[Michael MagowanParticipant]

Hi Lida,

Again, we are really in the beginning stages of implementing our genius hour. To begin to create buy in with both staff and students we shared youtube videos from the “Kid President” youtube channel. This young man represents what our youth are truly capable of and is a source on inspiration for our students. We shared his video “How to be an inventor” which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75okexRzWMk&index=21&list=PLzvRx_johoA-YabI6FWcU-jL6nKA1Um-t

This was a jumping off point for many of our classes. Teachers chose to ask students if they could invent anything what would it be? This gave a focus to the conversation as you could imagine to just ask 6 years old to study what they are most passionate about would have been difficult. This created collaboration and conversation amongst the students as they eagerly shared their questions and inventions. While at the same time created student dialogue with teachers, giving them insight into what the students are truly interested in or most passionate about. From here individual project began to grow and the COI principals began to converge on Educational Experience.

Our grade 5/6 classrooms were able to connect the entire class around a central idea while still allowing for the individual project to flourish. The students decided to create a museum to share their passion projects with a real audience. Class discussion revealed that many different types of museums exist in our world examples including sport, art, science, etc. were shared. Students are pursuing areas of interest by creating their own space within the museum but will be joining together to create a classroom museum to display and share their work with a real audience. They have even discussed creating a virtual tour of the space when it is complete and inviting discussion questions and comments from an online audience.

I highly recommend watching some of the Kid President videos as he has quite the presence himself. Another favourite of mine is “A Pep Talk from Kid President to You” and is found at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-gQLqv9f4o

Mike

[Michael MagowanParticipant]

Hi Rob,

The importance of COI in blended learning is found in the heart of the model where the three elements converge to create the “Educational Experience” (Vaughan, Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2013, p. 11). Disengaged students, drop out rates and a lack of appreciation of an education are problematic issues faced by universities and many school districts. I believe it is the overall experience that educators must begin to focus their practice on, and a shift away from curricular coverage and dated delivery models must begin. Vaughan et al. (2013) discuss the “organic integration” (p.8) of practice and “indicate a significant rethinking of how we should be approaching the learning experience” (p.8). Engagement and authentic task design dominate my professional conversations at district meetings and frame my professional development within my school. The premise of the COI framework is that “higher education is both collaborative and an individually constructivist learning experience” (Vaughan, Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2013, p. 10). The notion that the learner and the teacher work collaboratively and interchangeably is what is important to the educational experience and ultimately to the creation of a blended learning environment.

The implementation of the entire educational experience begins with choice and an examination of what curriculum is. Curriculum is not simply the topics to be covered, but rather the knowledge, skills and attributes described through the topics of study. As teachers examine their role or “teaching presence” the approach to education shifts from content delivery to facilitator of learning. The redesign of educational practice invites choice in learning and “participants become more metacognitively aware” (Vaughan, Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2013, P.13) and “assume increasing responsibility and control of their learning” (Vaughan, Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2013, P.13), demonstrating the cognitive presence. As greater responsibility and control over learning is realized, the social presence becomes increasingly crucial to the community of inquiry through collaboration, co-construction of knowledge and connection to a greater online learning community. Everyone connected to the educational experience contributes to the “purposeful collaboration to resolve an issue, solve a problem, or create new understanding” (Vaughan, Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2013, P.17) and “address new requirements of the knowledge age of the 21st century” (Vaughan, Cleveland-Innes & Garrison, 2013, P.17).

My school community is currently implementing components of the COI framework through the concept of “Genius Hour” http://www.geniushour.com. Students are provided time, support and tools to pursue what they are most passionate about. Although, I believe Genius hour allows for the social, cognitive and teaching presence to converge to create sound “Educational Experience” I do find the online component of the blended environment with the elementary age difficult to execute. This is an area that I hope to learn more about through this course.

Reference

Vaughan, N.D., Cleveland-Innes, M. & Garrison, D.R. (2013). Teaching in blended learning environments: Creating and sustaining communities of inquiry. Athabasca: Athabasca University Press. Available online at: http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/120229

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