The one room school house as the future of learning

How can something so ancient as the one room school house have any place in future learning environments?  There was no Smart Board in the ORSH. ( one room school house)  They didn't have computers, phones, or cameras, but what they had was a social network of learning and mentoring.  Watch this video by John Seely Brown to find out more:

 The Global One Room Schoolhouse by John Seely Brown

It reminds me of an idea I had about learning and curriculum which I shared on my website Tomball Teachers  I will share it here as well: 

Taking a spin off the "flipped classroom" idea, students would use Google tutorials to learn how to make best use of the materials provided.  The students would present their findings via Google presentation.  The teachers would be learning by viewing and grading the presentations. We can expand this idea across subjects because the TEKS are aligned. High-schoolers could create presentations about plants, for example.  Teachers of younger grade levels could access the presentations to use as part of their teaching about plants.

chers across campuses and grade levels could collaborate and divide tasks such as creating or finding podcasts to use for the homework assignments.  This way, each teacher does not have to create a lesson for each day, which could be overwhelming, but instead, build community to work together no matter where the teacher is located!  

Through the use of web-cams, students at Elementary, Intermediate, and Junior High levels could watch synchronous web-casts of theatre, band, choir, orchestra, or dance dress rehearsals. The web-cast could be recorded to be viewed by other students at a different time.  Alternatively, schools situated close together could visit the high schools during such times for a real-life field trip.  The younger students would serve as a real audience for the performers while simultaneously benefitting from the shared experience.

     The Ag barns at the high-schools could also provide meaningful experiences for the younger grade levels.  Web-cams could be used for live streaming of hatching chicks.  Videos could be created by the students to demonstrate the care and responsibility of raising an animal.   

    Children who view these presentations could express appreciation and ask questions through email, web cams, or an old fashion hand written note.   This provides a meaningful experience for all involved.

Implementation 

• Provide teacher training and connections 
• Build a network of local professionals who are willing to support 
• Share with students the vision of collaborating with others to teach and learn
• Provide meaningful goals and expectations ( ie. projects) for students
• Bring in guest experts across subject matter
• Provide time for students to collaborate and construct projects

Benefits

• Teaching younger students will give a sense of purpose to older students
• Students teaching technology to each other alleviates the pressure for teachers to master it to the point of being able to teach it right away 
• Fosters relationships between students
• Proposed gain: Older students teaching younger students provides increased attention for younger students, increases their time on task 
• Teaching other/younger students promotes recognition within the larger community
• Teaching a concept uses the highest level of thinking possible- this plan embeds critical thinking skills and higher level thinking skills 
• Students may view the podcast as many times as necessary to understand the content.

Outcomes :

1. Promotes community through cooperation, collaboration, and consistency 
2. Students' projects can be saved and viewed by other students
3. Teachers of other grade levels can access and use the presentations to teach their students - takes pressure off teachers to create so many podcasts/slide shows for their units of study.
4. Consistency is embedded into the curriculum via teacher podcasts, while creativity is encouraged through students presentations