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And what are the differences between mind maps and concept maps? You must have heard, as educators and teachers, the concept of a "mind map." This video belongs to the inventor of the unique method of using mind maps to promote: Organization of knowledge exists in the learner The connection between existing concepts and new concepts that the learner was familiar with in the lesson Organization of prior knowledge with new knowledge Cognitive psychology deals very much with knowledge construction. in fact, Cognitive psychology argues that visual representations (such as mind maps) enable learners to process new information and organize it to connect to the learner's existing knowledge. One of the most practical and applied tools to make knowledge visible as the learners build it is the mind map. The mind map is very personal and has minimal rules. You will see in the film the particular method of Tony Bozen It uses color gauges, shapes, images (small drawings), directions, and page space To describe connections between topics. He distinguishes between primary and secondary topics and adds words about the branches to characterize the learner's connections between these concepts. The connections that can be seen right between the concepts promote learning because they are parallel to the way the mind connects things! The memory includes different schematics linked together. Agreements are the unique way a person organizes a great deal of information about the world to help him deal with new situations. It is an evolutionary development that enables survival, and learning is the mechanism that allows survival. So how does all this relate to mind maps and learning? Think of the knowledge stored in the brain as organized in related schemas in many different ways, Tony Bozen calls them associations (connections = associations) (schemas = organized knowledge in the brain). When I think of a historical figure, say, Ben-Gurion, I can tell many things about him that I have linked to the subject in my memory. When I remember, I approach my long-term memory through the many connections between agreements, I will correctly answer complex questions about Ben Gurion's life if my knowledge is well organized in schemes that have connections. These schemes can be around Ben Gurion's life stories, pictures of his face, and pictures of him participating in Israeli heritage events. I can further answer complex questions and explain in detail the importance of Ben-Gurion in establishing the State of Israel. If you are starting to teach a subject, do not settle for the traditional "Associations sun diagram." No more. The associations-sun is too minimal. It allows connections between the main subject and secondary subjects. It lacks the complexity and richness of mind maps (they represent better the way the brain organizes information). also, The lines in "Sun diagram" are straight and rigid and do not include words that explain the types of connections between the concepts. Simple rules for building a mind map: • Place an image or theme in the center of the page. Use images, colors, icons, and more. • Select keywords and write them while sorting by primary and secondary, Each word sits alone on a line that deviates from the central theme • Connect the main image to the various subjects in a line that starts thick and ends thin, The line is organic and flowing and encodes in its color according to the meaning • Write words on the lines with each line drawn as the length of the word • Maintain clarity while creating a harmonious circular shape, and maintain separation between subjects Teach students to build a mind map according to Tony Bozen's rules. Allow them to color-codify the different areas, the different topics, and the connections between them. Allow them to use illustrations and cut-out pictures, or computer software (preferably with paper, colored pencils, and a good eraser), ask them to decide the thickness of the lines connecting the concepts, the size of the concept name (font), and the spelling (in print or writing). The size and color emphasize the difference between different issues, between loose ties and brave ties, and so on. The richer the students' visual language and the greater the meaning of each line, color, thickness, texture, etc. Here's how: 1. A deeper understanding of the student's retirement of the subject (first of all to himself - what he knows about the subject, and what else I lack and I need to learn) Retirement of the class' previous knowledge on the subject 3. Promote students' visual literacy. They will be able to be independent learners who can map prior knowledge, find out what types of connections they form between pieces of knowledge, and also- They will be able to decipher the mind maps of others, ask others questions about their mind map, as a new language will develop in your classroom- This language will use visual representations for constructive learning purposes, which suites learners' expectations, a language that groups can use for collaborative learning effectively. An example of a mind map built-in Imindmap software in the field of Bible content, Shmuel A., In preparation for a fifth-grade test: I wrote up here the very personal thinking map. And I also wrote that it allows a look at the organization of knowledge in the student's memory. I also mentioned how to use the map in teaching. I hinted at the possibility of one learner deciphering a map of another learner. Teachers can apply mind maps as a tool at any stage of a lesson or subject: beginning, middle, and end as a summative assessment. It will be interesting for learners to see their personal development in learning through the map we have built throughout learning. And even more interesting for us educators- Develop alternative assessment tools that include reference to mind maps. To do this, we educators must be experts in reading visual texts and deciphering them in the teaching-learning context. I see this as an essential task today in the visual age of the 21st century. Concept maps are diagrams that are not very personal but require the creator to be more communicative towards others. Getting a reader to understand your map is the next step- To move from a state of organizing the knowledge I have to manage concepts requires some different skills. Let's go back to the example of the subject "Ben-Gurion." It is a map that will organize the existing knowledge on the issue so that an expert would construct it, using categories and characteristics unique to the historical, social, political, and economic field related to the man. You must have understood the complexity and richness of the visual representation in teaching and the difference between the concept- Mind map And a map of concepts. Expandable. This distinction from the article: Martin Davies, (2011) Concept mapping, mind mapping, and argument mapping: what are the differences and do they matter? High Educ, 62: 279–301. One excellent article, which is very worth getting to know, links the concept map to all good teaching that promotes meaningful learning. By Prof. Novak and Prof. Cana of Florida, 2008 The Theory Underlying Concept Maps and How to Construct Them Promoting concept map: assessment of learner knowledge before and after learning, research, interdisciplinary learning curriculum, fluency of verbal presentation of a topic by learners, collection and interpretation of information collected by the learner, organization of information in diverse media such as video, photographs, and drawings on the subject and more Sign up for the site forum now and join me for a thought-provoking discussion. Good luck, 21st-century teachers

I chose this TED talk because teacher Tyler DeWitt expressed his frustration and presented the solution- Tell a story. The storytelling motivates his students to learn biology. Having a strong desire for the subject, he managed to mediate it appropriately for the z generation students- using suitable images. What is the problem Tyler tries to solve? His students do not want to learn biology. He asks - why? Throughout the lecture, he concludes that the ways we present the content to our students affect their desire to learn it. The content is presented in the textbook through a complex text in scientific language, which requires a very significant effort from the learner. The learner is not willing to invest (at most, he is ready to memorize without understanding). And what alternative did Tyler find? Tell a story using a picture and a verbal text (not printed) that describes it. Many times experienced teachers discover during practice that a particular way of teaching "works." Sometimes, such success also has a theoretical side. I want to bring it to you. Multimedia learning theory informs us of research-based principles for successful teaching and learning. For example - the Multimedia principle dictates that mediating content through image and text is better than text alone. The modality principle deepens our understandings by suggesting delivering the text through spoken words and pictures via a visual display. Dual-channel theory expresses the unique characteristics of human cognition; Processing information in two channels; Visual for images and written text and auditory for spoken words. Mediating multimedia to students burdens the learner's working memory. Tyler uses these principles when teaching but adds some more to gain students' full attention. The story that teacher Taylor Dwight tells about the virus is a fascinating detective story in which the facts are not entirely accurate. Nevertheless, he manages to interest the listeners (middle school students). He also builds a narrative sequence in simple language. He uses visual representations of two types - three-dimensional dolls and schematic drawings on a whiteboard (photographed in his presentation). The drawings keep a sense of continuity throughout the show, using the same colors, lines, and images. Taylor Dwight synchronizes the story and the illustration shown on the board and adds key phrases written at the bottom of the board. This synchronization is an example of the continuity principle, which means that learners will benefit if text and the image are presented closely in time and place. Teacher Tayler DeWitt summed up his cartoon visually and outlined the two ways the virus works, And only then first introduced his students to the official scientific concepts (virus and bacteria). This way of (segmented) teaching reduces possible rejection by some students that find professional biology concepts intimidating. The visual summary is another essential way of repeating - not only in words but also in the image. In conclusion -when Tyler repeats the concepts using the familiar colorful characters of the story (virus and the bacteria), the screen becomes divide. Thus, the screen has two parts (right and left), and the scientific concepts appear together according to the continuity principle, allowing for the reduction of external cognitive load. A teacher that uses a fascinating story can increase emotional connection. Studies have shown that a personal relationship can promote students' recall scores. When connecting research to practice and experience, there is a desire to build stories with images that will promote our students' learning. Well, What prevents us from building presentations and videos for our students to enhance their learning? 1. Lack of suitable and available images that meet all our demands as content and pedagogy experts. 2. Lack of teacher time. 3. Lack of appropriate technical knowledge and equipment. 4. Serious reference to the content of the instruction. 5. Shyness and inability to paint appropriately. Indeed there are other reasons for our arrest. So what do you do anyway? First of all, compose a simple, understandable, continuous story (built-in clear steps) and interesting about your teaching content. Remember who we work with - this is a generation used to receiving information in massive quantities concisely and accurately and with a combination of text and meaningful and relevant images. From your experience, you probably know that learners' attention is short. Ten minutes delivery in class in total concentration, and the rest of the time, you do not always get the same ideal conditions (then you should do other things like practice, peer dialogue, e-learning, and other tasks). Then - find/draw the most appropriate visuals for the story. Finally, make sure to follow the rules written above, using the complete example - the lesson of teacher Taylor Dwight. Do not be afraid to create a story with humor, share the visuals with the learners, let the learners write the story, and more. Please check, for yourselves, what succeeded? What was less successful? Learn from other teachers, share them, teach from the students, and create islands of enthusiasm; your learning content is fantastic. As usual, I would love to get comments on these ideas here on the blog. Good luck, 21st-century teachers.

The video presents some examples and explanations of cognitive "attention." The description refers to how the brain processes information it collects from the senses. There are three aspects of attention: 1. Directing and focusing our attention 2. Maintaining attention to the selected detail 3. Control our attention Humans acquire the ability to focus their attention and shift it from one particular item to another in the early stages of childhood. The ability to maintain attention over increasing periods is related to age and experience. Today we have come to recognize that in some aspects of the environment, the guidance of an adult (parents and early childhood educators) impact the acquirement of attention skills. Without attention, learning is not possible (processing new information and constructing it with prior knowledge). But, that does not mean that what is not in the attention is not processed. Mind/Shift presents an article claiming that focusing attention explained the difference between students' success; this effect was higher than socioeconomic characteristics. see-"Age of Distraction: Why It's Crucial for Students to Learn to Focus." https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/32826/age-of-distraction-why-its-crucial-for-students-to-learn-to-focus We often hear the phrase "visual noise," and as educators, we strive to control it when organizing the learning environment. "Visual noise" is the redundant details that should not be at the center of the learner's "attention" and interfere with learning the desired content or topic. Visual noise can be both a level of intense and overwhelming color and a level of poor (and trivial) materiality that interferes with the learner's sense of well-being in the classroom. Some are also relevant to the online learning environment. Students can reject these learning environments, saying that "This environment does not respect me," "I do not feel connected nor emotionally belong to this place "). The narrator's recommendations regarding the child's control over his feelings and his ability to focus on a particular individual for learning, In the same way that we know how to create an atmosphere of order and harmony regarding emotional components (a calm and containing tone in addressing the learners, quiet and confident speech, eye contact that says "I am with you" "I am mindful to you"), In the same way, the physical and visual learning environment must transmit visible order and visual structure that has an internal logic that meets the observer's expectations. Visual order and organization promote the learner's sense of security, reduce the burden on their visual information processing system, and allow them to concentrate on a learning task. In her book "Color in Educational Buildings," Professor Rachel Zeba describes the common situation of teachers and kindergarten teachers' lack of intention on the subject of color, for example. The following is a simple exercise to examine (and analyze) "visual noise" in your physical or virtual learning environment: 1. Find a broad point of view where you can show the whole environment in one comprehensive view (in a virtual environment, look at the entrance screen for the environment, for example). 2. Visually analyze the shapes and colors that appear in front of you. Try to outline how space is organized. 3. Try to sort the shapes and colors and check - does the existing colors and shapes make sense? Is there color-coding that indicates meaning? 4. Visual overload can result mainly from a lack of logic in the organization, from an organization that does not link content to form and color. Aesthetic aspects - a space with the values ​​of culture and aesthetics. Did you find the importance ​​of aesthetics in the area? for example- 1. Repetition of colors 2. Various levels of tones of the same color (instead of a variety of bright colors regardless of them) 3. Harmonious color combination 4. An atmosphere that stems from interesting textures (meaning and connection to the content). Good luck, 21st-century teachers.

A lecture accompanied by photos from the Toledo Museum presents the connection between the challenges of the 21st century and visual literacy. For example, it is interesting to see the connection between the thing represented- For example - the human body, And representing it - for instance - X-rays. The choice of white color representing the bones and black - the color between the bones, It is a convention between doctors and the person who built these photocopiers. To interpret photography, one needs to understand what each color represents. The color that represents the object is a sign within a system of signs. This system is a product of convention. The whole meaning of the word "representation" is that you can choose anything that represents something else. When anyone tries to make meaning from this representation, he must have a context and understand the sign system. For example - the color "black" will take on a different meaning in the context of an image from space. The color is just one of the signs in the representation called X-ray. And just one of the signs in the photo from space. The sign system indicates the type of photo- Photographing space versus recording human skeleton - each uses a different system of signs and context. The three common concepts in our field are: Sign system Representation Sign Palmer (1978) speaks of "a representative" and "a represented." In the example of the X-ray- The represented is specific skeleton or bones The representation is an X-ray image that uses suitable signs (such as lines, stains, and shades of gray) included in its sign system. In the example of a space photograph- The represented will be the outer space The representation is the photograph. In the example of outer space There are many similarities between reality and photography - because we use a camera. Is the camera "objective"? I mean, is that the real thing? Does the camera also have a convention manipulation as there is in X-ray? As for press photos, model photos on billboards, and advertisements - it is clear that there is manipulation. Art photography also has manipulation. We are all aware of that. The camera is a mechanism of transferring from reality to digital format (or in photo paper - in the old technology), It is not free from manipulation. And recently, scientists have admitted that there is an error in estimating the proximity of star systems to us because of all sorts of computational errors. Our eye is not free from manipulations either, We expect to see an image, and it then may mislead our interpretation. Interpretations are essential when you bring a picture, a movie, or a graph to class. It is vital to have a meaningful conversation about: What is the world that representation represents? What is the sign system that serves as a mediator between the two worlds? Thus, we can be sure that the content is understood. Let us not assume that all students are familiar with the signs of the representations we have brought to class. It all depends on the students' prior knowledge, visual perception, and ability to relate the represented to the representing. A typical example of a learner's mistake, according to studies- Students of different ages interpreted a graph showing the travel speed of a car. The graph has two axes - the timeline and the distance axis. Thus, speed ​​is a function of two specific values ​​- time and distance. Some students identified a "hill" and interpreted the graph as a hill, explaining that "the car was climbing the hill." As an exercise- Try to explain the students' mistakes in terms of a representative world, a represented world, a system of signs, and representation. Good luck, 21st-century teachers.

Sunni Brown talks about doodle as a thinking tool. This thinking tool promotes visual literacy by expressing internal (mental) representations. This tool helps to process information and knowledge. The benefit of the tool is by externalizing thinking. Externalizing makes processing information and solving problems more manageable and allows to share ideas. If your students work in pairs or groups anyway, you can try the following exercise in any lesson, in any content. Choose one concept or problem. Represent your thoughts by drawing and illustrating shapes/lines/arrows to express them with images instead of words. Doodling will allow promoting thinking towards a solution. Try it for yourself first. The more you can visually express a concept or problem in various ways; you become visually literate. That is - write in the visual language, a language of lines, shapes, pictures. If you share the representations you have created with others, you will have a meaningful and profound dialogue, inspiring others and getting more ideas for your solutions. For you, teachers - Doodling in the classroom can expand your knowledge of what the students understood. A teacher who tried doodling in the classroom by visualizing a subject discovered that the students better processed the information. Furthermore, she had some additional unexpected gain: A student who had never participated express his views. As a result, his colleagues heard his voice for the first time. It is a formative experience for every educator, and according to that teacher, doodling was a profound visual learning tool for her class. So teachers asked me after the lecture (where I presented this video) - Should students be allowed to doodle on a topic unrelated to the lesson? The answer - yes. If doodling helps the students to be more focused- please do. Doodling activates the motoric system, promoting students' concentration ability: some wright, and some doodle. I urge you- Turn doodling into a pedagogical tool !! Using doodling will also gain the students' cooperation, active listening, a powerful tool for processing information, and an important tool to see what they are processing. It's like an "X-ray of thought" for learners. If it's hard for you to think about it in an entire class, try individual instruction, and keep track of what it does to your teaching. If students do not want to scribble because they are ashamed, teach them to use cards with pictures that you will collect from the internet or bring as postcards or schematically draw shapes like squares, circles, and lines. Another way - using the computer - In the PowerPoint, use the "add" brilliant template And you will discover a whole world of visual schemas. Please note - choosing a scheme or drawing one yourself requires an explanation - why did I choose this? The explanation is our most important thing as teachers - it enables us to understand the learner's thinking. In my opinion, this is an excellent pedagogical tool for implementing classroom teaching instruction. Good luck, 21st-century teachers.

In this lecture, Brian Kennedy lectures at TED and shows the connection between our vision and cognition - thinking. He says that "visual literacy is the ability to build meaning from images." Kennedy gave us a widespread definition of visual literacy. The connection between what one sees and what one understands passes through interpretation. Visual literacy is not a skill; this ability uses skills as its toolbox. Visual literacy is a form of critical thinking that promotes a person's intellectual ability. Brian says we started talking about visual literacy as early as 1969, but we "lost" this critical field because it was perceived as belonging to the arts and visual culture, But today, we are facing a new era - the digital age. What does all this mean, and how does it relate to visual literacy? Our students are digital learners. They learn differently. But what does it mean? What does it mean to be visually literate at an early age - before our digital age? It is he who understands sign language before he understands the written word in print. In the distant past- If you look at the cave paintings - you do not see human figures there. They looked out at the scenery and the animals. If you look at the stained glass in the chapels of the Middle Ages, you see whole stories - in the paintings. The people could not read - they looked at the pictures and read the stories. And today - we have cartoons, animation. Today students expect to learn with visual representations - this is how they are used to experiencing the world - this is how they also know - through films, animations, pictures, diagrams, diagrams. What is needed today is a connection between the text and the image. Today, the literate person should read in combination information that comes in two channels - image and text. According to the dual-channel assumption, our brain has two channels for processing information. One for visual/pictorial information and auditory/verbal data. See more- Multimedia Learning -A book by Richard Mayer, 2001. Visual literacy is essential for people as it allows them to communicate a universal language. 90% of the information we get from the world is visual. Much of the interpretation of this information is culture-dependent. 30% of the brain is devoted to the processing of visual information. We can process visual information 60 times faster than verbal information. Brian wants to promote the perception that one has to observe and see things instead of rushing and missing out. And yes - listen, not just hear and move on. It is about paying attention to the information we perceive in the senses to process this information. It is a slow-looking process See describe analyze Interpret - build meaning from it. Brian refers to the periodic table of elements in the visual language- The periodic table of visual elements Visual literacy promotes the ability to classify things and encourages discourse on the difference and similarities between things. Images can well connect our senses and evoke emotion. And thus promote our ability to remember and memorize the details so that we can later retrieve them - to recognize and adapt the remembered details to new information or a question. Is not that what we want, as teachers? Brian offers an observation test - asks the audience to close their eyes, and asks - what is the color of my tie? What is the number written on the race car on stage? Then say - open your eyes - really open them! Visual literacy is actually "opening the eyes" - paying more attention to what we experience through the sense of sight. Try in class: Now, remember what appears on the whole board in your classroom. What did a specific child wear yesterday? Try asking the kids - while they are not in class - ask them what they can remember displayed on the walls? And while they are in the classroom - ask what is in the hallway outside the classroom? In the school lobby? You will discover very quickly what they recall from learning. There is a connection between what children remember and what they have learned. They store long-term memory information (textual, visual, and more) they organized to use later when needed. Understanding the connection between cognition, visual literacy, and teaching-learning is essential for us teachers. Good luck, 21st-century teachers.

The video brings up Elliott Eisner's ideas - focusing on visual content and interpretation of the images must be included in the curriculum in all subjects. These images will allow for the "thousand words" to appear in school textbooks and digital content. Basically, what will we gain if we focus on the visual representation? What if these images will "waste" our teaching time? What you see - everyone sees and understands, no? Well, it turns out from many studies - no. A person depicts a piece of information from an image concerning his previous knowledge of the subject. Accordingly, he focuses his attention on specific details. And this is just the first step. What a person interprets is even more complex, because often the interpretation of one is different from the interpretation of the other. And the most complex things when it comes to photography, painting, or a picture that consists of various small details. To interpret - a person needs prior knowledge, connotations that allowed him to build meaning from what the eye sees. And all this in a class of 30-40 students. Not simple. It also turns out that living in such a visual environment affects us. We are increasingly busy filtering and avoiding the processing of a lot of visual information that comes to us and less searching for it. Therefore, many times we do not see. To get started. It will help if you focus your students' attention on the details you want to promote their interpretation. Take each picture from the study number. Introduce students. Also, in the plenum, even in a small group, in individual instruction. Then - try to ask the children - what do you see? And ask them to describe in detail. And then ask for their interpretations - what does this mean for you? What do you understand? Talking with your students will allow you to "peek" into the depths of students' prior knowledge and teach better. You will be amazed at how many more things your students will discover in representation and what other interpretations exist about it. Students' interpretations might shift your lesson subject, altering your intention when presenting them an image or video. But, if you did not find out with the learners - you would not know that they understood something completely different from the same picture you saw together. Researchers in the field around the world, and also in Israel - Prof. Miriam Ben-Peretz and Prof. Billy Eilam from the University of Haifa, for example, Some experts argue that curricula ignore the potential inherent in building meaning from visual representations in teaching materials and are uneducated to build a pedagogy that will enhance learning. (Example of a leading country - Australia has recently changed its curriculum respectively and is developing innovative approaches to teaching in this area). Curriculum Emphasis on learning from visual representations has many benefits beyond what we all think - addressing differences between learners, increasing interest and attention, and promoting creative thinking. Such a program can promote meaning building for all learners, enable learning within the context, actively engage learners in learning, promote self-learning abilities, and more. Eilam, B. & Ben-Peretz, M. (2010).  Revisiting curriculum inquiry: The role of visual representations.  Journal of Curriculum Studies, 1-24 Sign up for the site forum now and join me for a thought-provoking discussion. Good luck, 21st-century teachers.

Repetitive structures characterize fractals. They create a formal pattern that exists in different dimensions. Mathematicians began to study fractals out of aesthetic interest. In this post, I want to use the idea of ​​fractals To formulate solutions to acute problems that are currently facing all the education systems in the world. I argue that schools are facing a fundamental and revolutionary change Following the Covid-19 Crisis. Now is the right time to create a new structure for learning, organizing routines, and the school's physical structure. The idea of ​​fractal units could be one of the solutions to consider. Fractal is a flexible Structure For School, Classroom, And Learning. The classroom is now the basic unit for organizing the school structure. This unit dictates a certain number of students in a routine (38 or more) And in an emergency (epidemic outbreak), the number of students decreases dramatically - 15 students per classroom. If the idea of ​​a classroom is: people who are interested in engaging in the development of their knowledge and skills together, We disconnect classroom and learning. Instead, you can study anywhere. You do not need a school classroom as we know it today. 1. How can we produce a more flexible room for learning? What can be our learning space unit? One solution is to design schools with sliding walls, build spacious spaces, and divide them according to changing needs. Another solution - making the classroom digital spaces one of the assets of the physical school. The third solution - decide that the classroom can exist anywhere - a public library, a sports field, a garden, a yard, a nearby ballroom, a cinema, a park, laboratories, in nature, and more. You can imagine more solutions from your experience. So what is "fractal" in these ideas (mine and yours)? The classroom is the base unit, the smallest triangle in the structure of the Sierpinski triangle (at the image). The most significant interactions occur in this unit, no matter where it takes place. It can be in an online meeting or a physical meeting, in different areas where the learners are simultaneously, and more. The physical place becomes significant and not arbitrary. For example - if the class needs to gather information on a research topic on a particular site - then they should be visiting it physically. But, access to the internet must also be available. In that case, they can access it anywhere. Suppose there is a meaning to face-to-face dialogue in the group to formulate a common idea. In that case, a place that allows this meeting without interruption has tremendous significance for the success of the action. If you are trying to improve your speaking skills in front of an audience, it is essential to do so in a place that allows you to practice standing on stage or broadcasting online. To a large extent, a school is becoming a place that allows for many forms of learning in spaces that have diverse uses, including digital spaces. Adopting these forms with flexibility can allow for a comfortable and efficient transition from the period of isolation imposed on the public by the corona plague to a period of careful return to routine. Learning is the action that students take together with the facilitator-teacher to achieve their common goals. Learning is a change in the learner's memory structures. Learning is social, meaning it relies on imitation, experience, and behaviors in the learner environment. The smallest unit of learning is not the one person but at least a pair, a dyad. How can learning adopt fractal structures to produce flexibility and help change the prevailing traditional paradigm (uniform and rigid curriculum, tests, and grades)? 2. What actions will encourage learning, and how can we empower it in increasingly complex structures while using our base unit - a pair of learners? One solution - treating the encounter between student and teacher as an opportunity for 1: 1 mutual learning out of curiosity and respect for the child's world, desires, and feelings towards learning. All this to encourage interest and a passion for learning. Another solution - treat pairs of students as supportive of each other's learning. For example, the student team for couples will strengthen their ability to speak their learning aloud, reflect more quickly, and become aware of their learning and development (self-directed learning from an early age). The third solution - to treat learning as a one-time event, context-dependent, intriguing and broad-minded. I love the idea of ​​learning and embrace it. Learning is not a necessity determined from above, but something that is subject to moments of curiosity of the learner and stems from him, his experience, and the joy of his learning. There is no need for a rigid curriculum (and not for many tests) but general lines of skills and knowledge connected to the world of children. It is also essential for the teacher to be aware of the learners' progress at a pace that suits them. You can imagine more solutions from your experience. And finally, The organizational structure of educational institutions and their routines remains. The routines of educational institutions remained largely traditional. Like the curriculum, they are dictated from above and try to impose one order on everyone. The idea of ​​a fractal organization will build the routines from the internal logic of learning (a pair of learners) that need a meeting between them to develop and of the class (a group of learners and a teacher) that uses both digital and physical space to implement learning goals. 3. How can school routines be reorganized around the internal logic of learning and the classroom? One solution: Let routines grow out of the educational endeavor and allow students and educators to choose each other. Do not arrange them by age/gender, but use ​ teacher and student interest and expertise as an organizing tool. This solution is not at all easy to implement but requires a long and gradual adjustment period, during which there will be a change in the paradigms of all the partners - teachers, parents, students. However, it will happen if everyone wants it - through open dialogue about the nature of learning, school roles, parents, and the education system. * Of course, any solution is local and suitable for a specific community; the answer will undergo changes and adjustments in each period. However, it will be flexible and adaptable - that is, in a crisis similar to what we are experiencing now - the school's ability to respond and prepare for external changes - will be high (relative to today). Solution two - start with the flexibility of routines within existing buildings and strengthen the choice component. For example - allow much more choice for students and teachers starting with hours of their choice (initially - one day a week and then expand). Students and staff learn from similar or different schools in Israel and around the world how to flex the hour's system, learning topics, and classroom composition and apply in a way that is appropriate for the school, gradually and in meaningful dialogue with students and parents. The third solution - strive to connect clusters of professions and teachers. Create communities of teachers and students interested in specific topics, start producing 'theme weeks' under their leadership, and collaborate with the parent community. You can combine online days, hackathons, events that invite the neighborhood's adults to activities (and not just the Memorial Day ceremony), participation in local, urban, national, and international projects and initiatives, competitions, and the like. These events can produce a routine break until the routine becomes those events. Students get used to being a part of something big, and grades stop playing a significant role in school discourse. Everyone wants to succeed, win, and get better (and within all this is already the motivation, the investment, the interpersonal connections, and the learning of skills and knowledge - not what we wanted?) With full appreciation to my friends and fellow educators, And let's be healthy. Good luck, 21st-century teachers.

Some weeks ago, we held a learning session in the future FLS learning space at Lewinsky College in ISRAEL. Participants included supervisors and ICT instructors from the ISRAELI ICT Dep. We arrived and worked together in an aesthetic, inviting environment, Which includes several technologies: Multiple screens for effective group work implementation, Small webcams connected to the network for discussions involving distant participants, 180-degree ceiling camera for recording what is happening in the room - for the application of reflective viewing methods and peer feedback, software for convenient mirroring from a personal mobile device to the screen to implement connecting ideas digitally Digital floor games Makers space and more. This visit made me wonder about what is happening in the world today in the field of future learning spaces (FLS)? How does FLS relate to every teacher in the schools? And what do you do if the budget available to you is not high (a fairly typical situation in our places), and you're now working on your new M21 space? Let's start with a small leap into the future- In the charming video here, augmented reality is standard when going out into nature, With the glasses, you can explain all the parts of the colorful dragonfly that flew right over the students. Also, in classrooms, the students receive information when they "touch the air." This information is very appealing and enables them to expand and learn more by clicking to see the related information. They do not have to sit in front of a computer. Otherwise, the learning space naturally blends accessible digital tools. In a room designed for learning about space, the whole environment changes, and the students stand on a planet in space. This classroom is an example of a blended learning environment, where students only touch the air to search for themselves and deepen their knowledge. The information is visual, changing, and updates as the environment responds to students' gestures when they move around the room freely. Students research, work in groups, and directly explore the environment. The environment responds to them in the most natural way possible. The virtual teacher only appears when the student needs her. Usually, she appears as a hologram (like a fairy) to answer student's questions. The watch the student is wearing contains a reminder of the task to be performed, Her friends are busy in the garden, finding solutions to problems using different sensors and making measurements. In the laboratory, (dangerous) experiments are conducted in a virtual reality environment that floats on the lab table. Dancing can be a source for learning about human movement. Using a suitable digital tool, like the tablets' camera, will allow us to record the activity and analyze it. For example, visual representations can represent direction, speed, and angle to enable us to measure movement. In addition, this digital device can produce layers of information, sometimes difficult for our eyes to grasp. According to the story in the video, the students' message is that of learning from experience when technology is an up-to-date means of implementing pedagogy of real-world research and problem-solving. The transition from school to a technologically advanced workplace seems easy. The school in the version of this video seems to follow the technology that is present in current workplaces. And back to reality here with us - what can be done already on September 1, 2021? To promote the pedagogical approach that favors (active) research over listening (passive), we will: Labs instead of classrooms Learning through experience and research accompanied by the professional support of a teacher or tutor Can be promoted through the organization of classrooms as "laboratories." Think of a "lab" in the broader sense (beyond existing today) and then add to it the topic you would like to lead Formulate the goals clearly and think in your team: Which lab should allows you to research and experiment? Which subject do you want to explore? Life sciences? Social sciences? Arts? Other? The technology can be on the one hand sensors and cameras, and on the other hand, computerized databases are available, including advice and guidance in searching for the information. 2. Makers space instead of a museum-like environment Learning through: building and dismantling and re-building, reinventing and re-examining, going out to the environment outside the educational space and back to it, presenting the experience and receiving feedback - all these are signs that means you put a focus on solving new problems, relevant to students and their lives here and now. Build maker spaces throughout the educational institution using the design thinking approach, use any technology that allows students to plan in groups, experiment safely and build models that work. The models can be physical or digital. They can be an object or service, an idea for promotion in the children's community, a website, a game, or an advertisement. 3. Public advertising space instead of a wall to hang students' works Students generate information and share it with the real world, using their design, writing, marketing, and organizational skills to experience information shared with experts, partners, and stakeholders. Create physical and virtual public spaces in the schoolyard or school website. Let students practice writing the message, designing it visually, and advertise it on different platforms. This task can be part of a juvenile experience that will encourage them to form an opinion, identity, and attitude to lead them to a life of meaning. You might consider the following ideas: Hyde Park placed in the schoolyard, dynamic post-it board, personal or group blogs, local newspaper, or school radio. There is usually a separation between these products and the formal curriculum. I highlight the need for their connection so that a student will submit work through the construction of a radio broadcast, present a "news flash" on screens at recess, create an exhibition of future products developed in the maker space, etc. 4. "Learning coaches" counseling centers instead of teacher rooms The change in the perception of the role of teachers in the eyes of students is critical to success. It is clear today that teachers are not a source of knowledge in the 21st century. However, the role of a learning expert will remain with them for many years to come. The positioning of teachers as learning experts in various fields could bring about a fundamental change in their perception in the eyes of parents and students. Students should see teachers as athletes see their coaches. A coach consults when needed in the learning process. He leads his athletes to personal improvement both professionally and mentally. A teacher should be an expert to whom the learner (independent) or group of students comes to receive guidance when they need it. I want to sharpen this advice. Sometimes we offer help that does not match the students' pace of learning. This way, we make students less independent and give up their ability to learn from each other. Here I try to connect the educational figure and the expert, asking each teacher to define their areas of expertise for their students. I also suggest altering teachers' room to learning consults in schools' "counseling centers" or "coaching centers." It is likely that in one educational institution, there will be experts of different types; some of the teachers may be experts in various topics that do not have expression today in the education system. Publishing this expertise can be done through digital tools such as the school website, the school can develop a system for ordering counseling according to the needs of the students, and more. As usual, I would love to get comments on these ideas here on the blog. Good luck, 21st-century teachers.

Design thinking is a method that comes from the world of designers. It allows us to rethink teaching and learning in our classrooms. Designers use design thinking to create innovative objects or services appropriate for the customer within a particular context. I will briefly describe how design thinking can lead to innovation in school and change learning, teaching, and education! Design thinking has several stages: empathy, analysis (research), coming up with ideas for change, and examining them in the real world (Pilot). Do they work? Next, we reflect on the experience, followed by some inclusions to close the circle of learning. I will freely describe the steps we should carry in school contexts in the first lessons of the school year to change any education setting. 1. Empathy Get to know your students. To encourage empathy, you can boost students to talk about themself openly. Make sure you promote a non-judgmental atmosphere, show genuine interest and aspiration to build classmate relationships. Sometimes a dialogue with your students about visual representations they created can be appropriate. 2. Analysis Deepen your knowledge about your students. It is essential to analyze any information, including visual representations, and derive meaning from them (both the teacher and the students). I recommend analyzing representations built by the students in-depth. For example, mind maps that students draw to describe their thoughts and perceptions are helpful in the learning process. Mind maps can depict students' perceptions towards friends, learning, school, and their lives. 3. Ideation Raise ideas concerning a particular student or group of students- (choose a problem that arises from the analysis of their representations). For example - how will you make his learning experience this year more tailored for him? Write it all down and share it with colleagues. You can use a variety of tools to come up with ideas. For example- Take sticky notes in a variety of colors. Match up with a fellow teacher. In turn, each of you says one idea aloud, writes it, and listens to his colleague's statement. After 10 minutes (and plenty of ideas), arrange the notes in groups and pick the best ideas together. Work together to develop a strategy for working with a different student or different parents. Design new solutions to the challenge you encounter in or outside school settings. 4. Pilot Try one of the ideas you chose and see if it works. Ask for feedback from students, parents, and test the impact of the actions you took. 5. Reflection Extract conclusions, improve the strategy following them, and redesign. Then, check out another idea in the same way. Share with colleagues and see how experiences change you and your classrooms. 6. Model A formulated model of the innovative strategy you have developed - at the end of the process, you will be able to present the design to Colleagues. And if you write to me - I would love to post here! For those interested - a video on Design Thinking in education by Makers Impire. Learn more: Why Design Thinking Should Be Taught in Primary, Elementary & Middle Schools Good luck, 21st-century teachers.

As updated pedagogy adapts digital tools rapidly, Israel continues to lead and innovate. In this post, I will address two questions: 1. When do digital tools meet innovative pedagogy? 2. How complicated is it to apply digital tools & innovative pedagogy in our schools? We will start with the first question concerning innovative pedagogy. 21st-century skills are essential today as they allow students to prosper in academic, social, and work settings. But, how do schools support students to develop these skills through pedagogical innovation? Is pedagogical innovation concerns abanding old methods and applying entirely new ones?* *In the education research field, scholars are still debating Two subjects are not expected to change anytime soon, despite introducing technology into our lives: Human brain structure and the importance of prior knowledge in the process of meaning-making. First, we know that our brain has a structure that influences the learning process. This structure includes two key areas: short-term memory (where the brain processes new information) and long-term memory. The learner stores the latest information in a way that links it to previous information. The constructive approach is familiar to any teacher. It is based on cognitive science. Teachers know that they need to direct students' attention and motivate them to stay in learning tasks as long as possible to deepen understanding. Various theories also point to the need to create learning tasks that incorporate real-world problems, encourage students to explore a topic, point to the need to organize learning groups, stimulate discourse, including games, riddles, escape rooms, and more. The innovation that technology offers us many opportunities: Digital environments for self-directed learning Research in a digital environment MOOC courses Digital tools for creating digital learning products Video, presentations, and more Ready-made digital templates Blogs and websites for engaging students Games, apps Collaborative learning online projects Maker-spaces The second field recognizes the difference between a novice and an expert and is also related to the learning theories developed in recent decades. An expert in any area of knowledge has a great deal of prior knowledge on the subject of study. This knowledge is stored in the long-term memory in an organized manner that also allows for easy retrieval for immediate use when the learner encounters a complex problem in the real world. Therefore, it is easy for an expert to be creative, solve problems, and progress in his learning without the help of an outsider and become a self-directed student. In addition, he can participate and contribute in group learning; very often, he is also more successful in tests and more. On the other hand, the novice does not have an organized knowledge of the subject being studied in his memory. On the contrary, he aims most of his learning efforts at creating the organized structure of knowledge. He needs many assignments that advance him based on what he has already been able to learn. He builds new knowledge with deliberate effort and requires encouragement and "scaffolding" to climb to an expert level. Suppose a novice learner is given a research assignment or asked to solve a problem from the real world. In that case, he probably will not always succeed because when the subject is entirely new to him, he will not bring solutions and answer questions at all. We know a lot about step-by-step learning, tailored learning, and supportive and proactive feedback, but it is challenging to implement in practice. The innovation that technology offers us is accompanied by the learner personally in these stages in environments that provide practice in the fields of study themselves. Thus, pedagogy is not innovative but uses the new means available in technology to fulfill the teacher's dream. That is, to be available to students who need support even if the school setting of large and heterogeneous. In the stimulus-laden visual-technological world we live in today. Summarizing the answer to the first question- Innovation in digital pedagogy rests on decades of education research. However, current pedagogy is not about inventing the wheel. Instead, it enhances the teacher's ability to develop students' knowledge from 'novices' to' experts' by using digital tools and digital environments already available to educators today. These tools and digital environments are funded by the school or the Ministry of Education. Appropriate use of digital environments in learning promotes many digital skills, but not all of them. In answer to a second question - how complicated is it to apply digital tools & innovative pedagogy in our classrooms today? It's not complicated. I argue that it all depends on the school's support for the teacher and its intention to change the teaching routines. School leaders must mobilize parents, students, teachers to start the change together. Today it is possible to apply the theoretical approach that points to the advantages of the teacher as a facilitator, a learning expert. Read more in my previous post, where I expanded on the need to establish: Laboratories instead of classrooms Makers-space instead of a museum environment A public exhibit space instead of a binder for works Coaching centers for educators instead of a teachers' room You get some ideas from the poster-lesson plans that incorporate digital tools that we have designed for you. You can also sign up for our WhatsApp groups to receive the new posters straight to your mobile phone. Or watch our previous broadcasts where we explained how to use it. * The text in this post about learning studies is based on this article. As usual, I would love to get comments on these ideas here on the blog. Good luck, 21st-century teachers.

Louis is one of the most famous vloggers in the world. In this video, he visits the most ecological school in the world. Green School Bali is located on the island of Bali in Indonesia, very close to Australia. Louis was invited by one of the teachers for a tour of the school. The tour reveals the school's pedagogical program: An entrepreneurial-community-ecological approach. Architect John Hardy who has a personal story, built this school. You can learn about his unique story in the following video- Hardy and his wife moved to Bali following dissatisfaction with their lives and education systems. In Bali, Hardy built a school made entirely of bamboo nests. The largest bamboo building in the world was built in the center of the school! The construction process itself is fascinating. Worth watching. All materials are local, and construction is traditional. At the end of the video, John used a model to instruct the local builders on the required structure. It turns out that the builders do not read or understand architectural drawings, but they are very skilled in construction. It's unbelievable how they implemented Hardy's plan. The school is immersed in vegetation and cultivates it for nourishing purposes- The school has a buffet where the sandwiches are wrapped in banana leaves, All crops are organic, of course. All of this ecological approach has impacted the school community, And many of the parents moved to the huts around the school. A river flows in the center of the school, and above it rises a wide bamboo bridge over which the students walk between classes. Below the bridge, they set up a station to convert water flow energy into electricity (so that the school provides its electricity). On this wide bridge, they hold deener meetings and parties, yes. You must watch this video to believe it. The school advocates a variety of experiences (yoga, dance, vegetation therapy, outdoor learning). There are improvisations of 'chalkboard' that will look funny to us maybe at first ... And all this to preserve the ecological principles. Most impressive to see (in the first video) how students sell handkerchiefs to visitors (Louis and his friends) who come to their school. They are young entrepreneurs who practice the sustainable life needed for future generations. Such an approach is an example of the application of design thinking in education settings. I was very excited to see it. I hope you enjoy it too. Good luck, 21st-century teachers.