RSS

robertogreco + empowerment   45

Building Our Community: The Constitution
"Our first step in coming together as a middle school community required everyone involved. As an entire middle school of fifth, sixth, eighth graders, and teachers, we gathered together and developed a constitution where every student had the opportunity to contribute their ideas to what they believed the middle school experience should look and feel like. Over the course of two weeks, we met in mixed groups, grade-levels, and lunch hours. Students came together to discuss their values within their learning environments, and what they seek out from their peers on a daily basis in the name of quality learning. Students were not always in agreement, and there were arguments and frustrations shared. It was overwhelming. How simple it could have been to just decide upon rules as adults and make kids follow them. It certainly was not what works best for our students, regardless of the community they belong to…"
2012  empowerment  howwelearn  cv  community  philosophy  education  rules  constitution  schools  learning  teaching  tcsnmy  elizabethkowba  from delicious
4 weeks ago by robertogreco
A VC: The Management Team - Guest Post From Joel Spolsky
"For every Steve Jobs, there are a thousand leaders who learned to hire smart people and let them build great things in a nurturing environment of empowerment and it was AWESOME. That doesn’t mean lowering your standards. It doesn’t mean letting people do bad work. It means hiring smart people who get things done—and then getting the hell out of the way."
servantleadership  2012  stevejobs  empowerment  leadership  management  business  startups  joelspolsky  from delicious
february 2012 by robertogreco
New services offered at A Word with You Press
"…graduate of UCSC…has used technology as a sword for social change in a career dedicated to helping empower the dis-advantaged. He will bring his experience directing non-profit organizations not only to A Word with You Press, but to Kid Expression, our sister program housed in the same facilities here in Oceanside. (For those of you new to the site, Kid Expression is our non-profit program to help young writers become accomplished authors.)<br />
<br />
When Morgan was five I delivered him to his first day of school in Borneo (Hey, Barack did his first year in school there, too, and was also an advocate for social justice before he got his current paying gig). I handed him over to the principal & kindergarten teacher in the American school with these instructions: “Do your best to teach him to conform, & I will do my best to teach him not to.” Morgan grew into manhood living with that paradox, & will bring a lot to our site."
morgansully  parenting  conformity  conformism  socialchange  kidexpression  sandiego  oceanside  paradox  empowerment  nonprofit  2011  from delicious
september 2011 by robertogreco
Students Pressure Chile to Reform Education System - NYTimes.com
"Segments of society that had been seen as politically apathetic only a few years ago, particularly youth, have taken an unusually confrontational stance twrd government & business elite, demanding wholesale changes in education, transportation & energy policy, sometimes violently…<br />
<br />
last Friday, Mr. Piñera noted Chileans were witnessing a “new society”…people “feel more empowered & want to feel they are heard.”…rebelling against “excessive inequality” in country…[w/] highest per capita income in Latin America but also…one of most unequal distributions of wealth…<br />
…protests leaders are also pushing for constitutional change to guarantee free, quality education from preschool through high school & a state-financed university system that ensures quality & equal access…<br />
<br />
“For many years our parents’ generation was afraid to demonstrate, to complain, thinking it was better to conform to what was going on. Students are setting an example without the fear our parents had.”
chile  politics  reform  education  equity  equality  disparity  sebastiánpiñera  2011  protest  protests  activism  change  apathy  engagement  empowerment  income  incomegap  wealth  latinamerica  access  policy  energy  transportation  wealthdistribution  from delicious
august 2011 by robertogreco
Meetings are death, death to meetings
"If meetings aren’t work, what are they? They are soul-suckers. They extinguish original thought. They turn a job into a marathon, a career into nothing but chair-warming.

It used to be that most people worked for a living, and a few dispensable ‘suits’ spent their time in meetings. Good riddance, it kept them out of our hair.

Now, of course, the meetings have spread like a pox, and even those that used to produce are sucked into their vortex.

Al Pittampalli wants to change that. He demands we change that. And he is here to help you do just that."
meetings  productivity  tcsnmy  decisionmaking  empowerment  leadership  work  administration  conflict  coordination  collaboration  via:monikahardy  from delicious
august 2011 by robertogreco
Program or be Programmed: The GeekDad Interview With Douglas Rushkoff | GeekDad | Wired.com [Embedded video is worth watching too]
"first step toward maintaining autonomy in any programmed environment is to be aware that there’s programming going on…

We returned to status quo mainstream broadcast culture, where “participation” had more to do w/ achieving spectacle-approved celebrity than changing the world around us.

…overculture will always try to devalue anything truly threatening. If you gain access to dashboard of civilization…you will be called a geek…have to keep us away from anything truly empowering. So they make cool stuff seem uncool, & the stupid stuff seem cool…

I would prepare my kids for life, not some fictional computer event…reading & writing…still great things for kids to learn…basic math…a bit of…programming…it’s not too late for us to educate ourselves to the point where understanding technology, & even participating in democracy, are still possible…

our technologies become more complex while we become more simple. They learn about us while we come to know less & less about them…"
douglasrushkoff  education  learning  hacking  democracy  unschooling  deschooling  media  participation  participatory  broadcastculture  empowerment  literacy  tcsnmy  programming  coding  books  2011  trends  interviews  counterculture  understanding  alternativeeducation  civilization  gamechanging  change  purpose  meaning  meaningmaking  from delicious
july 2011 by robertogreco
Customized Learning - The Slideshow | Education Rethink
Great set of slides from John T Spencer. Notes are forthcoming, but the slides should speak for themselves. These were for his Reform Symposium presentation in 2011. (I missed it, so I'm glad it put them online.)
johnspencer  teaching  learning  tcsnmy  differentiatedlearning  customization  self-directedlearning  student-centered  studentdirected  pedagogy  unschooling  deschooling  standards  mastery  presentations  classideas  networking  hierarchy  freedom  autonomy  projectbasedlearning  science  socialstudies  reading  writing  flexibility  choice  dialogue  relationships  conversation  assessment  metaphor  ownership  empowerment  fear  from delicious
july 2011 by robertogreco
The Disruption Department
"First, the disruption department will pull together essential learning tools like computers, video cameras, internet, etc. and put them in the hands of students and teachers who need them. The department itself will own equipment that can be used temporarily in classrooms throughout the city.  Teachers can check-out this equipment, which will then be delivered to each classroom with relevant training and planning so these tools can be used to the highest potential. Additionally, the department will act as a source for finding funders, business with computers to donate, and fundraising websites so that necessary resources can be utilized by students and teachers throughout the city. These objects will be permanent fixtures in the classrooms of the teachers who partner with the department to locate these resources."
lcproject  unschooling  deschooling  stlouis  education  empowerment  studioclassroom  learning  tcsnmy  from delicious
july 2011 by robertogreco
» A Focus on Founders: The Anatomy of a New Design Education Johnny Holland – It's all about interaction » Blog Archive
"In a word, the intent of our educational model is disruption. At AC4D, we intend to empower our alumni to make a difference in the world, using the persuasive, thoughtful, and provocative ualities of design (or “design thinking” combined with “design doing”) as the mechanism.

But there’s another question that we ask, and strive to answer, and this question is more important: what should we design, in the first place?…
…our initial question – what should we design, in the first place – alters the conversation about “career.” When we start to question the fundamentals of our industry and the economic system that contains it, we arrive quickly at a rejection of “corporate vs. consultancy”, “job titles”, and the other baggage of our jobs…

And this poses a problem for designers acting as entrepreneurs: how can they remain focused, passionate, and excited during the process of packaging, refining, detailing, and producing the actual offering?"
ac4d  jonkolko  education  socialentrepreneurship  designeducation  independence  meaning  disruption  2011  focus  passion  creativity  designthinking  altgdp  entrepreneurship  empowerment 
july 2011 by robertogreco
» A Focus on Founders: The Anatomy of a New Design Education Johnny Holland – It's all about interaction » Blog Archive
"In a word, the intent of our educational model is disruption. At AC4D, we intend to empower our alumni to make a difference in the world, using the persuasive, thoughtful, and provocative ualities of design (or “design thinking” combined with “design doing”) as the mechanism.<br />
<br />
But there’s another question that we ask, and strive to answer, and this question is more important: what should we design, in the first place?…<br />
…our initial question – what should we design, in the first place – alters the conversation about “career.” When we start to question the fundamentals of our industry and the economic system that contains it, we arrive quickly at a rejection of “corporate vs. consultancy”, “job titles”, and the other baggage of our jobs…<br />
<br />
And this poses a problem for designers acting as entrepreneurs: how can they remain focused, passionate, and excited during the process of packaging, refining, detailing, and producing the actual offering?"
ac4d  jonkolko  education  socialentrepreneurship  designeducation  independence  meaning  disruption  2011  focus  passion  creativity  designthinking  altgdp  entrepreneurship  empowerment  from delicious
july 2011 by robertogreco
Redefining School, Success | DMLcentral
"We’re a district InnovationLab in Loveland, Colorado, where students have crafted, and just completed year one, of a four-year plan of disruption to redefine school. Based on findings that learning at its best is voluntary, per passion/choice, and self-directed, we are working towards community as school.<br />
<br />
After our experience this past year, we are thinking: …"<br />
<br />
[See also: http://www.slideshare.net/monk51295/city-as-floorplan AND http://labconnections.blogspot.com/p/what-is-detox.html AND http://labconnections.blogspot.com/ ]
monikahardy  education  learning  unschooling  deschooling  tcsnmy  lcproject  change  gamechanging  connectedlearning  trust  teaching  schools  pedagogy  detox  mindset  community  communitycenters  success  democracy  democratic  democraticschools  empowerment  toshare  from delicious
june 2011 by robertogreco
Entrepreneurship - Practical Theory ["An entrepreneurial school is one where everyone - students teachers and administrators - understand that they can own their ideas and create powerful, useful artifacts of value."]
"The mistake in thinking that “entrepreneurship” belongs only to our capitalist values as a nation. Entrepreneurship has as much to do with our civic values and it does with our capitalist outings, and as such, profoundly and deeply belongs rooted in our schools. … The challenges we all face as our world changes as an ever quickening pace, as the old ways of doing things no longer hold, require a flexibility of spirit, a collaborative sense of purpose and the nimbleness to adapt to rapid change. There are few institutions in our society that are currently configured to handle this change. Schools, by the very fact that they teach the young - those who will have to see this change through, must take the lead in re-valuing and redefining the entrepreneurial spirit. Students must leave our walls with the confidence and skill to bring new ideas to bear on a society that desperately needs them."
entrepreneurship  chrislehmann  education  teaching  learning  citizenship  civics  economics  capitalism  problemsolving  criticalthinking  gamechanging  unschooling  deschooling  socialentrepreneurship  redefinition  confidence  tcsnmy  schools  society  change  glvo  schooldesign  agency  empowerment  cv  innovation  creativity  2011  doing  making  from delicious
june 2011 by robertogreco
Education Studio (HDL) - Helsinki Design Lab
"HDL developed Studio on Education to think about future of education…

1. From equal access to edu to equal opportunity to develop ones’ talents & aspirations 2. From inherited Social Contract to a Social contract that includes voices of all stakeholders to create shared meaning 3. From current, institutional social welfare system to Social welfare system v 2.0 integrated w/ personal agency & empowerment 4. From administrative structures that are hierarchical & vertical to…inclusive, open & flexible 5. From schools as institutions for acquisition for academic skills to schools as agents of change that inspire & produce civic innovation, creativity, & holistic growth 6. From a strong focus on the normative to the inclusion of all members of society with different abilities and strengths 7. From learning for academic achievement to learning expertise for life 8. Open public discourse 9. Strengthen international networks and collaboration 10. New Suomi School for 21st Century"

[See also: http://helsinkidesignlab.org/dossiers/education/the-challenge AND http://helsinkidesignlab.org/blog/week-113 ]
finland  sitra  helsinki  helsinkidesignlab  education  deschooling  unschooling  casestudies  collaboration  networks  vocational  designthinking  lcproject  tcsnmy  holistic  holisticapproach  socialwelfare  hierarchy  access  equality  institutions  empowerment  agency  personalagency  change  gamechanging  civics  innovation  life  lifeskills  discourse  transparency  open  openschools  networkedlearning  relevance  from delicious
june 2011 by robertogreco
Sitting around « Re-educate Seattle
"I visited an awesome progressive school today. The thing that was most impressive was this: there were kids all over the place who were doing absolutely nothing productive.

That may sound strange, but I think it’s the defining characteristic of a progressive school. Having anti-racist values or an environmental curriculum don’t make your school progressive. It’s not about your lesson plans, it’s the structure of the educational environment that makes all the difference…

A lot of schools talk about lifelong learning and nurturing curiosity, but when they stand at the edge of that precipice—what happens if we give students freedom to direct their own learning, and they just sit around?—they refuse to jump…

It takes patience. It takes faith. But sometimes, you have to let kids just sit around and do nothing. It’s in those moments when they’re learning the lesson they’ll carry with them for the rest of their lives: I am in charge of my own education."
pscs  pugetsoundcommunityschool  tcsnmy  lcproject  progressive  teaching  education  schooliness  unschooling  deschooling  agency  empowerment  learning  schools  unstructuredtime  productivity  stevemiranda  from delicious
may 2011 by robertogreco
The future is podular « Dachis Group Collaboratory
"Pods don’t answer every business problem. Like any other strategic decision, choice to go podular involves inherent risks & tradeoffs. A podular system is certainly not the most efficient or consistent way to conduct business. There is more redundancy in this kind of system, which usually means greater cost. When units are autonomous, activity will also be more variable, which means it will be less consistent.<br />
<br />
The bet you are making with a podular strategy is that the increase in value to customers, paired w/ increased resiliency in your operations, will more than offset the increases in costs. It’s a fundamental tradeoff & thus a design decision: the more flexible and adaptive you are, the less consistent your behavior will be. The benefit, though, is that you unleash people to bring more of their intelligence, passion, creative energy & expertise to their work. If you’re in an industry where these things matter (& who isn’t), then you should take a look at podular design."
management  socialbusiness  hierarchy  mesh  meshnetworks  autonomy  redundancy  motivation  flexibility  tcsnmy  administration  leadership  organization  organizations  passion  creativity  nodes  networks  networkedlearning  networkculture  decisionmaking  connectivism  connections  efficiency  chains  empowerment  democracy  business  dachisgroup  podular  2011  from delicious
may 2011 by robertogreco
Critical pedagogy - Wikipedia
"Critical pedagogy is a philosophy of education described by Henry Giroux as an "educational movement, guided by passion and principle, to help students develop consciousness of freedom, recognize authoritarian tendencies, and connect knowledge to power and the ability to take constructive action."[1]<br />
<br />
Based in Marxist theory, critical pedagogy draws on radical democracy, anarchism, feminism, and other movements that strive for what they describe as social justice. Critical pedagogue Ira Shor defines critical pedagogy as:<br />
<br />
"Habits of thought, reading, writing, and speaking which go beneath surface meaning, first impressions, dominant myths, official pronouncements, traditional clichés, received wisdom, and mere opinions, to understand the deep meaning, root causes, social context, ideology, and personal consequences of any action, event, object, process, organization, experience, text, subject matter, policy, mass media, or discourse." (Empowering Education, 129)"
criticalpedagogy  education  pedagogy  criticaleducation  democracy  philosophy  henrygiroux  authoritarianism  authority  freedom  knowledge  teaching  learning  schools  power  control  lcproject  unschooling  deschooling  activism  marxism  anarchism  anarchy  feminism  socialjustice  justice  iraschor  habitsofmind  habitsofthought  reading  writing  literacy  depth  tcsnmy  wisdom  personalconsequences  socialcontext  empowerment  process  experience  depthoverbreadth  politics  paulofreire  michaelapple  howardzinn  jonathankozol  johnholt  johntaylorgatto  matthern  foucault  from delicious
april 2011 by robertogreco
LRB · Perry Anderson · Lula’s Brazil
"Contrary to a well-known English dictum, stoical if self-exonerating, all political lives do not end in failure. In postwar Europe, it is enough to think of Adenauer or De Gasperi, or perhaps even more impressively, Franco. But it is true that, in democratic conditions, to be more popular at the close than at the outset of a prolonged period in office is rare. Rarer still – indeed, virtually unheard of – is for such popularity to reflect, not appeasement or moderation, but a radicalisation in government. Today, there is only one ruler in the world who can claim this achievement, the former worker who in January stepped down as president of Brazil, enjoying the approval of 80 per cent of its citizens. By any criterion, Luiz Inácio da Silva is the most successful politician of his time."
brasil  politics  brazil  lula  democracy  policy  slavery  history  class  society  inequality  approval  latinamerica  hierarchy  poor  wealth  socialempowerment  empowerment  2011  disorder  government  personality 
march 2011 by robertogreco
SLA, 3i, Finding Common Ground and Looking Backward to Go Forward. - Practical Theory
"In reading those documents, you can see the valiant struggle to create something meaningful and powerful and democratic for students in the school. Kids and teachers made decisions together... classes were purely democratically chosen... students powerfully owned their learning. But I also read some of the same problems that we've seen in varying degrees at SLA. Student motivation to make those decisions or find learning on their own waxed and waned.... figuring out what to do when given ownership and freedom was hard... and maintaining the spirit of the revolution, so to speak, could be exhausting."
education  pedagogy  inspiration  irasocol  inquiry  chrislehmann  alanshapiro  neilpostman  tcsnmy  lcproject  schools  schooldesign  schooling  unschooling  deschooling  democracy  democratic  teaching  learning  teachingasasubversiveactivity  3iprogram  newrochellehighschool  1970s  1980s  policy  cv  fatigue  burnout  criticalthinking  meaning  meaningfulness  empowerment  identity  slowlearning  charlesweingartner  flexibility  respect  curriculum  2011  revolution  from delicious
february 2011 by robertogreco
Seth's Blog: Three ways to help people get things done
"Both the first message (bully w/ heart of gold) & second (creating scarce prizes) are based on factory model, one of scarcity…I'm going to manipulate whatever I need to do to get the results I need. If there's only room for one winner, it seems these approaches make sense.<br />
<br />
The third method, the one that I prefer, is to open the door. Give people a platform, not a ceiling. Set expectations, not to manipulate but to encourage. And then get out of the way, helping when asked but not yelling from the back of the bus.<br />
<br />
…When adults (and kids) see the power of self-direction & realize the benefits of mutual support, they tend to seek it out over & over again.<br />
<br />
In a non-factory mindset, one where many people have the opportunity to use the platform (I count web & most arts in this category), there are always achievers eager to take the opportunity…"
leadership  motivation  sethgodin  inspiration  management  tcsnmy  lcproject  unschooling  deschooling  factoryschools  industrial  industrialeconomy  industrialmindset  intrinsicmotivation  empowerment  teaching  learning  coercion  from delicious
january 2011 by robertogreco
Cameras for kids
"And for the most part, he's been really good with it. He puts the cord around his wrist so the camera won't fall on the floor if it slips out of his hands. For the first few days, he was accidentially sticking his fingers in the lens area and that caused the little shutter that covers the lens when the camera is off to stick a little bit, but he stopped doing that and learned how to fix the sticky shutter himself. He sometimes gets stuck in a weird menu after pushing too many buttons, but mostly he knows how to get in and out of the menus. He knows how to use the zoom and can shoot videos. He also can tell when the battery is running out and knows how to remove the battery to recharge it. Giving an "adult" camera to a three-year-old may seem like a recipe for confusion and broken electronics, but I'm continually amazed at kids' thirst for knowledge and empowered responsibility."
flickr  children  photography  empowerment  unschooling  deschooling  trust  parenting  kottke  cameras  enoughwiththekidsmenu  perspective  learning  education  from delicious
january 2011 by robertogreco
YouTube - Deep Roots; An Ideal Preserved [Also at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v01LKW1EshU]
"Short documentary on Deep Springs College in Inyo Valley, CA. An Academy of Integrated Media project that embodies the American character."
deepspringscollege  education  colleges  universities  self-governance  omnicompetence  learning  failure  schools  empowerment  tcsnmy  california  alternative  alternativeeducation  purpose  urgency  transformation  from delicious
september 2010 by robertogreco
Spencer's Scratch Pad: educational hoarding
"My problem is not that I need professional development. It's not that I need more nifty strategies to lead me on the way toward becoming a better teacher. I don't need another conference or seminar or workshop or TEN TOP WAYS TO USE TWITTER in my classroom. I don't need more hyperbole. I need more simplicity. I don't need more, I need to learn to do less. I don't need another binder. I need an anti-binder crusader who will help remind me of the essential questions that really are essential - someone to nudge me back toward the question, "Does this help us to live well?""
johnspencer  simplicity  professionaldevelopment  planning  teaching  education  schools  curriculum  less  slowessentials  minimalism  featurecreep  features  featuritis  moreisnotbetter  experience  empowerment  technology  unschooling  deschooling  learning  innovation  focus  lcproject  from delicious
september 2010 by robertogreco
3I Program ["Born in 1970 at a time of liberal experimentation in education, New Rochelle High School's college-like "school within a school," the Program for Inquiry, Involvement, and Independent Study…"]
"…died in 1983 during recessionary budget cutbacks and a conservative emphasis on back-to-basics schooling. It fueled fierce loyalty from its students, parents, and faculty -- and eventually fierce opposition from much of the Board of Education that funded it.<br />
<br />
… differed dramatically from the regular school program. Physically, it was a school within a school, beginning in temporary classrooms on a football field, then moving into its high-school-building "White Room" lounge with adjoining classrooms, and finally acquiring its own science lab and art studio. Philosophically, 3Is maintained that "school can be an activity, not simply a place; that school should emphasize learning how to learn, not just teaching; that significant learning can take place anywhere, not only in a classroom; [and] that such learning is more likely to occur if the learners actively involve themselves in making decisions about their education and are not always told." [via @irasocol]
3iprogram  newrochellehighschool  1970s  irasocol  lcproject  tcsnmy  inquiry  self-directedlearning  empowerment  neilpostman  alanshapiro  donbaughman  involvement  independence  learning  education  schools  schooling  unschooling  deschooling  history  teaching  from delicious
august 2010 by robertogreco
Near Future Laboratory » Features Aren’t A Measure Of Innovation
"For some reason lists of features are legible to accountants & engineers who often have the keys to the car & decide what gets done."'

"Innovating, only not by stacking lists of features & parts & stuff — but at least by starting with ways of creating opportunities & experiences that lead people in new, unexpected directions. That make space for experiences that go beyond expectation. Basically creating new user experiences. I don’t think you do that just by creating new features & bolting on new technologies."

[Some quick thoughts below, but more here: http://robertogreco.tumblr.com/post/916738627/more-opportunities-not-more-features ]

[Love this. It speaks to what we do at schools that empower learners by creating a flexible learning environment, not adding more classes, more programs. We do "less" in terms of numbers, but more in terms of freedom & self-direction, helping them give themselves more options. One point missing: it's not only accountant & engineer decision-making people that need help seeing the benefit of fewer features, but also number-comparing users (parents in our case).]
tcsnmy  julianbleecker  features  featurecreep  featuritis  moreisnotbetter  less  simplicity  experience  empowerment  design  designthinking  engineers  accountants  numbers  technology  unschooling  deschooling  education  learning  innovation  focus  lcproject  cv  from delicious
august 2010 by robertogreco
SpeEdChange: Teachers, Tenure, Transformation
"There's a simple fact at work here - when the teachers' unions operate "negatively" it is usually because they are acting like an industrial union. And they are acting like an industrial union because the work environment is, unfortunately, industrial in too many ways - and becoming more so by the minute at the hands of the very people who dislike the unions (under Duncan's regime teachers will be punished for any "defective" products which reach the end of the assembly line. See Rhode Island).<br />
<br />
Change the environment, empower teachers, allow them to be the professionals they are, help them to get better, give them the tools they need, pay them like other professionals, and the unions will change too, as they respond to a changed work environment."
irasocol  teachers  unions  tenure  policy  professionalism  empowerment  reform  salaries  from delicious
august 2010 by robertogreco
Least Restrictive Environment - Practical Theory
"I was thinking about Special Ed concept of Least Restrictive Environment & idea that many of the concepts of special education, such as an IEP, are concepts we should want for every student...
chrislehmann  specialed  leastrestrictiveenvironment  cellphones  mobile  phones  laptops  filtering  learning  empowerment  tcsnmy  individualized  teaching  schools  policy  blanketpolicies  restrictthemallforthedifficultiesoffew  millennials  technology  theyrealldifferentbutweshouldtreatthemthesame  ieps  digital 
july 2010 by robertogreco
The Staged Self-Directed Learning Model ~ Stephen's Web
"This presentation on Gerald Grow's staged self-directed learning model came up during today's Critical Literacies online discussion. It "proposes a way teachers can be vigorously influential while empowering students towards greater autonomy." The ideas is to map teaching methods to the learner's stage of self-direction. Grow describes four stages: dependent, interested, involved, self-directed. Of course, the model depends on getting the trajectory toward self-directed learning right. It does not account for multiple dimensions (and hence, multiple possible routes) to autonomy. But we saw today, in Paul Bouchard, that there can be as many as four dimensions of autonomy: conative, algorithmic, semiotic, and economic."
paulbouchard  stephendownes  geraldgrow  barbarastokes  self-directedlearning  self-directed  tcsnmy  autonomy  teaching  empowerment  dependent  interested 
july 2010 by robertogreco
- The Obvious? - Unlearning
"I often think that I am not teaching people in business anything new about social media so much as helping them unlearn some bad habits about communication. Helping them to unlearn the use of management speak, the use of dispassionate third person language, the tone of aloofness that has seemed in the past to afford them protection.
management  leadership  administration  euansemple  communication  unlearning  habits  buzzwords  empowerment  process  strategy  dress 
july 2010 by robertogreco
Mind the Gap: Saying Farewell - Notes from the Classroom - GOOD
"experiences w/ you over last 2 years give me faith that you can meet & exceed challenges you will soon confront. You have navigated your way through myriad obstacles...as Langston Hughes poem goes, you’re still here. I will never forget when you stood in DC, place most of you had viewed as distant & foreign...At that moment, on what for some of you was first foray out of NYC, as you stood where MLK Jr, delivered "I Have a Dream" speech & danced in front of Capitol Bldg, you metaphorically screamed: "You can’t hide us anymore—here we are, world!"
youth  teaching  possibility  experience  persistence  perception  obstacles  empowerment  belief 
july 2010 by robertogreco
Corner Office - Mark Pincus - Every Worker Should Be C.E.O. of Something - Interview - NYTimes.com
"So even today when I play in Sunday-morning soccer games, I can literally spot people who’d probably be good managers & good people to hire...One is reliability, sense that they’re not going to let team down...going to hold up their end of bargain. & in soccer, especially if you play 7v7, it’s more about whether you have 7 guys...who can pull their own weight rather than whether you have stars...I’d rather be on team that has no bad people than team w/ stars...certain people who you just know are not going to make a mistake, even if other guy’s faster or whatever. They’re just reliable.
business  empowerment  markpincus  football  entrepreneurship  management  leadership  cv  administration  soccer  sports  cooperation  collaboration  teamwork  tcsnmy 
may 2010 by robertogreco
Learning in the wild: Much of what people know about science is learned informally. Education policy-makers should take note. — Nature
"seemingly endless debate about how to improve US science education seems to make tacit assumption that learning happens only in the classroom. As a result, arguments tend to focus on issues such as curricula...
science  education  learning  informallearning  tcsnmy  schools  unschooling  deschooling  lcproject  funding  adhoc  empowerment  glvo 
april 2010 by robertogreco
Blogger of the Week: I Want Kids to Own Their Education
"3 most important things I think I might have capacity to nudge forward a bit both as educator & parent: 1) the love of improvisation & ability to adapt, change, & jazz it up on-the-fly taking full advantage of the resources available via both the new global networks as well as through the time-honored practice of sincere & humane face-to-face jamming; 2) the love of social learning & an understanding of power of social networks to break down traditional top-down hierarchies & foster meaningful, involved, & community-building conversations about things that really matter; 3) the love of active participation & experiential engagement in the learning process -- I want kids to own their education.
shellyblake-pock  primarysources  tcsnmy  teaching  schools  empowerment  history  religion  arthistory  education  learning 
april 2010 by robertogreco
Handmade School / Anna Heringer & Eike Roswag | ArchDaily
"It is particularly important to improve the quality of living in the rural areas in order to counteract the continuing population migration to the cities. The primary potential for developing building in the rural areas is the low cost of labour and locally available resources such as earth and bamboo.
architecture  schools  design  schooldesign  empowerment  bangladesh 
march 2010 by robertogreco
Seymour Papert on Generation YES & Kid Power : Stager-to-Go
"There are very few companies outside of the members of The Contructivist Consortium committed to student empowerment, creativity, collaboration and computing. It is much easier to sell products that do things to students, rather than amplify their voice and potential. Generation YES is the rare exception.
seymourpapert  generationyes  constructivism  computing  computers  schools  teaching  empowerment  creativity  collaboration 
february 2010 by robertogreco
Corner Office - Mark Pincus - Every Worker Should Be C.E.O. of Something - Interview - NYTimes.com [these quotes don't stand well on their own]
"when I play in Sunday-morning soccer games, I can literally spot the people who’d probably be good managers and good people to hire ... if you give people really big jobs to the point that they’re scared, they have way more fun and they improve their game much faster. ... I like to bet on people, especially those who have taken risks and failed in some way, because they have more real-world experience. And they’re humble. I also like to hire people into one position below where they ought to be, because only a certain kind of person will do that — somebody who is pretty humble and somebody who’s very confident. This is another thing I really, really value: being a true meritocracy. The only way people will have the trust to give their all to their job is if they feel like their contribution is recognized and valued. And if they see somebody else higher above them just because of a good résumé, or they see somebody else promoted who they don’t think deserves it, you’re done."
management  leadership  administration  empowerment  professionalism  soccer  football  philosophy  hierarchy  flatness  markpincus  tcsnmy  humility  confidence  cv  jobs 
february 2010 by robertogreco
Q & A: Bruce Mau - Business - Macleans.ca
"I’m not going to solve their problem. That’s something we learned in Guatemala. We did a big project there trying to change the way people see their future. The first day I arrived, they took me to meet the vice-president, and said, “This is Bruce, and he’s going to redesign Guatemala.” I said, “Guys, that’s not what we talked about, and that’s never going to work.” Nobody is going to get off a plane and solve your problems. People naturally get excited about somebody else solving their problem, but in fact, I will only succeed if they do it."
design  business  tcsnmy  brucemau  problemsolving  ownership  gamechanging  empowerment  unschooling  deschooling 
january 2010 by robertogreco
Engagement v. Empowerment -- Some Early Thoughts... - Practical Theory
"Empowerment feels better to me. It, in the end, is the word -- the idea -- that sets us up for a more student-centered classroom because it is about what the students get from the experience once the class is done, not what happens during the class. It also allows us to do away with the notion that the classroom is always fun. It's not. ... And that's what we want in our classes. It's o.k. if there are days when the work that kids do feels like work. We have to be o.k. with that. And we have to understand that school is work... but that it can be meaningful, powerful, empowering (and even engaging) work. And that the work we do together in school means that kids can apply that work to their own lives in ways they see fit and that allow them to thrive."
chrislehmann  education  teaching  student-centered  learning  schools  engagement  empowerment  tcsnmy  cv  work  meaning 
december 2009 by robertogreco
Engaged and Enraged -- Thinking about Marc Prensky's Ideas - Practical Theory
"it's not just that we need to play games in class...Instead, we need to create meaningful, relevant curriculum that allows students sufficient opportunities to really step up & take ownership. We need to use tools that every other aspect of our society & update our schools & our classrooms. But let's also be sure. We can do all of this. We can make our schools inviting, progressive, technology-rich schools, & there will still be kids who refuse to engage or simply push buttons & press boundaries, even with a curriculum full of new ideas. There is no panacea in education, & some kids will struggle simply because, on a nice spring day, they'd rather be outside too. Or on the internet, or playing games...We have to keep working w/ them to understand their role in their own learning process. We have to make explicit the steps we would take to them to create an engagement classroom & assigments, but then we also have to make sure they are willing to interalize those lessons as well."
chrislehmann  marcprensky  engagement  work  progressive  schools  learning  education  games  gaming  empowerment  teaching  tcsnmy 
december 2009 by robertogreco
Paul Twomey: don't underestimate the formational impact a globally ubiquitous internet will have on the post-recession world
"I see "suits" in Manhattan, shop owners in Hyderabad, tour guides in Luxor, students in Santiago del Chile, Aboriginal artists in Alice Springs, fisherman in Hoi An; all glued to their handsets & the net. This empowerment of individuals, especially in the developing world, is transforming social, economic, & political relationships. ... it is ... vital that we avoid fragmentation & maintain a single interoperable internet. ... network expansion must continue in order to spread the benefits more widely, & the internet's tradition of coordination of technical evolution among multiple stakeholders needs to be maintained. Corporate or governmental attempts to control will stifle innovation & entrepreneurialism & risk fragmentation. ... [the net] will provide a mechanism for the development of new business models, previously unknown ways connecting people & communities, new possibilities for the delivery of services, & a feedback loop for the population"
via:preoccupations  mobile  internet  change  ubicomp  progress  empowerment  innovation  entrepreneurship  economics  society  global  international  politics  policy 
may 2009 by robertogreco
Pachube, Patching the Planet: Interview with Usman Haque  | UgoTrade
"Usman Haque (architect and director, Haque Design + Research) and founder of Pachube pointed me to this image from T.R. Oke’s book, “Boundary Layer Climates” (original photo source Prof. L. E. Mount’s The Climatic Physiology of the Pig) to explain his approach to the “software” of space." via: http://blog.wired.com/sterling/2009/01/spime-watch-pac.html AND http://blog.neo-nomad.net/pachube-patching-the-planet/1217/
pachube  empowerment  interaction  interactive  architecture  cities  ubicomp  environment  spimes  usmanhaque  hardware  hacking  diy  innovation  locative  blogjects 
january 2009 by robertogreco
Teaching How to Learn | blog of proximal development
"Instead of separating our students from the world they’re getting ready for, instead of cocooning them in protected classrooms, we need to give them opportunities to learn from & w/ people who share their passions ... “the pursuit of real & relevant questions” is too complex for our rubrics, checklists & multiple choice quizzes. ... we [need to] get involved as co-investigators who assist students w/ their independent research & who also, through personal engagement as online learners & collaborators, model what it means to be successful as a learner. We have to become “co-conspirators” or, to use Vygotsky’s famous term, “more capable peers,” whose job is not to measure & evaluate but, primarily, to promote & support reflection & analysis in our students. As educators, we need to work on our role in the classroom as “passionate hobbyists and creators,” we need to engage in learning in our classrooms & in doing so we need to move towards a different model of assessment & evaluation."
education  learning  teaching  networkedlearning  tcsnmy  self-directed  self-directedlearning  newmedia  empowerment  pedagogy  change  reform  lcproject  michaelwesch  unschooling  deschooling  modeling  assessment  konradglogowski  curriculum  netgen  internet  elearning  media 
january 2009 by robertogreco
russell davies: meet the new schtick (2)
"in many ways, that's [an unfinished book like Dave Gray's Marks and Meaning] a more interesting and involving thing to own than a finished book. You're getting an object, but you're also getting into a little community." ... "You see what I'm getting at here? Books/paper are proven technologies. Brilliant things. Really good at all sorts of stuff. We're not in an age where books are about to disappear. But many of the business models associated with them may do. Because we're getting direct access to book technologies ourselves." ... "So you add all these things together and you realise that there are all sorts of interesting possibilities around the corner. For community media projects, personal media projects, for the creativity that's running rampant online to emerge in physical forms in lots of places."

[part 1: http://russelldavies.typepad.com/planning/2009/01/meet-the-new-schtick.html]
design  technology  culture  future  books  trends  diy  make  glvo  russelldavies  paper  newspapers  printing  advertising  marketing  planning  empowerment  communities  publishing  ebooks  media  digital  business  2009  unbook 
january 2009 by robertogreco
Even big companies are embracing a democratic style | csmonitor.com
"organizational democracy...not just a fad among startups. It's a growing trend that reflects an inescapable fact: Businesses that embrace a democratic style are building healthier workplaces – and better bottom lines"
accountability  business  democracy  empowerment  participation  organizations  work  leadership  management  administration  hierarchy  power  control  transparency 
may 2008 by robertogreco
Can the Cellphone Help End Global Poverty?- New York Times
“Pushing technologies on society w/out thinking through consequences is at least naïve, at worst dangerous...IMHO people that do it are just boring...Future Perfect is pause for reflection in seemingly headlong rush to churn out more, faster, smaller,
janchipchase  design  ethnography  nokia  research  future  travel  process  mobile  phones  business  trends  development  poverty  economics  empowerment  microlending  banking  markets  china  africa  india  cities 
april 2008 by robertogreco
Pasta&Vinegar » Blog Archive » Surrounded by objects whose workings are a total mystery
“Why Toys Shouldn’t Work “Like Magic”: Children’s Technology and the Values of Construction and Control “...describes the tension between “ease of use” and user empowerment” that is at stake in kids artifact design."
design  learning  technology  toys  mystery  magic  objects  empowerment  user 
january 2008 by robertogreco

related tags

3iprogram ⊕  1970s ⊕  1980s ⊕  ac4d ⊕  access ⊕  accountability ⊕  accountants ⊕  activism ⊕  adhoc ⊕  administration ⊕  advertising ⊕  africa ⊕  agency ⊕  alanshapiro ⊕  alternative ⊕  alternativeeducation ⊕  altgdp ⊕  anarchism ⊕  anarchy ⊕  apathy ⊕  approval ⊕  architecture ⊕  arthistory ⊕  assessment ⊕  authoritarianism ⊕  authority ⊕  autonomy ⊕  bangladesh ⊕  banking ⊕  barbarastokes ⊕  belief ⊕  blanketpolicies ⊕  blogjects ⊕  books ⊕  brasil ⊕  brazil ⊕  broadcastculture ⊕  brucemau ⊕  burnout ⊕  business ⊕  buzzwords ⊕  california ⊕  cameras ⊕  capitalism ⊕  casestudies ⊕  cellphones ⊕  chains ⊕  change ⊕  charlesweingartner ⊕  children ⊕  chile ⊕  china ⊕  choice ⊕  chrislehmann ⊕  cities ⊕  citizenship ⊕  civics ⊕  civilization ⊕  class ⊕  classideas ⊕  coding ⊕  coercion ⊕  collaboration ⊕  colleges ⊕  communication ⊕  communities ⊕  community ⊕  communitycenters ⊕  computers ⊕  computing ⊕  confidence ⊕  conflict ⊕  conformism ⊕  conformity ⊕  connectedlearning ⊕  connections ⊕  connectivism ⊕  constitution ⊕  constructivism ⊕  control ⊕  conversation ⊕  cooperation ⊕  coordination ⊕  counterculture ⊕  creativity ⊕  criticaleducation ⊕  criticalpedagogy ⊕  criticalthinking ⊕  culture ⊕  curriculum ⊕  customization ⊕  cv ⊕  dachisgroup ⊕  decisionmaking ⊕  deepspringscollege ⊕  democracy ⊕  democratic ⊕  democraticschools ⊕  dependent ⊕  depth ⊕  depthoverbreadth ⊕  deschooling ⊕  design ⊕  designeducation ⊕  designthinking ⊕  detox ⊕  development ⊕  dialogue ⊕  differentiatedlearning ⊕  digital ⊕  discourse ⊕  disorder ⊕  disparity ⊕  disruption ⊕  diy ⊕  doing ⊕  donbaughman ⊕  douglasrushkoff ⊕  dress ⊕  ebooks ⊕  economics ⊕  education ⊕  efficiency ⊕  elearning ⊕  elizabethkowba ⊕  empowerment ⊖  energy ⊕  engagement ⊕  engineers ⊕  enoughwiththekidsmenu ⊕  entrepreneurship ⊕  environment ⊕  equality ⊕  equity ⊕  ethnography ⊕  euansemple ⊕  experience ⊕  factoryschools ⊕  failure ⊕  fatigue ⊕  fear ⊕  featurecreep ⊕  features ⊕  featuritis ⊕  feminism ⊕  filtering ⊕  finland ⊕  flatness ⊕  flexibility ⊕  flickr ⊕  focus ⊕  football ⊕  foucault ⊕  freedom ⊕  funding ⊕  future ⊕  gamechanging ⊕  games ⊕  gaming ⊕  generationyes ⊕  geraldgrow ⊕  global ⊕  glvo ⊕  government ⊕  habits ⊕  habitsofmind ⊕  habitsofthought ⊕  hacking ⊕  hardware ⊕  helsinki ⊕  helsinkidesignlab ⊕  henrygiroux ⊕  hierarchy ⊕  history ⊕  holistic ⊕  holisticapproach ⊕  howardzinn ⊕  howwelearn ⊕  humility ⊕  identity ⊕  ieps ⊕  income ⊕  incomegap ⊕  independence ⊕  india ⊕  individualized ⊕  industrial ⊕  industrialeconomy ⊕  industrialmindset ⊕  inequality ⊕  informallearning ⊕  innovation ⊕  inquiry ⊕  inspiration ⊕  institutions ⊕  interaction ⊕  interactive ⊕  interested ⊕  international ⊕  internet ⊕  interviews ⊕  intrinsicmotivation ⊕  involvement ⊕  iraschor ⊕  irasocol ⊕  janchipchase ⊕  jobs ⊕  joelspolsky ⊕  johnholt ⊕  johnspencer ⊕  johntaylorgatto ⊕  jonathankozol ⊕  jonkolko ⊕  julianbleecker ⊕  justice ⊕  kidexpression ⊕  knowledge ⊕  konradglogowski ⊕  kottke ⊕  laptops ⊕  latinamerica ⊕  lcproject ⊕  leadership ⊕  learning ⊕  leastrestrictiveenvironment ⊕  less ⊕  life ⊕  lifeskills ⊕  literacy ⊕  locative ⊕  lula ⊕  magic ⊕  make ⊕  making ⊕  management ⊕  marcprensky ⊕  marketing ⊕  markets ⊕  markpincus ⊕  marxism ⊕  mastery ⊕  matthern ⊕  meaning ⊕  meaningfulness ⊕  meaningmaking ⊕  media ⊕  meetings ⊕  mesh ⊕  meshnetworks ⊕  metaphor ⊕  michaelapple ⊕  michaelwesch ⊕  microlending ⊕  millennials ⊕  mindset ⊕  minimalism ⊕  mobile ⊕  modeling ⊕  monikahardy ⊕  moreisnotbetter ⊕  morgansully ⊕  motivation ⊕  mystery ⊕  neilpostman ⊕  netgen ⊕  networkculture ⊕  networkedlearning ⊕  networking ⊕  networks ⊕  newmedia ⊕  newrochellehighschool ⊕  newspapers ⊕  nodes ⊕  nokia ⊕  nonprofit ⊕  numbers ⊕  objects ⊕  obstacles ⊕  oceanside ⊕  omnicompetence ⊕  open ⊕  openschools ⊕  organization ⊕  organizations ⊕  ownership ⊕  pachube ⊕  paper ⊕  paradox ⊕  parenting ⊕  participation ⊕  participatory ⊕  passion ⊕  paulbouchard ⊕  paulofreire ⊕  pedagogy ⊕  perception ⊕  persistence ⊕  personalagency ⊕  personalconsequences ⊕  personality ⊕  perspective ⊕  philosophy ⊕  phones ⊕  photography ⊕  planning ⊕  podular ⊕  policy ⊕  politics ⊕  poor ⊕  possibility ⊕  poverty ⊕  power ⊕  presentations ⊕  primarysources ⊕  printing ⊕  problemsolving ⊕  process ⊕  productivity ⊕  professionaldevelopment ⊕  professionalism ⊕  programming ⊕  progress ⊕  progressive ⊕  projectbasedlearning ⊕  protest ⊕  protests ⊕  pscs ⊕  publishing ⊕  pugetsoundcommunityschool ⊕  purpose ⊕  reading ⊕  redefinition ⊕  redundancy ⊕  reform ⊕  relationships ⊕  relevance ⊕  religion ⊕  research ⊕  respect ⊕  restrictthemallforthedifficultiesoffew ⊕  revolution ⊕  rules ⊕  russelldavies ⊕  salaries ⊕  sandiego ⊕  schooldesign ⊕  schooliness ⊕  schooling ⊕  schools ⊕  science ⊕  sebastiánpiñera ⊕  self-directed ⊕  self-directedlearning ⊕  self-governance ⊕  servantleadership ⊕  sethgodin ⊕  seymourpapert ⊕  shellyblake-pock ⊕  simplicity ⊕  sitra ⊕  slavery ⊕  slowessentials ⊕  slowlearning ⊕  soccer ⊕  socialbusiness ⊕  socialchange ⊕  socialcontext ⊕  socialempowerment ⊕  socialentrepreneurship ⊕  socialjustice ⊕  socialstudies ⊕  socialwelfare ⊕  society ⊕  specialed ⊕  spimes ⊕  sports ⊕  standards ⊕  startups ⊕  stephendownes ⊕  stevejobs ⊕  stevemiranda ⊕  stlouis ⊕  strategy ⊕  student-centered ⊕  studentdirected ⊕  studioclassroom ⊕  success ⊕  tcsnmy ⊕  teachers ⊕  teaching ⊕  teachingasasubversiveactivity ⊕  teamwork ⊕  technology ⊕  tenure ⊕  theyrealldifferentbutweshouldtreatthemthesame ⊕  toshare ⊕  toys ⊕  transformation ⊕  transparency ⊕  transportation ⊕  travel ⊕  trends ⊕  trust ⊕  ubicomp ⊕  unbook ⊕  understanding ⊕  unions ⊕  universities ⊕  unlearning ⊕  unschooling ⊕  unstructuredtime ⊕  urgency ⊕  user ⊕  usmanhaque ⊕  via:monikahardy ⊕  via:preoccupations ⊕  vocational ⊕  wealth ⊕  wealthdistribution ⊕  wisdom ⊕  work ⊕  writing ⊕  youth ⊕ 

Copy this bookmark:



description:


tags: