In my never ending quest to know everything I can, I was excited when my husband forwarded me this link that he found.  The title of the page is “Directory of Learning Tools“.  The page is hosted by the Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies in the United Kingdom.  There are over 2,000 tools accessible from this page.  I have only explored a few dozen of them, and some of them we learned about last semester, but the vast majority are new to me.  If I could, I would spend days just clicking on each of them.  But alas, I do have to budget my time between all my pursuits.  I hope that each of you get a chance to explore some of the tools on this site and find something that helps make you a stronger technology user, thereby enabling you to pass the technology on to your students.

I ask that if you do find something of use that you post your findings on your blogs so that others can share in your success.

In other link from Stephen Downes’ OLDaily blog, I found this article on what employers want to see in graduates who are entering the work force. These employers are saying that the graduates are not prepared to enter the global work force, and that although they have some skills that are useful, they are not strong skills. It is not so important how students do on tests, but how well they can handle real life applications. The recommendations of the employers surveyed included evaluation of a student’s internship by faculty would be beneficial, an exam to evaluate critical thinking skills, and a multiple choice test of general knowledge.

Employers want well-rounded individuals who have good problem solving skills. They want to see students who can demonstrate that they have learned skills through internships, senior projects, and community-based work (i.e. performance based assessment). It is what we would like to see for our students, implementing learner-based projects, so it seems like educators and business entrepreneurs are on the same wavelength. So here again is a place where technology and digital access ties in. In order to make this learner-based curriculum happen, the four precepts need to be addressed. The technology needs to be available, teachers need to be trained to use it, there needs to be shared access to content, and there needs to be visionaries who make it happen.

I am trying out a new browser called Flock 1.0 with all my school work, and it seems to handle everything just fine. My husband (the brilliant man that he is) discovered it on his journeys around the Net. It is very similar to Firefox, but has a nicer interface. If anyone tries it out, post and let me know how your experience went.

It does use plugins from Firefox, and I have installed ie tab and  pdf download (to view pdf files in the browser).

I like the way the author(s) presented the material in chapter one because it gives readers a good background into our educational system and government programs. The most relevant information to this course is the last part of the chapter in the section “Access and Educational Opportunities.” In this section, there are four precepts:

1. Access to up-to-date hardware, software, and connectivity.
2. Access to culturally relevant content and the opportunity to contribute to that content.
3. Access to educators who know how to use digital technology and resources.
4. Access to systems where leaders have vision and are supportive of change via technology.

In our TappedIn chat from Wednesday night, it seems that many of our schools are still struggling to even meet the first access precept, let alone make progress towards reaching the other three goals. I also heard a lack of confidence in many of the class members in their own technology skills. Not only does it take time to learn new technologies, you also have to know where to look. I consider myself very tech savvy when it comes to hardware and software applications, but I did not know about the extensive use of blogs for finding new information and meaningful discussions on relevant educational issues, gator feeds for ease of access (I had my old, reliable favorites that I navigated to), or other communication sites besides Blackboard (like the TappedIn we use for chats). Even though we have a technology person in the district, they mostly deal with getting teachers hardware support (like document cameras and multimedia projectors). There is little guidance in how to maximize the use of this equipment, and it may be the hope of the technology person that teachers will be the innovative ones, but as many people mentioned the other night, there is just not enough time to do it all. At the beginning of each school year, there are sessions on Microsoft Office products, using email and calendars, and MarcoPolo. It has been the same sessions for the past four years.

In my opinion, there needs to exist a system of connectivity between technological corporations, departments of education at the federal and state levels, universities, and teachers. As I was reading the entries to Stephen Downes’ blog this week, I found an entry from Forbes that has commentary from influential individuals (entrepreneurs, politicians, educators, and a nobel prize winner) on access issues. Of course the first one I read was from Bill Gates. In summary, he says that even though we are educating more people than every in the history of the world, there are still great strides to be made.  One way to help with teacher shortages is to use technology to reach more students.  He also makes the point that it requires the effort of many, governments, business, and educators.  One other opinion that I felt was worth discussing is that of Muhammed Yunus, a Noble Peace Prize recipient.  He points out that we prepare students for future careers, but we don’t challenge them to dream about their future world and what they can do to make it happen.  He proposes that educators help students begin social action forums, where they examine the world around them, seek out problems, and propose solutions.  He is willing to host a web site where these forums can be collected and shared.  There are many other good opinions on this site to read.  I did want to touch on those two.

But how important are the precepts mentioned in the chapter?  Is it absolutely imperative that they are addressed on a grand scale?  It depends on who you ask.  Individuals like Bill Gates and Muhammad Yunus would say it is critical that our society prepare our young people to compete in a global economy.  They are looking at the big picture.  But individuals at the local school level may not feel this way because they know that many students who graduate don’t need any sophisticated skills to do their future jobs.  They just need the basics.  I would say that most of us fall somewhere in between.  We are not in a position of power that can make revolutionary educational trends happen, but we can work hard to make the world around us a better place for our students.  We make do with the resources we have.

I am taking a class under Dr. Barnett, and our first assignment was to locate resources on the Internet that have an impact on technology leadership. I came across the master plan on the KDE web site, and since many of us are completing degrees in Educational Computing Technology, thought it may be of interest.  It shows that we are on the right track.

http://education.ky.gov/KDE/Administrative+Resources/Technology/Master+Plan/

As all of you know, the Commonwealth of Kentucky is looking at educational budget cuts in the P-12 system.  Last night, I found this response from Education Commissioner Draud to Governor Breshear, published on the KDE web site.  The four areas potentially being targeted are Extended School Services, Safe Schools, Textbooks, and Professional Development for Teachers.

http://www.education.ky.gov/KDE/HomePageRepository/News+Room/Current+Press+Releases+and+Advisories/08-003.htm

My school relies heavily on Extended School Services to help with our dropout rate (it went from 6.67% to 2.2%) and has drastically decreased the number of freshman failures.  I am a math teacher, so textbook adoption affects me, but if we had to use the texts another year or so, that would not be detrimental.  I am concerned about the professional development because I think it is how we improve teacher quality.

In Clarence Fisher’s Remote Access reference to a post from Students 2.0, the students of tomorrow will need to be able to solve problems for given tasks, and will need to think creatively in order to do so. It is not the technology that is so important, it is the thinking skills. “The effective students of tomorrow’s world will be independent learners, strong problem solvers and effective designers.” The way to get students to be this kind of learner is through project based learning and experiential learning. This presents a new challenge to teachers, how do you teach what the law requires you to teach, and still find the time to incorporate experiential and project based learning?

Andrew Oliver posts in his commentary: “The irony is that project based education is very much alive (and has been for decades) in the UK kindergarten. However as the student progresses through the school system and beyond into university projects are slowly replaced by the lecture method. We need to start getting students engaged with the subject again. Asking them for their opinions and their views and help them to develop a deeper emotional connection with the subject.” Anthony Chivetta responds: “I wonder how much of that decline is due to the (perceived) increase in need to be able to test students (using traditional methods) on the material they are learning (e.g. SAT/ACT, AP, IB, etc.). One issue that I didn’t touch on in my post is how teachers asses[s] project-based learning. I didn’t touch on it, because I think it misses the point entirely. Those assessments are often based on measures that are worthless for the students of tomorrow. The problem is that we have a circular dependency, standardized tests won’t change without curricular changes, and curriculum can’t deviate away from the tests.”

I think that Mr. Chivetta has hit the nail on the head, so to speak. Teachers, including myself, bow down to the pressures of testing, trying to prepare students for accountability, and little time can be devoted to teaching students the way they should be taught, which is hands-on, inquiry-based learning. It really does need to be a change in curricula to happen first, and it needs to happen at all grade levels. Andrew Oliver makes the point that students in younger grades do learn through activities, but that as they advance through school, learning is shifted to more lecture. So how does one initiate that change?

I recently found out that several departments in our school are being sent this summer to professional development on project-based learning. I hope to get some useful ideas here. My thoughts about my own way of teaching is that maybe I go too in-depth and spend too much time on the factual content, with drill and practice, hoping to prepare students for standardized testing, and not devoting more time on the application of the content.

If students had more input into their own education at my school, I wonder what they would say? Sounds like a good topic for discussion. I will let you know the results.

While browsing through my reader, I came across two related ideas about effectively teaching students that I wanted to share.

http://weblogg-ed.com/2008/quote-o-the-day-4/

I really liked this thought provoking quote from Stephen Downes: “Personal learning becomes possible because everybody – and not just teachers – can teach. Why does this matter? This: we should not be teaching our students using video, we should be teaching our students to use video, not so they can be better students, but so they can be better teachers.”

If only there was a way to revolutionize education so that we could teach our students to teach themselves. I believe technology can provide this opportunity, but only if the teacher can create activities that help students help themselves.  I try to come up with activities that I feel will help my students be better learners, but the time constraints limit the number of activities that I can do.  I have hoped for the past two summers to sit down and revamp my curriculum so that it is more student-centered, but after I finish my Upward Bound teaching, the time flies by and I am teaching again without having done this task.

Has anyone done an activity that you felt like helped your kids teach themselves that you would like to share?  I am looking for ideas to enhance my own teaching (i.e., looking to steal ideas).

Clarence Fisher writes an interesting blog entry at Remote Access about educating students:

http://remoteaccess.typepad.com/remote_access/2008/01/education-shoul.html

He says education should be simple.  We should be catering to kids’ curiosity as a way of teaching them.  Yet the politics of education does not agree with this.  We need to be able to concentrate on the humanness of education and not so much the statistics of education.  His entry and the comments posted afterwards are well worth reading.

There have been many great postings by classmates on this topic, and I have enjoyed reading them. When I was considering what to write about this topic, I first looked at my own definitions for each word. When I think of education, I think of an institution that one has attended (or is attending), and the credentials that a person has earned or will earn (high school diploma, bachelor’s degree, etc).

When I think of technology, I think of tools that can be used to improve the quality of life. The book that I am reading for Dr. Lennex’s class by Timothy Newby, titled Educational Technology for Teaching and Learning, described technology on page 13 as “the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.” I like their definition better.

When I think of culture, I think of a particular social group with a given sets of ideas, values, beliefs, customs, and sense of community.  Culture determines how receptive individuals can be to new ideas, activities, and theories.

So how do the three relate to each other? I believe that for technology and education to be successful, it has to have a fertile culture in which to grow. The people invested in the culture can determine how successful or unsuccessful new ideas are. I base this on my experience of the past week, working with students and preparing them for the ACT in March. Students who have a positive outlook on education and learning appreciate the time taken to prepare them. Students who are hard to motivate and have an obvious disdain for school just randomly guess on diagnostic tests and don’t put forth any real effort.  The learning takes place with students who were fostered in a more positive culture (instilled with valuing education).

I rate education the second strongest influence of the three.  If a good culture exists, and the members of the education community are supportive, then technology can work for the greater good of its members.

For those of you who are new to Dr. Lowell’s class, my name is Pam Callahan and I am a fourth year math teacher at Powell County High School in Stanton, Kentucky (about 45 minutes southeast of Lexington).   This year, I am teaching all Geometry courses (six of them), and am having a blast because it my favorite class to teach.

My family consists of my husband of almost 16 years, Bob, who is very savvy with technology and gives me good resources, two cats of my own and two adoptees from the neighborhood, and a rabbit.  In my spare time, I love to hike and am picking up rock climbing again after a long break.  I also love to cross-stitch and enjoy surfing the net for new information on just about anything.  My favorite TV shows are Medium and CSI.

I am taking this class because I am working on a second master’s (equivalent to a Rank I) in Educational Computing Technology.  I will finish my degree in Summer I.  I learned an incredible amount about educational technology in EDUC 685 with Dr. Lowell (I left my posts up for anyone who is interested), and am excited about this class.  I expect that this class will have many similarities to last semester, frantically learning new things, posting to blogs, good communicating, and a final project that is relevant to what I am teaching (last semester was creating a wiki, which I will continue to update for fellow teachers).