Thursday, April 16, 2009

Comments on Mark Federman's talk

From Elena:
UCAPP - Even my husband, who sat next to me while I listened to Mark Federman, said at one point, "This is interesting. I didn't know that your computer class was this interesting." This, I thought, captured the main message that Federman wanted to share - in the current world, where the mass media are created by the masses (Facebook, blogs, Twitter, Flickr), we, as educators are responsible for creating a learning environment where the students feel empowered as they construct meaning for themselves. Lessons that students find interesting and motivating are what we need to aim for.

I liked Federman's notion that most schools are rigid systems which require the students to be disciplined soldiers ("Sit down", "Pay attention", "Do your homework", etc.). Thus, changes in education require not only changes in schools, but also comprehensive system changes. And yes, I remember 1995 as the crucial year - I was living that year in the States, away from my family, paying huge phone bills. Only ten years later, I managed to keep my long-distance relationship (with my husband) by using technology on an everyday basis.

4 C's - PYP aims at replacing the 3 R's with the 4 C's (connections, context, complexity, and connotation). Note that content is not one of the 4 C's. I think that at the LS, we are successful at teaching the students to make connections, in complex context and in order to sustain those connections, for them to form connotations for long-term memory retrieval. Only then, we have made a difference in the students' lives.

From Serene:

From Links:
...I wholeheartedly agree with Mark Federman’s contention that, as a result of the vast changes the internet/technology has brought to the way students communicate and interact, educational institutions, if they are to remain relevant in the 21st century, must move from being education models that are skills-based to models of education that are much more focused on connectivity. We need to reform as our educational institutions are out of touch with student needs, currently there exists a wide gulf between what schools offer and students’ experiences in the real world. The role of educational institutions and educators must change; we need to implement the 4 C’s- to keep up with these vast changes. Our children are the UCAPP generation – like fish in water- they have become our educators, we MUST change. In our high tech, mass-media, ever-changing world we too need to implement and apply the 4 ‘C’s: Connections, Context, Complexity, and Connotations, which matter so much.-and not CONTENT like the 3R’s of yesterday! Our child educator educates us in true Life-Long Learning!

From Tijana:
U CAPP-by listening Mark’s ‘dominant form of communication’ I found myself stuck in between two generation gaps. As first was the generation ‘before’ presented by my parents who are still struggling with double click on the mouse and purpose of the ‘new age’ gadgets like: digital cameras, blue tooth, flash, i phone, i pod... and second presented by my daughter Vanja who do not understand why is the phone connected with a cord to some box with numbers instead of them being on the phone and all of that connected to the wall?!? And to her, with all her 3.5 years of age ,it’s perfectly normal to communicate with her dear cousins over Skype, send kisses and see them although they are in California and Holland, for her they are just click away. For her placing pointer finger on the mouse was born with skill and natural action.

So ‘WHO AM I?’. Do I belong to ucapp generation or I’m just spectator of these demon of mass media changes that I will no sooner than now learn from? 4 ’C’s- I liked the best the conclusion of Mark’s presentation as he explains the diversity between CHILD and ADULT educators. He starts with a big statement: WE MUST CHANGE! Oh yes how much we do have to change. By shifting from 3R’s to 4C’s we are making "… one small step for man, but one giant leap for mankind." ;) So as privileged to touch lives and help them locate their identities we child educators just have to wait for UCAPP generation to come and educate us!

1 comment:

  1. It's truly inspiring to see how well these rather heady concepts are being tackled by our colleagues. If we weren't so busy, I'm sure we would be having some pretty thought-provoking conversations in the staffroom too. I guess we'll have to practice UCaPP and keep the conversation singing along in the Twitter and Blog comment staffrooms in which we are gaining more comfort.

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