iTunesU

by Lisa says... - 12:35 on 22 February 2009

 Just watched Randy Pausch on iTunesU - absolutely fantastic. A thoroughly engaging hour's worth of reflection, insight and, amongst it all, a clear pathway through the world. I can't believe this has passed me by for so long but I am very very relieved that I have at last found it.

So what impact has this talk had on my thinking?

Well, first off, I need to watch it again, with a notebook and pen in hand to make notes, so this is just the impression it has left me with after 24 hours:

1. A model for a cross-curricular/ multi-talented enrichment opportunity that could, once tested, become a template for curriculum re-design linked in particular to PLTS.

2. Some interesting messages for those who need to develop a little more resilience - traditionally a characteristic lacking in some of the most able students who rarely encounter failure during their schooling, resulting in an absence of strategies needed to overcome difficulties when they do eventually smash you in the gob.

3. Ideas about being very specific when working with young people/ adults and trying to identify goals. Rather than saying "I want to be an astronaut" - think about what exactly it is that attracts you to becoming an astronaut. In Randy's case, this was to 'experience zero gravity'. In doing this, he could find alternate ways to achieve the goal/ experience that he wanted as the specificity of his goal was broken into smaller component parts.

4. How to be an enabler rather than a blocker - "I don't know" can be said in very different ways: "I don't know enough about this and I don't know how it might turn out, so I can't say yes to this" OR "I don't know enough about this, but you're clearly fired up enough about this to come and talk to me about it, so tell me more and we'll see if we can work it out." I like that a lot.

More to follow...

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