A Piece of My Mind

My apologies to Robert Frost. And to be accurate, I actually took two posts marked Unread.

I have had two blog posts saved in my Bloglines account for what seems like eternity. They are too good to mark as read, yet they are blaring at me with each stroll past. I have no idea what to do with them. They make bold statements that educators should hear, yet they can be inflammatory each in its own right without thorough discussion of the context.

So in the spirit of sharing my current thoughts, here are the two things Darren Draper and Sylvia Martinez have published on their blogs that have me pondering:

Darren posts this graphic from Carl Glickman’s Leadership for Learning: How to Help Teachers Succeed-

Sylvia posts this quote from Alan Kay -

“Virtually all learning difficulties that children face are caused
by adults’ inability to set up reasonable environments for them. The
biggest barrier to improving education for children, with or without
computers, is the completely impoverished imaginations of most adults.” - Alan Kay (Scholastic Administrator, April/May 2003)

Both make awesome points and serve to inspire the bendable and tick off the rigid. Which one can you relate to the best?

I realize I have not hashed these two things out very well in this post. My goal was to archive them on my blog so that I would be forced to discuss them with others or at least revisit them together on a regular basis until I get it all organized in my head. If anyone wants to discuss/debate the content and context, comment away. Otherwise, these remain in my head until further notice.

Michael Wesch, creator of the video Visions of Students Today, recently posted on how the digital divide occurs within all cultures. His video had what seemed to be an all-white make-up. While that was not the intent, it was the outcome. Consider his post and the discussion in the comments section. Nobody is pulling the race card here. What they are doing is generating the discussion about access. What are we doing to close the digital divide?

How can we get more technology in the hands of those who cannot afford it? More importantly, consider that the technology use we implement in the classroom may be all some of our students get anywhere. If every educator uses the same amount of technology you do with that student, how well prepared is he/she at the end of the day?

Thank you Michael and Mark for starting the conversation:
Download Video: Posted by markcmarino at TeacherTube.com.

Technorati Tags: scott_s_floyd, wesch, video, digital_divide

While I cannot take notes for sessions as well as Wes, I will still try my best. Ironic his note taking skills are a benchmark and here I am trying to notate his session. This was Wes’s keynote address titled “So the World is Flat. Now What?” Again, all notes/interpretations/reflections/etc are mine:

Wes Fryer Keynote - So the world is flat? Now what?

showed “vision of students” by Wesch @ KSU - audience laughed at 26.5 hours per day of activity (multi-tasking)

played Allentown - No they never taught us what was real (from song): whose responsibility is it to teach them what is real?
Wes is a witness, partial view of incident,
China puts up a new building of 30 or more stories every 6 days.
80% of cranes are in China
(personal note: I am chatting in UStream, Tweeting, and focusing on Wes all at the same time here; gotta love it; I can relate to the 26.5 hour day deal now)
20% of population is from China
Southwest Christian school in Texas is offering Mandarin for a language
Showed Skype pic of conversation with kids from last night
Called out Jakes for Tweeting during presentation, example of multi-tasking
“For those with access, the world is flat” - digital divide is real, and many do not have access
World is Flat book - show of hands
Dan Pink book - show of hands, causes fight or flight amongst people
Read Richard Florida - Creative Class Group
Shared Shanghai trip - K12 Online Conference - 2nd year offered 82 free PD sessions based on tech integration
divers group where common interest is students
superintendents listen to supers, teachers listen to teachers,
showed ClustrMap of K12, cannot see US for all of the red dots; 88,802 visits since 9/16/07
Anyone scared? - wife heard FBI talk to girl scouts about Internet predators - scared, keep eyes open to realities,
“The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” Alan Kay
“Most people try to predict the future by preventing it.” Alan Kay
Change:
focus on creativity - listen to Sir Ken on TEDTalks
my neighbor in session shows concern about assessment of creativity
DaVinci Institute - www.davinciok.org
Wes is worried about creativity in kids, not academics of his kids
AT&T is going through the change - 2 weeks ago AT&T 2.0 - “Connect people with their world everywhere they live and work, and do it better than anyone else” - phone, data services, entertainment,
Miguel & Wes are demoing the unconference - offered to help TCEA start one
30,000 level prescriptions:
time - change the bell schedule - (Note: MS has 80 minute blocks with us)
money - stop paying for seat time
standards - cut back, Robert Garzano “If you take every national standard in Nat. content area and talk them all in the time required, K12 turns into K22.”
recess - do not give it up
assessments - authentic, differentiated, messy (focussed on relationships)
metrics - perfection is not the minimum standard, students are not specifics, wealthy students score well on tests
PD - need more and in whole group settings less, differentiated
leadership - inspired, visionary, change agents, transformational leaders
creativity - 21st century show and tell
open content - open web publishing

differentiated content filtering - shows more trust to teachers than students
learn personal digital tool use: Flickr, Wikipedia, etc.
educators must experience the tool and think about it in their own contexts
NASB - Creating and Connecting Report - we have an opportunity in school to leverage social networking tools in school for learning (Google API recently released) - Look at stats for student usage of Internet tools
Great Book Stories - add to it
Ken Burns’s War - Wes is going to VC live from Pearl Harbor to OK schools to help teach students and document war and interview veterans
Use visual media - mind processes it over 60,000 times faster than text
peer work - easier for students to get involved
minimum expectations for collaboration - one internet based collab project per term per teacher

(Note to self: I did not do this justice since I do not do the Wes Fryer style of notes)

It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy and the expression of knowledge - al einstein

Technorati Tags: Scott_S_Floyd, Wes_Fryer

The following are my few notes from my short meeting with Anita Givens and three other school districts held 11/2007. They are strictly my thoughts/perceptions/views/etc.

tech funding to support LRPT - will be asking for new money every session headed toward 75 to 100 per student

hb 2864 (point person - Richard Lagow) -

• renewal for second year will place priority on first year districts looking at number of students served;
• in other words, if we do 200 this year, we will get first consideration for 200 next year then second consideration with the additional students;
• Anita suggests get in this year, or be prepared to miss out on the money next year due to limitations of renewal money amounts (My note as of 1/10/08 - This grant processing is not going well at TEA due to limited funds and more interest than expected; legislators should fund higher next year)

K12 databases being worked on

sb1788 (point person - Anita Givens) -

• not funded, but what can we do until it is funded;
• creating criteria for dl classes;
• criteria for educators PD and certification;
• look at web-based learning site for progress of this process;
• if student is getting full day’s worth of ADA on a campus, they are going to be eligible to take up to two online course for additional ADA;
• requires teacher to have PD about teaching online before they qualify to teach DL course; taking NCOL to help with standards/criteria for each area (student and faculty);
• these standards must be in place 6 months prior to implementation;
• bill says open program by 08-09, but no funding or time right now to get it all done in time, maybe by mid-year;
• will not lose ADA based on taking online coursework, funding is lost via the network providing the courses;
• districts will have autonomy to create their own VHS networks, rules are permissive to allowing students to take courses from other networks;
• build ADA off kids in private schools and homeschooled;
• “we do not get docked for having a kid fail and repeating a year so why would we get extra money for a kid that succeeded a year early?” (My response was that the doctor does not give me my money back for the visit and/or prescriptions when he does not heal me either.);

Tech Assessment Pilot -

• going out for RFP to figure out costs;
• waiting for this process to take place before proposal hits ISD’s;
• vendor side takin gplace this month, maybe March-May to get it in place;

Notes for after event:

email Richard Lagow about our elementary online coursework

ask about textbook updates for software between adoptions, etc

I would like to thank Mrs. Givens for taking the time our of her schedule to meet with us at that event. It is refreshing to be able to talk to a face instead of a voice mail these days. Her candid answers are exactly what we need to be able to guide us in our planning. Sometimes what is not said is almost as powerful as what is said. Thanks again!

Technorati Tags: scott_s_floyd, tea, edtech

Dan Pink recently posted a short quote from a presidential candidate (from a NY Sun article).

“Education is only a true education if we’re developing both the left and right brain of the student,” Mr. Huckabee told scores of bloggers listening in person and on the phone. “The left brain is great for math and science and all the logical forms of education, but knowing what to do with what a student has learned is as important as what they’ve learned. Music and art, teaching the stimulation of the creative side, is absolutely critical to a total well-rounded education.”

Finally, here is a discussion of substance about education. I was wondering how long we had to go during this election cycle before we heard something more than “We need to fund our education system better” (like we have not heard that before and are still in need of it). While I may or may not agree with everything this candidate is saying during the campaign, he at least is saying the right thing here. And the media needs to listen and promote this. The rest of society needs to understand why their kids “have no common sense” or know the true answer to “What were you thinking?” (when no thinking was really going on during the bad decision). Our students are left with little or no opportunity to explore their creative side once the standardized tests kick in. It’s not fair to them, and it actually takes away a lot of the fun of teaching (remember I went from teaching primary to middle school). So you can imagine how it takes away a lot of the fun of learning.

Then that leads to the entire conversation Dan Pink started with his book A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers will Rule the Future. Even the 2.oh students are talking about it on their blogs. Anthony Chivetta wrote a post about “Teaching the Process of Design” to students. Funny thing is, design is dependent on design:

I would argue that the reason watching student videos can at times be excruciatingly painful is that they lack a cohesive design. Often, they represent a hodgepodge of ideas strewn together with very little thought to creating a unified whole. However, when students begin with picking a thesis, and then work from that thesis, a pattern, a design, begins to emerge. When the question for every single decision is “what supports my thesis?” those awkward transitions, strange cuts, and random transitions begin to make sense.

I have to say I agree here. Much of what is needed to be true designers comes from the ability to organize the design ahead of time. That come in so many fashions from basically every core subject taught in school. Papers make no sense without organization. Math results are wrong with corrupt organization. Science experiments go awry with disjointed organization. History makes no sense with a disorganized presentation of the facts.

Proper design forces abstract thinking. Abstract thinking engages the right brain. Engagement of the right brain generates new ideas, products, manipulation and processing of data, and visions. 

If we just model correct design through curricular creation and delivery, expect the same high levels of design quality from our students through problem based learning, and showcase the products with exemplary design, then maybe, just maybe, others will notice the importance. It may be just a detail in learning. But as they say, the devil is in the details. It separates the winners form the losers. In our students’ futures, it will separate the have’s from the have not’s.

So to go full circle with this somewhat rambling post…..pay attention to the presidential candidates. While we all know Congress holds the real power, we must recognize a true visionary in the White House can lead to a more innovative (some will call it catch-up) vision for education. It is about time.

Technorati Tags: Scott_S_Floyd, politics, president2008

While we focus on design being important in educating our youth (or their learning), I have begun to pay particular attention in how things look around me. I think that giving our students the opportunity to understand and appreciate the elements of design will allow them to create better finished products to display their learning. Photographs will also allow them to generate tons of writing. Have your students share their photos with the rest of the class. Give them time to create a storyline about what is happening in the photo. Then allow the owner of the picture to divulge the truth. Vote to see which storyline is the favorite. You can even create a bulletin board out of this project. The kids will love it!

While I am at the earliest stages of caring what my photographs look like, I am at least trying to get better. Following the tips of others, I think I will show some improvement over the next year. I am getting to the point where I can visualize what I want the photo to look like. Now I just need to get the skills to adjust the camera accordingly. If I start this post as an annual event, it will give me a little inspiration to get better as well.

I had the opportunity to play with several different digital cameras over the past year. I have many favorites of family members, yet they (the family members) remain shy about Internet exposure. Following the lead of educators such as Dean Shareski, David Warlick, Brian Genier, D’Arcy Norman, Ewan McIntosh, and others, I thought I would join the “sharing” group. So with that being said, here are the photos I have chosen. Feel free to give me suggestions to make them better. I generally use an Olympus E-Volt 500 now.

My son anticipating the waves at Gulf Shores, AL, USA:

My son enjoying the rodeo in Gladewater, TX, USA (my personal favorite of the year):

I took this one at a church camp during a men’s retreat outside of Tyler, TX, USA:

This photo was taken while picking strawberries in Hallsville, TX, USA:

Of my nature photos, this is one I really liked because of the different perspective. Taken in my front yard:

Technorati Tags: Scott_S_Floyd, photography

A la Dan Pink and his focus on design, Time magazine recently posted an article about students using design to become famous in the Google world we live in. Jamie Wilkinson, educator at Parsons The New School for Design in New York City, had an idea. He would teach students how to become famous (or at least their sites) on the Internet. What is the point? Why would these kids care?

As Wilkinson sees it, this is the world in which his students will be competing — a world wide web where almost everyone is “trying to become viral, and constantly confronting savvy online audiences that have razor-sharp b___s___ detectors.”

Software is being used to track the popularity of the student sites. They can even check in on the class blog (Warning: mature language possible) for updates. Wilkinson’s curriculum is designed to give students direction on making their blogs famous and staying on top. But is that enough for the students who are graded basically on how software perceives their popularity? Would they turn that knowledge into a unique design to capture the attention of web users everywhere? When the heat is on and the semester winds down, how much of this new content would come in handy? Or would they just embed a sleazy YouTube video to generate traffic from the work of others?

As Wilkinson goes around the class, asking people to show what digital art they’ve made over the last week, it’s clear these tawdry music videos are the hit of the day. One student reveals that his short video has generated 13,000 views in only a few days. “Wow, talk about selling out,” Wilkinson marvels. “I thought you weren’t going to stoop that low…but you can’t deny the numbers. Look at those page views; that’s amazing!”

Hmmmm. Design? I guess some things never change.  How would the results of this class’s choices change the curriculum next year? Seems like it is an interesting social experiment in itself.  I am thinking some deeper ethics guidelines or morality conversations just might be in order for version 2.  But that’s just me I suppose.

Technorati Tags: Scott_S_Floyd, ethics, design

This is a new piece of software out to ease animation. Just a test of it to see what I think.  Wonder if my wife would think it romantic to have this dog sing to her?

Technorati Tags: Scott_S_Floyd, animation

Arthus seems to have joined with a group of other techie teens and decided to step up and step out. Way to go! This group of intrinsically motivated teenage learners from around the globe are set to rock the Edublogosphere. I say, more power to them. I always love to get different perspectives, especially from individuals who are passionate about their learning. And, boy is this group just that. Check out the promo video here. Chek out their new site here.

Folks, if you are not listening to this group now, wait until they are running for office to control your future. You will surely be surprised then. You’re gonna wonder where they came from, but you’re going to be proud they took initiatives like the one they are undertaking now. I know I am.

Rock on guys and gals. I look forward to great things from the “silent majority.”

Thanks to nearly everyone in my feed reader for the links including: Karl, Brian, John, Jen, Darren, and more….. Man, it’s nice to be connected like this.

Technorati Tags: Scott_S_Floyd, students20, learning

CNN/YouTube Republican Debate on November 27, 2007:

In Wednesday’s CNN/YouTube debate, Sen. John McCain let slip a fairly stunning admission. The Arizona Republican assured viewers that he wouldn’t need to lean on his vice president, George W. Bush-style, for national security expertise, but might “rely on a vice president” for help on less important issues such as “information technology, which is the future of this nation’s economy.”

Surely he didn’t say that. Right? I mean, how could he consider information technology “less important” while also saying the “future of this nation’s economy” is built around it? Herein lies our problems.

Legislators and congressmen are really good about trumpeting the importance of technology and its use in the classroom. They seem to realize its importance in the future of our society (as evidenced by the economy statement) and that without question our nation’s teachers and students should be masters of its use. Graduating high school and college students without the prerequisite technology skills is considered a travesty. But then they turn back around and either cut/eliminate spending on edtech or say something stupid like what the presidential hopeful said above. When it comes to technology, presidents and other national leaders have had such classic statements as “the Google” or “the Internets.” There is more than one? Are you kidding me? And we should vote for people like that? What if these same folks said things like “those Irans” or “I will only get consultation on less important things like hunger in America.” Would we accept that from a national leader we have elected to be our representative in the international spotlight?

When you consider we are on the verge of standardized testing for technology proficiency in Texas, surely we need someone who understands that you cannot teach such skills without the equipment. Equipment requires funding. Then again, it really is not about the equipment directly but more indirectly. Still, you cannot do it without the required materials.

You see, the aforementioned candidate does have it right in one way. A priority is information literacy. Our students and staff need to understand the importance of navigating the overwhelming amount of information they are receiving at ever increasing speeds. Students are required to master more and more earlier and earlier. Why they do not have the manipulation of much of that information channeled through technology tools (hardware and software, fixed and mobile, direct source and collaborative, etc.) is a little disheartening. It is cheating them in many aspects because they are going to face it in that manner after the PK-12 days are over whether they are prepared or not.

It is too easy to say the problem with our politicians is caused by a generational gap. That is ludicrous to consider as a valid excuse in today’s times (we don’t accept with our educators). What if we allow politicians to place the same treatment on other issues near and dear to our hearts? Literacy. Health Care. Poverty. AIDS.

So again I must ask, is this the type of comment we want any of our leaders to make?

I am not endorsing any candidate or party within this post. What I am advocating is that we make ourselves more educated on the candidates with the issues important to our classes full of kids, not to mention our personal futures as citizens in this great nation. McCain is expecting his VP to understand such trivial topics like information technology. Isn’t it very likely his VP choice would come from the group of folks standing next to him on the debate stage? Don’t believe that “your” candidate can just have someone really good on staff to take care of what they do not know about. They must truly understand the importance of the issues.

By the way, were you aware that one of the parties nearly did not have a CNN/YouTube debate? Too many of its candidates were scared of what it (the ability for citizens to ask questions via video online) had to offer. Funny how technology can do that to the uninformed. Don’t let our students end up like that. Uninformed in technology = illiterate in technology. Illiterate in technology = “Would you like fries with that?”

Thanks to a Tweet from Carolyn Foote (librarian at Westlake High School in Austin, TX) for bringing the article to my attention.

Technorati Tags: Scott_S_Floyd, politics, president2008, technology_literacy, edtech