Five Ideas for Learning in the

Digital Age

Workshop by Peter Pappas

peterpappas.com

Information landscape of the traditional school

Teaching was info delivery

Teacher controlled access to information.

Student’s task was to remember it.

Teacher’s job: information gatekeeper

i n f o r m a t i o n f l o w i n

t h e d i g i t a l a g e

Information has escaped

Information is fluid

So what happens in schools, now that

life’s become an open book test?

Idea #1: Students need to learn a new (digital) literacy

Find, decode, critically evaluate information

Curate, store, responsibly share information

Task shifts from just comprehend

& remember

… to problem solving

Idea #2: Students need to be prepared to make choices and express their creativity

Analyze, evaluate and create

Digital tech put us all in charge of info we access, store and share

We compose 3.6 trillion words every day on

email and social media -the equivalent of 36

million books~ Clive Thompson

Don’t compete with technology.

Harness it for learning and

personal growth

Idea #3: Give students increasing responsibility for their learning

Student choice fosters motivation and self-reflection

Content - what knowledge and skills will be studied?

Process - what materials, procedures, etc will be used?

Product - what will students produce to demonstrate their learning?

Evaluation - how will the learning be assessed?

The Reflective Student

bit.ly/nErPmE

Increasing student choice

Work as directed by the teacher.

Figure out my own approaches.

Share and defend my thinking.

Evaluate my progress.

Idea #4: Learning is social. Students need teamwork skills

Master “soft skills”

~ collaboration,

presenting, listening, sharing

Idea #5: Have the courage to be less helpful

Focus on what motivates us

• Autonomy

• Mastery

• Challenge

• Making a difference

• Purpose