Unplugged

Recently I convinced the entire school to unplug from technology for a day, with some interesting results. Each division (lower, middle and upper) experienced the day a bit differently.

The Lower School fully embraced the idea, and since the students pretty much do what their teachers tell them, so did the kids! Families were invited to participate in a full 24 hour unplugging day, and many did. What was interesting was what "unplugged" meant to different people. My idea was to step back to say 1978 - you know before the world wide web, went well world wide. Some of our teachers wanted to go back to the 1600's and would not use electricity. Talk about embracing the day!

The Middle School seemed to have a fairly similar experience, except for the handful of teachers who told me I was insane, and this was a waste of their time. Most kids did what they were told, and then went home and got on their phones.

The Upper School, like typical teenagers, just ignored me. I don't think we heard you... that was fine, and to their credit some teachers and yes even some kids put away their laptops and their cellphones and talked to one another, and reflected in the slow passing of time with technology.

I learned once again that teachers and students in different divisions act very much like the kids they teach.

People from across the school took something away from the day, and in the end that was all I was hoping for. Next year will be better!

Superlearner

When I read articles like this one “superlearners” I get excited – wow this is what we are talking about, taking risk, collaborating, using resources, actively reconstructing knowledge. It was even printed in Harvard Magazine! Then I look at the date 1991, and I feel sad, because I am reminded that we (educators) have always known that there is a better way to learn, and a better way to teach. However, we have continued to choose otherwise. Are you a superlearner?

A professional learning network

Are you ready to read and write and discuss ideas with people daily? Are you ready to get help polishing ideas, and hopefully help others polish theirs. Are you ready to maintain multiple ongoing discussions covering a variety of topics. Karl Fisch wrote “Ideally, this would also describe schools; places that were not defined as much by prescribed curricula, but by a climate of intellectual curiosity and a culture of ideas, where good ideas influence other good ideas.” He wrote this three days ago.
The idea of a community of learners is not new, but the ways in which we can connect and collaborate has shifted. Face to face meetings hold less and less value; in fact they are quickly becoming a really insufficient way to get things done.
The big million dollar question is what does all of this mean to schools – to the way we teach and to the way we learn. Knowledge has become as accessible as air, all of the answers are out there; now it is the questions that are important. And the great questions will take multiple people to answer – where do you find your answers or better yet how?

Digital Immigrants or Natives

How long will people hide behind their age? I was not born in a large city, but I am quickly learning how to navigate one. Sure time has changed, but at some point you are expected to change with it. Do you want to go to a doctor who has not changed in twenty years?

Keeping up with the times is expected in any profession, and education shouldn't be any different.

It is not the tools

As long as we focus on the tech tools, and how they can change education, we are barking up the wrong tree. It has never been about the tools - it is about how we teach and how we learn. Yes the way we learn. Teachers should be master learners before they can be teachers.

When will we see this shift? When will people stop asking about tools?

Educon 2.1

It was a good conference. I enjoyed some of the presentations, and picked up a couple of valuable tools. Coming from a private school, I forget the constant struggle, whether real or perceived, between us (teachers) and them (school system). These conferences tend to be a rallying cry to the tech elite and administrators to fight for change or else become obsolete. On a lot of points I agree with them, but it still strikes me as funny, that we have to go through all of these "call to action meetings" in order to get people to use something that makes their lives easier, and helps kids get more out of their own learning.

I again look to other professionals and say "do you tolerate this?" Is using a new tool an option at your company? We have to move from the argument to use it, into the expectation that you will use it.

Do you get it?

I am coming to the realization that if you don't get or use technology in your personal life, you aren't going to get it or use it in your professional life. If you spend 2 hours a month online, don't get facebook and have never read a blog, I don't think you are going to all of a sudden start incorporating technology into your teaching. Why would you?

I also think that training only helps a little bit. If you can't learn on your own, or figure out how to use something on your own, there is only so much I can show you. A colleague told me I don't want to train them to do what I am doing, I want them to go off and create something new, something I could use. A few will, but most will only be able to follow a recipe, and unfortunately the thought of creating something new terrifies them.

Sorry I don't have any answers, only frustration.

Simplicity
Having just survived another Christmas, I have been thinking a lot about simplicity and minimalism. The 100 thing movement is an interesting concept, and personally one I would like to embrace. I am not sure how my wife or three kids would feel about it, but part of me thinks they might embrace the more streamlined lifestyle. Some things would be harder than others, like books and socks, but I guess more trips to the library wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Naturally I started thinking about these ideas and how they might shape or reshape a school’s technology landscape. Like most schools we have an abundance of “stuff” that we no longer use, and are in the slow process of getting rid of it. We also have an abundance of older desktops, monitors and printers cluttering classrooms and workspaces. We are moving away from this model, and are starting to lease laptops and provide specialized labs as well as centralizing our printing.

However, I would like to think beyond the infrastructure changes, and take a look at how technology can really help streamline and simplify the day to day operations of our school. My desk has piles of paper all over it, and I still waste time looking for stuff. Where is the paperless world I was promised? Meetings still take time to schedule, and collaboration still requires face to face meetings. There are better ways to do things, but like my family it may take a while for people to fully embrace the simple life.

Web 2.0 Course

Digital Literacy and Emerging Technologies

Overview:

The goal of this course is to examine how emerging technology and an updated definition of Digital literacy are used in the workforce, education, society and their global impact. The ability to access information, share it, collaborate and network with others has and will continue to impact the way we learn, play and work. The students will become proficient with the following tools:

• Blogging
• Podcasting
• Photosharing
• Wikis
• Social Bookmarking
• Video Sharing
• Digital Story Telling
• Putting It All Together (RSS)

Students will not only use these tools, but analyze how they are currently impacting society, education and their potential global impact, in fact that will be the content they write, video, collaborate and bookmark about. The students will be using these tools to help them explore why these emerging technologies are dramatically changing the world. The readings will help to guide our discussion around these tools and their impact on society.

Grading:

A rubric will be set up to evaluate the effective use of the nine tools, based on industry standards of what makes a good blog, podcast etc… as well as the students demonstrated proficiency with the technology. Participation will also be a big factor, since all of these tools are about collaboration. The readings will be discussed in a blog, a wiki and through a video project.

Reading and listening and participating in the following:

www.readwriteweb.com
The TWIT podcast through I tunes
Will Richardson’s Blog - http://weblogg-ed.com
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century is an international bestselling book by Thomas L. Friedman that analyzes globalization, primarily in the early 21st century.

Year Round School

I really would like to see more independent schools or even public schools adopt a year round schedule. It really makes sense for retention; just think teachers would not have to spend a month reviewing material from the previous year. We are using a system designed around the harvest schedule, maybe it is time to consider a change.

When I suggest this idea to teachers they act like I am crazy for even considering such a notion, never mind that studies show student’s test scores improve in a year round school setting.

Because that is the way we have always done it, should not be our driving factor in education decision making. What compelling reason is there to stop learning for three months?

Soon to be released

Gatto's book "Weapons of Mass Instruction" seems to paint a gloomy picture of public education in this country. The book is not out yet, but will be released soon.

I always wonder how the same types of arguments surrounding public eduction hold up in the private school setting? Other than smaller class sizes and more flexibility around curriculum, most independent schools rarely practice their independence. When the very structure of education is questioned, I feel that only a very few schools can say that does not apply to us.

The reviews of this book remind me of the Pink Floyd song - "Another Brick in the Wall"

Helping one person at a time

It is exciting to believe that you can influence change in some global way in the school. One great presentation or a handful of really engaging workshops, but the longer I do this the more I realize it is the one to one collaboration that really makes a difference.

The well attended workshops this year have been training sessions, where teachers were taught how to use a particular software. These workshops served their purpose, those teachers came away with a new set of skills - they got what they came for.

But even software training has changed, some people want to be feed every thing in a step by step order. Others want to play around and figure things out. Some can be given the basics and the time to play around and are fine, while others will rarely venture out of the structure of the class. I think the way teachers learn say a lot about the way they teach.

I have taught high school computer classes for eight years, and it always surprises me how we have trained students to learn in such a traditional way. Lets play around and discover how the software works, lets collaborate as a class and work together to discover what is possible in Photoshop or a similar software. While some are able to do this, at least half want to be fed the information, and actually become frustrated when all of their questions are not answered by the instructor.

Have we forgotten to teach them how to learn?

Student Built Resources

Doesn't it make sense for students to build and develop a set of tools and resources that they use throughout their school career? With so many online tools that let you organize resources and tools in one place, it seems to make sense that students maintain multiple spaces for continued learning. Imagine going to college with a digital presence that is already plugged into sites and services and most importantly people.

Bloom's Digital Taxonomy

Bloom's Digital Taxonomy

Andrew Churches' wiki on Bloom's Taxonomy and how it relates to web 2.0 is tremendous. The rubrics he provides for blogging, wikis etc... are truly helpful.

After listening to a colleague express his fears about technology dumbing down the curriculum, and hearing his concern about doctors and lawyers googling the answers on the fly; because why bother to learn anything in the world of Google. Are we really encouraging laziness?

I think that it is important to keep in mind that technology is a tool used to learn with, but it has also changed the way we are able to learn, so teachers should make sure that students are equipped with the skills necessary to use these new tools effectively. If I was in med school and for the last ten years a particular procedure was done with a robotic laser, should I still learn the old way simply so I can appreciate how much better the new way is, or in case the laser breaks and for some reason can not be repaired, and I guess it would have to break at every other hospital as well – but you never know?

In the “real” world every test is open book, and most work is done collaboratively. I think revisiting Bloom’s Taxonomy might be helpful.

1. Knowledge: arrange, define, duplicate, label, list, memorize, name, order, recognize, relate, recall, repeat, reproduce state.
2. Comprehension: classify, describe, discuss, explain, express, identify, indicate, locate, recognize, report, restate, review, select, translate,
3. Application: apply, choose, demonstrate, dramatize, employ, illustrate, interpret, operate, practice, schedule, sketch, solve, use, write.
4. Analysis: analyze, appraise, calculate, categorize, compare, contrast, criticize, differentiate, discriminate, distinguish, examine, experiment, question, test.
5. Synthesis: arrange, assemble, collect, compose, construct, create, design, develop, formulate, manage, organize, plan, prepare, propose, set up, write.
6. Evaluation: appraise, argue, assess, attach, choose compare, defend estimate, judge, predict, rate, core, select, support, value, evaluate.

All of the heavy hitters in the educational technology world recommend moving slowly – taking baby steps, but what if this recommendation is as dated as Windows 95? New teachers are as frustrated as I am by having to progress at this snails pace, especially in regards to technology which changes daily. Remind me again why we have to move so slowly. Part of me thinks that this is a self serving myth, feed by people who make their living telling us how to use technology in education. What is wrong with making mistakes, and learning from them? If we are teaching people how to learn we have to teach them how to learn from their mistakes.

Technology as a tool

I like the idea of Technology as a giant tool box, and all of the different applications as individual tools in the box. Any one who has worked around the house knows that the right tool makes all the difference. This analogy is also helpful when thinking about when to use technology in education – when it is the right tool for the job.

If creating a short video documentary about a topic engages students in the learning process, and helps them take on role of instructor for their classmates, then in some cases this might be a better tool than an essay.

Technology should not be used just for the sake of using technology; it is a tool to get a job done. Students learn how to use the tools as they go, how long did you practice with a hammer before you used it, and when you did use it did you just drive nails into some random board simply for the sake of driving a nail?

Share

OK, I was afraid of this - people may actually read this, and not just random people, but people I see every day. The first thing you will notice beside my flowing prose is my over use of the comma. But you came here for Tech stuff not the late night ramblings of a geek.

I would really like to know what I can do to help you teach. Give me some ideas, I have a few I am working on, but I have found that sometimes it is something so simple - a wireless mouse, training in a particular program or a site that helps me do ?? Sometimes these little things, that go unnoticed really make a difference.

I feel that my job is to help you do yours. I have not spent as much time as I would like working with the faculty, but that will change. There have been a few things I had to nail down first.

Ian Jukes

I went to an ADVIS technology meeting yesterday, Ian Jukes presented. He has a unique style to his presentations sort of cross between a Baptist preacher and a comedian. His message is the same one I hear from all of the big guns in the education tech world.

We (schools and teachers) are doing a great job preparing students for a job and life in 1956. In other words we are not keeping up with the rapid changes of the world. We continue to do things the way we always have, but students have changed quit a bit in the last 30 years -

Part of his shock and awe approach is to outline how quickly technology is advancing, he sites "Moore's Law" a well known theory that states computing power doubles every 18 months and the cost is reduced by 50%. This theory has proven to be more or less true for the last 40 years or so. If this pattern continues, and there is no reason to think that it will not, the implications are huge - computers or devices that are 100 of times faster then anything now for a fraction of the cost.

He went on to talk a little about nano technology and bio technology and some recent advances in both of these fields. All the while making the point - are schools ready? Are students going to be ready?

One other interesting topic that Ian presented was the concept of Exponential growth and how learning occurs this way - yet schools continue to provide a linear education.

Study: Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica

How does the work get done?

Once we have all agreed that schools owe it to their students to engage them in different ways and shift to a more student centered classroom, what happens next? It takes so long to get "buy in" from all of the teachers, do we have to wait for everyone to be on board, or can we just start.

I really feel like I need to get the infrastructure up to speed to support the usage. Nobody should have to struggle with the equipment.