Janet Chow seems to have a knack for expressing key principles in short, memorable expressions. More than once, she very concisely summed up my thinking as it has developed over this course in far more eloquent terms than I was able to. For example, the observation that technology is an opportunity to do better, not to replicate. That may be an exact quote; I wasn’t able to jot down her precise wording in real time. In any case, it’s a spot on observation that nicely encapsulates what I have tried to say far more prolixly across several blog posts. Likewise, the maxim that technology is a tool for doing things we can’t do without it – a succint warning against taking on too much or relying on apps to jazz up an underwhelming or pointless lesson.

The idea that we should create experiences instead of lessons is a nice one, if a little overstated; there’s no reason an experience can’t be a lesson. Better perhaps to speak of exeriential lessons, a nice point of overlap between edutech and the First Peoples Principles of Learning. Purpose driven experience is a good vantage point from which to view unit and lesson design.

Otherwise, this presentation covered already familiar ground previously explored by other presenters. FIPPA, purposeful creation of learning environments, hooks (“fire starters”), and the importance of story all came up. Good points well made, even if they are just reaffirmations at this point.