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• What kinds of research and development are needed to make broadband use effective for learning?
I would contend that we’re asking the wrong question. Rather it should be, “What kinds of research and development are needed to make emerging technology applications effective for learning?” Then, it follows that if broadband is needed to deliver the applications, then broadband should be provided. We (the U.S.) should be way beyond determining whether broadband is needed. Bandwidth demands continue to escalate for education due to new higher bandwidth applications, more computers, and more learners. Therefore, it is imperative that a fiber-based, scalable transport infrastructure be placed to every school and campus building in the United States. Further, if we are to become (not remain) competitive in this global economy, we are going to have to get a lot smarter about the way we develop, inventory, store, and retrieve learning objects and more systematic in the way that we employ standards to create learning opportunities for our students. High bandwidth transport and abundant Internet access are key components to providing a 21st Century learning environment to teach 21st Century skills.
• What strategies can be employed to help children use broadband-based technology to learn and express themselves together in new ways, including through use of blogs and wikis?
Most, but not all, of today’s middle school, high school and college youth are very “connected” with real-time collaborative and social networking applications that help them build virtual communities of interest, ranging from Second Life to group texting to videogame teams across multiple countries and time zones. And then…they must go to class/school for the most restricted seven hours of their 24-hour day, as many of these emerging technologies are blocked or filtered. I believe that our challenge in education is to revolutionize and modernize our approaches to teaching and learning so that the researching, sharing and creation of new information can be relevant, authentic and exciting for students. I am enough of a pragmatist to believe that certain classic knowledge is irreplaceable, cannot be substituted, and must just be taught, and not learned by chance discovery. For example, in science, it is much more efficient for students to be taught Newton’s three Laws of Motion and the Law of Universal Gravitation than for them to learn them randomly by exploration or discovery. However, the relevance and excitement enters when students collaborate with other teams from other states as they authentically research a new safety technique to prevent fatal car accidents, thus creating an unforgettable experience as to the meaning and relevance of Newton’s Laws. The collaboration, the Internet research, and the organization and facilitation of the learning environment are the jobs of the modern “learning facilitator”, formerly known as a classroom teacher. All of these technologies require broadband.
• Where are examples of educators or technologies using broadband today in a way that allowing their students to learn and grow in more meaningful ways?
There are examples all around us. Look to Nebraska, Kansas or Wisconsin to see how their IP video distance learning systems have flourished. Rural students are now able to get all the classes they need to enter college and dual credit college classes besides! Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Kentucky are leading the country in their development of federated digital content repositories that house rich media resources. Michigan was the first state in the country to require students to take an online course for high school graduation. The National Repository of Online Courses (NROC) was developed by the Monterey Institute in California and is now licensed to a number of states as high school, college and AP courses with multimedia and web-based resources. Some states like Pennsylvania and New Mexico have deployed statewide K-20 learning management systems so students can seamlessly move from elementary to secondary to higher education under one single username and password. Nebraska is just one of a number of states in the process of implementing a statewide online assessment system for K-12 achievement testing. A number of state college systems are cooperating on the implementation of student information systems and financial and accounting systems run across a single statewide network.
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I like Ning, I like Moodle, I like computers... I don't think this should be a conversation about what application is better than another but about making sure the FCC is aware of all of them and how they benefit all learners. I'm a firm believer that a blended model is best...use the technology and application that fits the current learning task.
One technology I think that is rarely mentioned and very powerful in connecting students to people and resources is h323 videoconferencing. This is the "killer app" for broadband technologies. About 30% of US schools already have this technology in house (Wainhouse Research, 2009). What better way to connect kids to kids across the globe to solve real world problems? See globalrunproject.org for an example of best practice. Here again, I am not advocating JUST video, but consider it a strong partner in a multimedia approach to problem based learning that may incorporate LMS's such as Ning or Moodle, web-based video (for one on one talking head type activities) and Web 2.0 apps as appropriate. See my attached slide.
Steve, Thanks for getting this conversation going!
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Development of high-quality multimedia broadband online educational resources requires considerable investment. Will that investment pay off educationally if not financially? Our experience with U.S.A. Learns says it will. U.S.A. Learns is an innovative project that creates an online pathway to literacy, language proficiency, economic opportunity, citizenship, civil participation, and civic integration for those who have been unable to benefit from traditional classroom programs due to problems with childcare, transportation, work schedules or other issues. It was conceived in 2005 when the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) recognized the seriousness of the language and literacy problem and contracted with the Project IDEAL Support Center at the University of Michigan and the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) to find out if the Web could use broadband technology to deliver instruction directly to adults who could not attend school due to personal circumstances or a lack of available programs. As a test-of-concept, SCOE and the University of Michigan designed and built U.S.A. Learns (www.usalearns.org) - a Web site to teach English to immigrants, an audience considered least likely to be able to use the Internet for self-study. If we built it, would they come?
The site was launched November 7, 2008, with more than 400 hours of free instruction. Since then, with little or no promotion, the site has had 2,005,890 visits. With more than 7,000 visits per day, each lasting nearly 30 minutes, usalearn.org’s popularity exceeded everyone’s expectations. However, after 9 months of operation with no promotional efforts whatsoever, usage had begun to level off. With some 21.7 million adults in the U.S. who are limited English proficient, and another 1.8 million new immigrants arriving annually (according to the Migration Policy Institute), we were certain there were many more who would use and benefit from the site if they only knew about it. As an experiment to see if we could increase awareness and usage, we recently sent out a simple press release, fact sheet and public service announcement to media with Hispanic and other immigrant audiences in ten U.S. cities. The number of daily visits immediately tripled!
We think that this tremendous response is one more indicator of both the need and the potential for not just enhanced adult language learning and literacy programs online, but for a truly comprehensive adult learning portal on the Web that both takes advantage of broadband's capabilities and promotes its use among market segments not usually reached. Moreover, in today’s challenging economic environment, the dramatically lower cost of broadband delivery makes the case for an online learning portal especially compelling. (The Migration Policy Institute estimates costs for classroom ESL programs at $10 per learner hour; U.S.A. Learns is operated for less than seven cents per learner hour!)
If we build a comprehensive learning portal, will they come? Based on a typical learner's appreciation for U.S.A. Learns, they will: “Just I want to say thanks for this program. Is very important for me to learn English, but for my job, I can’t to go to school. Thanks again and God bless all of you.”
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There is lots of excitement for the promise of broadband. But this initiative will not move forward until key barriers are addressed. The first barrier is the overwhelming emphasis on standardized test scores - which stifles educational innovation. Massive amounts have been and could be written on this.
The second major barrier should be more easily addressed. This is the concern about the management of the use of technologies in schools. When the Internet first came into schools the major fear was students accessing online porn. Filtering software was "sold" as the solution. At the same time the Federal Government began funding technologies to bypass filtering - for the benefit of residents in repressive regimes.
In US high schools today, the students can easily bypass the filter to get wherever they want. But the teachers can't. Funny thing. Students simply want to bypass the filter to engage in socializing. Teachers are prevented from accessing material that has relevant, timely instructional relevance.
In most schools, YouTube is blocked. Ditto any "social networking" site - translation "any site with interactive capabilities." Throughout this country there are safe school personnel who can't bypass the filter to investigate potentially threatening material posted by students on a social networking profile. The fear-mongering about social networking by some in law enforcement has generated fear about the use of these technologies in schools.
We need to develop new approaches to managing student and staff Internet use that will allow for the expanded use of these technologies - but also address the challenges and concerns associated with such use.
There are also significant legal issues related to the use of these technologies. (I have written about these issues and am about to release some materials for schools.) These include student privacy issues, including under the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act. This includes directory Information and Personally Identifiable Student Records. But parent's perceptions of safety are also a concern.
There are significant free speech issues related to posting materials, accessing materials, and academic freedom. There is no public mechanism to hold the filtering companies responsible for their blocking decisions. Disability access is an issue that must be addressed - fortunately assistive technology can help.
There are significant copyright issues - including teacher ownership, student ownership, and fair use for transformative purposes. Teachers know all about fair use for educational purposes - but this does not cover fair use for material posted online.
Lastly, here is the challenging issue of potential liability - for copyright infringement or publishing torts (defamation, invasion of privacy). Some degree of statutory immunity has been provided to ISPs and institutional of higher education. But there are no protections for K-12 because when these statutes were enacted no one ever thought that K-12 teachers or students would ever post anything online.
The visions and exciting opportunities are emerging. But we will not move forward until the barriers to doing so are more effectively addressed.
Nancy Willard, M.S., J.D.- Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use
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I work at Global Kids, a 20 year old youth development nonprofit that has helped tens of thousands of at-risk youth in New York City succeed scholastically, go on to college and become active civic leaders. From our perspective, all of America's young people -- whether poor or rich, Black or White, in urban centers or remote rural communities -- deserve a chance to meaningfully participate in our increasingly digital society. In order to do that, they require access to affordable, accessible broadband internet, in their schools, libraries and homes.
I recently organized a virtual fossil dig for a group of 11 New York City teenagers at Global Kids. From our headquarters, these young people were able to go online and learn about paleontology, evolution, African society and culture. They engaged in VOIP voice conversations with scientists digging for fossils in Zambia, watched videos of young people like themselves in a rural African village talking about the challenges of HIV/AIDS, and researched online about ancient mammals and reptiles long extinct. Their minds were opened to ways of life, career paths, and areas of study that they didn't know anything about prior to the camp. Oh, and they had fun in the process.
As one of our teens Rowana wrote, "Over the past two weeks, I think that I have developed better communication skills. I'm a shy person and I'm not used to being thrown into problem solving situations with strangers, but IDZ [the virtual camp] forced me to communicate better with others."
All of this was made possible by broadband internet and the applications that rely on it -- from VOIP to streaming video to virtual worlds.
This is just one example of how broadband internet can do more than just educate, it can inspire and open minds.
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It seems to me that the OLPC project is a proper exemplar for broadband access in the U.S.
In the OLPC model, the students' laptops create an ad hoc network that extends the school's LMS and allows children to communicate with teachers and other students outside the classroom. Extended teacher contact is one of the hallmarks of an excellent education as is access to resources in the home.
While the 'hardware digital divide' is more a matter of adoption today, broadband access is a very real and pressing problem. Handheld devices that leverage telecom accounts are not adequate as a primary learning platform. A 'bandwidth digital divide' solution could provide a springboard to thousands of underpriveleged children helping to create a richer envronment for learning.
As Negroponte says of the OLC project, it is not a technology project. It is a learning/education project. The XO itself is irrelevant except to the extent that it uses a mesh P2P that extends the single central node model OLPC uses due to the small communities it serves. This model may not be necessary or desirable in the U.S. Extending learning time and teacher contact are desirable.
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The Utah Education Network is an excellent example of actual implementation of many of the suggestions already posted here. For example, Utah's two decade experience with the benefits of concurrent enrollment demonstrates that high school students can obtain college credit while they are enrolled in the public schools system. High school students can thereby enter college with an associates degree saving them and their parents thousands of dollars and empowering them to enter the workforce earlier and better prepared.
The Utah Education Network's interactive video conferencing system handles up to 180 fully interactive classes per day. It is expected that usage of this technology in will more than double within just a few years. This interactive system was pioneered 31 years ago using analog microwave transmission of standard television signals. Today such conferencing is fully digital and flows across UEN's 10-gigabit backbone. More than ever, this technology is relevant in reducing travel costs, enabling learners to focus on their coursework rather than the cost and time associated with commuting.
Now that robust digital networks are largely in place, we hope to see many more innovative uses of technology for education. Network architecture is application agnostic. For example if you can make high definition video work on your network, all other applications are bound to benefit. For example, when students are learning American Sign Language subtle differences in video quality make a significant difference their ability to learn.
I invite you to learn more about the Utah Education Network at http://www.uen.org.
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As you formulate a National Broadband Plan, please consider a partnership with the new National Center for Research in Advanced Information and Digital Technologies in the plan. This National Center will be a 501(c)(3) Congressionally-originated nonprofit corporation reporting to Congress through the Department of Education. It is modeled on the National Science Foundation, and will support the development of advanced information and digital technologies for learning through grants and contracts and public and private partnerships. It will bring the same focused, sustained research funding to technology and learning that the federal government has funded for years in technology for health care at NIH, for defense at DARPA, for energy at the Dept. of Energy, and for science at NSF.
The National Center’s mission is to harness the power of information technology in the cause of learning by sponsoring research for pre-competitive, high-risk, long-term projects that will spur educational and skills training innovation. The National Center will:
• Provide financing for research, development, and demonstration of advanced information technologies that can transform education, skills training, and lifelong learning.
• Build multi-disciplinary teams that mobilize the skills in American’s schools, colleges, universities, museums, libraries, public broadcasting entities and other similar organizations, as well as the corporate sector, to achieve these goals. The National Center will encourage partnerships between nonprofit and for profit enterprises. Private firms will take the concepts developed through the National Center investments and convert them into instructional projects and powerful tools that educators can use to build new learning systems that reflect individual needs.
• Support the testing and evaluation of these systems, and encourage the widespread adoption and use of effective approaches to learning.
Since the goals of the new National Center are in line with the goals of the FCC with regard to the use of technology in advancing education, I hope you will consider a partnership with the National Center in the National Broadband Plan.
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1. The broadband should be accessible to the assistive tech used by the International Alliance of Audio Information Services (IAAIS.org), the means of access for those who are blind or print-impaired.
2. All video content should be audio described for those who are blind, comparable to captioning for those who are deaf.
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I attended the FCC meetings. I am concerned about the continuing digital divide, the technology divide and the academic divide.
In particular, I do not see that the educators discussing the problem have much of an idea about Supercompting. I tis here. We who work with the research communities know that it is coming and we participate in the use of data mining, creating models and visualization and using programs such as agent sheets and Vensim and other
programs such as Maya, .. etc. That cannot be done on a low level of broadband . We who use Teragrid allocations and who work within the NCSA EOT program are aware and worried that those educators who are only thinking toward 2.0
will compromise work in the future that is expansive computational modeling.
We use products of supercomputing a lot , it is just that to most of us it not a known subject, or discipline.
Some curriculum models are at www.shodor.org, and there are of course many programs that we use.
With the development of the use of technology there was never a plan to disseminate training for teachers, so in Washington DC, there are teachers who have never been on Email, and are not aware of the vast resources that the use of broadband can bring.
I do professional development for teachers and there are many rural areas where the best programs on the Internet cannot be used because of the lack of broadband.
We discovered and invented this technology. THere are countries in which the whole country is on fast broadband as an economic decision. What about us?
Finally the paperwork to get E rate is so difficult that I had a friend who would not go to the hospital to get treatment for his medical condition because he felt that no one could master the paperwork. He died. It should not be an ordeal to complete the paperwork.
Bonnie Bracey Sutton
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We're falling behind, in part, because we don't know what's going on in the rest of the world. We're hindered by having only two international borders and less experience with other ways of thinking. We don't have an existential clue about how our educational system differs from, and lags behind, other nations. Real, person to person, experiences challenge our beliefs/hypotheses, make us ask questions, and cause us to reformulate our knowledge about the world.
An international classroom social network would let primary and secondary teachers put their classes/students into a learning network with other teachers/students at the same grade, in the same subject, all over the world. What if a student studying history in high school in the US could contact a peer in Germany/Sweden/England/Ireland/India/Australia/Japan to video a tour of a nearby historical site? What if both students were able to turn this collaboration into a classroom assignment with the help of their teachers? What if the respective teachers could compare their understanding of historical events? What if foreign teachers could clarify their views of the US, directly?
This has the potential to provide a foreign exchange experience for every teacher and student, regardless of their ability to travel. It will prepare students for the differences in perspective that they will encounter at the college level. It can provide teachers (and parents) with firsthand knowledge of the status of their education, relative to the rest of the world, providing opportunities to assess and improve.
It's a global world; we need access to global education for our children.
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Moodle is the best platform for teaching and learning via broadband. It is effective as an online only tool and also as an organizer for face to face bricks and mortar classrooms. It incorporates blogs, wikis and most every kind of media, and it has security features for p-12 applications.
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The Utah Education Network's interactive video conferencing system handles up to 180 fully interactive classes per day. It is expected that usage of this technology in will more than double within just a few years. This interactive system was pioneered 31 years ago using analog microwave transmission of standard television signals. Today such conferencing is fully digital and flows across UEN's 10-gigabit backbone. More than ever, this technology is relevant in reducing travel costs, enabling learners to focus on their coursework rather than the cost and time associated with commuting.
Now that robust digital networks are largely in place, we hope to see many more innovative uses of technology for education. Network architecture is application agnostic. For example if you can make high definition video work on your network, all other applications are bound to benefit. For example, when students are learning American Sign Language subtle differences in video quality make a significant difference their ability to learn. You can earn more about the Utah Education Network at http://www.uen.org.
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USA.
What kind of education system do we need?
Public elementary and secondary schools around the world were designed for the agrarian age. The six hour school day allowed time for the children to do daily farm chores and the 180 day school year allowed them to help plant and harvest crops. Such schedules meant that school facilities were created around the needs of the farm economy. With the industrial revolution schools became important for the technical skills needed in the factory. Consequently, school facilities became egg carton classrooms comparable to factory workstations and time schedules needed for assembly lines in our factories. Pupils were taught to come to work (school) on time and to follow in lockstep from class to class. They learned the math and reading skills needed to work in the factory. For today’s modern world this design is an inefficient use of talented personnel and facilities.
The primary objectives of K-12 schools today include (1) a baby-sitting function and (2) a learning environment. In a modern society with both parents working the baby-sitting function becomes a critical element of schools. With the present school schedules the baby-sitting function requires us to develop “after school” programs and summer camp experiences.
We must redirect schools so that the learning environment is the most critical school element. More than 100 years ago John Dewy described a project based learning environment. Today with modern technologies we can create that authentic learning environment. Learning needs to be modernized so that all learners are engaged, inspired, and motivated to excel in their pursuit of excellence. Therefore, in a proper environment learners become empowered by the knowledge they gain.
Schools should operate year round and be open at least twelve hours daily. In such a system learners take the time needed to reach their individual educational goals. Some traditional classrooms will still provide lectures, but much of the learning will be project based team activities. Each student will have an individual learning plan. Teachers will be mentors helping learners achieve their goals and objectives. Each learner will have the time he or she needs to accomplish his or her goals and objectives. Most importantly, all learners will have the modern technology that gives them access to information, knowledge, and wisdom.
We must revise our thinking and create learning environments that can produce the skills and knowledge needed for the Twenty First Century.
Our educated forefathers had extensive private libraries. The Library of Congress was reestablished by the donation of Thomas Jefferson’s personal library after the British burned down the original Library of Congress. Thomas Jefferson sold his personal library of 6,487 books to the USA to rebuild the Library of Congress. Today there are digital text devices that weigh only 30 ounces and can hold entire libraries. This means that learners can have their own personal libraries.
The Los Angles Times once named Andrew Carnegie as the most important educator of all time because he pushed for free public libraries. His belief was that any literate person who had access to a library could learn. The printing press and cheap books were the foundations upon which public schools were built in the 1800’s. How will digital books change schools? Today large digital libraries are accessible for first graders.
Every child shall have an Individual Learning Plan and their own tailor made digital library that provides them with the stored resources they need to accomplish their goals. Intellectual curiosity is a compelling motivating force in schools. From an early age children will find schools are places where learners demonstrate their achievements through products whether it is in the arts, sports or scholarly academic pursuits. I can envision a twelve year old giving a public lecture on a subject of interest to her, such as, the social behaviors of elephants or for that matter any subject of interest including political discussions. A twelve year old might give us grater insight into the current healthcare debate.
Schools will provide a wide range of online publishing materials for learners. These publications will include serious academic content, fictional stories, and even cartoons developed by learners. Student digital art galleries will all also find a place on Internet. School Internet sites will include graphic arts, animation, drama, student musical works and scholarly dissertations. .
The challenge is how to inspire, motivate, engage and empower all learners in self-directed learning experiences. When a learner is recognized for his or her good excellent works they are likely to be motivated and empowered to accomplish more rigorous learning challenges.
To illustrate how this might work might work Kirti Bien is a sixth grader in a Santa Anna, California school. Her school mentor is Mrs. Eberman, a master experienced teacher. She has four team members on her in school team and four distance team members. Her distance team members are in Alexandria, VA, Hong Kong, Paris, France, and San Marcos, Texas. The team has a technical mentor, Mr. George Simon who is a meteorologist from the U. S. Weather Bureau. They also have an online consultant from NASA that assists the team with Land Sat data and information. All team members are making weather observations and recording them in their computer data bank. They are especially interested in acid rain; therefore they are making ph measurements of water in their areas. They have access to certain NASA and NOAH data banks and resources. They plan to present their findings at the City Science Fair in the spring. They are working with the school media specialist to develop graphs and with their music teacher they are composing a theme song for their presentation.
In another class the science teacher has created a robot contest. Five person teams are to design a cardboard working robot that that can move across rough terrain, a bridge and pick up four five inch rings and place them on a rod. In addition, the robot must pick up three inch rings and drop them into a cylinder and when finished return to the starting point. The teams have fifteen minutes to carry out this “Challenge of the Rings.” Each team has the teacher mentor, but in addition they have a working engineer that consults with them on their work and design. Such additional consultants are from industry or colleges. The work of the Cardboard Engineers and the final contest are documented on DVDs developed by student teams and broadcast by the local cable company.
Another team is engaged in producing a school play, Alice in Wonderland. When Alice tells the Queen of Hearts something is impossible the Queen replies, “You must practice the impossible…. think of six impossible things before breakfast everyday and then do them.” School reform may appear impossible, but we must develop systems that engage, inspire, motivate and result in excellence that empowers individuals and the nation.
We do not need minor tinkering with schools; we need major new and informed research based new learning environments that challenge the learner’s mind to new horizons. We need learner centric schools with authentic assessment that creates life long learners. We need creative teachers capable of inspiring all children to learn.
There is nothing greater for the future of a nation than its support of its teachers
Christa McAuliffe’s famous quote, “ I have seen the future…I teach.”
was never so important as it is today. We need to think of public education as being from preschool to graduate school. We need to encourage all learners to remain in school as long as they need to reach their goals. It should always be possible to drop back into school.
As long as a learner is learning adequately it is in the interest of the nation that they have the opportunity to be all they can be.
Technology is the open door to life long learning.
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I am commenting by giving a typical unit I would do research on using the internet as a teacher.
Unit on a Shakespeare play by a 6th and 7th grade teacher.
1. I would use the internet as a research tool, i.e. researching Shakespeare through sites like the Folger’s Library
2. I would order books of the text on-line and be able to not only compare prices but research which book is best for my age group.
3. I would find videos of the play. (I sent this to a friend and got 2 great videos recommended already)
4. I would use the internet to order materials, i.e. for bulletin boards
5. I hope your plan would give me the ability to “converse” with another teacher about how Shakespeare can be taught to this age group.
6. I hope your plan would allow me, and other educators, to self-publish and be a source for other teachers.
7. I am hoping this plan would allow the possibility of forming forums for discussion, like:
A. How to organize the unit.
B. Materials that would help in the teaching of the unit.
C Areas to be explored within the unit
D. How to motivate a student or students to enjoy and learn from the unit.
E. Possible cross-curriculum ideas for teaching the unit:
1.) Art:
a. Costume design and construction
b. Design and construction of sets
2.) History
a. History of Shakespeare
b. World history around Shakespeare’s time
c. Shakespeare through the ages until today
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By far the best use of broadband for education is to support teachers who innovate. Most can't - thus the innovation barrier surrounding schools and keeping innovative technology out, including enlightened use of broadband.
Experiments in converting teachers into innovators have been extremely successful. One such program has thousands of teachers in it and they are clamoring for more technology so they can try their ideas out. But until they go through this fundamental transformation, teachers(and the school culture) will continue to resist technology, digital natives or not.
The suggestion: work with programs that convert teachers from "vertical" command-and-control overseers to "horizontal" empower-and-connect innovators. These teachers will provide, en mass, the essential ideas for broadband - they already are.
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maybe it's as simple as this... http://tinyurl.com/kwj9a9 - planning to try it out this fall.
reason: i know we're more together - but the kids don't. is it because we pick their groups for them and then change them every 2 weeks?
ongoing groups built from passion.
very anxious to watch it live in a public classroom. through broadband powered laptops.
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There is a whole generation of digital natives going through graduate schools of education. Don't waste time trying to teach old dogs. Develop relationships with every good grad school in the country. Promote funding for thesis and dissertation research and application. There has been a revolution in what we know about how we know and how we accommodate and assimilate new information. Incorporate it with new technologies. Don't try to do the same old thing online.
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There are some interesting ideas in this document:
http://mitpress.mit.edu/books/chapters/Future_of_Learning.pdf
I wonder if anyone has input on them? The questions about:
* Authority in learning?
* Classroom vs virtual?
* Learning vs participating?
I would appreciate any feedback or comments on this and what it means to you in your classroom, school or other educational domain. Thanks - Steve
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As another proposal implied, there's no one tool or technology that's the answer.
Instead, let's consider using the open standards of the web and those things we already know are popular, for example:
- the random "surprise" element of the browser add-on stumble-upon
- the motivational, incentive-based reards system that comes with a site like freerice.com where kids can feed the world through their successful answers
- plus an underlying architecture of webs site partners that provide content specifically modified to meet the state standardized testing requirements at various grade levels in the key subjects.
You could pilot such a mash-up on the home page of the new broadband program website.
We're got other, research-based ideas generated from the work in our Government 2.0 program. See http://www.wikinomics.com
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Jim Lukaszewski is right. If you want bring people and technology together, become the table where they meet.
But is it really possible to bring data communication professionals, higher education institutions, public school districts, telecom providers, state government, educators, students, parents, public broadcasters and libraries together in a meaningful way? A living example of this kind of statewide collaboration is the Utah Education Network. Take a look at http://www.uen.org.
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We at the FCC would welcome public discussion and advice on how to consider this article in regards to the Education broadband plan:
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/how_tim_oreilly_aims_to_change_government.php
What do you think Tim is talking about here? What would "government as a service" look like in the Education space? Consider varying "shades of grey" -- inside the classroom? Instruction without a classroom? Standards for student data and instructional content and resources? Supporting Professional Development communities?
What ideas do you have on this subject?
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Professional development opportunities for teachers should include some real-time experience for dialog (even F2F, if possible, or at least webcam so voices are not disembodied). They also need to include the convenience and personal flexibility of self-selection and asynchronous scheduling.
TeachersFirst.com, a free, ad-free service of the non-profit The Source for Learning (www.sourceforlearning.org) has been conducting free professional development "snack sessions" for teacher self-directed professional development and exploration of exactly the types of tools that can make their STUDENTS self-directed learners, as well. This "OK2Ask" series has garnered very positive feedback and much repeat attendance. The diversity of teaching experience, location, subject, grades, and curricular interests within the sessions has been a very positive influence, as have the connections made between teachers whose classes are obvious mirrors to each other. You can see some of the sample offerings and watch archived sessions here: http://teachersfirst.wikispaces.com/ok2ask and read the general information here: http://www.teachersfirst.com/ok2ask.cfm
GOOD teachers are eager for non-threatening, supportive chances to experience and participate in learning using broadband-facilitated options, and only by experiencing such self-directed learning will they be able to envision and structure similar models for their students.
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