Connect | it's about learning

How are you being present – being in the present – and playing to connect?

On Tuesday, March 4, thanks to Mary Cantwell, Trey Boden, a number of folks @MVPSchool, and the organizers of SXSWedu, I enjoyed a fabulous opportunity to facilitate a Playground Session at SXSWedu, in the “Hands On” category.

Our game plan for the session can be found on Scribd and Google Docs. And Mary (@scitechyedu) captured much of the fun, in pictures, with her post “Mount Vernon Plays to Connect @ #SXSWedu.”

View this document on Scribd

By playing, we were not preparing for anything in particular or readying ourselves for the future. We were playing to be present – to be in the present – and to connect with our fellow playmates, or learners. We were playing to connect with our inner child, our beginner’s mind, and our innate storyteller. We were playing to #HaveFun and thread connections among ourselves and others.

We were playing to…play.

Like kids on a playground.

Like we did when we were immersed in our own childhoods.

At the end of January, Shelley Clifford and I attended a Creative Mornings Atlanta. The theme was “Childhood,” and we heard Aretta Baumgartner and Patty Dees speak about puppetry arts as a way of reconnecting with our childhood — being fully present and playing to connect. As Aretta captivated us all, she strung us together in a game that put us in the role of puppets. And our biggest challenge was to BE PRESENT. To let go of our egos and to simply enjoy playing.

During the #SXSWedu Playground session “Mount Vernon Plays to Connect,” we reiterated this point about the power of play — there is great energy and fun in being present and being in the present. Amidst the joy of doing so, we connect to a great many things, and, more importantly, to a great many other people.

When we play, we are like children embracing their childhood — playing to learn, playing to connect, and playing to…play.

Be present. Be in the present. Embrace your childhood. Connect. Go play.

Connect, connect, connect.

Four years ago, FedEx identified Access—the idea that greater connections between people, businesses and nations create a virtuous cycle. “The ability to make wider connections spurs innovation and entrepreneurialism, and enables gains in productivity,” said the first issue of this magazine. “Businesses are born and expand, communities and nations reap the benefits, and a thirst for still greater Access results.” http://about.fedex.designcdt.com/access/WhyAccessMattersNow

E.M. Forster wrote in Howard’s End, “Only connect.”

Seventh/eighth grade teacher Clarence Fisher has an interesting way of describing his classroom up in Snow Lake, Manitoba. As he tells it, it has “thin walls,” meaning that despite being eight hours north of the nearest metropolitan airport, his students are getting out into the world on a regular basis, using the Web to connect and collaborate with students in far flung places from around the globe. The name of Clarence’s blog, “Remote Access,” sums up nicely the opportunities that his students have in their networked classroom. http://weblogg-ed.com/2011/personal-learning-networks-an-excerpt/

I read many blogs and follow many tweets that suggest we should all connect, share, and collaborate more often. I agree. However, many times we say it and it sounds good, but we never get to see examples while trying to keep up with the real time tweet deck. It quickly turns into platitude chat. So I decided to welcome you, the reader, into my classroom and showcase what a typical, connected class looks like. http://www.edutopia.org/blog/connected-classroom-information-literacy

Frankly, if you are not a connected educator at this point, you may not have an awareness that we are at a critical juncture in education. These driving questions must be answered. If you are not a connected educator, how can you support your own professional growth and the success of your children if you are not constantly questioning, re-evaluating, and striving for improvement?
http://lynhilt.com/getconnectedmakeadifference/