FETC Michael Wesch

Michael Wesch: anthropologist

Inspired by Michael Wesch to create classes where kids are free to fail, to love and to wonder. #FETC

Before this keynote session, I hadn't heard of the anthropologist Michael Wesch but I did know his work. We’ve been shown his video gone viral about web 2.0 and the one about disaffected college students in America? What these walls say - video made by students in collaboration. And Web  2.0 - video of history of text.  Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us
A Vision of Students Today




He has given a TED talk. I strongly recommend you check it out. 

An outline of what I found interesting in his talk:

·         Walk through history, 1200 years

·         2003 first viral video: Numanuma, connects in new ways

·         Heading to ubiquitous communications

·         Importance of writing to facilitate change

·         Move kids from knowledgeable to able to find, sort, create, evaluate . .  Knowledge.

·         More than teaching skills, Must inspire wonder, Ex: video of snow in New Zealand

·       Wonder and curiosity correlate with happiness
Great teachers can inspire wonderful questions like how different can humans be? Range of human possibility (same: raising pitch at end of question. why? Mammals do it, Hi pitch question invited connections, embrace vulnerability, quest for mastery
Need to feel safe to do that)

·         Stories of journey in papa new guinea. Open to losing yourself to be open to learning.

·         Empathy Today less empathy, encapsulated society. Numb ourselves to pain and joy. Creates a cultural inversion - express desires but achieve the opposite. From wonder to whatever

·         Media mediates relationships. “Whatever”

Need true freedom to learn in quest for mastery.
Freedom to fail (60 tries for skateboard trick)
Freedom to love

http://ericwhitacre.com/the-virtual-choir Music collaboration