David Preston – This Ain’t Your Grandma’s School: The Transformative Power of Open Source Learning

What happens when learners in traditional academic settings step outside prescribed resources, roles & boundaries to create socially productive peer-to-peer networks?

Key Questions and Comments:

• (03:39) All of our students…are publishing directly to the internet. We don’t have a Use Policy, other than to intuitively use the morality that we think is a good idea.
• (07:48) I just think it’s really awesome that we finally get to express ourselves, and we’re not being penalized for it.
• (09:18) [Dr. Preston] asks us if reading is class is helping us, then we’ll read in class. If breaking out into small, little groups helps us, then we’ll do that. We have input in how we learn, and I think that’s very effective.
• (09:35) What are some the examples of the posts you have up on your blogs?
• (12:10) What’s important here, as with the content from the core course, is the process of thinking. We’re thinking about how to be critical, how to be imaginative, how to solve problems.
• (15:50) So you’re thinking about privacy and safety and having it be a positive experience. What are some of the things you’re thinking about around those privacy and safety [issues]?
• (19:05) What about the parents? Have any of them had any concerns? Have you spoken to them to pass on some of your thoughts?
• (22:10) From what you learned when you were taking the class last year, and now that you’re out of school, have you seen benefits from what you learned in class and participating?
• (23:57) I’m hearing a lot of positive experiences. Is there anyone that’s feeling challenged with this new paradigm?
• (25:54) In terms of networks…what about with the learners in the room sharing what they’re learning and ‘paying it forward’ [to] others outside of the classroom?
• (27:55) In regards to critical thinking, what is Dr. Preston’s approach to using Wikipedia in the classroom?
• (31:20) I want to hear more about this approach in your school and your thoughts, and hurdles.
• (34:30) Other teachers in your school…is it easier for them–if this is an approach that they’d like to include–because Dr. Preston has paved some of the way?
• (37:23) “If there is no rule book, teachers won’t believe it *or want* to take time to write it.”
• (42:05) As a teacher, talking about integrating more about what [the students’] reality is going to look like and what they were raised with, versus my reality […] I think that we do need to tap into the world and have more ideas and visions than just what we see in these four walls.
• (46:17) I think everyone in this class is a leader because we all do have blogs, and we are all pioneers in this–in showing that we can learn from each other and we can learn from the internet that we are creating ourselves.
• (48:04) One of the assumptions behind this is a positive view of human nature. Because of the blog format and the online curation, you can see what people are doing in real-time. Cheating isn’t an issue.
• (49:32) Have your experiences in this course impacted how you relate to other courses that you’re taking?
• (52:24) In most classes I had, I had a huge issue with learning. I’ve struggled with school my entire life. When I came to Dr. Preston’s class, I feel like it’s a lot easier because there isn’t one way of learning anymore. We each learn our own ways; we get to choose how to learn and how to get these things done. There’s no longer just this line we have to stay on.
• (56:19) I went through lots of different careers…I have never been more gratified and happy to get up in the morning and come to work, because I don’t feel this is something I’m *doing*, I feel like this is something I’m a part of. […] I think this is an exciting time to be a part of learning.

View the Conversation
During the broadcast, the conversation also took place on Twitter using the hashtag #connectedlearning.

Guests for this webinar included:

• David Preston and his students (Guest Speakers): David Preston holds a Ph.D. in Education Policy from the UCLA Graduate School of Education & Information Science. He has taught at universities and graduate institutes and consulted on matters of learning and organizational development for 20 years. For the past seven years, David has also taught English for students of all ability levels in grades 9-12 in Los Angeles and on California’s central coast.
• Tara Brown (Moderator)
• John Davis
• Laura Medrano-Rasgado

Resources for this webinar:

• Dr. Preston’s Literature & Composition 2012-2013
• Dr. Preston’s American Literature 2012-2013
• A brief overview of Open Source Learning
• Howard Rheingold’s interview with David Preston, “Hacking the Curriculum 101”