Very interesting...

Southern Vermont is in some educational turmoil right now... principals resigning and not being renewed... strike votes... strikes...

In the stands during indoor soccer games, at school open houses, in the aisles of grocery stores and in similar places, I overhear conversations about how parents need to "take over" schools. I am not really sure what that means, but I am somewhat concerned.

One of the essential "things" one learns in education school is ethics-- I know that you should not make lots of copies of students' tests scores with students' names attached and speculate about the reasons that individual students are performing poorly. I know that each student is deserving of an education, regardless of the actions of the student's parents (indeed, there is a solid line of reasoning supporting the position that at-risk students have a higher threshold for their education to be considered appropriate than students not in at-risk populations). I know also the details of how brains work. I also have years of study focusing on science and math and computers and how professionals in those fields approach problems. The items in this paragraph are the definition of expertise.

Now, I understand the expertise of parents. I have been through the parenting experience (one son a junior in college the other a senior in high school). I know deeply wanting the best education for one's children. I know the what it means to help a child with the struggles of incompetent teachers and unresponsive administrators. I know what a terrific teacher can mean to a child's growth.

I believe parents should play a role in advising teachers and leaders. They should serve on hiring committees and they should have access to teachers and administrators. They should understand, however, that they are not experts. Their perspective on the school and actions within the school are deeply biased by their perceptions. Schools must be responsive to parents as a group, not to individual parents.

eSchoolNews has an article that brings some reason and well-argued points to the question of how involved should parents be in the operation of a school.

21st century education

This was posted to a list that I read on a regular basis... I have to concur with the conclusion of the individual who posted it:

Walter Bender describes in Sugar Digest 2012-03-22

== Sugar Digest ==

1. I spent last week in Miami participating in a "vacation camp" at the Holmes Elementary School [1] in Liberty City [2] for 3rd and 4th graders. The camp was organized by David Jessep and participants include Melissa Henriquez, Reuben Caron, Dan Lee, and Claudia Urrea. The Holmes laptop program, which is sponsored by the Knight Foundation, is challenging in that the school had been under performing by the Florida state metrics, so the typical class day is now quite structured. So there is very little unscheduled classroom time. The vacation camp presented an opportunity for the children to spend some informal time with their laptops and, for the first time, bring them home.

Melissa ran a Scratch workshop while I ran--no surprise--a Turtle Art workshop. In both workshops, the children were given a few warm-up exercises and then set off in small groups to do projects of their own choosing. For the Turtle Art group, I had them do the usual: one child volunteered to be the turtle and the other children instructed it in how to move about the room. Then they explored the turtle, pen, and color palettes. In our second session, I introduced a few new locks, including some of the multimedia and sensor blocks. We then designed an alarm clock of sorts: the children helped each other use the Record activity to take a picture pretending to be sleeping and a second picture, with a started from sleep expression. They taught their turtles to display the "asleep" pictures and then polled the loudness block, waiting for a conditional block to be triggered by a loud sound. At this point, the "startled awake" picture was displayed.

From there, the children went in many different directions, but one theme, dance, spread throughout the group. They began taking pictures of themselves in different dance positions and then using Turtle Art to animate their moves. Some of them incorporated sound and additional turtle graphics. One child, taking his own path, used sensors from the WeDo to control the speed of a motor. All of them wrote about their work in their Journals and used the Portfolio activity to make presentations to their parents at the end of the week. 

Pretty awesome stuff.

----

[1] http://blog.laptop.org/2012/01/27/olpc-and-knight-foundation-launch-digital-literacy-program-in-miami-school/

[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberty_City

See you in Providence...

My new projector arrived yesterday... earlier this week, I finished getting the files I plan to share during my presentations at the annual conference onto the iPad...

Steve (who you will see in the bookstore) and I (for the second year in a row) will be going to a Red Sox game later in April, so the ticket us packed in my bag...

I got my hotel confirmation number in my email account.

I guess that all points to my being ready for the NELMS annual conference. I know that advanced registration has closed, but the NLEMS staff is always ready to accept on-site registrations.

A Cloud Operating System Takes Shape

We hear lot's of chatter about "cloud computing" today, but few educators seem to understand what it means for themselves (and their students) consumers and producers of information. The business world and IT industry are also trying to figure out what the world of cloud computing will loom like.
I thought you might be interested in the following story on TechnologyReview.com:
"A Cloud Operating System Takes Shape"
Cloud storage company Box says it can offer a universal data store to unite data spread across different mobile apps.
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=39983&a=f
To view this story, click the link above or paste it into your browser.

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

keepvid.com

Recently, my students have been working on a research project... basically they are creating a video and that is going to become the focus of a writing project. We have decided that remixing YouTube videos falls within the fair use clauses of copyright laws. We are, however, going to share our remixes only within our classroom to minimize potential conflicts in case we applied a too broad interpretation of fair use.

Anyways...  we are using keepvid which is a site that allows one to enter the URL of a YouTube video and then download it. We are downloading as .mp4 as we are going to put our videos together using iMovie.

YouTube and teaching...

So... I want my students to write. I suppose you do also. I want my students to compose, not copy. I suppose you do also.

If we assume that YouTube is accurate (which it largely is), and we use the videos as sources for writing... then we can minimize students access to text that can be copied and pasted.

Stick with me... students are assigned the task of writing a research paper and they must use YouTube videos as sources.

Just wondering if it would work... I think I will try it!

Profiles of Generation M

I had not watched this for a few months...

Hot technology topics in Vermont

Several topics have been lighting up the list-serv for Vermont educational technologists in recent days... I expect these are a sign of the times:

1) Acceptable use policies-- as technology has become more deeply embedded in curriculum and instruction, the stance that "using technology is a privilege" is increasingly untenable. Sure if a student is misusing technology, then that needs to be addressed and separating the technology and the student may be necessary (just like we would all take a pencil away from a student who was poking others with it). A student who "looses computer privileges" in the 21st century is loosing the opportunity for a free and appropriate education.

Increasingly, school policy is "assumed" relative to technology... school leaders assume that parents agree to allow their children to use the technology resources in the school (just like they assume parents agree to allow their children to use books and paint brushes and similar tools) and that action must be taken for the parents to opt out of that aspect of education for their children.

2) School technology personnel-- school technology personnel tend to fall into several categories- teachers, administrators (especially those who have access to email and other information stored on networks), and support personnel. Their role in the classroom, their status within unions, and their protection from reduction are all issues that must be addressed.

These and other issues are challenging traditional school planning and organization, and these challenges will grow as cloud computing changes needs for technology support and simplify tasks that previously required significant expertise.

Initiative from AT&T

AT&T has committed $250 million to initiatives to improve education through the use of educational technology. The initial application is due in mid-April and then the proposal a few weeks later.

This may be an interesting opportunity for members of the NELMS community...

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2012/03/20/250m-investment-aims-to-boost-graduation-with-ed-tech/?

http://www.att.com/gen/corporate-citizenship?pid=17884

Register now!

Only 2 days left to register for the

NELMS 31st Annual Conference

Rhode Island Convention Center 

Providence, R.I.

April 2 & 3, 2012

Awards recognition will be held during the Sunday reception at 6:00 PM in South County room at the Westin (the reception is April 1 from
5:00–7:00 pm)

Top 15 reasons to attend the
NELMS Annual Conference

1. Increase your knowledge of middle level best practices
2. Take new instructional strategies and best practices to your classroom/school
3. Connect with colleagues who love the middle level
4. Discover new ideas for student motivation and engagement
5. Obtain professional development, continuing education credits and/or graduate credit
6. Shop for bargains at the Providence Place Mall
7. Buy new books for your professional library
8. Find a new restaurant on Federal Hill
9. Find "Found in the Middle"
10. It's fun and energizing
11. Renew and/or reaffirm you knowledge of middle level best practices
12. Recognize and celebrate honored colleagues
13. Attend book signings with a keynote speaker
14. See best practices in action
15. See national middle level experts in one location

Extra Credit
Team bonding opportunity, if you come with a team or your teammates!

Click here for more information and/or to register

Wolfram Demonstrations

Just in case you have not seen this site recently, go back and check this out... also send your science and math and English-teaching colleagues to this site:

http://demonstrations.wolfram.com/

Voices from the past

Check out this interesting collection of predictions about the Internet that were made in the mid-1990's. These seem an interesting collection of still-accurate visions... and an interesting place to begin talking with students about the role of technology in their lives (both their individual lives and their collective lives).

http://www.elon.edu/e-web/predictions/early90s/briefbitingprediction.xhtml

21st century technology

The Pew Internet and American Life Project has been documenting the changes in American life as the digital revolution has progressed. One interesting data set they have available is the change i device ownership. Most interesting to me is the red line... the one that shows decreasing ownership of desktop computers among adults in recent years. Also, the grey line that shows what appears to be exponential growth in the ownership of tablet computers!

The digital landscape is changing, and the essential skills for 21st century learners must be redefined also.

Flip your classroom with this...

Can we really be surprised?

The Pew Center for Internet and American Life has recently released its latest survey of Internet use among young people. It contains evidence that most kids send text messages each day and 25% have a smart phone. The conclusion is that mobile devices are going to play an increasing role in the lives of young people... and this is going to change their brains and their expectation of schools and we are not prepared for it!

eSchnoolNews has a good summary of the report.

TVs and Tablets to Get the "Retina Display" Treatment

Do you have students who don't think science, especially chemistry is important? Have them read this article. Better yet, have science teachers use this as an authentic problem that students can read and study.
These are the kinds of problems and resources that are the foundation of authentic learning environments.

I thought you might be interested in the following story on TechnologyReview.com:
"TVs and Tablets to Get the "Retina Display" Treatment"
Gadget manufacturers are adopting a manufacturing technique that will significantly increase resolution in coming months.
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=39952&a=f
To view this story, click the link above or paste it into your browser.

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

NELMS annual conference

NELMS 31st Annual Conference

Rhode Island Convention Center 

Providence, R.I.

April 2 & 3, 2012

Awards recognition will be held during the Sunday reception at 6:00 PM in South County room at the Westin (the reception is April 1 from 5:00–7:00 pm)

Top 10, well Top 15 reasons to attend the 

NELMS Annual Conference

1. Increase your knowledge of middle level best practices
2. Take new instructional strategies and best practices to your classroom/school
3. Connect with colleagues who love the middle level
4. Discover new ideas for student motivation and engagement
5. Obtain professional development, continuing education credits and/or graduate credit
6. Shop for bargains at the Providence Place Mall
7. Buy new books for your professional library
8. Find a new restaurant on Federal Hill
9. Find "Found in the Middle"
10. It's fun and energizing
11. Renew and/or reaffirm you knowledge of middle level best practices
12. Recognize and celebrate honored colleagues
13. Attend book signings with a keynote speaker
14. See best practices in action
15. See national middle level experts in one location

Extra Credit
Team bonding opportunity, if you come with a team or your teammates!

Click here for more information and/or to register

Teacher turnover...

Interesting article on EdWeek about how teacher turnover is associated with students achievement. Basically, greater teacher turnover is associated with poor student performance.

While this could be the result of greater turnover in schools with poor performance already, the authors suggest the turnover accounts for some of the poor performance.

21st century classrooms...

How do we know what matters when we design classrooms and schools for the 21st century?

ISTE and similar groups have large lists of essential conditions and so forth.... "things" that school and technology leaders can do so that schools are technology-rich places.

Much of the research in the business world that focuses on creating technology-rich workplaces uses a much less complicated model for identifying what matters. The technology acceptance model posits only a few factors are positively associated with the use of technology in a setting:

AT&T Reinvents the Steering Wheel

Haptics is the use of tactile sensations for creating computer input and output. Your wiimote is an expletive as is your iPad touch screen. While those are input devices, this article describes an output device that uses haptics. One must wonder what we will invent for such devices in the classroom.

I thought you might be interested in the following story on TechnologyReview.com:

"AT&T Reinvents the Steering Wheel"
Vibrating wheel tells you to when to turn—and is less distracting than visual and auditory cues, researchers say.

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=39947&a=f

To view this story, click the link above or paste it into your browser.

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

YouTube tool

Few know about the trick used by this web site to point users to the section of a YouTube video that is of interest...

http://youtubetime.com/

Challenges of being in education right now

Times are tough for educators in my region of Vermont... the district to the immediate west of where I work settled a strike early this morning... in our supervisory union, we have four schools... one principal resigned last month, another earlier this month, and a third has been non-renewed with conditions.

As a professional who in in the middle of this situation right now-- and who has experienced similar situations in the past-- I know that such situation can be very difficult for communities. The worst part for me is that parents and teachers are distracted form what could be very productive work. Rather than chatting in the teachers' room with conversation that start with, "hey, have you seen this resource" the conversations start with "so, have you heard the latest?"

I have met only a few professionals who allow the distractions of such events affect their interactions with student, but these are distraction to the community.

Big sigh...

New bullying resource

Very reasonably, bullying has been on educators' agenda in recent years. EdWeek has a special section now that is dedicated to articles they have featured in the last few years dealing with this issue. Not a lot new here, but a good place to go if you are interested in getting research started or pointing individuals to resources.

Review: Bad Apple

Funny that several colleagues and I talked about this very topic at lunch. Apple becoming a consumer product not a producer device-- wonder if they are chasing the money?

I thought you might be interested in the following story on TechnologyReview.com:

"Review: Bad Apple"
As the company caters less to the demands of artists and other creative professionals, the quality of its products is slipping.

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=39925&a=f

To view this story, click the link above or paste it into your browser.

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Teaching is changing...

Many folks (me included) are talking about flipping classrooms-- taking the instruction that we used to do during in-person classes and assigning that for out of class activity. The thinking is that there is excellent instruction available from other places and we can then take time and energy in class to make sense of what was done outside of class. Here is as excellent example of the media that can be used to flip a classroom:

Android Ads Could Attack, Study Warns

Evidence that you are trusting your data to anyone who gains access to your phone and we give others access each time we install a new app!

I thought you might be interested in the following story on TechnologyReview.com:
"Android Ads Could Attack, Study Warns"
Ad libraries, bundled with free apps, could sniff data and even install malicious software.
http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=39935&a=f
To view this story, click the link above or paste it into your browser.

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Reframing Classrooms for Technology

Here is a sneak peek at the outline of my half-day session entitled "Reframing Classrooms for Technology" which will be offered at the upcoming NELMS annual conference.

Convergence in mobile devices

One of the characteristics of modern handheld and tablet computers (think iPhone and iPad as examples) that tends to confuse older users, but that it is valued and expected among younger users is called convergence. Many functions have become built into a single device: your tablet is a radio/ music player, camera, email device, phone (or at least Facetime/ Skype/ SMS device), notebook, camera... and all of these are connected in a manner that is unfamiliar to those of use who grew up (technologically anyways) using desktops in which a single program ran at a time and computer time meant sitting down in a chair and using it in a single place.

Startups Aim to Make Coding Fun

Here is an interesting article which mentions some of the tools I have also mentioned on this blog. It seems programming is a needed skill today and individuals in a range of professional positions need those skills.

I thought you might be interested in the following story on TechnologyReview.com:

"Startups Aim to Make Coding Fun"
The companies use video-game tricks to make people forget that they're learning.

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=39926&a=f

To view this story, click the link above or paste it into your browser.

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

The $8 billion iPod

This is an entertaining 5-minute video...  that will get your students thinking and questioning and using math!

Interesting social media tips

Major League Baseball has a new set of rules for players and coaches who use social media-- FaceBook, Twitter, etc-- and these are part of the collective bargaining agreement.

The collection is a terrific place to begin middle school students thinking and talking about appropriate online life.

http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/03/14/major-league-baseball-releases-its-social-media-policy-and-its-pretty-good/

See you in Providence!

Hey if you need convincing that you should attend the AC in Providence in a few weeks, check out the program book which is now available.

NELMS news

NELMS Annual Membership Drive

Membership drive for the 2011–2012 year is under way. 

Be on the lookout for your 

Annual Membership letter from NELMS

For more information please click here.

NELMS Upcoming Events

NELMS Annual Conference

Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence, R.I.

April 2 & 3, 2012

Early registration extended until March 8, 2012

Click for more information!

NELMS Summer Institute

Sheraton Portsmouth Harborside Hotel 

July 18th–20th, 2012

Click here for more information.

Why not give an educator you know the 

Rick Wormeli DVD collection 

"Differentiated Assessment & Grading"?

If you are interested in ordering the disks and would like more information please click here. If you want to order the dvds from the bookstore click here.

Khan video on iPad

Those of us who are reinventing our classrooms for the 21st century, have yet another tool to help us to flip our classrooms. While Khan Academy has been available on the web for some time, the iPad app was only recently released.

Scientific discoveries

Flip your classroom... send students to watch this video at home, then have a discussion in class about ideas to test:

Keys to online learning

There was an article on eSchooNews yesterday about the keys to online learning... the advise seems safe, and not terribly insightful... but it also seems that educators and leaders who seek to initiate online learning seem to forget these keys:

Content-- Curriculum that has not been stripped of complicating factors is as important to online learning as it is for in-person classrooms. This idea is being packaged in many ways today (project-based learning and contextualized learning are the terms I have encountered the most in recent months).

Teaching-- Just as rich curriculum is key, so is rich instruction. Simple actions like developing prompts that sustain online discussions that give students a compelling reason to return to read the contributions of others later can make a big difference in how students perceive their online courses.

Technology-- This seems obvious, but it is frequently overlooked. Robust and reliable technology is key... can anyone say "cloud computing?"

Operations-- Who is responsible for which parts of the system should be clearly known to all... and this is a decision that must be made before beginning.

Collecting 21st century skills

I am starting see an interesting collection of "21st century skills" that have caught my eye and that are appearing here. Today's list was posted by NELMS friend Chris Toy on FaceBook... here is the link:

http://www.quora.com/What-must-an-educated-person-know

Here is a screen shot of some of the list on the page:

New trends in online learning

Ed Week has an article that suggests in-district online learning is a growing trend. I see this as a positive development. In this blog and other places, I have pointed to reports that online learning many be a lesser experience for students than in-person classes. While there are still many factors that contribute to the quality of an educational experiences and this report cannot be the final word on the issue (not can any other), I must think that efforts to use distance learning technologies to meet the needs of local populations is a better approach than using distance learning to access "cookie-cutter" curriculum that is designed for large and anonymous populations.

[Shared Post] MLTI Leadership Webinar Tuesday March 14, 4 PM - Mass Customized Learning: A Shared and Concrete Vision

Gary Ackerman (gary@hackscience.net) shared a post from Bright Futures MLTI Leadership Webinar Tuesday March 14, 4 PM – Mass Customized Learning: A Shared and Concrete Vision by Chris Toy Tune in for the next MLTI Principals webinar tomorrow afternoon at 4 PM. We'll be joined by Lori Lodge Curriculum Coordinator at RSU57 , Chuck Schwahn co-author of Inevitable, and Steve Garton Coordinator of Educational Technology for MDOE and MLTI. … Continue reading → Read more of this post Chris Toy | March 12, 2012 at 5:12 pm | Tags: mass customized learning | Categories: Curriculum and Instruction, Customized Learning, Food for Thought, Leadership, Professional Development, School Reform | URL: http://wp.me/pVzFP-KU Comment    See all comments Change your email settings at Manage Notifications. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: http://brightfutures4me.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/mlti-leadership-webinar-tuesday-march-14-4-pm-mass-customized-learning-a-shared-and-concrete-vision/ Thanks for flying with WordPress.com

HippoCampus

I had not been on this site for a couple of years, but today I rediscovered this site which links to resources for online teaching... videos, simulations, end other resources are linked from here. Much of the content is available other places as well, but this is a good spot to explore when in search of new web-based resources for flipping your classroom.

http://www.hippocampus.org/

Teacher satisfaction low

Last week, Ed Week included the results of a survey indicating teachers' job satisfaction is lower than it has been in two decades. The author of the survey suggest the declining education budgets is a reason. Certainly in Vermont, I see teachers involved with difficult contract negotiations and even strikes which indicates this is a contributing factor.

I have to wonder however, about the role of NCLB and the constant media coverage of the problems in education on our satisfaction.

21st century vs. 20th century...

As I have been looking over the sessions to be offered at the upcoming annual conference, I see that several appear that they are going to make the point I am going to make in one of my sessions.

For generations, education was based on several assumptions about teaching and learning that no longer appear valid:

None of these appear to be valid in the 21st century.

Thoughts on 21st century skills

As I sit in my classroom that is yet again Internet-less, I am reading! Printed copies of documents that have been on my to read list... Since the last time we lost connection.
One item I am re-reading is Jenkin's report on new literacies. I am struck by the insight he demonstrated in his description of the laissez faire approach to technology. So many educators are not active participants in the technology culture and so they avoid it with students and assume that they will get it.
As I am experiencing right now, educators can no longer be laissez faire-- teachers gotta be aggressive in how they use technology and administrators need to be aggressive in understanding the infrastructure and systems in their schools.

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Apple Hopes to Improve the Picture for the iPad

As the New iPad has been generating buzz, colleagues have been finding me to ask "Did you order yours yet?"

Unfortunately "no" is my response... my younger son is off to college this fall and I have an very active job search underway so I need to get some things resolved before I spend money on new technology.

Interestingly, I also am going to be replacing a laptop soon. It appears as if I am going to be able to go "PC-less" once I enter the computer market. I have been keeping track of computing recently and the only time I use a desktop or laptop is when I have to prepare a document for publication-- get a manuscript ready for the publisher which includes iBook Author.

The software I need for those purposes is on a months-old Mac Mini that is shared within our family-- we used to keep the computer in a public place in our house to be available to help our kids and keep an eye on what they were doing, now it has become a deeply embedded habit to have a computer in the flow of the house.

I thought you might be interested in the following story on TechnologyReview.com:

"Apple Hopes to Improve the Picture for the iPad"
With its new iPad, Apple focuses on a better screen and high-speed connectivity to stay ahead of competitors.

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=39871&a=f

To view this story, click the link above or paste it into your browser.

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

31st Annual Conference

31st Annual Conference

Rhode Island Convention Center 

Providence, R.I.

April 2 & 3, 2012

(plus a free Sunday evening reception 4/1)

Don't wait to register! Only 24 days to go.

The conference features all of the following…

Two General Session Keynotes

Over 90 Workshops and 4 Strands

10 Half Day Ticketed "Hot Topic" Sessions

Teacher to Teacher Discussions

Spotlight School Tuesday

State Receptions

Exhibits

Two Keynote Luncheons

Social Gatherings

Explore more ideas to impact student learning

Advisory/Advocacy

Anti-Bullying

Classroom Management

Curriculum/Common Core

Data Driven Decision Making

Differentiated Instruction

ESL/ELL/ESOL/EFL

Leadership

Literacy

Mathematics/Science

Student Motivation & Engagement

Teaming

Technology

PLC's

and much more…

Click here for more information and/or to register

The New iPad

So, the New iPad was released yesterday... my son, the one who "will buy anything shiny and made by Apple," ordered his. (It took his about and hour to actually get a connection to the store). As I read the news about it, there buzz seems to be that Apple is "going after" the desktop market.

I am thinking that is probably going to be "the next thing." Personally, I use a desktop or laptop only for word processing and much of my composing occurs on my phone and I send bits and pieces of text to my laptop so I can polish on the word processor items that are going to see a printed page (which is only a fraction of what I write!)

How to Educate More Creative Problem-Solvers - Mirian Graddick-Weir - Harvard Business Review

Subject: How to Educate More Creative Problem-Solvers - Mirian Graddick-Weir - Harvard Business Review

To continue my recent comments on 21st century skills, this Harvard Business Review blog addresses the problem that seems to afflict "education for innovation." We see that calls for better STEM education, but in the past that education has focused on memorizing existing knowledge rather than gaining experience questioning and designing methods of answering those questions (which is at the heart of STEM practices).

I have become convinced there is a bottle neck in every community- some one (yes it is always a person) who is limited by his or her past experiences or his or her misunderstanding of innovation and the nature of STEM who prevents all efforts to design innovative (and innovation-encouraging pedagogy). Until those people are removed from the mix, we seem doomed in these efforts.

http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/03/how_to_educate_more_creative_problem.html?awid=6332561756471951798-3271#.T1dQja3e0YY.facebook

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Innovation? let's be careful...

Education Week has released a special report on innovation. On first glance, it appears to be describing (advocating?) for an increased role of business in K-12 education. I fully understand the reasoning that encourages such activities: The free market will introduce competition into the field and thus make it better and cheaper. Unfortunately, the evidence that is true is weak.

Educators should welcome any and every innovation and new idea... we are entering a new world in which education can and must be reinvented and new tools and new practices invented to replace tose that are outdated.

The care must come, however, in assessing those inventions. I propose caution on several fronts:

First, "innovators" may seek to find innovative ways of creating 20th century education.

Second, just because something is supported by a business leader does not mean it is worthy.

Third, it is easy to market junk and to sell superficial improvements.

Forth, just because someone or some organization has money, it does not mean they have a pedagogically sound idea.

NELMS AC Update...

Check out the amazing list of sessions to be offered at the upcoming NLEMS annual conference:

http://www.nelms.org/pages/conferences/annual/register.html

Ticketed “Hot Topic” Session Key:

H1 – Content Literacy Instruction: The Key Comprehension Routine (Elissa Arndt) Date and Time:  Monday, April 2^nd at 10:00 am to 12:45 pm

H2 – Formative, Summative, Math, OH MY!! (Debra A. Scarpelli) Date and Time:  Monday, April 2^nd at 10:00 am to 12:45 pm

H3 – Re-framing Classrooms for Technology (Dr. Gary L. Ackerman) Date and Time:  Monday, April 2^nd at 10:00 am to 12:45 pm

H4 – Bullying & Cyberbullying: Realistic Fiction & Positive Change (Douglas M. Wilhelm) Date and Time:  Monday, April 2^nd at 10:00 am to 12:45 pm

H5 - Teaming – Let’s Kick It Up A Notch (Jill Spencer) Date and Time:  Monday, April 2^nd at 10:00 am to 12:45 pm

H6 – Using Data to Shape Practice and Inform Instruction (Susan E. Dumas) Date and Time:  Monday, April 2^nd at 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm

H7 – Is Your Team A PLC? (Lyn Ward Healy) Date and Time:  Monday, April 2^nd at 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm

H8 – Any Time, Any Place, Anyhow: Bring Your Own Device for Digital Learning (Chris Toy) Date and Time:  Monday, April 2^nd at 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm

H9 – 101 Student Motivation Strategies (Dedra Stafford) Date and Time:  Monday, April 2^nd at 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm

H10 – Collaborating, Co-teaching, Inclusion, Mainstreaming – How do we make it ALL work in middle school? (Laurie H. Wasserman) Date and Time:  Monday, April 2^nd at 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm

H11 – Using Data to Shape Practice and Inform Instruction (Susan E. Dumas) Date and Time:  Tuesday, April 3^rd at 10:00 am to 12:45 pm

H12 – Is Your Team A PLC? (Lyn Ward Healy) Date and Time:  Tuesday, April 3^rd at 10:00 am to 12:45 pm

H13 – Any Time, Any Place, Anyhow: Bring Your Own Device for Digital Learning (Chris Toy) Date and Time:  Tuesday, April 3^rd at 10:00 am to 12:45 pm

H14 – Can’t Bully in Schools (Elizabeth M. Vachon & Tonianne Napolitano) Date and Time:  Tuesday, April 3^rd at 10:00 am to 12:45 pm

H15 – Collaborating, Co-teaching, Inclusion, Mainstreaming – How do we make it ALL work in middle school? (Laurie H. Wasserman) Date and Time:  Tuesday, April 3^rd at 10:00 am to 12:45 pm

H16 – Content Literacy Instruction: The Key Vocabulary Routine (Joan Sedita) Date and Time:  Tuesday, April 3^rd at 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm

H17 – Formative, Summative, Math, OH MY!! (Debra A. Scarpelli) Date and Time:  Tuesday, April 3^rd at 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm

H18 – Re-framing Classrooms for Technology (Dr. Gary L. Ackerman) Date and Time:  Tuesday, April 3^rd at 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm

H19 – Teaching Strategies that Motivate Young Adolescents (Jack Berckemeyer) Date and Time:  Tuesday, April 3^rd at 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm

H20 - Teaming – Let’s Kick It Up A Notch (Jill Spencer) Date and Time:  Tuesday, April 3^rd at 1:30 pm to 4:15 pm

Keynote Luncheon Key:

L1 ~ Classroom Management for the Middle Level Educator – Managing the Madness (Jack Berckemeyer) Date and Time: Monday, April 2^nd at 11:45 am to 1:15 pm

L2 ~ Attitude Adjustment! Does Your School Need One? (Dedra Stafford) Date and Time: Tuesday, April 3^rd at 11:45 am to 1:15 pm

Innovation and 21st century skills

I am still thinking about 21st century skills (see the other recent posts)... it brings to mind another of the images that I will be sharing at the upcoming annual conference...

Asaolu, Olumuyiwa. 2006. “On the Emergence of New Computer Technologies.” Educational Technology & Society 9(1): 335-343.




Given these differences of between the organizations that were common in the 20th century and the organizations that are common in the 21st century, it seems that the education that dominated in the 20th century is no longer going to prepare young people for their future.

Why STEM is not enough

There was an interesting opinion piece on the Washington Post web site yesterday... several scholars arguing that science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education is "not enough."

While I agree with the point-- we cannot focus exclusively on STEM education-- this article does contribute to the "science versus humanities" debate. What matters as we think about helping students develop the "21st century skills"they will need is the creativity and flexible thinking that results in independent thinking no matter the field of inquiry.

The scientist who lacks creativity is doomed to study irrelevant questions and to make little contribution... the scholar in the humanities who does not approach his or her work systematically as the scientists does, is doomed to create little of merit.

Whenever I read such debates, I think of John Ratey's Spark and the observation he made that fit bodies support fit brains, and the seemingly oxymoronic conclusion that test scores can be raised by increasing physical education. 

Live Binders

NELMS friend Jill Spencer updated here FaceBook status recently and she shared Live Binders, a site that she is preparing to show at her presentation at the upcoming annual conference. I had not seen this before... it sure looks interesting and useful

Register for the annual conference, and you can find out how Jill is using this tool!

http://nelms.org/pages/conferences/annual/register.html

21st century skills & wisdom

As we think about the future of education and the skills and knowledge that young people-- no make that all people-- need for their future, I think we need to broaden our definition of what is needed.

Stephen Hall's Wisdom contains some wisdom on what is needed...

Hall, Stephen. 2010. Wisdom: From Philosophy to Neuroscience. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

I reviewed Hall's book for Education Review... my comments seem to be gaining relevance each day:

Hall’s pillars and similar themes from other authors have 

not become obvious in the modern classroom. I write this 

review days after seeing boxes containing the latest 

iteration of our standardized tests arrive in the school 

where I work. Recent faculty meetings have focused on 

strategies for ensuring students perform well, and the days 

of test-administration promise to be stress-filled for all, 

especially for my son who attends the school where I 

work. I expect to see my son’s scores in a few months, but 

I am not sure those tests will measure wisdom. After 

reading Hall’s book, I suspect his pillars of wisdom are 

more predictive of my son’s future success than the scores 

on his upcoming standardized tests. 

Exploring the World, Note by Note

This was on Tech Review Monday morning, and it illustrates many of the interesting (and often unrealized) aspects of technology.

First, it comes about by the convergence of many technologies and tools. Here we have digital networks, social networks, and GPS.

Second, the uses are unknown to the inventors.

I can see this becoming a great middle school "our town" project. Writing for real audiences, understanding local culture and history, documenting change... sign us up!

I thought you might be interested in the following story on TechnologyReview.com:

"Exploring the World, Note by Note"
Pinwheel, a new site created by Flickr co-founder Caterina Fake, lets users post virtual notes anywhere.

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=39841&a=f

To view this story, click the link above or paste it into your browser.

- Dr. Gary Ackerman

Questions about for-profit K-12...

The New York Times has an article pointing out questions about the quality of education at online K-12 schools. Similar questions have been raised about for-profit higher education. I stick by my assessment of online learning-- it works and works well for some who are prepared to take an active role in their won education and who have other places and spaces in which to practice and apply what they learn.

Technologies in our future...

Some interesting ideas for your Friday:

Reading, writing, tweeting?

I just read on eSchoolNews a story about an elementary school in which the students are tweeting-- at the end of the day, along with their teachers they are publishing on social media.

Hmmmm... kind of changes the dynamics of "tell me what you did at school today..."

Am I alone in thinking that there are a large (and increasingly irrelevant) educators who would react to this with some discomfort? Contrary to the common perception, also, those who would react with discomfort are not necessarily the older teachers!

MATH tab-- Chrome App

I have found a new favorite App for Google Chrome... MATH tab is a

development platform for science and engineering simulation apps Translation-- create some variables (input and output and then you can write a program based on that... there is a small collection of apps that you can browse and deconstruct. A few years ago, we spent thousands of dollars to get Mathematica, which we only scratched to surface of using before the license expired. This allows most of the capabilities we got around to using, and it is free! (Except for the email account which is needed to validate the account.)

SOPA revisited...

This winter SOPA and PIPA were defeated, but a Clay Shirky reminds us in this TED Talk (which was given during the debate), the issues behind those laws are neither new, nor forgotten since their defeat.

Conference registration!

31st Annual Conference

Rhode Island Convention Center 

Providence, R.I.

April 2 & 3, 2012

(plus a free Sunday evening reception 4/1)

Early registration extended until 

March 8th

Don't wait to register! Early registration will save you money…

Read on about this year's keynote speakers

Monday, April 2nd

Title: The "Best Stuff" Is In The Middle
Presenter: Dedra Stafford
Just like the Oreo cookie, middle level is where all the magic happens in education. A student's journey is guided and misguided by the impact people have around them. Come in and celebrate with Dedra as she makes you laugh, cry and remember the best kept secret of education, "The Best Stuff" is in the middle!

Tuesday, April 3rd

Title: Middle Level Education–Living It, Loving It, Laughing About It!
Presenter: Jack Berckemeyer
Looking to put a spark back into your teaching? Are you curious about what really makes your students tick? Looking for ways to connect with your students? This laugh out loud keynote provides ideas and strategies in the areas of connecting with your students, being an adult advocate for kids, and new strategies in the area of classroom management. A true crowd pleaser for any type of educator!

Hope to see you there!

Click here for more information and/or to register

Want to Boost Your Students' 8th Grade MCAS Science Scores?

JogNog's American Science Challenge: Fast and Effective MCAS Preparation
Created by Regional Leaders of the Museum of Science National Center for Technological Literacy

• Accurate pre-assessment in 50 minutes
• Real-time Missed Questions report identifies trouble areas
• Pre-assessment teaches as it assesses
• Custom study game redresses trouble areas
• Full middle school science curriculum
• Post-assessment one month before MCAS
• Short cycle to complete preparation

For more information on the American Science Challenge or other JogNog MCAS prep programs:

Kris Carlson, Director of Education Development

kcarlson@jognog.com 978.202.223

2012 Annual Conference

April 2 & 3, 2012

Defense Department Wants More Control over the Internet

Considering the role that the Internet has played in recent global events and the control of people by governments via the Internet, I am not sure this story can be percieved as good news for citizens of this country or any other. Yet again, there is evidence that middle school educators are preparing students for a changing world.

I thought you might be interested in the following story on TechnologyReview.com:

"Defense Department Wants More Control over the Internet"
The U.S. government says it must govern Internet technology more closely to protect against cyberattacks.

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=39816&a=f

To view this story, click the link above or paste it into your browser.

- Dr. Gary Ackerman