2014 in Review

What a difference eight months make! In the whirlwind of moving across state to hit the ground running in a new district that is rapidly redoing a 1:1 initiative, launching a Twitter account, attending conferences and PD, and trying to keep my head above water on all the educational technology tools exploding (including drinking the Google Kool-aid), this tech trainer must never miss a healthy breakfast. 

And the more I rethink how every educational tool is used, the more I think the traditional factory model is more and more irrelevant. Time, location, and separated subject areas should not be singular items - if every student has a device, has internet access, they have learning capacity. This makes me rethink how a classroom is even set up. This month my tech dept cleared out truckloads of old unused equipment - things that are likely to never be used again because new technology has meshed one-trick-ponies into single devices. 

If we are expecting students to do more group work (when naysayers expect those under 30 to not have any social skills), then single desks in a grid is that antithesis of social learning! I keep thinking of college lounges......with lots of charging outlets!

If we are expecting students to demonstrate what they know, then MC/TF/fill-in-the-blank assessments are weak feedback methods - this is the equivalent of cross examining a witness instead of letting one testify. In a data-driven world, isn't qualitative information always better? I love to see students teach others what they have learned since I usually end up learning something new in the process. 

If we are expecting students to problem solve creatively, why tell them to use specific tools instead of letting them "think outside the box"? I never thought of Twitter as anything other than shortened Facebook posts. Now it's my PLN!

As I have more and more of these types of conversations with my colleagues, I feel positive that American education made some progress in 2014. So here's to a new year of continuing to shake off the shackles of confining habits for more dynamic learning environments. 

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Information OverLORD

I deal with a lot technology for my job. I like teaching people how to use it (hence my job). My premise is technology is a tool and once you know how to wield your tools, you become powerful. When I get push back from people that "don't like technology" I am always flabbergasted.

Except when it comes to Twitter.

Given my background, I admit it seems weird that I do not have a Twitter account. It's not that I haven't contemplated it - I've been flip flopping like a tennis match. But the more I think about it, the more I simply can't bring myself to do it.

Lordy, lordy, I am in information overload!

I don't dismiss the value of Twitter but I already have information streaming to me in a variety of forms on a variety of devices; Twitter might push me over the edge. I don't think I can handle hashtag hell right now. Chalk it up to "Spring Forward" as I call it (when the world fast forwards to lightning speed during the months of April and May).

I completely understand the push back now. I don't blame people for wanting a mental break from constant streaming of information. Although I don't understand the desire to hide from technology completely, at least we have the ability to pick and choose our tools.

Twitter will just have to wait to be included in my tech toolbelt.

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Can't Argue with "Stupid"

A Yahoo article aptly titled "The Stupid War on the Common Core" posted today is also aptly located in the politics section.

Why?

Because education is never about education, it is ALWAYS about politics....

It is a stupid war for a variety of reasons and the most vocal arguers probably don't understand the arguments in the first place. Yes, the US has fallen embarrassingly behind on standardized tests scores compared to other countries. Yes, the US is drowning in standardized test time throughout the school year. Yes, students are ill-equipped to perform in today's economy. Yes, students, teachers, and parents are miserable because of these things.

The most right-wing argument is that a "common" set of standards amounts to a federal "takeover" of schools. One must realize the Takeover Ship sailed long ago - we have standardized tests, minimum numbers of days that "count", regulations on how educators are prepared and licensed, laws upon laws on handling behavior and funding, what constitutes a public school, etc, etc, ETC! Is anyone naive to think that local means much anymore?

But the purpose of standards is to draw a line in the sand pointing out what teachers should teach and what children should know by a certain age in specific subject areas. As a former teacher, this in itself seems silly - how else are you going to teach a subject at all and NOT cover these things? It seems so blatantly obvious to me that I consider "standards" to be an explanation about what teachers do for those who have never taught.

So what is wrong with a national, federal set of benchmarks? Other countries have them - countries that continuously score better than the US. The answer is there is nothing wrong or evil or nefarious with having the entire country striving for the same thing - being able to explain the Bill of Rights, solving an algebra problem, describing how food is digested as just some examples of standards. These kind of goals have been around for years.

In 2014, are we really arguing over WHO gets to write them officially? Are we really arguing that American children are not  ready to do some material because it is "too hard" while, in the same breath, gawk at how advanced foreign students are and complain they are taking our jobs? Are we really arguing that it is better to let fifty states come up with their own verbiage on what to teach rather than to agree and collaborate on something truly strong?

The real argument should be not what or when we teach something (because at the end of the day, I think we can all agree that all these things need to be taught in the K-12 spectrum anyway), but how we assess what is learned. We aren't giving the exact same tests to every student across states. We're testing them into oblivion all school year. We're are flinging money around doing it. Textbook companies and assessment companies and lawyers are the only ones benefiting.

All the arguments about teacher accountability tied to standardized tests based on common standards are also hokum. We're punishing educators for things beyond their control. Humans do not make progress exactly the same and American culture has a serious parenting crisis. Are we really arguing that teachers and schools should be financially and professionally penalized when they are purposely undermined by parents and students themselves? We wouldn't apply this thinking to doctors because patients don't necessarily follow doctors' orders. And many other people are involved in health recovery but no one is screaming accountability for them. So why can't we pay educators according to their specialty and experience?

So instead of acting like selfish children who didn't get to do things their way, let's work together to write solid benchmarks as components an American education (based on things that have already been written years ago). Every student must work their way through this program of study if you will - age and grade level are no longer important; some eight year olds might end up working on the same standards as thirteen year olds. There is no "social promotion" - you simply have to prove your are able to do the requirements of the program in order to receive a diploma (because a high school diploma no longer carries any real significance anymore). And there are no ridiculous multiple choice tests. Either you can apply these standards skills in a real setting or you can not. Can you say growth portfolios?

So it's time to step up our performance and apply our skills in real-world settings. It's time to stop the mind-numbing standardized testing year-round based on "standards" that keep being rewritten under a different name.

God forbid anyone learns anything useful, right?

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Why Aren't All Presentations Like This?

I just love presentations that are visually stimulating....and by god, clear! (There is no doubt that I am a visual learner!) This animated talk by Ken Robison offers some healthy thought and makes one wonder why in the world do we still conform to the factory model for education???

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Snow Days?

This season's eastern US winter has been rough for everyone, especially schools that seemed to be closed more often than open. By law those days must be "made up" to the usual equivalent of 180 "days" of about 6 instructional hours. Traditional practice has been to simply tack them on at the end of the school year - or perhaps use up those "built in" days sprinkled like precious gemstones throughout the calendar.

But in favor of the almighty Assessment, staff PD days and built in days have quietly vanished and "balanced calendars" crept in. I, for one, am all for a more logical calendar seeing how American students are rarely needed on the summer farm anymore and brain research shows more frequent mini breaks keep us fresh compared to long breaks. 

But "balanced" is a relative term in education - does it seem that the fall semester has more breaks than the painfully long period between the start of the spring semester and spring break? And it just happens to fall during the roughest weather season of all? We still need to work on that concept.

Cue in the Virtual Day! Probably one of the most innovative solutions American K-12 education has ever tried! With more schools going 1:1 and households having internet access nationwide, students can still do learning without being physically present in a brick-n-mortar school. And this can count as an official school day!

Oh the possibilities - less school traffic on the roads, less exhaust fumes, less school overhead costs, more sanitary interaction, flexible hours for students/staff to pursue other beneficial community activities, targeted and independent learning, dynamic and engaging material, time/responsibility learning.....I'm giddy. 

I hope this trend continues and grows. Perhaps around-the-clock, around-the-calendar, anywhere-in-the-world schooling will become ubiquitous in American education. We should work smarter, not harder - surely we can't be any less efficient than before. :)

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Apps Gone Wild

So Apple is finally having to repay all the unauthorized app purchases made by children using their parents' Apple IDs and credit cards on file.  I'm not sure who has the most blame here: parents, children, or Apple. Mostly because the entire situation is ENTIRELY AVOIDABLE.

In my job, we rolled out 500+ ipads to staff and walked them through Apple ID creation....with no credit card requirement for this very reason (hint you must do it on a mobile device with a free app to trigger this roundabout). So Apple does provide a way to avoid putting your credit card on standby even if it may not be well-promoted. And every store on the planet sells iTunes gift cards so you can purchase apps, music, etc in limited amounts.  But the 15-minute window for not prompting a password to purchase should be closed immediately.

Parents should not be sharing their passwords with their children....particularly if those children do not understand the concept of monetary exchange. Do you give them your PIN number, too?! I am in my 30s and it wasn't until a few months ago that my parents even let me hold their debit card in my hands (to purchase their own groceries mind you).

There is also a little trick called Turning Off the Wifi. Can't purchase something you can't connect to. And if your children are normal, they are probably tapping away not truly paying attention to what they are tapping so without wifi they can't "accidently" tap a purchase right onto your credit card.

Lastly, children should be taught that if they are using someone else's stuff, they shouldn't be dinking around with personal things they might find. You might borrow someone's computer but do you start making changes to their documents? Do you start downloading new programs to their desktop? Did that curtesy stop when devices got smaller?

Let's just call it a $100 million dollar lesson for everyone....even though we all should have known.

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Brick-n-Mortar Walls Come Down

By chance I came across a few articles this morning regarding virtual learning (See virtual teacher and scared of tech) I have strong thoughts on this having experience in virtual/distance/independent learning myself as both a student and a teacher. Like anything else, change brings fear....fear that something new isn't rigorous enough, fear that human teachers will be obsolete, fear that the petty social structures of brick-n-mortar institutions will disappear. The thing is all of these fears could happen....and some of them, quite frankly, should. Of course, I've never been one to support tradition simply for the sake of tradition. If teachers are really good and intentional with supporting content by whatever delivery methods available, the delivery methods are irrelevant - we don't have to talk to their live face between 8am and 3:300pm Monday through Friday during nonagricultural growing seasons. When you say it like that, doesn't sound completely moronic??

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