July 27, 2008
TECHNOS QUARTERLY Winter 1997 Vol. 6 No. 4
Learn & Live™: Imagine the Possibilities
By Mark Sargent
With all the dynamism, excitement, and creativity that you’d expect, The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) has recently launched Learn & Live™ in a national campaign to share the good news about today’s education at its best.
Ask filmmaker George Lucas what is the most important issue facing this country, and he agrees with recent public opinion polls: education. “Like so many others,” he says, “I believe that public education is the cornerstone of our society. It is the foundation of our freedom and a vital building block of our democracy—a stepping stone for young and old alike to reach their full potential.” He also feels strongly that technology, increasingly ubiquitous in the worlds of entertainment and business, can play an important role in helping to transform teaching and learning.
“It
is incumbent upon us,” says Lucas, “to help students channel their
excitement and ideas into productive educational experiences.”
In 1991, acting on his beliefs, Lucas founded The George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) to explore how computers and telecommunications and multimedia technologies can be used to help revitalize education. And now, with the recent release of Learn & Live™, a documentary film hosted by Robin Williams, and its companion resource book, GLEF is sharing encouraging news about how innovative teaching, combined with effective uses of technology, is creating dynamic public schools, schools where learning is meaningful and fun.
To understand Lucas’ commitment to education is to understand that he wants for others what he did not always have himself. “Up through high school,” Lucas says, “I found school somewhat frustrating” and often felt isolated and bored. Those educational experiences where he felt truly engaged in learning, where he was given license to create and to explore, were a rarity. Only later, when he reached college and then film school, did Lucas begin to feel liberated, challenged, and excited about learning.
Everyone’s Responsiblity
With this contrast in mind, Lucas articulates what he feels education should
strive to accomplish: “There is a natural level of curiosity and motivation
in every individual; and it is incumbent upon us to devise ways to tap into
that creative energy, to help students channel their excitement and ideas
into productive educational experiences.” As a parent, Lucas says that
the responsibility for providing this type of education for all our children
is shared by “everyone who cares about this country and its future, whether
they have children or not.”
As
a filmmaker, Lucas appreciates technology’s capacity to ignite an individual’s
creativity and sees this attribute as potentially powerful in education as
well. He says, “Electronic tools have great potential to engage and challenge
students.” Lucas finds particular promise in the capacity of today’s
technologies to facilitate access to rich information and an array of peers,
mentors, and experts. In addition, these technologies can motivate students
as well as be adapted to a number of learning abilities and styles.
GLEF Created
GLEF was created to identify effective ways in which technology and proven
strategies for teaching and learning are being used to educate children, and
then to disseminate those findings to the widest possible audience. Because
this type of endeavor is research intensive, the Foundation held a series
of meetings in 1993 to study education and technology and the changes that
were likely to occur over the next 25 years. These sessions drew participants
from many arenas—experts from education, multimedia and telecommunications
technologies, child development, and psychology as well as policy makers,
researchers, teachers, principals, students, parents, program directors, and
community leaders. In addition, GLEF conducted extensive surveys of literature
covering education and technology, hundreds of interviews, and dozens of school
visits.
Out of these research efforts, an exciting and promising picture of the public education system emerged. “We found many people—teachers, parents, administrators, students, school board members, community members, and business leaders—wrestling with how to transform the educational system,” says Lucas. “They were rethinking the missions of their schools and adopting innovative approaches to learning and teaching. Some were using technology to break down the isolation students and teachers often feel, taking education beyond the classroom and into the world; others were experimenting with multi-age classrooms; still others were looking at new forms of assessment.”
Throughout
these meetings, the Foundation heard a common refrain. Lucas says, “Over
and over, people were telling us that what were really missing from the national
discourse about education and technology were new pictures or images which
showed dynamic, effective public schools in action. The notion was that, if
we really wanted to support the task of transforming our educational system
into one that works for all children (a truly immense task), this was a way
to help do that.”
Learn & Live is the result of the Foundation’s commitment to fulfill this mandate. These materials introduce the wide range of complex issues and innovations that are found in today’s public schools and share a vision of what education looks like at its best. Effective strategies for learning, the changing role of teachers, ways families can be involved in school, and ideas about integrating technology into education are major themes. Although many of the ideas presented about teaching and learning are not new, research continues to reveal how and why they work. What is new is the availability of technologies that can help make learning more engaging and effective for everyone. Learn & Live shows how it’s possible for technology to enhance the changes that must be made to our educationl system.
Theory and Practice Convergence
Viewers of the documentary film will see outstanding examples of the convergence
of education theory and practice. Howard Gardner explains the importance of
hands-on learning and elaborates upon his vision for schools that address
the learning needs of all students; Linda Darling-Hammond describes changes
in the role of the teacher and the implications for teacher education; and
John Seeley Brown stresses the importance of collaboration to the learning
process. Colin Powell and Bill Gates add perspectives that underline the importance
of connecting schools to the real world and of harnessing the power of technology.
These and other strategies are seen at work in schools such as Clear View
Charter School in Chula Vista, California, where Jim Dieckmann and his fourth-
and fifth-grade science students conduct a hands-on investigation of insect
anatomy. Students work in teams to collect insects, use the Internet for detailed
research, and prepare content-rich reports using multimedia tools. A two-way
interactive fiber-optic connection with an entomology lab at San Diego State
University allows students to examine specimens through an electron microscope
and to share real-time observations with experts. Because Dieckmann establishes
clear expectations for student performance in advance and enlists the class
in developing meaningful assessment tools, there is a sense of purpose and
engagement in his classroom.
Many of the schools profiled in Learn & Live have developed comprehensive school-to-career initiatives. One film segment features Shoreline High School in suburban Seattle, which offers an interdisciplinary curriculum that enables students to connect academics with the world of work. The segment focuses on two students, Ryan and Kevin, as they collaborate on a project for a leading software company, applying knowledge from their math, physics, and English classes. A project manager from the company provides guidance and feedback, helping the students understand how their work can be improved.
Each chapter of the resource book begins with a visionary essay from a leading educator, and then features narratives from practitioners actively working to improve education. Focusing specifically on technology, for example, Jan Hawkins, director of the Center for Children and Technology at the Education Development Center, describes how interactive technologies can provide richer materials for learning, affect the way time is used in schools, and support ongoing professional development for teachers. And John McSweeney, technologist for the Cabot School in Vermont, shows ways in which technology has unleashed students’ creativity and motivation to learn in his rural school. In addition to profiles and essays, the Learn & Live resource book provides annotated descriptions of hundreds of print and electronic resources, so that those wishing to take immediate action will have guidance and support.
Learn
& Live is available through The George Lucas Educational Foundation’s
Web site at http://glef.org.
Supporting Role in Reform
Learn & Live emphasizes that technology must play a supporting, not
leading, role in school reform efforts. Personal stories from practitioners
stress that the existence of technology in schools is no guarantee that it
will be used appropriately. Film segments illustrate additional elements which
must be in place for technology integration to be most effective: curricula
that allow students to ask questions and work on hands-on projects; programs
that help students address emotional, social, and physical problems; and authentic
forms of assessment which resemble ways that students will be expected to
use their knowledge and skills in the real world.
The intended audience for Learn & Live—deliberately broad—reflects the conviction of Lucas and the Foundation that action to reinvigorate public education is a shared responsibility. The Foundation aims for these materials to serve as a catalyst for conversation and for action, not to provide a “right” answer. Instead, many possibilities are presented, along with the acknowledgment that, just as there is no one way to educate a child, there is also no single way to improve schools. Each community needs to make its own decisions about how to advance change. The materials include suggestions as to how students, teachers, parents, public officials, and community and business leaders can become involved in efforts to improve their schools. For example, the Foundation encourages families to use the materials to work with their school’s site council, parent-teacher association, or school board to facilitate conversation about changes they would like to see for the school. Through examples provided by Learn & Live, GLEF also challenges businesses to sustain support for education and to develop strategies to connect with schools in their area. The Foundation also encourages public officials at all levels to commit resources and to help hold the educational system accountable by establishing policies and priorities. In all of these areas, Learn & Live aims to help diverse audiences ask and answer difficult but important questions: “What can we as school board members do to better support school site councils?” or “What can I do as a legislator to facilitate the implementation of a statewide technology plan?”
The film and book, although only recently completed, have already begun to hit the mark, according to the Foundation’s Executive Director Patty Burness. “We are hearing from teachers, parents, business leaders and others from around the country: from states like Vermont, where legislative leaders are using Learn & Live to support their efforts to increase parent and community involvement in schools; from Texas, where the materials are helping business leaders develop strategies to support public schools; from North Carolina and Tennessee, where teacher education programs are using Learn & Live in coursework to educate the next generation of teachers.” And in New York state, where schools are required to integrate technology within the curriculum, Learn & Live is supporting the work of Barbara Van Wicklin, Technology Program Manager for the Board of Cooperative Educational Services of the New York State Department of Education. Van Wicklin says, “The weaving together of great ideas, great minds, and great tools provides a vision for the educational community. Learn & Live showcases strategies that will help to change education—not through bells and whistles, but through research and modeling.”
The Foundation is in the process of distributing 100,000 copies of Learn & Live to stakeholders in education: students; parents; teachers and other educators; community, business, and opinion leaders; the media; and public officials. In addition, the Foundation has successfully established partnerships with organizations in education, philanthropy, government, and business to facilitate the dissemination of materials. Blockbuster Entertainment will make copies of the documentary film available on its community service shelf. And GLEF is informing audiences about Learn & Live by participating in national conferences, such as the July 1997 Vice President’s Family Reunion Conference where the material was warmly received by President Clinton and Vice President Gore.
What’s ahead for GLEF
What’s next for the Foundation? Although GLEF will continue to provide
inspiration and ideas through continued development of print and electronic
materials, its focus will expand to address issues of action and implementation.
Its popular Web site is becoming the focal point for continuously updated
research findings, support materials, and other information critical to the
revitalization of the educational system.
The Foundation’s growing audience is energized and is asking for support in moving forward to reinvigorate schools. GLEF seeks to support those efforts, recognizing that the task of transforming the education system into one that works is immense, and that a substantial commitment of time, energy, and resources will be required over the long haul.
George Lucas’s goal to share the potential and the good news about education has become a reality—and that’s just the beginning.
Photos courtesy of The George Lucas Educational Foundation. Photographer: Howard Roffman; Book cover designer: Kristen Funkhouser.
A
newcomer to California from Vermont, Mark Sargent is the Communications Director
of The George Lucas Educational Foundation. Contact him at msargent@glef.org.