Meet the Press…America's failing public schools

Today...Arne Duncan, Newt Gingrich and Rev. Al Sharpton shared the stage on Meet the Press. The title of the segment was, “Americas Failing Public Schools.”

Sec. Arne Duncan stated, “ We want to reward those states, those districts, those non-profits that are willing to challenge the status quo and get dramatically better, close the achievement gap and raise the bar for everybody….” He goes on to say that, “Teacher evaluation in this country is basically broken. Great teachers don’t get recognized…” The discussion included Race to the Top, Unions, Testing, etc.

As I was watching/listening, an interesting subject was raised: National Teachers Academy. How many of you have heard of this concept?

A link to the video is located at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/#33948371

Changing the way I think....

I was intrigued by the Privnote website so I decided to send a message to my brother-in-law who is an IT Systems Specialist for a K-12 school district. His response is below:

“No I haven't heard of this site...but I like the concept. As long as my pc or web browser doesn't crash before the message loads on the screen. Also, in my experience, nothing is ever deleted permanently. The art of Computer Forensics has taught me that. We may never be able to see it again, but it may still exist on their internal systems even they will say that it doesn't. They say that they aren't responsible for the views and language contained in the message (I get that), but do they own the content. If a law enforcement agency goes after this content and Privnote is subpoenaed for it, will they just hand it over? What happened to your assumed right of privacy? Their privacy policy in my opinion has holes in it that indemnify themselves in the event that your private message is compromised. But hey, this line of reason belongs in my ethics class and not in a response to my bro-in-law.”

As I have been reviewing the websites, I have been sharing with him to see what his opinion is and we have started having some great discussions on technology in schools.

I did enjoy visiting all the websites this week. In fact, I signed up on a few of the sites. The one problem I have is that I have multiple usernames and passwords and start to lose track.

I liked the idea of the airport sleep pods. As I reflected on what I had viewed, I came to the realization that I have to suspend my initial thoughts (Are you serious…No Way?) and allow myself to view it as a child would. As I looking at the Vincent Callebaut website, my 4 year old daughter was curious (as she usually is when I have the computer on) and said, “Daddy, that looks cool.” And I said, “Yeah it does.” I then realized that I have limited myself by thinking the same way.

NCLB...Did I just say that!

This weekend I am attending the Student Senate for California Community Colleges General Assembly in San Francisco. While my comments are not related to technology, I had to share it with all of you.

During the conference keynote on Friday night the West Sacramento mayor was speaking to students and he was discussing the importance of community colleges and was surprised to hearing the following: NCLB!

Of course, I thought I was cursed or something. To my surprise he framed NCLB in a context that I had never considered. He created a relationship to higher education that I didn’t think was possible.

So I guess I view the concept of NCLB in a different light!

Article about Epsilen

I found this article, "Continuing Education and Social Networking Combine to Attract Students", and it discusses e-learning platforms and social networking. It specifically mentions Epsilen.

If you are interested, you can find at http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Continuing-Education-and/8720/

Learning and Entertainment...What?

As I read the article on simulation and gaming, I started thinking about my own experiences. On facebook, I "play" Farmville and other games. In Farmville, I am a farmer who has to take care of the farm and watch over animals, plant crops, etc. Of course, I do it for fun and don't think much of it. In College I played Doom and spent countless hours trying to get to the next level.

I found it interesting that they modified Doom to use in the classroom. While I thought it was brilliant, I was concerned with the violence of the game.

The following line left me with more questions,"They must be entertained while they learn. If they are not entertained while they learn, then you've lost them". This goes back to the discussion of texting and the use of hand held devices in schools. It is becoming more apparent (to me) that we are losing students. Maybe I never thought of it that way. As I walk into my daughters preschool there is a computer that enables students to draw, create pictures, etc.. I guess you could say this is the most basic form of gaming.

The last line of the article, "Why not make learning in our schools joyful?", left me asking....How? Does the use of technology make it more joyful? What role can we playing creating a renewed atmosphere in schools? I think learning encompasses much more than the student....it includes teachers, admins., parents, etc.

Possibly the concepts shared in the google earth video could be used in classrooms... So that students in Los Angeles could interact with students in New York. I think that might add to students learning and could be entertaining.....

Educause

The annual meeting of Educause is happening this week in Denver. The link below will take you to a short video of educational leaders sharing the top IT trends that they are following and identified a few concerns. You will hear cloud computing, social networking, mobility, security, money, what the users really need, etc.

http://chronicle.com/blogPost/The-Buzz-at-Educause-/8714/?sid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en

It definitely ties into what we have been discussing in class....

India.....

Interesting article in Chronicle of Higher Ed.
http://chronicle.com/article/Indias-Education-Minister/49015/?sid=pm&utm_source=pm&utm_medium=en