Video – Shock ’em into learning

by | Nov 9, 2010 | Law, Policy, and Ethics, Learning and Teaching, Videos | 3 comments

Dangerously Irrelevant has been loading slowly lately because it’s so video-heavy. I’ve temporarily removed some other elements in order to speed up loading of the home page. I also vowed to lay off the videos for a while…

But then I found John Spencer’s humorous take on recent research showing that electric shocks might enhance math skills.

I couldn’t resist – had to share this one, particularly since it evokes other ‘brute force’ arguments and fallacies related to educational reform. Happy viewing!

12 videos to spark educators’ thinking

12 videos to spark educators’ thinking

by | Nov 1, 2010 | Law, Policy, and Ethics, Leadership and Vision, Learning and Teaching, Our Changing World, Pre-Service Preparation, Professional Development, Social Media, Videos, Youth and Media | 10 comments

If you’re like me, you have trouble keeping up with all of the great videos that are out there. I love it when others help me separate the wheat from the chaff.

For my column this month for the School Administrators of Iowa newsletter, I listed a dozen videos that I thought would help spark educators’ thinking about the changes that are occurring around us. None of these are videos that we already have used in the technology leadership training that we’ve done statewide for principals and superintendents. 

Ipodnano3gSchool leaders and/or educator preparation programs could show these videos to practicing or preservice administrators and teachers, school boards, or community members to maintain a heightened sense of urgency for change. I usually recommend to administrators that, every time they’re face-to-face with a group, they show a video or share something they recently read or learned. They also could, for example, assign one of these videos as ‘homework’ ahead of a meeting. The important thing is to keep sharing how our world is changing and to keep discussing what it means for our educational practice.

Here’s my list, in no particular order:

  1. Sir Ken Robinson, Changing education paradigms (11 minutes)
  2. Sugatra Mitra, The child-driven education (17 minutes)
  3. Clay Shirky, How cognitive surplus will change the world (13 minutes)
  4. Chris Anderson, How web video powers global innovation (19 minutes)
  5. Dean Shareski, Sharing: The moral imperative (25 minutes)
  6. Henry Jenkins, TEDxNYED (18 minutes)
  7. Daniel Pink, Drive: The surprising truth about what motivates us (11 minutes)
  8. Dan Meyer, Math class needs a makeover (12 minutes)
  9. Jeff Jarvis, TEDxNYED (17 minutes)
  10. Lisa Nielsen, Response to principal who bans social media (4 minutes)
  11. New Brunswick Department of Education, 21st century education in New Brunswick (6 minutes)
  12. Charles Leadbeter, On innovation (19 minutes)

Happy viewing!

Image credit: iPod Nano 3rd generation

Videos – I hate my teacher

by | Oct 22, 2010 | Law, Policy, and Ethics, Videos, Youth and Media | 45 comments

American students generally have the legal right to express their opinions at home on their free time using non-school computer equipment. So here are a few students expressing their opinions about their teachers…

Do you know what your students are saying at home about your school? Is this something that educators should care about or just ignore?

WARNING: Language often is not safe for work or young children.

UPDATE: Some of you have asked what my intent was in publishing these videos without context and/or inferred that I don’t like teachers because of this post. Here’s some of my thinking.

See also: Cell phone cameras in the K-12 classroom: Punishable offenses or student-citizen journalism?