Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Digging Deeper. Connected Learning Ideas

I'm constantly humbled by the creativity of some of the people I've met during the Connected Learning MOOC that I've followed each year since 2013. Below is a graphic shared today by Kevin Hodgson, a middle school teacher from Western Massachusetts. You can see it here.



Kevin and others who I've met during the #clmooc have frequently added new understanding to graphics I've posted, and so I hope they will do so again with the visualizations posted below.

Mentoring Kids to Careers - see map


Race - Poverty - see map


Learning Path/Information Flow - see  map 


Strategy map - see map



These are just a few of the concept maps you can find at this link.  If you view visualizations on this page you can see how interns from South Korea, and other places have looked at my visualizations and created their own interpretations.

For instance, this animation shows a different interpretation of the strategy map above.  This was created in 2009 while the Tutor/Mentor Connection was still part of the Cabrini Connections program, so needs to be updated.  It was also done in Flash animation, which is no longer supported. The link I point to is a video which I created to share the animation.  I invite one (or more) of my readers to create a newer version of this using technologies now replacing Flash animation.




If educators participating in on-line events like the Connected Learning cMOOC begin to do this on a regular basis, more people will begin to understand and apply the ideas, while also adding improvements based on their own experiences, where they live, and who they teach.

Maybe more people will begin to create their own strategy maps,  showing their solutions to other important issues, not just poverty, social justice, education and inequality.

While millions of dollars are being spent to elect new leaders for public offices in the US, creating the world we want really remains the work and responsibility of every one of  us.  I've never expected much help from political leaders, and don't expect much in the next four years.

As Merri Dee of WGN TV fame said to me 25 years ago, "If it is to be it is up to you and me."

Update 11-20-2017 - Kevin Hodgson's use of Thinglink inspired me to create several Thinglinks, which you can see here.

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