Old Dog, New Tricks

Several weeks ago I wrote a post ‘One Person’s Trash…’ about the resourcefulness of the resourceless here in Burma. I made the silly claim that developed countries like the US couldn’t hold a candle to the Burmese when it comes to ingenuity in the face of want. How wrong was I?

Yesterday I came across Sam Seidel’s Hip Hop Genius where he presents a brilliant ‘essay’ about how America’s urban environments offer a kind of adversity different than I find here in Burma, but the results are the same: “a creative resourcefulness in the face of limited resources.” Sam calls this ‘Hip Hop Genius’, and because of it the poor, urban environments of America are fertile ground for bold innovation in music, dance, art, film, photography…you name it. That Hip Hop culture has become a ‘global phenomenon’ is testament to the power of its genius.

As a teacher, what’s particularly striking about Sam’s polished, heartfelt essay is the challenge he throws down for educators to customize learning for our students like they are doing at the High School for Recording Arts in Minnesota. Equally captivating is the way in which Sam presents his essay. Michael McCathy’s DRAWNALONG is such a fresh approach that I can’t help but wonder what new power my students would find in writing essays given the chance to present them in this way, or in some other inventive manner. Most certainly it would encourage them to collaborate. I like this. For sure they would need to draw on their creative instincts. This is always good. And finally, they would communicate their ideas in ways that…who knows?…others will feel compelled to build on in bold, innovative ways. Now that’s fresh!

Check out Sam Seidel’s ‘Hip Hop Genius: Remixing High School Education’

Next time you’re in the grocery store, pick up a product and look on the packaging for something that looks like these:

These are QR codes and you’re going to start seeing them all over the place. You’ll find them in magazines, on TV, and even on t-shirts. That’s right, the Grade 6 students at ISY have made a class t-shirt using QR codes. It’s the ultimate in geek-chic! Wearing one of these ultra-cool codes tells everyone: “I’m standing at the cutting edge of technology, and the view is amazing!”

So what are QR codes? QR stands for ‘quick read’ and these codes can be read by smart devices like iPods, iPhones and other mobile devices with a camera and a QR reader like ‘i-nigma‘. QR codes are like bar codes but offer richer information. QRs can generate text, direct you to a website, connect you with a phone number or send an SMS.

QR codes offer some very exciting ways to interact with the environment. Imagine standing in front of a building. You whip our your smart phone and point it at a tiny QR code mounted by the front door. Immediately a website appears on your screen that gives you the history of the building, or links to the websites of all the offices inside. Or imagine marveling at a piece art with a small QR next to it. With a smart phone you can read the code and link to a website that tells all about the artist, displays videos and photos of her creating it, and a list of other venues to view more of her art. All very exciting, indeed.

Making QR codes is simple and fun, and it reminds me of how I loved creating secret codes as a kid. There are many places on the web to create them. My students and I use a site called qrcode-kaywa.

For an excellent and more detailed explanation of this amazing technology, check out Vicki Davis’ ‘QR Code Classroom Implementation Guide’. I learned about QR codes from Vicki at the Flat Classroom Conference in Beijing and have been hooked ever since. While still a beginner, I sense a great potential for these cool codes to add another exciting dimension to education in the same way that they augment the reality around us.

For now, my students and I are just going to strut around proudly wearing our QR codes like members of an elite team. We’re out to let the world know that geek is the new cool.

Inspired by Sarah Kay’s TEDTalk on becoming a spoken-word poet and suggested by Keri-Lee Beasly whose class recently blogged on the same topic, I asked my Grade 6 students to blog on ’10 Things I Know for Sure.’ Their results were inspiring, illuminating and often just plain fun to read. So, I thought I’d follow their lead and give it a try. So, here are my 10 Things I Know for Sure.

1. Two wrongs don’t make a right. But three rights do make a left.

2. ‘Those who can’t do, teach.’ Poppycock*! Those who can see the future, teach.

3. With a little trust and encouragement, students have a delightful habit of exceeding expectations.

4. Ride a bike instead of driving; it makes the world big again.

5. Practice makes permanent. Practicing mindfully makes excellence.

6. The harder you pull back the rubber band the farther it shoots; sometimes it snaps your finger. Great deeds require much effort and occasional sacrifice.

7. We are all tourists here. Enjoy the view, take lots of photos, and be a gracious guest.

8. Rivers are more fun than lakes. There something about water that flows, and swimming against a current can make you stronger.

9. Given the choice between intelligence and curiosity, I’ll take curiosity. Intelligent people often know too much, curious people never know enough.

10. One wife. Two daughters. Priceless!

*Incidentally, the word ‘poppycock’ comes from the Dutch words ‘pap’ meaning ‘soft’ and ‘kak’ meaning…um…er…uh…’kaka’!

Wait, this would make 11 Things I Know for Sure. Man, I go to ’11′!