and more technology will be funded and included in the classroom.
Richardson touches on a lot of points which need to be considered by all teachers. This talk seemed to be targeted towards teachers stuck in traditional ways to shake them from depriving their students of technology and innovation. To me as a new teacher, much of this has already been a part of what I consider, but I do believe it has limits. Renouncing standarized testing is one of those limits. I feel that while it is possible to express your concerns with the current order of education and assessment within the state, it is not the teacher's responsibility to outright protest these issues within their own classrooms when their job is at stake considering that many students, parents, and administrators are invested in this protest. Personally, my favorite idea was the open network test, something I have entertained since I was a non-education major undergrad. Having information at our fingertips, open network tests provide the opportunity to strictly assess understanding as procedure and content is covered by techonology in our everyday lives.
I agree with many points made by Will Richardson. My favorite point is "Unlearn - Learn." My school is going through a technology transition, we are adapting new methods and implementing technology into our heavily into our curriculum. At the beginning of the transition I was very hesitant to fully engage the students and dive into the unknown. However I quickly realized that In order to reach our current students it is important that we learn to deliver context within the world that we live in today. Moving forward, I believe teachers will need to emphasize their professional development on adaptation and integration of curriculum utilizing collaborative technologies adopted by their students.
-Gabriel Ramos
Watch this video http://vimeo.com/45152953 to see his ideas for change. Do you agree with him? Which idea do you like best? How do you think you can make this idea work in your classroom or future classroom?
The video I just watched was a very intriguing video that I really enjoyed. The way in which he presented his material was fantastic. He did not spend a lot of time on each point which helped me as a viewer, engaged. HE brought up a numerous amount of points or ideologies that I truly agree with. I think his overall message of change, is happening in our world, and it is happening quite fast. I think the main idea that he mentioned that I liked the most, was allowing the kids or teaching the kids how to properly use the technology that they carry on them each and every day appropriately, and not to focus on telling the kids that they cannot use it. He also mentioned that students should not be creating their own work, because the reality is that the kids are collaborating and working with others as well as piggy backing off other materials to further prove their points. I currently use cell phones in my class each and every day. I instill on the kids that they may use their phones but they have to use them appropriately, being that it is one of the greatest tools that they could possess because they have every piece of information at their fingertips. Overall this was a very good video that I enjoyed very much and I will try and take everything he said and implement them into my classroom.
After finishing the video from Will Richardson, I have realized how many great ideas he has had. I agree that there are so many quick changes that we can make within the classroom every single day. We go through each day doing what we are comfortable with, instead we should take a step forward and be innovative for the sake of our students learning.
One of the ideas I liked best was to stop having students do work on their own. Just like Will said, we are in a world where we are working with others every single day. Students should learn how to work collaboratively with peers since they will be doing so when they are in the work field. I also believe that students learn more when they are teaching and speaking to their friends.
I think that I can make this idea work in my current classroom by allotting time in my lesson plans for students to get together and work through the problems and discuss how they conquered it.
Allison Schmidt
After watching the video by Will Richardson, he discusses some very good points. I also enjoyed how he presented his material because it was done in an engaging way, and he did not discuss each point too in depth where you could lose the attention of the audience. He provided just enough information to make the audience think. Two of his points resonated with me. First, he discussed “don’t do your own work”. I will admit that I am guilty of this in my classroom. It is quite often that I have students independently work on math problems, because I want to see their own understanding. However, it is so important that students also get an equal amount of opportunities to work with one another and collaborate, which is a skill they must have in the future in their workplace. We, as teachers, collaborate with one another all of the time, so it is an important aspect to implement. Second, he discussed “don’t deliver…discover”. I also really liked this point because it is important as teachers that we don’t just provide students with direct instruction. We must provide them with experiences that give them the opportunity to be active learners and discover their own academic content. During this process, teachers must use scaffolding techniques to direct students through the active learning process, and towards the discovery of information.
I can implement both of these ideas into my classroom by providing students not only independent work time, but also small group work time so they can work and collaborate with one another. These opportunities can also be active learning tasks where students will create their own learning and understanding of the content at hand.
Will Richardson's video discusses many good points about the teaching world today. I agree with Kerri's point which states that students need to learn to collaborate with each other while working, and even learn more when they teach a friend a concept. I think the idea of having kids stop doing work on their own and instead work together in a group, with a partner, or even with the teacher is a fantastic idea to promote different learning skills and strategies. I like how he said we should focus less on teaching and more on learning, by whatever means necessary. As he said, the teaching world is changing so we need to keep up with the times and do whatever is necessary to keep it evolving and keep learning.
Will Richardson provided a lot of great information on how he would like to see the future of education. Also, he showed a lot of enthusiasm of what the future could hold. Richardson would like to see the internet used more in schools because the students use the internet in their everyday lives. That is why he felt that open note test should be replaced by the internet "open net test" because they use the internet on a daily basis. He also wants to see creativity in schools, rather than standardized testing and set curriculums. Last, I feel creativity is important in schools because it will help the student prepare for life outside of school.
I agree with Angela that the focus of learning in schools is the most important thing and it is what we should strive for in education
Will Richardson discussed some really good ideas in his video. Change in the classroom is great and making changes to the classroom is a way not get too comfortable. One thing that he said that stood out to me was “don’t do your own work”. Students should be able to work in a collaborative setting and work with other students in their classroom. Learning by doing and learning through teaching is a great strategy to use in the classroom and when students are teaching another student or themselves they retain the information much more. Students can work together which is a skill they will always need. Direct instruction should not be the only teaching strategy teachers are implementing in the classroom. There are so many different strategies of teaching where students can work with their peers and learn successfully.
Will Richardson talked about a lot of fantastic ideas in his video! By having the classroom change constantly, it keeps students from becoming stagnant. I agree with Gina when she says that students need to work collaboratively. the more students work together, the more they gain from their learning. Students learn more by doing activities which they can apply to real life, then they do reading monotonous information from a textbook. Although direct instruction is a great guide for students to begin learning, student centered learning leads to more creative learning and gaining more knowledge from the lesson overall.
Will Richardson has very strong and different ideas about educating students. I agree with him in the sense that students should be able remain active in learning that extends beyond the classroom textbooks. In today’s world, answers to unknown questions are at the very end of our fingertips. There is a way for students to access information that could be beneficial to their own learning through technology. During his speech, Will said, “ How many of you can find your best work and practices that you do in your classroom, online?” I often refer to different websites for ideas for lesson plans and activities. If I can use the internet to benefit my students learning, they can certainly use it to benefit their own learning. I would love to be able to make this work in my own classroom. I could give students a question that is not going to be answered in class and have students explore on their own to find the answer. I think that this would be used as a homework assignment because I do not have the resources to provide each student with access to the Internet. However, I know that students have access to the Internet at home. I think this would be a great way to extend learning at home and show students that the Internet can be used to discover new things about the world around them.
Will Richardson presented so many great ideas for change! I really enjoyed listening to his presentation and agreed with what he had to say. It is so important to be able to accept change and keep things lively and fresh for your students. I really liked his idea of roll your own text. Way too often a textbook will come out, just to have a new edition printed the following year. Like Richardson mentioned, why not have an ongoing online that text that can be added to and edited by students themselves. It would be a joint collaboration with new, accurate information being added each year. I think the idea of eliminating textbooks and replacing it with something like wikis for students would be an awesome idea. I would definitely use this in my classroom. When I was student teaching, I created a wiki for my class to use to gather information for a research project. They loved being able to use the wiki as a starting point to find information they needed for their topic.
Will Richardson made some interesting points. Although some of his viewpoints are radical, I can identify with some of them. #6 Don't do your own work. This is important because students are being prepared in a classroom for life. They should be working in groups, so that they can collaborate with their peers. This develops their social stills, which is necessary for the normal functioning of a person in society. #7: Learn first, teach second. I agree that teachers are model learners. Children will replicate this attribute. After all they are in a class to learn. Because of the rise in the information age - the internet and the use of technology, teachers are forced to keep up with these trends. It therefore means that educators have to re-learn some things, so that they can be relevant in an ever changing
community. I can definitely draw from these two points made by Will Richardson and incorporate it into my classroom by applying these principles to my teaching philosophy and strategies.
Will Richardson makes very interesting and important points. Most of his points are bold and radical but I believe that is something todays teachers need in order to be more beneficial to their students. In todays society it is very rare tasks are completed alone. Most jobs require a group or team effort to accomplish tasks more effectively and efficiently. One of Mr. Richards points was "Don't do your own work." It is important as a teacher to allow your students to work in groups in order to really prepare them for the world outside of the classroom. This concept of teamwork in the classroom allows students to learn patience as well as experiencing first hand that their are other ways besides their own to come to a solution or complete a task. Another point Mr. Richardson makes that I strongly agree with is the network assessment. Instead of having an open notebook or textbook assessment, allow the students to use their technology to find the answers. In life students aren't going to refer back to their notes or a textbook when they need to know information, they are going to use the internet. If we as teachers allow our students to use the internet efficiently we will be preparing them for the world outside of the classroom. I believe learning curriculum content is very crucial for students in order to expand their knowledge. Mr. Richardson makes a good point that we as teachers should be exploring the content with our students and making it more relatable to life. He makes very strong and valid points that we repeat the same things over and over each year. I believe that if we take some of his points and apply them in the classroom we will no longer be at a stand still when it comes to education.
Will Richardson made some very interesting points that many of us as educators can relate to. One of his points was "don't do your own work". Many students learn better or in a different way when they work in groups with their peers. Group work inside the classroom can teach students a number of things. They can learn to share the work and rely on other people for support and help. Using technology in the classroom is another topic that Will Richardson discusses. In today's society it should be encouraged to have students look up answers on their technological devices rather than in their textbooks. As long as they are using the technology appropriately, there is nothing wrong with integrating technology in their everyday academics.
Will Richardson is an interesting man and had some pretty interesting ideas about education. While I watched the video the same question kept popping into my mind while I was watching. I am unsure if Will is a teacher. I often notice people have a lot to say when they aren't in the classroom everyday. His first point where he says there shouldn't be textbook tests and students should be able to use their communication device to help them. I personally feel as an educator that his first point is a little too far outside of what we are teaching the students in school. School is about trying to solve problems on your own or within a group working together to come up with the answer. The idea of introducing a device into the mix for assessment doesn't sound like that will show understanding of what is being taught. Although his first point I am not on board with, another point he does make is students learn better while working in groups. In my school my administration only wants to see student driven classrooms where the students are working together in small groups to solve problems. Group work pushes students to figure out how to work together to achieve a common goal which in turn gives our students an important tool they need to be successful in the real world.
I found this video to be very inspiring. I actually liked the fact that is was high paced. It created a sense of urgency with each point that he brought up. The points that he mentioned each made me reflect on what I do in my classroom and what I could or should be doing. I thought it was an interesting that the students should be able to use their Smart devices in school to learn. I know that the majority of my students have Smart phones in their lockers, and many have IPads/tablets at home. Why can't they bring them to class? Why can't they google, or rather network, a question that they have during class?
Will Richardson said some very important points in this video. I just wish he would have slowed down a little more in order to process everything he says and give some time to register. What I really liked was him saying students live in a time where they get to socialize and work with others in the outside world so why not allow them to do their classwork with their peers? A classroom where students are looking for information and applying all that they learn with their peers is an engaged and productive lesson. Curriculum should not be a book of topics we have to teach or touch base on during the school year but it should be important material created by the teacher with the students.
Many of Will Richardson's ideas for change focused on allowing students to network. I liked his idea of open network tests. I have been saying this to some of my colleagues all year that it is hard to get students to focus on formulas, definitions, or procedures because many of them can just look it up on their phones. It is more important to focus on the applications of such things and let the students use the technology that they have to network. Although this would not work for most tests, I do like the idea of trying to do one open network test in the future.
I like many of Will Richardson's ideas. One I connected to is the idea of "Rolling your own texts." Students and families spend absurd amounts of money on textbooks each year, some of which only get looked at a handful of times. Not to mention they are heavy and bulky. He presents the idea of creating a wiki page as a textbook. A professor I had in college would have us create a class wiki on the material we were learning and it was a great source of information that was coming straight from my classmates and information we had learned in class. This gave us the opportunity to really get involved and dig deeper into the material all while creating a great resource page for each other.
I also like his concept of not telling students to do their own work anymore. It is important in many professional careers to be able to collaborate and work with a partner or group of people, and having students learn in schools how to collaborate, interact and cooperate with people is important.
Richardson had some great idea , I like the one about don't do your own work.. students work better in groups it also teach them about teamwork which they will be doing when they are out in the real world. About the whole open test technology, I'm still not on board with it, I agree with Christina because I feel that it might not give students the time to actually learn from what they looking up. And the thing about stranger danger, there to many people who can hurt your children so monitoring their social media account is a must.
Richardson brought up some very valid points. I like that we need to think about the future and accept that the technology is changing and that children are being born today in a world full of technology. On the same note I feel as well that children are using technology so much that they have poor social skills. I am a believer in preparing kids for the future because I feel like I was not prepared enough in high school. Students should be working in groups so that they can explore and collaborate on ideas. As a special education teacher I find that my students severely struggle with their social skills and it is something I try and have the work on in the most natural environment as possible. Students need to learn from an early age how to work in a team to develop ideas and bounce ideas off each other. When the students grow up, they are going to have to work with all different kinds of people so they might as well learn at a young age how to adapt to different personalities. When students are able to apply wheat they are learning to their lives it makes learning that more personal and there is a greater chance of the material sticking.
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