Interesting Tech Times in Ed

As someone with over 13 years experience as an EdTech professional and almost 18 years in education as a whole, I'm here to testify that these are very interesting times in education.  Over the past few years, we have seen a push for more technology-driven or technology-supported initiatives than ever before.

Never mind that us EdTech folks have been touting technology's importance for more than a decade as it relates to the newest buzz-term, 21st century skills.  Never mind that we still have some education professionals that are less than up to speed on even old technology.  What is interesting is the push at the state-level for more integration.

I'm not sure that in my tenure I have experienced this push from people other than the EdTech folks.  I really like that we have state-level leaders embracing technology for learning. However, I wonder if the state folks are looking beyond (with their eyes AND their wallets) using technology to assess student performance.  While we like the ability to create assessments and lessons and view PD videos online, this is not helping the access our kids have to technology.  If you think about it, if kids don't have this access, then what good is it? Where is the push for more student use of technology for REAL learning?

We can accomplish this in a number of ways (more buzz-terms like project-based learning), but at the moment we are also strapped by our "scores" on state tests.  Interesting times, indeed, especially if all tests are to be conducted via computer.

I ask you, should we purchase more computers so that our kids can take a test?  Or should we be exposing our kids to the world of technology and how it can help them for their personal and professional learning?  Doing the former is mimicking the practice of worksheets and mindless activities.  Doing the latter, I believe, can lead to some pretty awesome young people graduating from our schools, ready to contribute to our global society.

The 4 Cs in a Tech-driven world

I will admit, I'm an educator, first and foremost.  When I see good learning (or bad), no matter the vehicle, I recognize it for what it is.

We are in interesting times right now.  So much of our personal/social lives involves technology.  I would be hard-pressed to name any one of my peers that did not have a dependance on technology.

What is odd is that I see some of the best learning happening due to a carefully constructed conversation among students in a single classroom.  These are 12 and 13-year-olds.  I can't give an exact quote, but they are saying things like, "It is obvious to me that XXX, given YYY."  Again, not an exact quote, but you get the point... I'm hearing awesome things out of the mouths of our youths.

It leaves me wondering what more technology can do for this teacher and their students.  I believe that the answer is "a lot".

• I wonder what would happen if this teacher could have students communicate with students from other parts of the state/country/world.
• I wonder if they would learn better by by working with another student (even if miles away) to hone their understanding on a topic.
• I wonder if these students could create something REAL.. something published and presented to the world.
• I wonder if these students can critically think about issues presented to them, weigh all options, and make an "educated" decision for themselves. I know our kids can do it. They need the opportunity to show it via the means most familiar to to them.

Technology can help in all of these situations. 

Tech is not an end, it is one part in a means to an end, especially today.

If  you are looking to boost the 4 Cs in your school, I'd say, you can't do it without the integration of technology.  Tech might just be the accelerator in your venture.

Learning... a Question for Teachers

It's been a while since I've posted, I'm sorry.  I feel obligated to post tonight due to some of the activities that occurred in our district for one of our PD days.  I had a small part as presenter for a couple break-out sessions at one school, which were very productive.  The rest of the time I participated in a PD at one elementary on Project-Based Learning.

The PBL PD was beneficial, I think, for the staff at this elementary.  It got most folks talking about doing things differently and really engaging kids in their learning.  There were some who also questioned aspects of it, such as "how much time during the day should  be devoted to PBL" and "if a teacher is coaching a few students, what are the rest of the students doing?"

These are good questions, but I also believe they originate from most educators' preconceived notions on what learning should be like in school. As educators, as teachers, we have been trained to have everything planned out ahead of time.  In a true PBL setting, this is impossible.  The teacher may be able to guess the directions their kids will take with their inquiry, and this is fine, because it helps with preparation, but they must also be open to the unexpected left-turn in the journey.

Not having all answers is very uncomfortable to most teachers, because we have been "brainwashed" into believing that we are the "knowledge bearers".  No one person can know everything.

Another concern in our current education climate, is "covering" the standards. Common Core or otherwise.  PBL becomes problematic on this front because it is a lot more difficult to determine if you have "covered" and assessed these standards for every kid.

My first burning question is this.  If we didn't have to "cover content", if we didn't have to worry about standardized tests, what would learning look like in our classrooms? 

My last burning question begs you to respond.  Think about the last time you needed to learn something new, something other than education.  What did it look like?  Did you take a class and listen to a talking head at the front of the room?  Did you learn it on your own?  Did you ask others to help you with your learning?  Did you dive in and practice it?  Were you asked to be perfect at your new skill/knowledge on an assessment?

For myself, I've learned origami and basket weaving thanks to the Internet.  I learned scripting (a form of programming) online too.  I've also relied on colleagues to expand my thinking in both a face-to-face setting and also virtual, with people I've never met.

Should we not be modeling our classrooms based upon what our own life-long learning has shown us?

It's a tricky balance, especially now with Race to the Top (and yester-years with No Child Left Behind).  As a teacher, what do you MOST want your students to gain from their time from you?  Is it the memorization of content or something much more?

I'm JUST

Today, I attended a one-day conference, advertised in some part as a technology conference.  It really wasn't.  It was more about the cool things several educators are doing around the state to make learning better for kids.


Before the last session, I sat with mostly folks from my own district, spare one person.  This person had also presented earlier in the day and apparently, at least one of our district people had attended the session, given the dialogue between the two of them.

The dialogue peaked my interest, so somewhere in the midst, I asked what her role was.

"I'm just a Kindergarten teacher."

ARG! 

Think of the last time you heard another professional say, "I'm just a [brain surgeon]."  Most professionals are glad to announce what they do.  Teachers, on the other hand, have had a bad rap, especially lately, and have been programmed to apologize for their career choice.

During all this dialogue, I ended up calling her on the "I'm just" statement, saying she has probably one of the hardest jobs in K12.  When the time came for other introductions and one of our people began by saying, "I'm just"... she quickly corrected them.

If you are a teacher, you are not "JUST" anything. Take ownership and pride in your role!  Wear it as a badge!

Deviscism

Every year our state public schools have to report on a lot of data elements that will be released in the "School Report Card".  Many of the data elements are accumulated through the state and for a few elements, schools/districts have to manually enter.  This year, as in years in the past, we have had two technology items to report:

1. The number of student Internet connected computers.
2. The number of student Internet connected computers less than five years old.

In recent years, we were told to use the "minimum standards" for machines to determine #2.  This was all well until this year.  Essentially, the "minimum standards" say that a machine that has a dual-core is okay and if it is not dual-core, then we have to look at other specs.  The problem is that dual-core is now +5 years old.  Should we not be re-evaluating these "minimum standards"?

I digress.  The wonderful addition to #1 above was to include iPads.  That's it.  No mention of Android tablets or Chrome Books.  If you have an iPad, you can count it in #1. 

I understand that there might be some pull for this due to a few districts that have decided to go 1:1 with iPads and they want to reflect those numbers. However, we currently have no "minimum standards" in place for iPads or any other device.  The question of "minimum standard" seems to be left to the person reporting it.  And based on our current standards, an iPad would not meet this standard. 

Should we not, instead, report a separate data element on "tablet devices" available for students.  And where do we draw the line?  Is an iPod okay?  Which Android devices are okay?  Or are we  assuming that only iPads can reach the level of a "real" computer?

Devicism at it's best.

BYOD ... Day 1 day past Midterm #1

[Sorry for the title ... I've lost count of the days!]

For those of you who haven't been following, my district has embraced a BYOD policy starting this school year.  At the moment this means that kids can use their own personal devices FOR their learning.

Since I haven't posted in a while how this is going, I'd like to give a tiny update:  all is well! 

Yes, there may have been a few transgressions and a couple of lost devices, but by-in-large, it seems to not be an issue on the student behavior side of things.

The really cool part of it all is seeing teachers embrace this "new" tool for learning opportunities.  Today, I had the pleasure of watching several 8th grade students using their phones or laptops to video scenes that they had story-boarded to produce anti-bullying PSAs for their Language Arts class. 

Besides the use of personal devices, I was most impressed with how the students were working collaboratively to produce their video.  They were making decisions together, everyone's voice was important and they shared responsibilities.  They probably didn't even realize the importance of their teamwork at the time, because they were having so much fun!

Since I mentioned one of the main C's in the 4 C's, this assignment also embodied critical thinking, creativity, and communication.  Students were analyzing their shots to make sure the message they were trying to send was captured.  They were devising a story and actions that would have the most impact.

For me, it was a good day!  I can't wait to see what will happen tomorrow....

Math, Demystified

Math... it is the universal language.  Movie after movie depicts that math will be what bridges communications with ETs if/when that day comes.

Math is vital, the foundation for numerous jobs: computers/technology, physics, engineering, accounting, finance, banking, etc.  There are undeniable connections to math in the areas of the arts as well.  Even social sciences can't escape math if only to consider statistics.

So, this begs the question, "Why do so many of our youth struggle with math?"  And, secondly, "What can we do about it?"

The following are my personal opinions; I've not conducted a single scientific study.

From very early ages, we expose our kids to the dreaded worksheet full of abstract numbers and symbols without first a solid grasp on what those symbols mean.  Visual or physical representations of mathematical concepts are a much better vehicle to understanding.  So, too, is a reason for learning it.  Newton invented Calculus to explain physical phenomena. 

My challenge to math teachers is two-fold: let them "see" it and give them the connection on why it matters.  If you can't do that, then you need to either question the curriculum or need to find the connection for yourself.

[Disclaimer .. I know there are pressures due to certain national/state standards.  My challenge is to find a way to teach it that really connects with kids.]

BYOD - Day 7

We've had seven successful days of BYOD so far.  Today I was privileged to be interviewed by a middle school media team.  I also observed another middle school media team practicing for their intro about BYOD for a piece to be shown to all students.  During that practice, it was clear that the students understood the difference between personal time and education time.  Our teachers have obviously been effective at conveying expectations.  They also included a funny, but true, segment at the beginning in which one student was trying to get the attention of another student who was using her device.

I've also personally witnessed a teacher having students register themselves to Cel.ly through a text message so that the teacher can send reminders.  This teacher even got feedback from a student that thanked them for a homework reminder.

Good things are happening!

On the downside, we've had a couple of lost/stolen devices.  Clearly, we need to do more in educating our kids how they can keep their devices safe.

I fully expect that we will only grow more effective in this endeavor.  Students seem excited by the possibilities.  Teachers are feeling their way and yearn for ideas.  This is a great place to be!

My blog title apparently begins in 1995 ...

Here's a fun little video that has gone viral lately.  It's touted as a 1995 PSA about the Internet.  I now know who to blame for our obsession about CATS on the Internet...




Besides the interesting connection to cat-obsession, if this is truly a real video from 1995, it's pretty freaky.  A graphical interface on the web wasn't available until shortly before that. (The birth of HTML and the browser around '92.)  So, in three short years, we went from deployment of an idea to awareness among even our youth.  That's pretty amazing. 

What's more, the people that were spoon-feeding the kids their lines were spot-on in their predictions.  It left me wondering, is this a hoax?  If not, who were these people?  I really want to know the rest of the story.

Why Blog?

An intense, quick and complicated discussion ensued on the #edchat Twitter exchange about blogging in education.  So, I thought I would blog my own thoughts about blogging in education.

At first, it focused around educators reading others' blogs and writing their own blogs and the benefits of doing so.  Very early on, the main theme was "reflect, share, connect."  The conversation eventually led to student blogs.  While I personally think that the "reflect, share, connect" notion is the great motivator behind student blogs, there were thoughts that if blogs are a required assignment (much as writing journals), then the endeavor is not authentic, even though the audience is the whole world (if blogging is done in a public space).

One Tweeter commented that we write first for ourselves and then for others and if we reverse that process, it isn't authentic.  I somewhat disagree with that notion, since historically, written and oral communication was always a means for sharing with others.  However, I do understand the extremely personal nature of putting one's thoughts into words for all to see and hear.

Since blogs are largely opinion pieces, it is a personal writing endeavor.  This is why I have tried to convey to teachers that they should encourage students to hone their writing skills through blogging to a world-wide audience on a topic that they enjoy and know.  Authentic, while meaning real people reading, also means relevance to the child.  Want to grow a great writer?  Let them write about their interests, their passion, and mentor them in technical aspects of their word choices and writing structure.

Why Blog?  Because you have something to say that others need to hear.  If you made it this far, you've heard me.

BYOD - Day 1

Today was the first day of school.  For our tech department, that means attending to some last minute issues.  Some of the issues are due to lack of foresight (e.g. relocating a teacher computer to an area of the room without network drops or projector connections) and good ole Murphy's Law (e.g. waterfall over a computer because of clogged pipes two days before school starts).

For teachers, the first day involves a lot of information dissemination to students: classroom rules, school/district rules, and the general "getting-to-know-you" activities.

I don't have hard numbers as of yet, but I know that many of our staff have registered their devices on our network.  I also know that a good number of our students tried to, but could not connect successfully.  Thanks to a couple of teachers and a student, we were alerted to the problem.  After an hour or so of troubleshooting, we determined the reason for the inability of students to connect and fixed the problem. Given that teachers aren't dependent on BYOD, especially on Day 1, I'd say this was a success.

In days to come, I hope to report some actual numbers.  I'll also be reporting on great integration ideas.  Our own MS Library Media Specialist has prepared lessons about apps that can be used for reading and citing sources.

I'm excited by the days to come.  Any thoughts and ideas are welcome.  Let's learn from each other!

A BYOD Journey Begins

In less than two weeks the new school year starts and my district has a "new" program in place: BYOD (or BYOT, Bring Your Own Device/Technology).

It's not really new; we've never actually disallowed students from bringing laptops or other devices to use in class and our current policies support the use as long as it is "authorized by a certified employee."  What's more, it seems kids don't really need that authorization.  They do it anyway; either teachers are okay with it or kids are hiding it from adult eyes.

The paramount question to ask is, "How are our students using their own technology?"  I believe that we aren't doing what we should, as educators and parents and as a society, to help children understand how the technology they are using can be much more than a tool for frivolous (and sometimes inappropriate) social connections or for entertainment. 

Technology is also a tool for learning.  When combined with the concept of BYOD, technology affords personalized learning: said one way, give a child a task/goal and let them use the tools they know to accomplish it.

The journey doesn't really begin this school year.  I'm not even sure when it really started.  For years, we investigated the options for 1-1 at the high and perhaps middle levels.  However, the push for BYOD evolved from questions from folks about the lack of textbook funds.  (Textbooks... I'm not going there tonight.)

After a Board meeting, with support from all for the initiative, our little county got some news, as the Henry County Local reports.

I've had questions from state-level folks and other districts, and I'll oblige when I can, but, heck school is starting in less than two weeks!!!

How I spent my Summer break

In a little over 3 weeks, the new school year starts.  I love this time of year because, at least for me, I feel a sense of excitement and purpose among all of my colleagues.  It's a time of a rejuvenation and creativity in action; all educators (teachers, principals, district administrators) have the time to learn new things and devise better ways for accomplishing our goals.

This is the time that we have to attend local, state, national, or international conferences.  This is the time that we have to contemplate our approach last year and make revisions for the upcoming year.

Since I (like principals and other administrators) have an extended contract, I have had very few days off during the summer.  And, like teachers, I've volunteered days in the work that we all do. 

This is how I've spent my Summer break:

1. Conducting some good ole fashioned tech trainings on new tools.
2. Coordinating (and attending to) the technical needs of local workshops hosted in our district.
3. Collaborating with several folks on local and state initiatives that are imperative for the upcoming year.
4. Clerical, paperwork types of things (placing orders, filing eRate forms)
5. Creating new staff accounts in most all of our systems and shortly new student accounts.
6. Coping with changes: adding new staff, removing exiting staff, making name changes, attending to room switching, and dealing with new labs in places not designed for them.
7. Connecting with people -- face-to-face and via the web.

Summer, for educators, is almost over.  How have you spent yours?

Social Networking in Education

In our small district, we used to block a lot of sites based upon categories, such as Games, Entertainment, etc.  Over the last several years, we have opened up several categories because of the frequent requests to unblock a site to be used for educational purposes. 

While we still block the obvious categories as required by law, the ones we have allowed aren't inherently anti-learning.  Take "Streaming Media", for example.  YouTube falls within this category and I happen to be of the camp that there is a lot to be learned from YouTube.  There is also a lot that only serves to distract a person from a learning goal.  Some are quick to realize this and claim that sites like this should be blocked.  Why?  Because we'd rather prevent all distractions then educate our kids how to focus their attention to the task at hand.

At this moment in time, the only reason we would block Streaming Media (or other high use categories) is when it becomes a drain on our bandwidth.  We did this during online state testing at the end of the school year, "just in case".

The last category standing today is one called "Online Communities".  Sites like Facebook and Twitter fall under this category.  We have explicitly allowed access to some of these sites, upon the request of teachers, for example Twitter and Pinterist are open.

As a district, we have our own Facebook Page and, now, a Twitter account.  It's a tad ironic that some of the methods we are using to connect with our community are blocked for our kids while they are at school.

As educators, we all see the result of kids using social networking in an inappropriate way.  Even when these sites are blocked at school, the problems surface during the school day.  If we open up social networking at school, will this lead to more of these problems and possibly put the school at legal risk?  Are we able to use this access as a teaching/learning moment and show kids how to use these tools to better themselves?

I'm extremely curious what my readers (as few as they may be) have to say.  Please provide your thoughts, your own experiences.

Musings on US Ed Policies

I am a United States citizen; I've been that since the day I was born.  I didn't choose this country, but I have chosen to remain a citizen due to the ideals upon which it was founded.

I am an educator.  I was not born into this profession; in fact, I did not choose my profession when applying to college.  I learned my love for learning during my undergraduate years, thinking I'd pursue a career in post-secondary academia, but eventually was driven toward K12. 

More than 20 years ago, I realized that I wanted a career in education.  I admired how the most talented teachers could ignite a passion for their trade.  I loved (still do) learning new things that excite me, challenge me, and make me want to learn more.  I wanted to instill this love for learning in our youth.

But that was college, and I was fortunate to have a socioeconomic background that provided me with, first and foremost, supportive parents with high expectations, providing me with a great secondary and post-secondary education.

Today, I still hold these ideals of education and what true learning can mean for every young person.  However, today, I am also saddened that many of the proposed "reforms" in our nation serve only to make our youth hate learning.  From NCLB to RTTT, our nation has dictated the inner-workings of our public schools.  NCLB proposed an evaluation system for schools and districts, otherwise known as AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) based upon mostly standardized testing.  RTTT promised relief from those chains if states can propose an alternative measure.  And the new measure?  It's a convoluted quagmire of student growth, teacher effectiveness, college/career readiness, and student achievement, based upon, to one degree or another, standardized tests. 

These tests do have a place in measuring our nation's effectiveness in education, but it does NOT have to be every kid.  It does NOT have to be every year.  Instead of allowing our most brilliant and creative teachers to ignite the same passion for learning that I had, we are forcing them to "teach to the test".  Moreover, assessing deep thinking is extremely difficult through multiple choice exams.  Any argument that points to extended response questions are missing the point as well; the extended response I want "my kids" to do is NOT in one sitting.

Lastly, the policies proposed, by both sides of the house, are made by people that don't know poverty.  They have no clue what a child, a being that did not choose their place in life, endures at home.  Forget for a moment that we are speaking of children.  For any person, if they are hungry or neglected or abused, will they be productive?  It's easy for us to say that an adult in that situation had choices; does a child?

As a child, I did not have choices, I had influences.  As an adult, I am choosing to believe in our country.  While I'm saddened by trends of late, I have hopes of greater things to come.

Here's to our future...

EdTech .. savior or demon?

I'll preface this post by saying that I have been an EdTech professional in K12 for 13+ years, in the same position as the first day I started my career in EdTech.  To boot, I've been in the same small district for my entire educational career.  I believe this gives me a certain perspective to watch our district evolve over the years.

For 13 years, I have been advocating more TRUE technology integration in our schools.  In my mind, we still aren't there yet and I'm not just speaking of my own district, but countless others.

TRUE technology integration is hard to define if you don't first have a solid belief on what TRUE learning is.  We struggled for years trying to convince folks that teacher-use of technology wasn't the end goal.  We've also struggled trying to convince folks that just because a kid creates a Powerpoint(less) presentation to regurgitate information, doesn't mean she has used technology to better herself. 

Over the last several years, I have seen an enormous swell of "Web 2.0" that educational folks have promoted for learning purposes.  I have seen the same swell in physical devices that promise the same.  The echoes of "this is where are kids live" still bounce around inside my mind.

My daily professional life collided today with my virtual one when a coworker sent me a link to Paul Barnwell's article in EdWeek.  I read the article and all of the comments, some of which touted that the title of the article was misleading.  One comment by Vicki Davis (@coolcatteacher) was reposted today on her own blog with additional commentary.

I'm writing tonight to say that I agree with both of them.  They both are looking for ways that technology can be used by our students to enhance their learning, to promote real thinking and problem solving.  They are finding ways to do this that are comfortable to them and their students.  Paul has seemingly abandoned the short and quick nature of social networking tools because he values deep prolonged thinking, citing blogs as a way to do this. Vicki has found a way to use those short posts as a stepping stone to greater learning. (If either disagree with my summary, please feel free to comment!)

EdTech is neither a savior or a demon.  First and foremost, it is a tool.  As with any other tool, if you don't use it appropriately, you won't get the desired results. Every educator should be ignoring the gimmicky attraction and ask first, how will this help my kids learn?

Twitter as Professional Learning?

I became a Twit on Nov 7, 2009.  I resisted this new form of social networking for a good deal of time, but eventually succumbed.  I had little activity in my new Twitterverse then, but decided around March of this year to engage once again.  Since then, I have found it to be a large source of my professional learning. 

I'm completely in love with Twitter for helping me learn new things and connect with others.  I still don't have a lot of tweets, I'm not following an enormous amount of people, and a modest amount of folks follow me.

Twitter can be intimidating.  Depending on who you follow, there may be more tweets than you can handle.  However, I've found that spending 5 to 10 minutes looking at a few tweets a day can lead to new discoveries. 

I've also found the #EdChat Tweet Chat enormously enjoyable and a profitable learning experience.  The tag is used for education musings everyday, but on Tuesday there are two different hour-long live chats focusing on particular topics.  Watching one of these is not unlike watching a popular IRC chatroom of days past.  Post a thought and see who responds or retweets.

Go ahead.  Meet new people, whether they be like or unlike yourself.  Contribute to a larger community.  Grow yourself as an educator.

Generation Gap

I'm back to writing about EdTech.

For years we have heard how our youth are much more savvy with technology than adults.  I read an interesting article today that reports research that suggests the contrary.  The study was done with college age students (I believe).  The findings include that the younger students are adept at using technology for social and entertainment means, but not so adept at using it for their own intellectual learning (as opposed to older students).

Also apparent to me (being a PK-12 educator) is the existence of  a good percentage of kids that indulge in social media, and technology in general, who don't necessarily use it appropriately (ethically, morally, legally, etc.)  This use is NOT due to the nature of technology, it is due to the nature of young people trying to find a place in the world.  Whether "real" or "virtual", it has always been the adults that are charged with helping our youth differentiate between danger and safety.  And, today, adults are largely unequipped to deal with these inappropriate uses.  Why?  Because even our adults have not embraced technology as a means for life-long learning.  The shame is that this is where our kids live and what are we doing to help them be literate in this "new world"?

As I see it, the generation gap is not defined by technology.  It is defined by the willingness to take risks.  Us old folks are less willing to learn new things, so we shy away from the exponential growth of new technologies.  Our youth embrace everything new, but they do it in a way that meshes with their interests and helps them connect with their world.  For a young person, this is primarily social.

Our adult population has adopted the social mentality as well, yet the adoption was a tad slower for the old folks.  Our adults have been mimicking the actions of our youth.  How many adults have reconnected with classmates of years past due to Facebook?  How many adults feel comfortable sharing pictures of their kids online, but aren't connected and share with a larger world to help them be better at their profession?

We owe it to our kids to help them discover the wonderful opportunities technology affords and to teach them how they can use it responsibly. 

For more information on helping kids learn these lessons, check out Common Sense Media, or the Digital Driver's License.

It's time we all step into the digital age, stop using technology for purely social/entertainment purposes, and help our youth learn to respect the plethora of sharers in this world.

America's Future

It's dim.

Our country's future is entirely dependent on how our adults treat our youth.

I have high hopes, however, because I sense a small uprising in the education-world that seeks to overthrow the standards of the past, ready to adopt a new ideal of learning.  Truth be told, it is nothing new, just ask Socrates.

Our kids are great thinkers, from the day they are born.  Somewhere along their educational path, we suppress their innate ability to question, to be creative, and we teach them that they have to learn a set amount of facts so that they can pass certain tests. We are here today, I believe, because of our need for competition in America.

I had a rather confrontational conversion tonight about the value of competition.  I was told that my views are Socialist.  Maybe I am when it comes to educating our youth.  Competition CAN be good, but when the playing field isn't level, it isn't fair, and the result is a young person's self-deflation in their abilities.

In education, cooperation/collaboration is far more effective than competition.

When certain jobs are being outsourced to other countries (whether high or low skill), as Americans, we ALL need to critically analyze how we can secure our future.  Do we want our youth to be able to find jobs when they graduate or live with their parents?  Do we want our youth to work for peanuts or find a career that promises both personal satisfaction and financial security?

We won't level the playing field in education unless a lot of changes are made, among these are:  

1. Eliminate any discrepancy for basic needs (food, shelter, clothing)... [believe, me, I know, there are huge issues with this for all sorts of political parties.]
2. Put way more emphasis on learning how to learn instead of memorizing facts. [i.e. put less emphasis on standardized tests that mostly assess low-level thinking; put less emphasis on evaluating teachers and schools on their performance on said tests.]
3. Understand that the profession of teaching is just that.  Teachers are PROFESSIONALS.. educated and devoted to helping our youth learn.
4. Understand, that in America, public education (and education across the board), is a SERVICE job.  Teachers are not in the profession for profits.  They are in the profession to help kids learn.

America's future entirely depends on it's BOLD stand that education needs to change.  The change lately, however, has been sprinkled with more of the same low expectations and false assumptions on what makes education better.  We don't need new standards.  We don't need more tests.  We need the freedom to help every young person to grow wings so that they can be successful adults.

Lights out,
Nik

Ignoring the Blog

Short post tonight.

I've been ignoring my blog for the last week.  Why?  You may have guessed: state testing.  This week in particular, much of my day is be spent helping out with our high school computer-based testing.  It's been pretty smooth so far, but it is oddly exhausting.  I've found myself very sleepy before the school day is even over, so my evenings are largely a waste in any intellectual thought.

I've avoided posting, because I'd end up saying something about standardized testing at a moment in time when we need all folks positive and doing their very best.   <sigh>

One good thing, I've been able to continue my reading of Finnish Lessons.  You can read my thoughts about it here and here.  When I'm done, I'll post the final part 3.

From Ballet to Rocket Science, And Back Again?

As any good mother (with the means) does, my mom involved me in activities in my youth to expose me to a variety of interests.  At a very early age, this involved ballet lessons, I'm sure among other things, but I really don't remember those lessons.  Perhaps I don't remember them because they were short-lived, maybe a few times before my mom realized I was more interested in watching the butterflies flitting around the room than listening to my instructor.  I had private lessons in piano that I do remember, but never pursued that either.  I had my own interests in the arts by my middle and high school years. I was pretty darn good with the flute and piccolo in MS.  In HS, I pursued, unprecedented at the time, to take a vocational art class for only one hour of the day which was and still is normally a half of the school day.  My main interests in my later adolescent years and teens were purely analytical pursuits.  I clearly liked math and science more than I did the arts.

Tonight I read an interview with Yong Zhao:  Will the Common Core Create World-Class Learners?  What resonated with me was Yong's response to the "single high bar" question:

In fact, I would argue a single bar in itself is discriminatory because it favors one type of ability over others, while other abilities may be as valuable. For example, a newly arrived immigrant may not do as well as native born students in English but she has already spoken another language. By judging her ability in English only, she would be "at-risk." Likewise, if a child is musically talented but may not do well in mathematics, if using a single bar, he would be "at risk" in math. Like Albert Einstein once said: "if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." Or imagine judging a swimmer by how high he can jump and training him as a jumper.

Fast-forward from the early years of butterflies and ballot, to my Junior year in high school, when the guidance counselors started talking to us about choosing our future careers.  The message seemed to be, "choose wisely because this is what you will be doing the rest of your life."  We were told we had to make this decision within the next year because we would be filling out college applications.  We even had computer-based tests that would tell us what career we were most suited for.  I think the computer told me I should be a florist.

I chose my first 6 years of college after many talks with with my parents about career choices.  Because I liked both art and math, architect was an idea tossed about at one point.  My choice was conceived when my my mom told me the ballet story, how I watched the butterflies and that maybe I should study aerospace.  While many mathematical/analytical areas of study may seem dry and uninteresting to most folks, this particular one intrigued me.  I still find enormous beauty in flight, whether nature-made or human-made.

Yong's comment left me wondering at what age can we tell what a child is meant to do?  And, in the meantime, what is the responsibility of educators to help children discover those interests?  Does the common core help our youth discover their interests or not? 

I don't know if "standards" led me to where I am today, but I do know that my academic experiences helped to make me a better learner. 

Yet, I did not become a rocket scientist, even though I get to tell people that I'm a non-practicing one.  Nor did I become a florist or an architect.  I was an adult when I decided to become an educator.  While I'm not always very graceful and from time-to-time I fall, I found myself dancing once again.

The F Word

As educators, at this very moment, we are standing at the precipice; we are looking over the edge wondering if we will plummet or soar.  We face many challenges and unfortunately for the majority of educators we feel powerless to address them.  Challenges such as poverty, negative public opinion, popular media touting choice, the elimination of funding for things such as professional development... ooo, sorry, I said the F word... Funding.

Do I think we could do more with less?  Yes, I do.  Only because I think, as a nation, we are pushing for unfounded programs with unfounded ideals at the heart. 

As an EdTech professional today, I've enjoyed a variety of challenges myself.  Technology in my district and in my state is woefully underfunded.  I can't speak for other districts, but for my own, we have done very well to date.  And, I believe, our state has led the nation in technology infrastructure for quite a while. Times are changing though.  The state has had cuts on their end for years and they have tried to absorb the cuts themselves through eliminating staff and other means.  The cuts have continued and now local districts are facing lower state funding for technology and less funds to support our state Internet access (meaning less bandwidth for districts, i.e. slower speeds and sometimes outright inability to access).

Many of the initiatives we are promoting as a state and locally are entirely dependent on technology.  These are online programs for teachers and students. What good are they if we don't have the money to purchase the necessary equipment or services to access them?  As an example, our district is participating in the online end-of-course assessments this year.  In order to do that, we are blocking a ton of sites to make sure we have the necessary bandwidth.  I also predict that in a couple years, we will not be able to test online due to the number of computers we will have available ... aging computers that cannot be replaced.  (Side note, do I think our tech money should be spent insuring that we can satisfy state testing ... NO!)

Besides the icky F word, Funding, I'd like to throw out a few more:

• Fortitude is an F word.  If you really believe in something, let others know, and educate them on why your view has merit.
• Fantasy is an F word.  As a society, we admire innovation, educators are not excluded in this equation.
• Freedom is an F word.  If you feel restricted, think about how you can change this. 
• Family is an F word.  The Internet has afforded educators a method for connecting with a larger community, take advantage of it!

I often end personal notes with "Always", but tonight I'll substitute it with:

Forever,
Nikkol

Kids Today ... are they Digital Citizens?

Given that it was a 3-day work work for me, my dealings with inappropriate Facebook and text messages were significantly more than normal.  Three in the three days.  Typically, I might have one or two a month, if that.  To boot, all of the incidents occurred during non-school hours, mostly at home or via cell messages.  Yet, these issues creep into the school day because kids are scared or upset and parents are worried about the behavior.

For the people that came forward this week about disturbing electronic communications (both children and parents), I salute them.  Sure, several educators this week spent a great deal of time addressing these issues and will continue to do so next week and beyond.  As educators, we know that a child's learning goes beyond "the 3 Rs". 

However, the best people to monitor and influence/guide our youth's behavior are our parents.  Parents should be having open discussions with their children about what they post online and how they use their cell phone.  Who are the texting?  What are they texting?  Do they send pictures via their phone to others and what are those pictures?  What are their posts on Facebook?  Sure, children of a certain age need to have some level of privacy, but that doesn't mean that everything they do on their phone or computer is private.  In fact, it is not.  What our youth sometimes fail to recognize is that what they do online could quickly become painfully public.

The incidents this week I believe are nothing more than behavior we would have seen without technology; they were just easier to accomplish via this media.  This is where my real worry lies.  In times past, it was more difficult to engage in these behaviors.  20 or 30 years ago, this difficulty would cause some kids to think twice about what they were doing.  Today, not so much.  Sadly, we see examples everyday of adults with the same transgressions. 

If you are a parent, learn how you can help your child to use technology wisely.  Common Sense Media has some great resources for this.  Encourage your child's school to educate our youth on Digital Citizenship (i.e. appropriate, safe, secure, responsible, literate behavior online or via cell technology).

A Taste of Motherhood ... from an Educator's Perspective

 [Names withheld to protect the innocent.]

Last Friday evening began my 4-day journey on a new learning experience for me:  taking care of my four nieces while their parents were out of town.  I observed and learned a lot, some of which I still cannot accurately put to words.  For the majority of you, this may not seem to merit a blog post.  For me, a person without children of her own (save pets) and someone who is used to just taking care of herself and attending to the needs of family members from time-to-time, I learned a great deal. 


In short, this is what I learned:  the role of a mother is not unlike the role of a teacher, except you have to also cook and clean A LOT.

Days prior to my journey,  I jokingly told people that I would be taking "vacation" time so that my brother and sister-in-law could take a vacation.  My brother was traveling to San Juan for business, so he thought it would be nice to extend the stay and surprise his wife with a trip to celebrate both her birthday and their anniversary which occur in May.

Here are the four days, as best I can remember them:

• The two youngest girls (K and 1st grade) would be spending the weekend at a neighbors, so Friday and Saturday nights were spent with the two eldest and one friend each.
• The eldest (7th grade) and her friend had a huge project for school to complete in a week.  I won't explain why this project was completely inane... it just was.
• The second eldest wanted to go over to another friend's house on Saturday.  I said yes, but I told her I needed her to give me all the contact info.  Before she left, I had only her friend's cell number.  It's my fault that I didn't have more than that at this point.  I trusted my niece to let me know.
• Saturday was another day at work on the inane project.  My eldest niece's friend spent the night again so they could work on it.
• Sunday, I got to play the "bad guy", three times.  First, telling the eldest niece that we weren't going to Subway for lunch when everyone else wasn't home yet.  Second, telling the eldest niece that she couldn't go to a movies that night because she still had work to finish on her project.  And third, telling the second eldest niece that she couldn't go to Keeneland on Sunday with her friend.... twice (and this is after two hours of trying to get in touch with her via text and cell phone calls).  Phew!!
• Also on Sunday, I furiously studied the notes my sis-in-law left for me.  We had lunches and snacks packed (except one... whoops).
• We also Skyped with Mom and Dad during this time because phone and text were out of the question.  For the most part this was a positive experience, but for one niece, it made her miss her parents more.  Hugs and rocking and reassuring that they would be home soon was the best I could do.
• Monday, the eldest had sports practice at night and looking ahead, she also has tryouts for next year today and tomorrow.  The project is due on Friday.  So, the eldest and her friend worked until 8:30 on Tuesday to complete their work.  They aren't done even at this hour.
• Tuesday was a complete disaster for me.  It started with one of the youngest asking me if her snack was in her backpack as I dropped them off at school.  I responded with, "Ummm, yes, it is."  At the same time, I'm not recalling doing that.  Since I had to return to take the eldest niece to school, I made a couple of snacks for the two youngest, dropped of the eldest, and then went into the elementary with the two snack bags.  I also made the mistake of laying down 20 minutes before I had to leave to pick up the elementary kids.  I fell asleep and thankfully woke up in time.
• I asked the eldest last night at about 9 pm, "Okay, so if you have another big project like this, what would you do differently?"  She gave two distinct answers and it has NOTHING to do with content of the project: 1) I would manage my time better, and 2) I would start earlier on the research needed for the project.
• When Mom and Dad returned last night, the eldest was still awake.  She promptly greeted her parents and at one point she said, "Aunt Kol is a good cook, just as good as you [Mom and Dad]."  If you know me, you know how funny that really is, but I'm glad I was able to pull it off.

My sis-in-law, or the sister I never had, is a remarkable person.  She is a stay-at-home mom.  With four girls (K, 1, 5, 7th grades), two dogs, and a husband, she has her plate full, and yet does it all with grace and intelligence.  My brother is (almost) equally as impressive. <smirk>.  The two of them have developed a mutual responsibility for their kids. 

It takes a village,
Aunt Kol

Everything Old is New Again

I'm guessing that a pretty good group of my colleagues from my area in the state will be gathering Friday to discuss the policies and procedures we should have in place for the eRate rule that will go into effect next year that specifically states,

Students shall be provided instruction about appropriate online behavior, including interacting with other individuals on social networking sites and in chat rooms and cyberbullying awareness and response.

My guess is that we will be log-jammed on how specific we need to be, how we need to document that we are meeting this requirement and how we are reviewing our success at this endeavor.  My hope is that we will come to a consensus in the fact that these teachings are nothing new.  They just wear new clothes.

In our state (and in the nation) we have used the term "digital citizenship" as an all-encompassing term to address online behavior as opposed to the, well, non-online.  There are many elements to this term: safety, rights and responsibilities, health, legal concerns, digital literacy... the list goes on.

Yet, it is nothing new.  Perhaps the newest part of it is that our teachers aren't comfortable teaching these lessons.  I'd like us to think a little outside the box so that we can help our teachers connect the old with the new.  Some connections are a little more obvious than others, such as bullying.  However, some still elude us.  For instance:

• If we are teaching children to write an opinion or a persuasive piece, which years ago might be viewed by the community members that read the local newspaper, what would be different today if their opinion were posted on their blog for all to read? (And all to respond?)
• If we are teaching children to protect their reputation, what does that mean in the online world?  Does it matter?
• If we are teaching children that it is not okay to steal, are we also teaching them that it is not okay to copy music, movies and software under current law (depending on the license)?

What does being a good digital citizen mean to you?  How does the "new" make our views different from the "old"?

There Are No Easy Answers

And the sooner we accept that fact, the sooner we will collectively devise a way to move us forward, whether it be a slow road or not.

This is a commentary on Ed Reform.. stick with me... I'll get there.

I have been a professional in education for almost two decades (shy a couple of years).  Four of those were in the classroom, with the last being a transition year in my current position, CIO/DTC.  For 13 years, I've overseen the operations of technology in our district.  From the start, I have also pushed for more training for teachers and more use of technology by students.  It's been a delicate balance, because education is a complex beast.

Yet, today, we still have folks that have not learned the most basic understanding of a computer.  We still have folks that have to search their Bing or Google bar for Youtube, rather than simply typing youtube.com in the address bar.  Many times their venture yields results that they click on first, only to bring up a false virus warning that they willing click.  For the techies out there, you are thinking "job security".

For me, I find this very sad.   Just as I find it very sad that so many politicians and other policy-makers think they know what is best for education.  Just as I find it very sad that popular media is promoting strategies that they have no business promoting.  Why can't America trust it's education professionals to make solid decisions for its country?

I'll boldly say that I'm not a "union" person, but only because how it was presented to me as a young teacher.  Today, I believe that a collective voice of intellectual people that fight for a noble cause should have a say, much like the professional organizations of our current teaching profession.

I'm boldly saying that mainstream media has had a detrimental effect on education in our country.  The push for more choice, charters, and the like have done nothing but demean the profession of countless Americans deserving of high praise.

Contrary to what most folks think, teachers CAN do.  They do not choose their profession because they want summers off (even if that is a motivator, they quickly learn, this is not true).  Teachers in America choose their profession because they love learning and they want to help our youth learn.  Teachers in America know that our future lies with our youth and they want to do what they can to make our future stronger.

Only the bravest of us would choose to be a teacher in today's climate.  It's time we ALL support our teachers and the larger purpose they serve.

Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With Strings

These are a few of my favorite things (my professors said)...

1. Why memorize when you can look it up in a book somewhere?
2. In 100 years, it won't matter.
3. The Dean told me to not teach so much.

These each have their own unique and profound implications. And each have helped to shape my professional thinking today.

Learning in the Holler

I had an impromptu hike with my two youngest nieces and my mom tonight.  They were tired, as it was the first weekday of their Spring Break, but they both braved a short walk like troopers.

As we started to explore parts of the holler (or hollar or hollow) around us, we came across a small bit of land that had been worn away by water over the years.  Any adult could easily jump this minuscule crevasse, but we stopped to wonder how the tire and the bit of metal had been deposited here.  There were no ready answers from my nieces.  I pointed out the direction that the water was flowing (a very small stream) and G-ma pointed out that when we have a lot of rain that the small stream turns into a large stream.  With those prompts, the consensus was that, "they must have come from up there."

We crossed the crevasse, and walked up a bit further to find a large blue plastic bucket that had not made it past the fence that has kept out the neighbors livestock from our property.  I asked why that bucket had not traveled further.  Many other questions followed, but the important part of this story is that I told my nieces that there is no right or wrong answer to that question.  G-ma noticed that the gap in the fence was indeed big enough for the bucket, but it had not traveled forward.  We hiked on.

We ended at an old dilapidated house, one that is a pile of metal roofing and wood sides/flooring that have collapsed on itself over time.  When I was a kid, it still stood and my brother, I and our friends bravely entered it.

As we stood there, looking at the heap, the oldest of the two nieces said, "I think I might know where that metal we saw came from."  She went on to explain how a bit of the metal roof of this house could have blown over to where we had crossed.  I told her, "that is good thinking." (Even though it was highly unlikely due to the apparent ages of the metals.)

I don't know if my saying "there are no right or wrong answers" had any bearing on her coming to that conclusion, maybe it was a happy coincidence (after all, all of my nieces are brilliant people); however, the experience tonight gives me more fuel for saying that we need more real thinking in education.

Instill a desire in our youth to really think, regardless of right or wrong.  When you tell a child they are wrong, does that lead to true learning?

Taking Risks

[I'm taking a break from my current reading to reflect on my blog experience thus far.]

I started this blog as a learning experience.  I have a lot of opinions and, I suppose for someone with opinions, I have a lot to say.  Yet, I am also a rational, thinking being that enjoys intellectual debate and conversation.  I am a person that listens to others, doing my best to wade through rheotric and make intellectual decisions based on evidence.

I took a risk at creating this blog.  I'm a very private person.  The thought that my views will be contrary to others is uncomforable to me.  However, I also recognize that thoughtful conversation about controversial subjects can lead to greater learning.

Thanks to the Blogger stats, I know that a few people are reading my posts.  I know it is not limited to the US.  I question why folks aren't brave enough to respond. 

I know I'm not a muse; I'm not an inspiring writer, but surely, someone out there has something to say.  I know I'm one in a million people to say the same thing.

Maybe, just maybe, we can collectively say something that will change our world.

Why the Finnish Model of Education Will Not Work in the US (part two)

This is my second post on why I think the Finnish model of education will not be accepted by the United States.  You can read my first post here.

2.  Most Americans really don't understand the true meaning of equity in education.

Finland's current success is attributed in part to the decision decades ago to provide equity in education nationwide.  I'm not trying to plug the book, "Finnish Lessons", but you should really buy it to gain the historical understanding from a true Finn, and not just one that is a couple generations removed from it.

Once upon a time, when education in Finland was mostly centered around major cities and when education was largely privatized, when the economy worldwide was suffering, Finland made a major shift to provide education to all and to make it public.  I think if you ask any Finn today, they would say that education is a right that is as important to them as our life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

In Finland, every child has the right to free public education from preschool age through college.  Read that again.  College (or a technical post-secondary school) is free.  In contrast, the US has restrictions on who can enroll their child in public preschool education and there is no such thing as a free post-secondary education unless you are lucky enough to get a scholarship.

What strikes me most from my reading is that Finland is addressing the basic survival needs of children, because without these, how can a child really learn?  Schools provide up to three meals a day to the children that need it and everyone is eligible.  There are physical, mental and emotional health services available to any child that needs it.  And this is all public and is done with less money per pupil than the US. (I'm taking a hard "gulp" while saying this, but Finland also does not nationally test kids which costs us a bunch of money.  I'm willing to bet they also don't do a bunch of other things that we pour money into.)  Finnish teachers also spend less time instructing our youth as us.  Finnish students spend less time in studies (both in and out of school) than us.

Another interesting point is that the variation on (what I would guess is mean scores) on the PISA test given to 15-year-olds among many nations between individual schools in Finland is extremely low, the lowest in the world.  This suggests that every school in Finland is preparing their kids equally well.

So, why won't the equity idea fly in the US?  I'd really like to say what I want right now, but this would irritate both republicans and democrats, so I will leave you to ponder this question and the questions that follow:

• Why can't our nation provide our youth with the developmental experiences and learning they will need to be successful adults?
• Do we all agree that the future of our country lies in the hands and hearts and brains of our youth? 
• Does every young person deserve the same opportunities to better themselves and their community/world, no matter where they live and what resources their family (or community) can provide them?

Kippis!! (Cheers!)

Why the Finnish Model of Education Will Not Work in the US (part one)

I'm not yet halfway through "Finnish Lessons" by Pasi Sahlberg, but there are so many points that resonate with me as an educator and unfortunately those exact lessons will not be accepted by most Americans.

Given in no particular order, here are my observations:

1. Americans embrace competition to a fault.

We love cheering on our favorite sports teams, some more emphatically than others.  Corporations are constantly devising new ways to stay ahead of their peers.  Parents scoff when every child is provided a trophy in the youth soccer league.  Our culture tells us that someone has to be Number One and everyone else is ranked accordingly.

Interestingly enough, for the day-to-day practices of education, research has shown that certain types of competition does nothing to improve learning and may even be detrimental. (* I have no sources to cite at this moment, but they are out there; feel free to post supporting evidence on this.)  Grades or gold stars are an external motivator that does not lead to a long-term desire to learn.  I learned this lesson my freshman year in college when a friend of mine bluntly questioned why I had to ask everyone what they received on the recent test.  It was then that I learned I didn't need to try to be better than everyone else; I needed to learn to the best of my ability and try to improve my own skills.

I hope that at least some of you reading are nodding your head, in an I-agree-with-this-notion-of-learning way.  If you are not, ask yourself how you define learning.

IF we can all agree that true learning for students is achieved best by intrinsic motivators, and not extrinsic, then why are we as a country so adamant that competition at the professional-level in teaching is the answer?  If giving rewards or punishing students does not lead to excellent learning, then why do we think that it will work for the teaching profession or the ranking of schools?

Competition is a deeply-rooted cultural mindset in our country.  Education needs more collaboration and cooperation, which is difficult for people that are not intimately involved in education to understand.  Even educators find this hard to do, when external pressures are measuring them with the promise of either being labeled as "low-performing" or they might be revealing their secrets that make them better than the rest.  This is exactly the environment we have cultivated and who does it really hurt???

More observations to come: teacher preparation, respect for the profession, equity...

Part 2 - Equity

Ed Reform and National Security

Wow, there has been a lot of talk lately about education reform in US.  Education reform is nothing new to those of us in Kentucky when the last major push was implemented by KERA (Kentucky Education Reform Act) which was born out of inequities in education funding around the state. 

While I'm not an expert in funding, what I perceive is that state funding is more-or-less equitable.  Yet, private sources of funding provide an advantage to the economically-advantaged areas of our state and much of federal funding targets the highly-poverty stricken areas.  This leaves a huge group in the middle that do not get additional assistance.  In my district, we often say "we aren't poor enough."  This is despite the fact that we have nearly 50% of children that are in the free/reduced lunch program.

My post tonight is in reaction to our own Education Commissioner's blog post today.  He quotes from a report called the U.S. Education Reform and National Security, that “America’s failure to educate is affecting its national security.”

I don't doubt that for a moment, but without scrutinizing the report for accuracy, I cannot say that it has any merit.  I'm not interested in this report and I'll tell you why.  The three recommendations from the report (as posted by DocH) are the following:

1. Expand common core to science, technology and foreign language.
2. Engage parents and communities in education reform through more choice of education programs.
3. Develop a national security audit report for schools and districts that is transparent to parents and communities.

1.  I whole-heartedly agree, except...

With CCSS, we currently have Mathematics and ELA standards, and yes, Kentucky was the first state to adopt these standards.  There was a great deal of effort (I think at least) to incorporate some deep-thinking skills in these, but I still question how these higher-skills will be assessed.  We continue to rank schools on standardized assessments that I would bet mostly assess basic facts and calculation skills.  I don't know this for certain, because we are only privy to past released test items and not examples of future ones.

When I was in the classroom (albeit a billion years ago), I put more weight in my grading practices on how students could apply their knowledge than I did their recall of facts.  I'm not saying I was the perfect teacher; I was far from it.  Yet my favorite methods of assessing student performance were not in multiple choice questions, it was in problems where they had to show their work (so I could "see" their thinking), it was in constructed response questions (so I could gauge if they really understood the concept), it was in performance assessments (so I could tell if they could do something with their knowledge).

Sure, expand CCSS, provide a national curriculum, but allow individual states or individual schools to be able to assess the competence of their students.  Regurgitating facts does not make a country stronger, especially when those facts are quickly forgotten or obsolete in a year or two.  Teach kids to really think and watch what happens.

More importantly, devaluing and degrading education (as has been common recently, with the identification of low-performing schools or low-performing teachers) will NOT improve the situation.  Nor will promising rewards for high-performing institutions and individuals (based upon standardized tests).  Think about this just for a second... what educator thinks that it is okay to announce to their class that the lowest score on the recent test was "Jamie" and the highest was "Peyton"?

2.  Engage parents and the community, yes... through more choice?  Is this a plug for charters?

If we had more engaged parents and a more engaged community, then there wouldn't be a question of choice.  Parents and the community are a vital part of education.  All of us collectively need to embrace the future of our country, i.e. our children.  There is no better way for these groups of people to be actively involved in society and actively encouraging the young people they know than to instill the values of learning.

3.  Develop a national security audit report for schools and districts that is transparent to parents and communities.

What?


I'll step of my soapbox tonight.  Thanks for listening and cheers!

What do kids really need from education?

[resurrecting this from a Facebook note]
I had a couple of candid conversations with students today [Dec 20, 2011] that primarily focused on one content area. I think their feedback, however, is universal no matter what subject we are teaching. From the mouths of babes (paraphrased for clarity):

• Give us as much time as we need to learn the content. Don't tell us that we have one week to cover it and then we are moving on to something else.
• Explain how what we are learning connects with real life. (Give practical examples that helps us see the connection on why would want to learn the concept in the first place.)
• Build positive relationships with your students. Have a sense of humor (even if it is a dry sense of humor, which seems to be very intriguing to our youth.)
• Don't assign homework for a grade.
• Understand that failure is a part of learning and don't punish me for that if I can show you I eventually met your expectations.
• Love your job. There is nothing worse than a teacher that acts like they would rather be somewhere else.
• Treat me like I am a real person trying to do real things in the real world.

If you are a teacher, I implore you to digest these words thoughtfully.

Are you an Outdated Educator?

When the world has already been inventing ways to access information quicker and easier, when dreamers are already envisioning a way to do this without the clunky mobile device in our pockets, why are we in education still embracing the "know" and "does not know" mentality?

News flash: innovators will continue to create new ways that technology can deliver basic facts and relevant information to others.  Technology already allows us to find correct answers to any basic question, even more complex questions such as solving a set of two variable linear equations (just search WolframAlpha).

Having a solid base of understanding in any particular area of study is important, but I think we could all agree this alone does not make a person successful. 

So, with the infusion of technology everywhere, how can we teach kids to use technology to their advantage?  Teach them sift through the noise.  Teach them to learn how to create real things with technology and share those creations with the world.  Teach them how to use technology to better themselves, their community, and/or their world.

Ask yourself, are you an outdated educator?  Do you put more value on the facts that your students know, or are you more interested in what your students can do with those facts?  Do you think that facts have to be learned before students develop skills on how to apply them, or do you let students discover concepts for themselves?  Do you give packets for homework, or do you provide students with a thought-provoking challenge that makes them want to learn the content?

Most of all, are you an education dreamer and innovator?  Education could use a lot more of these!

My inspiration tonight is the following video from 2009 ...



Link: http://www.ted.com/talks/pattie_maes_demos_the_sixth_sense.html

Flawed Premises and High Hopes

I know I originally touted this blog (three short posts ago) as a place for Education Technology discussions; however, at this particular point in time there are issues that encompass the entirety of education that are paramount.  These issues will also have an effect on EdTech, so anyone with a passion for infusing technology in education should be paying attention.

1. VAM (Value-Added Measurement) for teacher evaluation in which teachers are ranked publicly upon how well their students perform on state standardized tests.
2. Alleged "rampant" cheating in schools by teachers and others on state standardized tests.

Hmmm... there seems to be a common theme with the two big issues as popularized in media over the last several days.  Could it be that the vehicle for measurement of both students and teachers is flawed?

[If you want to read more, check out AJC regarding the cheating scandal and the EdWeek article about Duncan's views of teacher ranking.]

It is my contention that the practice of standardized testing, as we know it today, is the cause of America's decline in education in the recent past.  We have put such extreme pressures on principals and teachers to perform well on these tests and what do the tests really measure?  Mostly lower-level skills, recall and basic calculations. 

If we want our kids to be fact-machines, then keep teaching them how to memorize and learn the "3 R's" AND assessing them on their ability to do just that.  Our counterparts in certain countries have been successful at that, and they have been an avenue of American companies for finding "cheap" and "out-sourced" labor.

If, instead, we value a higher standard, one that asks our kids to be the next great innovators, or asks if students can find facts when they need it and apply them to the current problem at hand, or seeks for our youth that know how to work together to solve problems, then we might just have a fighting chance.  And we, as educators are obligated to find a way to assess this.

Yet, the real question is why assess it at all?  Is it to label poor performing schools or teachers?  Or is it a means for a teacher to determine what strategies may have been most successful?  Or is it a means for a principal to track performance and make the best decisions for the school?  Another question is, who really needs to see this information?

As far as the EdTech connections in this post, I have long believed that the true power of education technology is not in the technology itself, it is when it used in conjunction with higher-order skills, the same skills that will move us forward as a country, and the same skills that every nation should be embracing.

Competition versus Cooperation

This is a short clip of an email I sent a colleague tonight.  You'll have to read between to the lines to get the connection between competition/cooperation and accountability/responsibility.  My words were inspired by Pasi Sahlberg, an education expert/enthusiast in Finland.

American culture loves competition. American culture is killing education. More than ever, we need cooperation, not competition. We don't need to know who are the stars and who are the losers. We need to know what works and what does not.

Fostering a culture of accountability will kill us. Fostering a culture of responsibility is our saving grace.

STEM, STEAM, HOTS and other educationally-Appropiate acronyms

Education has an above-average ability for devising intriguing acronyms.  The three above are just a few.  Yet, acronyms like these are the one I believe will be the true power behind any initiative involving integration of technology in education.

Let me back up a decade or so.  I've been the CIO/Tech Coordinator for a relatively small district (roughly 2100 students as of today) since 1999.  While many of my early years in the position were spent on getting my feet wet, inheriting projects from my predecessors, learning new things and worrying about the Y2K apocalypse that never happened, I also spent a good deal of time planning for how to integrate more technology in the classroom.

The term integration has evolved over time.  At one time, it used to mean that the teacher could utilize technological tools for whole group instruction, or if we were lucky, small group and perhaps individual practice.  Just a few years ago, integration meant that students were given multiple opportunities to use technology for education.  We are still grappling with what "multiple" means; mostly we grapple with that term when it comes to technology because of the resources we have available to us.  At least I hope that is the reason.  Consider if 30 years ago, we evaluated our use of instructional resources using the statement, "students are give multiple opportunities to use a textbook to enhance their learning."  That's just silly.

Opportunity is not enough.  How the technology is used is more important than the fact that it was used at all. 

That brings us to today.  There has been a resurgence of a need for thinking, deep thinking.  Deep thinking is nothing new in human history; I contend that we've lost our way (at least in education as a whole) over the last several decades, perhaps a century give or take, on the journey to build thoughtful, creative minds.  What we've built instead is a complex system of accountability that nourishes teaching low-level skills.

In the technology realm, I've seen district after district investing enormous amounts of money in technology initiatives.  While some of these initiatives are software-based, I would like to concentrate on the hardware-based initiatives, specifically 1:1 or even BYOD.

What I have heard from teachers and parents in districts (no, my reach isn't wide, but I listen) that have some sort of 1:1 program is that it is failing.  It is failing for a number of reasons:  teachers aren't prepared; students haven't been taught how to resist the temptation of playing games, etc.  It's not failing across the board, some teachers have learned to adapt.  Yet, if the adaption is "put your iPad away", then they're missing the point.

Giving every kid a device to access information is not enough.  Opportunity is not enough.

Integration today means using available devices hand-in-hand with developing the thinking, creativity, communication/collaborative skills necessary for being a productive citizen in our global society.

Débutante, of sorts

Welcome to my first official blog.  The place I hope I can share some of my thoughts, hopefully insights, as they relate to technology in education.  The place I hope others will banter with me, give me alternative views, or commiserate with my experiences.

I've played around with posting my opinions or my experiences before.  Ever heard of Facebook? From time to time I have posted a note when something really remarkable strikes me. 

However, my motivation in starting this blog is entirely selfish... it's for my OWN personal learning.  I want to grow my skills at communicating with others.  I want a place to reflect on my role (and others') in education.  I want to learn something new.

Why the name?  While it might seem apropos for an educator in Kentucky, it has nothing to do with basketball.  Technology in education has been both criticized and praised.  The criticisms and praises have both had merits and also unsubstantiated claims.  Just because you put a kid on a computer, doesn't mean she'll learn.  Likewise, ignoring the powerful ability of technology to bring our kids into a global economy can be just as detrimental.

The title alludes to what I see in my daily life.  Many of us are using technology largely for entertainment purposes.  Why not use it to connect to people beyond our immediate grasp, to empower our kids (and ourselves) to make a better world, to make life-long learning really mean something?

Cheers and hoping for some lively and thoughtful discussions!