Here are some thoughts from Martin, one of the participants of the Teachers as Designers EVO session.
This is my first time at EVO, it is really challenging to keep updated with all the stream of information that comes from literally everywhere! I feel I am at the “place” where I can contact and be contacted by people and their valuable experience that will create a supportive network, allowing us to expand freely. I wish this experience enriches you abundantly!
So far, the readings and the videos concerning the learning design basic concepts have introduced me to an interesting way of viewing not only the learning phenomenon but also my role within it, that of a leaning designer. I totally agree with Andrew Miller (you may like to read his article “Teacher as learning designer”) who clearly addresses a core issue in most educational contexts in my country, that of viewing teachers as employees that need to fulfil a predetermined role, regardless of what students bring to class, the technological resources available and the possibilities that can be generated when we also add the instructors’ expertise and experience. Instead, he proposes to re-frame the teacher’s role: “Great teachers are learning designers who seek to create a space where all students are empowered to learn.” Inspired by Sir Ken Robinson’s video, Mr. Miller wrote another article in which he states the following: What really struck me is that great teachers create the conditions for success, just as gardeners do. You can’t make a flower grow, but you can design and improve the condition for that flow of naturally occurring events. It’s the same with our students. We have the power and the duty to create the best conditions for students to flourish.” You can access the article and video here.
Martin Perez has mostly worked as an English teacher at post-secondary institutions in Lima, Peru since 1991; conducting choirs has been part of his life, as well as playing the guitar and the piano at a basic level. However, it is technology the dimension that has been reshaping his life lately: the more he learns the more he wants to learn; technology is the medium and source of this permanent desire.