{"id":180,"date":"2014-09-29T00:46:04","date_gmt":"2014-09-29T00:46:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/garthnichols\/?p=180"},"modified":"2014-09-29T00:48:03","modified_gmt":"2014-09-29T00:48:03","slug":"first-lego-league-kick-off-to-authentic-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/garthnichols\/21st-century-skills\/first-lego-league-kick-off-to-authentic-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"FIRST Lego League: Kick-off to 21st Century Learning @BayviewGlen"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"I was thrilled to be the keynote speaker at FIRST Lego League<\/a>\u2018s Kick off event \u2013 hosted by my school at Bayview Glen \u2013 this past Saturday. The project mission this year is to: \u201ccreate something that will help people learn better.\u201d<\/i><\/b> <\/i>\u00a0<\/i><\/b>\u00a0FIRST Lego League is accomplishing this already by its very strucutre \u2013 it requires collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity! This organization has over 65 countries involved in it, and almost 500 teams competiting within its sanctioned events. I wasn\u2019t sure what to expect when I arrived on Saturday morning, but I was blown away by the energy, the sense of fun and nervousness that competition brings, and by the great energy of the over 350 coaches and competitors that were there.<\/p>\n

I have been to a few of our student sessions, where they are researching, brainstorming and collaborting, and I have gotten a really strong sense of the goals and values of the FIRST Lego League.\u00a0From this quick description, and from my (albeit) limited experience, I think that FIRST Lego League is a true embodiment of 21st Century Learning.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re not familiar with it, here is a description from their website:<\/p>\n

Contrary to popular belief, our coaches DO NOT need any technical experience. In FLL, the children do the work! And the work is programming an autonomous robot (using the LEGO\u00ae MINDSTORMS\u00ae robot set) to score points on a thematic playing surface, creating an innovative solution to a problem as part of their project, all while being guided by the FLL Core Values. These three elements \u2013 the Robot Game, Project, and FLL Core Values<\/a> \u2013 make up what we call our yearly Challenge. Like any other organized \u201csport\u201d, teams also fundraise, create a team identity, and go on field trips. To see some of our teams in action, visit our YouTube Channel<\/a>, or read about their experiences on our blog<\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In my keynote, I talked about the 4 C\u2019s of contemporary learning: collaboration,\"\"<\/a> communication, creativity and critical thinking<\/strong><\/em>. The requirements of FIRST Lego League align strongly with these skills and habits of mind. Youth are required to know their own strengths & the strengths of others. They are required to learn the language of Lego Robotics and the Core Values, and communicate these in their own language, behaviour and by what they can bring to the table. They have to research their project mission, and think critically about what learning means, and what it means to improve on it. This also requires creative thinking \u2013 looking at their experiences in a new way. What is school, and ultimately, what can it be? And they must work on three tasks. HERE <\/a>is a link to all the resources that they provide \u2013 talk about RIGOR!<\/p>\n

\"\"

Upright Light, and robot to the Chief of the Toronto Fire Services, Jim Sales, and members of his senior administration team, Deputy Chief Darrell Reid, Deputy Chief Ron Jenkins, Deputy Chief Matt Pegg and District Chief Peter Derrington. At the conclusion of the meeting, Chief Sales presented Ctrl-Z with a certificate recognizing Ctrl-Z\u2019s achievement in the advancement of fire safety.<\/p><\/div>\n

It has been a great experience diving into the BVG Lego community of dedicated students and parents and coaches \u2013 both of whom are Cohort 21 alum! Jesse Denison<\/a> (@educatison)<\/span> (\u201913) and Alexis Moliotsias<\/a>\u00a0(@msmo_a)\u00a0<\/span>(\u201914). Our team \u201cCntrl-Z\u201d has been very successful in the past \u2013 creating real world solutions for real world problems. Here is their wesbite that tracks their journey and successes<\/a>. They created an \u201cUpright Light\u201d that was recognized by the Toronto Fire Dep\u2019t as a real world solution to candle safety in times of blackouts and power outages. \u00a0These are the very situations, criteria and scrutiny that we want for our students: authentic, real world and meaningful\u2026oh yeah, and from my perspective it looks like a heck of a lot of fun!<\/p>\n

Here is a link to my Keynote address in full<\/a>, and the presentation<\/a> that went along with it. It was met with some great reactions \u2013 particularly the link to Harry Potter! But one coach approached me afterwards and asked: \u2018How do we teach children to think outside of the box?\u201d My response: \u201cTeach them what the box is\u2026then start taking down the sides of it.\u201d For example: tell them what a classroom is \u2013 they live and breathe these spaces, so we need to bring awareness to it (McLuhan: the medium is the message). Then we can start asking them what a classroom can be\u2026<\/p>\n

What a great way to spend a Saturday at \u201cschool<\/strong><\/em>\u201c! If you want more information, or want to learn more about it, check out the links throughout this post, or leave a comment. I hope to hear from others on their Lego experiences!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was thrilled to be the keynote speaker at FIRST Lego League\u2018s Kick off event \u2013 hosted by my school at Bayview Glen \u2013 this past Saturday. The project mission this year is to: \u201ccreate something that will help people learn better.\u201d \u00a0\u00a0FIRST Lego League is accomplishing this already by its very strucutre \u2013 it…
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