New Tools

One of my "new" favorite tools is voki.  I used this tool to create an introduction to databases for students in my library.   "Hey, that looks like you!" Showing up may be half the battle, getting them to pay attention to your content is essential for learning.

I know other people may already use this tool regularly but I found it to be very easy and a real attention getter for my students so I wanted to be sure that other educators reading this blog will be able to integrate it into their content areas.

In case you haven't found their site, 4teachers.org offers free generators for quizzes and rubrics along with a host of other online content.  Did I mention that these tools are free?

Short post, but good things need to be shared!

Technology in Education

Building a network in the cloud sounds like a great idea, less overhead, better structure, easier access, right? The problems lie in making sure that the cloud is accessible for all children, that everyone has access to a device with broadband capability.

Along with access students and their teachers would need training in how to access all the programs needed for learning in their classroom, whether the class is in a physical space or out in the virtual world.

One suggestion I have heard is linking businesses with government programs that provide benefits for children who are living on or below the poverty line.  Putting aside the fact that no one is supposed to know who those children are, there is the real possibility of stigmatizing a child when they show up with a new tech toy from a "sponsor" that their friends know this student couldn't possibly buy. Can't you hear the conversation? Where did you get that? Who did you steal that from?

I've talked a bit about the technology divide that we currently experience in our country.  Tech gear is to our current generation as Calvin Klein jeans were to mine.  The only way to avoid that kind of attention is for schools to provide technology for their students, like businesses provide computers for their workers.  If we need to have "sponsors" they should be providing or underwriting gear for the whole district. 

Businesses should be looking to partner with schools.  This is where their next generation of workers are coming from, don't they want them to be ready to work when they apply? Many point to government saying they should provide for our students.  I don't believe that to be true.  Public education is a shared cost, it's an investment in our future.  Tax-payers, government agencies and businesses should be investing in education technology in equal shares. 

My two cents.
-AMA

Differentiated Instruction

We separate children and group them according to ability all the time.  Children who learn slowly or who need teachers to give them choices are often labeled as Learning Disabled or Emotionally Handicapped and taken to the Special Education Room for intense interventions.  On the other end of the spectrum are the children who learn quickly, they are labeled as bright or gifted and put into Honors Classes or Advanced Placement classes.  Then there are the children that learn neither quickly, nor slowly but just move through the paces.  They are put in the "regular" classes and rarely get opportunities to shine.

Everyone in education knows that children learn in different ways, at different times and need different forms of input in order to truly learn new material.  We know that, but we spend a great deal of time and money trying to fit everyone into one type of learning.  Children are not supposed to be one-size-fits-all and neither should our classrooms. So how do you differentiate?  Do you continue to separate children and stick labels on them?

Children need a blended learning model. No child should have to be separated from their peers because of learning disabilities or because of their ability to complete tasks quickly.  Educators need to move to an inclusive model with handheld devices powered by Classroom Management Systems.  With a well developed CMS one teacher can post lessons that are differentiated for all the children in their class.  Enrichment activities are available for a child who finishes first, but are also available to the child who needs more time.  Children who have trouble with an assignment can send a message to their teacher, who can respond privately to the child. Maintaining teacher and student privacy while giving the extra help needed, on an as needed basis. Teachers can monitor the time on task, create polls to see who understands the materials, adjust lessons for students and create portfolios of student work that show growth over time. 

This model of learning is the future of education. 

There are classes and schools that are doing this now.  Real schools and teachers who are using social networking and classroom management systems to enhance student learning.  In schools using this model, students are engaged and actually enjoy learning.  Say good-bye to apathy, get blended!

-AMA

"Why would anyone need instruction in digital literacy?"

One of my favorite Twitter Pals asked last week, "Why would anyone need instruction in digital literacy?"  Some people might think that Digital Natives, (defined here as anyone under 25) do not need instruction in digital tools or on gathering information when there is clearly so much available to them.  Which probably sounds like a really good idea to those people who think that we no longer need educators either.  While some digital tools are indeed intuitive and there is a vast amount of information available online, children still need someone to teach them application, theory and ethics.

Let's just start with the tools themselves.  In the last five years alone we have gone from desktops to laptops and then handheld devices.  The devices are not only getting smaller, but lighter and more compact.  Also more powerful.  You can now access online tools and games from almost anywhere you can get a signal. Teaching students to integrate new tools into their learning is essential for continued growth and development as learners.  Helping them to apply those tools into learning situations will teach them to be adaptive in real work situations when they graduate.

Since students can receive information anywhere, this means that learning doesn't have to begin and end with a school day.  Most students I know are becoming hybrid learners.  They don't just learn in the classroom, part of their learning is done online.  Secondary schools and Universities are putting their lectures online as podcasts.  Students can watch these podcasts from some of the best teachers in the world about subjects they are interested in, but when it comes time for them to explain what they have heard, most will not be able to.  Why?  Because just hearing and seeing is not enough.  Students need to interract with a teacher in discussions, enforce content of an online lecture through reading and apply new learning to a product so that it can be synthesized into their experience. In theory students can get all the information they need to create something, but without instruction will they?

Finally let's talk ethics.  Children are dying in our country because we underestimated the power of Internet Communications.  Sexting, Social Networking, Cyberbullying...All of these opportunities for students who have not been told that something is wrong to get themselves in deep trouble.  So my question is, "Why wouldn't anyone need instruction in digital literacy?"

-AMA

Why Librarians Don't Want To Be In Charge Of Educational Technology

A friend of mine recently posted a blog entry on why librarians should be in charge of technology in schools. In larger school districts I believe that Doug Johnson is right there needs to be a Chief Information Officer and that should be Librarian, with an Information Technology background. 

Knowing that I've been bitten by the tech-bug you would think that I would agree with his assessment of the situation.  While this may work in big school districts, I don't think it will work out well in the smaller school districts for three reasons. 

#1 In a small school district the librarian's focus should be on 21st Century Skills.

While this includes digitial communication and the ethical use of information resources, a librarian needs to be able to focus on literacy.  Literacy in this case in not just technology lingo.  Literacy can mean the difference between students becoming skilled thinkers or Luddites. 

#2 Technology demands need to be the center of someone's attention in the smaller school district.

If the librarian is attempting to teach, collaborate with other teachers on their curriculum needs or work on a special project with school administration while having to fix or fulfill all the technology needs in a school, their focus cannot be student centered.    Technology is a demanding discipline that requires serious maintenance.

#3 Being a model for 21st Century Skills in a small district requires a certain amount of glamour.

Implementing and developing professional training for colleagues regarding new technology is a big part of being a role model.  Running ethernet cables, setting up equipment, fixing fried motherboards, cleaning spilled coffee out of a keyboard is not glamorous nor does it provide people with a positive view of 21st Century Technology. Not to say that in a pinch, we can't do that.  I have and will continue to pitch in when our tech department needs assistance.   

Though I agree with my friend that this is where our bigger school districts need to go, I think the smaller school districts need to forge working partnerships with their technology oriented cohorts. Modeling student technology needs for the Information Technology department and helping them understand our pedagogical reasons for implementation of technology in education.    

My two cents.
-AMA

Librarians and Cataloging

Today I met with an aspiring school librarian.  We talked about cataloging because that is her next class, and the importance of being able to find information in your library.

Long ago in the dark ages, when I took cataloging, doing it yourself by hand was the only way to make sure that information in your library had a proper location.  Cataloging and classification of materials used to be the center of a librarian's universe.  A librarian would spend hours examining books for subject headings, measuring and precisely recording the size and shape of a book so that other librarians could find and retrieve information for patrons.  Theory and relationships factored into how a book was finally classified. When your librarian had finished with the book it was ready to be shelved, sometimes never to move again during it's entire stay in the library. 

Books and librarians have changed.  While being able to catalog a book properly is still important (thank you to my cataloging teacher) there is nothing more important in your library than the students these materials are intended to help.  Cataloging can still take me away to a quiet place where I achieve a certain Zen Oneness with the library universe, but most of the time, I admit to not having time to catalog.  There I said it, go ahead call me a blasphemer, but I don't believe that using the Library of Congress or OCLC as a source for records is wrong. 

Cataloging as we knew it 20 years ago should not happen in small libraries.  We do not have the resources to spend an hour cataloging 10 books by hand, most of us don't have the resources we had even five years ago.  Clearly there will be exceptions i.e. libraries without Internet access, special books that don't have records in the big libraries, ephemera (still my favorite to classify) and self published items, just to name a few.  If you want to be a cataloger there are libraries out there that are looking for you...

But, if you want to be a library media specialist ask yourself the following questions: What is the real reason you wanted to work in a library?  Did you think it would be a quiet place where you could read and not be disturbed?  Where you would look at books all day long and never be bothered?  Or did you want to help people find information, learn how to distinguish the good stuff from bad?  Do you like helping people? Libraries today are not bastions of silence.  At least not my library and not any of the others that I have visited.  Libraries if done right, are the center of a school or community.  A library is where the heart of learning and culture in your building should exist.  If your library is a quiet place where people are afraid to ask questions, you need to find a real librarian. 

-AMA

How Does Your School Handle Snow Days, Long Term Illness, etc..?

Not long ago, people in the United States were worried about a possible pandemic of Swine Flu.  Children and parents were told to stay home if they exhibited symptoms of influenza.  School Superintendents discussed the possibility of shutting down their schools due to illness if an outbreak occurred.  In the north we've experienced frequent snow days, three so far this January.  So how do you keep children focused on learning with these kinds of disruptions? 

With the advent of electronic information exchange, it's possible for schools to create extended learning networks. Teachers prepare work ahead of time for days when students cannot get to school.  In the Kearsarge School District, students can make up work using their Blizzard Bags.  There are lessons to be done with or without power.  Teachers agree to be available to students through Skype or Moodle on these days and if 90% of students turn in the work within a week, it counts as a school day.  Reducing the number of overall days that students and teachers have to make up at the end of the year.  The Kearsarge area is mountainous and prone to heavy snowfall and response to this program has been very positive. 

That's not to say that this will work with all children.  Some children really need the structure of a school day in order to focus.  Our public school systems were designed to create students who were ready to work in factories during the industrial revolution.  As schools and learning adapt to changing learning patterns and differentiate instruction for all learners it's important to be open to new ideas.  Kearsarge I think you are onto something!

-AMA

Numbers talk...

When people come into your library, what do they see?  Is it a busy place full of students? Are you working with teachers on their lessons? Do they see students approaching you for help? 

Every school library should look like this, and most libraries today do because we live in the information age.  How does that translate into institutional value? Often it doesn't.  Administrators and community members don't understand the value of libraries because they haven't seen what you do, don't have time for a visit and are worried about things like test scores.  If you want your program to be seen as valuable you have to talk the same language as your administrators and community members.  Words like circulation, Ethernet cable, T1, LCD, database usage, check-outs, cataloging and OPAC mean nothing to people outside the library.  So how do you communicate if you're not speaking the same language?

In most civilizations (or tribes if you will) the first communication between two groups is a trade or barter and to do this effectively, you provide an equal number of goods.  Once numeracy rates are settled upon you know what you have to bring to the table in order to get an equitable trade. 

Your first meeting with the head of your school is a similar dance. You find out what they know about what you do and what this administrator perceives as added value.  Administrators are generally not given tours of libraries during their training. Their courses are in curriculum, education reform, school law, school finance, education technology, statistical analysis of data, assessment and evaluation.  Do you see libraries in this list?  No? 

I'll give you a hint: most librarians perform monthly statistical analysis of library data when they pull the numbers from their databases, catalogs and room usage.  You do speak the same language! Well, part of it anyway.  Use your numbers to create a report on library and technology usage that lets your principal see what you do, when you do it and how it adds value to your school. 

Don't be afraid to make correlations. Is circulation up in the library?  Are reading scores? If the answer is yes to both questions, make that point! Is circulation down, are reading scores? Use that to emphasize the importance of libraries to reading. Reports should be narrative, emphasize numerical information, indicate problems, propose solutions, be easy to read (no more than three pages), graphics are good and most importantly they should reflect who you are, what you do and how you add value to the school. 

An administrator does not have time to read all of your data, so put it in charts and graphs.  Add pictures of students in their library media center to the report.  Keep it simple and clean.  Not sure if it's ready? Read it.  Does your report start with a narrative? Does it contain a strong body of data?  Did you include both opportunities and threats in your analysis?  What do you foresee happening from this information for next year? In five years?

Remember that you have value, and that students need you.  How do you help with student learning?

-AMA

Real Reasons Behind Problems in Education Today

Stories circulating on the web would have you think that public education in the United States today is not working or that kids don't care.  Neither are true.


When teachers and students here in the U.S. are subjected to standardized tests, our results don't compare well to some other countries, like Japan. I could tell you that there are multiple reasons for this, not the least of which would be that all students in Japan get exactly the same education, regardless of disability and their students with disabilities are not counted in test results, but let's not go there.


Some people would have you believe that our problems come from teacher's unions.  If teachers worked harder, our kids would be smarter.  Anyone who has spent a full day in one teacher's classroom would know that is simply not true.  Teachers arrive early, stay late and take work home with them. Teacher's unions were formed to protect teachers from unscrupulous communities that took advantage of people caring for their children. If unions didn't help teachers negotiate contracts with school districts that hire lawyers for negotiations, teachers would never get raises.  It's that simple. 


Others would have you believe that the problem lies in student apathy.  That kids today just don't care.  Students that I work with will tell you that they do care. It's important to them that they have opportunities to be contributing members of society. 


So where is the apathy coming from?  Apathy stems from people who have lost sight of how important it is to have educated citizens.  People today may not realize that democracy depends on having an educated citizenry. Long ago when public education was first envisioned in this country, our founding fathers understood that uneducated people are perfectly willing to leave decisions in the hands of people who appear to be smarter. Educated people know when their rights are infringed upon, when politicians are hoodwinking them out of money. An educated public is our democracy’s best defense.


Developing standards based education has led us to a place where it is not cheap to educate students and it is difficult to justify the cost when standards are inconsistently applied. Or a waiver for a standard/ administrative rule can be had simply by asking. School districts regularly cut corners on technology, teaching contracts, building maintenance and repair or hire people who are not qualified to deal with students because they came at the lowest cost to the district. 


Why? Because today's tax burden on communities is so high, that every minor increase in a school's budget is put under a microscope.  This is not just happening in low income communities but everywhere. Standards based education and accountability are not going to go away.  We need these to push ourselves into improving the education your child receives.  But we have to stop cutting corners in education.  Children need us to give them time, money and love if they are going to grow into citizens we can be proud of, we need to change the perception regarding education from an unjustifiable expense to an investment in our future.


Have you heard of the Broken Window Theory? People who lived in spaces that were not cared for felt marginalized and social norms tended to break down. The theory was tested in New York, Albuquerque, Lowell MA and the Netherlands.  When broken windows and litter were not taken care of, more vandalism and crime followed.  In neighborhoods where windows were repaired and litter was removed crime did not increase. 


Children learn what they see and hear.  Parents argue about a tax bill and say things like, "The school tax is out of control, I'm not voting for that." What the child hears is, "Education is too expensive." A child performs in a play or concert and their parents don't come.  What the child hears is, "I don't have time for you." When school district officials blame teachers for poor performance in test scores, what the child hears is, "Teachers are bad."  When technology doesn't work in their schools or halls are not kept clean, the child sees this and thinks, "No one cares." Their behavior reflects what they see and hear.  If you are wondering why students misbehave, do poorly in school or exhibit apathy in your school district, perhaps it's time to examine the real source of apathy.


-AMA