Had a delightful and energizing time at the Constructivist Celebration on Sunday, a day of teacher play, experimentation and, in the words of Gary Stager, time spent with folks who have “a commitment to use computers in creative ways for the benefit of children.”
I took my XO along as my note-taking machine for the day, thinking that it was poetically appropriate to do so. Brian C. Smith did the same, and, wouldn’t you know it, there were several other XO’s in the room, too. I ended up doing plenty of OLPC and Sugar evangelism, which was fine by me. I also got to play and explore and create.
But more important than my play were the statements and commitments by Gary Stager and Peter H. Reynolds, the day’s speakers, about the importance of creation and exploration, both for my practice as a teacher, but also, and of far greater value, my growth as a learner. I hear a true committment from both gentlemen that there is great value in creating rich environments for children and that we, as teachers, need to model the creation that we want our students to do.
Our students need to see us struggle and reach and grow and try and explore and learn and fail and stand back up at the end and say, “Wow. What’d I learn here?” That’s probably the best motivation for them to get their hands dirty. And we’ve never any credibility if we ask kids to do something that we won’t do.
I thank everyone involved with the event for a special day of battery recharging play. Special thanks to my friends from IMSA
I wonder how we could take our beliefs and play practices and infuse them into school cultures–faculty meetings, staff development, etc.
Bud, you make a great point about “playing.” I’ve learned a ton simply by sitting down at the computer and learning a new tool. I made mistakes, but learned from them. I made new discoveries, and learned from them. Fortunately, I like doing this and make time for it. Unfortunately, there aren’t as many teachers willing or able to do the same. The students are the ones who suffer because of this.
Chad Lehmans last blog post..NECC Day 1 Reflections
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