This is day 10 of "The 30 Day Blog Binge." Learn more
As I sat with a committee tasked with selecting potential desks, chairs, storage and more for our district's two new elementary schools, one of the sales reps brought up Thornburg's Learning Zones. In the midst of discussing casters, gliders, laminate and solid-core desktops, this perked me up a bit, but alas, it was just a tease. There was to be no in-depth discussion of what these Learning Zones meant for instruction or technology. The rep was just pointing out that they existed and the company knew about them.
That, of course, got me wondering about dear Dr. Thornburg and his "Primordial Metaphors for Learning in the 21st Century." As I did some research, I came to realize the incredible potential these zones (Campfire, Watering Hole, Cave, Life) hold for thinking about instruction, as well as the role edtech can play in each of them. The role of technology can either enhance the variety and diversity of these classroom learning zones, or it can inhibit their effectiveness. Let's look at how.*
The Campfire
What it is...
Just as the ancients gathered around the campfire to transmit tradition through story, so the classroom must have a Campfire area. This is where the teacher engages the students both emotionally and cognitively, passing on knowledge in a more hierarchical way: from the elder to the younger.
How tech can help...
Edtech can redefine what it means to hear a story. YouTube, when used thoughtfully, can expand a students' Campfire to the other side of the world. Tools like Nepris, which connect students to professionals in STEM careers, allows us to redefine the "elders" who are telling the stories. Now, instead of students being limited to only the teacher at the Campfire, they have access to successful people who look and sound like them. Include the ability to connect through Skype, Hangouts, and Zoom, and we can bring storytellers who would be otherwise unreachable into the sacred community of our classroom.
How tech can hinder...
At the Campfire, technology is a hindrance when it becomes the dominant mode of discourse. Teachers can easily outsource their privilege to teach their students about life through stories, and instead turn the whole group dynamic into 30 individuals with headphones watching a screen. Just because all your students ares sitting together does not mean Campfire communication is happening. When students become a bunch of individual screenwatchers, something significant is lost. The group dynamic of the Campfire teaches students how to listen and be a part of the community, and it's an integral part of life to receive information as part of the larger group.
The Watering Hole
What it is...
The Watering Hole is where we exchange information with one another. In the classroom, this equates to students sharing peer-to-peer. Not only does this hone communication skills, it also allows participants to be "both teacher and learner at the same time."
How tech can help...
Technology provides students with ways to collaborate like never before. They can share images and video, gather resources and provide them to the entire group through a Padlet wall, and comment on each other's virtual work. Keeping a backchannel open encourages more informal interaction between students and lets the more introverted share with their peers. Also, the ability to expand their discourse to peers in far off places expands the variety of voices at the Watering Hole so they don't just hear from students in their own culture.
How tech can hinder...
In their everyday lives, our students stand next to each other and hold text conversations without ever speaking. Technology in the classroom can make this problem worse by keeping students from developing face-to-face communication skills. There's an opportunity cost when we have students collaborate with tech: we can easily start giving up the time they need to learn how to make eye contact, speak clearly, and start picking up on the nonverbal cues that make up a majority of our communication with each other.
The Cave
What it is...
Thornburg points out that learners sometimes need to isolate themselves "to gain special insights." As any introvert can tell you, some of us need to isolate ourselves just to function like normal human beings. In our Cave classroom spaces, students are allowed to internalize learning by reflecting on what it means to them, away from the collective and as an individual.
How tech can help...
The open door provided by technology allows students to find time to themselves where they can research and pursue their curiosity on their own, at their own pace. Students who have questions but are easily overwhelmed at the Campfire or Watering Hole now have a way to reap the benefits of the community's knowledge in the peace of the Cave. Creating curated lists of links and resources provides teachers with the peace of mind that the students who's in the Cave researching an idea is safe in their online searching.
How tech can hinder...
Edtech risks wiping out the Cave entirely. Instead of giving them a space to think and escape, too often they'll drag a device with them and find too much appealing eye-candy (even "educational" eye-candy) which keeps them from getting in a truly meditative place. If students can't be alone with their thoughts in a classroom, then where is it ever going to happen? (For further musings on the thoughtful and contemplative use of technology, try this post.)
Life
What it is...
The Life space is where knowledge is applied. This is where students are given the chance to try things out for themselves and see what happens, because without the trying, students don't know what they don't know. It's in the attempt that they realize something is "missing from [their] knowledge." There's also a motivational factor here: when we know we're going to have to do something with what we've learned, we're far more engaged in the process.
How tech can help...
Edtech as a tool for evaluation and reflection lets students see what skills they still need to work on as they try their skills out in the Life space. Tools like 3D printers, CAD software, and other design tools lets students explore creating on a small-scale before they execute them full-scale. The ability to rapidly prototype, iterate, and refine ideas is one of the great benefits of having technology accessible to our students.
How tech can hinder...
The ease with which edtech lets us assign students endless, "adaptive" practice exercises can encourage teachers to forgo the messiness of Life. It's simpler to let students work with online drills then it is to drag out the necessary tools to let students try what they've learned hands-on. The sterile, one-click ease of assigning digital worksheets can quickly overwhelm the desire to get knee-deep in real-life muck.
As with everything else in education, the teacher is the key. The teacher must first create the spaces, but then must act as a gatekeeper. Discernment is the key when deciding when to welcome tech into our zones of learning. Consider carefully.
*If you'd like some exceptional visuals on what each of these spaces can look like, I highly recommend this webinar from Demco on the future of K-12 libraries.
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Really enjoyed this.
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