This document provides an overview of an Innovation Lab that focuses on providing learners with choice, voice, and opportunities to direct their own learning through self-directed projects and connections. It discusses creating a sense of belonging for all learners. Examples are given of learners pursuing passions like music composition, robotics, and global connections to address issues like homelessness. The goal is for learners to own their learning through exploring interests and building skills in learning how to learn. Partnerships with universities and a focus on documentation are mentioned to validate and share the approach. Overall it aims to redefine education through learner choice and shifting people to where they want to be in the learning process.

1. InnovationLab ?

2. When we refer to people without a shelter we don’t call them We call them h o m e less. h o u s e less.

3. But a home is more than just a place to live. It’s a sense of belonging.

4. In that sense, how many homeless students are in our classrooms?

5. We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless.The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty.”-Mother Teresa insights on homelessness The Matthews House

6. click to play: kid pick for Lab song

7. The lab provides spaces for learners to choose what, where, when, how, why, and… self-directed student voice rules/aup

8. …with whomthey learn. Father fluent in German Skyping w/NY Finding mentors Each course a different flavor Permaculture begs the elements Or facebook find Other ways via uni grad Going to Uganda Google test tv talk (Tapscott) click a photo if you’d like to see/hear more… Traveling via Shout (TIG) Sonya on ipod use Planning/logging Working on real life By cell w/friends Hebrew/chess swap Uni prof/fellows Learn w/Uganda Kids swapping talents Bio diesel answers Learner picks group/pln Uni students via skype Espanol w/St. Louis Unconventional methods emerge Stanford’s D-school designs Valedictorian Freed to think mathematically Travel w/project Global Inform Student voices

9. For more .. check the endless who… Kevin on building community Ben on building his community (board)

10. S pac e s… 1) secret - make peace w/fidgeting, niches 2) group - community as designer, manipulate-able 3) publishing – school as community's best neighbor 4) performance – play beyond the playground5) participation - theory as practice - tinkering schools6) data - real time data improving the space7) watching – teds, etc click to learn more from - Ethan McIntosh student voice on fidget niches & belonging IDEO on constantly evolving spaces

12. fluid spaces

13. disruptive spaces24/7 spaces

14. Google: ecosystem

15. Mimo Ito: Youmedia Chicago;

16. The Digital Media Project -MacArthur Foundation

18. click to play

19. Innovation isn’t about inventions, it is about unlikely connections. Innovation has become a buzzword . Invention and innovation are not the same. Often we don’t have to invent anything new to solve a problem. -Saul Kaplan

20. The lab is a for unlikely connections. hatchery

21. Connections with people andinfo we never knew existed. Or never tapped into before.

22. click to play more from Corey

23. We hope these connections will continuously infiltrate the district/community…

24. …with more for learning. choices

25. Some examples of infiltrating minds with the idea of choice… validating personal choice: Some kids are creating incredible course designs per passion, and then are bagging them. It’s hard for them to believe something they created will be validated by those they believe need to validate them. We believe we need to question what we’re validating. As the year has progressed, more students are seeing their passions as a legit means of learning. Teachers as well. Some teachers are starting to realize… I can offer this class. New course offerings keep appearing in our books. We all benefit from that. More choices is what we need. Perhaps redefining school won’t take much after all. Perhaps shifting around of people.. so that everyone is where they want to be in their learning process... is all we need to work on. Imagine if we’re not spending so much time and effort on displaced students/teachers and the classroom management need that begs.

26. a purposeful and ignorant pause here.. We talk of the achievement gap… of no child left behind, but who decides what achievement really means and to whom, who decides what gap really means and to whom, who decides the what we are being left behind of? We’re wondering if these answers aren’t in unlikely places, places we haven’t yet tapped into. Have we embraced our own ignorance in seeking insight to these questions? And how do we best do that? We often spot seemingly homeless people on the street corner, although, perhaps, some, perhaps women and children, remain invisible. We often spot seemingly homeless students in the classroom, although, perhaps, some, perhaps the 4.0+, remain invisible. How do we make sure we’re doing what matters most? How do we make sure we are listening deeply to global voices, within our world, our community and within ourselves. How do we achieve grace in action? How can we respectfully question every assumption? Can we assume we all want good? Can we spend more energy on trust and offense, rather than doubt and defense?

27. School… as neighbor, as UN* of sorts, to and for the community. click to take a listen to *United Nations, UN (an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security)

28. P a s s i o n is making students hungry to learn. They are creating their own courses/projects. Hebrew /chess SignLanguageetc Robotics Game Design Socceretcetc Russian Programming Mandarin GlobalConnectionsetcetc HumanTrafficking Homelessness Writing a book MusicCompositionetcetcetc Permaculture German Literature of running Music Production DigitalEquity Check out morehunger here.

29. Lab participants have a daily commitment to research and growth. click to play – student voice

30. They have a drive toward self-efficacy. read her paper

31. They are becoming linchpins with an unquenchable thirst to give back to their community. Cognitive Surplus - Clay Shirky Power of Pull, p. 208, on Agassi Austin talking to his global connections group about smart ways to address homelessness

32. click to play Seth Godin on Linchpin

33. Linchpinsare able to embrace the lack of structure. more on Linchpin

35. click to play

36. So how do we make this work.. how can we let this be school?

37. click to play

39. The goal:learners own their learning. - Take a listen to Alan November

40. So how do we make this work.. how can we let this be school?

41. process What if we focus on a of learning how to learn? We are working on a stand alone site for owning your learning .

42. What if we let the learner choose content/topic/project per passion? No matter what the topic… they are practicing that process. Swahilimusic composition

43. What if the becomes 2nd nature? process Do you realize what that would mean?

44. They just became indispensable.

45. What if it’s just about learners (you even) being able to…

46. Gus on ndcd logging

47. on documenting…. Jim explains mapping as parent demos: notice/dream/connect/do Jim explains mapping to parents Scientific Journals ontology model click to see/use student log google form click Gus on usefulness of logging

48. To.. Kevin on building community looking for unlikely connections

49. To..

50. To.. Find your place in the world.

51. To.. James Bach on unschooling his own son

52. To.. Hans on value

53. realize that To.. Cristian on making connections Gus on keeping on

54. click to play Austin on uninterrupted space.

55. So how do we make this work.. how can we let this be school?

56. We’re calling this process detox. Noah on his need for detox. We are working on a stand alone site for owning your learning . With a more schooly look here. Kids modeling it here. And we just crafted a new site for parent/community connections where detox is described here.

57. We’re working with JimFolkestad at Colorado State University. We want to create and document a cohesive structure… Jim on the mapping Scientific Journals ontology model

58. …to use, validate, & scale/share our findings. -George Siemens Parent meeting with Jim Parent meeting q&a

59. We believe…

60. more

61. click for a zoom out vision

64. Parent of 5 year old working on noticing

66. click for live view

67. one example working doc for pre-k to 5th

69. On foundational content On programming On gamingetc

71. Working icyte project on college admissions.

72. click here to hear Ben on selecting his group

73. more on how we might facilitate (aka facilitatig) that

74. more on your school design it student voice

75. Gus talking to our Superintendent on Music Production and Literature of Running and College Admission

76. more on expert tutors

77. more on incubators

78. one example

79. more on your pd design it

84. teacher voice

87. Perhaps redefining ed won’t take much after all. Perhaps shifting around of people.. so that everyone is where they want to be in their learning process... is all we need to work on.. Reassigning seat time… ways to improve who is together in a room and why..

88. Delaney on passion

90. more on being green about people

91. put on your x-d glasses

92. click to see video

93. What if we start with a city? Our city? Your city? What if district schools work together to optimize choices to a learner. What if the city has one school, what if that school is the city’s best neighbor? etc Meeting with the mayor.

94. philosophy vision detox click to see newly crafted site for parent/community connections

95. Lab proposal for next year… dream with us.. We are seeking to enroll approximately 110 learners in the Lab fall 2011: ten pre-k ten k-3 ten 4-8 sixty 9-12 ten teachers/staff/admin (as learners for one project/course of their choice) and ten 12+ CSU students These will most likely all be part time enrollees. Some only for one course/project. Some maybe for a couple. We also plan to remain a Lab vs a school, so that FTE (full-time equivalent) is not taken from what our incredible teachers and schools are already doing. Without them, none of what we envision makes any sense or can transpire.