#Learning2Asia@October 2016 #takeaways

With lots of overwhelming ideas/thoughts reeling in my head,I am back from Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam "Reenergized" and ready to "Reimagine Learning". The theme of this Learning 2.0 Asia in Ho Chi Min City from October 6th to 8th 2016 is 'Reimagine Learning'.  How can schools be redesigned to empower imagination, creativity and foster learning?

Personal Pride:

What could be more satisfying than seeing two of your students in the leadership (on their way to leadership) roles?  One of them was leading the Student Workshops and gave an excellent Learning2 talks, the other one being the Technology Leader in the Middle School.  

Learning in the Making Pre-conference:

Brian Smith provided 

• the instructions through his website: https://sites.google.com/a/briancsmith.org/learning/home  (Hummingbird,  Makey-Makey, Logo Programming, Resources)
• the materials (All the kits + additional decorative stuff (cardboard)
• 4 hours

The groups struggled to figure out in the beginning.  However, finally they came up with amazing projects!  Will this be possible with younger students? Will this be possible with all the students?..  I wonder.

Robot in a Box:

Ringo spread his passion for Robots throughout the workshop.  His Learning2 talk was on Robotic Costume which can play different songs.

His three hour long extended session was totally opposite to Brian's style.  He gave step by step instructions to complete many Arduino projects.  He gave code, step by step instructions through this instructable lesson.  What blew me was the way in which he made it possible for the participants to complete a project without going into coding, electronics or any of the whys.   This style is great when you want to introduce some complicated concepts and fire the thirst for deeper learning.  Personally for me, even though I am a bottom to top style person, the satisfaction of having completed a working project and my confidence to learn the rest by myself left me very satisfied.

Rebrand Teaching (Tosco Killoran)

HERE is her presentation. Some quotes from her presentation:

•  "You cannot sell sameness"
•  Don't be a broken relationship (404 error): Video  
• "Little things done right, matter"
• "Well designed moments build brand"
•  "A simple mistake can tell me what you aren't or remind me why I love you"
  Rebrand Yourself and help your students strategize their successful branding:

• contribute to a collective #ReBrandTeaching Magazine. Please bring a small prop of something that represents you outside of ‘teaching’. We will take photos in order to see teachers as more than their role in schools
• create a personally branded website using About me - mine
• create a personal brand or ReBrand on social media
• share the successful branded student stories with your students: Examples MattyB, Nash Grier (Nash Grier. ABOUT Known for his comedic sketch videos on YouTube and Vine, he has over 12.4 million Vine followers and more than 4.7 million YouTube subscribers.)

Technology Tool: (courtesy Tosco Killoran)

Example:  https://flipgrid.com/1b61ab62

Flipgrid is simple yet powerful. Educators create grids with topics and students respond with recorded videos to discuss, reflect, and share via webcam, tablet, or mobile device. The respondents can record one minute and 30 seconds video to share it with the group. 30 day trial and the yearly subscription costs $65.