It's About Learning

Many companies no longer use degrees as employment prerequisites

Dwayne Harapnuik — September 13, 2018 — Leave a comment

“One of the ingredients in Shopify’s success has been to completely ignore academic credentials in hiring.” — Tobi Lutke

In an Ottawa Citizen story, Shopify’s CEO Tobi Lütke also states “The company values people who have built something of their own, volunteered their time and pursued new learning opportunities. Shopify isn’t the only company that is looking beyond a degree credential to see what people are able to actually do. According to a CNBC Careers article Apple, Google, IBM, Ernst & Young and many other top teir companies hire people who don’t have a four-year degree.

The ability to create or build something of their own, to contribute to a hand’s on project, to undertake innovative opportunities, or to volunteer one’s time toward a bigger purpose are some of the most important traits that employers are looking for in the new digital world. Why? If you are able to create, build, innovate on your own then you are able to show that you have the drive to learn on your own and make a difference. The ever changing nature of our digital future demands this level of self-directed learning and adaptation.

One of the best ways to students to learn how to become digital innovators who are future ready is an signifanct learning environment in which they are given choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities.

In CSLE+COVA COVA, CSLE, CSLE+COVA, degree, innovative, project, self-directed

DIY Mindset Requires a Learner’s Mindset

Dwayne Harapnuik — September 11, 2018 — Leave a comment

After a lifetime of engaging in what is commonly referred to as DIY (do it yourself) projects, I knew I was going to have to review the parts list in my DIY Teleprompter project before I could pass on an updated parts list to a colleague. Why? Unlike going to Ikea that will provide not only detailed instructions and all the necessary components for what you need to assemble, DIY projects involve finding a variety of parts that may be used for a variety of purposes and modifying those parts to serve an entirely new purpose. So when I reviewed the 15mm rod support and baseplate system for my DIY teleprompter I quickly learned that it was no longer available from Amazon. My experience of sourcing these types of projects led me to check and see if all the parts were still available. After searching for and exploring a wide assortment of alternatives I realized that the best that I could do is provide a list of parts that I would more than likely use if I were building my DIY Teleprompter from scratch today.

DIY projects by their very nature require exploring and considering a wide assortment of options in order to create or build a project that can address your unique needs. There is no right answer. There is no quick fix. There is only inquiry, exploration, and trial and error. Unfortunately, most people do not have the learner’s mindset that will enable them to do this sort of problem-solving. We quench this type of exploration and experimentation out of our students with a steady diet of recipe and regurgitation followed by standardized testing.

Fortunately, the DIY movement is strong on the Internet and there are a small number of people willing to explore, experiment and find alternative ways to do it themselves. The rebels or mavericks who are willing to look for a better way, a different way, or simply a cheaper way to solve a problem will keep the DIY movement alive. We are also seeing this type of mindset supported through the maker spaces which are taking the place of shop classes of old. We can also help to keep DIY alive by supporting the learner’s mindset that comes out of creating significant learning environments that give learners choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities.

In CSLE+COVA, Learner's Mindset COVA, CSLE, DIY, learners mindset, mindset, quick fix, teleprompter

Give Them Real Work…

Dwayne Harapnuik — August 28, 2018 — Leave a comment

In the Ideas.TED.com post, How can schools best prepare students for the future? Give them real work to do Ted Dintersmith makes the argument that if we enable our children to work on real-world projects with real-world partners and focus on solving those real-world problems then everyone wins. The Iowa BIG project connects students with over 100 local organizations including businesses, nonprofits, and policy groups and from this connection students spend most of their school day working on projects to improve the community. Of the over 500 graduates from the program, 97 percent who applied to college were admitted to their first choice so if we view getting into a college as a measuring stick than the program is working.

This is just one of many innovative programs that give students the opportunity to make a difference in the world by giving them choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning opportunities.

Read the full story…

In CSLE+COVA authentic learning opportunities, COVA, CSLE+COVA