Educational Paradigms: Learning and Leading in the 21st Century

Teachers: Do You Tweet? (You Should)

2011-10-24T06:20:00.000-07:00

“You don't know what you don’t know.”

There are two ways to grapple with the truth of the above quote

Embrace this fact. And: Get curious about what it is you don’t know (that could potentially and immeasurably improve your knowledge base, skills, instruction).
Be an Ostrich: Stick you head in the sand and pretend that there’s nothing more to learn.

Twitter, for many teachers, represents a vast landscape of knowledge that they have yet to tap into. On a certain level, that makes sense. Twitter seems, on the surface, to be a shallow stream of self-centered ‘reports’ about what’s going in in one’s life. And, yeah, it could be this. But, for the majority of teachers who have twitter accounts and use it daily, it is far from this.

Twitter for teachers who have gotten curious is now (as some have called it) a ‘professional development superhighway’. And it is. The learning potential is literally endless. The collective knowledge represented there is awesome in scope. The isolation so often cited as a problem in Education vanishes when there is sudden and immediate access to other teachers grappling with the same problems and questions you are.

Stop worrying how to use Twitter and other “Tech tools”. Just make an account and Get Curious.

Check out Twitter4Teachers and Tweepml to find teachers to follow. Lurk for awhile and see how these teachers use Twitter. Click out to their blogs. Subscribe to their blog feeds. Eventually, join in on some #edchats.

Get to know what you don't know. Get curious and don't turn back. Create a Twitter account today.

Join Education Chats on Twitter

2011-10-24T06:13:00.000-07:00

#Edchat has become an incredible collaborative tool for educators to debate and evaluate solutions to various education, learning, teaching and curricular questions/problems through Twitter.

Chats have now been expanded from the original #edchat’s created by @web20classroom, @tomwhitby and @shellterrell. They now exist for multiple subject areas. Most chats take place at a specific time each week and last for one hour with a specific focal question for the hour.
image courtesy Shelly Terrell

Here is a list of the most popular chats. There is great power when hundreds of teachers collaborate in real time. That’s what chats are-teachers thinking and responding to real problems and questions we all face at once. This kind of collaboration and communication exemplifies what is possible with Web2.0 (the READ/WRITE WEB).

#EdChat defined by Shelly Terrell

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
#sschat 7pm	#edchat 7pm Archives	#ipadchat 1pm	#artsed 7:30pm	#gtchat 7pm
#musedchat 8pm	#scichat 9pm	#web20chat 6pm	#mathchat 8pm	#elemchat 7pm wiki
			#langchat 8pm #langchat wiki	#midleved 8pm Archives

Making the Case for Technology Integration Without Invoking the Digital Native Paradigm

2011-09-28T12:22:00.000-07:00

(Preamble: In this post, when I refer to students, I am referring to middle school-aged students in a rural-suburban area of Western, MA that I teach but I suspect that others may relate to my experience with regard to students and tech. use. I submit that students are NOT as tech savvy as most ed. tech enthusiasts (I am guilty!) would have us believe. The Digital Native Argument is alive and well but in my experience it is erroneous. After spending 3 years of my life as an Educational Blogger blogging about the need to change how we teach to accommodate ‘digital natives’, I have had to stop in my tracks and retreat from my position based on the real students before me. Their lives, experiences and even their interests were not in sync with the Digital Native Argument-a very seductive argument, indeed. So, here's my first blog post from the other side of the fence so to speak. With apologies to Marc Prensky whom I greatly respect.)

How do you make the case for technology integration?

How do you make the case for technology integration? Is it because kids are incessantly using technology, including many multifunctional mobile devices and they ‘demand’ that our pedagogical choices match their ‘digital learning style’ ‘in the 21st Century’? Are they really wired differently?

Most of what I read (and view) on the web regarding the why’s of tech use in education makes this argument. I’ll call it the Digital Native Argument. Videos are put up (copycat versions of original videos) that star ‘wise’, ‘tech-savvy’ children confronting an (apparently) ignorant non-tech using teacher. The claims are that kids spend countless hours immersed in media, texting, 'surfing', etc. and if teachers aren’t allowing them to do the same at school, they are out of touch and, well, ‘bad teachers’. These videos would have us believe that all this time spent doing media is all good. Unstructured, undifferentiated time but time well spent! Hmm.

Here’s where I fight a serious case of cognitive dissonance. I want to believe this is true. It’s tempting to believe in the past 9 or so years that students have suddenly and spontaneously evolved new brains; that they are wired differently and we should teach them accordingly. There is something to this but making blanket claims that ALL kids experience this type of engagement with technology all the time is simply untrue. That the time they spend using media is all ‘good’, ‘productive’ and ‘educational’ is seriously misleading, too. I know this is NOT true because I actually teach real, live, students not 'actors' on You Tube Videos repeating words scripted for them by adults. I teach in a technology lab. In the last 5 years, in a class of 20 students, maybe 5 have what I would call basic technological competence. They do not know the difference between a file, a software program or folder let alone the myriad uses and learning potential of blogs, wikis, podcasts and social learning networks. They do not know how to change the volume on a computer and they do not know how to do a basic Google search, let alone fire up a web browser other than Internet Explorer (to get to Facebook). Most, however, have handheld gadgets like cell phones or ipods and/or ipod touches. So, many otherwise technologically illiterate students have the ability to open i-Tunes and use it to sync music to their players.

When students do use technology, what do they use it for?

The middle-schoolers I teach (as did middle-schoolers 20 years ago) have one over-powering objective: socialization and connection with fellow friends and classmates. So guess why they love their gadgets? SO. THEY. CAN.CONNECT. WITH. EACH. OTHER. Once connected, they can spread the rumor about the pool on the third floor or the story about how Mr. Jensen tripped over a dry erase marker 3rd period. Or make plans to play or ride bikes. In other words, the majority of tech use by the majority of students is decidedly low tech. They are simply using tech to do what they have always done offline: connect, cajole, connive, and sometimes create. (future blog post). Mostly, students text or talk into a device that could be considered a tech device. Texting, of course is just typed talking. (Tsup? Nthn. Gowin 2 the game? Na. K. Cya. l8ter).

What’s the other thing students use technology for? MUSIC. Consuming (and making) music. Teens and music have always gone hand in hand. Thanks to technology, they can bring ‘their’ music with them wherever they go and 'share' with friends digitally (remember the mixtape?). There is an element of education and learning going on with all the music downloading and sharing which is encouraging and provides a good starting point for tech use in the classroom. We can examine how students find, download, consume and share music and use that as a model for how they can find, identify, examine, synthesize and share information related to our subject matter. Skilled i-Tunes use, however, does not qualify a student as a Digital Native. But, interestingly, the reason they have become skilled at i-Tunes use despite being decidedly technologically illiterate is that they want access to music and learning the basics of surfing, finding, downloading and syncing with i-Tunes had to be learned to get at it and then have it (music) as their own. Kids are fully and enthusiastically engaged in these processes. There is more to this which deserves another blog post but it illustrates the point that tech use is just a tool for achieving what students want. It's not about technology use for it's own sake. That is a good thing. We can learn from this. We adults DO get to caught up with the technology itself. In an education setting, tech use should rarely be about itself but about the subject matter at hand and increasing engagement and learning objectives through it's use.

So, how do you make the case for technology integration? I submit that one can justify technology use in the classroom for these reasons:

1- Cultural Competence

Technology is here to stay-both gadgets and software. It has become embedded in our social and cultural norms. Businesses are using technologies routinely and require tech. competency in a global climate. Individuals rely on personal computers and devices to absorb, synthesize and transmit information. As educational institutions we should be the ones teaching how to use technology for the highest possible purposes of investigating, researching, creating, thinking, reflecting, writing, documenting, connecting, collaborating, and remixing and synthesizing. In short: learning.

2- Engagement.

It is becoming increasingly evident without the need for the Digital Native argument that young people are truly engaged when they are using technology. Student engagement is the number one priority of any educational institution. Sadly, of course, it is lacking in many classrooms which look and feel irrelevant and outdated to young people (whether or not they use technology). Well planned technology use appears to be a cure for disengaged, "bored" students since having a hands-on experience using technology suddenly feels like the "real world" to students.

3. Individuation and Differentiation

I have written before that there is no such thing as a "class". And if a teacher actually utters those dreaded words, "Now class...." they immediately become Charlie Brown's teacher. No student sits in a classroom and identifies with the notion that they are part of this nebulous thing called a class. They are Julie, or Michael, Cesar or Alycia. And they want nothing more than to engage in activities that they can do as an individual...even if they might ultimately contribute to a larger group. Technology, makes this a reality for students-especially in 1:1 environments where students can complete tasks (learning objectives) using a computer, laptop or tablet PC. Once students are working on their own (individuation), we as teachers have the ability to differentiate learning activities as well depending on student capacity. The possibilities for differentiation using technologies are enormous and not limited to one mode (students can read, write, consume and create stories and media among other things).

FINAL WORD: Flip the Digital Native Paradigm

Our curricula and learning objectives should always drive our efforts at tech integration. Not the other way around. But, as teachers, we need to know what is out there. What website, software or app would enhance/enrich a student’s experience with your subject? We must always be on the lookout. Always learning (RSS feeds, anyone!).

We can be the Digital Natives for Education. We should stay ahead of the curve and know what’s out there and how it can best be used in our classrooms to support already existent educational aims, content and objectives.

Technology Is Not the Problem

2011-05-17T05:07:00.000-07:00

How much sense does this statement make?

I propose that we outlaw cars because of all the drunk driving.

As unthinkable and absurd as that sounds, the exact same logic is often applied with regard to technology. This is something Nick Sauers recently ranted about on the 1:1 schools blog.

He writes:
My frustration is when the media, or other individuals, place blame on technology for things that truly aren’t new or unique situations.

So true. There are many ways that technology gets a bad name especially when (more) technology is proposed in school settings. Suggesting that social media might improve learning for students sends shivers up some parent's spines because they have been- as Steven Anderson has pointed out-"Dateline-ized". Consumers of traditional media are often given incomplete and highly inaccurate views about technology use by and for teens. (Watch out for them predators!). Without going into a million details, what is important to understand is that teen behavior precedes technology use. Human behavior is an independent factor that when combined with technology use can yield beneficial, creative results or can yield personally damaging results. The choice lies with each individual. As a mere tool, Technology is benign.

So. Technology Is Not the Problem. Inappropriate Use of Technology Is.

When we talk about technology in education now, we are talking about paradigm-shifting, never-to-be-the-same-again kind of learning opportunities. So many emerging technologies, apps, programs that can truly transform teaching and learning already exist or are in development. It is a monumental task to stay on top of it all. It is harder still to take the time to learn what's new and how it can impact learning.

NOT taking the time predisposes one to misconstrue the truth about technology use and it's myriad benefits in education because it's convenient to do so. Convenient but wrong.

To return to the above statement- The car is not the problem. Drinking and then driving one is.

The Power of the Arts for Students

2011-04-14T10:46:00.000-07:00

As a Music Teacher, I have been a long-time advocate for the Arts. The Arts make up a significant part of our history and culture. Opportunities to express, create, practice and work toward goals larger than Self are such key factors in nurturing whole human beings. I believe Arts Education has a place for every child in school.

But where do the Arts fit in schools? What does the Federal and State Gov't have to say? I am pleased to be able to report that the arts-including art and music are considered CORE subjects in the Federal NCLB law as well as the MA Education Reform Law. Interestingly, research is being unveiled frequently about how the arts actually assist students to learn and think critically in arts classes as well as other academic classes. Additionally-and this is very compelling!-the field of Neuroscience is mapping HOW the brain processes as a result of immersion in the arts.

THE ERA OF DIY and CONTENT CREATION
As is frequently noted on this blog, the paradigm has shifted in the world and Education must play a crucial role in adopting and exploiting new ways of doing, learning, leading and creating. Parallel to the shift to Standards-Based (Student-Centered) Education, a shift made possible by emerging technologies is the ability for individuals to create their own content (images, videos, music, etc..). This is the commonly called D.I.Y. (Do It Yourself). Education should embrace the DIY movement and allow students and teachers to create as learning process. (Note that creation here is not necessary the culminating activity--but an embedded WAY to learn).

A great example of Combining the ARTS and the DIY Movement comes from students at Boyertown High School in Pennsylvania. Art programs were in danger of being cut, so the students made a video to show how they feel about their art classes. Great work for a great cause! Arts Education.

Misinterpretation of '21st Century Skills'

2011-03-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

21st Century Skills

It means something. But what? For those that haven't had time to explore the phrase's meaning, the specifics are slippery. Even Harvard Scholars use the term tentatively (in quotes-see page 24).

Consider 21st Century Skills a 'flavor'. A flavor that spices up, updates and globalizes the Educational Landscape. However, I have heard some interesting takes on '21st Century Learning' lately. Interesting and disconcerting. I have heard a version of this more than once in recent months:

"21st Century Skills! I do that! It's just a new name for what we've always done. Collaborate and Communicate. I communicate objectives all the time....." Then I think (but don't say) "Uh Oh".

Yes, Collaboration and Communication are 2 of the '4 c's' identified as a part of 21st Century Skills. (The others are Critical Thinking and Creativity). 21st Century Skills demand more though. 21st Century Skills demands an expanded definition of Literacy. One that 'doesn’t merely refer to the ability to read and write but also the ability to evaluate and synthesize information, media, and other technology.' (-Ted Lai )

Creating and Connecting to the real world outside of school is a big implication of 21st Century Skills as well. Underlying this, though, is the implication of 21st Century Skills that the creating and connecting is done using technological tools and apps.

21st Century Skills is not old wine in new bottles. 21st Century Skills is a whole new vineyard.

Whose Definition of (Educational) Technology?

2011-03-08T05:01:00.001-08:00

A challenge that I see emerging is that there are multiple definitions of the word technology in the Education Community. These definitions are based entirely on and limited by an individual's experience with computers/computing devices and [proprietary] software . Here are some personal observations noted recently:

A curious dichotomy between 'great teaching' vs. 'technology' seems to creep in to many conversations. As if the two are mutually exclusive. (They're not)

Those with limited experience with current technologies tend to believe that those with successful experience using technology are biased because they "like" technology/computers. (Actually, in many cases, education technology enthusiasts are only enthusiasts because they have seen remarkable results along the lines of engagement and learning with their students while learning with technology)

Those with limited experience with current technologies believe all technology/technological applications are expensive. (Wrong. Most web applications and many cloud-based programs are....FREE. Many of these rival proprietary programs like Microsoft Office).

Those with limited experience with current technologies make no mention of web-based, networked online learning spaces. The conversation remains in the realm of hardware and internet access. (Yes, you need to be able to access the Internet to use any cloud-based app but the hardware/device being used to access the web is beside the point. The learning moments happen in those networked spaces.)

Those with limited experience with current technologies scoff at the idea of using Twitter or other social networking platforms as a Professional Development tool or Learning Resource. (Twitter is, to many education professionals a "Professional Development Superhighway".)

Etc...(Add your observations in the comments below)

Here's one way of describing the problem:
Those with limited experience with current technologies are like people who stopped learning the alphabet at the letter "C". Knowing only 3 letters of the alphabet, they will argue that the alphabet is a limited resource. After all, you can only craft so many words with three letters.

They're right about that . (CAB) But guess what? There are 26 letters. And so it is with technology, except that the technological alphabet is ever-expanding. Which is why Lifelong Learning is imperative now. It's not just an option to stop learning and impose your limitation on those who know better. It's an indefensible position.

Why Should an Administrator Use Twitter?

2011-02-17T07:54:00.000-08:00

The Assistant Superintendent of our school district just joined Twitter. Like so many of us when we took the networking plunge, he knows that there are positive ways to use it but is clueless as to how to begin. I wrote him a quick email summarizing some ways to use Twitter but I left so much out. Here's what I wrote:

Using Twitter makes more sense as you use it. What it is good for:

Starting a conversation..then linking to a page/post/info to continue it.
"We've redesigned our professional development page. Take a look and provide feedback using this form:...."

Making announcements:
"Today school is closed. Snow day! Have fun and be careful out there"
"We are seeking a new Superintendent. More info and a job posting is here..."

Sharing resources:
"Just found a wealth of information about 1:1 schools see the list here http://......"
"Great ipad music apps that have potential application in the classroom are listed here http://..."
"To learn more about 21st Century Skills and the 4'c's of 21stc Learning, see this website....."

To support and amplify information already shared by others (Educators, Superintendents, Principals)
"@AmazinglyAwesomeEducator just wrote a thoughtful post about implementing technology in the 3rd grade classroom. Read it here...."

To solicit advice and feedback:
"I am an administrator of a large, rural school district. I have no clue how to use twitter. Help me learn #education"

Please feel free to add your own advice and twitter handles in the comments below. Thank you so much!

image credit

EduCon, Collaboration and the Arts

2011-02-08T17:16:00.000-08:00

The following is a blog post created in collaboration with the following Educators on the subject of Arts Integration which was a conversation topic at the recent EduCon Conference in Philadelphia.

Yoon Soo Lim

Michelle Baldwin

Elizabeth Peterson and

Kyle Pace

(For those unfamiliar with Twitter, user names are preceded by an "@". This is one's Twitter "ID" or handle. I recommend Twitter to all Educators and I further recommend 'following' any of the fine Educator's listed above.)

Cultivating Connected Learning Experiences through Arts Integration
by Yoon Soo Lim

@eliza_peterson, @KylePace, @michellek107, and I decided to bring a vis-a-vis conversation to EduCon about learning through integrated arts curriculum. Why? It is believed that in our society art, dance, music and theater are considered nice, feel-good things, especially for kids. Take a look at our crowdsourced virtual bulletin board here with teachers answering the question, “Why Integrate with the Arts?”. After reading through these posts, one cannot help but ask a follow-up question, “If the arts are so important, why aren’t they integrated more into the curriculum?”. This is precisely why we wanted to have this conversation with our colleagues at EduCon.

Interestingly, creativity and arts education had been mentioned many times during EduCon, starting with Friday night's panel. During the discussions of EduCon sessions and in my preparation for our conversation, these words kept popping up: "cultivating", "connected-learning", and "experiences".
These words also happen to be the first four words of our session title :-)
When it came to our session time on Sunday morning, these are the words we focused on.

Why?

Everyday, Elizabeth, Michelle and I are immersed in music while Kyle gives support to his arts teachers. We teach about music, we create music, we teach others how to teach music, and we learn new ways to learn about music. We live and breathe the joys as well as the pains of being “in” the arts field. To move our schools forward and to collaborate with teachers, we motion to cultivate a new culture – to prepare the ground, and foster growth through refining of the mind – for all of our students’ learning. So why does it matter to connect?

This screen shot is from RSA video we shared in our session. The video is RSA Animate – Changing Education Paradigms of Ken Robinson (05:41 and on). It’s a clear capturing of what a fully-engaged learning looks like. Senses, brain function, and passion all working together, so focused and fully alive!

To the teachers who attended our session in person or virtually, making this kind of “aesthetic experience” mattered. Some teachers grew up being in the arts. For some, they were curious how to integrate the arts in the classroom. These teachers engaged in conversations fully and intentionally.

Some of the examples we shared on our Google Sites were good starting places to delve into deeper conversations with teachers who were in attendance.

Encouragement: If you want connected learning for your students, make it a priority. Take the first step to get in a consistent conversation about what students are learning and how you as teachers can give support to each other.

This charge is for both classroom teachers as well as the arts teachers. WE ARE ALL TEACHERS. We no longer cannot monopolize our “subject” areas and consequently keep ourselves at an arm’s distance. Students will not connect their learning if it is not encouraged or modeled for them. It will be hard. It will be time consuming, but by creating this kind of learning environment, learning becomes real and interesting for students.

Make Arts Your Priority, Admins!

If you truly believe creativity is something that needs to encouraged, and cultivated, make arts education a high priority! I am tremendously blessed to work with administration who support the arts education at our school. I am going to quote one of the administrators at my school: “Creativity, critical thinking and innovation – all are important terms in today’s education. Integrating the arts is a great way to tap into all of these while making learning more meaningful to the students.” Follow Susan’s advice and make it an important priority for your school.

Start with a Simple Conversation, Teachers!

Routinely get into conversations with your students about what they are learning. You are good at asking specific questions to elicit information, teachers! Engage in conversations and learn about what they are learning. It shows not only that you are interested in who they are, but that you are curious about them as learners. Talking to other grade teachers in person is always good idea. Again, connecting with another teacher is something that is time consuming, but in teacher’s lounges, or even in passing, make an effort to start a conversation. If you need help integrating the arts in your discipline, ask an arts teacher you are interested in partnering with. There just might be an area where two classes can naturally work on a project that will bring deeper learning.

I am humbled to have worked with Elizabeth, Kyle and Michelle. They are not only active in their own learning, they make connected learning come alive. I learn much from them and work harder to make connected learning a reality for my students.

The EduCon conversation was a great beginning. I cannot wait to have more of these important conversations and see the changes in many classrooms. I believe there will be a time when more decision makers for schools will make arts a priority. Until then, our work continues.

Before I end my thoughts for today, I want to ask you to think about a question based on @mrchase’s post titled, Things I know 36 of 365: We're really good at not teaching kids to sing. Why are kids afraid of singing?

If you would like to think some more, check out Where Do the Arts Stand in Our Schools? by Dana Santomenna, PsyD.

The EDUCON EXPERIENCE
by Michelle Baldwin

Educon was a fast and furious experience for me, but one that I will value for a very long time. So many conversations, both scheduled and impromptu at lunch or dinner, have kept me thinking and questioning since I returned home.

During our session, we talked about how arts education helps students to understand not only how everything is connected in our world (as an adult, you don’t just do math at 10:00 in the morning and then switch to science or reading), but also how arts education helps to understand how everyONE is connected. Through music, art, drama, and dance, students can view similarities and differences across cultures. Isn’t it interesting that every culture on our planet utilizes the arts to express what it means to be human?

At one point during our session, we began discussing how the arts really help students learn about each other and work together. I said, “When you’re taking a math test it’s all about YOU. When you’re in a music class, it’s all about US. ” How often in school do students have an opportunity to truly work toward a common goal? Most of the time, that is going to occur in an area where the arts are involved. When I think about how important teamwork and collaboration are in our society, I wonder why students spend most of their academic careers competing with each other for class rank, grades, etc. It’s no wonder they have difficulty translating their learning in school to how to succeed in a connected, global society. By integrating arts lessons throughout the curriculum, students may have more opportunities to work together, to learn ensemble, and to feel the power of WE, instead of only ME.

The Virtual Experience
by Elizabeth Peterson

Attending a conversation virtually can be interesting. You are listening in, taking it all in, but your voice may not be heard. Let’s face it, one of the best parts about a conversation is the give and take. You can’t just take, you have to give!

The platform used for the live streams at EduCon 2.3 was great because not only were you able to view and hear our session(once it got up and running), but you could participate with other virtual viewers in the chat room.

Our team tried to make sure that other virtual attendees were part of the conversation. There was a give and take going on in the chat room that posed some interesting thoughts, resources and even built relationships. We echoed the important points made in Philly and added our own two cents, making for a full experience.

There is something about listening in on a conversation that allows for great reflection, too. As you sit in the comfort of your home, slippers on, letting the sound of others talk together fill your headset, you have a relaxed feeling of being there. And when you are ready to respond, your thoughts, written out, not spoken, are thought out a little differently than if you are there. You are able to complete your thought, look it over and then send it out to the others in attendance.

I, being Skyped in as part of the presentation team, had the other advantage of being able to speak at times when I thought appropriate. My wonderful teammates would make my talking head a little bigger on the screen and allow me to add my thoughts. (That was another interesting aspect of Skyping in – I was always being projected on the screen in the front of the room! :-) )

At the end of the session, everyone in the chat room made sure we all knew each other’s Twitter handles so that we could keep in touch and keep the conversation going.

The other venue we provided for our attendees was the #artsint backchannel. Here, both face to face and virtual participants could tweet and reply to one another. This backchannel is now in full swing as people are starting to use it more and more! Again, we are keeping the conversation about the ever important topic of Arts Integration alive!

Sure, there are limitations to being virtually in attendance to a conversation among peers. But this is yet another wonderful example of what the virtual world can do for us as educators. We connect online, have opportunities to converse in person and continue the discussions for weeks and months into the future.

See what happens when you allow teachers to connect? Go us!

ATTENDING EDUCON VIRTUALLY
by Andrew Garcia

Despite the video feed glitch delaying my remote entry to the Arts Integration conversation, I found attending virtually to have several benefits (some of which I tweeted using the hashtag #noncon). First, the view of the presenters and what they were saying was clear (most of the time). From home there is no obstructed view or “overflow room”. Second, it is actually easier to ‘take notes’ during conversations by listening and writing and/or live-tweeting. This would quickly become annoying to a neighbor if I were actually present at Educon. (One great benefit of being an auditory learner is the ability to at once listen and type!) Question is, which is more important? Silent and still listening to preserve the peace of your proximal #educon attendee or to passionately listen, process, type and connect (w/ others on a backchannel)? Who is to say that the backchannel conversations aren’t the ones that will assure that the message lives beyond the moment?

To me, at least with regard to conversations, I learn best by listening and processing. Right there, right then. With any good talk, keynote, session, workshop, ‘conversation’ NOW is the moment to key into. (And why so much Professional Development efforts fail- it’s too easy to lose that lovin’ feeling once tomorrow comes.) Attending virtually, I was 100% THERE and turned ON to the moment/topic at hand. I was simultaneously documenting the moment. As Connie Weber of Fireside Learning wrote to me after the keynote, “I definitely felt you there!” Being ‘there’ is all about the quality of attention and intention. I might argue that some folks “at” Educon, may, at times, have been physically there but mentally elsewhere. If I were at Educon, I would have been, at least to some extent, distracted by all the awesome Educators around me (‘OMG, there’s @willrich45!!’). And, if reading the tweets of some of my followers is any indication, this is definitely true for them, too.

Third, attending Educon online actually allowed freedom to attend multiple conversations without being considered rude. I was interested in many conversations that were scheduled at the same time. I would time my exits accordingly (a lull in the conversation, a tech problem, but I always returned). Doing so also allowed me to be a minor asset to presenters. I took screenshots of conversations and posted them at BOX.net-free for the taking. Many presenters were grateful to have “evidence” of them in action for their professional portfolios. I was happy to be a minor but helpful resource.

Finally, far from feeling alienated and excluded by those attending Educon, I would argue that relationships with #educon friends in my Twitter PLN, were kicked UP a notch. Circumstances (multiple snow days, committee obligations) kept me away from Philadelphia during Educon 2011 but I feel closer to those who attended than I did before as a result of the conference, and the multiple live and virtual conversations being had in those 2 thought-provoking days. Sure, I would have loved to see @NMHS_Principal’s karaoke skills. But (apparently) I am glad I missed the Applebee’s experience on Friday night. (Eh?) It also was a plus to be able to prepare a meal and/or go to the bathroom without missing a word that was said. Good perks, those! All this said, I can’t wait to be at ISTE2011. Live. In person.

I feel a depth of gratitude for being invited to share and learn along with these fine colleagues. Please visit their blogs and follow them on Twitter (see above). This experience represents the best of what is possible through digital networking and streaming media. Please also see my post: On Arts Education-Changing the Paradigm in Schools which provides a framework for schools seeking to adopt a '21st Century' model using the Arts as a lens.

On Arts Education: Changing the Paradigm in Schools

2011-02-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

Perception is a big stumbling block when we advocate for arts education in general and arts integration, specifically. If the arts are perceived as separate subjects and the domain of specialists a problematic situation arises in schools. This is where mental turf wars begin. I have been witness to the following (mis)perceptions: ‘Why are you pushing your subject on me?!’ ‘My subject is actually a CORE?!’.

Schools, intended or not, teach this divisiveness. Children absorb it and learn it. Once in middle school, our students who are still very concrete thinkers, really begin to believe this is true. We reinforce the notion by having students physically leave one subject class and go to another. It is up to them to bridge the gaps, to find the commonalities among subjects. Worse, students learn to place these subjects in a hierarchy with the arts being, if not dead last, close to it. They may even articulate this without realizing what they are saying: “It’s only music class, why do we have to do this?”. Ironically, arts subjects are also where students are the most engaged, absorbed and ‘on’. It is precisely because of this ‘flow’- the ability to be engaged in learning without noticing that confuses students and teachers as well. It all just seems like "fun" as if fun and learning cannot be part of the same process.

The arts are about doing. About crafting and creating. About building and dismantling and re-defining and refining according to what seems right, feels right, sounds right, looks right. That doesn’t mean critical thought is not part of the process. Critical thinking precedes the process of creating and doing that the arts represent. Changing entrenched perceptions means starting a whole new conversation around, not the arts as subjects, but the arts as a doorway to doing, perceiving, thinking and creating. Adopting an arts-based approach to learning would shift the focus of classroom learning from a product-result-right answer orientation to a process-fluid-multiple perspective orientation.

How many of us have been disappointed when students ask a version of the following questions: How many words (paragraphs, pages, notes, measures) does it have to be? How much counts as an “A”? The problem isn’t that students are naturally superficial. They’ve just learned to play the ‘how much’ game. Simultaneously, they have also learned to play the ‘right answer’ game. As teachers we have collectively taught students that there is a ‘right answer’ and if you can figure it out (quickly!), you ‘win’. The more you can do this, the better student you are. The better the student you are, the higher your GPA. This right answer quickly approach is reinforced by timed standardized tests.

Few students value the processes of thinking, creating, reflecting and refining-and thus the quality of what they are doing- partly because they are being asked to churn out a ridiculous amount of finished home ”works" (to paraphrase Ron Berger). Since they get this request of so many teachers, they are overwhelmed and need, by necessity, to know what the minimum requirement will be to do well. Is this what we want? If not, how do we go about encouraging a shift in student thinking (and teacher practice)? Part of the answer has to do with changing that question of theirs. Instead of ‘how much’ we need our students to be asking ‘how come’ then have them investigate the answer(s) collaboratively. Furthermore, these investigations need to take them into real world spaces-either physically or virtually: Places and spaces that look familiar when students are NOT in school. The arts help to marry the 'real world' and school; the real 'internal' and external worlds of the student-worlds where learning is natural not prescribed. Interestingly (and thankfully) the processes of thinking, creating, reflecting and refining are not restricted to the arts. For example, as Professor James Zull reminds us, there is art even in such a seemingly ‘artless’ field as neuroscience: “The neuroscientist is also an artist. The very process of seeking understanding has its own mysteries”. That bears repeating: the very process of SEEKING UNDERSTANDING has its own mysteries. Isn’t the process of seeking understating another way of saying learning? And isn’t learning at the core of this thing we call Education?

If all subjects were approached with a process orientation (and, perhaps but not necessarily with art-product ends in mind) there would be more learning. Genuine learning involves trial, error, failure, critical thinking, and creating by doing. It is also best approached in groups since the learning of one is amplified and augmented within a collaborative group. What are classrooms if not spaces ripe for potential collaborative investigation? It is the arts-especially music performance, drama and dance where learning to work with and within a group is an intrinsic part of the process. As teachers shift to 'artistic' modes of inquiry and learning, they have built in consultants right in schools themselves-arts specialists!

To summarize, beyond integrating art subjects themselves within other disciplines, I advocate for an adoption of artistic habits of mind to be infused within the culture of all schools/classrooms. The subject separation that we teach at school is an illusion and it is damaging because it limits the potential of our youngest members of society. It often takes real life well beyond school for students to begin thinking in connective, creative (artistic) ways. There exists support for moving in the direction of artistic modes of learning. In the words of Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind: “The future belongs to a very different kind of person with a very different kind of mind - creators and empathizers, pattern recognizers and meaning makers.” Additionally, the Framework of 21st Century Learning as outlined by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills includes the now infamous 4 C's: Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration and Creativity. Sounds like the Arts to me. As districts adopt 21st Century protocols, they should look to the arts and arts teachers to help navigate the way forward. The time for Arts Education has come.

References:

Berger, Ron. (2003). An ethic of excellence: Building a culture of craftsmanship with students. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Pink, D.H. (2005). A Whole New Mind. New York: Riverhead Books.

Zull, J. (2002). The Art of Changing the Brain: Enriching Teaching by Exploring the Biology of Learning. Sterling: Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Superbowl Commercial 2011: Be That Teacher!

2011-02-07T11:58:00.000-08:00

I may or may not watch the Superbowl each year but I always watch the commercials because they tend to be a bit more creative and/or edgy than the usual commercial fare. This is possible on You Tube almost immediately after the commercials air.

This year, 2011, the Volkswagon Passat commercial gets a two thumbs up vote. The Education takeaway for me is this:

Teachers: BE the Dad in this commercial. Whatever that means to you. However you define it-BE that Dad. The one who effortlessly and invisibly empowers young people to BELIEVE in their own efficacy, power, beauty, creativity. The one who inspires a sense of AWE. The one who empowers students to believe in themselves.

Unblocking Blocked Websites: Framing the Argument

2011-02-04T06:12:00.000-08:00

Much to the frustration of many teachers, websites that could be used to engage learners are blocked at school. Many school districts, with good intentions of protecting students (and teachers) have taken a very heavy handed approach with regard to online access to websites-especially (social) networking sites. It is the rare school district that allows access to Facebook. Many others do not allow access to You Tube, Gmail accounts, Ning Networks or Twitter.

But as many teachers know, all of the sites mentioned in the previous sentence can and do have educational value if used properly. It is also known that technology can be used to effectively engage learners and to differentiate learning. Knowing this, however, doesn't help convince those with the authority to unblock sites that have potential educational value. The argument for doing so has to include HOW these websites have educational value. And HOW other districts, schools, teachers and administrators are using these online sites/tools.

Here are some resources that can help begin the conversation. If you use sites and tools in your classes, please share your blog/site and what you do. Did you have to convince anyone to unblock sites that you use regularly? If so, how did you do it? Your story is immensely valuable to others.

EDUCATIONAL USES of TWITTER
A PRINCIPAL'S USE OF FACEBOOK
EDUCATIONAL USES of GOOGLE
EDUCATIONAL USES of YOU TUBE
47 ALTERNATIVES TO YOU TUBE

Using Technology for the sole purpose of using technology is pointless. As we frame the argument about it's use, it is important to consider the words of Principal Jonathan Martin:

What are we doing as educators to meaningfully engage our students, to give them the autonomy, purpose, and opportunity for mastery which they crave and to which they respond with focus, energy, enthusiasm, and diligence?

How can technology help? Framing the argument with these credible, educational goals in mind helps to move us forward in the right direction-to a future of unrestricted access.

Notes from Educon 2011: On Professional Development

2011-02-03T04:54:00.000-08:00

Below are some of the notes that I took during the Educon Conference in Philadelphia which I 'attended' from my home in Massachusetts. In total, I spent 12 hours connecting, contributing, thinking, listening and learning. Processing continues and will continue to over the next several months as every conversation had relevance to either my specific teaching reality or our school district's current reality-namely attaining relevance in quickly changing (and digitally-driven) times.

Notes in this blog post pertain to Professional Development and are in no particular order. Please comment, contribute, should you have the time or inclination. More notes to come

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NOTES

Personalizing professional development means: 'I define those people and resources myself'. It's not given to me. Most professional development in schools is in a box. If it's in a box...It's hard to individualize it.

How about certificates of completion for attaining certain tech benchmarks? For example, learning how to use Google Forms.

Professional Development would be more relevant if there were a menu of options. What would that shift look like?

On the other hand, you can't just dump resources in teacher's laps (such as Classroom2.0). Teachers (who are used to boxed professional development) will get frustrated because they don't know where to start.

How do you build a professional learning environment? Helps to have weeded, culled and sorted the best of what's available. Need to bring something ('nutritious') to the table.

Have you done any of the above? Are you having conversations about changing how professional development is delivered in your district? We are involved in the process right now. We're hoping to bring PD online and to offer more autonomy for teachers and to use teachers as leaders

image credit

Changing Minds As Ed. Reform

2011-01-31T18:09:00.000-08:00

One of the things I most admire about High School Principal /Twitterer Eric Sheninger is that he wasn't always as open or as tech savvy as we now know him to be. He is proof positive that Educators/Administrators can, indeed, change. Once upon a time, he supported blocking sites that could be useful in the classroom. Until he was educated about the benefits that could be had there.

It almost seems crazy. He's a very regular Twitterer and Blogger and has a healthy Social Media presence. Every one of his tweets and blog posts have value (either philosophical or practical). He appears to be the icon of 21st Century Ed. Tech Leadership? Yet only 3 years ago he wasn't-and he admits this.

That is the fact that matters. He admits that he changed. He admits that he once held a worldview that potentially limited resources that could better student's education and lives. But he listened. He learned. He changed. And the best part is that now he's right out front singing the praises of instructional technology and tools that can assist, ignite and enhance the learning process.

His story, because it is real, is that one that we can tell our local administrators. His story can change minds one at a time. When minds get changed, the web opens up and our schools can enter the 21st Century.

Selected Quotes from #blog4reform Blog Posts

2010-11-23T05:32:00.000-08:00

"Social Media is the vehicle that will move things. It has changed politics, it has changed business, it has changed the media and IT WILL change education."
-Burlington High School Principal's Blog
(Twitter: @bhsprincipal)

"I want children to be allowed to develop their strengths and interests beyond reading and writing. Science, Math, Social Studies, Music, Art, Physical Education, Family and Consumer Sciences, Civic Studies… these are all essential for children."
-Avenue4Learning
(Twitter: @michellek107)

"..We cannot and must not talk about school reform without talking about equality of opportunities for kids outside of K-12 classrooms."
-Educational Insanity
(Twitter: @jonbecker)

"If we are all in agreement that we are preparing our students for the world, then we need more creativity in what we are doing and not less."
-Kevin's Meandering Mind
(Twitter: @dogtracks)

"Many of our students are checking out mentally, and sometimes even physically, because school has lost it’s relevancy to them. We are one of the few first world countries that still tries to force everyone to fit the college-bound educational mold. Why?!"
-Education 2.0
(Twitter: @AdrianneElayne)

"To improve education nationwide, teachers and parents and community leaders must LISTEN to one another, RESPECT and TRUST one another. There's no room for arrogant leadership, paternalism, one-upmanship or power plays if we're going to serve the best interests of all of America's children."
-thanks2teachers

"Reform in education begins with passion. Are you driven by passion?"
A Principal's Reflections
(Twitter: @NMHS_Principal)

"Dear Politicians, Pundits, and Celebrities–

If you want to help, and I’m idealistic enough to believe you do, please get out of the way. We can do this, but not if we’re constantly distracted from our purpose by things that force us to do, less effectively, that which we’re already doing. We can create real change that finally crumbles the bars of social Darwinism, but not if we’re starved out of our schools from lack of funding. We can, as professionals, continue to push each other from behind and pull each other up that mountain of “refinement,” but not if we’re afraid that innovation will lead to punishment, or that adopting today’s curriculum will only mean that we’ll be wrong tomorrow when everything changes again."

High Jinks Below Stares

"I am convinced that the best ideas come from classrooms and communities across the nation. I am committed to supporting the great work that is happening in states and districts."
-Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education
U.S. Department of Education

MORE TO COME...

Has Kindle Reached a Tipping Point?

2010-11-22T18:06:00.000-08:00

Here's how I evaluate tech items: I evaluate them based on a number of factors such as functionality and features, reviews, hypothetical projections about how I would or wouldn't use an item and, if possible, the real experience of people I know with regard to the 'thing' in question. It's not entirely personal for me-it's about information gathering if I have an initial interest in something. My guess is this is the same for many who are involved in work at the intersections of education and technology. I will more likely want that something if criteria in all of the above categories tip in favor of owning the item. Since there's so much data gathering involved, I'm not often at the point of 'wanting' something----yet. The other problem is the data gathering isn't necessarily a formal process either. I do it when I have time or the inclination. I believe that a tipping point has been reached for the Kindle.

Here's how receiving an Amazon Kindle e-Reader fared:
Functionality and Features
I've always been impressed with the Kindle. Kindle functionality has always appeared to be right in line with what would be expected of an e-reader. Sony didn't see what was coming and lost the e-book market they should have dominated (the Sony Reader beat the Kindle to market by a full year).

Kindle E-ink allows reading in bright light, the weight of the divice and side page turn buttons allow it to be held with one hand.

750,000 books and growing-includes free downloads for books out of copyright.

Free book backup (Amazon keeps your books on file and ready for download at anytime, should you need them).

The battery lasts for a month with wifi off. Wifi allows connection to the internet and whispernet technology delivers books within 60 seconds.

Newspapers can be downloaded and read on it.

PDF reading is built in.

The latest Kindle has Twitter and Facebook Integration so book passages can be 'tweeted' and shared.

Music can be listened to while reading (if desired)

Reviews
As for customer reviews (as of this writing): of 6,099 reviews, 5341 of those reviews are rated at 4 or 5 stars. As for commercial reviews, here are a few for the latest Kindle:

"New Kindle leaves rivals farther back." - New York Times

"Amazon's newest Kindle is the best ebook-reading device on the market. It's better than the Apple iPad, the Barnes & Noble Nook, the various Sony readers…" - Fast Company

"Battery life is long enough for space shuttle missions." - Wired

"What's clear, however, is that if you're looking for a standalone e-reader (i.e., a portable replacement for physical books), this is the go-to, standard-setting device." - Engadget

"Its solid build quality, along with its improved design, integrated store, and cross-platform transportability… all add up to a winner that shoots to the head of the pack."- PC World

Hypothetical Projections about how I would use the Kindle
This is where it becomes more subjective. I do read constantly. Usually I have several books going at once--both printed and e-books. I have been using the Kindle app for i-phone and read books on that device. This is where it has become difficult to 'imagine' how things would change if I were to suddenly to own an actual Kindle. I've actually grown accustomed to reading on the i-touch. I can hold it in one hand and I like the ability to leave the app momentarily to check e-mail, or the weather or my twitter feed, etc.. But, lately, I have been coming around to the idea of owning an actual Kindle for the following reasons.

1-I would be able to read it comfortably at the gym while cycling or using the treadmill. I have tried to read the i-touch while running (on the treadmill) and it is somewhat a comedy of errors-the screen is small and I have to touch it to turn a page every few seconds making me lose my stride (and balance). The Kindle would be a bit easier for this purpose.

2-The capacity of the latest Kindle is now around 3500 books.

3-I like the aforementioned Twitter and Facebook integration comcept because I have actually had the thought while reading on the i-touch, "I wish I could share this with....". To do this I have actually taken a screen shot of the page in question with the text highlighted. Now saved as a photo, I have uploaded this to Facebook. Pretty round-about way of sharing text.

4-I can actually use my i-touch for other purposes while reading on the Kindle itself.

5-It's actually attractive. It's sleek and stylish and the e-ink is easy on the eyes.

6-I trust that Amazon is going to continue to improve the Kindle with new services.

Real experience of others
Everyone I know who has one, loves it. A Kindle of someone I know died after the warranty had expired. The screen just showed lines instead of text and nothing she did (recommended at Amazon) would fix it. A single phone call explaining the problem resulted in a NEW KINDLE being mailed overnight for free, no strings attached.

Final Analysis
I think the Kindle has reached a tipping point and as one evaluates whether or not to buy an ipad instead, I think price will further tip in the direction of the Kindle. Is it a Kindle Christmas?

Students and Facebook: The Empowerment Factor

2010-10-24T15:02:00.000-07:00

Adolescence 101:
There is a point at which a t(w)een doesn't care what you're saying. That point is reached if a student has the attention and approval of whomever s/he is trying to win the attention/approval of. If that means dissing you, consider yourself dissed.

It is SO crucial to have a balanced view of social networks today. Actually, let's narrow it down to Facebook: especially the Importance of Facebook in the lives of teens and how it changes kids' perceptions. I recently overheard a student say, "Facebook is everything!"

Teens crave one thing over all other things-acceptance and approval of their peers. Especially peers they deem to be 'popular' or 'cool'. In research I did 10 years ago middle-schoolers admitted to this in interviews. When pushed to describe what popular meant and who decided what or whom was popular, they hadn't a clue. See, it's not an intellectual thing for them. We adults, especially those in academia, tend to intellectualize stuff. I am seriously guilty of this but I keep trying to understand the reality from a teen perspective since I teach teens. If I find myself in a moment of frustration in a classroom with students it is usually because I have a goal, a plan, an objective and students just don't seem to be buying in on an intellectual level. It happens also (and primarily) because social connection trumps intellectual engagement.

Back to Facebook. Facebook was designed for exactly that: social connection. Connection to real people and the real things they are saying and doing. As simple as that seems, it was revolutionary when Mark Zuckerberg coded theFacebook from his Harvard dorm room. Incidentally, this makes social networking as we know it today to be only about 6 years old. Amazing, really (to extend our disbelief: not a single i-pod existed 9 years and one month ago-we just past the anniversary of it's launch).

When a t(w)een joins Facebook, they are looking for social connection(s). Lots of them. To them, that's a goal. They're into quantity not quality. Here's where student use and adult use of Facebook differs (well, to some, anyway). Students will accept someone as a "FRIEND" even if they have no real association with someone in real life. If they know them (as in, they go to the same school) that's good enough. This, however, can lead to trouble. Some teens have few barriers. Once accepted as friend, they take that as license to take the friendship offline even if it isn't desired. This partly demonstrates what I call the Empowerment Factor.

THE EMPOWERMENT FACTOR
Back in the day developers of products used to bolster the credibility of their products by advertising that it was "seen on TV!". As Seen On TV became somehow (?) synonymous with "famous" and therefore "popular" and therefore "trustworthy" even though it meant none of those things. It meant only one thing in reality-someone paid good money to get it on TV. That was traditional advertising. But because TV was only where famous actors "lived" it was considered a hallowed domain by a lethargic public gazing into the boob tube but realizing that, if they're lucky they might, once in their life experience Andy Warhol's "15 minutes of fame". Might as well buy the product that was seen on TV . Gives me a visceral relationship with what was seen "out there". Kind a of a voodoo thing, really.

Fast Forward to now. Our students do not live in a seen on TV world. They know that with the right tools they can be TV. They can achieve fame whenever they choose as long as they have eyes to witness them. Hence, the desirable Huge Friend List. A huge friend list is synonymous with popularity. A huge friend list has its privileges. Add controversial content (statements, photos, videos) to your Facebook account and watch yourself become FAMOUS (or You Tube account: see Fred Figglehorn who has achieved 1 million friends and 99 million page views!)

Famous is exactly what matters in a purely digital online realm. One of the highest paid NEW jobs today is the job SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Engineer or SEO Marketing Specialist. What this means is simple: make one's web site appear in the first page of a Google (or You Tube or Facebook) search. They ask: How many people stop in at a page and view it for at least a few minutes? How can I increase that number. This is how Google, seemingly without effort, makes zillions on advertising. In a Web2.0 world, the popularity of a singular social network page automatically optimizes that page! It's just how the Google algorhythms are written. No need for SEO if you have controversial or simply "a lot" of content and popularity which drives traffic to your site by word of mouth or other means such as "liking" on Facebook or sharing via e-mail. Fred will be a rich 20-something. He won't need to go to college. He rambled on in front of a camera repeatedly and kids started watching. He created a character and sold 'merchandise'. And now there's a DVD to be had.....as seen on You Tube!

Back to Facebook again: Students want to be popular. Once tons of online friends are established, there's an audience (for better or worse). Unfortunately, entertaining that audience sometimes becomes a priority for some students. This is where the Empowerment Factor goes bad. Students sometimes decide that one way to be popular is to video tape controversial things that will attract eyeballs. Here are some examples on You Tube:

Like classroom teachers
Or fights (note the laughter and provocation of the fight. Note also the 672,000 and counting views for this video)

Videos and media can just as easily be shared inside the "safe" world of Facebook where hundreds of "friends" can "LIKE" and therefore promote further bad behavior--such as provoking fights so that they can be videotaped.

This inside Social Network is largely closed to us and creates a potentially threatening, unseen force in the classroom. Students are bonded by unspoken 'wrongs'. It's a wink, wink kind of scenario. Once in class and proximal to a "Facebook Friend" in class, the normal socializing that would happen takes on epic proportions because of the Empowerment Factor. Even if one wasn't the creator of something controversial and popular inside a social network, it is important to t(w)eens to at least know about these things. How do you share that you know about something? You talk about it. In class.

Many of us feel that we're losing our student's attention these days. I posit that The Empowerment Factor of Facebook and other socio-digital means of connecting + t(w)een desire to be liked and popular may be adding much fuel to the fire of disconnection with school (teachers). Don't get me wrong. There's potential for much good. But leaving Media Literacy out of the curriculum of schools is a tragic 21st century mistake.

There is a point at which an adolescent doesn't care what you're saying. That point is reached if a student has the attention and approval of one's Facebook friends in class. They're looking for content to gossip about and upload. Who's next? What's next?

Waiting For Superman

2010-10-22T13:07:00.000-07:00

"Waiting for Superman" is a 2010 documentary film from director Davis Guggenheim and producer Lesley Chilcott. The film analyzes the (perceived) failures of American public education by following several students through the educational system.

To some, the film takes an easy and cheap shot at the 'Education System', (whatever that is). At least for the filmmaker, who attended private schools as a child, the answer to the 'problem' of Public Education is charter schools.

Diane Ravitch, Education Policy analyst and historian, characterized the film in her review titled 'The Myth of Charter Schools' in the New York Times as follows:

"For many people, these arguments require a willing suspension of disbelief. Most Americans graduated from public schools, and most went from school to college or the workplace without thinking that their school had limited their life chances. There was a time—which now seems distant—when most people assumed that students’ performance in school was largely determined by their own efforts and by the circumstances and support of their family, not by their teachers. There were good teachers and mediocre teachers, even bad teachers, but in the end, most public schools offered ample opportunity for education to those willing to pursue it."

The uncomfortable reality is that there are many who agree with the over-generalized and manipulative message of the film-as if there is ONE 'problem' and which can be 'cured' with ONE 'solution'. Pure and simple: It is film making and film making is intended to make a profit. If your topic is controversial enough and you shine alight on that controversy, eyes and ears will follow.

On the one hand, the film can be dismissed with a laugh as petty and sensationalist. However, with so much money poured into its promotion, many unfamiliar with the true terrain of Education could be hoodwinked into believing that ALL pubic schools and ALL Public School Teachers are 'the problem' which is not helpful to any hard working teacher or public school system in the U.S.

Your thoughts?

The Computer Won't Let Me...

2010-09-30T06:24:00.000-07:00

login
use the software
create an account"

I hear this from adults as well as kids. There are almost metaphysical realms at work when this attitude is in full gear. It seems that if there is an expectation of failure, it WILL fail. This attitude gets projected at technology. ALOT.

I recently assisted our school in developing a paperless calendar system using
a simple Google-based online, embeddable calendar. Events could be submitted online using a Google Docs Form. The Administrative Assistant and Principal can review the request and approve it within a few hours in most cases. The event will go 'live' on the calendar usually within 24 hours with no paper involved and with strict oversight of any possible conflicts.

Sounds great. Sounds simple. And it is!
BUT.
There are two factors that immediately made this simplicity problematic:

1-It involved technology
2-It required CHANGE

These two seem to be dreaded by many in the Education Profession. In our case, there was much anxious buzz about the new system mostly because people had to give up the 'tangibility' that the paper calendar seemed to represent. And they would try to do
strange things like attempt to migrate the new online calendar to Microsoft Office as if THAT was where a calendar "belongs". It is very frustrating at first to be confronted with this resistance. Very! But that's only the first reaction. Upon reflection, one realizes
(as Michael Fullan reminds us) that change comes slow (in schools especially) and resistance is a natural part of ANY change.

Also-Ours is a tactile and visual culture: 'If I can't see it and touch it, it doesn't exist". Unless your a 'techie'. Then you know the great value of going paperless, subscribing to feeds, using apps, embeddable files, blogs, etc...So until one is and understands that the
paradigm has changed (everything, everywhere all the time; digitally), it will be slow going.

I began blogging about Web 2.0 and using tech in education 3 years ago using videos such as Are you Paying Attention and Shift Happens as support for my claims. If I were to predict that most Education Professionals still haven't caught on in 2010, I would say your'e crazy.

But here we are. Those of us tweeting and blogging mostly get reinforcement from each other..We speak to the choir. We are NOT the majority, however.

So, I believe in both Scott AND Darren's arguments.

Tech has great value in transforming teaching and learning and SHOULD be adopted but
Education Professionals need a great deal of empathy, encouragement and patience to get moving in a direction of adopting tech.

Any adoption of technology should only be done to support learning and teaching goals that are already established to empower students by allowing more or better avenues for creativity, collaboration, communication, critical thinking, assessment and differentiation- to reflect our new and ever-changing 21st Century World.

Photo credit

5 Easy Ways to Find $ for School Programs

2010-09-24T07:46:00.000-07:00

Donors Choose-Hatch an idea. Write about it. State what you need. Wait. View other successful projects. Keep it simple and keep it cheap. Requests at or under $200 are usually funded quickly. Repeat as needed
Get what you need for Free at iLoveSchools. Create a wishlist and see what happens.
For technology to support education programs try DigitalWish
Access and download free classroom resources and lesson plans including primary documents at Free Resources for Educational Excellence
Go grant shopping and sign up to receive up to date grant info from the NEA Foundation.

So there's a good start. Best advice for grant seekers is to start small. Where to find more information about grants? Join Education-Based Social Networks such as Classroom2.0, the Educator's PLN or Fireside Learning and post a question to one of the Forums. Most teachers are more than willing to help a fellow educator in need.

Good Luck and post comments with you success stories below.

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Music Education Professional Learning Network Launches

2010-07-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

Watch Out, Here We Come! The Music Education Professional Learning Network launches today, July 19th, 2010. The site is a "freely available public site specifically designed for Music Teachers, Educators interested in Music topics, and pre-service Music Teachers."

Users must register for an account, otherwise the site is free. The MPLN contains Forums, Groups and News/Info. links about aspects of Music Education. Pre-launch, the site had 68 members who Beta-tested the network. These members are among the top music education professionals with an online presence (music ed. teachers, conductors, clinicians, presenters, bloggers, etc..). One of the greatest attributes of the site is that is it is social media rich meaning that there are multiple ways to share information outside the network on different platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, Yahoo and MySpace. I believe this attribute will insure the site's success. Interestingly, it is also possible to connect IN to the network. For example, by using the hastag #mpln on Twitter, the update will post inside the MPLN network. Nifty!

The launch comes at a time when social networks are becoming increasingly accepted as valid places, forums for learning. There have been a few attempts at creating social networks for music educators but none have achieved a wide membership/following. MENC has had a Mentoring Forum for years (of which I was once a Mentor) but it never quite evolved from the limited 'thread'.

I am convinced that the time is ripe for the Music Education Professional Learning Network. I believe that it will be widely used by Music Education Professionals to connect, discuss, debate, elucidate, elaborate, learn, grow and educate. Is the world ready for Music Education to finally, finally be transformed?

Teaching Is Not About Knowing (Anymore)

2010-07-08T07:21:00.000-07:00

The most fundamental thing to understand about teaching today is that it's not about you (the teacher). Old school thinking (organizing, being) was modeled after the management/labor paradigm. Classrooms resembled this paradigm as well, with teachers as the "knowledge owners" with obedient/compliant students "receiving" information.

I started writing about this 3 years ago-about the need to change how things are done in schools:

Schooling is sometimes described as something DONE to children. School often doesn’t seem a place where students are encouraged to learn at their own pace and in their own way-especially in the climate of standardized testing.

Teens (humans!) crave real connections. This is difficult to achieve given large class sizes and methodologies designed to teach “the class”. Many get left behind in this type of educational climate. Research (and now policy) is pointing to the fact that too many students are not “being attended to” in schools/classrooms. Scores of books have been written lately (many published by ASCD) that have as their premise the need to differentiate instruction to meet the needs/interests/learning styles of ALL students.

Technology has advanced so quickly in the last decade and the latest offerings are truly disruptive to the dominant paradigms in education (teacher as know-er, teacher as isolated 'expert', students as passive/obedient/quiet 'receivers')

SIGNS OF THE TIMES
Teachers are connecting and sharing information online. Whether they are isolated in their own buildings or not, they are breaking the cycle of isolation because they know that professional learning takes a community--even if that community exists only in cyberspace.

Teachers are recognizing that information is abundant and access to information is nearly instantaneous. That makes EVERYONE an expert and, frankly, should take the load off any (new?) teacher feeling the weight of "having to know everything". It's not about knowing. It's about pointing the way and providing the tools (for students to create, learn, succeed).

With the guidance of this new breed of teachers, students are breaking out of passive roles and becoming teachers themselves-which we know is the best way to learn anyway:

“Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.”

-Chinese proverb

10 Things All Teachers Should Know How to Do (Edited)

2010-07-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

After viewing @todmafin's tweet about how it's simply not funny to claim 'Luddite' status anymore, I thought about what might be important-from a tech perspective-to know as a teacher teaching in these times. Here's my top ten...with many exclusions.

These, to me, are basic competencies I think all School Districts should assess and provide professional development in.

All teachers should be able to..........
1. Subscribe to an RSS Feed
2. Bookmark, tag and annotate websites in the Cloud
3. Create and use a Blog
4. Create and use a Wiki site
5. Create hyperlinks (in e-mail, at blogs, websites and wikis)
6. Create a PDF file for Free
7. Capture, Remix and upload Photos (free of copyright restrictions)
8. Capture, Remix and upload Audio/Video
9. Use Google Docs or other collaborative file sharing system.
10. Locate and Participate in Social Networks on Education, Useful Tech Tools for Learning, 21st Century Learning and content-specific Education Sites.

What would you add?

What Teachers Can Learn From Ingrid Michaelson

2010-06-30T17:08:00.000-07:00

Ingrid Michaelson is as real as one can get when one is a successful touring musician and when one's music has been featured in episodes of several popular television shows, including Scrubs, Bones , Grey's Anatomy and One Tree Hill, as well as in Old Navy's Fall 2007 Fair Isle advertising campaign. When 'I Just Want to Be OK' is the chorus of one of your songs-you have wide appeal. Looking like the attractive girl next door doesn't hurt.

Attending a live performance of one of her concerts as I had the great fortune to do this week (at Pearl Street in Northampton, MA) , one learns that Miss Michaelson is smart, quirky, talented, playful and fully in touch with and manipulative of the vibe in the room. It's exactly what we teachers need-to be able to control the vibe in the room, with finesse. Here are some other Micahelson-isms that worked and are worth noting.

Tap prior knowledge (She had the audience sing TV theme shows-Full House, Golden Girls..this happened spontaneously when she began humming a few bars of each.)

Mix it up (she played different instruments, we can change the delivery, tools, venue). -DO same thing in new ways (she sang The Way I Am twice..once as known and then again-as an encore- as a punk rock parody. Brilliant!)

Show gratitude (genuinely)

Connect and be accessible (she asked questions of audience members close to her and made reference to the new information we learn later. We can do the same w/students)

Tell stories (we now know that she once taught Children's Theater and the kids has a hard time walking in a straight line--her telling had us all in stitches.)

Have fun (You can't fake this)

Song Demo- Walk Away (just for a little extra)
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

Defining a PLN: What PLN? Whose PLN?

2010-06-27T16:22:00.000-07:00

If you teach, at some point you realize there is no such thing as a "class" to a student. If you address any assembled group of students as "the class", you've already communicated to your students that you are out of touch with them.

Now we have the way-too-often-used term "PLN" or "Personal Learning Network" which, to me, is synonymous with the misnomer "class". Let me be clear-->There IS NO SUCH THING AS A P.L.N. just as there is no such thing as a class. The way one goes about learning online is personal. One may belong to a handful of social networks, subscribe to a handful of feeds, do some bookmarking, use Twitter, or not. A PLN is not a thing. It's not something you go and "get" (as in: "Why you need to get a PLN").

Go ahead and use the term if you want to but realize that it means absolutely nothing to anyone who is not YOU. Using 'PLN' with the first person possessive determiner "my" is even worse, as in, "I love MY PLN". What? Might as well say, "I love my REALITY! Thank you, REALITY!". The point is that a PLN is exactly that: a PERSONAL. LEARNING. NETWORK. which is defined specifically and exclusively by the one who is doing the surfing of the networks that make up the specific PLN. It doesn't have an absolute reality that can be defined or fixed. Which makes it's use problematic.

I am genuinely glad that so many educators are finding their way to social media, tools and technologies that may help them be better, more informed, relevant teachers. But so many have recently been deceived into thinking they have to bind their learning inside a cocoon of this thing called a PLN (which usually means Twitter and one other Social Network). It's like thinking New York is the United States. It's not about individuals or groups of individuals controlling information. Information is free and you should be able to gather it wherever you like without feeling that you stepped outside the bounds of "your" "PLN".

It's about learning, after all--yours and your students. OK- AND the learning of your colleagues and peers. Go ahead, though, and drop the acronym PLN once and for all and you will discover this thing called the Internet. On the Internet there are multiple, unbounded places to learn anything, anytime, anywhere--from anyone. You can share what you discover if you want to but you don't owe anyone anything. You should be free to go where you like, when you like. And that's the way it should be.

Go ahead:

Join conversations on Twitter
Participate in Social Bookmarking and Annotating
Create blogs and write blog posts
Jump In on Twitter 'Chats'
Join Social Networks (note: NetworkS is plural)
Subscribe to podcasts
Watch and comment on videos
Connect with people at conferences who you met online

Just, please, don't call doing these things your P L N (Awesome video, by the way). It's just you learning and contributing in the world of ideas and information.

So. Be polite. Give credit where credit is due but if you win Teacher of the Year, please...please don't thank 'your PLN' while tears run down your grateful face. It would be like thanking 'Your' Consumer Goods Network for all of the material possessions you have acquired in your lifetime. It's like thanking your 'Reality'. Try defining THAT.

What School Music Programs Should Look Like

2010-05-21T06:43:00.000-07:00

In the last post, I suggested a new paradigm for music education in schools. This paradigm would become less-band/orchestra centric and would have as its base teaching non-band/orchestra/chorus students the tools for music creation, mixing and distribution. Traditional performing ensembles should always have a place in school music programs. Instrumental and Choral Programs are often the public face of music programs. They provide good PR but I think it's also time to embrace a much wider conception of what performing ensembles could be in addition to changing the nature and focus of the "General" Music Program.

Increasingly, students are coming to us with skills on (electric) guitar, keyboards and other instruments (mandolin has become popular recently because of it's use by some mainstream pop artists). Students who don't play instruments are coming to us with much greater exposure to music specifically because of pop culture influences (Rock Band, Guitar Hero, Glee, video games, etc..). A 6th Grade student recently asked if we could play the theme to Halo, a science-fiction video game. Why not? If we don't do it at school, students are busy learning it anyway , despite the school music program! This is NOT a position we in Music Education want to be in. Imagine students dropping music classes because they don't do music there (or at least music they know). Unfortunately this happens every day in music programs everywhere. I know a student who won the local 'American Idol' contest but dropped Chorus at school. She didn't see the relevance. There are, of course Music Directors who get it, the one's who understand that connection is more important than coverage. So, to further expand the paradigm shift I am suggesting, here's what I think *secondary music programs should include now:

A Music technology Classes (formerly called General Music) where students create, remix and share music (and, yeah, learn the basics, too)<---largest population of students. I suggest this for 100% of the school population if possible.

Guitar "Clubs"<---if don't play guitar, have your students teach you. They would love to teach you how to shred a solo.

Jazz/Rock-Pop Ensembles (any combination of instruments/voices)

(World) Percussion Ensembles (mallet instruments as well as djembes, bongos, congas)

Traditional Music Ensembles (Band/Chorus/Orchestras)

*Note that I am addressing secondary music programs, specifically. Elementary programs should, as most do, continue to incorporate movement, singing, Orff instrument playing, rhythm games and general "experimentation" with music.

The 21st Century Music Program

2010-05-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

I've written about it already: Music Education must shift (as most of what we do in Education must shift now). But I haven't given a prescription for the shift. I'll focus on music education first since it's where I've spent most of my career.

Once upon a time, as the world was changing and going digital, music was right out front as one of the game changers. Since people love music, they wanted music. As digital formats and broadband increased so did the possibility that music could be made available for next to free. A huge demand ensued. Enterprising individuals with some coding know-how made it possible for people to find music online. That's the beginning of the story and how P2P networking changed the world. The rest is known to us. Napster and other websites that allowed free sharing of music and other copyrighted material were targeted by the RIAA and the copyright wars began.

Now, new modes of distribution and consumption are in place, money is paid to the artists and the world is changed. Of course, the illegal stuff still happens and will continue to-until we radically redfine and de-criminalize file sharing. But it was larely a demand for MUSIC that inspired the whole digital-everything movement. And As Chris Anderson will tell you, once things are digitized, distribution costs are almost nill for a gizzillion copies of the same file (mp3, mp4, .mov, .avi etc..).

So where does secondary Music Education fit into this? Prominently, I think. Center Stage, if you will. Teens and music go hand in hand. They "do" music all the time. In these times, students are downloading, manipulating, re-mixing and listening to music daily. What happens when they come to music "class". What is happening in "General" Music Classrooms today? Do students ever hear "their" music? In a 21st Century Music Program, they should. Do they use technology, loop-based composition software to make their OWN music? In a 21st Century Music Program, they should. Do they get to create and remix music the way they do in the real world? Do they get to download and keep their music as Mp3 files? In a 21st Century Music Program, they should. Is You Tube ever used in music class? i-Tunes? In a 21st Century Music Program, they should be.

It's an important shift because in a 21st century Music Program, there is potential for many more students to be part of the program--shifting it from the old Band/Chorus paradigm and justifying it solidly to School Boards. When you turn all students into Artists, it's difficult to cut a program. That's possible in a 21st Century Music Program.

Schooling, Education and The Way Forward

2010-05-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

Seth Godin got me blogging about 4 years ago. Though his rants relate to marketing and business, what he had to say had relevance in my field: Education. His sentences were direct, pithy and always filled with a sense of urgency, in a 'take it or leave it' kind of way. Good stuff and he's still at it. If I'm stuck finding something to write about, a little reading of Godin will start the juices flowing. One thought leads to another and then I just HAVE to write. That would be my advice to anyone stuck trying to write anything (a blog post, a memo, a short story)-read something related to what you want to write about. Or, if you are interested in change and not in maintaining the status quo, just read Seth Godin.

Public Education should probably be renamed Public Schooling. I have no reservations saying that. Because Schooling is what we do. It is a system, with standards and standardized ways of doing things. Education is a corollary benefit for some, maybe. My entire master's thesis written more than a decade ago dealt with this problem. In a nutshell, my question (for middle school kids) was: 'Is School Real?'. I was attempting to get at whether school and a kid's real world have anything in common. The lengthy title of the thesis was: Schooling and student perceptions: Understanding meaning and relevance of 'the place called school' in the lives of middle school students. Turns out that students saw a connection in the cafeteria, at recess, sometimes in PE, Music or Industrial Arts and in the hallways. Everyplace else in school required them to play a role-to 'check out' from their real world; to grin and bear it.

This was 11 years ago. Before Apple invented the i-pod. Before MySpace, Friendster and Facebook. Before social networking. Before Xbox, Wii, World of Warcraft. Before cell phones with apps and wireless everything. So, 4 years ago, when I saw all these things that evolved quickly and were here to stay, I began to realize that the Schooling System was being left in the dust. I began reading Godin. His sentiments fit what I saw in Education as a problem. I began writing about it. Don't know if all the ranting did any good but in the last 4 years others were thinking the same thing. Thus, we now have Classroom 2.0 where Educators interested in using technology for change can share ideas. We have Thomas Friedman urging us that the World is Flat and we better wake up. We have Daniel Pink saying the same only different--we must become Artists and Creators in the Future because the routine jobs will be left to robots or will be outsourced. There is a modest and growing group of Educators using Twitter to advance change and share information about better ways forward. And now we have State Department's of Education recognizing that, indeed, there is something new afoot and that kids are growing up different (digitally, creatively, expressively).

This something has been termed '21st Century Skills'. Standardizing and then prescribing those skills will not work because the new way is not about memorization and testing, it is a way of BEING. The whole manner in which young people go about getting things done has changed. And Public Schooling needs to change, now, too. For Real. No more pretend change. No more going through the motions.

So Godin got me started and he still inspires me to think and do and change and grow. With Linchpin, his latest book, he offers a solid premise as to WHY we are where we are in Education. He doesn't blame good teachers or even good administrators. He blames the Schooling System. But he does challenge teachers (YOU) to change things, to be extraordinary, indispensable. I think, if you're a teacher now, that means leading by example (using new tools, creating, connecting, collaborating) and fighting to change the current Educational Paradigm of schooling.

Beyond Powerpoint

2010-05-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

Michael Zimmer has an excellent e-book up at Issuu. It's called A New Way To Lecture. The main focus of the book is how to move beyond powerpoint for presentations by using the many Web 2.o resources available to us.

Open publication - Free publishing

Reevaluating Twitter

2010-04-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

I wrote this about Twitter last Fall:"There isn't possibly enough time to actually digest the information that is being tweeted and re-tweeted. It's like watching Educator's Gone Wild With Tech. I'm grateful for all the links, articles and potential professional development resources but when is it time to power down, read, reflect and synthesize?"

Will Richardson has a new post questioning Twitter's use in Education:

I wonder that if we make 140 characters the main part of the way we communicate with one another without spending some of our time in more extended give and take that we will be losing something important in the process.

Dean Shareski was asking similar questions over a year ago.

I believe Twitter is a good brainstorming tool- a place to get ideas on the table and start a conversation. It's also an OK place to gather targeted information (using the search feature). Unfortunately, Twitter seems to be an addiction by some in the Education community. The focus has become quantitative rather than qualitative. The sum of a bunch of people in a room speaking at the same time is noise.

It's like Collective Monkey Mind.

iPAD: The Too Big iPod; The Keyboardless Netbook

2010-04-15T09:26:00.000-07:00

from John Spencer

If the iPad fails, it is because it is a bad device and there is a ton of media hype surrounding something so bad. It’s the Beanie Baby of technology.

I did a quick podcast about why it is bad for classrooms: http://jtspencer.blogspot.com/2010/04/ipad-hype-in-education.html

It’s essentially like a spork, trying to do all things and none of them well:

1. An iPod that’s too big
2. An eReader that’s bad on the eyes
3. A small computer (like a netbook) without a keyboard (yes you can buy one), Flash, web cam, or multitasking

Will The iPad Change Education?

2010-04-03T07:19:00.000-07:00

iPad mania has begun. On Saturday, April 3rd the first generation WI-FI only iPAd went on sale. There were reports of people waiting in line for over 28 hours to get their hands on one. The iPad has been touted as the device that will be the end of laptop computers; ushering in a new direction in computing and living connected lives.

Last year the buzz was around the Kindle DX whose size made it more "textbook friendly". Many reports indicated that this was the new direction for textbook publishers. The introduction of the iPad makes any size Kindle seem monolithic in comparison. It simply can do so much more. There's already 1000+ Apps already. That number will grow quickly and will include many apps usable in the classroom for learning.

Which makes me wonder. Will the iPad be adopted, adapted and used in classrooms in meaningful ways? If many thought the iTouch could be used readily in the classroom-something I doubted the utility for because of it's miniature size- has the time come for Apple to truly saturate the Education Market. Will the simplicity of the iPAd and all the App Potential seduce even the most Luddite Teachers among us?

What's your take?

10 Reasons School Leaders Should Pay Attention To Social Media

2010-01-20T05:40:00.000-08:00

by By Kitty Porterfield and Meg Carnes
from the AASA website

At first glance, building a social network — with tools like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube — may not seem like a wise investment for your district. But look again. social media can be far more useful to schools than it might appear.

It’s a new way to build relationships. By now, it should no longer be a surprise that the key to good leadership is strong relationships. (See Fullan, Kotter, Sparks, et al.) Creating relationships is an on-going job. Social media is a new—and very efficient—tool to help build stakeholder ties. It should be in your tool box.
It’s no longer about you anyway. It’s about your customers. Your parents and employees are growing younger by the day. They live their lives by a different set of rules than their parents did. (See Harnessing the Power of the Millennial Generation for details.) They want to work in teams, be part of the solution, and hear you tell them they’ve done a good job with their kids. They will not be shut out of the education process.
People are already talking about you. Join the community bulletin board. Google yourself. Create a weekly Google-Alert search for your school system. Read the newspaper comment boards. You will quickly find out what the neighbors are saying. Social media is our present-day equivalent of the front-porch, back-yard fence, and playground bench conversation. Listen in.
Your reputation is at stake. In the end, you are the one charged with maintaining your school or school district’s good name. The buck stops on your desk. If you only listen to your department heads and your PTA leadership, you will never hear the real concerns of parents and tax-payers division-wide. Social media is like managing a dozen focus groups that you didn’t have to create.
The response most likely will be positive. School systems that have taken a proactive step to establish social connections like a blog, a Twitter feed, and YouTube postings get high marks from their communities. The districts that feel the brunt of viral venom are those that don’t have digital avenues of conversation already open when a news story goes bad. When there is a way to hold a conversation, it softens the blow. It’s considered transparency.
You don’t have to do it all at once. Maybe all you do is start a Twitter account (free), which just gives you the opportunity to flash (your) headlines in 140 characters or less to your stakeholders’ phones and PDAs real time. On most days, it will be postings like “Three More National Merit Scholars Named Today. www.ourschooldivision.edu/honors” But think of the possibilities for “11AM Severe storm expected. Trailers evacuated. Students secure. www.ourschooldivision.edu/emergencyplan.” Sure, there is some upfront investment of time and resources, but the ROI (return on investment) will be well worth the effort. (Forget the what-I-had-for-breakfast stuff. That’s an old joke.)
Social media gives you the chance to stay ahead of the curve. Like putting your ear to the train tracks, you can hear the rumble of the approaching train. Social media gives you the opportunity to respond quickly to rumors and dissention, without the filters of the media. It takes a lot less time than writing and publishing a press release. And it can be much more far-reaching.
It’s not going away. The forms of social media will keep changing as new technologies emerge. (That’s the hardest part for the over-50 crowd. “Just when I learned to text….”) But the pace will only quicken and the focus will only sharpen. Part of the job is staying in the race. People use social media partly because they can—it’s here, it’s new, it’s cool. But social media also helps to fill a deep need in our communities to feel connected, to be in touch. If it didn’t, it would have already gone the way of the 8-track tape and the LP.
Social media helps you build community and a sense of ownership among your stakeholders. People only invest in what they care about. In today’s world, you cannot assume that anyone cares about or respects public institutions. People care when they feel cared for. A social media presence speaks to inclusion. It is an invitation to be part of the action.
It takes the whole village. We know that kids learn best when parents and the community are invested in what goes on in our classrooms. Social media is part of what it takes today to win that investment. It’s a small price.

Your Doctoral Degree Sponsored by Facebook

2010-01-09T12:19:00.000-08:00

Facebook is enhancing its relationship with the academic world. The company announced the creation of five fellowships to be awarded to doctoral students in the 2010-11 academic year. The research-focused awards also include tuition, fees, travel money, a $30,000 stipend and more!

If you or an innovative PhD student you know is enrolled in a full-time PhD program in Computer Science, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, System Architecture or related area in the 2010-11 academic year read the full Facebook Fellowship Program Overview for more info.

2010: The Year to Integrate Tech. In Schools For Real

2009-12-30T17:48:00.000-08:00

Doug Johnson writes:

All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. - Arthur Schopenhauer

There are some educational "truths" that we can't change, even if we wanted to. These educational technology resources, annoyances, and condiions are here to stay despite some educators denial, resistance and fast grip on the status quo. The sooner educators, especially tech directors and administrators, accept that these things are a permanent part of the educational landscape, the sooner attention will be paid to using them positively and productively.

Here is my short list of things that just are not going to go away...

Read the rest here:

These horses are out of the barn - Home - Doug Johnson's Blue Skunk Blog

Creating, Remixing, Streaming and Listening to Music Online

2009-12-08T18:45:00.001-08:00

As technology advances and bandwith + wireless expand like so many galaxies, the possibilities for music creation and listening become nearly limitless. Free possibilities abound. Here are some of my recent favorites/recommendations. Have fun with these.

Music Creation: Notation-Based
Noteflight

Music Creation: Loop-Based
i-nudge
One Motion-drum machine which can be exported as an SWF file.

Music Creation: Web-Based Audio Editing/Hosting
Indaba Music-Make and manage music at this online community.
Myna by Aviary-Use Myna to remix music tracks and audio clips. Apply sound effects and record your own voice or instruments.

Music Streaming/Listening
Grooveshark-Listen to streaming music in a clean, i-tunes-like interface. Create playlists, see photos of artists.

Songza.com-Listen to streaming music at songza.

Last FM- Search for, Learn about and listen to music by all types of musicians/artists. Doubles as a social networking site.

Pitchfork.com-Music plus reviews, news and features.

Mp3.com- This is a great site for discovering music that is not restricted by copyright. It is also organized by musical style and genre in a clear manner.

How to Find The Real URL of a Shortened One

2009-11-25T05:06:00.000-08:00

When I first saw, "tiny.url" cropping up all over the place I wondered thought, Wow, what a popular website. So many people are linking to it. That was several years ago and I had no idea that tinyurl (and snipurl and bit.ly, etc..) were "shortened" or "masked" urls. Shortened urls allow you to take create a new url from an unwieldy long "http:" address. This is particularly helpful for adding links to a TWITTER tweet which is limited to only 140 characters.

Like all good things, shortened urls began being used in not so good ways (to hide urls of questionable websites, for example). Because of this many school servers began blocking them. If you use Twitter as a form of professional development and shortened urls are blocked at your workplace, you will miss some potentially useful information.

HOW TO FIND THE REAL URL OF A SHORTENED ONE

The easiest way to get the real url of a shortened on is to go to this website:
http://www.unshorten.com/index.php

Here you can copy and paste the short url into the form after which the correct url address is displayed. You can click it and be redirected to the site in a matter of seconds without it being blocked.

Just one more away to keep good information free and unrestricted.

What's With All The Tweeting?

2009-11-08T10:58:00.000-08:00

Those that tweet about all things 'Education 2.0' are on a mission (me, too). That mission is to change some minds; to elucidate that times are a changin' and Academia better get on board. This is an important quest. The field (and so many in it) are slow to change--too slow to see the proverbial writing on the wall. That writing tells us that kids are different. They are wired (actually wire(d)less) but nonetheless connected to multimedia, to information, to other teens. They are the so-called Digital Natives and we best make efforts to reach them. And we also best get Luddites on board with all this tech that drives teen's lives. We best find ways to leverage these modes of connecting and communicating in the classroom! We Best! We must!..............................But.

But....is it really a quantitative paradigm we want to exemplify with regard to our use of tech? Because that's what I'm seeing all around me now-especially on Twitter: '21st Century Teachers' on a mission--blinging out their 'PLN' by tweeting incessantly like a South Korean World of Warcraft addict. I follow many such Tweeting Educators who seem to tweet all day, all evening and on weekends, too. What is going on here? There isn't possibly enough time to actually digest the information that is being tweeted and retweeted. It's like watching Educator's Gone Wild With Tech! I'm grateful for all the links, articles and potential professional development resources but when is it time to power down? Or is never the new normal?

I asked this on Twitter:

One reply I have received says it all:

"Excellent Question, message is that they have time on their hands--and perhaps the beginnings of a problem."

Yes, that seems to be the problem. Do we really want our Supervisors, Principals, Superintendents and School Boards thinking we have that much time on our hands?

What it boils down to is this: We can do an amazing job batting for the adoption of '21st century tech' in our schools and classrooms. We may even convince people that matter (our Supervisors, Principals, Superintendents and School Boards) to take a look. What will they see when they do? In one case I know, they will see a teacher that 'tweeted' over 10, 000 tweets in a matter of months. The questions When? Why? and Where? are all valid questions for Supervisors, Principals, Superintendents and School Boards to ask. I hope the answers point to the improvement of student learning. I also hope face to face interaction with them hasn't been marginalized either. In the case of Prinicpal's as Twitterers, the same questions might be harder to answer.

I hope there's Quality in all that Quantity. My personal assessment? There is. Let's just be sure to keep it that way.

The Slow Nature of Change in Schools

2009-11-08T04:26:00.000-08:00

On a recent field trip, neither my students nor I was at threat of being eaten alive by a t-rex.

Why, despite ruling Earth for nearly 80 million years (even longer than Wall Street barons), are Cretaceous period animals not regularly chowing on our gizzards? Things change.

Scientists have suspected this for some time. In fact, a growing body of geologic evidence seems to support the theory that things today are not the same as they were 200 million years ago. (Many even suspect tomorrow will be different than today.)

Surprisingly, this idea of “change as constant” is not yet an accepted norm. (Though it comes as no surprise to anyone whose visited any number of schools in recent years.)

by Jason Flom, read the rest at: Shift Happens. (Even in Schools?) | Ecology of Education

Combining Service-Learning and Technology Fosters positive Youth Development

2009-11-08T04:21:00.000-08:00

In an ongoing effort to promote youth empowerment in education, we’d like to offer this research synopsis. This one pulls together several of our favorite subjects: youth development, project-based learning, and technology.

Best Practices for Integrating Technology and Service-Learning in a Youth Development Program by JoAnn R. Coe-Regan, PhD and Julie O’Donnell, PhD, MSW.

Community-based programs that are meant to promote youth development have been around for quite awhile. Numerous studies indicate that youths benefit from these programs in many ways: a more positive self-image, a reduction in risk taking behavior, improved school behavior, etc. Because research illustrates the success of after-school programs, federal funding has increased from $40 million to $1 billion in recent years. A ubiquitous and recurring challenge these programs face is how to recruit and retain teens despite the potential barriers of boredom, family responsibilities, and spending social time with their friends.

In 2006 the YMCA Youth Institute of Long Beach, California developed a service-learning program to help overcome these barriers which “…uses technology as an integral mechanism for promoting positive youth development and enhancing the academic success and career readiness of low-income, culturally-diverse high school students.” (Coe-Regan & O’Donnell, 2006)

The YMCA Youth Institute research is unique in the fact that it focuses on the mutually supportive benefits of technology and service-learning. It also supports the idea that effective technology learning is more than skill acquisition, but is built into collaborative, authentic projects.

Overall, the study found that service-learning which emphasizes technology not only increases positive youth development, it also retains and sustains the service-learning program. Participants were particularly attracted to learning new technology skills and saw this as increasing the likelihood of being successful in life.

from Relevant research: Combining service-learning and technology fosters positive youth development -Generation YES Blog

21st-Century Learning Resource Released

2009-11-08T04:19:00.000-08:00

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills has released yet another resource for educators to help evaluate and improve the integration of 21st-century skills into the classroom. On the heels of releasing its Implementation Guides, which are designed to offer guidance to state-level policymakers and leaders on best practices for building standards, assessments, curriculum and instruction, professional development and learning environments, the organization recently released the Milestones for Improving Learning and Education Guide for use at the district and school level.

The guide includes a self-assessment to help districts or schools determine whether they are in the early, transitional, or 21st-century stage in a handful of categories, and tips to help implement policies that will support further inclusion of 21st-century skills with specific examples of what has worked for states and districts. The guide aims to be a practical, hands-on tool for educators. You can send away for a hard copy of the guide for $10, or download it for free here.

from Digital Education: 21st-Century Learning Resource Released

PHSprincipalBLOG: One Size Fits All?

2009-11-08T04:16:00.000-08:00

PHSprincipalBLOG: One Size Fits All?: "Imagine walking into a shoe store where all shoes were the same. Size, shape, color, and function were the same for all choices. Every customer walks out with the exact same shoe as the customers yesterday as well as shoes that will leave the store again tomorrow. Of course shoe stores do not work this way. People have different shaped feet and need shoes that function for different tasks. Apply this to education. Do schools do a good enough job of 'sizing up' each student and finding the right programs for them?"

The Educational Value of SMARTMUSIC

2009-10-31T12:51:00.000-07:00

One of the never ending ironies in Public Education is this: Arts in schools get little respect. This is especially true when money is tight and school boards find them to be convenient targets for cuts. The reasons for this are many and deserve examination. However, in this post, I will examine one potential reason and I will illuminate a potential solution for music education-a particular software product marketed under the name SMARTMUSIC that legitimizes the educational value of performing music classes-beyond a reasonable doubt.

I believe one potential reason that arts education (I will focus exclusively on music education for the rest of this post) is that stakeholders have little clue HOW the arts are, in fact, Educational. Arts and music teachers are largely to blame for this because we feed into underlying misconceptions about what we do. For example, a tired argument for keeping music in schools for the past decade has been to cite the so called 'Mozart Effect'. We have told school boards that "music makes you smarter" and that kid's SAT scores will go up as a result. We do this instead of talking about specific habits of mind that are developed in arts classes such as listening, perceiving, making inferences, counting, decoding, communicating, cooperating with others, synthesizing and creating. So, music (and arts) courses are being asked to be saved because they have an apparent, unproven non-music, non-arts specific effect on education. No wonder the argument has little traction. (Incidentally, I hope that high SAT scores are not taken as a serious barometer of intellect or individual learning potential. I hope!)

MISPERCEPTIONS OF WHAT ARTS TEACHERS DO

The reality is that those of us who teach an arts subject spend our entire careers dealing with misconceptions about what we do from those that should know better. Teachers and administrators often make the mistake of believing that students are all "talented" and that what we do on a regular basis is "fun" day in and day out. And aren't we "lucky" to teach the subjects and students we teach. The reality, of course, is that we're often dealing with large numbers of students who have a WIDE range of ability levels and more lesson plans/preparations since we teach discrete 'subjects' such as flute, tuba and mallet percussion in the same day. And, yes, for brief moments (on concert night, for example) the work is highly satisfying but it is also stressful because of the need to differentiate instruction multiple times daily. Concert night is the result of consistently and deliberately working towards (music) education objectives. The kicker is what we do. What we music teachers do is this: We display our work publicly over and over again. We rely on cooperation and measured improvement from the students we teach. No student we teach can fail. Yes, in fact, no student can be left behind (and never, ever was by any competent music teacher).

There, I said it. But let me be explicit: In a math (or science or social studies, etc class), a student can fail to do homework and/or fail to study for tests and, therefore, fail the class (or hold on with a "D" as is often the case for social promotion). The teacher can but does not need to assist the student to do better beyond some basic reinforcements. Not so in music performance classes. NO student can fail. Here's why: because if even one student is playing wrong rhythms and/or notes, the band sounds "off". It's a collective 'bad performance' because of ONE student's shortcomings. The public assessment will be less than. The audience will notice. So what do we do? We make sure EVERY student can play everything correctly, competently and musically before concert night. (By the way, I'm sure the majority of math, social studies and science teachers help their students to gain mastery-I'm just illustrating the point that their reputations are not made or lost in public view via public means of assessment).

From an educational perspective, in music (band) class, we identify misconceptions, make note of them and make sure to re-teach each individual student in need of such "response to intervention". We have always operated this way and always will. Anyone teaching right now knows that "RTI" is one of the current buzz words in Education. Here are a few more:

Standards-based education
Differentiated instruction
Using data to drive instruction
Performance-based assessment
21st century learning

Let me now illuminate how these educational objectives are being met in music education programs using SMARTMUSIC software in the band and choral music curriculum.

HOW SMARTMUSIC HELPS STUDENTS LEARN

SMARTMUSIC is the name given to software now available for use by music teachers and music students (MakeMusic, Inc.). Smartmusic is described as "learning software with the power to transform music learning. Students of all ages and skill levels can play or sing with professional accompaniments, making practice both rewarding and fun." It is quietly revolutionizing the field of music education. When used, it transcends expectations, fixes misconceptions and ensures steady progress by student musicians. And best of all SMARTMUSIC can be discussed using an educational lens.

SMARTMUSIC IS STANDARDS-BASED
Smartmusic allows students to perform music along with accompaniments or to simply play a line of music at a time. Music standards such as reading music, understanding and executing musical instructions (articulation and dynamics, for example) are addressed within the context of each composition, exercise or folk song.

SMARTMUSIC ALLOWS FOR DIFFERENTIATED INSTRUCTION
SMARTMUSIC contains music at a variety of levels from basic to advanced. A teacher can assign specific exercises for each student depending on their specific needs (to address misconceptions and weaknesses). These assignments are delivered digitally (via e-mail and by the student signing into the Smartmusic database).

ASSESSMENT IN SMARTMUSIC IS PERFORMANCE-BASED
Proper music instruction has always been performance-based since the only way a student can demonstrate understanding is to execute the skill(s) on his or her instrument. Music Education was doing performance-based assessment long before the term became an Educational Imperative. By it's very nature, Smartmusic uses a performance-based assessment model.

SMARTMUSIC IS DATA DRIVEN
Using data to drive instruction is, again, something that has always been done in music education. However, Smartmusic kicks it up a notch. Data are collected as recordings of student performances. These data are automatically uploaded to a "gradebook" kept on Smartmusic's servers. This gradebook looks like a regular gradebook with columns of assignments. The recorded performances are accessed by clicking an icon next to each student's name. Additionally a snapshot of what notes/rhythms students played correctly or incorrectly is viewable by the click of a mouse. Correct notes/rhythms are green in color and incorrect notes/rhythms are red. Intangibles such as tone quality, intonation, articulation and interpretation can then be rated by the teacher using the mp3 recording. Based on the strehgth (or weakness) of the data, music can be reassigned or new music can be assigned to address particular issues.

SMARTMUSIC IS A 21st CENTURY LEARNING TOOL
SMARTMUSIC makes use of technology in engaging, creative and meaningful ways to ensure high quality, data-based music learning. Importantly, it is a tool that helps music students and music teachers do what they have always endeavored to do-to learn to be competent, independent musicians and to teach music effectively.

Photo credits:
Nationaal Archief / Spaarnestad Photo / J. van Eijk, SFA003001896.
Saxaphoon by Oude School at flickr

NOTE: This blog is in no way affiliated with Smartmusic or Make Music, Inc. The views and opinions expressed in the post are those of educational blogger Andrew Garcia.

Prior Knowledge and The Flow of Learning | nashworld

2009-10-28T12:10:00.000-07:00

Prior Knowledge and The Flow of Learning | nashworld: "Engagement

A friend gives you free tickets to an upcoming concert. Although the group is fairly popular, you are not familiar with the artist’s body of work. Assuming you elect to go, what do you do next?

Between now and the day of the concert, here’s betting that your old pal Google comes into play at some point.

What is the artist’s body of work? For me, iTunes previews would quickly come into the picture. I might even scan the reviews. Then perhaps a dive into YouTube in a quest to actually see the band in action. Maybe even an interview with the lead singer? Does the band have a website? What else have they done? What does the bio tell me about where they are from and perhaps why they do what they do?

This approach works. We know it does. We’ve done it ourselves a thousand times before in similar situations."

Read More: Prior Knowledge and The Flow of Learning | nashworld

» Would You Please Block? Bud the Teacher

2009-10-28T12:08:00.000-07:00

Would You Please Block? Bud the Teacher: "I’ve written a stock response to those requests that I thought might be worth sharing. It’s my hope that their requests and the conversations that come from this response lead to changes in classroom practice.

Here it is:Would You Please Block? Bud the Teacher

Introduction to Google Earth – edtech VISION

2009-10-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

Introduction to Google Earth – edtech VISION: "What is Google Earth?

Google Earth is a free, downloadable program that combines satellite images, maps, and terrain to create a 3D virtual model of the world.

You can search for specific locations in Google Earth and create your own virtual tours. Other options to explore are content developed by NASA, Discovery Education, National Geographic Magazine and more!To get started you need to download and install the latest version of Google Earth from http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html. Google Earth is available for PC, Mac or Linux computers."

Misconceptions « Lucacept – intercepting the Web

2009-10-28T12:06:00.000-07:00

Misconceptions « Lucacept – intercepting the Web: "The internet certainly presents us with possibilities. We can become creators and have our work appreciated by others. We can make a name for ourselves and reap the rewards that come from this. But we can also become part of the long tail of creators who are vying for voice and attention who don’t get noticed and don’t reap rewards."

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills - Framework for 21st Century Learning

2009-10-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills - Framework for 21st Century Learning: "The elements described in this section as “21st century student outcomes” (represented by the rainbow) are the skills, knowledge and expertise students should master to succeed in work and life in the 21st century."

Focusing on a 2020 Vision for Learning - EDTECH: Focus On K-12

2009-10-28T12:01:00.000-07:00

Focusing on a 2020 Vision for Learning - EDTECH: Focus On K-12: "“If education is always to be conceived along the same antiquated lines of a mere transmission of knowledge, there is little to be hoped from it in the bettering of man's future.” — Maria Montessori"

Twitter As Professional Learning Resource

2009-10-17T08:37:00.000-07:00

When I first tried to wrap my mind around twitter, I had the same reaction as many--what a trivial waste of time!
It's true that some use twitter to share every and any banal event of their lives. However there is real PLN (Professional-or 'Personal'- Learning Network) potential on Twitter. Many forward-thinking teachers and administrators use Twitter to post links to excellent learning resources.

I highly recommend giving Twitter a shot. Do a twitter search about your subject or curriculum interests and see what comes up. You can then choose to 'Follow' people who 'tweet' useful links. Once you're following a dozen or so people, you have created and are a part of a dynamic PLN.

I can be found @berkshirecat (twitter.com/berkshirecat)

Prepared text of Obama's speech to school students

2009-09-08T08:47:00.000-07:00

"Hello, everyone — how's everybody doing today? I'm here with students at Wakefield High School in Arlington, Virginia. And we've got students tuning in from all across America, kindergarten through 12th grade. I'm glad you all could join us today.

I know that for many of you, today is the first day of school. And for those of you in kindergarten, or starting middle or high school, it's your first day in a new school, so it's understandable if you're a little nervous. I imagine there are some seniors out there who are feeling pretty good right now, with just one more year to go. And no matter what grade you're in, some of you are probably wishing it were still summer, and you could've stayed in bed just a little longer this morning.

I know that feeling. When I was young, my family lived in Indonesia for a few years, and my mother didn't have the money to send me where all the American kids went to school. So she decided to teach me extra lessons herself, Monday through Friday — at 4:30 in the morning.

Now I wasn't too happy about getting up that early. A lot of times, I'd fall asleep right there at the kitchen table. But whenever I'd complain, my mother would just give me one of those looks and say, "This is no picnic for me either, buster."

So I know some of you are still adjusting to being back at school. But I'm here today because I have something important to discuss with you. I'm here because I want to talk with you about your education and what's expected of all of you in this new school year.

Now I've given a lot of speeches about education. And I've talked a lot about responsibility.

I've talked about your teachers' responsibility for inspiring you, and pushing you to learn.

I've talked about your parents' responsibility for making sure you stay on track, and get your homework done, and don't spend every waking hour in front of the TV or with that Xbox.

I've talked a lot about your government's responsibility for setting high standards, supporting teachers and principals, and turning around schools that aren't working where students aren't getting the opportunities they deserve.

But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.

And that's what I want to focus on today: the responsibility each of you has for your education. I want to start with the responsibility you have to yourself.

Every single one of you has something you're good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That's the opportunity an education can provide.

Maybe you could be a good writer — maybe even good enough to write a book or articles in a newspaper — but you might not know it until you write a paper for your English class. Maybe you could be an innovator or an inventor — maybe even good enough to come up with the next iPhone or a new medicine or vaccine — but you might not know it until you do a project for your science class. Maybe you could be a mayor or a senator or a Supreme Court justice, but you might not know that until you join student government or the debate team.

And no matter what you want to do with your life — I guarantee that you'll need an education to do it. You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You're going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can't drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You've got to work for it and train for it and learn for it.

And this isn't just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you're learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.

You'll need the knowledge and problem-solving skills you learn in science and math to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS, and to develop new energy technologies and protect our environment. You'll need the insights and critical thinking skills you gain in history and social studies to fight poverty and homelessness, crime and discrimination, and make our nationmore fair and more free. You'll need the creativity and ingenuity you develop in all your classes to build new companies that will create new jobs and boost our economy.

We need every single one of you to develop your talents, skills and intellect so you can help solve our most difficult problems. If you don't do that — if you quit on school — you're not just quitting on yourself, you're quitting on your country.

Now I know it's not always easy to do well in school. I know a lot of you have challenges in your lives right now that can make it hard to focus on your schoolwork.

I get it. I know what that's like. My father left my family when I was two years old, and I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times to pay the bills and wasn't always able to give us things the other kids had. There were times when I missed having a father in my life. There were times when I was lonely and felt like I didn't fit in.

So I wasn't always as focused as I should have been. I did some things I'm not proud of, and got in more trouble than I should have. And my life could have easily taken a turn for the worse.

But I was fortunate. I got a lot of second chances and had the opportunity to go to college, and law school, and follow my dreams. My wife, our first lady Michelle Obama, has a similar story. Neither of her parents had gone to college, and they didn't have much. But they worked hard, and she worked hard, so that she could go to the best schools in this country.

Some of you might not have those advantages. Maybe you don't have adults in your life who give you the support that you need. Maybe someone in your family has lost their job, and there's not enough money to go around. Maybe you live in a neighborhood where you don't feel safe, or have friends who are pressuring you to do things you know aren't right.

But at the end of the day, the circumstances of yourlife — what you look like, where you come from, how much money you have, what you've got going on at home — that's no excuse for neglecting your homework or having a bad attitude. That's no excuse for talking back to your teacher, or cutting class, or dropping out of school. That's no excuse for not trying.

Where you are right now doesn't have to determine where you'll end up. No one's written your destiny for you. Here in America, you write your own destiny. You make your own future.

That's what young people like you are doing every day, all across America.

Young people like Jazmin Perez, from Roma, Texas. Jazmin didn't speak English when she first started school. Hardly anyone in her hometown went to college, and neither of her parents had gone either. But she worked hard, earned good grades, got a scholarship to Brown University, and is now in graduate school, studying public health, on her way to being Dr. Jazmin Perez.

I'm thinking about Andoni Schultz, from Los Altos, California, who's fought brain cancer since he was three. He's endured all sorts of treatments and surgeries, one of which affected his memory, so it took him much longer — hundreds of extra hours — to do his schoolwork. But he never fell behind, and he's headed to college this fall.

And then there's Shantell Steve, from my hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Even when bouncing from foster home to foster home in the toughest neighborhoods, she managed to get a job at a local health center; start a program to keep young people out of gangs; and she's on track to graduate high school with honors and go on to college.

Jazmin, Andoni and Shantell aren't any different from any of you. They faced challenges in their lives just like you do. But they refused to give up. They chose to take responsibility for their education and set goals for themselves. And I expect all of you to do the same. That's why today, I'm calling on each of you to set your own goals for your education — and to do everything you can to meet them. Your goal can be something as simple as doing all your homework, paying attention in class, or spending time each day reading a book. Maybe you'll decide to get involved in an extracurricular activity, or volunteer in your community. Maybe you'll decide to stand up for kids who are being teased or bullied because of who they are or how they look, because you believe, like I do, that all kids deserve a safe environment to study and learn. Maybe you'll decide to take better care of yourself so you can be more ready to learn. And along those lines, I hope you'll all wash your hands a lot, and stay home from school when you don't feel well, so we can keep people from getting the flu this fall and winter.

Whatever you resolve to do, I want you to commit to it. I want you to really work at it.

I know that sometimes, you get the sense from TV that you can be rich and successful without any hard work — that your ticket to success is through rapping or basketball or being a reality TV star, when chances are, you're not going to be any of those things.

But the truth is, being successful is hard. You won't love every subject you study. You won't click with every teacher. Not every homework assignment will seem completely relevant to your life right this minute. And you won't necessarily succeed at everything the first time you try.

That's OK. Some of the most successful people in the world are the ones who've had the most failures. J.K. Rowling's first Harry Potter book was rejected twelve times before it was finally published. Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team, and he lost hundreds of games and missed thousands of shots during his career. But he once said, "I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."

These people succeeded because they understand that you can't let your failures define you — you have to let them teach you. You have to let them show you what to do differently next time. If you get in trouble, that doesn't mean you're a troublemaker, it means you need to try harder to behave. If you get a bad grade, that doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you need to spend more time studying.

No one's born being good at things, you become good at things through hard work. You're not a varsity athlete the first time you play a new sport. You don't hit every note the first time you sing a song. You've got to practice. It's the same with your schoolwork. You might have to do a math problem a few times before you get it right, or read something a few times before you understand it, or do a few drafts of a paper before it's good enough to hand in.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. Don't be afraid to ask for help when you need it. I do that every day. Asking for help isn't a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength. It shows you have the courage to admit when you don't know something, and to learn something new. So find an adult you trust — a parent, grandparent or teacher; a coach or counselor — and ask them to help you stay on track to meet your goals.

And even when you're struggling, even when you're discouraged, and you feel like other people have given up on you — don't ever give up on yourself. Because when you give up on yourself, you give up on your country.

The story of America isn't about people who quit when things got tough. It's about people who kept going, who tried harder, who loved their country too much to do anything less than their best. It's the story of students who sat where you sit 250 years ago, and went on to wage a revolution and found this nation. Students who sat where you sit 75 years ago who overcame a Depression and won a world war; who fought for civil rights and put a man on the moon. Students who sat where you sit 20 years ago who founded Google, Twitter and Facebook and changed the way we communicate with each other.

So today, I want to ask you, what's your contribution going to be? What problems are you going to solve? What discoveries will you make? What will a president who comes here in twenty or fifty or one hundred years say about what all of you did for this country?

Your families, your teachers, and I are doing everything we can to make sure you have the education you need to answer these questions. I'm working hard to fix up your classrooms and get you the books, equipment and computers you need to learn. But you've got to do your part too. So I expect you to get serious this year. I expect you to put your best effort into everything you do. I expect great things from each of you. So don't let us down — don't let your family or your country or yourself down. Make us all proud. I know you can do it.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America."

If Textbooks Go Digital, Do We Lose Deep Learning?

2009-08-13T07:23:00.000-07:00

It really is a fascinating time to be living and to be an Educator. Why? Because it's all changing. Quickly, too- '21st century skills', 'flat world', 'long tail', digital distribution', 'Google everything', 'wikis', 'mashups', 'twitter', 'learners as content creators', 'digital 'text'books'-these are all 'recent' inductees into the lexicon of Education professionals everywhere. They cause excitement for some, and confusion, frustration or resistance for others. Digesting it all and figuring out how students can benefit from any of it is a huge undertaking.

TOOLS OR GAME CHANGERS?
I will cut to the chase. New digital technologies are both Tools AND Paradigm Busters. If they were just tools, teachers everywhere could simply say, "No thanks, I'm not 'into' technology. I'll keep doing what I've been doing." One argument I have heard is that going digital (think online textbooks) will create shortcuts to reflection, knowledge and understanding. I have deep respect for this concern because they (reflection, knowledge and understanding) are the bedrock to all we do as Educators. But I have to ask: Why would going digital be considered a shortcut to any of these?

Take a moment to think about each of these:

Think about a Textbook.

Think about You Tube.

When you thought about a textbook chances are, you 'saw' a flat, unopened, thick, worn, book sitting on a desk in front of you. Nothing dynamic or interesting about it. There is no chance for interaction with a textbook. When you thought of You Tube, maybe you thought of a specific video you saw recently, or just had a palpable feeling of the potential things you could view there (redeeming or otherwise). At the very least, you realize there would be clicking, searching and viewing going on at You Tube based on your interests and inclinations.
Let me clarify a significant difference between the two: Textbooks are not primary source documents. They are amalgamations of second-hand information produced by "experts" and marketed by profit-oriented companies. You Tube, on the other hand, contains nothing but primary source material whether by kids, adults, teachers, musicians, amateurs or professionals. Which is more authentic? Which do think has more appeal to students aged 10-18?

It seems having interaction with dynamic, multimedia-rich information has the potential to plant the seeds to richer, deeper learning-if the online versions are themselves organized. That's the key. We can't just turn on computers and the internet and say, "OK, kids, have at it! Go learn about cellular biology (or trigonometry or contrapuntal analysis or parts of speech) ". It will take Educators from everywhere to compile and organize the digital resources and produce new kinds of 'textbooks' that include text but also photographs, interactive maps, documents, videos and primary sources of all kinds gathered for each and every topic of each and every Unit taught each year.

REFLECTION, KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING

What is the nature of Reflection?
By nature, reflection is something done 'after' (and sometimes during) exposure to some stimulus (event, book, new information, conversation, etc..). Teachers have forever guided the reflective moments and thoughts of students. Perhaps the new way of doing this starts with this: "Now, please turn off the computer monitor for a moment think about...." I'm not convinced that we will lose the ability to reflect because we read and absorb information from digital sources rather than books.

How do we gain Knowledge?
Typically, if we have learned a thing to the point that it resides in our memories for easy recall and/or the new information has changed us in some way, we believe have gained knowledge. If we (students) experience a concept in diverse ways (say a paragraph of text about the Parthenon, followed by Flickr photos taken by 'amateurs' of it, followed by a digital reproduction of a Parthenon metope). Contrast this with how you would have learned about the Parthenon in a traditional textbook. Have you learned more? Less? It's hard to believe that learning the digital way would yield less knowledge. (Incidentally, what using amateur photos does is store the idea in the mind of a student that Greece is a place she can physically travel to when she has the opportunity. It becomes more 'authentic'. She KNOWS it's still around and is a relic from the past.)

What does it mean to Understand something?
This has always been a perplexing, philosophical question. Does knowing something mean we understand it? Not necessarily. As an example: How can something such as a photon or electron be both a wave and a particle? Quantum physics proves it to be so. But do we understand why? What we do know about understanding comes about by sharing knowledge. Are there digital (online) places where people routinely share knowledge? Yes! they're called social networks and they can't be found in texbooks. Classes are, by design, social networks. By sharing information and knowledge offline and online, better understanding will result. But again, there is no loss of understanding using online networks. It's just a change in venue from the classroom.

THE POTENTIAL FOR DEEP LEARNING IN (OUR) DIGITAL FUTURE
Far from being the beginning of the end of reflection, knowledge and understanding, I believe we are on the brink of an Education Renaissance where deep learning will be routine precisely because of the digital availability of information once all of us realize that the digital tools represent something far greater- a total paradigm shift away from teachers (and textbooks) being the 'sage on the stage', once and for all. Teachers would benefit from understanding that their new role is to find, remix and make available the exact information that they want students to reflect on, to know and to understand.

TEXTING AND TWITTER: THE DARK SIDE

2009-06-24T07:03:00.000-07:00

Here's something I don't read or hear discussed much:

There is fundamental difference between how a 30, 40, 50, 60 year-old professional and a tween or teen might choose to use social networking tools. Same is true for any of the media sharing sites we have at our disposal. A professional person (a postgraduate with a job and real life responsibilities) has a completely different raison d'etre than, well, a child. But both are equally vulnerable to the dark side of tech tools like Twitter and Texting.

TEENS, TEXTING AND SLEEP DEPRIVATION

I bought heavily into the Digital Native/Digital Immigrant argument early on but something isn't feeling right anymore as I see so many (digital) presentations by these so-called natives about how out of touch (we?) immigrants are. Many of these presentations are clearly scripted by adults (are they, then, "neo-natives"?) but they have the students deliver the message. To be clear before I continue: my raison d'etre is to promote what's best about 21st century learning/tools. This should be evident by reading my blog posts and bio. The issue, though, is that too many of us are assuming that since kids use cell phones, other handheld devices and computers regularly (not all do) that they are using these tools in productive useful ways and to learn. They may look sophisticated and "involved" but my own observations and conversations with students confirms to me that there's an awful lot of trivia being exchanged and so much healthy, youthful energy is being wasted.

To wit: A middle school girl was complaining recently about being tired. "Why?", I asked. She responded that "this one" referring to the boy next to her "texted me at 9:30 and I was already asleep". I said, "Was it important? What did he say?". The boy offered that he just wanted to 'bother' her so I asked the girl, "Why don't you turn your phone off when you go to bed?" Response: "I don't know. I don't want to miss something. I keep it on all night"

As usual, then I began thinking. I am concerned. I am concerned because this is an independent, strong, smart and talented young lady. She's the kind of girl who teaches herself to play and sing songs by Colbie Caillat and Sara Bareilles and who plays goalie for an All- Star soccer team. Yet....yet she feels she has to answer a text message by a boy who woke her up just to annoy her. We're not talking about friends here. We're talking about a boy she doesn't really associate with or like. I think that if this happens to strong, talented, independent girls how about those with weaker self-esteems? Are they waiting for every text with bated breath as some sort of personal 'validation' even if it comes from people they don't like or know well. And what does it say about the boy and his apparent lack of boundaries? I'm concerned. I have read about the rising epidemic of teens losing sleep because they sleep with cell phones under their pillows. I now have evidence that this is real and that sleep is being lost for no good reason at all for some young people. That's a pitfall of texting for teens. Speaking as an advocate of technology in all forms, I see no reason that anyone under the age of 18 needs a cell phone, or at least a plan that involves texting. No reason at all. Perhaps that seems like a contradiction but I believe in limits.

TWITTER, ADULTS AND SLEEP DEPRIVATION

If you have a Twitter account, you know that you can follow people who may have some valuable insight into things you are interested in. For me, I follow people who "tweet" interesting messages about education, education technology, internet learning tools, arts and music education. I use twitter more like an action research project where my tweets, in time, become chronological data points that can help map my learning and understanding from day to day. I read articles that others suggest reading. It's highly educational for me. It is a form of professional development.

However, I do witness the potential pitfalls of twitter everyday. Here are two things I have witnessed that concern me:

Some people I used to follow were always online. Seriously. Always. One person I used to follow made 2-3 tweets EVERY HOUR in a 24 hour period. Huh? Really? Is this necessary? Why? He had many followers and tended to send direct messages to me. Not creepy messages. Just chummy, "thanks" kind of messages. I don't know this person in real life but I sensed he felt validated by the "connection" to strangers. Is the tweeting a potential addiction? Does he need help? He definitely needs to sleep. So do others who incessantly use the service. It's a pitfall.

The constant river of information that is Twitter in itself concerns me. It sets up a false sense that one is "missing" something. Go 8 hours without checking your twitter account and, wow, there's some catching up to do! Any sane person, though, realizes, it's impossible to catch it all, to read it all, to synthesize it ALL.

In the end a good life requires balance. Now that we're wired, connected and connected wirelessly all the time, we need to fight for this balance, lest we begin to lose sight of the big picture. It's really what we need to teach our children now: Tech Tools can be used in positive ways to learn, create and express yourself AND Tech Tools can be used in negative ways that waste time, cause sleep deprivation and can potentially damage your health, sense of well being and, consequently, your future success. Let's teach them to unplug and power down once the work is done.

Let's model it, too. It's almost summer. Log off. Get some sleep.

photo by Sifter at Flickr

Teaching Digitally: The Power of PDF

2009-06-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

The Paradigm is shifting. One word encompasses the new global paradigm which affects everything and everyone: DIGITAL.

It's about creating and keeping things in a digital format. It's about sharing information digitally. It's about reading and writing digitally. Creating music digitally. Sending invoices digitally. Keeping medical records digitally. Archiving family photos digitally. And, hopefully,TEACHING digitally (as TeachPaperless and others have been advocating for some time). There are strong environmental reasons to support this since going digital means fewer trees are sacrificed for use as paper which also means fewer chemicals are used to process paper but there are other reasons, too. For some, even those that understand and support 'going digital' it's tough to break from the tactile comfort that 'things' bring. As a bibliophile of sorts I understand this. Books, to me, have an 'aura'. They have a look. They have a feel and yes, even a smell: the sweet, slightly mossy smell of pulp. The cover art also conveys something powerful causing an 'emotional' experience even when a book isn't being read. And one can curl up with a 'good book', a cup of tea (and perhaps a cat or other favorite pet). It's a tactile and somewhat romanticized vision. However, sales of books in digital format (e-books) are on the rise. For one, Amazon's Kindle E-Book Reader makes it easy (and relatively inexpensive) to download and read a book digitally. So, books are not being spared digital treatment.

The reality, though, is that so much information beyond books simply doesn't need to be printed out anymore. All information can be converted to PDF files. Portable Document Files were originally created by Adobe Systems in 1993 and were opened up as an open standard in July 2008. This simply means anyone can view, use and create PDF's now. Think of them as Mp3's for text and images. Mp3's can be played on ANY Mp3 player. PDF's can be viewed on any computer regardless of software, hardware or operating system.

BENEFITS of PDF's FOR TEACHERS
If you are a teacher, anything you 'hand out' to a student can be delivered digitally. (See below for how to distribute your PDF documents). One way to create digital documents is to scan a worksheet or lesson and let the scan software create an automatic PDF file of the document. PDF (Portable Document File) files are powerful for a number of reasons. First, they are relatively small in size so they take up little hard drive space. Example: a 500 page PDF file of jazz standards I own takes up only 18MB of hard drive space. To understand how small this really is nowadays, Google's e-mail program Gmail allows users to e-mail an attachment up to 20 MB. This means, I can e-mail you a 500 page document right now. Not only you but all 12 (or 1000) of you that might happen to read this blog post. Second, PDF files can not be edited by others (well, they can be, but not easily). That's the main idea behind PDF's . What you want people (students, parents, staff) to see is what they see. Think of it as a 'picture' of your document.

VIEWING PDF files
How do you view PDF files? Adobe Reader is probably the most popular way to view PDF files and most computers have it installed but I prefer Foxit Reader. It's free and less bulky than Adobe Reader. I encourage anyone to download and use it instead of Adobe but, in the end, it doesn't really matter which program you use.

HOW TO CREATE A PDF file
If you type up a document, worksheet or handout and want to turn it into a PDF file there are several ways to do this. I will highlight two methods:

1-Get a -Gmail account and begin using Google Docs instead of MS Word or some other 'stand alone' word processing program. Once you create then save a document in Google Docs, you can download it as a PDF file. All of this is done free of charge simply by creating a Gmail account. The benefit is that all of your work lives "online". This is what is referred to as "cloud computing". You can access your documents from anywhere at anytime. It de-emphasizes the power of PLACE (a future blog post). At any rate, the PDF file you create can now be 'delivered' to the audience of your choosing. It can be posted at a website so students can download it or it can be e-mailed directly as well.

2-If you prefer to use the word processing (ie. MS Word) program that resides on your hard drive, you can still create a PDF file for free. The concept to understand at the outset is that you will "print" the document as a PDF. But first, download the free program called PDF CREATOR. Once installed, just choose PDF Creator as your "printer" when you choose to print. Voila! You just created a PDF file which you can distribute to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

When we get right down to it, we buy books for the information contained in the books even if the covers are attractive. At school we don't put fancy covers on our handouts (though we may jazz them up with "fun" fonts and clip art), we simply create them and hand them out because it's about the INFORMATION contained in them. That's what digitization does: it cuts to the chase. It gets to the heart of the matter-the essence, the message, the objective, the point. Welcome to the digital world. What will you digitize today?

It's About Connection

2009-06-08T07:41:00.000-07:00

As a middle school teacher, if I have learned anything about being an effective teacher, I have learned it's all about connection. Not connection with 'the class' because there's no such thing as 'the class'. The connection(s) you must cultivate are those between you and each and every student.

Students will largely forget what you say to them but they will never forget how you made them feel. Connection offers the opportunity for you to build trust in students. Sometimes all it takes is eye contact and a smile. That is connection. In other cases, perhaps you offer feedback quickly or you answer an off-topic question (showing your humanity and interest in the student as well as the subject).

In the digital age, we can add e-mail to the list of ways a teacher can connect with a student. Far from being a "cool" medium (as in 'not personal'), I have found that using e-mail increases the opportunity to connect with students. I'm not talking about casual, social e-mails sent from my personal e-mail account to a student over the weekend. And I'm not talking about contacting students through social networks which I feel is Very Bad Idea. (I have told my current students that they can 'Facebook' me when they are 21 years of age, if they still are interested in a connection). Limitations and restraint are essential in the digital age--that's where media literacy comes in which I believe should be mandatory in school now.

What I AM talking about is using class-related e-mail on closed-system accounts such as can be created using Google Apps. All my students have an account at a domain of my choosing. It's closed to the world but all students in the class have the ability to share information, projects and ideas with me or the whole class with the push of a button. My music classes are project-based by design and the instructions for each project are delivered to all students via e-mail. As all teachers know this is where the need for differentiation begins. Some students will read the instructions, do what they say and bang out a quality project in a few class periods. Others will get stuck on Step 1.

If they are stuck, I encourage students to e-mail me questions. It may seem silly (like students texting to each other when they are 2 feet away) but the use of e-mail provides a one-to-one connection with a student. It also provides documentation (data) for me as to what instructions students are unclear about so I can revise as necessary. As I have learned, too, some students embellish their e-mails with smiley faces, color, funky fonts etc. I've also learned that students are more apt to let me know they "don't get it" because e-mailing me is a 'private' communication. I could ask 'the class' as I stand in front of the room if they understand the instructions at which point we could hear the crickets chirp because no middle-schooler is going to admit that they don't get it publicly. One student I taught recently who struggles in school and is somewhat disengaged, sent me 3-4 e-mails per day until she "understood" what to do with each project. I could see the level of trust and connection build as she would add 'random happiness' to her e-mails (in the way of the aforementioned smiley faces). Most of the time when she needed assistance I read her e-mail and her question, I responded (data, again) then I got up and went to her midi station and assisted her directly-in person.

But the catalyst for this one-on-one assistance was an e-mail. A valid connection. Which matters for students. They yearn for it. Connect any way you can. Make them feel that you care about them not just your subject.

Students Seeking Relevance In Education

2009-06-05T10:05:00.000-07:00

Ben Grey raises one of the most fundamental questions regarding our present situation:

What are we doing for students accomplishing their most amazing feats of education outside the education system?

Information has become decentralized. It is no longer "owned". Here are two examples of how information used to be owned:

1- Major broadcasting companies (and record labels, etc.) used to own information because they controlled what would be watched and listened to because, basically, there were NO options. In the 1970's when I came of age (as did Chris Anderson) the majority of us watched the same TV shows. There was no option for viewing in a format other than TV until VCR's came along. But even then there was a major limitation of freedom of choice. We also all listened to the same music because the music we 'knew' was the music on the radio. There was no choice for listening and the TOP HITS were decided for us.

2- Teachers used to own information (or at least we allowed this perception to linger for way too long) in the sense that they were "trained" and "knew" the content. Then teachers "delivered" the content "to" the student. Students were supposed to be grateful for this altruistic transmission of information. To a large extent, early on, there was some truth to the dichotomy between the 'learn-ed classes' (teachers/scholars) and the 'unlearn-ed masses'. There were few options beyond school besides multi-volume encyclopedias and libraries. But there, too, someone controlled the information. Publishing companies decided what got published. Those were the books that wound up in libraries. Same for encyclopedias. There were few OPTIONS. And teachers were respected for being the "knowers" largely, again, because there was little choice in the matter.

But now! But now we have a zillion options. Not only do we have options for the information and media we want to interact with but we have options for the format we wish to experience the information and media. These options dilute the old notions of Best or Top Ten.

What does 'Best' or 'Top Ten' mean anymore, anyway when there are tens of thousands of well written articles, blog posts, musical works, etc. in every conceivable language? And how can any self and student-respecting teacher claim to 'know everything' or at any rate be the 'only one' who knows. Information is information and it can be gotten from multiple sources and quickly. To be sure the experience can be more dynamic than a static explanation of a thing (as with a great teacher explaining a thing). As an example, why discuss the nuance in Thelonius Monk's playing when one can call up a You Tube video of him playing and let students see for themselves??

Maybe the new buzz words should be Relevance and Authenticity. When it comes to information, what's relevant? And how authentic is the information? In other words, how close to primary sources are we getting so students can experience "the thing itself". Major Broadcasting companies acted as a filter for information. They delivered what they (a group of men?) chose to deliver. And we digested it. Same thing happened in school. Teachers taught from textbooks. This acted as a dual filtering system since many inaccuracies were allowed to fester in textbooks of old and many teachers took the point of view presented in the textbook.

So, back to it. If a student pursues his interest and achieves her best education outside of school- where does that leave Education? Teachers? It all has to do with relevance and authenticity and choice. Education systems must adapt otherwise the tired saying "school s@cks" will be increasingly relevant to the subjective experience of students because, to interpret the saying, it means Education (schooling) is out of touch and irrelevant. Which it is, actually, for many students right now.

original photo by talweblog at flickr

The Changing Nature of Professional Development In Education

2009-05-29T06:15:00.000-07:00

(push play to read w/relevant music or simply read post..)
This blog and it's sister blog has as its focus bringing to light the game changers of 21st century technologies and globalization as related to Education and how teaching and learning gets done in (U.S.) schools. The very first posts were critical commentaries about the perceived fear and obstruction of schools in terms of adopting new and potentially transformative learning tools.

Around this time online resources were being born where like-minded teachers began to mingle online to share ideas, resources and experiences as they, too, struggled to make sense of the paradigm shifts they saw around them and how they could use new tools for better, more relevant learning in their classrooms. Some examples are Social Network sites like Classroom 2.0, The Future of Learning, Fireside Learning. Individuals emerged as leaders in the field: namely Steve Hargadon (founder of Classroom 2.0/Future of Learning), Will Richardson (of Weblogg-ed), Dean Shareski (of Ideas and Thoughts) among others.

Projects and organizations were created to dive deep into the new world of learning through technology. One example is the Flat Classroom Project. The Flat Classroom Project is a 'global Hands-on working together project for middle and senior high school students'. It was founded by Vicki Davis (Westwood Schools, USA) and Julie Lindsay (Qatar Academy, Qatar) in 2006.

At this point (May, 2009) there are literally thousands of outstanding blogs, wikis, videos, social networks, essays and articles all dedicated to the advancement of learning in networked environments. An upstream battle ensues for many brilliant, creative educators as they find resources and websites blocked in their schools. Appeals are being made to unblock the good stuff. But it goes beyond just websites and tools: As TeachPaperless says, "After all, it's not just tools and sites we're trying to get unblocked. It's attitudes and preconceptions that we're trying to unblock."

Which brings me to Professional Development. The traditional brand of professional development was to bring in an 'expert' for in-service days to teach staff about some initiative related to good teaching/learning. The topic was usually backed up by research (ie..Cooperative Learning, Standards-Based Education). The problem with this mass approach was that topics had to be general enough for teachers of all subject areas. How to go about implementing the initiative was up to the teacher which usually meant a low adoption rate. Surveys of teachers about professional development offered by districts paints dismal pictures about the relevance of in-service in schools. But that was yesterday.

The reality we have before us now is the potential 'decentralization' of professional development and the rise in the autonomy of individual Educators. All the blogs, wikis, videos, social networks, essays and articles are available 24/7 for any interested Educator to investigate, study and use. In other words, the opportunity to learn for teachers, as well as students, has exploded online. Professional development, after all, is learning for grown-ups. When that learning is put to strategic use in a classroom by a teacher for the benefit of student learning, professional development has been achieved.

Official recognition of this type of learning is what's needed now. It will require a leap of faith for school districts to 'trust' staff members to independently pursue their own relevant professional development but that's exactly what's necessary now. Imagine a professional development day where the in-service memo indicates that "all teachers will independently find, read, investigate, and synthesize any information they may find relevant to their classroom teaching assignment and share that information on the school professional development network. PDP's will be issued once a reflective essay is published on the school's server indicating the learning you achieved and how you will apply it to classroom teaching."

That would be meaningful Professional Development, 21st century style.

Pedagogy Lessons from a 3 year old

2009-05-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

My son, who is three, has a new hobby of building elaborate "mouse houses" on our (king size) bed with all the pillows and blankets within 20 sq. feet.. These houses appear to serve as cushioned bunkers 'just in case' the Big Mouse should come along and, well, SCARE us. The Mouse House building is important stuff with speciifc technical details that I am not privvy to no matter how hard I try to understand the intricacies of Mouse House building. I am corrected repeatedly about proper Mouse House building. I adjust. I adapt. I follow my son's instructions. I get it right! Or so I think. But the rules keep changing. The carrot gets harder to reach or it disappears completely. The "rules" become more elaborate/elusive.

That's about the time I ask if the Big Mouse is coming. Should we take cover? If I ASK the question, the answer is "No, not yet.". If I declare that, in fact, the Big Mouse is coming right now, "Quick, hide!" then it becomes a reality and my son plays along. We hide in whatever lame, half-conceived Mouse House is available at the moment. Then we share a great moment of suspense and togetherness until the Big Mouse is gone (or tickles our feet or fails to materialize altogether)

As an always-reflecting Educator, I take away these nuggets from these experiences with my son:

1- How often have I as a teacher moved the carrot (or changed the rules, or had vague lessons or no clear assessment/accountability) causing frustration for my students?

2- How often have I allowed the stronger personalities in a class to rule the day despite my best plans for learning?

3- How often have I simply and explicity declared what we're doing and held fast without fail for the benefit of all (becauseI know my intentions are good and the material is rich and worth knowing).

4- Do I stay focused on the Big Mouse? In other words, how meaningful and relevant is all the learning we're doing in the first place? Can it be better? Does it have traction? Will it be remembered and retained?

Have the habits to learn new things been instilled, stimulated and nurtured so that, I, as teacher no longer cease to be required? So that learning resides with the Learner.

Finally, since we know that an emotional experience is more memorable than an "informational" experience, to what extent are feelings of 'intimate anticipation' and 'excitement' palpable in my classroom. Is it still my classroom or is it our classroom where we all construct, deconstruct, start again, change, adapt, pause, reflect, share and start again?

Educational Technology Literacy for Educators: 2 Resources

2009-05-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I wrote about my concerns that teachers have a wide range of knowledge with regard to current technology. I believe if things remain the same, students will, indeed, suffer. It seems time to consider mandating instructional technology skills for all educators at all levels.

The question is where to start doing how to measure to what extent teachers have integrated technology into the curriculum. I have discovered two resources that could be used:

1- The Technology Integration Matrix (TIM) produced by the Florida Center for Instructional Technology. The TIM is a video resource supporting the full integration of technology in schools. It is also a guideline. "The Technology Integration Matrix illustrates how teachers can use technology to enhance learning for K-12 students. The TIM incorporates five interdependent characteristics of meaningful learning environments: active, constructive, goal directed (i.e., reflective), authentic, and collaborative (Jonassen, Howland, Moore, & Marra, 2003). The TIM associates five levels of technology integration (i.e., entry, adoption, adaptation, infusion, and transformation) with each of the five characteristics of meaningful learning environments."

The Technology Integration Matrix can be found here.

2-Tiers of Technology Integration into the Classroom Indicators from the State of Washington. The 2005 Washington State Technology Integration into the Curriculum Working Group defined technology integration, and also developed the Tiers of Technology Integration into the Classroom Indicators with a set of examples for how these might be observed or assessed, for districts to use in assessing and reporting the level of technology integration of its teachers.

Tiers of Technology Integration into the Classroom Indicators can be found here.

Seeking Technology Standards for Teachers

2009-05-26T12:19:00.000-07:00

Just as there is a problematic digital divide among regions of the U.S., where some students have 24/7 access to information while others have no access, there is a problematic division between teacher's understanding of and use of technology for learning. I am talking, here, about situations where technology would actually be significantly more beneficial than traditional means of learning.

It seems we may be approaching a point where technology standards ought to be developed for teachers. Are there districts/administrators/school boards addressing this problem? Are there examples that can be shared here? Please comment.

Setting the Parameters For Student Learning

2009-05-20T09:43:00.001-07:00

Once again a post by Seth Godin has relevance in Education. In this post he talks about working with talent. His recommendation is that you have a strategic mission with regard to the outcomes or risk waste, irrelevance or both.

Which makes me think of two things immediately with regard to classroom instruction:

1-We must set the parameters for student learning.
2-We must set the parameters for student content creation (a valid form of assessment).

SETTING PARAMETERS FOR STUDENT LEARNING

The difference between learning and schooling is very much on my mind these days. One is process oriented the other product oriented. Setting the parameters for learning means we model HOW students ought be engaging in the topic/subject at hand. We need to let them in on what learning would look like. We also need to model how to use the tools that will ultimately yield the information being sought (ie. Search Engine, Wikipedia, Google Docs). We need to create exemplars in advance and share them beforehand. This way, if students only manage to model their answer/project after the exemplar, they have experienced a useful format for future inquiry/learning.

SETTING PARAMETERS FOR STUDENT CONTENT CREATION

The powerful new paradigm in Education involves students as content creators. There are many advantages to this-sense of empowerment, "real life" learning, creative skill building, stimulation of multiple intelligences. Technology provides so many opportunities for students to create and publish their work safely. Personal websites, podcasts, videos, digital design tools/repositories, and cloud computing platforms all hold potential for students and classrooms and I believe we ought to use as many of these ways of representing learning as possible. We do, however, need to model how to use these tools which takes time.

No question about it--learning takes time, if done properly. With technology there might be more time necessary upfront to be sure all students understand how to use the tools. However DEEP learning is possible if we regularly develop strategic lesson plans that involve definitions of how to 'do' the learning and how to represent it.

Leadership and Teaching That Learns

2009-05-14T10:26:00.000-07:00

In his speech to a stadium full of people who waited hours in temperatures hovering around 100 degrees, Mr. Obama said that the nation needs “a fundamental change of perspective and attitude,” one that values substance over appearance, character over celebrity and wise investments over “get rich quick schemes.”

Amen, Mr. Obama. In reflecting about yesterday's post, I keep coming back to the notion that we need to learn to capture learning itself, not just the outcome of learning. By the same token, we need to model our own learning. True or not, the old paradigm in Education is Teacher as "Know-er", student as empty vessel.

Having earned a Bachelor's degree means we now have the right to seek a job, perhaps as a teacher if we also achieved teaching certification. But we're not done learning. Are we? Even after we've achieved a Master's or Advanced degree, do we know all that there is to know?
As long as we plant notions in our student's minds that there will be a point at which they will "arrive", we will fail to teach them anything valuable.

So much better are our students (and us) if we can learn with them. Or have them teach us. Doing so, however, requires a good bit of introspection to "let go and let learn". If we model his we will be fulfilling Obama's challenge: We will be modeling substance, honesty and integrity. We will have that elusive of all traits: Character.

Predictions About Kindle, Learning and the Future of Education

2009-05-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

More than a year ago I predicted the Kindle app for i-phone. I didn't know what apps were at the time but I knew enough that books could most certainly be read on devices other than the Kindle e-book Reader and that many people already owned an i-phone/i-touch.

Now, the Kindle DX is out with implications for the education community. I wrote about this last year as well. My statement at the time was that if Jeff Bezos was looking for a market-the education market could be huge. Simply put, learning new things requires the ability to read. If one can read, one can learn.

Many education bloggers are writing about learning these days. A concern is that we are not teaching students to learn since we're obsessed with outcomes. There's evidence of this everywhere in U.S. Public Education. Another post I wrote last year sought new roles for school districts with an emphasis on learning:

What’s needed are new roles. New positions. I wonder what school district will hire the first Assistant Superintendent of Information Management and (E)Learning.

A recent post by Will Richardson underscored the same point.

The development of more sophisticated devices that bring learning into the palms of our (students) hands is a major disruption. It is no longer a theoretical issue. For example, what will be the response when a parent challenges the school system demanding that his daughter purchase a scientific calculator, a book by Mark Twain or a metronome for music class that can be downloaded for free? New technologies turn 'the way it used to be' upside down.

And 'free' is a powerful argument. Learning is actually free. Stop and think about that next time a school budget is being debated. Let's learn how to measure learning better. Let's value that more.

Apple Apps can provide a gateway to years of reading and learning for anyone who can afford one. Who will be the first to earn a degree from 'Me University'.

Help Obama Make Music A Core Subject

2009-05-06T14:22:00.000-07:00

There's a petition you can sign if you believe the following:

Be it resolved that we, the undersigned, agree that all Americans should work to enhance and support music education in our nation's schools. To that end, we call on the U.S. Department of Education and all American leaders to:

Mandate that music and the other arts be part of every child's core curriculum;

Ensure music and the other arts are included as a part of a balanced education addressing the whole child, to prepare them for the creative thinking necessary for success in the work force of the future;

Ensure qualified music teachers and sequential curricula be recognized as the basis for providing all students with substantive education in music and the other arts;

Ensure programs in music and the other arts provide rigorous instruction, monitor progress and performance through meaningful assessment, and take place within a structure of accountability to school officials, parents, and the community.

Be it therefore resolved that the re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also known as No Child Left Behind, not only identify music as a core subject, but also recognize music education as a mandatory component of every public education curriculum in the United States of America.

So, why are music programs being cut and staying cut??

Sign the petition here:

http://snipurl.com/hi6a2

Do Your Administrators Advocate for Music In Schools?

2009-05-06T14:19:00.000-07:00

The fact of music and art programs being cut from schools flies in the face of the reality of what they bring to the lives of students enrolled in these programs.
I am convinced that school-based administrators and superintendents themselves need to advocate for music and the arts because when music and arts teachers do, school committees believe they are just begging for their jobs.

Here's a principal talking about how her daughter finds great value in her musical studies.

Education, Howard Gardner and Globalization

2009-05-01T04:56:00.000-07:00

For the second time in my teaching career I had the opportunity to hear Howard Gardner speak on issues relevant to Education. The first time was in 1995 when he was explaining Multiple Intelligence Theory-his revolutionary idea that people are smart in multiple ways (at least 8, now maybe 9). MI Theory is now widely accepted and curricula have been devised around it. This time the talk was on Education in An Era of Globalization (at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield, MA as part of the Legacy Bank Education Lecture Series).

Having read several books lately on Globalization (A Whole New Mind, The World is Flat), I was excited to hear what Dr. Gardner had to say on the topic. Turned out that the one hour talk was simply an overview of his book Five Minds for the Future which I also just finished reading. Five Minds for the Future outlines the specific cognitive abilities that will be sought and cultivated by leaders in the years ahead (according to Gardner). In many ways, it is a distillation of points made in Pink and Friedman's books. I had the thought while reading the book and again while listening to Gardner talk that the points he makes also echo-to me- Confucian Ideals (The Analects).

The 5 Minds include:

* The Disciplinary Mind: the mastery of major schools of thought, including science, mathematics, and history, and of
at least one professional craft.

* The Synthesizing Mind: the ability to integrate ideas from different disciplines or spheres into a coherent whole and to
communicate that integration to others.

* The Creating Mind: the capacity to uncover and clarify new problems,
questions and phenomena.

* The Respectful Mind: awareness of and appreciation for differences among
human beings and human groups.

* The Ethical Mind: fulfillment of one's responsibilities as a worker and as a
citizen.

5 Minds Charter School anyone?

Music Education Must Shift, Part 2

2009-03-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

As further clarification and to elaborate on a previous blog post, I offer this post:

Some relevant background information:
1- I've been teaching students (to read) music for 19+ years. It's the primary thing that I do for a living.
2- I do this within the context of a public school system
3- I am aware that, statistically speaking-even in districts where music is strongly supported,
there are still large numbers of the student body who are not involved with music (on the secondary level especially).

EXPAND THE BAND/CHORUS PARADIGM
What I'm specifically addressing is the need for a paradigm shift-away from the Band/Chorus paradigm to a more Universal approach to music learning in secondary schools. Band and Chorus have an important place in school music programs but in the context of a school system -in these times, in particular- enrollment numbers speak to School Boards. Never mind that the Band gets Superior ratings at all festivals. Never mind that the Chorus was nominated for 'Best State Chorus'. It increasingly comes down to numbers for School Boards and Superintendents. It begins to seem elitist when students who don't play a musical instrument, can't carry a tune or read music are excluded from music programs. Where's the equity? How do we justify costs?

Yes, music is a specialized subject. Music teachers are, indeed, specialists. This distinction could be problematic if the specialization was on only one instrument or voice and on only one type of music (western). Music teachers (myself included) need to consider breaking out of our comfort zones. Why? Because of the current financial state of our country and because Globalization is real. All musics in an age of globalization are valid! It used to be (and I'm afraid still is) that music teachers would plan a concert program and leave space for a little "world music" (usually an African-based piece re-written in a Western style by a Western arranger).

So, back to my initial proposition: I believe that right here, right now, music education programs need to teach music differently. First, we need to continue teaching the reading and performing of music to band and choral students. But we must expand the repertoire of these groups to include authentic music of a variety of cultures and countries. Second, we need to teach all non-band/chorus students to experience, analyze and to create music-whether they can read it or not. This can be achieved in a variety of ways...from drumming to the use of software to create loop-based compositions. I believe that music education is becoming closely linked to media education and we must begin teaching both! No matter what pathway students are involved in, they must become music content creators as composers, improvisers, arrangers and performers.

As I have written before and point out here, when music programs achieve high levels of student involvement outside band and chorus, justifying music programs is a much simpler task when budgets dry up. The next blog post will raise the question of whether music teacher ed. students are prepared to embrace this shifting paradigm.

High School Seniors: Answer 50 Questions, Win Money

2009-03-28T13:09:00.000-07:00

Q&A about the WikiAnswers Scholarship

Q:Who is eligible for this scholarship?

A:The following criteria must be met by all applicants:

Applicants must be high school seniors or students enrolled in undergraduate classes in college.
Applicants must be citizens of the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom.
Applicants must have answered a minimum of 50 questions on the WikiAnswers website.
Applicants must be planning to enroll in undergraduate classes in a college located in the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom for the fall term immediately following announcement of winners.

Q:How are applications to be submitted?

A:There are a few ways to submit your application:

Apply online at: www.scholarshipprograms.org
Request an application by email at allisonlee @ bellsouth.net (no spaces).
Request a paper application by mail at 4320 Wade Hampton Boulevard, Suite G, Taylors, SC 29687.
Request a paper application by phone at (864) 268-3363.

Q:What constitutes a complete application packet?

A:A completed application form, including the signed Terms of Agreement, as well as a list of the 50 questions to which you posted your best responses on WikiAnswers.

Q:What is the value of the scholarship award?

A:During the program for academic year 2009-2010 twenty scholarships valued at $1,000 (US dollars) each will be awarded to recipients. Awards will be applied to expenses that relate directly to school expenditures, such as tuition, fees, books, materials, and any other expenses pertaining directly to your degree program. Awards may not be used towards room and board.

Q:What college may I attend?

A:You must attend a regionally accredited, public or private, two-year or four-year undergraduate college or university located in the U.S., Canada or the United Kingdom.

Q:How are winners selected?

A:Scholarship Selection Committee members consider the quality of the answers. Committee members include college presidents, registrars, financial aid officers, enrollment officers, and individuals from the community with a knowledge of and interest in higher education. Any combination of the above may comprise a committee.

Q:What languages are acceptable for submission of materials?

A:All submissions, including answers given on the WikiAnswers website, must be in English.

Q:How will I be notified if I am chosen as a recipient?

A:All applicants will be notified of the decisions of the committee. Letters will be mailed to the student's home address shortly after decisions are made.

Q:When must answers have been submitted to be eligible?

A:Students may include any answers they posted at any time prior to the March 31, 2009 deadline.

Q:Do answers submitted have to be original?

A:Yes. Any copyright infringement/plagiarism will result in withdrawal of the scholarship offer.

Q:Will modifications of answers made by other contributors affect how your submission is judged?

A:No, the Scholarship Selection Committee will not take edits by other contributors into consideration. Only answers to previously unanswered questions posted by the user on the WikiAnswers website will be evaluated. If the applicant did not answer any previously unanswered questions on WikiAnswers they will not be eligible.

This Is Your Brain On Google

2009-03-09T13:34:00.000-07:00

In the book iBrain, Dr. Gary Small, one of America's leading neuroscientists and experts on brain function and behavior, explores how technology's unstoppable march forward has altered the way young minds develop, function, and interpret information. iBrain reveals a new evolution catalyzed by technological advancement and its future implications: Where do you fit in on the evolutionary chain? What are the professional, social, and political impacts of this new brain evolution? How must you adapt and at what price?

While high-tech immersion can accelerate learning and boost creativity, it also has its glitches, among them the meteoric rise in ADD diagnoses, increased social isolation, and Internet addiction. To compete and thrive in the age of brain evolution, and to avoid these potential drawbacks, we must adapt, and iBrain—with its Technology Toolkit—equips all of us with the tools and strategies needed to close the brain gap.

10 Reasons Cell Phones Should Be Allowed In Schools

2009-03-08T11:31:00.000-07:00

text from coolcatteacher

photo by jonjon2k8

They are NEARLY ubiquitous and can alleviate some of the strain and cost of our infrastructure.

2-Cell Phones Can Help Students Be More Organized

Most students WILL NOT carry a paper planner. We need to integrate their cell phones and/or iTouch devices as their planner - giving them homework reminders, letting them poll, podcast, vodcast, blog, and study using these mobile devices. They have them with them ALL of the time which make is perfect for using as a planner. When I took the Franklin Covey planning course, rule number 1 was "Always have your planner with you." Kids can be reminded of things from their Google Calendar, which integrates with the calendar I use for planning.

3-It Makes Kids More Safe

Because of safety issues, I think that eventually someone will have a legal liability because a student was in trouble and WAS NOT able to use their cell phone. I think that schools should all have SMS notification services in the case of emergency and that it is a vital lifeline for safety.

4-It Allows Sensitive Issues to be Kept Private
I have a real problem with kids names being called over the loud speaker for detention or even to come to the office. This is private. I think that a text message from the front office preceding such a thing is a lot more respectful and would probably get them there faster.

5-It Alleviates Strain on the Network.
Cell phones are a separate network and thus do not go over the local wireless. Their effective use can provide an alternative method of accessing the Internet and/or querying short bits of information.

6-It Alleviates Strain in the IT Department
Cell phone troubleshooting is not something that is needed. If a child has problems, let them use a laptop, check out an itouch from the library or use a computer. However, the use of cell phones for small queries and tasks alleviates the use of computers for small tasks.

7-It Speeds Up Information Retrieval
If you do not have to turn on cell phone - there is zero boot time. If you DO have to turn it on, you're looking at 3-4 seconds. Time your laptop's boot time. I have a PC and it takes at least 3 minutes to be functional. I find it is much easier to have my students define words and query google with a text message.

8-It Allows Us to Teach Kids Digital Responsibility and Citizenship
I was at Disney and a child was lost. He knew his phone number but NOT his area code. I found the area code using Google search and we had Mommy there within moments. Kids should KNOW how to retrieve information easily from SMS. Additionally, self control about texting is a PROVEN problem for many kids. Learning the self discipline to use this tool when appropriate is part of life. By allowing them to be present and NOT used - we're letting kids learn the self discipline to focus and use the tool when appropriate.

I believe in allowing distractions in my classroom and coaching the kids to focus. I think this is much better than the "police state" type filtration and technology policies that many schools have.

9-It Sets a Model for Effective Change and Innovation

10-You're fighting a losing battle.

NCTE 2.0: The 'Age of Composition'

2009-03-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

The National Council of Teacher's of English have embraced the notion that writing is different in the 21st century. To the organization's credit, they are making the claim that schools must adapt in turn by developing new modes of writing, designing new curricula to support these models, and creating plans for teaching these curricula.

Going further they have coined the current age as an Age of Composition where writers become composers not through "direct and formal instruction alone (if at all), but rather through what might be called an extracurricular social co-apprenticeship."

Wow. Good stuff. If any doubt remains abou the NCTE's motives, they are immediately put to rest when an exmple of such writing is cited. In the citation a young girl was credited for saving her neighbors life by 'composing' multimedia-rich e-mails to alert neighbors and authorities that some people were stranded in high water as the result of a hurricane.

We may take from this, quite, literally that new modes of writing (reading and learning, by extension) are necessary for our future survival. I, for one think so.

There's also this small organization called the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) that ran a whole issue of Educational Leadership devoted to LITERACY 2.0.

(this article partially adapted from E-School News)

Libraries, Schooling and Education

2009-03-03T04:54:00.000-08:00

The difference between libraries and schools from the perspective of net caster Mac Davis. He echoes John Taylor Gotto in much of what he says. The video is not excellent quality but Mac's points are well worth heeding. Indeed, as this blog continues to point out there are vast differences between schooling and education/learning.

This video causes me to also question the current mania for grouping students socially--because, presumably, students learn better in social groups. That was NEVER the case for me and I'm willing to be bet, not for this student. Take a listen...

Article: Schools Are Hostile To Learning

2009-02-19T12:49:00.000-08:00

In a 2002 report for the Albert Shanker Institute, Richard Elmore, professor of educational leadership at Harvard, argues that school structures make learning for adults unlikely at best and nothing short of impossible at worst. In a recent Educational Leadership article, the author examines Elmore's stance that schools are hostile to learning and how changing times and tools have changed the school landscape.

*** from ASCD SmartBrief ***

Creative Breakthroughs Like Deadlines

2009-02-19T12:09:00.000-08:00

One of the best ways to be truly creative--breakthrough creative--is to be forced to go fast. Really, really, really fast. From the brain's perspective, it makes sense that extreme speed can unlock creativity. When forced to come up with something under extreme time constraints, we're forced to rely on the more intuitive, subconscious parts of our brain. The time pressure can help suppress the logical/rational/critical parts of your brain. It helps you EQ up subconscious creativity (so-called "right brain") and EQ down conscious thought ("left brain").

(One of the best ways to quickly test the dramatic power of shifting from left to right is with Betty Edwards Drawing on the right side of the brain work.)

partial post from Creating Passionate Users

Podcast Lectures Better Than The Real Thing!

2009-02-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

College students who download podcast lectures score better than those who attend lectures in person. . .

NCLB Accountability Illusion

2009-02-19T11:03:00.000-08:00

The Thomas B. Fordham Institute just released a report finding that academic standards vary widely from state to state under the No Child Left Behind Act, creating an “accountability illusion.”

Obama/Duncan Moving Education into 21st Century

2009-02-19T11:00:00.001-08:00

from e-school news:

President Barack Obama and his Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, want to do more than save teachers' jobs or renovate classrooms with the new economic recovery law. They're hoping to reinvent education for the 21st century--while transforming the federal government's role in public education in the process.

Public schools will get an unprecedented amount of money--nearly double the education budget of this past year--from the stimulus bill in the next two years. With those dollars, Obama and Duncan want schools to do better.

From Duncan's perspective, the sheer size of the stimulus bill makes it a once-in-a-lifetime chance to put lasting reforms in place.

"It's also an opportunity to redefine the federal role in education, something we're thinking a whole lot about," Duncan said recently. "How can we move from being [about] compliance with bureaucracy to really the engine of innovation and change?"

The bill includes a $5 billion fund solely for these innovations, an amount that might not seem like much, considering the bill's $787 billion price tag. But it is massive compared with the $16 million in discretionary money that Duncan's predecessors got each year for their own priorities.

"It's unprecedented that a secretary would have this much money and this much latitude," said Charlie Barone, director of federal policy for the group Democrats for Education Reform.

Congress laid out broad guidelines for the fund in the stimulus bill that became law on Feb. 17. But it will be up to Duncan and the team of advisers he is assembling to decide how to dole out the money. They have until Oct. 1, when the next fiscal year begins, to start distributing the dollars.

What would the fund pay for? Rewarding states and school districts that are making big progress--and showcasing these entities and their reforms as models for others to follow.

For example, Tennessee recently overhauled its graduation requirements and academic standards as it works to boost student achievement. As part of that effort, officials want more rigorous state tests; Tennessee has been criticized because students pass state exams with flying colors, yet they do poorly on well-regarded national tests. Better tests cost money.

Or in California, school officials would like to expand the ConnectEd curricula, now in 16 high schools, that links academics to actual work in aerospace, biomedicine, and other careers. The program is aimed at getting students ready for college and keeping them from dropping out.

It doesn't come cheaply; teacher training, equipment, and technical help all are costly.

"We ought to be able to take what's working in the very best schools and make that common practice across all schools," said Ted Mitchell, president of California's state board of education.

To get the money, states will have to show they are making good progress in four areas:

- Boosting teacher effectiveness and getting more good teachers into high-poverty, high-minority schools;

- Setting up data systems to track how much a student has learned from one year to the next;

- Improving academic standards and tests; and

- Supporting struggling schools.

Also, at the urging of Rep. George Miller, D-Calif., chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee, the fund sets aside $650 million for schools or districts in partnership with nonprofit groups. This could include charter schools or other programs with a track record of boosting achievement.

The nation's schools are in trouble, advocates of these reforms say. Three in five kids can't read or do math at their grade level. One in four kids drops out of high school. Internationally, the U.S. is losing ground as other countries surge ahead in math and science.

"There is so much at stake today," Duncan said. "We're going to have significantly more resources than we have ever had. We need to use every penny of that wisely."

Duncan has experience at turning schools around. He spent the past seven years running the Chicago Public Schools, an urban district with high dropout rates and hundreds of low-performing schools. Under Duncan, federal dollars helped create new programs that tie teacher bonuses to student performance, bring professionals from other careers into teaching, and help start more charter schools.

Those are the sort of ideas the Obama administration wants to encourage with the new fund. Duncan views the infusion as crucial, because with huge budget deficits that threaten to slash funding for schools, there may be little left over at the state level for innovation.

The ideas are not new. The No Child Left Behind education law was supposed to address the education crisis by closing the gap between minority and poor children who are driving the low achievement numbers and white students in more affluent schools.

But some ideas have been controversial. For example, teachers' unions have resisted performance pay for teachers--raises based in some measure on student test scores--though some have begun to accept it.

Unions are watching closely to see how the fund is spent. The bill itself gives wide latitude over how the dollars are handed out, and unions want to make sure teachers have a seat at the table.

"We would certainly hope there is some requirement that the state has to collaborate with teachers' organizations in the state in deciding what to do with the money," said Joel Packer, a lobbyist for the National Education Association, the biggest teachers' union.

And Republicans, who like Duncan's ideas for fixing schools, argued against the fund because its main goal is not to create jobs right away. They also criticized the massive infusion the bill makes to No Child Left Behind and special education programs, spending that will be difficult to cut once the economy is back on track.

"I don't like it," said Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., himself a former education secretary.

"Now, most people in education are delighted to get the money," Alexander told university presidents in Washington, D.C., last week. "I think the stimulus package ought to be for programs that create jobs now, that stimulate the housing industry. And then we ought to take up the long-term investments that we make."

Link:

U.S. Department of Education