Building Capacity
We are going to have our third Tech Camp day on Friday, February 25th. Tech Camp has become a professional development tradition at Guthrie, where we invite the students to participate and learn along side our teachers on professional development days. These days have been very successful and popular with teachers and students alike.
Friday’s session is focused on using online resources to become a lifelong learner by building capacity. I am defining building capacity as “the daily habit of doing more that’s expected of you, in order to move forward, rather than simply keep up.” The implications are unique for teachers and students.
I have chosen this theme, because I feel a tremendous obligation for us to do school differently since we have so much available to us. All of our GCSD students and teachers have 1-to-1 laptops, we have robust and open access to the internet, and an administration and school board who have an amazing vision and unwavering support for the staff their abilities to do a great job in the classroom. Since we have these things in place, we’ve got to level up. We’ve got to be willing to move forward, to push forward, rather than simply tread water and do things like we’ve done in the past.
We have several folks lined up to talk to our students and staff during the day about online learning, personal learning networks, RSS, Twitter, Facebook, Texas Virtual School Network, Project Share, Google Docs, teaching online, and becoming lifelong learners. It’ll be a great day. Here’s what I plan to say to kick off the day:
Good morning students and teachers. Today, we’ll be investigating formal and informal applications for using the internet as an advanced learning tool. We’ll be looking at what it takes to be a successful online learner and online teacher. We’ll investigate the similarities and differences between online and offline (traditional) learning. We’ll be learning about the Texas Virtual School Network, building personal learning networks, studying the traits of lifelong learners, and figuring out how to use some of the tools available to online learners.
The reason WHY we are doing this today isn’t about the technology gadgets or programs. It’s about building the capacity to learn. It’s one thing to learn something new, but that’s not the same as building capacity. Everybody goes to school to learn. That’s your job as a student…to show up and learn. Students go to class, listen, take notes, and pass tests and this produces learning. We’ve done it that way in schools for a hundred years.
It used to be that when you graduated from college and got a job, you’d keep the same job for your entire career. It was completely expected that you would work for the same company, or at least work in the same industry for the thirty or so years of your working life. Once you got a job, it was all about security, longevity and loyalty. You learned how to do one thing really well, and did it for a long time. Everything you did at your job was built around this mindset.
Today, it is expected that people just now entering the workforce may have up to ten (or more) different careers in their lifetime. Not just work at ten different places, but learn to do ten different jobs. That requires a different approach to learning and work. Learning is now an ongoing activity that is done in addition to the work.
Take me for example. Twenty years ago, I started my career as a high school band director. Today, I am currently a high school teacher and Technology Director. As I see it, I have about 10 to 15 years before I am retirement age. I doubt I will retire from the job I have now. I’d love to stay and work in Guthrie for 15 more years, but it may not happen that way. So, I have a choice. I can do my work here, OR I can do my work AND build capacity for whatever will be next. Building capacity is the process of learning new things at the same time you are working at other things.
Think about it: if all you do is your job, then that’s all you’re going to be good at. If you do you job AND learn about other things at the same time, you double up your efforts and create options and opportunities for your future. If all you do is the work you are assigned, then that is ALL you will learn. You have more options than that. You have the internet in your pocket, access to the sum of all human knowledge in your backpack and the opportunity to take ANY class you are interested in for free on the internet. Your opportunities are limitless.
Yes, you should do your classwork, but you should be building capacity for the next big thing in your life at the same time. This requires a new set of habits. Students are conditioned to be compliant, wait for instructions and complete their work. That’s not enough anymore. Kids should be learning how to be self-directed, self-motivated and thoroughly-connected learners.
Building capacity requires a new set of skills and a new way of looking at learning. Things like: building a personal learning network, subscribing to custom news channels, leaving a learning “breadcrumb trail”, and regularly contributing and publishing to a larger community.
So you have a choice today: you can sit and listen attentively and wonder what’s for lunch OR your can choose to build your capacity this morning. As we listen to our presenters, I’ll challenge you to: make connections from the things they are talking about, share your takeaways (or at least write them down), or read what someone else is saying about what you are listening to.
