LearningWilds

For the past 2 years, Mahara has been the solution for portfolios that I have used. This school year, it has managed portfolios for students in my classes.

This is not to say that it is the ONLY solution out there, but from this usage, Mahara has shown some strengths that should be taken into consideration.

Compared with PDF, documents

As the current school year is less than half over, it may seem a little strange. The interest is not for dislike of this year or anything. The real reason is that I have plans in the works for a new After School Activity that will begin next year.

Thinking back to some of those ideas that were labelled “a good idea that was ahead of its time”, one can see that there seems to be a narrowing gap between Just In Time and Ahead of Its Time. With the march of Moore’s law and the half-life of information clocking up at an ever-increasing rate, Ahead of Time might just be the new Just In Time.

Some time has passed since the “Reflection on Growth Attitude and Learning” blog entry. Some reflections on the idea have been posted while others have been in queue waiting. The ideas which seem to endure most about it are the effects that this system has on the nature of education and the things of which it is comprised.

On-going discussion over how in-class support should be conducted throughout schoolwide curricula seems to be occurring in many places. Frameworks such as Universal Design for Learning and SIOP can be somewhat helpful in maintaining coordinated organizational approaches to language support. Despite these attempts, some key points seem to be missing.

Some quotes that just need to be noted from "You are not a Gadget" by Jaron Lanier:

". . .it seems pointless to insist that what we already understand must suffice to explain what we don't understand." (page 51)

"Enlightened designers leave open the possibility of either metaphysical specialness in humans or in the potential for unforeseen creative processes that aren't explained by ideas like evolution that we already believe we can capture in software systems. That kind of modesty is the signature quality of being human-centered.

Just one of the ironies of life here. Although many comments could go along with this, the picture speaks pretty well for itself. . .

The real irony of this irony is that this scene looks fairly similar in a lot of places (building, surroundings and language aside).

Reflection from the Information System Committee has leaked over to another area.

Through some mental connections, a general trend seems to be emerging in classes over the last few years. Over time, units of study, while getting more refined, also seem to lengthen and increase in complexity. They take on personalities of their own and grow. While being helpful in the sense that study topics are becoming more mature, this tendency can also be a challenge.

Participation in the school Information Systems Committee is a great thinking and learning opportunity. Taking a global look at something that influences every corner of the school is a great way to balance one's perspective and help redefine one's role (having gotten oneself dubbed the committee secretary also adds motivation to look at most aspects and perspectives of discussion. . .).

The "human growth ecosystem" chart from the other week could use some good critical analysis. Perhaps a more attractive name might not hurt as well. . .

Never-the-less, the idea holds some thoughts for consideration. The flow of action through the steps, live-think-do-use-record-reflect presents some vital information about the cycle of discovery.