Michael Furdyk: 

Notes from the Keynote and Keynote Follow-Up Discussion

If all of us were actively engaged in all aspects of society, and thought of themselves as

community leaders, problem-solvers, role models, mentors and key "stake-holders"....

how would the world change?  

From TakingItGlobal.org

Michael mentioned a number of resources during the morning he spent with us on District Day.  I’ve posted some of them below. 

KEYNOTE:

TakingitGlobal: http://takingitglobal.org. The site he co-founded, of course, is top of the list.  This is a truly rich resource for students and educators.  If you are interested in spending an hour or two after school together reviewing this site and thinking about how can use it, let me know.

The Case Against Adolescence: Rediscovering the Adult in Every Teen.

Michael read two quotes from Robert Epstein’s book:

·         In recent surveys I've found that American teens are subjected to more than 10 times as many restrictions as mainstream adults, twice as many restrictions as active-duty U.S. Marines, and even twice as many as incarcerated felons. Psychologist Diane Dumas and I also found a correlation between infantilization and psychological dysfunction. The more young people are infantilized, the more psychopathology they show. 

·         I worked out what makes an adult an adult. We came up with 14 areas of competency—such as interpersonal skills, handling responsibility, leadership—and administered tests to adults and teens in several cities around the country. We found that teens were as competent or nearly as competent as adults in all 14 areas. But when adults estimate how teens will score, their estimates are dramatically below what the teens actually score.

Epstein concludes that “There are at least 20 million young people between 13 and 17, and if they are as competent as I think they are, we are just throwing them away.”

Find out more at his site: http://www.drrobertepstein.com/.  You’ll also find his “test of adultness” and two articles you might enjoy reading:  Trashing Teens and

Myth of the Teen Brain

Children’s Machine: Rethinking School in the Age of the Computer.  Michael referred to Seymour Papert’s book.  Papert has been writing about the educational possibilities of technology for more than 30 years.  Go to his site - http://www.papert.org/ - and while you are there you might enjoy his article -

Computer as Condom:  http://www.papert.org/articles/ComputerAsCondom.html.

Boys Adrift:  http://www.boysadrift.com/. Leonard Sax’s book proposes some theories about what he calls “the growing epidemic of unmotivated boys and underachieving young men.” 

Second Life:  It’s hard to even imagine a world where you can make millions by selling digital t-shirts in a virtual world. 

·         Watch this video to get a sense of what Second Life is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?gl=AU&hl=en-GB&v=qOFU9oUF2HA.

·         Find out how educators are using Second Life: http://secondlifegrid.net/slfe/education-use-virtual-world

School of the Future:  Michael referred to the School of the Future, a beautiful new school build in the slums of Philadelphia. Its vision is “of an empowered community where learning is continuous, relevant, and adaptive.”  Find out more at http://www.microsoft.com/education/schooloffuture.mspx.

KEYNOTE FOLLOW-UP

Below are some of the sites Michael recommended in response to a variety of teacher questions and concerns.

www.thatsnotcool.com: This site has some strategies for youth to deal with these pressures and states, “Your cell phone, IM, and social networks are all a digital extension of who you are. When someone you're with pressures you or disrespects you in those places, that's not cool.” 

International Society for Technology in Education: http://www.iste.org  A wealth of information, projects, professional development. 

Invisible Children: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/home.php:  Three young men were so moved by their experience in Uganda that they continue to work to respond to the situation by inspiring people with their film and involving them with their “Schools for Schools” campaign. 

Alan November: http://novemberlearning.com. Michael referred to Alan November’s book Empowering Students with Technology.  Watch a clip from one of his keynote addresses called

Who owns the learning?  November notes that the problem isn’t technology, but an old-fashioned idea that the teacher owns the learning. 

Youth Challenge International: http://www.yci.org/.  Michael noted that this site does a great job of connecting youth who want international volunteer experiences. 

Generation Yes: http://www.genyes.com  “GenYES is an innovative program that creates 21st century leaders and learners. GenYES students help teachers use technology in classrooms, supporting effective technology integration school-wide. Eleven years of research proves GenYES empowers students and changes the way teachers integrate technology in their lessons.” 

Echoage: http://www.echoage.com. Environmentally friendly birthday parties.  “Instead of bringing wrapped and packaged presents, guests simply rsvp and make secure online contributions that are pooled for the purchase of ONE memorable gift and to support ONE meaningful cause.”

Radical Math: http://www.radicalmath.org  RadicalMath is a resource for educators interested in integration issues of social and economic justice into their math classes and curriculum. 

Food Force: http://www.food-force.com/  This is a UFP/UN game that teaches about hunger.  And there are LOTS of teaching resources.

Tech Angels: http://www.techangels.org.nz/.  Students teach teachers about technology:  “The Tech Angels passionately believe that the more familiar educators are with the digital environment in which young people live, the better equipped they will be to teach, understand, influence and inspire their students.”

INFORMATION  ABOUT  MICHAEL

Michael Furdyk is the co-founder and Director of Technology for TakingITGlobal.org, a global online community for young people, engaging hundreds of thousands of youth in over 200 countries and territories. Along with managing the technology team at TakingITGlobal, Michael is involved with the TIGed education program, and has spoken to over 50,000 educators about the importance of engaging students and integrating technology and global perspectives into the classroom. Read Michael's blog.  Hear him speak to business leaders about the net generation. Find out about how he co-created the TIG site in this wonderful CBC video clip.  What would YOU do if anything were possible? 

Watch the webcast from last year's Interactive Innovations to hear Michael talk with youth leaders around the province about "Learning from Failure."

Michael Furdyk and the TakingITglobal team are working with the 2010 Olympic Partners.  The Sharing the Dream webcast series will consist of 6 student-led webcast interviews related to the components of the Vancouver 2010 Education Program.  The goal of each webcast is not only to inform students about a topic, but also to give them ideas and strategies about how they can take action in their communities.  Following each webcast, students are encouraged to visit the forum on the TakingITGlobal website to discuss the topic with other students.