1

table of contents

introduction
What 2012 means to me

2 4 7 19 40

with thanks
For the support and wisdom others have provided

reections
Reecting on success, learning from failure

explorations
Concerning courage, education & beliefs

the last word

A call-to-arms for the young makers of today

introduion

e New Year is usually a time associated with starting over. We tend to assess the year past, pause for relief, and make resolutions in the hope of improved health, happiness and fortune. However, if you end the year still buoyed by the momentum which carried you through it, is it really necessary to change direction at all?
Aer all, the year is an arbitrary measure, a passage of time which isnt necessarily helpful in gauging your progress. Someone may take a year to learn a skill or reach an accomplishment which takes another person ve. Mastery may take either person as many years as they have to give. In reecting on 2012, my most important success wasnt anything transformative, but simply maintaining momentum. As ever, there were plenty of new experiences, challenges and achievements, but there was also continuation, very much welcome aer a more disrupted 2011.

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

inking forward, I certainly have goals; loose expectations of myself and faint ideas of things which I would like to do, but mostly I have the knowledge that the relevant opportunities will arise if I work at my strengths. at, coupled with chance and circumstance. If anything, I want to do less in the year ahead so that I can achieve more. By having fewer commitments and focusing on those for which I am most curious, I wont be as bound by stress or time. is way, Ill also have more time to fulll my desire to make things, whether a magazine, a website or music. But for now, I would like to revisit the moments that made 2012 so memorable; the stories, thoughts, photos, and achievements which occupied my time. Enjoy this retrospective of my 2012 and I hope well both enjoy a successful year ahead. Please pass this booklet on to anyone who you think might enjoy hearing some or all of what I have to say. If you would like to get in touch with meI appreciate your feedbackplease send an email to daniel@danielcoats.net.

is work is licensed under the Creative Commons AttributionShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, or to email me if you wish to discuss the scope of these permissions.

with thanks

ank you to the teachers, competitors, mentors, friends, schoolmates, family and many others who had a part in making 2012 such a successful year. It goes without saying that this booklet and the articles within would not have been possible without your contribution and support.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR

My name is Daniel Coats and Im a high school student living in Christchurch, New Zealand. When not occupied by school work, I enjoy designing websites and writing short stories, while I count debating and running among my favourite sports. You can keep up with my other thoughts & creative endeavours by following my blog: www.danielcoats.net

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

Melbourne Orchestra trip, September

New Zealand Secondary Schools Debating Championships, August

reeions

reections on melbourne
e Burnside High orchestra goes on tour

8 10 12 14 16

hard times, no tomorrow

Our responsibility to one another

the world is vast

Looking at life beyond the day-to-day

arming ambitions
Finding new opportunities in debating

failure can be liberating

Finding comfort in the freedom failure aords us

reeions on melbourne

With two days to go, I thought now would be an opportune time to reect on what I've learnt in a week here in Melbourne.

Phillip Island beach

Musically, my biggest 'takeaway' would be the importance of listening to the rest of the orchestra, to stay in tune and in time. Playing together most days and having the opportunity to socialise has denitely improved our ability to co-operate in this regard. We now know each other better, we're less tentative in pointing out our mistakes as an ensemble, oering advice to one another and coming to a consensus as to the way we phrase, shape or balance the music we play.

10

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

Music aside, I've also enjoyed experiences far removed from the usual routine. From the setting of a city so varied and massive, to the 70-odd others which I've lived alongside; each unique and interesting. It has been a refreshing and even an upliing experience. When you begin to learn a bit about each person, you realise the diversity amongst the orchestra, as well as the mutual friendliness making conversation and new friends you otherwise would not have. Morning runs, elevator rides, meals and walking the streets of the city on our way to each destination all provided these kinds of chance encounters.

Rehearsal with MSO musicians

Performing at BMW Edge

Contrary to the notion that time ies when you're having fun, I've found that the tour has gone by at a steady pace. We've had so many memorable moments each day, morning and evening, that our arrival here seems distant. In other words, it feels like we've done several months of activities in a week. Despite our fast approaching departure, it is comforting to know that many of the friendships formed and moments shared on this trip will undoubtedly follow us home.

11

hard times, no tomorrow

In between periods of repose and rapid change, each person will encounter hard times. Sometimes for days or months on end, seemingly nothing will go right. You will lose focus, let someone down and someone will let you down. You will feel ashamed and guilty. You will reassess your standards and doubt your prospects.
Fortunately, we generally have enough self-control within us to weather these trying periods. We get through them and lose nothing because of them. However, I'm not sure we're all so fortunate. Maybe people who lose their way in school or nd themselves o the rails in their lives are in such a situation because they've long since lost that nite selfcontrol and their subsequent actions have isolated them from the rest.

12

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

ey've fallen on hard times for so long that they are unable to recognise, let alone return to, the same contentedness that others consider normal. Or, by way of circumstance, theyve never known true comfort at all. Are criminals simply people who have forgotten what it's like to be accepted or to succeed? Do we breed failure when we doubt the potential of poor children? Are school dropouts just young people who don't t the mould of our education system? If only we could answer these questions, maybe we would realise as a society that we have more of a responsibility to one another than we realise.

13

the world is va

Explorers occupy a unique place in the minds of many. We view them as pioneers, as if they were the architects and visionaries behind the continents which they charted. We remember their names knowing that, if it were not for them, we would not be.
Yet, explorers simply discovered something that was there all along, but that no one had come across. Many of them, it should be said, failed in their quest. But maybe in failing their grand ambition at least they had the opportunity to take part in another's exploration or to nd a new species to call their own. We should never forget how vast our world is. We may have geographically charted, imaged and analysed every square metre, but in a wider sense the opportunities for exploration remain just as vast as ever. Some of us will explore continent-sized ideas and others will quietly sketch their way into history, outlining the anatomy of a new species. What I'm getting at is the need for people to take a view of their world and their life that is larger than what they may see day-to-day; to not only acknowledge that there are possibilities beyond the
14

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

common path, but that we can nd the unexplored in small ways, too. One may not be comfortable with the idea of leaving school and forging their way in an indie rock band. But they may nd satisfaction in creating artwork on the side or in nding ways to innovate in their current eld of work. I know that some days, school feels like a grind. e goal couldn't be clearer, but at times I question how much I really want it, in spite of all the talk, motivation and occasional exaggeration as to the importance of school marks. So sometimes I step back. I put aside school and disregard what everyone else may be doing, to appreciate that I can nd the most satisfaction in writing something for others to read. I don't do it all the time, but I do occasionally, when I really feel the urge to explore.

15

arming ambitions

is year armed my belief that great opportunities will arise, serendipitously, if you work hard and take risks. Goal-setting and meticulous planning will only take you so far.
You cant connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. Steve Jobs
I was initially hesitant when asked to take a place in the school debating team for the regional championships only two days out from competition. e prospect of two days and at least 5 debates made the ordinary weekend appear suddenly more appealing. It is oen tempting to pass up such opportunities, not because you dont enjoy the activity, but because you dread the challenge. However, this was a challenge without cost, it was an opportunity to grow as a debater and to gain experience at a higher level. I stayed up late the night before, writing and researching for the rst two prepared debates on performance-based pay for teachers. I was less than condent when faced by the imposing gures of senior students the following day, but also buoyed by the knowledge that there were no expectations and that I had two highly capable team mates to take the lead.
16

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

Well-matched by way of our diering strengths, we were relieved to nish the day with three wins and top speaker points overall. e following day, aer two further wins and with a good rhythm going, we entered the nal. In an adjudication split 2-3, at 7 in the evening, aer two days of debating, the verdict was a close second. However, there was conciliation in receiving a runners up trophy that curiously appeared more impressive than rst places. But this was no sort of ending. Selection for the Canterbury team followed, and with it new skills, beliefs, friends and experiences. A year which begun without any goals in debating ended with the idea that maybe, one day, I could represent New Zealand.

May 20
Runners-up & Best Speaker in the Russell McVeagh Canterbury Champs at the University of Canterbury.

August 13
Competed at the Russell McVeagh NZ Secondary Schools Debating Champs at Victoria University.

September 23
Winners & Best Speaker of the Canterbury Junior Press tournament.
17

failure can be liberating

When you fail to meet your expectations. When you arrive late. When your determination doesn't arrive at all. It is almost always a disappointing, and occasionally a devastating, moment when your objectives and reality do not align.
e only course of action seems to be reection; on what may have happened and how you may have felt. e disappointment of reality, however, is dicult to extinguish. at is about all I have to say regarding failure. Except that it needn't end with disappointment. Once you've weathered the shortterm grief, there's a long-term gain waiting somewhere. Maybe it is the knowledge that next time you'll do better. Or maybe it is the knowledge learnt in the process. Or the realisation that you're just as dignied and just as gracious in defeat as you are in success. If nothing else, failure may simply serve as a moment of liberation. You are now unencumbered by the burden of success. You're free from the fear of failure and you're still alive.
18

explorations

an app for education

Intuitive learning for todays student

20 26 30 34

a higher summit
Short story about more than a mountain

my beliefs
A changeable catalogue of beliefs

the future is open

Why education has every need to change

21

an app for education

PCs have failed to improve education to the extent which many anticipated, and classroom learning still remains largely consigned to textbooks. But with the prevalence of smartphones, a new opportunity has arisen for a smartphone application that encourages students to learn, on their own terms.
BACKGROUND

Twenty-twelve conrmed that the immediate future of technology rests in the palm of our hands, literally, as smartphone prevalence gathered yet more momentum. is wasn't a new revelationthese far-more-than-phones have been around for the best part of a decade but it is only recently that the technology has evolved and the price fallen to the point at which consumers are now adopting them faster than any other device. Now-antiquated 'feature phones', with primitive internet capabilities and limited functionality are today being abandoned and overwhelmingly replaced by Android and iOS devices. Statistics

22

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

conrm the jump in smartphone adoption, rising from 13% in 2011 to 44% of New Zealand households in 20121.
PROBLEM

You've probably heard someone in the past year say, "I bet there's an app for that." Aer all, you can nd everything from a faux-retro camera to a heart rate monitor in app form. However, in some areas there are still gaps which remain. Education is one such area. With such an established system in place, this institution has been understandably slow to react.
SOLUTION

So I would like to take on this issue; specically, the lack of a free application designed to improve upon the textbook based learning of New Zealand high schools an app for NCEA students which allows them to learn on their own terms. I'm not alone in considering the need for such an application. Others have already released products in this niche2 but, as an exercise in thought and design, I would like to share my take.

23

AN APP FOR EDUCATION

What follows is a dra, outlining the purpose and specics of the app. I would like this project to be as open and collaborative as possible, as I'm sure others can oer many more ideas than I have put forward here. If you are interested, please see how you can help in the Contribute section.
DRAFT OUTLINE

Purpose
To provide students with a way of learning and revising NCEA course material in their own time, from their own devices.

Content

Full course material for Level 1-3 Maths, Science &

English. Written lessons, including diagrams, definitions and examples. Links within lessons to other related content where necessary. Animations to demonstrate important concepts. Step-by-step tutorial videos to demonstrate

processes. Practice questions at the end of each unit. Closed, multi-choice questions to reinforce definitions and ideas. Examples of written or worked answers for open questions or essays, with annotations. Previous exam papers followed by mark scheme for self-evaluation.
24

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

Links to additional content, such as books, websites and NCEA-related information, such as exam times, rules, A how-to section for using the application.
Features
credentials. Summary of NCEA results and qualifications. Summary of course progress and scores in unit tests within the app. Create SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-based) goals, linked to progress and qualification requirements and frequently asked questions. videos.

Personalised user accounts, using NZQA log-in

results. Study timer which notifies the user when to take a break and how long to study between breaks. Daily summary of the amount of time spent using the application and progress made.

25

AN APP FOR EDUCATION

CONTRIBUTE

ank you for reading my vision for a mobile application tailored to the needs of NCEA students. ere are many ways in which this idea could be improved, so if you have any suggestions, additions or comments that you can oer, you might like to: Email me your ideas so that we can discuss them further. My email address is daniel@danielcoats.net. Add your comments to the open Google Doc: http://bit.ly/11rVWuS. Respond by writing a blog post of your own. Share this article with others who you think might be interested. Here is the link to the original blog post: http://wp.me/p1nuFy-4T. I will be thinking and writing more about this idea, so keep an eye on my blog for future developments: www.danielcoats.net.
ENDNOTES
1

Our Mobile Planet: New Zealand (http://bit.ly/MUsBR3), published by Google, May 2012.
2

For example, NCEA Eagle, an app focused on improving exam revision.

26

a higher summit

en, six years later, I saw him again.

With a bouquet of owers in one hand, I walked slowly down the rows of gravestones adorned with epitaphs. Some told stories of children taken too soon, others of fathers and mothers whose lives were lived to the full. e one I sought was the highest, placed atop a small hill at the farthest end of the cemetery. DAVID BAXTER 1972 - 2004 DIED ON THE SLOPES OF EVEREST ON TOP OF THE WORLD. I looked up to the mountains in the distance. Although his body was buried here at my feet, my mind was in the mountains, where I had shared his nal breath. As much as I yearned to return, to nally reach the summit, this gravestone still blocked my way. I heard a mournful sigh behind me. Turning to gaze into two arctic-blue eyes and the grey stubble of a mountaineer, I drew a sharp breath. He wore an articial leg, like a veteran of war or of the mountains, and I recognised at once: is was the man who had

28

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

danced on the brink of death the very same day that David passed away, six years ago today. Aer weeks of climbing and acclimatisation, our expedition of four prepared for the nal ascent. We checked our packs, clamped on our crampons, and went about it. As we trudged on, through sparse campsites and along narrow paths, the mountain began to wear us down. e air grew thin and the fog grew thick, but our preparation provided some comfort. Looking deep into the valleys below and across the border into China, I considered my mortality once more. Resolute and unencumbered by the thought of death, I dug deeper into the ice. e GPS says 8000. Welcome to the club, said Jobe. However, it was herein a literal death zonethat the stakes became apparent. Climbing over a ridge and struck by a whip of wind, I threw my limbs forward to regain balance. Seeking shelter in a small alcove, I listened to the sounds of the mountain. But all I heard was wind, bueting against the cli-face, and nothing of the three behind me. e unnerving isolation was at once odd, then frightening. Turning back, all I saw was a blanket of fog and the guide rope slack at my feet. With too little oxygen to cry out, I walked back to the ridge and peered over the edge. But no one. en through the cloud my greatest fear was met with relief. As my companions clambered over the edge, we sought solace in our reunion. And still, the mountain gave nothing back. Our next obstacle, an hour later (or was it ve?), was a sheer drop, a scanty ladder the only path across. I hesitantly took the lead.

29

A HIGHER SUMMIT

Falling 1000 feet sure beats freezing to death, said Jobe, reassuringly. Just beyond the other end, I thought I saw the rst of the mountains open graves. Or was it just an abandoned jacket? I stared at it, as I waited for the others to join me. A groan. e jacket moved, and afraid, I felt the urge to turn back. Either I was succumbing to the madness of hypoxia, or witnessing the worst way to die on Everest. Help... at word struck me, just as I tried to ignore what I had seen. Moving closer, I knelt near the man who was hunched up against the rock face. He pointed to his le, to another body, the face of whom was droopy and pale. We gathered around the two men, oering water, food and an oxygen canister. For a while, we brushed the snow o their jackets, fed crumbs onto purple tongues and tried to breathe warmth into their blackened ngers. It was clear, though, that if we le them, we le them for dead. Only two hours le to summit. Only hours before the winds, or the cold, or the lack of oxygen, would do away with us. As we looked at one another, knowing how far we had come, none of us wanted to turn back. Tony, another in our expedition, stood up and motioned for us to keep moving. We can come for them on the descent, he said. No, no, they dont have that long. We have to split, Jobe said, Anne and I will take the summit since we have the most experience. e mention of my name made me uncomfortable. I couldnt betray the others like that.

30

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

Ill stay, I said. No ones going. Itll take every one of us to save these men, said Murray, the eldest of our group. I nodded. e other two hesitantly bowed their heads. We were silent then, as we ooaded excess gear and roped the two men. e one who spoke was able to amble along beside us, but the other couldnt stand. We wrapped a foil sheet around his body and dragged him across the ice. It wasnt until we descended to the next camp, and comforted one of the men as he passed away, that we realised what we had le behind. e uninitiated may tell you that climbing Everest is merely a challenging diversion from normal life, but its so much more than that. For us, it was a feeling of anguish at the realisation that we had abandoned the summit. When we reached base camp a day later, with a corpse and another man silent and devoid of colour, the spirit with which we had ascended Everest was lost. Little was said as we delivered the men to the doctors there. I said good-bye, but at that point I wanted nothing more than to leave. Two days later, I saw a climbers death notice in the local Kathmandu paper, David Baxter. I wondered about the other man and whether he had been more fortunate. I never caught your name that day, I said. Its John. Ive always wanted to say thank you for what you sacriced that day, but I never got the chance... No, I should thank you. It made me realise what a precious gi life is, and that its far too short to live with regret.

31

my beliefs

Many of us hold personal beliefs which we have never really considered in depth, yet, we somehow hold them to be irrefutable. Smoking is bad. e minimum wage is benecial. Mass-murderers should be killed by the state. Fair-trade helps underprivileged workers overseas. And every variation of these timeless issues.
However, you immediately question such beliefs when you are forced to debate them from the opposite point of view, or even your own. You have to begin justifying, or at the least nding, arguments which support your side. You also have to be ready for the crisis of condence which may ensue when the opposition hit you with a high-powered response. Conceding thats a good point will not win you any favour with the adjudicator. Debating, then, is about breaking down any bias which may usually inform your view on an argument. Aer having learnt from the seasoned seniors of debating during 2012, I have acquired many tacks for debating typical moots, from bodily autonomy to the harm principle. I have also learnt that many of the beliefs which we hold true are nothing more than the product
32

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

of someone elses inuence over us, from parents to peers to wider society. We cannot, nor should we necessarily, block out these inuences altogether, but rather we should question them, by way of research and debate. Recently, I came across an article1 in which an blogger Buster Benson talked about how he catalogues his beliefs and stores them online2 for the public to view and comment on. Over time, as his views change, he revises the document accordingly. In the spirit of the open internet, he also invites the public to take his document and use it as a starting point for their own. So I made a copy (known as forking), the start of which you can see below. You can view my most recent Beliefs document on the next page or online here: https://github.com/danielcoats/public/blob/master/BELIEFS.md

33

MY BELIEFS

My Beliefs
The beliefs recorded in this documentmy beliefsare constantly changing and perpetually under consideration. Although the following points may read as unjustified statements, I would encourage you to please get in touch with me if you want my explanation, or if you wish to convince me otherwise.

On Morality
used.

Under no circumstance should the death penalty be Voluntary euthanasia should be legal for those suering Gay marriage should be legal.
from terminal illness.

On Relationships

The more you get to know someone, the more apparent

their flaws become.

On Spirituality

Everybody will one day die. There is no a"erlife or resurrection. All children should be vaccinated against common Abortion should be legal.
diseases, such as small pox and tetanus.

On Health

34

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

On Education

Physical activity should be compulsory at all school year

levels, regardless of which subjects a student chooses.

Meta

Most people are ill-informed about important issues. We have very little control over what we believe in. Some of my beliefs will be proven wrong. I'm willing to be convinced that my beliefs are wrong. Making and maintaining this list is useful and fun. Everybody should take the time to record their own
beliefs, if only for themselves. Few questions can ever be unequivocally answered.

Codex Vitae (http://wayoheduck.com/codex-vitae), Buster Benson.

2

Beliefs.md (https://github.com/busterbenson/public/blob/master/ Beliefs.md), Buster Benson.

35

the future is open

You don't need to be a student to realise that education is lagging behind the times. Technology is at its best complementary to traditional classroom learning today, while elsewhere in our lives it continues to reinvent the ways that we communicate and consume information.
We need to approach this growing divide with measured urgency. We should start by exploring new and creative ways that we can use technology to make every student's pathway through school more enjoyable and more in touch with the way we live our lives today. Aer all, the next generation is not going to grow up with printed books; rather, the future of communication is in ubiquitous internet connectivity and smartphones (a redundant name for devices that take many more forms than the phone). It makes sense that education shouldn't just acknowledge this shionly one of many but take advantage of it.
COMPLACENCY ISN'T AN OPTION

ere are still those who contest that education is ne as it is. In many ways, they are right. Achievement isn't falling, nor is our place
36

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

internationally. Our place as a world-class education system (eighth in a recent report1 ) puts New Zealand in a privileged position. But the o-cited adage "if it ain't broke, don't x it"apart from sounding unintelligentignores the necessity and benet of progress. e continual improvement of our quality of life relies on the idea of progress, whether in economics, science or education. Progress is what lis people out of poverty, increases equality and develops new cures. So clearly we need a constant focus on innovation, even when it seems tiresome, but that we should do so without jeopardising a record of achievement that most of the world aspires to.
FINDING PURPOSE IN NOVELTY

Attempts to improve the use of technology in education remain rather reactionary. As each new technology emerges, we waste little time in nding a place for it in our schools, from computers to the internet to more recently tablets, but little consideration seems to be given to the purpose of these tools. ey are yet to meaningfully transform or improve our system of education. Learning still primarily happens from desks, notes are still in pen and high school students still carry around a mass of textbooks and exercise books. e way forward is not to throw out these conventions, because they each still serve an essential function, but we should also acknowledge that progress will someday do away with them. We should really be looking at each emerging technology and isolating the single most important purpose it should serve to our students. It is also worth noting that many of these emerging toolsthe internet, computers, tabletsare not discrete. ey are one and the same. e emergence of new technology makes us question many things which have remained constant in education - Where does learning

37

THE FUTURE IS OPEN

happen? What should we be learning? How should information be presented? Not only does technology have the potential to augment learning today, but to redene many of these century-old traditions.
ADDENDUM

Another thought recently crossed my mind; another reason why the unchanged institution of public education cant aord to lag any longer. Recently, there has been a surge in both technology start-ups and established, well-resourced Universities oering lessons online. For the tertiary sector, this is a development which could see some of their on-campus courses falling out of favour, when students can learn for less money and potentially to a higher level given the calibre of lecturers who are renowned internationally. e most impressive and generous example of this move to learning online can be found in edX2, a non-prot organisation founded by Harvard and MIT, oering courses in areas from Computer Science to Philosophy. Like a traditional class, there is a start and end date, graded homework, and exams, all of which contribute to a nal qualication, such as the MITx certicate of mastery. It will take years for our perceptions to shi from education being something which happens in vast campuses, for those who can aord the course and living costs, to more open, aordable and of a higher quality. I can see public education changing in much the same way. I envisage the emergence of online programs for primary and secondary, much like Khan Academy3 , which will oer diverse and interactive courses. Such services may begin as supplementary to classroom learning, like a private tutor, but could well become even

38

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

more appealing and recognised than our own NCEA qualication system. is would free up more opportunity for our teachers to be focused on looking out for students, addressing areas of diculty, focusing on those who may have fallen behind, and administering exams at the end of each semester. Schools, no longer constrained by the need to have all 30 desks facing the teacher at any one time, could become comfortable campuses which encourage students to be there and be focused. ere are many holes you could poke in these abstract ideas for education, so far-removed from todays (and yesterdays) system. However, I cant help but be excited about learning becoming something which happens more on my terms, without forgoing the support and structure already provided by our schools and teachers.
ENDNOTES
1

NZ's education system ranked high globally (http://bit.ly/ U74FcA ), NZ Herald.

2

edX - e future of online education (http://edx.org/). See also, TED ED - Lessons worth sharing (http://ed.ted.com/).
3

Khan Academy (http://www.khanacademy.org/).

39

THE FUTURE IS OPEN

THE FUTURE IS MOBILE

THE FUTURE IS ACCESSIBLE FOR EVERYONE

THE FUTURE IS INTERACTIVE

40

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

Students are apathetic. eyre bored. School sux. And it does. It sux hardcore. Being treated like a cog in a world thats rebuilding itself around personalisation and instant, contextual access to information and experiences makes our school system more irrelevant by the month. Russ Maschmeyer (http://bit.ly/rsfpwP)

We believe that by the year 2019 half of all classes for grades K-12 will be taught onlinee rise of online learning carries with it an unprecedented opportunity to transform the schooling system into a student-centric one that can aordably customise for dierent student needs by allowing all students to learn at their appropriate pace and path, thereby allowing each student to realise his or her fullest potential Clayton Christensen (http://tnw.co/s6uA1x)

Were entering a revolution of ideas while producing a generation that wants instructions instead. When access to information was limited we needed to load students with facts. Now, when we have no scarcity of facts, or the access to them, we need to load them up with understanding. Seth Godin, Stop Stealing Dreams (http://bit.ly/PGno2g)

41

the la word

It would be great if the things we make while were still young and creative could be better recognised by the wider world. At times, it feels like the very creativity that young people exude is snued out by the specic, prescriptive demands of school and growing up.
Many young people have sketchbooks, notebooks, hard-drives, blogs, portfolios, music folders, inventions and ideas which in themselves are impressive and would be the envy of many adults. But even more impressive is the potential for these interests to grow and become something even greater with time. So I would implore any young person with such a passion to follow it. Show it to others; actively seek the feedback and recognition which may well encourage you to develop your talent to another level entirely. Daniel Coats

42