Category: Learning

Keep The Main Thing, The Main Thing

Dwayne Harapnuik Leave a comment

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

Stephen Covey

Every once in a while we hear a pearl of wisdom, if followed, could have a dramatic impact on our lives and the lives around us. I am not certain when Covey wrote this pithy statement but I heard it again in a wonderful sermon by David McQueen at Beltway Park this past Sunday and I haven’t stopped thinking about what my “main thing” is. Or more specifically what are the “main things” in my life that I need to keep the main things. I think we can have multiple main things or main things in specific areas of our lives.

Spiritually, my main thing is keeping a tension between grace and truth in my life. Personally, the main thing in my life is my wife and family–in that order. Professionally, my main thing is learning. I am always pondering how will this situation or circumstance improve the learning environment… how will this tool enhance learning…and what can I learn from this….

Can it be this simple? If we are to be successful in our lives I think it needs to be this simple. There is an elegance in the notion of keeping the main thing the main thing. One need not be a philosopher or any other recognized major thinker to grasp this idea. Grasping the idea may be simple but actually living it may not. We live in a world of distraction that can keep us from our main thing. I also think about my boys and other young people who may not have decided what there main thing is. What are we doing to help them find their main thing? What distractions have we allowed enter their lives that can keep them from their main thing.

When I look back on my academic career and look to the future I can honestly say that I have kept and will continue to keep my main thing the main thing. I have been very fortunate in that I am able to convert my passion into my profession…but this is a subject for another post.

The Rise of Thinking Machine-Something Old is New Again?

Dwayne Harapnuik Leave a comment
http://chronicle.com/article/The-Rise-of-Teaching-Machines/127389/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

The Rise of Teaching Machines – The Digital Campus – The Chronicle of Higher Education via kwout

Computer Aided Instruction (CAI) system have been around and widely used since the 60. PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations) was the first system that started in the 60’s and has been running at a variety of institutions up until at least 2006. How is Newton different from Plato and other original CAI systems? Lets hope that it utilizes the available computing power to provide a much higher level of perceived differentiation.

Will these systems work? As we are seeing from the cognitive research popularized by people like Daniel Pink, external motivation in a learning setting is really only useful for primarily non cognitive tasks. If you don’t want people to think but to simply memorize something then these system can work well. If you want people to really learn then the intrinsic motivators of Autonomy, Mastery and Purpose must contribute significantly to your learning environment.

Concept/Mind Mapping Resources

Dwayne Harapnuik 6 Comments
http://ltlatnd.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/best-tools-and-practices-for-concept-mapping/

Best tools and practices for concept mapping « NspireD2: Learning Technology in Higher Ed. via kwout

Chris Clark at the Kaneb Center at the University of Notre Dame has pulled together some of the best tools and best practices for Mind/Concept Mapping.

I have been using mind mapping tools and following the use of these resources for several years so it is interesting to see tools like Prezi be identified as specific mind or concept mapping resources. I also find it interesting that the open sources tool FreeMind was not listed in the post.

Perhaps one of the best parts of the post is Dr. Karen Rohrbauck Stout’s video Classroom Assessment Technique: Concept Maps which provides a wonderful overview on using concepts maps to informally assess student understanding of a topic in a classroom setting.

College Bubble

Dwayne Harapnuik Leave a comment
http://www.inflation.us/collegebubbleburst.html

National Inflation Association via kwout

The people at the National Inflation Association (NIA) are making the argument that US college system is the biggest scan in US history. The are planning to release a movie on May 15 to support their claims. The NIA isn’t he only group to look at and deal with this topic.

MSNBC ran a documentary recently called Price of Admission which dealt with the issue of the overwhelming debt that students are taking on in hope of having a better future. These dreams of a better future are coming at a staggering cost:

America’s student debt at the end of 2010 is nearly $880 billion. That number is growing by more than $2,800 dollars per second.

This documentary also revealed that 86% of Phoenix University’s revenue comes from student loans. It was tough to watch the level of debt some students and their parents are burdened with. There is a myth being perpetuated about the value of education in the US–so I look forward to seeing what data the NIA reveals. This is especially sad when you consider that most US kids use College as a right of passage and spend thousands of dollars to “find themselves” in college.