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Transformation or disruption through technology? How we can meet the needs of the

21st Century Learner

Invited presentation for Teachmeet, University of Plymouth, UK: 11 October 2010

• Steve Wheeler• University of Plymouth, UK

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OLCpLCmyedI

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Transformation or disruption through technology? How we can meet the needs of the

21st Century Learner

• Steve Wheeler• University of Plymouth, UK

What’s the best thing about school? – “my friends”

What’s the worst thing about school? – “they don’t plan ahead”

(Quotes from my 15 year old son)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OLCpLCmyedI

Education is changing for young people as they experience self-directed learning,

(mostly outside school) about things that interest them.

Source: http://community.learningobjects.com

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http://flickr.com/photos/thomcochrane/416206133/

Young people’s out-of-school experiences

with technology can mean that students

find the presentation of the school’s curriculum less

challenging, less relevant and less

engaging. cc S

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Source: http://community.learningobjects.com

http

://encefalu

s.com

/

“For the first time we are preparing students for a future we cannot clearly describe.”

– David Warlick

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http://communications.nottingham.ac.uk/podcasts/

Another problem for teacher...

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The pace of change is

accelerating

How will we keep up with it?

http://www.objectlessons.org

“Students today can’t prepare bark to

calculate their problems. They depend on slate which is more

expensive. What will they do when they

drop the slate and it breaks? They will be

unable to write!”(Anon – 1709)

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“Students today depend on paper too

much. They don’t know how to write

without getting chalk dust all over

them. What will they do when they run

out of paper?”(Anon – 1815)

http://www.nikkikatz.com

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“Students today depend too much on ink. They don’t know how to use a penknife to

sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil.” (Anon – 1907)

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htt

p:/

/ww

w.p

enso

fth

efo

rest

.co

.uk

“Students today depend on expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write

with a straight pen and knib!”(Anon – 1941)

http

://ww

w.gad

gettastic.com

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www.abebooks.com

“One day every town in America

will have a telephone!”

- U.S. Mayor, (c 1880)

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M

www.cs-exhibitions.uni-klu.ac.at

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1439: Mass produced

movable text (Disruptive Technology)

Gutenberg

M

www.cs-exhibitions.uni-klu.ac.at

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1439: Mass produced

movable text (Disruptive Technology)

Gutenberg

M

www.cs-exhibitions.uni-klu.ac.at

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1439: Mass produced

movable text (Disruptive Technology)

Gutenberg

The first mobile phone?

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The ‘Brick’

When Martin Cooper invented the mobile phone 35 years ago, he saw people so wedded to wireless connections that they would walk around with devices embedded in their bodies.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au

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Half of teens send 50 or more text messages a day, or 1,500 texts a month, and one in three send more than 100 texts a day, or more than 3,000 texts a month. (2009 statistics)

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Source: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Teens-and-Mobile-Phones.aspx

http://blog.roadandtravel.com

Mobile phones are the natural communication

tool of choice for younger users.

Are we preparing this generation for the future

or for the past?

http://i.dailymail.co.uk

Objections from educators

...they are distracting and disruptive. The phone becomes

the focus of attention,inappropriate images/videos can

be taken and sent, leading to invasion of privacy and loss of

teacher control! cc S

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Mobile phones are bannedin most schools because...

What is this?

dad@hvn ur spshl. we want wot u

want & urth 2b like hvn. giv us food

& 4giv r sins lyk we 4giv uvaz. don't

test us! save us! bcos we kno ur

boss. ur tuf & ur cool 4 eva! ok?

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‘Squeeze’ text

The competition was for re-writing the Lord's Prayer for the mobile phone, using just 160 characters or less. It was judged for Ship of Fools by the Churches' Broadcasting Conference. The task itself was not easy. The traditional version of the Lord's Prayer is 372 characters long, so whittling it down to 160 characters meant cutting the prayer by more than half but without losing anything important.

http://www.canada.com

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...and in second place…

r pa in evan, respect 2 u, may u

rain ear as in evan. giv us r

needs, 4giv r sin as we 4giv r

nmes. resq us from the evil 1. 4

ur always the most xlent dude.

yo

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http

://ww

w.taran

akicareers.co

.nz

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What can teachers do?

http://www.uksmallbusinesswebsites.co.uk

With access to Social Media everyone has a voice

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Many tools are still filtered out...

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e-safety

What do learners need?

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What do learners need?

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Digital Literacies

Engaging and fun

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Engaging and fun

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Positive Deviance

“Somewhere in your organization, groups of people are already doing things differently and better. To create lasting change, find areas of positive deviance and fan their flames.”

- Pascale & Sternin(Harvard Business Review, 2010)

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The Goal of Education...

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk

“... is to enrich the lives of students while producing articulate, expressive thinkers and lifelong learners that are socially responsible, resilient, and active citizens of the world. Education is about teaching students, not subjects.”

– Dave Truss

“All too often today we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.”

- John W Gardner

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http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/image/s_flowers-lost-gardens-of-heligan.jpg

The future?

http://www.swissinfo.ch/media

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK:

International Licence.

Steve Wheeler swheeler@plymouth.ac.ukUniversity of Plymouth, United Kingdom

http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com