M-Hub Comin' Back Strong!

Work and learning today is all about connecting people. Managers, supervisors, and business support functions should be focused on enabling connections for knowledge workers. Like artists, knowledge workers need inspiration. Too few connections mean few sources of inspiration and little likelihood of serendipity. Innovation is not so much about having ideas as it is about making connections. We know that people with more connections are also more productive.  -- Posted on Sunday, 3 March 2013 by Harold Jarche

As a proponent of connectivism  I have made Challenge Based Learning and other real world projects a central part of each course that I teach.  I have seen my students attain deep learning through social engagement through their work on real work challenges.  In each case, I've demanded that groups students explore their personal learning networks to connect with experts who can answer their questions or review their ideas.

To help teach students how to make connections, I started the M-Hub project in 2010.  M-Hub came online a year ago as a way for students to connect with mentors (such as alumnae) who possess specialized knowledge, training or experience.

Activating this database site and introducing it to MHS staff was a monumental achievement for us.  However, since then it has largely languished.  The nucleus of student project managers graduated, and the idea of researching real people instead of documents, did not come naturally in our learning community.  And I confess that all the founders lost their zeal after reaching such a major milestone.

I am glad to say that I am now working with a dedicated (and very young!) group of students who have two April projects in mind to renew interest in M-Hub.  First, our team will be facilitating tweeting at the Women Mean Business Symposium, April 23, 2013.  We will also be launching a movie that is currently in production.  We are hoping to disseminate this fifty second "commercial" about what M-Hub is and how it will help our students "create, connect, contact, and collaborate."  More soon!

ISTE 2011 Presentation

Today, Wednesday, June 29, I am be making a presentation at ISTE 2011, called, “Challenging the Challengers”.  This will tell the story of my efforts to cultivate the Challenge Based Learning  through a formal professional development program.  We had our ups and downs, but finished our time together with several CBLish challenges ready for next year.  These projects involve all grade levels at our high school and most of our academic disciplines.  The process has already had a significant impact on our school culture.

The story begins with the entire staff reading Tony Wagner’s The Global Achievement Gap.  Wagner posits that American students must cultivate seven “survival skills” in order to succeed in today's flat,  wired, global environment 

* Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

* Collaboration and Leading by Influence

* Agility and Adaptability

* Initiative and Entrepreneurialism

 * Effective Oral and Written Communication

 * Accessing and Analyzing Information

 * Curiosity and Imagination

It was pre-ordained by administration that Challenge Based Learning would be a pathway to acquiring these skills (The mandate in itself created some push-back).  However, we tackled this challenge within a challenge through “professional cluster groups” which met about twelve times each semester.  In addition an August afternoon of in-service was devoted to acquainting ourselves with CBL.  Later, we spent an entire November session sorting through “big ideas”.  The program essentially  focused on the following themes:

* Collaboration

* Transparency

* What’s Your Passion?

* Pitching Your Passion! (November Full Day In-Service)

* Teacher’s Role in CBL

* Authentic Audiences

* Assessment

* CBL End Game

The presentation is laid out in two slide presentations with a short quicktime movie.

They are available below and licensed to Creative Commons with attricution:

ISTE Presentation Part 1

ISTE Presentation Part 2