My post-Christmas wish list

Now that the flurry of yuletide has passed (mostly at least), the party refuse dragged to the curb, the bloating stomach subsided, I can reflect on what I didn't get and still desire. I understand if you stop reading right now.

1. A magic device to cure my son's dry skin issue
2. Snow for the fine hills of Michigan (in abundance please!) A snow-making machine could help alleviate my disappointment.
3. Adobe Premier video editing software- and the ability to use it well.
4. A brain-companion to help me manage all the stimuli that comes at me each day (this could come in mechanical or human form)
5. A second canoe with an attachment to make a pontoon-like set up with my other canoe (and a trolling motor)

Many other things could be listed, but these would yield the most peace and adventure for my soul in Twenty-Twelve.

GVSU Ed. Tech. Program (EDT 629)

I will start by making a general observation about the ed. tech. program as a whole. It seems that it lacks in three areas: tech tool use, portfolio creation, and basic computer systems knowledge. As an ed. tech. consultant, I have needed to do many things that I was never asked to do in any of my classes. That list includes making screencasts for instruction (and editing them), creating and editing video, using interactive whiteboard features, demonstrating proficiency with tablets, and troubleshooting performance issues.
To address this, it seems that some of the courses' required discussions on these topics could be replaced with performance assessments that students would have to complete. I think it is reasonable for the program committee to identify essential tools and skills that all students should show proficiency in. Then they (The GVSU ed. tech. top dogs) could incorporate those essentials into the curriculum and have students add their evidence to some type of portfolio. If this occurs, graduating students will have something to show prospective employers and be more prepared for the actual tasks they will need to perform.

Also, I think that some type of basic computer course should be required. I have struggled with the technical side of things and would have benefited from an intro course. I looked at ITT Tech, and they offer a course with this description:

NT1110 Computer Structure and Logic | 4.5 credit hours

Organization of a computer is examined in a given popular operating systems environment. Terminology and underlying principles related to the major computer functions will be discussed in the context of hardware and software environments.

That seems like a perfect course for Ed. Tech. students. Perhaps there could be a test out option for those who are already savvy, but I certainly was not.

I'm not saying the program is awful; quite the contrary. I expanded greatly from it. I am saying that it could be enhanced. I also realize that there is a video-related class that I did not have to take. Perhaps that should be mandatory.

OK, I think I'm done. Please let me know your thoughts.

Anti-flipped classroom rebuttal

Lisa Nielsen recently wrote a piece that basically thrashed flipped classrooms. The article is here: http://www.techlearning.com/Default.aspx?tabid=67&EntryId=3379
I felt compelled to address her arguments because I think they are flawed. Her points are in black and my points are in orange:

We have yet to bridge the digital divide...
Many of our students don't have access to technology at home. The flipped classroom method does not have strong provisions in place for these children.

*This is a reasonable point, but it does not work as an argument against flipped classrooms. Clintondale High in Michigan has many students without home internet access, and they put systems in place to allow students to have access at school (See article: http://www.convergemag.com/classtech/Clintondale-High-Flipped-Classes.html.). As Lisa mentioned in a point below, this is something that any school could do. If there are places in which no public access to technology is available then there are options for rectifying that as well. Moving towards a flipped model might help improve access because demand would increase.

Flipped homework is still homework...
There is a growing number of parents and educators who don't believe we should rob children of the time after school with mandatory homework. We believe time at home should be for pursuing passions, connecting with friends and family, playing and engaging in physical activity. In some families it might be the time needed to take care of a sibling, work a job, or take care of their own child. Let us leave children to the activities they and their family choose or find necessary and instead as John Taylor Gatto suggests (in lesson 7), that we should "give children more independent time during the school day" at which time they may also choose to watch flipped classroom lessons.

*I think it is extreme to label homework as "robbing children of their free time". Is it unreasonable to ask students to devote 30-45 minutes a day to viewing videos? Research shows that some type of carry-over from classroom to homework bolsters learning and deepens understanding. They can still pursue their passions and personal connections.
More time for bad pedagogy...
Flipping instruction might end up just meaning we can provide time to do more of the same type of memorization and regurgitation teaching that just doesn't work. When I shared the idea of the Flipped Classroom with an administrator, she said to me with excitement, "This is great! We'll have more class time to prepare kids for the tests!"

*The quote from that administrator is unfortunate and misleading and so is the author's point. The flipped model actually allows more time for effective pedagogy because less class time is spent on basic skill instruction, which is still necessary in most classroom environments. If students get a basic foundation before a class period, then the teacher can carry them through to more complex tasks. You can't design a new building without knowing how to do the math to get there.
Grouping by date of manufacture...
If we really want transformation in education, one thing we must do is stop grouping students by date of manufacture, which the flipped classroom is ideally suited for, but have schools put the structures in place? Are they ready to let students move at a pace that meets their developmental readiness and come to the realization that not everyone at the same age needs to be at the same place at the same time? True flipping should include a careful redesign of learning environment, but this is often overlooked.

*This point is moot as well. With pre-recorded lessons, students can proceed at their own pace. As Lisa mentions, it will require careful design, but so does any differentiated classroom. If specific lessons are not yet recorded, a teacher could direct advanced or struggling students to other available resources.

Lecturing doesn't = Learning...The flipped classroom is built on a traditional model of teaching and learning. I lecture - you intake. While this method of teaching works for some learners, many others thrive with a model that takes a more constructivist approach.
*This could be true, but it doesn't have to be. A teacher can do a screencast that includes multiple modes of representation (notes, video, and audio explanation). Even if it is straight lecture, it is meant to be a building block that will be further addressed in the next class session. So any confusion or lack of understanding can be clarified in class rather than fester in frustration after class.

I am not trying to suggest that moving to a flipped model will be easy or a panacea for education, I just wanted to point out the flaws in the arguments presented by Ms. Nielsen. I welcome any responses.

My Project Plan (EDT 629 blog #3)

A note for those visiting this blog, this post is for a graduate class, so it may not be that interesting to you. If you do happen upon it and want to comment, I welcome your thoughts.

For my project, I am constructing a Moodle course on blended learning. It is a course I intend on offering through Kent ISD in the future and one that I think will be popular with area educators. Ron Houtman has offered a similar course before, but I wanted to get the full experience of creating a course from the ground up while experimenting with different components. I am included a glossary, a personal wiki for students, and other things I have not tried before. I hope to make it both engaging and comprehensive. The course is designed to help participants create a blended learning course in Moodle, so a significant portion is devoted to teaching about Moodle. The course link is provided below. You just have to sign in as a guest.

http://moodle.kentisd.org/course/view.php?id=503.

Online World? (online teaching- 629)

Some fear that our entire world will soon be online, run by robots, and humans will be fed knowledge and skills through implanted microchips. While this is not likely to occur, the current shift towards computer-based learning is causing trepidation amongst the traditionalists. I have contributed to these fears in my own practices. As a high school teacher I used Moodle to conduct online assessments and extend my classroom resources beyond the school day with student forums. Though I never did any blended learning (some days face to face and some online), I see many benefits to that arrangement and wish I could have tried it as a classroom teacher. I'd also enjoy the opportunity to do something entirely online.

Recently, I have been involved in conducting mostly online PD courses for Kent County districts. The courses generally start with an introduction session, and the rest of the learning is done in Moodle, monitored by myself and other course administrators. One focused on an introduction to Common Core and UDL, and I am about to start one that focuses on using ed. tech. to reach all learners (bringing special ed. and general ed. together). We use Moodle partly because it is free and partly because of its versatility as an LMS. The courses are quite successful, and we receive predominantly positive feedback from participants. Some users struggle because of low technology skills and unfamiliarity with Moodle. For those students, we have provided workshop sessions and tried to incorporate more experienced users in helping their colleagues. That has worked quite well, and now that I think about it, those are strategies that could be effective in other online courses. Teachers could provide voluntary face to face sessions and arrange for tutoring for struggling students. As long as it's not robots, right?

A Walking Paradox

Lately I have been feeling like a torn man, a traveling contradiction, a vessel sailing in two worlds at once. In my new position (ed. tech. consultant), I am almost always on a computer or using, viewing, discussing some kind of technological gadget, and at the same time my soul, heart, spirit yearn to be casting flies to hungry steelhead in a quick stream or wandering the autumn woods with a tent and a sense of adventure. I have embraced both sides trying to adjust to the dramatic shifts that are occurring. I admire the potential and possibilities that exist within the incredible tools that are rapidly developing, and I pursued ed. tech. as a professional path because I want to play an active role in its progress.
Enter the other half of my being: the nature-bound romantic. Throughout much of my life I have favored trails and wilderness over cell phones and cities. I have devoted much to relationships, to hand-written letters, and to warm expressions of friendship. My daydreams consist of mountain back-packing and long canoe rides. I relish in and cherish people and the wild, and I pursue intimate experiences with them. As we see more kids with smart phones at age 10, there's a very real and present danger of nature and relationships being reduced to something trivial or cheap- something experienced on a screen.
As a new father and as a technologist in education, I feel compelled to raise up both worlds; to enhance the digital with compassion and interaction; to encourage times of electronic-less exploration; to find ways to preserve the finest qualities of all sides while thwarting the cold, heartless elements. This will be no easy task. It's time for a walk in the woods.

A Recipe for Failure

I hold technology in very high regard, but I also recognize its limitations. It cannot solve all problems or remedy every ailment, and education is one example. The other day I visited a school to help a local high school use a computer-based program in his high school classes. During our time together, he mentioned that his class sizes average around 34 students per class. 34! Imagine taking over 30 adolescents with a range of abilities and attitudes, managing them in an orderly fashion, instructing them in an engaging and meaningful way, and then monitoring each student's learning while adjusting for each one's proficiency and deficiencies- all in 60 minute segments. Oh, and then do it over 4-5 more times with different kids each day! Is this the way to ensure a highly educated populace? Maybe that could happen with some kind of mega star teacher but...

Let's look at the incentives for teachers, I mean, they get their summers off right, so they got it made. Actually, gutter rats might get better treatment these days. In Michigan, Governor Snyder and his team have worked to restrict collective bargaining while pushing for reductions in school funding, and, as a result of that, the majority of Michigan districts have frozen or lowered salaries while requiring teachers to pay for a higher percentage of their benefits. So, heavier workloads, bigger class sizes, less support, and reduced pay and benefits- makes you want to jump into the profession right? The best people are more likely to jump off a cliff.

Now for the kicker- the state of Michigan is increasing its cut scores for standardized tests from around 40% to 65% in all content areas. The cut scores are the scores that students need to get in order to be deemed proficient. Granted, 65% is a reasonable goal, and we should strive to reach at least that; however, when the public sees the results of these scores, the main focus will be on how many students failed to be proficient.

Perhaps a more reasonable approach would be to increase the cut score by 10% each year and invest a little more in the strained schools and teachers instead of taking away their resources. If the current plan is carried out, an outcry will likely occur when test results show low proficiency rates, and people will curse public education and demand change. The environment will be ripe for making some drastic changes in the name of the common good.

Let's review: the state is increasing expectations of students and schools while cutting funding and treating teachers (the ones most responsible for increasing student achievement) like disposable lunch sacks. It's apparent that the government is up to something: possibly diminishing public education so that quality schooling will only be available in private schools. Elitism? Class warfare? I'll let you decide. I'm pretty sure no technology exists to fix it though.

Blogging in the classroom (629)

Blog, the word is still relatively new in our lexicon, and yet it has permeated our world. Any internet search will likely list a blog in the first page of options, and any Tom, Dick, or Harry can make one in 5 minutes. Estimates for the total number reach as high as 1 billion! Blogs can be used as a communication tool, a place for topical commentary, a medium for venting, and much more. When applied to education, all these uses are viable options that can enhance or even guide the classroom environment.

In my first blog experiences as a high school English teacher, I created a blog to use as a forum with my students. I posted discussion questions and students were required to answer the question and respond to others (I think I used Edublogs for this). Partly because I implemented it poorly, the process did not go well, and most students just posted very basic responses. At the same time, my colleague had each of his students create a blog in his science classes, and they were required to post notes and responses to class materials. It was bascially their lab book/ class notebook. He reported that students liked it but that the overall results were unsatisfactory.

I am now starting to use this blog as a way to post and discuss interesting professional material that I come across. I intend to use it as part of my professional development and professional learning community. Hopefully it will attract followers that will respond and share their own insight and links with me.

Most of the classroom uses for blogs (discussion, posting of material, individual commentary) can be achieved through other means, so I am not sure I would recommend teachers instructing students to set up blogs as a centerpiece of a class. If one does, it would require time for students to establish accounts, learn the features, and understand the etiquette of proper posting of content. Perhaps the best use of student blogs is as an option for representation of learning (i.e. a project or a portfolio collection). I think teachers can also effectively use them as a posting tool to which students can respond and discuss. As with anything, it is up to the teacher to make sure the process is smooth and worthwhile.

What do you think?

Laptops or tablets

I was just involved in a meeting today that was focused on choosing the best tablet for a 1 to 1 initiative in a local high school. I went to the meeting hoping to convince them that a laptop at a similar price range was probably more logical because they can do everything the school wanted as well as provide better typing features and more durability. The problem: the school has until the end of the month to spend the grant money, and there is no time for bidding anymore. So... they are going with an Asus model on the Android operating system. They are pretty sweet. I just hope it works out for them- I will be working a lot to help the implementation, which should be cool.