Values that inspired "Skillagents.com, a self-paced online course developed to sharpen your instructional design skills" http://www.skillagents.com *No amount of theory, perfect course content, or educational technology can substitute for a genuine interest in the learner’s wellbeing. 2014 is a great time to be an educator. The good news: you’ve got loads of new online tools at your disposal which are easily available, inexpensive, and have the potential to deliver massive value to your learners, while saving you time and energy. And this powerful new technology is just going to keep on coming. The not-so-good: even though technology has given you access to more options than ever for how you’ll design your learning experiences, this tidal wave of new choices can be a double edged sword. With so much information and hype, learning to sort through these options proactively is a serious challenge you’ll have to face. If you don’t figure this out, you’ll be spinning your wheels, constantly chasing the latest fads and flashy new software, or just as bad, you may be overwhelmed and just ignore what’s happening altogether. Either way, you won’t be serving your learners, or yourself, as well as you could be. All of this change brings major opportunities – so take advantage of them. To help you continue progressing as an educator, the first foundation lesson is focused on two key themes: adaptability, and a learner focus. Adaptability is the key to not just staying on top of the changes that will continue coming your way, but also having the courage to experiment, and step out of your comfort zone. A learner focus will keep you grounded and focused on what really matters, which will ALWAYS be – you guessed it… your learners.

1. 20EDUCATION
QUOTES
WISDOM FOR THE FUTURE OF EDTECH

2. “
Herbert Spencer
ENGLISH PHILOSOPHER, & SOCIOLOGIST
The great aim of
education is not
knowledge but action. #1

3. “
Richard P. Feynman
THEORETICAL PHYSICIST
I learned very early
the difference
between knowing the
name of something
and knowing
something.
#2

4. “
Maria Montessori
ENGLISH PHILOSOPHER, & SOCIOLOGIST
Only through freedom
and environmental
experience is it
practically possible for
human development
to occur.
#3

5. “
Dennis Littky
ENGLISH PHILOSOPHER, & SOCIOLOGIST
We learn best when we care
about what we are doing, when
we have choices. We learn best
when the work has meaning to
us, when it matters. We learn
best when we are using our
hands and our minds.We learn
best when the work we are
doing is real and relevant.
#4

6. “
Albert Einstein
THEORETICAL PHYSICIST AND PHILOSOPHER OF SCIENCE
#5
Play is the highest
form of research.

7. “
Sir Ken Robinson
CREATIVITY EXPERT
The gardener does
not make a plant
grow. The job of a
gardener is to create
optimal conditions.
#6

8. “
Plutarch
HISTORIAN, BIOGRAPHER, & ESSAYIST
#7
The mind is not a
vessel to be filled, but
a fire to be kindled.

9. “
Seymour Papert
MATHEMATICIAN, COMPUTER SCIENTIST, AND EDUCATOR
#8
Every maker of video games
knows something that the
makers of curriculum don't
seem to understand. You'll
never see a video game being
advertised as being easy. Kids
who do not like school will tell
you it's not because it's too
hard. It's because it's--boring

10. “
Paul Lockhart
AUTHOR, MATHEMATICIAN
#9
A good problem is
something you don't
know how to solve.
That's what makes it a
good puzzle and a
good opportunity.

11. “
Johann Wolfgang
von Goeth
ENGLISH PHILOSOPHER, & SOCIOLOGIST
#10
By seeking and
blundering we learn.

12. “
Xun Kuang
CHINESE CONFUCIAN PHILOSOPHER
#11
Tell me, and I will
forget. Show me, and
I may remember.
Involve me, and I will
understand.

13. “
E.M. Forster
NOVELIST, SHORT STORY WRITER, ESSAYIST AND LIBRETTIST
#12
Spoon feeding in the
long run teaches us
nothing but the shape
of the spoon.

14. “
John Dewey
ENGLISH PHILOSOPHER, & SOCIOLOGIST
#13
Give the pupils
something to do, not
something to learn; and
the doing is of such a
nature as to demand
thinking; learning
naturally results.

15. “
Frank Herbert
SCIENCE FICTION WRITER BEST KNOWN FOR THE NOVEL DUNE
#14
One learns from books
and example only that
certain things can be
done. Actual learning
requires that you do
those things.

16. “
Roger Lewin
PRIZE-WINNING SCIENCE WRITER AND AUTHOR OF 20 BOOKS.
#15
Too often we give
children answers to
remember rather than
problems to solve.

17. “
Ivan Illich
ENGLISH PHILOSOPHER, & SOCIOLOGIST
#16
Most learning is not the
result of instruction. It
is rather the result of
unhampered
participation in a
meaningful setting

18. “
Anna Sabramowicz
ENTREPRENEUR & INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIST
#17
Active Learning isn’t just
engagement—or compliance
with instructions—and it’s
definitely not “busy work”.
Learners’ also need
opportunities for feedback,
reflection, and other active
learning conditions.

19. “
Mortimer J. Adler
AMERICAN PHILOSOPHER, EDUCATOR, AND POPULAR AUTHOR
#18
A lecture has been well
described as the process
whereby the notes of the
teacher become the
notes of the student
without passing through
the mind of either.

20. “
Carol Dweck
AUTHOR & PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY
#19
If we judge ourselves as we
make mistakes, we are
more intimidated than
inspired to try again. We
ought to celebrate instead
the act of curiosity that led
us to explore, and then try
again.

21. “
Anna Sabramowicz
ENTREPRENEUR & INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIST
#20
Learners in the internet age
don’t need more information.
They need to know how to
efficiently use the massive
amount of information
available at their fingertips – to
determine what’s credible,
what’s relevant, and when it’s
useful to reference.

22. LEARNER-CENTERED
INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
REALLY IS A MINDSET
RATHER THAN A
TOOLKIT
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