EdTechTeacher Summit Boston 2017

What does it mean to design learning in a mindful way? From real life to virtual worlds, modern mindful presence and learning is all about choice, encompassing curiosity and self-awareness. We are constantly faced with the question of how to "be present”—to connect in a meaningful way.
This workshop looks at three prime focus areas: mindfulness, design thinking and storytelling, illuminating learning across, between and beyond curriculum.
We’ll talk about the “how” and the “why” of using practices in mindfulness and presence, as well as technology such as virtual and augmented reality, to sharpen awareness, focus, and creativity. We are no longer "cogs in a system", operating in a traditional factory input-output schema. We (as well as our ideas!) are inter-related, thriving in a neural network of connections, and many different layers of meaning and context. We can now creatively embrace many interactive methodologies as part of complex learning, using them in ways that support engaging, empathetic, meaningful understanding, context and growth. Best of all, for those of us who are “hacks and hackers”, problem-solvers and designers, we adopt solutions-based approaches that keep our own minds empathetic and flexible. We begin to see, quite truly, that no (hu)man is an island. The advantage of a connected mindset, with mindful awareness, is core to “Mindful by Design” thinking and interrelated systems, with a better world in focus.