Gary Stager - Ulearn Keynote

Gary's Blog
Gary's Website
'Less us, more them'. Putting the students at the centre

The Pattern on the Stone: The Simple Ideas that Make Computers Work - Daniel Hillis
Computer enables self expression, we can make things that we haven't been able to make before because of the availability of construction material online.
'Software determines what you do and what you do determines what you learn'
'To understand is to invent' Piaget
10 Things to do with a Laptop
Write a novel - write more, write better, write differently, writing for different media - podcasting, Research.
Share your Knowledge - The changing nature of memory - no need to remember when you can google it. Wikipedia - distributed nature of expertise, breaking news, passion = accuracy, talk to authors & other experts, publish to authentic audience, access to 'current' info. Schools have created the 'I'm done' attitude in students. How do schools reinforce the importance of comparing info from different sources.
Answer Tough Questions, Access to Primary Resources. Use the movie clips, photos etc. Guess the key is if the learning is purposeful and authentic, students engage.
Make sense of Data, google earth, plotting data, looking at trends.
Design a Video Game, not just consume them. In designing students are involved in animation, narration, number, space, etc.
Build a Killer Robot, building something and refining it, problem solving having a hypothesis and trying it out then tinkering some more. Allow for Computationally-rich learning
Lose Weight, ipod technology students set up virtual running clubs.
Direct a Block Buster, 'your video should be shorter', it should be edited at least one more time', mirrors the writing process.
Compose a Symphony, authentic problems, real construction materials
Change the World - Be a mathematician, a scientist, anything is possible.

Technology Matters - Allows kids to engage with a broader range and depth of problem solving. It allows intellectual stimulation and opportunity.