Category Archives: Students

Dream Big Dreams

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It takes courage to travel to another country where you don’t know anybody, you don’t speak the language and the culture is completely different to your own.

You stay in a home you have never been in before, with people you have never met, eating food that is unfamiliar. On your first day you take a bus on a journey you have never been on before and arrive at school for the first time.

Already our students have shown a great deal of courage to do these things which by most people’s standards are ‘out of the comfort zone’. I have spoken about this before, in a post last May, but it is worth mentioning again I think.

Our students have already demonstrated their courage by the time they arrive on the first Monday, but we want them to keep showing this in their learning – being prepared to make mistakes, to fail, to try new things and to not give up.

How can you as a student be courageous today (and every day) in your learning?

Please click on the image below to read a short article about being brave enough to leave our comfort zone. Consider which of the suggestions made you already do, or which you could start doing from now on.

Courageous Learning

Points – Badges – Leaderboards

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I am not the first, and I won’t be the last, to say that I wish gamification had a better name.

The reason I wish it had a better name is because the concept is brilliant, but it won’t get past the first hurdle with many of today’s key decision-makers. In another generation’s time that will be different, but right now the concept struggles to become a reality in many cases.

What is gamification? Essentially it is employing the techniques used in games in non-game situations to achieve a desired outcome. An oversimplification would be to describe it as the PBL trinity of points, badges and leaderboards, but there is more than a grain of truth in that…

Earning points for doing the right thing, getting a badge for being successful and seeing how you are doing compared to the others are all surprisingly motivating.

I strongly, strongly recommend a great Coursera programme if you want to learn more about this application that I believe will have an enormous impact on business and education in the coming years – click here for details.

Click on the image below to read about how students can become more engaged when tasks are gamified. What do you think? Mumbo-Jumbo and a passing fad? Or a really clever way to get people intrinsically motivated and enjoying themselves while learning?

photo (19)

He who gains time, gains everything

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Are you making the most of your time? Do you get things done or end up wondering what happened to the day?

I recently read a short article by Ray Edwards that gave 10 top tips to be “abnormally productive”. If I am honest, I would say I can do some, but not all of them.

What about you? Are there any you could start using? Could you recommend any other time management tips?

Click on the image to read more.

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Behind the mask

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Some people can be very self-conscious when speaking and even more so when it is in a second language. Although eventually this can be overcome, there are those that advocate the use of an avatar or mask while confidence is being built.

Obviously this is not for everyone, but you can read more by clicking here.

You can also click on the image below to see a Voki I did back in 2011 as an example.       It seems I didn’t have so many grey hairs then…

What do you think about using an avatar in this way?

mystery-69453_640

Songs to hear before you die

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I often see lists with titles like ’50 places to visit before you die’ and ’20 pasta dishes to try before you’re 50′.

Then I saw ’1000 songs everyone must hear’ in the Guardian and I was surprised by some of  the choices.

I asked some of the people I work with for their Top 10 lists for songs they think everyone should hear at least once in their lives. It might be because it has personal significance, it might have been groundbreaking or it might simply have been a great piece of music.

There is no right or wrong, these are personal opinions, but it creates some interesting lists and some fantastic listening as well.

Click on the picture below to see this list and copy and paste the links to listen to the songs. Do any of the choices surprise you? Now we have shared with you, what about your favourites – can you create a top 10 as well?

You can also click here to download our list - Top 10 songs

Top Tunes

Life’s a game

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How do you deal with mundane tasks? Do you avoid them or do you just get on and complete them? Or, like many people, do you put them off until the last-minute?

What about if the task became part of a game? A game that you enjoyed playing so that the task disappeared and was completed by playing the game. A game with rules, but one where you make choices and you are in control.

Does that sound good?

More and more businesses are looking to engage with people using these techniques. This is not to manipulate or force people to do things they don’t want to do, but instead it is to engage people and make life more fun.

You can see a brilliant example by clicking here for SuperBetter and if you join, tell me and I will connect with you as an ally (you will see what I mean).

Also, by clicking on the picture below you can listen to a TED Talk by the founder of SuperBetter, Jane McGonigal. What do you think about making tasks more fun – is it important or should we just accept that some things aren’t enjoyable in themselves or require self-discipline?

What are the benefits of making tasks more engaging for students or employees?

© Jon Helgason | Dreamstime Stock Photos

Sixes up wallpaper

Planning for the future

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Question: What do these jobs have in common?

Social media manager, Wind farm engineer, Zumba teacher, Gamification consultant and App designer?

Answer: None of these jobs existed 20, maybe even 10 years ago.

We cannot imagine the jobs that will be available in another two decades, or those that will no longer exist. Are we preparing students for the future and the exciting unknown or are we preparing them the same way we have always done with an eye on the past?

Click on the image below to read an interesting article and try to answer these questions -

Who are the two hostile tribes?

What skills does Wagner claim are more important than academic knowledge?

Which country is praised for their innovative education?

Windfarm

Windfarm (Photo credit: nickmilleruk)

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day…

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It’s time to rethink education and at the risk of repeating myself, I think the sooner, the better (and then we can start feeling good).

We have the ambitious plans of Sugata Mitra and the online opportunities such as Memrise and, of course, Coursera.

There is a growing tendency to see that fun can lead to engagement which can in turn lead to genuine learning. N.B. Fun does not automatically equal wasting time.

Old models are losing ground and champions of the cause such as Sir Ken Robinson continue to spread the word. Now is the time to acknowledge that we do not need to instill brains with prescribed information that is available at the press of a button, but instead to develop the desire and ability of every individual.

What do you think? How much of a framework and control needs to be in place and how much freedom can a student be given to make their own choices? Click on the image below to watch a short, but interesting, video.

Dawn over Moreton Bay-1=

Dawn over Moreton Bay-1= (Photo credit: Sheba_Also)

Tweet Tweet

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It almost feels wrong to be blogging about such a mainstay of online communications, but I have to mention Twitter. Everybody knows about it, but there are still large numbers not realising what it can do.

It is not about telling people what type of muffin you are eating, unless that is what you want to tell the world. If you want to keep it at that level , then you can.

However, you can do so much more and here are a few reasons to try it….

Follow people with interests similar to your own (and maybe  those with different ones too)

Increase your contacts and in particular your Professional/Personal Learning Networks

Learn something new every day

Share your own knowledge and opinions

Practise your English and be part of the online world

Click on the image below to learn more and remember to follow @OISE_Bristol

English: Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides)

English: Mountain Bluebird (Sialia currucoides) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Treasure Hunts for the modern era

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Recently I have started geocaching. Have you ever tried it?

If you haven’t heard of it, it is similar to a treasure hunt. You use clues and a GPS system to find the ‘treasure’ or geocache. The clues help you locate the approximate location, but sometimes the geocache can be very small and very well hidden (don’t worry, some are much bigger and easier). There is a degree of satisfaction when you do find them though and it also gets you out and about exploring.

There are free and paid for apps available for android and iPhones or you can invest in a dedicated GPS. I recommend this geocaching website where you can access details for over 2,000,000 caches around the world. Are there any near you?

There are several near OISE Bristol and I think our students could practise their English while trying to find them as part of our social programme.

Click on the image below showing one found by my son, Louis, on a recent trip to Bournemouth. It was hidden in an empty snail-shell, but the clues and GPS meant we could find it.

I am on holiday now until 08 April. so perhaps I will find some more next week…

geocaching