OCDSBXL

In this episode of the XL Podcast, I speak to Marc Dubeau from Osgoode Township High School about where the world of computer generated animation is heading and how, despite the constraints, he and his students have managed to keep up and, in some cases, leap beyond in pursuit of creative, sophisticated virtual reality, augmented reality, and full performance motion capture animation. When Marc first suggested that students, with the right tools, could create in augmented and virtual reality I was skeptical. All along Marc and his students have not only seen the possibilities, but connected with industry and learning partners discovering that with imagination and ingenuity high school students can walk in lockstep with technological innovation that makes for dynamic beyond-your-imagination learning. YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/c/MarcDubeau1] Twitter [https://twitter.com/marcdubeau]: @marcdubeau Further Reading: Aliens and Pikachus: real-time tech goes to high school (Osgoode Township High School) [https://ocdsbxl.com/aliens-and-pikachus-real-time-tech-goes-to-high-school-osgoode-township-high-school/] Watch: Emma Smith's award winning Climate Change Inequalities (video) [https://youtu.be/zk9AFUFSdjo]

In this episode of the XL Podcast, part three in our series of conversations with Carolyn Johnston about “learning adventures”, Space and The Science of Flight, we turn the mics over to some of Carolyn’s grade 6 learners to hear more about the learning experience, how it contributed to their sense of purpose, meaning, contribution, and belonging, and all while learning virtually during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

What if the test of our belief in the capacity of our students involved a true leap of faith? What if our belief involved challenging our assumptions about baselines; challenged our thinking about "learning loss" by taking one giant leap, I mean a giant leap: like in the footsteps of a space program…? What if we began in space and worked our way down from there? In this episode of the XL Podcast, part two in our series of conversations with Carolyn Johnston, we pick up, maybe lift off, from where we concluded in episode 10: Carolyn and her class are “pivoting the learning journey” in mid-flight - the learning is “fresh and students are ready for it” and so Carolyn decides in the middle of a connection with the aerospace industry about space that a seamless transition to The Science of Flight should follow. Adventures are a funny thing: they are dynamic, they are messy, there is planning, but it is a planning centred in possibility rather than predetermining each step of the adventure.  In short, adventures are a longer path to a far more profound depth of learning, because destinations are less the concern than the stops along the way: even when the destination is space itself. Stager, Gary (2008): Learning Adventures: A new approach for transforming real and virtual classroom environments [http://stager.org/articles/72_Stager.pdf] Stager, Gary (2020): Revisiting Learning Adventures in the Time of COVID-19 [http://stager.tv/?p=5632] Gary Stager - Twitter [https://twitter.com/garystager?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor]

What if our belief in the capacity of students involved challenging our assumptions about baselines; challenged our thinking about "learning loss" by taking one giant leap, I mean a giant leap like in the footsteps of a space program…? What if we began in space and worked our way down from there? In this episode of the XL Podcast, part one of a two-part series with Carolyn Johnston, we talk about learning adventures; as you’ll hear, this particular adventure begins in space, and bridges, later, to flight. Stager, Gary (2008): Learning Adventures: A new approach for transforming real and virtual classroom environments [http://stager.org/articles/72_Stager.pdf] Stager, Gary (2020): Revisiting Learning Adventures in the Time of COVID-19 [http://stager.tv/?p=5632] Gary Stager - Twitter [https://twitter.com/garystager?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor]

In part 2 of our series looking at Hillcrest High School’s CNX program I talk with Marilyn McMillan, the educator who transformed ideas and theory into a learning experience like no other; a community which revolves and evolves in space: for learners to see themselves, be themselves, and to begin from anywhere. Marilyn and I are joined by Principal Geordie Walker. Together, our conversation spins a narrative from theory to action in an effort that has resulted in students seeing themselves as learners, and learning to advocate for their genius as a means to navigating school. Marilyn McMillan - Twitter [//@MsMcMillan2] CNX - Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/hillcrest_cnx/?hl=en] Geordie Walker - Twitter [https://twitter.com/PrincipalWalker] Hillcrest High School - Twitter [https://twitter.com/HillcrestHS]