Another tragedy

This week we have heard the tragic news of some more student deaths in various parts of our country. Each one of these events is extremely tragic and very traumatic for everybody close to those young people.

I think as parents we will be kidding ourselves if we believe it can’t happen to us. The reality is that we can only do so much for our kids. At some point we have to let them go and they will have to start making the right choices themselves.

The one area I do have concern about in general, is the level of resilience of our young people. I sometimes get the impression that many of them are not great at dealing with setbacks and problematic situations. Maybe this is an area we as parents can help our kids with.

Resilience is being developed by letting our kids deal with issues themselves (within reason of course) and be there as a support person and mentor, rather than always stepping in and dealing with it on there behalf. They can only learn by doing: making mistakes, handling setbacks, sort out conflict, stand up for ourselves, solve problems, etc.

Why is TWITTER so powerful?

There are two types of people in the world. Those who get Twitter and those who don't.

OK, I'm joking, but Twitter does seem to divide people. What can you say that's worthwhile in 140 characters? some people ask. Others claim that much of the Twitterverse is vacuous rubbish that isn't worth reading.

Well, anyone who uses Twitter on a regular basis will tell you that the power of the tool is not so much in its content, but in its ability to connect you to other people. The same applies of course to any other social networking tool, but unlike Facebook for example, Twitter contains very few distractions. It's stripped down and very simple. There are no frivolous food fights, 'poking' or third party games such as Farmville contained within its wrapper. Twitter quite simply connects you with people who are interesting, informative or humorous.

And here's the real power: The more you connect on Twitter, the more connections you get. For me, the value of Twitter is in tapping into its social critical mass. I think that most people who try Twitter and fail to see its value don't give it enough time. If they persisted and put some time into developing their contacts and connections on Twitter, they may discover that it pays them back for the time they have invested. To do this they can use lists, following those who are good value and produce useful content, while at the same time tweeting content that others may find useful.

No, Twitter is not so much about the information and useful links you can gain access to. Twitter is powerful because it allows people to share their emotions - you can gain a window on their everyday experiences, and that often helps you in your own daily struggles. I am often encouraged by people who share snapshots of what is happening in their lives right now. It's an important dimension - I have made many friends on Twitter whom I have later met and strengthened my friendships with. Self disclosure is a risky thing, but others often reciprocate. It can all be summed up by a quote from one of my favourite authors:

"Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one." - C. S. Lewis

http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2010/04/why-twitter-is-so-powerful.html

Twitter ICT Education

Do they know how to be digital learners?

Where digital natives roam, paper and pencil have a place, too

^[1]

Back in September, when Nancy Amling first opened the doors to her new technology-themed high school in Chelsea, parents asked her what supplies they should buy. “I told them, ‘You don’t need supplies! We have laptops,’” Amling said.

Over the next few weeks, she and her staff learned that paper and pens have their place. But aside from the notebooks students carry around, almost nothing is traditional about Amling’s school.

Located in the basement of the Bayard Rustin Education Complex, the Hudson High School of Learning Technologies ^[2] is part of the city’s massive investment in technology and online learning, known as the iZone pilot. The pilot is funded with a combination of Race to the Top money, private donations, and city tax dollars.

Hudson High School is a “blended” school, which means its teachers combine face-to-face instruction with online courses and homework assignments. Each student has a laptop and every teacher has a webpage where they can upload assignments for students to access later.

When I visited last week, students in a math class were progressing through a series of online word problems and drawing out graphs of the problems by hand. In a science class, groups of students were creating PowerPoint presentations about famous bacteria, such as the ones responsible for the bubonic plague, while the teacher floated from group-to-group.

Amling said one of the most surprising discoveries was finding how widely students’ Internet-savviness ranged. Of the 109 students in her freshman class, some showed up knowing how to design a web page, use Google Documents, and send emails with attachments. Others weren’t sure how to save a file to their laptop’s desktop.

“There is that expression: digital natives. But just because somebody knows how to send a text and get an email, doesn’t mean they know how to be digital learners,” Amling said.

Hudson High School is also textbook-less, a fact that has earned it considerable media ^[3] attention ^[4]. Instead of textbooks, students taking an Algebra class are enrolled in an online Algebra course. Through programs offered by Aventa and Compass, two companies that provide much of the city’s current online courseware, students can progress through a series of lessons at their own pace. The programs aren’t perfect, Amling said, and she hopes to eventually have her own teachers write online courses.

“What we find is the digital content is in its early stages right now,” Amling said. “Somebody once gave me the example of when they took radio shows and read them aloud on TV — in some way that’s what digital content looks like right now.”

Students mainly progress through the online courses at home, where the majority of them have Internet access. For the ones that have Internet but no laptops, the school has been able to give them take-home laptops that were donated. Amling said that some students’ parents had cable TV, but no Internet, and she’d been able to convince them to drop HBO in favor of getting their children online.

For all her enthusiasm about her school’s blended learning model, Amling said that if she had more money, she’d hire more teachers.

“Education is a combination of using the technology to support instruction, but it’s in the collaborative relationships where students are learning,” she said. “Because if that’s not where the important piece is, then why even have a school?”

---

Article printed from GothamSchools: http://gothamschools.org

What can we do now?

With all of the limitations, or barriers, to provide the technologies we want it is easy to get frustrated as educators and administrators. But, there are things we can do NOW that can help. For what it’s worth, here’s what I think we need to do now:

#1: Create wireless space throughout our school campus so that students can use their own devices to access the Internet and open the door to digital possibilities. I know what you are thinking, what about requirements on regulating access for students? It can be done with the right policies, and good ole fashion staff responsibility and supervision. Let’s face it, we will never be able to keep up with the latest technology tools, nor will we have to. Why not let students bring their own in and use them to be actively engaged in their own learning, through devices they have on them 24/7? These devices might be smartphones that they are using their own 3/4g networks, or they might be an iTouch, iPad, other tablets, or netbooks that they bring in of their own that have wifi capabilities. The time is coming when everyone will have their own mobile device, so why are we fighting it? The time has come for us to give them the door to the world, allow for flexibility on their ‘transportation’ and then facilitate their voyage. We need to be open-minded and really, truly think through how we can make it happen. On all levels we need to start asking questions: Do we have wireless hotspots? How can we get more? Why can’t we allow students to access and use their phones, iPads, iTouchs, eReaders at school? What kind of policies can we encourage our board members to write to allow more connectivity? What can I do to get the ball rolling?

#2: We need to shift the importance from the tool to the purpose. From specific applications/software to teaching our students how to navigate in many digital applications. I want our students to leave being able to trouble-shoot and problem solve their way through many platforms, tools, and software applications. I also want them to know where to go if they can’t figure it out, to be self-motivated learners that turn to digital resources like youtube, Google, twitter and other digital networks to help themselves. So, yes I want them to be self-motivated to adapt from one application to another and to know when they need to turn to others for assistance. Imagine that, scholarly independence and adaptability. Yes, that is what I want. WE can do this, RIGHT NOW by exposing our students to many different tools, and allowing them to choose the one that best fits the task at hand. Give them the goal (to show evidence of learning) and let them run with it, using their chosen tool and project that can show their learning. We can facilitate student learning, without dictating the exact path.

#3: Provide many different learning opportunities, including access to quality online learning courses. This goes for student and staff learning as well. We need to get away from ’seat time’ and think more about ‘learning time’.

These are just three of the big priorities I see and by achieving these it will open doors for other changes to occur. In order for any of these to happen we need everyone working together: instructional administrators, IT managers, educators, support staff, parents, and students. The learning environment can truly be an open learning environment where we all take responsibility for our progress to reach our potential. Are you willing to work towards it? Are you willing to push towards it? Am I way out there with these? Let me know what you think… and add your priorities here.

See: http://vestaltech.edublogs.org/2011/02/05/the-new-school/

A Vision???

It is widely accepted that for a school to be successful it needs a VISION. I do wonder how many leaders can actually explain what a vision is. How about these as explanations:

- A Vision is a disclosure of an unseen reality

- A Vision connects what can be to to what is

- A Vision is an invisible hand that guides what happens

Visions should always be an:

inscription - written

description - shows the next step

subscription - people have to buy into it

prescription - should be a solution

As leaders we are the keepers of the vision!

(See Jonathan Sprinkles for more on this)

Quality Digital Learning

The NLC report contains a list ofwhat they call 10 elements of High Quality Digital Learning:

• Student eligibility: all students are digital learners
• Student access: all students have access to high quality digital content and online courses
• Personalised learning: all students can customize their education using digital content through an approved provider
• Advancement: students progress based on demonstrated competency
• Content: Digital content, instructional materials, and online and blended learning courses are high quality
• Instruction: digital instruction and teachers are high quality
• Providers: all students have access to multiple high quality providers
• Assessment and accountability: student learning is the metric for evaluating the quality of content and instruction
• Funding: funding creates incentives for performance, options and innovation
• Delivery: infrastructure supports digital learning.

Read more: http://www.edweek.org/media/12-1-10_digital_learning_now_report.pdf

Reflection

Reflection can be a challenging endeavor. It's not something that's fostered in school - typically someone else tells you how you're doing! Principals are often so caught up in the meeting the demands of the day, that they rarely have the luxury to muse on how things went. Self-assessment is clouded by the need to meet competing demands from multiple stakeholders.

In an effort to help schools become more reflective learning environments, Peter Pappas developed this "Taxonomy of Reflection" - modeled on Bloom's approach.

How useful is this model? Please share your thoughts

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

We had the Manawatu Principals' Association One day Conference on Friday. We were joined by colleagues from Wanganui and further afield.

Some of the more interesting things that were said:

John O'Neil:

We need to be careful not to end up with a curriculum for poor kids and a curriculum for rich kids.

Gary Punler:

An efficient school vs an effective school - what is the difference and where do you sit on this?

Iain Lees Galloway:

What will the successor to the Internet be?

Perry Rush:

How do we assess to show learning and understanding outside if the core areas?

What are your thoughts on these ideas?

But are they any good??

Lots of school have started using/experimenting using the Ipad. I am all for embracing new technologies, but it will always be important to make sure that the technology will support learning.

Here is a extract from an opinion piece by an "expert":

The prognosis for iPad's use in the classroom is good, said Sandra Sutton Andrews, research director in the Applied Learning Technologies Institute at Arizona State University. "The concept is perfect for education--a lightweight computer, relatively inexpensive, capable of being used almost anywhere: in your hands, on a table, attached to a wall, built into a tabletop," she said.

Andrews's job involves investigating uses of technology in education--especially emerging technologies. She designs and conducts research, teaches university courses, and works with K-12 teachers to help assess and satisfy technology needs. One of her next anticipated projects is setting up an iPad laboratory for a deeper examination of features and benefits.

"Add to this the fact that creating apps [for iPad] is not difficult, and at that point everything changes in terms of possibilities," she said. "Educators are already finding new uses for the available free or inexpensive commercial apps and are creating new apps that teach, engage, and even collect data. What's more, the educators behind these apps are making their resources available at no cost to other educators."

Positive point:

• Good, some would call it excellent, color reproduction;
• Natural platform for e-textbooks;
• Large, 9.7-inch screen with 1,024 x 768-pixel resolution;
• 3G and WiFi for "always on" Internet access;
• Accessibility (support for closed captioning, voice over screen reader, full-screen zoom magnification, and support for nine languages, for example). (thejournal.com)

What do you think?

Creativity

Most people will agree that Creativity is one of the IN words at the moment and there tend to be consensus that Creativity is very important. Traditionally we tend to think of Creativity as something that normally gets expressed in the creation of something visual - maybe a work of art, new song, new gadget, etc. To look at creativity only from this angle can however be very limiting - especially in an educational setting.

So what does a Creative Classroom look like?

When students are being creative in the classroom they are likely to:

1. question and challenge ( Creative kids are curious and don't necessarily follow the rules)

2. make connections and see relationships (Creative kids think laterally)

3. envision what might be (Creative kids imagine, see possibilities and ask "what if"?)

4. explore ideas and options (Creative kids try alternatives and fresh approaches, keep and open mind)

5. reflect critically on ideas, actions and outcomes (The invite and use feedback and make perceptive observations)

So to find a truly creative classroom we might have to stop looking for good artwork, but instead listen and observe what is happening in the learning discussions.

(Creativity Its place in Education, W Morris)

Its here

We have been able to get 2 iPads and they are just so KEWL. Now the playing will start and we can explore how to use it as part of the technologies in our classrooms.

Once they are available in NZ we will surly get plenty more!

What currency do you deal in?

I've read a very interesting article about the currency exchange in a classroom. Most students offer teachers attention, curiosity and participation in return for their efforts. In exchange for their efforts teachers offer students approval, praise and positive attention. It is important to recognize that the currencies we value might differ from he ones our students value.

There are however currencies that is problematic, e.g. sarcasm. Some students might use it as a way of getting respect from their peers as it shows they are lever and funny. If students feel that teachers don't value or understand their currencies, they often assume that there is no place for them in the classroom.

Teachers often attempt to address classroom problems by attempting to connect with students through their interests or with rewards. Getting to really know 20-30 students in a short period of time and make a personal connection with each one is also seldom possible. A possible alternative would be to work out what currencies they value and plan your strategies around that.

How might this look in practice? If you have a group of students who value the approval of friends more than good scores, trying to get them to place greater value on scores might not be the best strategy. A much better way might be to develop a class culture where students push one another to do their very best - in short: use the currency they value.

(Robyn R Jackson: Start where your students are)

The Future

I have a keen interest in how learning in the future will look and what spaces we need for this learning. Look at this new video from FutureLab titled ‘Make the Future‘, which looks at ideas drawn from research commissioned under the Beyond Current Horizons (BCH) programme. BCH considered futures for education in the light of social and technological change over the next two decades.

The video aims to inspire education leaders to think differently about the future of education and to consider the challenges and possibilities for 21st century schools. It contains a series of challenging statements and questions to provoke thinking and discussion for those involved in working to prepare our schools for the future.

(Thanks to Derek W for the link etc)

Thankful

I was lucky enough to be awarded a sabbatical for this year. I strongly believe that the system of sabbaticals is a very important things to help principals take a break and come back to work refreshed.

At a Principals' Development Group meeting yesterday I met an English "Head Teacher" who is visiting one of our fellow principals. They don't have a sabbatical system in the UK, so after 15 years in the job he decided to resign his job to get the break he so desperately needs. This whole process is costing him a big part of his life saving. This was a good reminder for me to thankful for the opportunity I will have and a large number of my colleagues have had. I am also been lucky to have a very supportive Board who is supporting the "work" part of my sabbatical.

I will be on my sabbatical during Term 3 and plan to do a literature study and visit some experts in Auckland, Victoria (Aus) and the UK. And I plan to spend quite a bit of time on R and R and do some traveling to places I've always wanted to visit (guess where?).

It's Here!

iPad has finally been launched by Apple this morning in San Francisco. This is a great device using the very successful touch technology. Makes surfing the net, watching and viewing all so easy. iPad also has its own version of iWorks - Pages, Keynote and Numbers to produce your own work.

Now the real fun will be to explore all the different ways we can use it to support learning. It can run all the iphone apps for a start, have some great tools of its own and who know what developers will come up with.

Exciting Fun Awesome

No Data Projector?

We regularly have groups of teacher visiting our school to look at ICT, Inquiry, etc. They often seem quite surprised that we have a data projector in every classroom. Personally I see a data projector as a standard piece of equipment in a modern classroom.

Am I living on another planet regarding this issue? How do you see it?

IWB? - Not on my patch!

A local eductech magazine had a special edition the other day focussing on "Interactive" whiteboards. On the cover was a whiteboard and on it was written: "Interesting and fun things to do with your IWB". I took one look at it and though: "Yea, that just about says it all". Fun and Interesting - but what about educational value??

Somehow IWB had developed an aura or being new, innovative, progressive and modern around them. For this reason lots of schools have jumped on the bandwagon and spent astronomical amounts of money on this technology. I want to argue that they are nothing of the sort.

Why don't I support this technology:

It reinforces the dominance of the front of the classroom: After being involved in a number of projects relating to the design of classrooms, creating a flexible space with no dedicated front, (or back, or anything for that matter) has developed as a key factor in supporting the types of learning spaces we want. For that reason our new classrooms don't even have a big fixed whiteboard anywhere. As the teaching/learning changes the classroom layout changes to support the learning. A conscious effort is being made to do away with the "front" of the class as the focus point for learning - we don't even mount out data projectors.

Support outdated pedagogies: The nature of this technology encourages "show and tell". Yes, I know kids can be manipulating it as well, but what are the other 29 kids doing at that time? The nature of this technology creates a situation where the interaction is predominantly at the front of the class and limited to a small number of people.

You teach better sitting next to a child than standing in front of them: A bit of a generalization, I know. And I also acknowledge the fact that PD can make a difference on how this is being used. The question is: In practice, how many teachers use it in the "better" ways? From what I have seen in a number of countries the answer is not many (very few actually). Researchers from Cambridge and Bristol also have serious reservations of the practical educational benefit of this technology.

Creates a greater gulf between teacher and learner: This technologies is firmly under control of the teacher. Most of the time students interact with this technology when invited by the teacher. Is this the type of teaching/learning situation we want in our classrooms?

Cost/benefit ratio: I am fully aware that there are a number of very useful and handy and educational uses for this technology. Like with all technologies, the question of how much "bang for your buck" you will get, has to be asked. From what I've seen in terms of software, we can do the vast majority of the things with KeyNote and a Bamboo pad. I also believe if you give my teachers a choice they will all rather have 5 more MacBooks in their classrooms than an IWB. (not even talking about an iPod Touch for everyone!)

I am fully aware that many people have a different opinion about the value of and IWB - for a variety of reasons. I will be keen to hear from those that have seen the added value these pieces of technology can bring to a classroom.

Getting it right

Like most of us, I am working on getting things sorted for 2010. We will move from 2 to 4 Digitally Enhanced Classes next year. Currently students in the DEC's have 1 MacBook or iMac between every 2 students. We are quite convinced that the iPod Touch has place in the classroom as a device that can easily handle the smaller tasks and contribute to the increased levels of access in classrooms (all of them - DEC and non DEC). Maximizing the use of these smaller devices is something we still have lots to discover about.

The biggest issue we are struggling with is, is what ratio will work best? In a class of 32 - what ration of IMacs, MacBooks and IPod Touches? Anybody have some ideas?

ULearn09

The Staff and I attended ULearn09 in Christchurch last week. We decided to take all the teachers (just about everybody could go) because we have a large number of new staff members this year. Once again it was a well run conference and all of us thoroughly enjoyed it. We will get some feedback from the Staff this week and I am looking forward to that.

On the flight back I was thinking about the conference and conferences in general (while BassHunters was pumping away from my iPhone). I guess it will be fair to say that when you have attended a few conferences it becomes very difficult for people to really "WOW" you. But then I realized that my focus for conferences have changed over time. I am not looking for answers anymore, I am now looking for QUESTIONS to be answered. What is your experience?

I will post more about the conference once I have a moment.

I am on Twitter now - please see the link on the side---->

And some more . . .

The newest tablet story is that Microsoft is also hard at work on their version of a tablet, or tab book / booklet.

Gizmodo. com reports:

Courier is a real device, and we've heard that it's in the "late prototype" stage of development. It's not a tablet, it's a booklet. The dual 7-inch (or so) screens are multitouch, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers. They're connected by a hinge that holds a single iPhone-esque home button. Statuses, like wireless signal and battery life, are displayed along the rim of one of the screens. On the back cover is a camera, and it might charge through an inductive pad, like the Palm Touchstone charging dock for Pre.

Until recently, it was a skunkworks project deep inside Microsoft, only known to the few engineers and executives working on it—Microsoft's brightest, like Entertainment & Devices tech chief and user-experience wizard J. Allard, who's spearheading the project. Currently, Courier appears to be at a stage where Microsoft is developing the user experience and showing design concepts to outside agencies.

Knowing MS's track record on innovation, I'm not holding my breath. I'll wait till February to get my Apple tablet!