Homeschool + Conference 2014
Steve Hargadon and I present our second free, online homeschooling conference. We called the conference "Homeschool +" to encourage a wider group of people to join us and support learning outside of conventional schooling.
The complete set of 32 recordings can be seen and heard for free on the Homeschool + Conference site. Speakers at this year's conference include longtime unschoolers, alternative educators, and authors such as Leslie Barson (UK), Blake Boles, Monica Cochran, Ken Danford, Oliver DeMille, Matt Hern (BC), Jamie McMillin, Jerry Mintz, Scott Nine, and Ocean Robbins; scholarly researchers Gina Reilly and Carlo Ricci; and several presentations about Maker Education and digital learning.
I offer my keynote and three other presentations that I think you will enjoy on this page; I hope they will lead you to listen to the others on Homeschool +.
Why We Need Alternatives to School, presented by Patrick Farenga.
Compulsory school continues to expand in our lives, capturing children at ever-younger years and not releasing them until they are adults, filling families with schedules, anxieties, and issues that often place the needs of the school over any individual's need.
Digital Tools for Learners with Agency, presented by Amos Blanton.
Scratch, Constructionism, and the Maker Movement Constructionism is a theory of learning that suggests that people learn by doing or creating things they care about. This is the philosophy that guides the work of the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT Media Lab, and the creation of tools like Scratch (scratch.mit.edu) - a free programming language and online learning community with over 3,000,000 members.
An Introduction to Self-Directed Learning, presented by Luba Vangelova
Self-directed learning—education driven by what the student wants to learn—is a concept that has been gaining favor. It is being practiced, in different forms and to different degrees, in a wide range of settings, including: select classrooms in conventional schools; independent school-within-a-school programs; homes; community learning hubs; homeschool resource centers; and various types of ""alternative"" schools.
Maker Education: An Idea Whose Time Has Come, presented by Jackie Gerstein.
This session provides a short overview of Maker Education through addressing the following: Maker Education as connected to MAKE, DIY, STEM, STEAM; The Mindset of an Educator as a Maker Educator; From Puppets to Robots: An Maker Education Example Curriculum; Characteristics: Maker Education as an Inclusive, Engaging, Self-Differentiating Instructional Strategy
Homeschool Conference 2013
Steve Hargadon and myself (Pat Farenga) teamed up to create the first free, online, global homeschooling conference on August 24 to 26, 2013. We pulled it together in less than six weeks and had presenters from the UK, Romania, Spain, Canada, India, Switzerland, and the United States who addressed over 1600 members during the two-day event. All the sessions were recorded and are available for viewing and/or listening at 2013 Conference Recordings.
Steve and I seeded the speaker's list with keynotes and distinguished speakers who we knew would help give the event momentum, but the main point for us was to see what happens when homeschoolers get to use a technological platform reserved for university-level courses (Blackboard Collaborate) to co-create a nonsectarian homeschooling event. The results speak for themselves, as the variety of approaches and beliefs encompassed by the conference strands demonstrates.
I posted these recordings of the keynotes and distinguished speakers to YouTube and gathered them on this page to give you a flavor for this unique event. You can see and listen to the entire list of conference recordings at the Homeschool Conference Recordings page.
DECEMBER 16, 2013: Steve and I have decided to put off the second conference until later in 2014, instead of doing it in January. We will announce the new dates once we know them.
Homeschool Conference 2013 Keynote Recordings
The Legacy of John Holt
Pat talks about the creation of his book, some new insights he learned about Holt, the man and the thinker from his work and interviews for his book, and his thoughts about the future of learning and childhood as schools continue down the path of standardization and homeschooling continues to emphasize individualization.
Free to Learn
Our children spend their days being passively instructed, and made to sit still and take tests, often against their will. We call this imprisonment schooling,...
Learning Disabled or Learns Differently?
Understanding and honoring the natural learning path for right-brained children. Cindy published her book, The Right Side of Normal, in order to reach many more who want to benefit from strengths-based learning for right-brained children. You can find her at www.therightsideofnormal.com
The Average Giraffe Sleeps 4.6 Hours a Day
David H. Albert is a husband, father, writer, and storyteller. He is the author of five books on homeschooling and alternative education. He serves as Board Chairman of Friendly Water for the World (www.friendlywater.net) where he promotes the use of biosand water filters, a low-cost, locally produced, household technology that can reduce bacterial and viral contaminants in drinking water among the world's poor by up to 99%. (He trains homeschooling and other families in the work as well.)
Unschooling Rules
Clark Aldrich is one of the top educational simulation and interface designers in the world. As well as the founder and Managing Partner of Clark Aldrich Designs, Aldrich is a global education visionary, industry analyst, and speaker who serves on boards of universities, of companies, and in the intelligence community (where he has Top Secret clearance).
The Global Movement for Learner-Centered Alternatives
Jerry talks about the growth of a variety of learner-centered approaches, public and private, and why we need to be ready to ramp them up as the tradition system crumbles, why we may need to put an end to "alternative" education and make learner-centered, empowering education a possibility for all students, everywhere.
How Home Schooling Can Save Our Country
The Home schooling movement as a political, economic, and social force for change. By beginning with the education of our children - the most important thing we can do - the home schooling movement can act as both a leader and catalyst to create a new movement based on the principles of personal responsibility, self-reliance, and independence.
How to Increase Student Engagement by Focusing on Student Expectations.
Elliot Washor, Ed.D. is the co-founder and co-director of The Big Picture Company in Providence, Rhode Island. He is also the co-founder of The Met Center in Providence, RI.
Humor and Lightness in the Face of Struggle
When the tone of our interactions with young people gets heavy, our good intentions can be undermined. Kids get even more stressed out and our relationships with them erode. They not only feel the stress of struggle, they feel it alone. In this session we’ll talk about how keeping the mood light is possible even when the task at hand feels very serious, and about how a lighter mood can restore and sustain the kind of relationships we’re committed to having with kids.
SelfDesign - Unfolding Our Infinite Wisdom Within
In this session we will discuss how the SelfDesign models and processes support parents and learners seeking a more personalized, enthusiasm-based learning approach.
Homeschool Conference 2013 Distinguished Speaker Recordings
Homeschooling in England and Wales
In this talk Leslie gives a brief historical overview of Home Education in England and Wales, the legal situation, outline of a central government attack on the right to home educate in 2009 and what changes this and other political and economic pressures have made.
The Willed Curriculum - A Learner Centered Democratic Worldview
Among the various curricula documented and written about are the recommended curriculum, the written curriculum, the taught curriculum, the supported curriculum, the assessed curriculum, the learned curriculum, and the hidden curriculum. I coined the term the willed curriculum to add to the literature around curriculum, and as a way to open up conversations around a learner centered democratic approach.
Homeschooling UK Comparison of 4-5 Year Olds in and Out of School
This presentation reports on the performance of reception-aged, home-educated children. Media reports tend to focus on older home-educated children withdrawing from school but very little is known about younger children many of whom have never been to school in the UK. This research sought insight into the learning experience of these young children.
Self-Directed Learning and the Roots of Success
We all enjoy stories about self-made millionaires, daring explorers, bold innovators and creative geniuses. Why? Because these accomplishments cannot be given - they are earned over time with lots of hard work and dedication. Not surprisingly, many of these people broke free of conventional education to pursue their own learning.
Unschooling, Distance Schools and How to Use Teaching Materials
NOTE: This presentation is delivered in Romanian, not English. White Pedagogy is a movement based on respecting the childrens' talents and academic interests...