Future-Proof your Education

Future-Proof Your Education on Prezi

One of the key themes of our TEDxUBC event was around the challenge of teaching for a Fast Forward World.  This presentation by Maria Anderson gets it right!  Great video content - love the IOS video by Xerox.

Reflections from TEDxUBC, FastForwardEd

Can we afford to wait for the next generation of educators to “be the change”? Tomorrow’s teachers are in our classrooms today! @terryainge #TEDxUBC

Much more to come from the event, er, movement. One of the most amazing experiences of my life as the TEDx licensee.  What an incredible mash-up of teenagers, university students and adults passionate about helping youth succeed.

TEDxUBC trended at #2 in Vancouver on Twitter (ahead of the Canucks!) during the event yesterday and was one of the Top 10 Vancouver trends of the week according to Trendsmap.com. Over 100 people watching the livestream, others mind-mapping online, prizes for best tweet, entertainment and mostly The Power of Youth.  Here's a screen capture from our Wall of Tweets.

Thank you next generation for letting this generation serve you.

The Directors of TEDxUBC: Faye Chen, Randy Sangha, David McMichael, Judy Eng and myself are amazed and humbled by the talent and enthusiasm of our student volunteers and contestants. Our generation is truly in good hands when your turn comes.

Oh right, it's already your turn.

Here's how you can get involved in rethinking, remixing, hacking and creating a 21st century solution for our education system.  Get involved, starting with the links below:

• Build on the speaker’s, attendees and viewer’s ideas with TED Talk mind-mapping courtesy of Mindmeister.
• Join the conversation on Facebook at www.facebook.com/tedxubc
• Join the Wall of Tweets by posting with the hashtag #tedxubc on Twitter.
• View the TEDxUBC photo stream on Flickr.

TEDxUBC speakers and directors: Bill Jensen, Matt Giammarino, Chris Kennedy, Carla Rieger, Sunddip Panesar Nahal, Dan Pontefract, Paul Cubbon, Yellow Banana,  Josh Klein, Bret Conkin, Alex Jurgensen, Jeff Piontek, Faye Chen, David McMichael (missing: Basil Peters, Barry MacDonald, Elysa Hogg,  Judy Eng, Randy Sangha) 

Join the conversation. The first step to a learning revolution.  

The action step is then up to you!  

Take a cue from best tweet prize winner Terry Ainge an innovative teacher in Delta.  Fittingly, we presented Terry with a copy of TEDTalk speakers  Josh Klein and Bill Jensen's Hacking Work.

@terryainge Can we afford to wait for the next generation of educators to “be the change”? Tomorrow’s teachers are in our classrooms today!

21st Century Skills - Teacher Murray Bulger shows students the way

Many parents and students over the years have echoed the challenge today's schools face in staying "current." How do we best prepare our kids for the brave new digital world? Not to mention most of us adults!

The dramatic global changes that technology has enabled have meant new careers, challenges and skill sets. This has trickled down into schools - computer labs, more business and computer courses - through the efforts of many dedicated teachers, administrators and parents.

Still, it takes a true innovator to create change in a more dramatic way. Meet Argyle Secondary teacher Murray Bulger, creator of the Digital Media Academy.

I had coffee recently with Murray to learn more about him, his experiences around innovation in education and how he navigated changing "the system."

Like many other institutions (health care) - the school system often embraces status quo as "safe" or "proven." Fortunately, visionaries like Murray, with enough charisma and determination do find a way.

I had seen an article on Murray in the North Shore News and given our shared interest in innovation, education and technology arranged to connect.

I later learned that Murray had also been awarded the Prime Minister's Teaching Excellence Award and that he had fought through adversity along the way. Read more about finding his calling when he found himself critically ill at the age of 40 at the UBC Faculty of Education site here where Murray himself got schooled.

So here's some rapid-fire nuggets from coffee with Murray:

• On his history: Three years in Japan and experience with a youth program for ICBC
• On philosophy: It's about the people and ideas not the technology
• On traditional school approaches: A key issue is the traditional seperation of left brain vs. right brain. For instance, distinct Art class vs. Science class. The DMA program brings them together.
• On his mandate: Give kids life skills for the 21st Century

Given the length of this post, look for more Rapid-Fire in a follow-up post on the DMA program, Murray's philosophy, lessons learned and a very cool student output called 44 magazine.

This thumbnail links to a very cool promotional video done by the students, of course, that shows their talent and overviews the program. A pure testament to the DMA impact is how many leaders in the Digital Media industry like EA and New Media BC are captured within embracing the program's innovation and real world value!

Here is a link to the application for students interested in the DMA which are being accepted until September.