DAnnual Twenty-Twelve

7/29/2019 DAnnual Twenty-Twelve

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table of contents

introductionWhat 2012 means to me

with thanksFor the support and wisdom others have provided

reflectionsReflecting on success, learning from failure

explorationsConcerning courage, education & beliefs

the last wordA call-to-arms for the young makers of today

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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 five. Mastery may take either person as many years as

they have to give.

In reflecting 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.

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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 fulfill 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 whichoccupied 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 [email protected].

is work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-

ShareAlike 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.

DANNUAL TWENTY-TWELVE

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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 amongmy favourite sports.

You can keep up with my other thoughts & creative endeavours by

following my blog: www.danielcoats.net

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http://livepage.apple.com/http://livepage.apple.com/


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Melbourne Orchestra trip, September

New Zealand Secondary Schools Debating Championships, August


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refleions

reflections on melbournee Burnside High orchestra goes on tour

hard times, no tomorrowOur responsibility to one another

the world is vastLooking at life beyond the day-to-day

affirming ambitionsFinding new opportunities in debating

failure can be liberatingFinding comfort in the freedom failure affords us

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refleions on

melbourne

With two days to go, I thought now would be an

opportune time to reflect on what I've learnt in a week

here in Melbourne.

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 definitely 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, offering advice to one another and coming

to a consensus as to the way we phrase, shape or balance the music

we play.

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Phillip Island beach


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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 andinteresting. 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.

Contrary to the notion that time flies 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.


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Rehearsal with MSO musicians Performing at BMW Edge


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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 find themselves offthe rails in their lives

are in such a situation because they've long since lost that finite self-

control and their subsequent actions have isolated them from the

rest.

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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 fit 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.


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the world is vast

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 find 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 vastas 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

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common path, but that we can find 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 findsatisfaction in creating artwork on the side or in finding ways to

innovate in their current field 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 whateveryone else may be doing, to appreciate that I can find 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.


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affirming ambitions

is year affirmed 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

first two prepared debates on performance-based pay for teachers. I

was less than confident when faced by the imposing figures 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.

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Well-matched by way of our differing strengths, we were relieved

to finish 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 final. In an adjudication split 2-3, at 7 in theevening, 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 first 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.


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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.


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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 reflection; on what may

have happened and how you may have felt. e disappointment of

reality, however, is difficult 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 short-

term 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 dignified 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.

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explorations

an app for educationIntuitive learning for todays student

a higher summitShort story about more than a mountain

my beliefsA changeable catalogue of beliefs

the future is openWhy education has every need to change

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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 confirmed 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

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confirm 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 find everything from a faux-retro

camera to a heart rate monitor in app form. However, in some areasthere 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; specifically, the lack of a free

application designed to improve upon the textbook based learning ofNew 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.


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What follows is a dra, outlining the purpose and specifics of the

app. I would like this project to be as open and collaborative as

possible, as I'm sure others can offer many more ideas than I have put

forward here. If you are interested, please see how you can help in theContribute 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.

AN APP FOR EDUCATION

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Links to additional content, such as books, websites andvideos.

NCEA-related information, such as exam times, rules,qualification requirements and frequently asked

questions.

A how-to section for using the application.

Features

Personalised user accounts, using NZQA log-incredentials.

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

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 theapplication and progress made.


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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 orcomments that you can offer, you might like to:

Email me your ideas so that we can discuss them further. My email

address is [email protected].

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

AN APP FOR EDUCATION

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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.
http://bit.ly/MUsBR3http://bit.ly/MUsBR3


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a higher summit

en, six years later, I saw him again.

With a bouquet offlowers 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 Ihad shared his final breath. As much as I yearned to return, to finally

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 artificial leg, like a veteran of war or of the

mountains, and I recognised at once: is was the man who had

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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 final 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 ofwind, 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, buffeting against the cliff-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 theridge 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 five?), was a sheer drop, a scanty ladder the only

path across. I hesitantly took the lead.


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Falling 1000 feet sure beats freezing to death, said Jobe,

reassuringly.

Just beyond the other end, I thought I saw the first 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, offering

water, food and an oxygen canister. For a while, we brushed the snow

off

their jackets, fed crumbs onto purple tongues and tried to breathewarmth into their blackened fingers. 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.

A HIGHER SUMMIT

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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 offloaded 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 lebehind. 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 tothe 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 sacrificed

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.


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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

beneficial. 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 finding, arguments

which support your side. You also have to be ready for the crisis of

confidence 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

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of someone elses influence over us, from parents to peers to wider

society. We cannot, nor should we necessarily, block out these

influences 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 acopy (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


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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

Under no circumstance should the death penalty beused.

Voluntary euthanasia should be legal for those sufferingfrom terminal illness.

Gay marriage should be legal.

On Relationships

The more you get to know someone, the more apparenttheir flaws become.

On Spirituality

Everybody will one day die.

There is no a"erlife or resurrection.On Health

All children should be vaccinated against commondiseases, such as small pox and tetanus.

Abortion should be legal.

MY BELIEFS

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On Education

Physical activity should be compulsory at all school yearlevels, 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.


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

Benson.

2 Beliefs.md (https://github.com/busterbenson/public/blob/master/

Beliefs.md), Buster Benson.
https://github.com/busterbenson/public/blob/master/Beliefs.mdhttps://github.com/busterbenson/public/blob/master/Beliefs.mdhttp://wayoftheduck.com/codex-vitaehttps://github.com/busterbenson/public/blob/master/Beliefs.mdhttps://github.com/busterbenson/public/blob/master/Beliefs.mdhttps://github.com/busterbenson/public/blob/master/Beliefs.mdhttps://github.com/busterbenson/public/blob/master/Beliefs.mdhttp://wayoftheduck.com/codex-vitaehttp://wayoftheduck.com/codex-vitae


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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 thateducation 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 fine as it is. In

many ways, they are right. Achievement isn't falling, nor is our place

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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 fix it"apart from sounding

unintelligentignores the necessity and benefit of progress. econtinual 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 finding 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 meaningfullytransform 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. Weshould 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


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happen? What should we be learning? How should information be

presented? Not only does technology have the potential to augment

learning today, but to redefine many of these century-old traditions.

ADDENDUM

Another thought recently crossed my mind; another reason why

the unchanged institution of public education cant afford to lag any

longer. Recently, there has been a surge in both technology start-ups

and established, well-resourced Universities offering 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 canlearn 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-profit organisation

founded by Harvard and MIT, offering 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 whichcontribute to a final qualification, such as the MITx certificate of

mastery.

It will take years for our perceptions to shi from education being

something which happens in vast campuses, for those who can afford

the course and living costs, to more open, affordable 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 offer diverse and

interactive courses. Such services may begin as supplementary to

classroom learning, like a private tutor, but could well become even

THE FUTURE IS OPEN

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more appealing and recognised than our own NCEA qualification

system.

is would free up more opportunity for our teachers to be

focused on looking out for students, addressing areas of difficulty,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 foreducation, 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


39

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/).
http://edx.org/http://bit.ly/U74FcAhttp://bit.ly/U74FcAhttps://www.khanacademy.org/https://www.khanacademy.org/http://edx.org/http://edx.org/http://bit.ly/U74FcAhttp://bit.ly/U74FcAhttp://bit.ly/U74FcAhttp://bit.ly/U74FcA


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THE FUTURE IS OPEN

40

THE FUTURE IS MOBILE

THE FUTURE IS

ACCESSIBLE FOR

EVERYONE

THE FUTURE IS

INTERACTIVE


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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 online e rise of online learning carries

with it an unprecedented opportunity to transform the schooling

system into a student-centric one that can affordably customise

for different student needs by allowing all students to learn at

their appropriate pace and path, thereby allowing each student torealise 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)


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the last 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 snuffed out by the specific, 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

DAnnual Twenty-Twelve

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