Golfer Phil Mickelsonand his wife Amy began the Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academyto help educators get science and math professional development—and to take back lessons learned to their classrooms. The Michelsons are a class act, and people, who know nothing about golf, respect them. So, their genuine interest in helping educators teach better, and learn ways to get kids more excited about math and science, is easy to share.
In many instances, at the early grade levels, math and science may not be as comfortable for educators to teach as reading and writing—but it is where kids on those subjects. Here’s the topper—the Academy is all-expenses paid for teachers who make the cut.
To send a teacher to the 2011 Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy, go to www.SendMyTeacher.com. There, you’ll find more information about the academy, as well as “clicks” to nominate your 3rd-5th-grade teacher choice. You don’t have to be an administrator, or an educator to enter either. Parents and students can nominate a teacher to the Academy.
The nominated teacher will receive an e-card saying "Thanks!" as well as a link to the Academy application. Last year, more than 1,200 teachers applied for this opportunity, and 200 were chosen.
The deadline for teachers to be nominated is October 31, 2010. So, tee it up, keep it in the academic fairway, and help an educator make the 2011 Mickelson ExxonMobil Teachers Academy cut. All you have to do is log-on to www.SendMyTeacher.com.
If you're interested in learning more, check the video-journal experiences of a group of 2010 Academy teachers at http://www.youtube.com/SendMyTeacher.
The 2010-2011 school year is here. Let's stop talking about what the 21st Century Classroom needs, and start doing it! Here's a checklist to help get there now. Can't do them all? Well, pick a few for a start. Add more to the list, or modify it to suit your needs. Just stop talking—and start doing.
1. An energetic, compassionate, forgiving, curriculum knowledgeable, appropriate technology-using teacher.
2. Hardware and software for special needs, hearing, and sight-impaired students.
3. A teaching station laptop, tablet, netbook, or slate that plugs in easily at school, but also gets to go home with the teacher after school and weekends. Equip it with graphic, video, presentation, and word processing software.
4. A classroom set of netbooks, laptops, slates, smartbooks or similar 1:1—real computing devices—that are as reachable as pencils used to be at school. And at the end of day they go home.
5. Handhelds for fieldwork are a good idea when traveling digitally light. Use smartphone-style devices—when appropriate—to improve learning, collect and store data, as well as document—written, photo, and video. And yes, audio recorders and reporter's notebooks allowed, too. It doesn't take an elephant trap to catch a squirrel.
6. Safe, simple, and quick Internet and Intranet connectivity for both teachers and students at school and home. It's difficult to get anywhere without this.
7. Make the online desktop a necessity. It should be simple to use and find curriculum, portfolios, software, and digital tools—for teachers and students—that can be accessed anywhere. Yes, let's get into the clouds—for real—it's long overdue.
8. An interactive wall of some sort—whiteboard or whiteboard solution— or possibly a tablet—with all the hook-ups—pen and touch software can enhance daily lessons. The concentration should be in how to teach with these interactive solutions. The price tags are high, so proof of of student success and teacher use drives the tech integration here.
9. A projector with sound and closed captioning for multimedia presentations. Some of these have whiteboard-interactive capabilities now. Get ready, 3D is close. Right now, projectors and 3D glasses are required.
10. A document camera with audio and video to display, record, and video communicate. These are still the easiest hardware devices for the majority of educators to understand—and therefore use.
11. A classroom set of digital reading devices and a plentiful supply of digital books. I'm ok with a small group set, too, if students have other computing devices—netbooks, notebooks, and slates.
12. While working toward paperless is the goal, a printer is ok, too. It's funny, but this is an extremely difficult option for most educators to give up, and I understand it. It's difficult to deny the power of a handwritten card or letter from a student—or a grandchild. That said, it is important to think green, and strive for more paperless—where it makes sense.
13. Displays have come a long way from just being monitors for desktops. Today, they can be touch screen options replacing traditional whiteboards. And the 3D technology is ready for a giant breakthrough. 3D resolution is better on smaller screens, and research and development is close to posssibly "perfecting" it. 3D-based curriculum could be big—and if it can be done without glasses—even bigger. Keep a lookout for these for classroom possibilities.
14. Hardware that connects all the classroom technology together, so operation is an easy button push or two, making the teacher a technology orchestra leader needs to be considered. Great technology that is disconnected makes teaching more difficult. We don't need more tech-teaching wizzards; we need more teachers teaching with technology. The UI (user interface) needs to be simple to use.
15. Make available an onsite teaching-with-technology professional, who is patient, shares how to, makes individualized suggestions, and can be scheduled for classroom visits. Have something similar available for after school questions and suggestions, too. The hardware and software chosen should be simple to use, because spending a majority of time on equipment operation rather than what you can do with the equipment is so 20th Century—and we don't want to be there anymore.
16. Books, the kind that kids like and can hold need to be in every classroom—and have a lot of them—ones that can go home without worries. Make them different levels, and replace them often. Most student magazines can be accessed online, but having some of those in the hands of students is a good thing as well. While digital technology is warm to the touch, books get there warmth from young readers, and there is still something special about that.
Apple, and other companies that get user interface (UI) right, have taught us that if the tech is built easy to use—it will be used—and with very little training required. Return on investment (ROI) is the bottom line for school districts. It leads to the sort of technology engagement I witnessed on the train today—and I’d like to see it in every classroom.
Training
So, I’m sitting on the train headed for Scholastic NYC. In front of me is a young girl, who is about 9, curled up. Her hands are clenched on ether side of a digital gadget. Her face is scrunched, with eyes squinting purposefully. I can’t see what she’s working on, but I know she is enjoying the involvement. Her sister is texting madly—frequently rolling her eyes and making hand gestures, as though her friends are right there. The cell phone slips, once, falling to the train aisle with a thud that wakes a snoozing rider. She scoops it from the aisle and resumes texting and arm swinging.
Seated right next to me is a short, and I hate to say it these days, elderly woman, enjoying the heck out of an iPad. She’s reading, pointing at the screen, and making choices. Every so often she giggles out loud—quite unintentionally—and without a care that anyone is listening.
During their digital playtime, the 9-year old switched to another device without skipping a beat, and the senior citizen answered her cell, talked a little business—all the time touching the iPad.
With a cell in each hand, I sat smiling.
Young pups and old dogs
Here’s the topper, the lady next to me finished her call, reached into her carrying bag and pulled out a bunch of wires and connectors, along with ear buds. She fired up the iPad, plugged in, and continued reading, pointing, giggling, and listening—controlling it all. Not quite an earth shattering caveman-using tools moment, but certainly I was observing young pups and old dogs headed down the same digital path.
Waiting
The multitude of devices out there hasn’t quite sifted into a reasonable pile, and I don’t think it will very soon. I do know that I’m waiting to see if the “Apple Killers” or more correctly, tablets and slates promised by companies, such as Asus, HP, and Dell become reality—soon. They are a bit overdue. I’m looking forward to seeing if Windows 7, or Android, or something else can work so seamlessly in a classroom—or for that matter—on a train.
Cost
I also know that the cost factor will be important. I’m not looking for a tag of $35, although that would be nice, but getting it under $200, and charging less for quantity purchases would be enough to spike super-human hearing in technology directors and integration specialists. It may also convince district administrators to spend a bit, too, in a time when keeping teachers in the classroom is the biggest priority. And if it's easy to use, ROI is that much better, because technology training is unnecessary.
*Note: On my subway ride from Grand Central to SoHo, I also saw two young children hugging their mother as she shared a picture book—and it made me smile, too.
ViewSonicproducts, with their colorful Australian Gouldian finch logo, was something I was very used to seeing in large department store chains and warehouse stores like Costco, but my thinking began to change after a booth stop at the recent InFoCommshow in Las Vegas. There I saw an education set up that could rival any whiteboard solution. It wasn’t a case of where had ViewSonic been, but rather that I hadn’t been looking in that K 12 direction.
ViewSonic is more than pretty finches and displays.
Today I found out more about ViewSonic by interviewing Adam Hanin, vice president of marketing, and Melinda Beecher, senior manager of national channel marketing for ViewSonic Americas. “We have always played a role in education, but now we’re looking to do it in a bigger way,” says Hanin, a lifelong K 12 marketplace expert. Beecher, who thinks of her own children using technology, wants educators to know—ViewSonic has ways to “outfit classrooms for the needs of tomorrow.”
Back2School
A short look at the ViewSonic online site will give you a broader understanding of their products. ViewSonic’s ViewBook computers, with Back2School pricing http://www.viewsonic.com/back2school/ ,and their eReaders are two K-12 options that need more sharing. If you’re like me, you might not have looked beyond their displays to other products.
Look into ViewSchool
Check out ViewSchool at http://www.viewsonic.com/viewschool/where education tech and district leaders can go to learn about tech ideas and solutions, and get the best discounts for purchasing them. If you don’t know what you need, ViewSonic can match needs with designed programs and partners to make an interactive classroom happen. Check out the options at http://www.viewsonic.com/.
Microsoft shines a spotlight on teachers throughout the year and specifically at the Innovative Educators Forum. Top innovative educators come together from around the world and a finalist from each country is selected to be a representative at the World forum. Cheryl Arnett from Sunset Elementary School in Craig, Colo., and Rawya Shatila from Maskassed Khalil Shehab School in Beirut, Lebanon, were recently selected to represent for their innovative work in international collaboration and will join nearly 500 other educators from 60 countries in South Africa this fall.
“We were able to make our classes virtual neighbors instead of strangers on the other side of the world,” says Shatila. “Using technology, we are developing our students into global citizens — it broadens their perspective.”
Arnett and Shatila’s project, Digital Stories: A Celebration of Learning and Culture, connected Arnett’s class of first- and second-graders in Craig, Colo., to Shatila’s second-graders in Beirut. The two educators, who had never met, used technologies such as wikis, blogs and online mapping tools to share stories and activities for helping students increase global awareness of similarities and differences between children from different countries.
Congratulations to Cheryl Arnett, Rawya Shatila, and the other educators who are raising the bar higher for what’s possible, and bringing innovation into their classrooms!
Image Note: From left to right: Innovative Educators at the US Forum: Joe Goodwin from Myrtle Beach Elementary in Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Cheryl Arnett from Sunset Elementary School in Craig, Colo.; Rawya Shatila from Maskassed Khalil Shehab School in Beirut, Lebanon; and Kathryn Starn from Myrtle Beach Elementary.
Shmoop is an educator’s free resource dream. Oh yes, librarians love them, too. Shmoop has been around since 2008, and have racked up quite a few Internet awards. The name still makes me smile.
Its Learning Guides are digital, and you can search literature titles by number, alphabetical order, and author, too. Shakespeare has his own link, so he’d be happy about that—I’m sure. Other category breakdowns include Poetry, Best Sellers, Biography, U.S. History, Civics, Economics, and Music. It even has overviews in Spanish. All are accessible from an easy-to-use link menu.
Educators, who are PhD students from Stamford, Harvard and UC Berkeley, write Shmoop learning guides. They’re very well done, and fun, too. The resources are available as iPhone Apps, for Android devices, and eBook readers.
Note: Getting graduate students to do this type of work has been common practice elsewhere, especially in start-ups developed at universities. In Connecticut, UCONN has been quite successful launching businesses in this way.
What’s New Shmoop?
Shmoop Does the Math is a free online pre-algebra curriculum—just launched. Yep, the literature and humanities barrier has been breeched, and according to Ellen Siminoff, CEO of Shmoop, “We’ll do whatever it takes to make math understandable and fun for students.” My suspicion is that Shmoop will continue to expand its middle school curriculum. In my book, that’s good for educators and great for kids. Wonder if a line of Shmoop characters will be next!
I recently tried out a great idea from Alfred Music Publishing. It’s Sound Innovations a way Music educators and Music department heads can create and modify beginning concert band or string orchestra lessons/”method”. It’s as simple as going online and clicking through the choices that best suit your students’ needs. I was able to create a book specific to trombone in a matter of moments. My music knowledge is limited to what I remember from guitar lessons as a kid, so someone with a bit more knowledge will have an even easier go of it.
According to Alfred Music, the “method” will be available in two formats: the Standard Edition and Director's Choice edition, which allows teachers to customize the method's pedagogy, music, and enrichment materials based on their experiences and preferences.
They are written to state and national standards and based on comprehensive research of music educators' needs and preferences, Sound Innovations provides fundamental teaching tools in a clear and organized format that allows directors to incorporate their own style of teaching.
Sound Innovations is written by music educators Robert Sheldon, Bob Phillips, Peter Boonshaft, and Dave Black, "We surveyed a vast number of music teachers from all parts of the country to find out about their teaching, what they want in a method, and what would be the most helpful in meeting the challenges they face based on their unique teaching situation," said Phillips. "We looked at everything available for teachers, got in depth information about their preferences, and pieced together the best of all worlds, with many exciting new additions."
Sound Innovations: Director’s Choice allows a director to easily customize the method to fit his/her unique teaching styles and classroom situations. "We're empowering teachers to select what they want to teach and the way they want to teach it, by allowing them to choose the things they do and don't want in their method book, while still providing the solid foundation they need," said Boonshaft.
And there’s more, including an MP3 CD with instrument-specific recordings of every single line of music in each student book, and their SmartMusic program provides free access to the first 100 lines of music for students using Sound Innovations.
I recommend that district music staff and department heads check out Sound Innovations at www.alfred.com/soundinnovationsto use the internet-based step-by-step program to build and preview their own method, or to view sample books.
Getting a majority of teachers to use technology and Web 2.0 tools in their classrooms and with their students—beyond the few that have figured it out on their own—remains a puzzle. I constantly hear from those who know and preach Web 2.0 that they continue to say the same thing over and over—and that the ranks of classroom users just doesn’t increase as fast as they’d like, or think it should. My answer to them is that it’s an on-going effort, and that saying the same thing, again and again, in different ways—helps.
In a short time, Web 2.0 possibilities have exploded in numbers available, but the problem of getting staff to buy in, and become tech users has remained the same. I remember that my problem—years ago—was simply a need to get useful video-lesson supplements in my classrooms—easily presented as part of daily lessons. While a few others and I could create, upload, and share our own, it was unrealistic to ask an entire staff to learn how. Teachers didn’t have the time, and neither did I. And, while I was proud of my original short videos, there was so much more needed. It was not easy to do, and I couldn’t be an expert in all subject areas either.
I solved the problem for the district and me by enlisting help from United Streaming, which became Discovery Education. I was able to create logins for all my staff, Discovery offered searchable video choices, and I could keep track of usage—and help those who specifically needed the help. My staff became experts, and began using their teacher stations computers and presentation equipments daily. One school led to use in all schools. I thought it was completely reasonable to ask all staff to use it.
Today, I revisited Discovery Education online to see what an instructional technology specialist might find if searching for ways to safely, impact Web 2.0 tool usage with staff—in a big way. Well, it looks like Discovery Education Network (DEN) has come a long way since my streaming-video solution needs.
I know that it’s a kick for tech-savvy educators to figure out free Web 2.0 tools and material, but every educator is not cast from the same mold. Most don’t have the time, and certainly most don’t have the skills to play for hours to hunt, modify, and refine a digital teaching technique. Discovery Education’s Web 20.10 (http://web2010.discoveryeducation.com/) has gathered ideas and the most useable Web 2.0 teaching applications in one place. So, if you get five minutes to share anything tech at the opening of school, or future faculty meeting—make it Discovery Education’s Web 20.10. I’m not sure if it will get all your staff Web 2.0 revved up, but it certainly will capture more singers for your Web 2.0 choir.
And for all those creative Web 2.0 masters out there, don't give up on sharing, continue to build the base, and share what you know in your own personal learning networks. Staff and kids need to learn from you!
Today, it takes more than pulling wires to create a media-integrated classroom. If you remember, or you’re still pulling wires to make technology happen—pushing up ceiling tiles, tying string around the wires, and pulling them pretty successfully throughout an entire building—let’s talk. Only the very lucky could partially hide the wiring mess, and fingers crossed, get things to—sort of—work.
When I visit schools, I still see that rat’s nest of wiring, most often in older schools, but many times in newer ones, too. When I was pulling wires, we really had no other way, and really no clue either. We did it on weekends, or after school, with the help of the custodian and a few volunteer-geek parents. And yes, we invited the fire marshal, who in my case, just happened to have a kid in my class.
I know that some are still getting a kick and bragging about do-it-yourself classroom technology integration, but while that is fist-pumping cool, there are better ways—involving experts—at a cost of course. Besides money-saving in the long run, having experts work with you is headache-saving everywhere.
It takes more than volunteers and stringing wires. While there are many choices for the well-connected Internet, audio-visual and media classroom, here are a few, presented in random order, to help do it right:
Check out how to add RoomView Express and RoomView Connected devices to your interactive plans. Their software is brand and model agnostic, so different device models may be replaced without any system reconfiguration or programming. Just connect the new projector and Crestron RoomView automatically recognizes the device for immediate, seamless communication and control.Features include built-in instant help desk messaging and emergency broadcasting.
Most have heard of Extron’s PoleVault, but VoiceLift and WallVault are additional offerings that neatly bring technology together in a classroom. If you’re not sure what you need, try out Extron’s WallVault System Configurator online. The drag-and-drop configuration utility allows users to design WallVault systems that meet their specific requirements.
Calypso’s ezRooms are designed specifically for the K-12 classroom, It’s affordable and an easy-to-use, complete classroom AV solution. Their focus is on making it easy to build, manage and use media-rich, integrated classrooms to improve teaching and learning. The ezRoom 5300 offers a fully integrated classroom AV solution that includes networked device control, hardware and software user interfaces, remote monitoring, audio amplification, CAT-5 wall-plates, flexible mounting options and every wire, cable and connector needed to build out integrated classrooms.
Troxell is a leading marketer and supplier of audio-visual and video equipment to the education and government marketplace. You’ll find that they have an amazing array of products and companies represented and to choose from, and they specialize in getting the right local people to match technology with needs. Educational and government end-users, pre-school to higher education, make up the majority their customers.
Check out the CDW-G 21st Century Interactive Classroom. CDW-G has technology specialists to offer expertise in designing customized solutions, and technology engineers, who can assist customers with the implementation and long-term management of those solutions. Areas of focus include notebooks, desktops, printers, servers and storage, unified communications, security, wireless, power and cooling, networking, software licensing and mobility solutions.
Califone has everything from headsets to PA systems to media and presentation systems. Check out the Califone Website Tour. You can even contact top representatives on Twitter https://twitter.com/califone, as well as other social media outlets.
One technology product does not an interactive classroom make. So, how do districts get there? It might be best to start with the “Easy” and “Custom” perspectives.
I do remember, years ago, as an instructional technology specialist arguing the need to coordinate the right hardware with the right software, and then throwing my hands in the air in frustration to get one thing—a hardware or software—to at least make a dent in my school technology plans. I know that still happens, but today it's an absolute necessity for all educators and administrators to consider a suite or array of products that build an interactive solution, and not just one, out-of-context puzzle part.
While a complete solution can come from one education supplier, it doesn’t have to, as long as what you patchwork together is of a coordinated design and it works together. Many companies offer their own whiteboard, software, document camera, student response systems, software, and online teacher/student communities. Some of those products might be OEM, where a company acquires a product from another manufacturer and incorporates it into their product line as their own. Anyway, you could, if you wanted to, stick with one company for many interactive solutions, which pretty much guarantees they’ll work together in some sort of classroom and teaching harmony. Or, you could pick and choose the best for your purposes from different companies.
Choosing the best from different companies is more of a custom choice, and requires more knowledge—just like choosing “easy install” over “custom” when installing new computer software. Many go with the easy install. That said, when custom is done right, by tech personnel and the educators, who will use the equipment with students, it could be a symphony. After all, if you get netbooks you like from one company for your 4th and 5th graders, getting tablets for your middle schoolers from another company may pay off. It just depends on your plan.
Today, most companies not only get that they need to provide online communities for teachers and kids, beyond just being commercial statements, but most also understand that their products and software need to work with their competitors’ models. This doesn’t diminish company pride, or company competition—they’re still trying to launch the newest and greatest technology—first. It’s just good business to say your product is compatible with existing school equipment.
Those with less expertise may want to do the “easy install”, and those with more expertise—the “custom”. And if your technology planning committee needs help deciding, most education marketplace vendors have experts that can create the interactive technology blueprint to fit.
Note: The August/September, back to school issue of Scholastic Administrator, features a Guide to Interactive Classroom Solutions. It will appear in print and online.
I was lucky enough to attend two Web 2.0 teacher meetings this week, and I didn’t have to leave my computer. One was a UK Show & Tell, and the other was a Philadelphia new teacher camp (ntcamp) and Smackdown. Smackdown, by the way, had nothing to do with wrestling, but both gatherings had everything to do with sharing teacher Web 2.0 tools.
These peer to peer-mentoring happenings help pick up the slack in pre-service university lessons that are still rare today. Pre-service teachers landing jobs, and having only blackboard mentors won’t move classroom technology forward. These un-conference gatherings are just what the doctor ordered.
The Smackdown or Show & Tell ideas include sharing as many Web 2.0 tools to the audience as possible. The key is that the audience does the sharing. And that audience is not just those at the Smackdown/Show & Tell site, but also those viewing and listening on the Internet—all over the world. UStream/TV seems to be the streaming choice for getting that done. Not only can attendees view the streaming video, but they can Tweet and chat at the same time. They draw more attendees than many professionally planned Webinars I’ve seen.
Unfortunately, The streaming technology is still a work under construction, but no one seems to mind much. It would be wonderful, though, if some sponsors stepped up to offer better camera work and streaming possibilities, which could greatly improve the quality of these un-conferences.
There is something to be said for educators getting together on a weekend, and making these sharing experiments happen, with mostly free online tools. Still, I’d love to see Scholastic, TechLearning, communication firms, or others important to sharing education technology get more involved with these un-conference educator presentations—somehow. That said, it would be nice to keep them as non-commercial as possible.
As for me, I’d rather listen to a group of educators, who are untrained presenters, sharing what they do with their classes and staff, rather than hear polished presentations from the same-old usual names. Most educators at these things share their one favorite Web 2.0 tool, rather than their top 100, so what you hear is very complete and very useful. What's great is that everyone walks away with a Google doc which includes the URLs of all the applications discussed. And because it's archived, revisiting the ntcamp show & tell is a click away. Faculty meetings should be more like this.
While many are involved in these presentations, I need to share two young educators that are making
things happen on at least two continents. They are
Steven Anderson (http://web20classroom.blogspot.com/), a North Carolina school district instructional technologist, and Joe Dale (http://joedale.typepad.com/), a UK ICT (Internet Communication Technology) specialist, as well as Jack of All. I don’t think they’ve met, but I do believe their parallel courses are so similar that getting them onto the same stage—somewhere—is just a matter of time. When they do, I hope to be in attendance, if not in person, at least digitally. Steven Anderson (left) and Joe Dale (right).
Recently, Ning dropped a 2.0 bombshell when it announced they were no longer offer free collaborative space online for educators. This was big, because most educators and many school districts had a Ning. It really made it easy to have an online presence as an individual or a group. Ning’s decision to move to a pricing model has educators, and especially online education groups scrambling.
Larger Nings Scramble to Continue Collaboration
Two examples groups doing that, ones that I personally belong to, are the Educator’s PLN at http://edupln.ning.com/, a personal learning network created by Tom Whitby, a professor of pre-service teachers in Long Island, which now has 5,000 members, and the Missouri Educator
Community created by Steve Moore, a humanities instructor. Moore’s group is hovering close to 150 members. There’s good and bad in those numbers. Pearson has offered to continue the free Nings for classrooms, and for groups with membership up to 150, which leaves larger, existing groups rushing to meet their needs without disrupting the collaborative environments they’ve built. In the case of Whitby and the Educator’s PLN, he has sent a request to Ning and Pearson to possibly continue there, and is also looking at sponsorship support, while Moore has been looking to alternatives, such as Grouply at http://www.grouply.com/.
Pearson Stepping Up
Ning.com currently hosts 6,500 K-12 social networks. Under the Pearson sponsorship of Ning’s education networks, existing participants will have the opportunity to opt-in to the program and maintain seamless uninterrupted access for everyone to their networks; new education networks can join and create Ning’s free of charge as well. According to Pearson Senior Vice President for Business Development Gary June “Underwriting the costs of Ning Networks is one way that Pearson can provide support for their commitment and dedication to improve teaching and learning.” He added, “As we are increasingly embracing social media across virtually all aspects of life, we want to help in that critical area of keeping the dialogue among teachers, students and parents wide open.”
I and others in the education community know that free usually doesn't last forever, but here's hoping that all the existing Nings, even those with more than 150 members, including Tom Whitby's Educator's PLN, continue to have free use under Pearson's sponsorship.
Recently, I was in an editorial meeting discussing story ideas when the name Renzulli came up. It brought back a lot of education memories for me, so I began to talk. I may have said too much, but knowing Renzulli's place in education is important, and I wasn't sure what others knew. Here's a bit of Renzulli history, a piece of the present, and a slice of the future, as well as some of what I said.
Very early in my teaching, an administrator, who had just observed
me, asked “You’ve been following Renzulli’s research, haven’t you?” I
had no clue what he was talking about.
Who was Renzulli? In those days, Google was the
school librarian. She handed me some education journals and I began
reading about Joseph Renzulli’s Enrichment Triad Model (1977) for gifted and talented students, as well as the Three Ring Conception of Giftedness.
Without knowing it, I was actually doing something similar with all my students—and I didn’t
have a clue about Renzulli—but I really liked knowing that I had
stumbled upon a similar path.
I discovered that experiential
learning worked for all my students—it wasn’t just for those classified
as gifted. Giving all students a chance to actually be scientists,
writers, or mathematicians made sense, and furthermore, giving them
chances to meet and speak to experts for first hand knowledge was far
better than the ancient textbooks I was using. It was certainly a slower
process then—with in-person invitations, phone conversations, and snail
mail, but I stuck to it, and my students enjoyed learning—and
controlling that learning—a little bit. I didn’t know it then, but that
sort of teaching would be a perfect fit for computers and the Internet. Without knowing Renzulli, I was doing what he had researched, written, and discovered.
About
three years ago, I had a chance to actually interview Joe Renzulli, The Researcher, and his wife Sally Reis, whom I affectionately refer
to as The Teacher. We hit it off immediately, as if I had known them
for a very long time. I may have used the words kindred spirits somewhere along the line. I had followed Renzulli through reading articles, and
when Renzulli Learning
was launched, I checked that out as well. As a matter of fact, in my last couple of years as
district instructional technology specialist—I even ran a school pilot program
for Renzulli Learning. I taught teachers how to do student profiles, and use student-appropriate projects. Sometimes life takes some ridiculously cool turns. Teaching like I'd taught as a young teacher, but using computers, as well as sharing with teachers was wonderful, and meeting Renzulli and Reiss, a career highlight.
If you haven’t had a chance to check out RezulliLearning , or Renzulli's and Reis' articles for
differentiated learning—it may be time. All kids are gifted, and should
be taught that way. And it is so much easier and quicker with today's
technology.
Kyle Berger, Executive Director of Technology forAlvarado ISD, in the North Texas runs IT for a district with about 3,400 students. Companies like HP, Verizon, Microsoft, and Intel have been interested in his ideas. His story is about entrepreneurial education leadership, and developing a business model. He has translated thinking differently into action that pays off for his district and students.
District Overview
Alvarado is a pretty technology-forward school district. All of the classrooms have mounted projectors,
interactive whiteboards, and document cameras, as well as interactive slates for teachers. Furthermore, for the past two years, their 1:1 initiative has been in high gear. Every 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-grade student has an HP Netbook or Mini-Note-style laptop. And for the 2010/2011 school year, traditional-style laptops will be given to each 7th- and 8th-grader. “That gives me a little over 1,500 units in the hands of students. Next year we want to begin rolling out slate or tablet devices to our high school students,” says Berger. All 6 Alvarado campuses are WiFi.
On the surface, Alvarado may appear to be another one of those success stories, where a district has been fortunate in acquiring technology. But that’s not the case, and discovering why a company like Microsoft would want to launch their new Multi-Point Server there may have a lot to do with the leadership. Technology didn’t just drop out of the sky. There’s an out-of-the-box IT director in charge, who would be just as at home in a corporate marketing role than sharing at a board of education meeting. Creative ideas wouldn’t be enough, so what differentiates Berger and Alvarado? Well, it’s using a business model to strategically accomplish education goals, which include technology.
Philosophy Shift
“One of the things I try to do is to run my education IT as a business model,” says Berger. An example is starting his 1:1 program at the middle school level.
Intel researchers recently interviewed Berger regarding his middle school-start philosophy. Most 1:1 programs start at the high school level. His business mind had him thinking ROI.
Berger thought beginning at the middle school level gave him a better place to see the impact of technology over a longer time span than starting at the high school. Politically speaking, if he wedged the 1:1 in the middle of his district, and sat back—watched what happened—Berger figured the parent community would back 1:1 more, to guarantee their kids would be at a 1:1 school at every level.
Political Strategy
His strategy of placing the 1:1 initiative in the middle grabbed the attention of elementary and high school parents—as well as middle school parents. Very quickly, school board meetings began hearing requests by parents for the necessity of 1:1 at every building and grade level. “In this economy, starting at the high school level might make it too easy to say, kids will get 1:1 when they get to the high school,” says Berger, pleased that his middle-start has paid off.
Results Helps ROI
For a long time 1:1 programs have raised questions due to the unfavorable research out there, including reports of lack of laptop use by students, and lack of data supporting student gains in achievement. Berger can show positive results, and closing out his 2nd year, his program is showing 8% gains on state testing—across the board—in his 1:1 cohort groups. Berger says, “It’s working; it’s not a distraction. We’ve have the data now; we’re going with it, and it’s really exciting.”
It’s a Pretty Big Business
“Our district doesn’t have a whole lot of money, so we’re thinking about how we can approach all this to get the best bang for our buck and for the district,” says Berger.
It’s a pretty big business, with 3400 students and 400 employees. The organization and management—day to day—needs to be looked at from more of a corporate stance. “I need to drive value to my students,” says Berger.
Bringing the Internet to the Community
About 75% of Berger’s students are economically disadvantaged, and could never afford an Internet connection. “We were sending students home with devices that they couldn’t connect with. We tried the reverse classroom model, where we’d podcast or vodcast a teacher’s lecture, then load it onto the a student laptop. Students would take the content of the lesson at home. We then had students do what would traditionally be homework—in the classroom.
But the problem remained—my students didn’t have Internet, and weren’t getting the full use out of the tools we’d given them. I had to figure a way to do that effectively. That’s where I came up with my Internet kiosk program,” says Berger.
Kiosk Program
There are kiosks everywhere in society today—airports, and at the mall, you see these self-servicing kiosk units. I figured that I might be able to leverage that idea for what I needed to do,” says Berger. With help from HP, a walk-up kiosk unit was developed that not only would allow parents, who didn’t have computers at home to walk up to these terminals, check their children’s grades, get district information and news, but could also be a place where students could access the Internet. The kiosks had a WiFi antenna built in that would create free WiFi hotspots.
Funding the Free WiFi Idea
“The question remained—how could we fund this thing and make it work?” It didn’t take long to figure that out. The kiosks had two screens. So on the top screen Berger rotates advertisements. It’s a simple format, like a PowerPoint, and it rotates Ads every 10 seconds. Berger sells them. “I started out with 5 companies that I was selling Ads to, and I had a slide that would come up offering Ad space at the kiosk, so the amount of Ads increased—building itself, says Berger.
The kiosks are placed in fast food chains, grocery stores, or Laundromats. They provide the business, or
location, free Internet for their customers. “Businesses love that, because it’s an added bonus for their customers, and I get to advertise and offer free WiFi for my students and parents to come to. It’s a win-win situation,” says Berger. “Now I just sit back and let the phone ring. Whoever wants to advertise calls me up, and I can sell them an Ad on one kiosk, or multiple kiosks. My monthly cost for a kiosk is really just a Verizon data card for about $40 a month to get that signal there—and I’m making more than that on my Ads.” Berger also appreciates the help his gotten from Verizon to make this happen.
Found Money
With the revenue from the Ads, Berger can build more kiosk units, or build-out WiFi hotspots that are non-kiosks, like a rugged one at a park pavilion, which has no advertising at all. “We’ve actually approached some churches in our more rural areas that don’t have connections. A hotspot is perfect in a little community center out there. Anywhere with an area for my students to gather is a good place,” says Berger.
He now has businesses lining up asking for a kiosk. “We’re watching the money come in, which allows us to continue to think strategic WiFi placement. I have about 96 square miles to cover, so we’re building strategic plans on how to do that. We know there will be more mandates and less money, so I have to find new ways to figure this out.”
Community Outreach
This year Berger will put free WiFi on school buses, making them mobile hotspots. “We have some long school bus routes. A child may be on a bus for an hour, and that could still be educational time—now that they have a device in their hands. For that, we’re thinking of a sponsorship sign on the side of the school bus,” says Berger. He says that a company would be a great partner/sponsor.
Additionally, Berger is looking at a mobile hotspot classroom in an old bus. He plans to gut the interior, put counter tops along the sides, load it up with computers, and make it all WiFi. The bus would be a rolling computer lab, which could go out into the community to teach parents, ESL, and do outreach programs. “If we can’t get the parents into us, we’re going to bring the programs to them—and start impacted our community a little more. I can fund that by wrapping the whole bus in Ads, just like you see on the commercial buses all over town,” says Berger.
District Advertising Policies
“This is not like advertising—in your face—in the classroom or campuses. We are very picky about who can advertise. We do sell some space on our Website. As our revenues decrease, we would be foolish not to look at alternatives to get the money for tools our students need. We’re certainly not going to plaster our kids with logos,” says Berger.
Because Berger is not doing this with e-rate, there are a lot fewer control restrictions. No school district dollars are being used to fund it, so Berger can do it with his advertising model. “I don’t have to follow all the management or filtering requirements on the WiFi spots,” says Berger.
Initial BOE Doubts Vanish
At first, when Berger presented his advertising-outreach ideas to his school board, they didn’t quite get it—and didn’t think it would work. He convinced them to try a couple of units. It worked, and just started blossoming. The kiosks in the community are a source of pride now. “When you walk in a store and see a kiosk in school district colors, as a community outreach—and signs saying Free WiFi provided by Alvarado School District, it’s a good feeling.
More Business Thinking
"One day I thought, I have all this storage space on my network, and I’m sure the district down the street does, too. I wondered how I could tie mine together with them, and offload my data there, and for them to offload to me. It really just amounts to sharing data space. It would be a simple way to back up data off site.
Disaster Consortium
As school districts, we pay all this money for Internet connections that at 4 o’clock every day aren’t used. The idea is to leverage that downtime. I have free off-site data space in three locations around the United States right now. We developed a system where at 4:00 pm each day our systems tie together, and push data back and forth to each other. It’s free disaster recovery with school districts across the country. They have data with us, and I have data with them—all protected for free.
Kyle Berger has more ideas, which he may just turn into a book. It seems that some of them make what’s good for business also good for Alvarado ISD, education, and kids, too. Technology doesn’t fall from the sky at Alvarado, Berger earns it.
It was my great fortune to meet a few gatecrashers from EduGeek at the Scholastic Best in Tech awards ISTE10 in Denver. Two of them would be quite at home sipping a pint and tossing darts, while the third was, as we say over here, a rose between two thorns. We all hit it off instantly—thank goodness we talked the same education IT
language. Why were the here, and what was their US plan?
EduGeek is an online peers support group focused on IT support in UK schools, colleges and universities. They are 25,000 strong, and membership grows at a rate of about 1000 a month. Most UK secondary schools have onsite IT support, so EduGeek members provide tailored methods for supporting IT in their schools.
EduGeek also has marketplace support from companies such as Microsoft, Capita, Promethean, SMART, Research Machines and others. It figures, because info gleaned from that many IT specialist is valuable feedback. Companies could save a bundle listening to that kind of advice—redesigning products and solutions from recommendations.
The EduGeek site is free, but the information priceless. EduGeek traffic has them looking to the US now. Out of 949,046 visits to the site in the past 30 days, 233,425 came from the US. While EduGeek was never set up to be a business, it seems they are doing a lot right. They don't want the country back, and I'm certain they don't sing like the Beatles, so this invasion hopes to add the US to their "IT Lifeline" for education.
Intelis good news for education and the marketplace. I’m not a market analyst; I can barely feed the cats and spoil the grandkids, but I do follow the market. I remember Intel reporting smaller demands for chips, just before the economy went south—this last time. I know that I said out loud—“That can’t be good!”. Today, I'm saying the opposite.
Reporting on technology is one thing, but reporting on education technology is another. I thought districts that had difficulty getting technology, either wouldn’t get it at all, or need to weigh keeping teachers against adding new technology. Well, I was right. So, the news that Intel’s revenue is up 34% is good news—not only for business, but education as well. Again, I’m not a businessperson, but my eyes are open, just as they were when I saw the dip and then the crash. Using Intel as a barometer may be a very good plan. This is not only good news for businesses needing to upgrade technology to take advantage of the Internet better, but it is also good news for education as well as the education marketplace.
We’ve learned that what’s bad in business tends to trickle down to affect education at every level—from the community, to district administration, to the kindergarten teacher, and clearly—students. But, we also know that the reverse is true. An upswing out there in the corporate world, especially in technology—everything is tied to it—is just what the education budget-doctor ordered.
While I commend districts that chose keeping teachers over machines, and smaller classes over the alternatives, you can’t live with obsolete software, computers, and technology forever. In schools, obsolescence has usually been 5-7 years, which always seemed ridiculous to me. Kids walking into schools to primitive equipment and software, then going home to new tech, while common, doesn’t make sense. We’ve seen more of that out of budget necessity, but maybe we’re looking at an indication of change—for the better—with the latest Intel news.
Look beyond the “bing-bong” Intel commercials to possibly an upswing in chip demand as one indication that things are getting better. As business goes, so goes education—and the connection seems to be much closer than we’d ever imagined.
I’ll never forget my first meeting with Principal Bill Bircher. I was sitting at a long table in his building. Bircher walked over. He was short, wore suspenders and resembled the actor who played the wizard in the original OZ movie. I think he said something about a 4th grade job, but I know for certain he asked if I had enough energy. I said, “You…Me…race around the building…now!” He smiled. That was a decade ago, but remember it like yesterday.
Bircher’s Leadership:
1. Bircher started every day with an announcement that was a variation on a theme of kindness. “…and remember to be especially kind to one another today….”
2. At a time when most teachers didn’t have computers, each of his teachers had a laptop and knew how to use it.
3. All of his teachers used a networked computer lab with their students, and that included kindergartners.
4. All staff used FileMaker, and logged into a FileMaker server, each day, for daily attendance, notices, and data collection. Bircher collected, stored, and displayed everything. He was so far ahead of his time with this. It made me look at data for the first time, in a real time way, and changed my teaching for the better. I became interested in brain research.
5. He completely changed the report card system, so we weren’t using “As”, “Bs”, or “Cs”. When parents came in for conferencing, we could actually tell them, precisely where their child placed, and what we were working on.
6. Good teachers got better, partly because we all helped make decisions for running the building. We knew students were achieving, and felt we were helping to make that happen.
7. Recess was important. I remember being out with students on the coldest New England days, and Bircher would make the rounds, often without a jacket—checking to see that we were out there.
8. Bircher backed his teachers to the hilt. He did this with parents as well as higher district administrators. We were HIS TEACHERS and HIS PEOPLE. He was fearless when it came to backing staff—if you were right—he was with you.
9. Students excelled in reading, math, and technology. The latter, was at a time when most students didn’t have a computer at home.
10. I discovered that I could teach reading, or math, or anything using science as a base.
11. I smiled each day under his administration, and found that my ideas had value beyond district boundaries—and never to be confined to their limits. My students were doing distance learning from my classroom with Chicago museum staff. It wasn’t happening anywhere else, and he encouraged it.
12. When he walked into a classroom, he expected to know what you were teaching. Essential questions were posted and clear.
13. Bircher challenged students, staff and teachers. He made teachers think, loved debate, and enjoyed getting a reaction. Thinking outside the box, requires work, and he expected it.
14. Bill Bircher’s school, Head O’ Meadow, was an academic hug for kids, teachers, and parents, and I still refer to this Administrator Behind the Curtain as my most influential mentor. It was a privilege working for him then, and if I were younger, and had a bit more energy, I’d work for him now.
If you’re like me, you’ve seen plenty of clunky when it
comes to tech products for kids. That’s why one look at Mimio’s redesigned
interactive products will make you think aerodynamic and wind-tunnel testing.
From their MimioVotes to their ink capture kit, the new-look Mimio products
look like they’d be at home in a fashion museum. They are stunning and far
removed from the clunky designs we’re used to seeing.
Anyone in a classroom knows that pretty is one
thing, but
simple to use, priced right, and non confusing for teachers is a necessity.
While the look may have changed, the functionality of Mimio tools has gone from
good to even better. Everything from their MimioView document camera to the
side-mounted MimioTeach solution, to the MimioVote self-adjusting recharging
cradles, all are ease-of-use engineer for teachers and students.
Here’s the kicker, I saw a lot of familiar education
marketplace people in the crowds around the Mimio booth at ISTE10. I wasn’t the
only one noticing.
Ten years ago I wrote about preparing for IT disasters. I think the biggest points I made were backing up data, and keeping at least one data back up off site. Admittedly, it was a pretty naive look. Recently, CDW-G sent me a reminder about what districts should do to prepare. It had a little more than my original thoughts. I've modified the new points a bit to possibly present a useful and understandable district disaster plan checklist for today. Add to the list, modify, or incorporate it into your own.
1. Check your current plan.
Determine which services, like essential student services, need to resume within 24 hours to prevent negative impact.
2. Protect data.
Back up data frequently to ensure that the integrity of data and applications are not jeopardized. Store multiple copies of data off site, at a remote location, outside of the primary data center.
3. Review power options.
Add uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) to keep the most essential applications running. Use back up generators to run cooling systems. Heat can cause even more problems when things get critical.
4. Assign a cross-functional preparedness team. The team should design and test the disaster recovery plan.
5. Document, test and update.
The plan should include logistical details, including travel to backup sites, and even who has spending authority for emergency needs. Practice emergency drills with all members of the team should be scheduled, evaluated, and modified.
6. Consider telecommunications alternatives.
In many disaster situations, like hurricanes, telecommunications is unreliable, or can be lost for days. Have a communications plan in place.
7. Relationships with vendors can help.
Hardware, software, network and service vendors can help expedite recovery, equipment replacement, including computers, servers, and network hardware. Asking what the marketplace can do for you in times of disasters is an important question when purchasing.
Tweets net educator Interviews
for Scholastic Administrator
atISTE10.
So, who showed up after we tweeted invitations?
John Carver, superintendent of Van Meter schools in Iowa stopped by with Shannon Miller, library media specialist, and Principal Deron Durflinger. All did individual interviews with me.
Carver is an ambassador for his district, and also for Iowa, too. His philosophy is fresh and is clear from top to bottom and bottom to top. He is carving out new technology territory in his district, with his staff, and for his students.
Miller has proven to be one librarian to follow on Twitter. She shares more than URLs for useful student resources. My recommendation is to follow her (@shannonmmiller) to get valuable how tos that go beyond the four library walls.
Durflinger is a Van Meter principal who really gets that administrators need to model for teachers, just as teachers need to model for kids. He uses social media as professional development and even for hiring new teachers.
The entire Van Meter crew knows the power of PLNs (Personal Learning Networks).
Two Richardson ISD, TX educators stopped by the booth, too. Principal Megan Timme and Lauren Sanders, who teaches students with learning differences, were in search of more 3D technology at ISTE10. Sanders is actually working a 3D technology pilot—glasses and all—in her classroom.
Gayla Power, Denver Public Schools Teacher Portal and Schoolnet administrator shared how controlling all district data, and providing all stakeholders—exactly what they need—is not that difficult if you’re using the right management tool.
David Ligon stopped by as well. Ligon has moved from an administrator of technology direction in his Gilbert, AZ district to a technology and grant writing role. That seems to be, in this economic climate, a great fit that needs duplication in other districts throughout the country. To find a technology expert as well as a grant writing expert in the same person is a brilliant stroke, and probably not a common occurrence.
I look forward to more conversations with these educators, as well as others Scholastic Administrator tweets up at future conferences.
Look for the my interviews soon—at the Scholastic Administrator. Follow me on Twitter @kenroyal.
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Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in The Royal Treatment are strictly those of the author and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Scholastic, Inc.
