Mind Dump

We've crossed a line into ridiculousness

we’ve crossed a line into ridiculousness. Asking for someone’s Facebook password so you can peruse its content at your leisure is like asking for their personal cellphone so you can read their text messages. The ONLY reason companies have the ability to do this is due to a lack of legislation regarding online profiles of any kind. If you’re an employer and you’re debating whether this is a good idea or not … I’d play it safe and wait for some relevant case law.

Filed under  //  law   policy   social media   technology  

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At what point in time will you be embarrassed that you blocked out social media?

For all of the school administrators and/or school policy makers who are hell bent on making sure that resources that can assist in learning remain off the table in their schools. . . . Is there a point in time that you will be embarrassed at the opportunities that you denied learners due to your narrow-mindedness? Isn’t the job of school administrators to add to the list of resources that our staff and students have access too? When will you realize that we are blessed to be in our positions at such a wonderful moment in history?

Patrick Larkin via http://connectedprincipals.com/archives/5653

Filed under  //  edtech   leadership   policy   socialmedia  

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Our school is not ready for Google Docs

I had an educator approach me at a conference recently to volunteer that “Our school is not ready for Google Docs.” Set aside whatever you happen to think about Google Docs; it’s a word processor in a Web browser, right? I told the tech director, “Congratulations, your school district has apparently managed to employ the last breathing mammals in the solar system incapable of using a word processor.”

Gary Stager via http://stager.tv/blog/?p=2691

Filed under  //  edtech  

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Rapt attention to lectures is just a fantasy of obedience

First, there is a strong academic argument that lectures are an inappropriate teaching method much of the time – it’s just that it’s the only method many professors know or are willing to try. Bligh’s What’s The Use of Lectures? clearly documents the research supporting this claim, and it’s bizarre so few people have ever heard of this book. It is a must-read for any TA or Professor or Academic department head, as it swiftly summarizes the limitations of lecturing and explores the alternatives, all based on well documented studies and research. It’s a well written but academic summation of lectures and their alternatives.

Second, most people who lecture are awful – the bar is low – and in the case of professors, they are lecturing to people who are captives. The feedback loop in most universities is weak regarding presentation skills, and sometimes regarding teaching skills altogether. Many professors in many universities have never been trained to teach, yet have an arrogance about how good they are, and faith in untested theories about how it is supposed to be done. Theories based heavily on their own experiences as students. People who lecture professionally are nowhere near as good at lecturing as they think they are, and never put themselves in a situation where it’s possible to discover that gap.

Third, before anyone makes claims about “this generation” the question remains: among the teachers in any school, in any era, some will do a better job of keeping students attention than others – how do these teachers do it? And can they teach those skills / attitudes / behaviors to the other teachers? Even if students have brain implants straight into the Matrix, some teachers will do better than others and that’s the framework any teacher should be starting from.

Fundamentally this problem is ageless. The web is not going away in the same way, despite teachers wishes, daydreamable windows, chewing gum, and passing notes, persisted. It has always been very hard to keep the attention of any group of people, at any age, at any time. And the people who have tended to be successful in overcoming these challenges are the ones who either 1) develop true teaching and persuasive skills, or 2) partner with their students in finding a mutually beneficial solution, rather than stumbling backwards into inflicting a fantasy of obedience on them.

Filed under  //  highered   learning   teaching  

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If the teacher is the quarterback, legislators are the offensive line

If the teacher is the quarterback, Congress is the offensive line. Their performance impacts our performance, but they keep letting us get sacked by poverty, broken homes, student mobility, hunger, health care. And they just say “Oops” as that linebacker blows by them and buries his facemask in our chest. Then we get back to the huddle and they say, “You gotta complete your passes.” We’re aware of that. Make your blocks, legislators. Give us time to stand in the pocket and throw good passes. Do your job. It doesn’t take a great quarterback rating to win games; it takes a team effort.

John Kuhn via http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/a-statement-of-our-just-grievances/2012/03/30/gIQAXTqGmS_blog.html

Filed under  //  edreform   education   policy  

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Innovation is spiky

93% of patent applications are generated by people living in metro areas representing just 23% of the world's population. Innovation is spiky.

Filed under  //  economy  

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It turns out that the revolution WAS tweeted

Writer Malcolm Gladwell wrote a thoughtful essay in The New Yorker entitled “Small Change: Why the Revolution Won’t be Tweeted.” He argued that social networks only create weak ties between people, but that it’s strong ties and close relationships that bring about real social change.
It was a good debate and then reality stepped in -- Tunisia. It turns out that the revolution was tweeted.

Don Tapscott via http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/don-tapscott/2012/04/brace-yourself-collaborative-world-courtesy-internet

Filed under  //  Internet   Twitter   social media   technology  

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We have stolen our children's voices

Youth have fresh original ideas, but we cannot express them because we are not given a voice. Our voices have been stolen. 

How do we expect students to be creative if we give them the outline, the title, the structure of their “free, creative writing assignment?” We give students model answers to memorize, we give a specific title to write a poem about, and we truly give them everything but freedom to express their ideas. . . .

While teachers complain that students are spending an awful time on social networking, they forget to mention that this is the only way we, the students, can get our voice heard.

Filed under  //  education   learning   teaching  

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We need to teach our kids how to create with digital media

it’s a mistake to assume that all young people are competent communicators in digital media. The ones that we take note of are indeed adept in their media savviness, but they are outliers, not truly representative of the entire population of the millennial or net-generation. Some young people are doing amazing things with technology, but most are picking the low-hanging fruit of social media tools like Facebook.

Filed under  //  edtech  

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Bullying: ineffectual and indifferent school officials

The immensely powerful and highly acclaimed documentary "Bully," whose makers hope to create a nationwide movement against the "bullying crisis," opens in selected theaters this weekend. The film follows the harrowing experiences of a handful of victims of harassment, including two who killed themselves in desperation. It is, above all, a damning indictment of ineffectual and indifferent school officials.

Despite the rare and tragic cases that rightly command our attention and outrage, the data show that things are, in fact, getting better for kids. When it comes to school violence, the numbers are particularly encouraging. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, between 1995 and 2009, the percentage of students who reported "being afraid of attack or harm at school" declined to 4% from 12%. Over the same period, the victimization rate per 1,000 students declined fivefold.

When it comes to bullying numbers, long-term trends are less clear. The makers of "Bully" say that "over 13 million American kids will be bullied this year," and estimates of the percentage of students who are bullied in a given year range from 20% to 70%. NCES changed the way it tabulated bullying incidents in 2005 and cautions against using earlier data. Its biennial reports find that 28% of students ages 12-18 reported being bullied in 2005; that percentage rose to 32% in 2007, before dropping back to 28% in 2009 (the most recent year for which data are available). Such numbers strongly suggest that there is no epidemic afoot (though one wonders if the new anti-bullying laws and media campaigns might lead to more reports going forward).

Nick Gillespie via http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303404704577311664105746848.html

Filed under  //  leadership   safety  

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The problem with public education is not low test scores

The problem with Public Education is not low test scores. 

The problem with Public Education is that too many children have fallen out of love with learning.

Joe Bower via http://www.joebower.org/2012/03/what-problem-with-public-education.html

Filed under  //  edreform   education   learning   teaching  

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Smart corporations don't do what we're doing in education

Our policymakers claim that they are infusing business values into education, but what smart corporation purposefully demoralizes its employees and measures their worth with a metric the employees don't believe to be valid or accurate?

Diane Ravitch via http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/ravitch-the-toll-of-sch...

Filed under  //  edreform   education  

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Education is moving toward platform ecosystems

Education is moving toward platform ecosystems that will orbit big partnerships. The ecosystems will include these ten elements:

  1. Standards-aligned libraries of open and proprietary content
  2. Social, collaborative, and productivity tools
  3. Assessment tools and achievement analytics
  4. Learner profiles and portfolios
  5. Smart recommendation engines
  6. Assignment and matriculation management tools
  7. Aligned student services: tutoring, guidance, health, youth & family services
  8. Aligned teacher services: professional development, lesson & tool sharing
  9. Aligned school services: implementation support, new school development, and school improvement
  10. Aligned systems: enrollment, finance, personnel, and facilities

Filed under  //  edtech   education  

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How to honor students

We’re only going to honor our students when we push them to explore further, not to settle for what anyone (including an editor at an un-updated encyclopedia) tells them is the one and only answer. 

Seth Godin via http://www.thedominoproject.com/2012/03/will-you-miss-the-encyclopedia.html

Filed under  //  Internet   Seth Godin   ebooks   education   learning  

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College students prefer digital books to print

Tablet ownership among college students and college-bound high school students has more than tripled since last year, according to poll results released last week.

The Pearson Foundation’s second-annual Survey on Students and Tablets polled 1,206 college students and 204 high school seniors about their tablet ownership and usage. The survey found that a majority of college students now prefer reading digital books rather than print, a reversal of last year’s results, and many believe tablets are just as valuable for educational purposes as they are for personal entertainment.

Filed under  //  ebooks   higheredtech  

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Innovation is about space to breathe rather than process

Innovation isn't about structuring a process to lead to an outcome so much as it's about creating space--both elbow room, the space to roam free of bureaucratic rules and red tape, and head room, the freedom to see differently, think wildly, and aim higher. The leaders who generate more creative energy and innovation are always wrestling with the question: How do we design in more slack? Or, how do we cultivate an environment and support work that enlists people as drivers of their own destiny and inventors of the company's future?

Filed under  //  innovation   leadership  

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Anyone need historically accurate, out-of-date information?

The world received word yesterday that the publishers of Encyclopedia Britannica would stop producing hardbound, paper copies of their venerable reference.

Actually, they stopped in 2010 but didn't tell anyone. Now they've disclosed they've been able to sell just 8,000 copies of the collection. The rest are in a warehouse in Chicago, looking for someone who needs historically accurate, out-of-date information.

Filed under  //  ebooks   technology  

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Do offline-only people actually know you?

Who are you when you write online?

Think of it conversely. The offline-only people in your lives who have never ever cared to read what you passionately write about, who do they actually know?

Filed under  //  edtech   social media   technology  

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It's the day we've been dreaming of ... and we're scared to death

This is the day we've been dreaming of, folks. The day when every child has access to a powerful personal computing device. The day when students and teachers can pull these devices out and use them in their classrooms as an integral part of having class. The day when the phrase "digital learning" disappears because it's become so embedded in instruction that it's just "learning." This is the day that we've been pining for and wishing for and imagining for years now. It's just beyond the horizon now, just a few years away. It's coming faster than we ever imagined it would.

And we're scared to death of it...

Filed under  //  edtech   safety  

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8 myths about youth and social media

  • Myth #1: The digital is separate from the “real” world.
  • Myth #2: Social media makes kids deceptive.
  • Myth #3: Social media is addictive.
  • Myth #4: Kids don’t care about privacy.
  • Myth #5: The Internet is a dangerous, dangerous place.
  • Myth #6: There’s nothing educational about social media.
  • Myth #7: Kids are digital natives.
  • Myth #8: The Internet is the great equalizer.
  • Filed under  //  edtech   safety   social media  

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    When it comes to school reform, we ignore what successful countries do

    Not everything done abroad is good, nor is it always transferable to the U.S. But, with school reform, we are unique in pursuing so much testing, punitive measures against schools and teachers, and the creation of so many independent charter schools. At the same time, we are ignoring financial inequality among schools and school districts, not paying our teachers a comparable wage, and encouraging practices that lead to incoherence.

    Filed under  //  edreform   education  

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    Average worker v. IT staff

    The big difference between the average worker as self-appointed IT person and the actual IT staff is that this average worker has access to all manner of resources that IT simply can’t provide – apps to accomplish tasks faster than traditional business software, social media for solving problems, and devices that boot in a second and can work anywhere.

    This new user as IT versus the IT staff is easily the biggest source of tension for CIOs and IT professionals in today’s workplace. And it’s one that isn’t going to be going away. IT needs to get on board with this shift and rewrite its own DNA. With consumer devices that come with their own Internet connection and ever-growing ecosystems of tools, users can simply ignore IT if they choose.

    Filed under  //  edtech   technology  

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    New Hampshire leads the way in competency-based student progression

    Perhaps no state has gone as far as New Hamsphire in moving away from seat-time requirements. In 2005, it became the first state to do away with the Carnegie unit, according to the International Association of K-12 Online Learning, or INACOL, a Vienna, Va.-based group that supports expanding online education options.

    The state gave districts until the 2008-09 academic year to award students credits based on their mastery of course-level competencies, though some districts have yet to make the change. ("N.H. Schools Embrace Competency-Based Learning," Feb. 8, 2012.)

    New Hampshire does not have state definitions for discipline-specific competencies, but rather gives school districts the right to define them, a level of flexibility local officials have argued is a matter of local control, said Paul K. Leather, the state's deputy commissioner of education.

    The state has offered guidance to districts through a "competency validation rubric" and model competencies.

    Students across the state are obtaining competency-based credits through online courses and extended-learning programs, generally defined as out-of-school options that could include apprenticeships, independent study, or community service.

    Filed under  //  edreform   education   learning  

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    Move toward the fear

    The things we fear are probably feared by others, and when we avoid them, we're doing what others are doing as well.

    Which is why there's a scarcity of whatever work it is we're avoiding.

    And of course, scarcity often creates value.

    Filed under  //  Seth Godin   leadership  

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    ACT and SAT add little to college success predictions

    our best statistical models predicting first-year college grades explain only about 30 percent of what’s going on, leaving 70 percent of what matters unknown. In those models, the academic variable carrying the most weight is always high school grades, while the unique statistical contribution of test scores is marginal: for example, at Johns Hopkins it adds two percentage points; at the University of Georgia one percent; and at DePaul one percent.

    ...

    Rather than leveling the playing field, standardized tests such as the SAT and the ACT perpetuate social discrimination in the name of academic selectivity. Whereas high school GPA and class rank do not correlate with family income, the SAT and ACT can’t say that.  Defenders of the tests say they are fair and the social disparities expressed in scores sadly reflect the unfairness of life, but the reality is that family income, gender, and race predict test scores more powerfully than test scores predict college grades.

    As a result, the tests create a costly, anxiety-ridden and time-consuming distraction from real learning. They undermine the high school curriculum, sending the wrong signal to youth that test prep – which typically costs hundreds, if not thousands of dollars – will get you further than hard work in class. Would standardized testing have such a powerful and distorting impact on the whole of the K-12 experience if the SAT or ACT were not required by colleges for admissions?

    Filed under  //  assessment   highered  

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    If doctors and firefighters were held accountable like teachers

    Imagine if doctors were held accountable based on the death rate of their patients, regardless of environmental factors and whether prescribed treatment was followed.

    Imagine if firefighters were held accountable based on fire injuries and deaths, even though they didn’t start the fires, their budgets had been cut and most of the homes in their district didn’t have fire alarms.

    That would be unreasonable. So why do we only apply this impossible standard to teachers?

    Filed under  //  edreform   education   teaching  

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    Until...

    Until I see solid evidence from our district, state, and nation that teachers will be professionally supported in the implementation of CCSS, until resources are directed to supporting rich teaching and learning for all children, until teachers are given autonomy to exercise our professionalism in teaching and assessment, until our class sizes go down to a manageable level, until assessments become meaningful, given and created at the discretion and professional judgment of the teacher, until the priority is to do what is best for children, until schools and teachers are evaluated for our professionalism, creativity, and compassion not by our children's test scores, I cannot support these standards.

    Filed under  //  assessment   edreform   education  

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