Surreal is an Understatement

In my lifetime, there have been few times that could even come close to what we are experiencing now. The magnitude far surpasses all others for a number of reasons:

1. Long duration on the initial shock and acceptance. I think back to 9-11. The shock was immediate. Acceptance came quicker for some than others.  And it took a while to realize the long term effects of the incident (TSA).  The effects this time are nearly immediate and I suspect long lasting for a while to come. 
2. Times past, life was on hold for a select few people. Think Desert Storm. My life went on much like it had at that time. Right now we aren’t necessarily on hold, albeit some of us are, yet we are doing things radically different. And that is scary. 
3. Lastly, and maybe this is just my own optimism, but people seem to be genuinely caring for others right now. Everyone I talk to is positive and caring and concerned for everyone’s wellbeing. 

Be well all. 

OMG

I've really neglected this blog.  There are two reasons for that I think... maybe just one, if I really think about it.

Writing is not something I particularly like.  I can produce a pretty good product, in the end; however, when I sit down to write, I obsess and struggle over my choice in words or the organization of my writing or my voice or ... (dammit, I'm doing it now)

I spend absolutely too much time with aforementioned worries about my writing that I feel I'm not really being productive.  This leads to the phantom second reason: I have no time.

Maybe I'll post more on this blog this school year.  There are certainly some really cool things happening in EdTech in my district that I could write about.  In fact, in the past there have been many times on my way home from work that I've thought to myself, "I should blog about that." 

IF I find my second-wind on blog posting, here are some possible subjects to look forward to:

• Bring Your Own Device
• Chromebooks in Education
• Next Generation Science Standards (no, not purely tech, but I'm a science geek and always will be)
• Utilizing Online Tools for Professional Learning

For those few folks that may be reading this now, I would appreciate a word of encouragement.  Even more so, I would appreciate words of wisdom for persisting in the chronicling of my thoughts in a blog.

(Dammit, I did it again.)

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.