What do you mean, Your Pen is out of Ink?

Many years ago, when the first ink-filled pen was invented, people found something wrong with the new technology. The pen would eventually run dry of ink... where would that leave you? The old technology was just simplified a bit to include a writing tool and the media in which became visible on paper. This was all included in one neat package for consumers to purchase. Everyone needed to have a supply of pens available just in case theirs ran out of ink.

Along came the calculator. Now this made people really upset. You mean to tell me that all you have to do is hit a button and find the answers to difficult math problems? Once again people found something wrong with this technology. If people relied on calculators to figure these problems out, what would happen if they needed an answer and there was no calculator?

Now comes the old saying... History repeats itself. This couldn't be more true. Along comes the computer. The computer is not only used for finding information, but also for publishing in the 21st Century. Now this enraged people. You mean that you can hit a few buttons and find every important historical event that happened on August 12? You mean that you can also publish writing for the world to see in a few minutes? You mean with the same tool, you can pay your bills, find a hotel, shop for Christmas, complete a research project, publish your knowledge, find directions to anywhere, visit any location in the world, and talk to anyone via streaming video? What would happen if we didn't have access to a computer?

I began thinking of this a few days ago. I had a few conversations with different people about a broad range of subjects.



Example A:
A friends cousin just returned from West Virginia University, where he switched majors from Engineering to Business. I asked him why he switched majors and he replied "Engineering was just too hard". This sparked a conversation about the content he was learning to become an engineer. It was a long conversation, but the short version is... the 4 years is spent learning the hard way to do calculations to ridiculous math problems. His question was, "Why would I want to spend 4 years learning how to do calculations that would take me a few minutes to do once I become an engineer. They spend the 4 years deriving equations and completing formulas without the use of the computer or even calculators.

Example B:
A conversation the other night with a few teachers led to a discusion about Wikipedia. One teacher said, "All of my students call themselves DOING RESEARCH, when they get all of their information from Wikipedia and other websites". I said "What do you call it"? She continued with explaining to me how the kids are lazy and doing research today is just too easy.

It seems that there has always been a deep routed issue with society embracing a new technology. The same people that were upset with the invention of an ink pen are now upset with the invention of the computer. These new technologies make doing certain tasks easier. So what happens if you don't have these technolgies? I don't think that is a valid question. We have these technologies, and they are here to stay. Whether I am at work or at home, I have a computer with an internet connection. That means I have a calculator and a pen that doesn't even use ink. Changes in technology will always occur. We need to embrace these technologies and not be afraid to rely on the power that they have.

Prove Yourself Boy!

The latest attempt to regulate online content has reared its ugly head in the form of a false pretense. Of course, it's all about freeing up bandwidth, so that everyones computer will operate a little faster. Can someone tell me how accessing a blog will slow things up.

Yes, I have been waiting for the day, my own blog has been blocked by our school system. I knew this day was coming. While I was at a training one Friday at a Highschool in another County in Maryland, all blogs were blocked. Waiting to start the training, I tried to access my aggregator to read my blogs. What? Pageflakes is blocked? I laughed, thinking that my own district would never do this.

The difference seems to lie in whether your blogging site is deemed a "social networking site" or a "learning networking site". My district has blocked all "social networking" sites. I guess Blogger is considered social. Oh well. We all know how schools think of being social. 90% of the day, students aren't allowed to talk.

I contacted our tech. guy and told him that I sometime use my professional blog in my class to show students the methods in which I learn on a daily basis. I know he is just the messenger, so I am not upset with him. I also know that this was not a personal attack on me. The tech decision makers didn't get together and say "We have to get rid of this guys blog, he's spending too much work time on it". However this may have went down, I am somewhat disappointed in our school system. When they want to block sites from use for the employees and students of the district, they need to think of what they are actually blocking. When they block whole categories, they need to think of the message they are sending to the teachers and the students. Blocking is saying "WE DON'T TRUST YOU". Not only do they have trust issues, but blocking some of these sites are doing our students a disservice in the classroom. Especially in a classroom like mine. I tend to use many sites to engage students on a daily basis. My options are beginning to be limited. I hope they don't block our WIKI. This would make many students revolt. I don't think the district wants 200 3-5 graders knocking on their door with questions :)

Any way, enough with a rant. Now it is down to me proving that my Blog is educational. What exactly does that mean? How do I prove this? Do I need to invite some Board Members into my classroom on a day that I share an aspect of my Personal Learning Network? Should I invite each of you to a Board Meeting to show them how many people I learn from on a daily basis by being "social"? I don't know the answer. But I need to find one quick.

A New Honest World

I love this new honest world we all live in. Who would have thought that one day, politicians would have to actually tell the truth. No longer, can they get away with deceit, lies and misspoken facts. Everything is recorded. Everything is videotaped. Everything is made public. Out the window is accepting bribes for political gain. A Politician can't even have an extra-marital affair anymore.

A new day has emerged. As soon as a news story emerges, it's posted to a blog or Youtube. If you say it publicly, you are held accountable for what you say. Millions scrutinize your every word or action. Check out this video posted yesterday with 1.2 million hits...



Obviously, someone at CBS is a Barack supporter. Who can blame them. The worst anyone can tie to Barack is inconvenient associations with questionable people. Barack had dealings with a businessman with a questionable past and a Preacher that speaks his mind.

However, I do wish some other small inconsistencies would be revealed to the public...

1. Why do we pay almost $4.00 a gallon for gas while Iraq averages a measly $.23? Hopefully, if gas prices continue to rise, the public will see that we need to be mainstreaming alternative fuels.

2. When is our Government going to blame our Economic problems on the War in Iraq. Oh yeah, we borrowed most of that money from other Countries. Now we have a huge debt that probably won't be paid back in my lifetime.

3. When are we going to find out the names of the intelligent officials who screwed up by saying "there are weapons of mass destruction in Iraq". We need all of the names so they can be held accountable for the many lives they have destroyed. They should be in Iraq fighting also.

4. Why does the fate of our public schools rely solely on the test taking skills of students who would rather be outside while the weather is warming.

5. Why do we still rely on Multiple Choice Tests to gauge a students knowledge. Multiple Choice Tests are probably the most remedial form of assessment known. Oh yeah, I forgot about True/False.

I would like to have some of these issues covered on Youtube. Can anyone bring light to my eyes?

Online Predators?

It brings evil images into ones head. When I hear the phrase, I automatically think of a middle-aged man sitting in his basement, waiting to spark up a conversation online with a child. Television shows like "To Catch a Predator", reveal that these are people that we may interact with every day.

This is a new report from American Psychologist, a journal of the American Psychological Association.

The report, Online ‘Predators’ and Their Victims: Myths, Realities and Implications for Prevention, sure does put a new twist into the definition of an online predator.

Many eye opening statistics are revealed in this report... You can read it for yourself.

This brings up the importance of education when it comes to children using the internet. How can we expect a child to make decisions about what information not to share online? This would be compared to sitting a child in the seat of a tractor, and telling them to plow a field without any knowledge of how the tractor operates. They would obviously make many mistakes before they figured it out. This is what we are doing with the children.

Online predators are not going anywhere. I'm sorry to say, but they are here to stay. As children continue to use tools online at an earlier age, these types of instances will continue to occur. If parents are not willing to educate their children about online relationships, someone has to. Is this the job of schools? I would argue that it may be.

I tend to integrate knowledge of online child participation into my science classes on a daily basis. We have conversations as to how to properly use the internet, what information is safe to give, and what information you should never give out. I lead by example, explaining to the students how I publish information online. I show them my blog, use wiki's, and speak of what is acceptable to publish. I explain the digital information trail that one leaves behind on the internet.

These are conversations that need to happen in schools. Until next blog...

The Trust Issue

An interesting post by Carolyn Foote. She talks about wikis, students and trust.
This issue is one that weighs on my mind every day. Students use the internet to research information for reports and projects. It is natural that students will use sites that give them up-to-date information about a certain subject area. These sites happen to be in the form of open source sites such as wikis. Being open source seems to frighten some people. The fact that anyone sitting in their bedroom in their underwear can edit an informational site on the internet seems not trustworthy to some people.
What is trustworthy? I would like to argue that all informational text, be it in print or digital, is not trustworthy. When we read to gather information, we are absorbing information that in most cases is bias.
Is a Science Textbook printed 10 years ago trustworthy?
We need to be careful when we decide to take anyones ideas for fact. The important step that we miss sometimes is to question. My students often question me, and I welcome it. I feel as though this is a crucial step in the process of learning.
Open Source sites such as Wikipedia are more powerful than anyone can even imagine. These sites are constantly being questioned by everyone in the world. If you edit information, you better have done your homework, or it will be changed back almost immediately. Sometimes the back channel chats on Wikipedia are even more revealing than the front page.
To sum up the conversation, I think that open source sites are crucial to our learning environment in the 21st Century. In my opinion, trust shouldn't even be an issue. Until next blog...

21st Century Skills Class

What a great idea for Middle or High Schools. A class that teaches students what will be needed of them in the 21st Century. This is what we need.
A post by David Warlick made me actually think about these possibilities. I wonder if this possibility has even been considered in my district. It seems as though an investigation will have to be done. If their is a way... I want to be involved. Many ideas are floating around in my head.

I think it would necessary to focus on ways in which the students are already communicating. This would be a great question to ask students that will be taking the course. Their ideas are probably more relevant than ours. There are many possibilities for the structure of such a course. I think the most important idea is that the class should be student directed and teacher moderated.

Some themes below…

Social Networks vs. Learning Networks

Digital Natives vs. Digital Guests

Digital Publishing

Information Editing (this is a big one)

21st Century Communication

Having your digital voice heard

Global Culture

Exploding Walls Project

Mr. Mayo is getting the word out globally with his Exploding Walls Project. His Eighth Graders have put together a video to capture the essence of what web 2.0 is all about... smashing the "old ways of doing things in the classroom". Check it out!

SLA = Something Special

Imagine a school were students actually have a voice. Imagine a school where students love to come to take part in something special. The day to day operations are ran by the students. Important decisions can be made by the students. The school is a community, not just a place where the students come from 8 to 4 Monday through Friday. Collaboration between staff and student is done on a daily basis by any means possible. If one student is falling behind, they are picked up by the community, for the community. Teachers are more like mentors and moderators rather than facilitators and instructors. Ideas are introduced and discussed, then questioned and debated. Assignments are open ended for the students to decide what form the final outcome will take. Outcomes are not graded or scrutinized, but questioned for purpose and relativity. Students have full access to learning and social networks. These networks are collaborative and reach globally. Students start to have a sense of purpose in the world. They realize that they can make a difference… in fact, they already have. They are a part of something special, and it shows in their faces.

I just visited this school... The SLA (Science Leadership Academy) in Philadelphia, PA. What a wonderful opportunity for about 200 individuals that went to EduCon 2.0 this weekend. I just spent the 4 hour drive home reflecting and regurgitating (in my head) everything that I heard and witnessed this weekend. Now, I have the ultimate task of getting the word out in my own neck of the woods. I already have a plan... I think.

Will Richardson, Chris Lehmann and Gary Stager discuss life

Putting faces to names and voices to Tweets was all overwhelming and refreshing at the same time. Many ideas and keyboard strokes have faces and voices now and many more connections were made.

Student UStreaming a session at EduCon 2.0

A variety of people attended EduCon 2.0. I am sure that when today's last session was over, everyone took with them something different. I know what I took away from this conference... HOPE. I have hope that this can be achieved, that the student voice can be heard as an equal in the educational system. I would like to thank Chris Lehmann and the students of SLA for an experience that I will always remember. Thank you for opening the SLA doors this weekend. I hope to hear more from you in the future.

America: Falling Behind

Reading Scott Mcleod's blog, he posted about a documentary that looks as if it describes a reason we Americans are falling behind in a global economy. I am definitely ordering a copy.

Why attend EduCon 2.0?

George Washington close-up, originally uploaded by wdelauder2002.

I am looking forward to traveling North to Philly this weekend. I was in Philadelphia in July, 2007 on my way to Maine. Had to stop to get a Cheese steak at Pat's. Needles to say, I love Philadelphia.

It will be encouraging to get away from the stagnate teachers to hang out with teachers that are practicing what they preach. It is ironic that I will be missing the Pre-Conference on Friday to attend a training on the new Computerized MSA (Maryland State Assessment) Science Test we will be giving in April. Works out good that the training is in Bel Air, Maryland about 20 miles north of Baltimore... pretty much on my way to Philly. I wish I could be there to tour the SLA and have good conversations. Looks like the conversations will have to start on Saturday morning for me.

Here are a few reasons I will be attending EduCon 2.0...

1. Real conversations with real innovators that don't blow smoke.

2. Communication with educators that have similar thoughts about the future of the education system.

3. Having my voice heard in the process of change. Sharing some ideas that I may have for classroom/web 2.0 integration.

4. Making connections with those that I admire in the realm of education reform.

5. Making new friends, finding new avenues to explore.

W.E. Revolution Part 2

Woody's Pictures 260, originally uploaded by wdelauder2002.

The revolution is working without many hiccups. I know that many teachers across the world use limited worksheets. However, I am trying to prove a point. Students and Teachers make more meaningful connections to the world by "doing" more meaningful assignments.

3rd grade assignment. Create an accurate map of the United States that will be used to show landforms and bodies of water. Once the maps are created, they will have a totally student created topographical map of the United States. Other additions to the map will be student driven... fault lines, tectonic plates.

Students have become perceptive to the changes I am making. I discussed everything with each class. I talked to them about the importance of making meaningful connections to the curriculum. I discussed with them that the products we will be creating will be completed by them alone. They will have stake in the final product. Most information will be presented online using programs such as Google Earth and Wikipedia.

I explained to the students that these changes are not going to make their school day easier, but will allow them to actually learn and retain the knowledge easier. Most students are all grins. Most students love a challenge. I say "most students" because there are always a few students that take a little longer to jump on board at no fault of their own.

By the way... the idea of tracing the map from the LCD projector was student generated. Yes, 3rd grade students (8 year olds) do have a decision making voice here.

More to come about this assignment, as it will probably take a while to complete.

"Help Make The Network Real"

Add to the wiki. Will Richardson, Karl Fisch, and Anne Smith will be presenting outside of Philadelphia tomorrow at "21st Century Education:20/20 Vision for Schools". Planning on making it a global event and proving their point, they have created a wiki for us to add our info too. Good luck Will, Karl and Anne. Hopefully you will make some new friends:)

Regulation without Education

Reading through my aggregator last night, I was pleased to see a new post in added in one of my favorite blogs as of late. Students 2.0 has a unique perspective being from students across the globe writing for education reform. Sean "The Bass Player" ...

To me, this begs the question: if someone of such a high stature can adapt with the times, and incorporate the technologies found around us in to something that has done its job over the past 50 years then why do these technologies not have a place in our classrooms right now? Why are the schools the only places left that don’t seem to want to adapt?

Sean talking of the Queen's Christmas broadcast being posted on YouTube. The comments are taking a great turn. This is a conversation that needs to happen between students and teachers. Some educators get it and some don't. The ultimate problem will not be solved by issuing a regulation or a law against this Internet content. Of course some students, if given the opportunity, will find inappropriate videos/pictures/content. The problem lies with teachers and students. Irresponsible teachers and students should be punished.
Many problems in our society have been bandaged by making a quick law that makes the action illegal without solving the actual problem... (guns, drugs, immigration). Make the gun illegal, there becomes a black market = more crime. Make the drug illegal, there becomes a black market = more crime. You "should" get the point. It is surprising to me that some people just don't get it. When something becomes illegal it also becomes glorified.
Back to the point of the post...
There are some interesting videos that I wish I could share with my students. These videos just happen to be posted on a site that is blocked by my district. Why not let teacher discretion decide what is appropriate for our students? Oh that's right, we are not trusted to make decisions. This is why all the decisions are made for us. This is sad. It also sounds a little like the relationship between teacher and student in our schools. We don't trust them, so we create most of the work for them... they just need to fill in the blanks.
The theme of a nation...
This happens in all aspects of our society. To name a few... (seat belt laws, helmet laws, food labels, drug laws, gun laws) These laws are created because the government does not trust "us" to make the right decision. They create a law and say "we did our job, you can't blame us".

Flat Classrooms

Scratch, originally uploaded by wdelauder2002.

I am currently rereading The World is Flat by Friedman. There are some new Chapters and insights that are updated. Each time I read the book, a take a little more with me. This book should be on everyones must read list.

This leads me to think about how Flat our (some of our) classrooms have become. Some teachers still rule with an iron fist and direct the lives of the students each day. All I can say to this type of teacher is... Read this book and you will have a whole new outlook on your teaching strategies. Friedman does a wonderful job at making you think while staying neutral with his opinion. What a great book!

Science Project Reform

Woody's Pictures 225, originally uploaded by wdelauder2002.

The Science Fair Project idea seems so mechanical to me. The idea has lost some of its focus. After days of putting this together, I realized that we need to make some changes.
Next year, I would like to give students some options for their Science Fair Projects. They would be able to complete the normal investigation with 3 or more trials and data graphs, or they can produce a project that is web 2.0 based. This will keep the projects interesting and unique to create.
Students creating wiki's, blogs and social networks with a focus in mind is the ultimate goal.
The problem:
The web 2.0 based projects will not be considered in the judging process unless we change the entire judging criteria on the County and State level. This will be a hard shell to crack. We all know that school systems do not necessarily embrace change. They are comfortable in doing the same activities each year. It's easy.
I want to create more work, and I am ready for the change.
Any ideas or input on this topic would be great :)

Santa 2.0

My first time volunteering to play the role of Santa at our yearly Polar Express Literacy Night was an enlightening experience. Students asked for anything from basketballs to money. The overall theme of gift wishes came in the form of the ipod. About 75% of the students that came up to me wanted to get their hands on an ipod. One 3rd grader even wanted a digital video camera so "they can post video to YouTube". Some students asked for a laptop. Some students went the gaming route, asking for the Wii. One student even asked for a job, so they could help their parents pay for the bills. Overall a great experience.

Kids are using these technologies. Even if they aren't at the moment, it seems as if they would like to. I think back to items I used to ask for for Christmas, and boy they have changed. I only hope that parents embrace their kids want/need for these new types of literacy's.

Is Cloning Legal?

As I walk through school every day, I wonder how we get away with what we do. A fourth grade teacher reciting words in sentences for a spelling test... A third grade class in a straight line waiting for a bathroom break... A fifth grade teacher having their students work on a word find while checking their e-mail... a Kindergarten teacher spending hours after school cutting out shapes (I guess students can't do this anymore)... Instructional Leadership Teams having meetings about the best way to teach to the test (shhhh... were not supposed to say that)... Administrators more worried about you having your Emergency Substitute Plans turned in than how you may be involving your students in the learning process.

These are just a few of the mindless/arbitrary/innate activities that occur in an elementary school on a daily basis. This leads me to ask the question... What are we teaching our students?

While our world is going through the most fundamental changes that have ever occurred in regards to how we receive and relay information, our education system is stagnate.

We are creating student clones with minimal creativity, old technology use and 200 year old methods. Students are left to wonder (why?) they attend school. I often think of a similar question... why did I have to go to college to teach?

The majority of educators want to do what is best for the students. I know I do. Teaching is my job. This is how I make my living. I try to separate my personal life from my profession. Somehow, it always leads me back to this blog and the many other blogs that I read. I have actually found a road that is paved with the knowledge of learning, sharing and creation. The knowledge growth and reflection that has taken place in my life since I have been exposed to web 2.0 tools, surpasses any college education that I have received. We need to expose students to this world. It's a world they are already exploring without any guidance at home in their personal lives. They need guidance to make sense of the new literacy's that are available to them on the Internet.

Some questions to ponder...

1. How do we as teachers change the lives of our students?

2. What changes can we make to provide optimum growth in creativity?

3. As teachers/students, HOW do we learn?

4. As teachers/students, HOW do we teach?

5. How can we make a difference in our education system?

Rethinking the Textbook

Motivated by a fellow blogger, I have decided to discuss a topic I feel passionate about. Textbooks have been a life-long problem for me. I never enjoyed buying, covering or reading them. In fact, I can't remember one that I have read. However, I do enjoy reading.
Along with being boring, textbooks are also outdated. Taking on average 2 years to create, by the time they are published, the information is ancient. Using textbooks presents another problem with the whole learning process. Students read and retain information for a short period of time. Is this really learning? What would happen if students were asked to create their own textbooks?
Students with the power to create their own textbook in the form of a wiki would have stake in the information. The information could be edited on a daily basis. The students would have the power to create, delete, and edit information. The creation process provides the student with a road to pave with information and creativity.
The independent learner would strive in this environment. This leads me to my next discussion... creating independent learners.
Until we as teachers let students make their own decisions as to how they learn, students will continue to depend on their teacher to guide them through the learning process. Welcome to a downward spiral of a stagnate education system.

Building Bridges

I haven't had much time to blog as of lately. I have been working on launching a website geared towards networking my community. The website is is collaborative and will be used for anyone in the community to post and share information of importance. The boundaries have not quite been defined. Hopefully this will be done by the community. My goal is to launch the site June 1st, 2008. Creation of the pages and database is my overwhelming goal at this time.

As for talk in the blogging world. I have been reading, with not much commenting. Interesting conversations, but I haven't had the time. Talk of blocking sites in school, interesting ways to use technology in schools, and keynote conversations all interest me. I could write for days on these topics. Days, I do not have. Sometimes taking information in without adding your own insight is relaxing. Hopefully with the break coming up at the end of the month, will come some time to add some insight.

School technology vs. School 2.0

The push for technology in schools is the overwhelming theme in schools today. I am not quite sure that the emphasis is on the proper tools. Using online databases, LCD projectors, streaming videos, information tutorials, and educational sites is not enough. Most teachers can use these tools. Who am I kidding... most teachers don't use these tools. That is another topic though.

The problem with pushing technology is that it has many ill effects. A while ago, I wrote a blog about our district and its building of a planetarium. This is put under the false pretense of creating a digital classroom. The Superintendent of our school system is caught up in the hype of being a leader in technology in Maryland. This building will be stationed at our new highschool and will be finished by 2011. As of right now, I can go to Google Earth and switch it over to Google Sky. Any constellation and star can be seen for free. I can project this with my LCD projector in my classroom right now for free. I do not know how much this planetarium will cost, but I'm sure it is not going to be free. I am sure that they will have a huge opening ceremony and our Superintendent will get high praise. But should he?

How many computers could we have bought with this money?

My point...

I think we should be focusing on 1 laptop per child, and school 2.0 literacy training for our teachers. Once we have a laptop for every child, we can start focusing on the literacy aspects. As of right now, my school has a laptop cart with 24 computers. A teacher travels around on the cart having the students use "old technology". This is not the direction we should be heading. We need to prepare the students for a life of using these tools not only to gain information, but to add to the information. I feel if we continue in this direction, our students are going to fall far behind those in which are exposed to web 2.0. We need to stop hiding being a facade of recognition, and start preparing students.