From the Campfire to the Holodeck

Author David Thornburg, an award-winning futurist and educational consultant, maintains that in order to engage all students, learning institutions should offer a balance of Campfire spaces (home of the lecture), Watering Holes (home to conversations between peers), Caves (places for quiet reflection), and Life (places where students can apply what they've learned). In order to effectively use technology in the classroom, prepare students for future careers, and incorporate project-based learning, all teachers should be moving from acting as the "sage on the stage" to becoming the "guide on the side."

Whether you are a school administrator interested in redesigning your school or a teacher who wants to prepare better lessons, From the Campfire to the Holodeck can help by providing insight on how to:

• Boost student engagement
• Enable project-based learning
• Incorporate technology into the classroom
• Encourage student-led learning

From the Campfire to the Holodeck is designed to help schools move from traditional lecture halls (Campfires) where students just receive information to schools that encourage immersive student-centered learning experiences (Holodecks).

Foreword Prakash Nair vii

About the Author xiii

Acknowledgments xv

Introduction xvii

1 The Problem with Traditional Classrooms 1

2 Campfires 11

3 Watering Holes 17

4 Caves 23

5 Life 31

6 The Challenge of Technology 37

7 Technological Campfires 51

8 Technological Watering Holes 65

9 Technological Caves 77

10 Technological Life Spaces 85

11 Learning on the Holodeck 105

Notes 127

Index 133

David Thornburg is an award-winning futurist, author, and consultant and the head of the Thornburg Center, a group that focuses on emerging technologies and their impact on learning. In addition to his work with technology, David also consults on the relationship between classroom design and learning.

Visit his blog at thornburgthoughts.wordpress.com.

Physical environments that impede learning hurt both students and teachers, and it’s clear that traditional classrooms are failing to meet the learning needs of many students. The redesign of educational spaces, both physical and virtual, can play an important role in rectifying this situation.

In this timely and intriguing new book, futurist and educational consultant David Thornburg discusses how the old lecture hall, or “campfire” model of education, needs to change in order to better engage students, reach a diverse student population, provide opportunities for project-based learning, and fully integrate technology. To make classrooms and schools that engage all learners, it’s necessary to create a balance of Campfires (home of the lecture), Watering Holes (home to conversations with peers), Caves (places of quiet reflection), and Life (where what we’ve learned gets applied).

The ultimate environment that brings together all of these spaces is the educational Holo- deck, a classroom in which students’ rich learning experiences are limited only by their own imaginations. Whether you are a school administrator interested in redesigning your school or a teacher who wants to prepare better lessons, From the Campfire to the Holodeck can help by providing insights on how to boost student engagement, enable project-based learning, incorporate technology into the classroom, and encourage student-led learning.