The Endless Possibilities of the Connected Learner
I watched this amazing documentary earlier this week Escape from Syria: Rania’s Odyssey. It’s 20 minutes long so I totally understand that you don’t have the time to watch it. I’ll try and give it a quick synopsis with no spoilers. Rania is a 20 yr old Syrian woman who has decided to flee her war-torn country. She befriended a Norwegian man who gave her a GoPro to document her journey from Syria -> Turkey ->Greece -> Macedonia ->??? (again, no spoilers!).
It’s an incredibly eye opening and heartbreaking documentary and is the realest things I’ve ever seen. Rania didn’t have an agenda for filming it, she wasn’t asking anybody to help or donate after watching; it was just her journey, her story. It was amazing to me that such a powerful story was captured in 20 minutes using nothing but a GoPro and mic.
After decompressing and reflecting on the story throughout the week, it brought me back to our work for a couple of reasons. First, this story falls on a broad spectrum of refugee/immigrant experiences that many of our students have had to endure. Kati, has a student who walked here from El Salvador. I had a student who lost both parents in a refugee camp and came to the U.S with her younger sister to live with an uncle she had never met before. The list could go on forever.
I think it’s important to keep these stories in the front of our minds to give us proper perspective for how important our work really is. Not only are we providing access to devices some students would NEVER be able to use otherwise; we are also engaging students in learning experiences that are relevant to their past and future stories.
As I mentioned above, such a powerful story was shared in 20 minutes using nothing but a GoPro and mic. If we consider Rania as a connected learner, we can only wonder at what an impact she was able to make by leveraging the tools and resources available in her Learner Profile. A GoPro, a mic, and YouTube were all she needed to share her story.
Which leads me to wonder a few things:
- What impactful stories can we share about our schools, teachers and students?
- How can we support each student and their Learner Profile to help them make the lasting impacts that they want to in our world?
- How can we promote the potential and endless possibilities of a connected learner?
You’ve brought up a wonderful point about Rania and her capture of her journey with items she was simply given on the journey. One of the best parts to me was when you said, “Rania didn’t have an agenda for filming it, she wasn’t asking anybody to help or donate after watching; it was just her journey, her story.” I really love how you have highlighted the absence of exterior motives and focused on how she was simply wanting to capture her learning and journey for herself.
It is one of my biggest goals and deepest desires for students in APS to have the same opportunities.
I was most compelled in looking at the story to see what was universal in the experience. I immediately saw that Rania was reading “The Fault in Our Stars” by John Green. It is one of my favorite young adult books, and it is a core part of the “Nerdfighter” cannon (those who fight for Nerds, not against them). It connects her to a community of readers and of young people.
Additionally, when she got access to her single moment of free WiFi, she found herself watching random YouTube videos in a refugee camp. It is something that we all have done, and it isn’t about being a refugee. She just wanted to feel normal, for a moment. And it connects her to the rest of us, providing a huge dose of empathy because we are like her.
And I think it may be about finding those moments of connection, where we are on the same footing and understanding for our universal needs. We will never know what our kids have gone through, but we can connect with them. We can empathize with them and support them in doing amazing things. We can connect, and empower.
