Get off your butt & create real #mLearning solutions #mlw2013

As this day progresses, I was blown of my chair by the passionate drive of Theo van Rensburg Lindzter from the Learning Academy Worldwide on the subject of Millennials as mobile educators: innovative youth workforce development solutions.

Theo is a driven, engaging, outspoken speaker.
He made a REAL point! Here are my live blogging notes and be sure to contact Theo if you really want to engage in a mLearning build solution.

In South Africa they realized that there is a real goldmine in young people ready to teach and support other youngsters.

you do not train people, you develop people
We need to finance and solve real problems, and restoring the impact that young people can make.
Millenials can be unemployed, non-actives, nags... BUT these young people can be activated, they want to be activated, mobilizing them to be actively involved.

But the problem into meaningfulness or what we see as work, is an unmarked field of landmines. 
That all part of getting into work and meaningfulness is difficult. So how do you know that you are extending the field of landmines? You promise work in a world that is changes. So we cannot create work like we used to create it. When corporates delete jobs, many of them vanish and are not even replaced.
So how can you counter the loss of meaning. There is nothing meaningful in work that is repetitive. there is a difference between meaningful work and drudgery. So if we talk about mobile educators, we are not talking about drudgery.

He shares that he was doubting why he was out here, paid for its own to come to UNESCO mLearning week.... there are too many mLearning adds, not enough pragmatic foci and outcomes that really change the world.
What needs to be changed: solve problems:
source youth assets - m-ubuntu,
source innovative solutions - sonlig (buying solar chargers to solve basic electricity challenges).

Instill meaning:
serve to imporove student performance
serve and sharpen skills

restore dignity
build networks of collaborations
prepare for new study-service or work opportunities

The students are hungry, they do not have future options, teachers do not have the necessary support they need.
Students are no problems, they initiate something when coming to class. But we must use it for real change.

so what next: lets focus on funding solutions, not projects
campaign for meaning, not just scale and impact
prioritize collaboration and partnership (make students aware of the fact that they are part of a community, of the global world).

And here is an interview with Theo (from a couple of years ago, but giving of m-ubuntu as it was running up for roll-out)