In previous years I have usually posted my thoughts on the past year and some predictions for the coming year in education and ed tech.  While I will do some light reflection in this post, I am going to refrain from making any predictions.  I am interested in what the coming year holds, but I am also overwhelmed with some major personal changes (not the least of which is the birth of a 3rd child) right at the moment and I just don’t have the brain power to make any kind of educated predictions or guesses about our field for 2010.

As I look back over 2009, I see a year where I witnessed increased interest in, and use of, many Web 2.0 by various employees across our district — from district-level specialists and managers to campus-based administrators and teachers.  In that respect, I feel some satisfaction and I know that in some small ways I helped to foster and support this increased use of Web 2.0 in our work.

On a personal note, the one piece of tech that I think has had the biggest impact on me — at work and at home — has been my new iPhone 3GS.  Every day I discover new apps or new ways to use existing apps to improve many of my daily tasks.  This little “phone” has proven to be more useful than I ever imagined!

On an even more personal note — 2009 has been a busy and hectic year filled with lots of travel (business and family), the construction of our new home, 9 long months of pregnancy, and the purchase of a new vehicle.  To say that there has been a little bit of stress would be an understatement.  It’s been a good year, but a stressful one and I am happy to celebrate it’s end and to welcome in a new year that holds many promises for me both professionally and personally.

On that note — let me take this moment to wish all of you a peaceful, happy, and prosperous 2010!

Most of the books and articles I’ve come across about wikis are concerned with using them in the classroom. Where this book is different is that it addresses the school’s leadership and administration. The subtitle, ‘Using wikis to improve collaboration and communication in education’ gives the first hint that this is no ordinary book on the subject.

His thorough review covers both the strengths and weaknesses of the book — and I agree with his insights including the weaknesses.

The weakest parts of the book are, inevitably, those which contain how-to information about the most popular wikis in use. This kind of information is always bound to date, in ways and at times which are beyond the control of the author. I think it may have been better to have omitted those altogether, perhaps pointing the reader to a section on Sandifer’s website for the book — which is, of course, a wiki: http://wikifiedschools.com.

This is definitely the part of the book that I struggled with the most, and I nearly decided to leave the entire section out.  However, I know from experience that there are some educators out there who prefer to have some instructions in “print” rather than searching online for “how to” and “user support” websites.  Terry is correct in that the information does become dated due to the nature of evolving web tools, and my solution, as he points out, was to include not only the wiki but also to point readers directly to the online resources available for users of each of the wiki services.

You can read the full review here, and if you haven’t already purchased the book, it is available at Amazon.com and on Lulu.com.

I wish all of you a wikified New Year!

You can read more about recent job posting results on their blog.

I am interested in this job board because I think it has the potential to becoming a hub for more innovative job postings — especially since they are trying to promote the job board through education blogs which generally target a more tech-savvy and innovative type of educator.  I could be wrong, but right now that is my thinking on this.

Yes, both students asked questions that to most people would be considered pretty basic and to some people the answers might be obivious, but…

After I answered the second one I reflected on both of them — and on how I responded.  I made it a point to tell both of them in my response that their question was not stupid or novice (or whatever terms they used.)  I enjoyed answering their questions and I hope that they felt better about asking the questions after reading my response.

As far as I am concerned, when it comes to students in a learning situation, there are no stupid questions.  Period.

In fact, just this week I “cheated” (using the standard in-school definition) by asking a friend for a copy of something they use at work and then tweaking it for use at a meeting that I was facilitating.  The document was a template for a “test case” used when doing user-testing on in-development software or web apps.  We were doing some user-testing on a new data collection app and since I don’t have a background in software development I asked a friend of mine who does work in IT as a project manager for an example of what she uses.

In her blog post, Vicki quotes from a recent study on student use of cell phones to cheat on tests in school:

Higher Ed Morning ran an article this week about the Top 5 Ways Students Cheat Electronically, interestingly, all involve the cell phone (surprise!)

They quote a survey by Common Sense Media that states:

“35% of teens use their cell phones to cheat by:

• 26% store info on their phone and look at it while taking a test
• 25% send text messages to friends, asking for answers
• 17% take pictures of a test – and then send it to their friends
• 20% use their phones to search for answers on the Internet
• 48% warn friends about a pop quiz with a phone call or text message”

As I looked at the bulleted list, I realized that I do those things nearly everyday:

• Store info on their phone and look at it while taking a test = storing information in documents (on computer or in binder) and referring to the information during meetings or while working on a project, referring to a users-manual for an application
• Send text-messages to friends, asking for answers = sending tweets to my PLN asking for answers, sending emails or text messages to friends or colleagues looking for answers
• Take pictures of a test and send to friends = share documents and resources with friends and colleagues who are working on similar projects, sharing resources through Twitter (when asked or just as an FYI) for others to use in their work
• Use phones to search for answers on Internet = use phone and computer to search for answers on Internet while working on projects or while in a meeting
• Warm friends about a pop quiz with a phone call or text message = …okay, can’t think of an exact equivalent to this one, but I do recall people sending emails to one another on school campuses to alert others that the superintendent was on site…

So the questions this raises for me is:

• Why do we require memorization in school but not in the workplace?
• Is there a better way to assess learning?
• Where is the fine line between “cheating” and effective use of resources?

I know some of you will probably argue that as adults we do memorize information, but we don’t need to recall for quizzes and exams any longer.  Some of you will also correctly point out that to be in our profession we did have to pass standardized exams that required memorization of certain principles or standards (related to the teaching profession).

However, I do think there are better ways to handle assessment than to continue to the fight against cheating.  Someone posted a comment on Vicki’s post with one  idea:

I just allow kids a 1/2 page sheet of looseleaf with anything on it. I teach Math / Physics. I give them no formulas or constants. By forcing kids to create a “cheat sheet” they end up studying, and often don’t have to look at it at all during the test. And why would they “cheat” with a phone when I allow the sheet? I wonder why we insist on kids memorizing material.

I have also tried different approaches myself including everything from something similar to the above idea to open-book exams and working with one partner.

I know there is no simple solution to this, but it does make me question our curriculum, instruction, and assessment structures.

Today I want to challenge all of you — especially if you are feeling frustrated by slow movement or lack of change — to look at the ways in which you can make change in small steps on a daily basis.  Here are some ideas related to using web tools for productivity:

1. Create and share a Google Doc for the next document on which you need contributions from others.  Do this INSTEAD of creating a Word .doc which then gets emailed out to everyone.
2. For the next meeting you have to attend, ask the meeting organizer if they can send you electronic copies of the agenda and handouts rather than making printed copies for you.  Open these on your computer during the meeting and take notes on them electronically.
3. Create a wiki page where you can share documentation with others for any project that you may be working on with others.  Send them a link to the wiki page rather than multiple files sent as email attachments.

After making one of these changes, take a moment to acknowledge it for yourself and celebrate your success — even if it’s only a  “small win.”

What other simple and “small change” solutions might you suggest to others?

tags: learning, face-to-face, online learning, innovation, school, education

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

I think too often we assume that “professional development” should only be offered by the “professional” professional developers, but when we do that we are missing opportunities to “grow our own.”  I am a strong advocate for building capacity in the people within our organizations and I fully believe that in each building (each school, each district office) there is a wealth of talent and experience outside of the traditional professional development staff.

I am not saying that it isn’t important to have dedicated professional development staff members, but I am saying that with all of the PD that occurs across our schools and districts on a daily basis there are MANY opportunities to allow others (teachers, administrators, counselors, etc.) to facilitate sessions, share their expertise, and build their leadership skills.

However, we all know that we have some very talented educators who have much to share but who haven’t had much experience facilitating adult learning in professional development settings.  It can be tempting to avoid providing facilitation opportunities when you worry that people just don’t have the skills to do it.  Avoid that temptation and give those people support.  This is where the “professional” PD staff can be helpful — they can coach these other people on some basic facilitation skills before the event.

Some tips for getting started (or improving if you already provide these opportunities:

• Provide support and coaching
• Send out a beginning of the year survey to see who has something they might like to share in a session
• Build in regular time — even 15 minutes at each scheduled faculty meeting for a mini-session is helpful
• Incorporate online media to support this outside of scheduled PD sessions (blog, wiki, Ning, etc.)
• Try a full-day mini-conference with all sessions facilitated by different people on your staff (on a previous campus of mine we had great success with this — the faculty really appreciated learning from their own colleagues)
• Recognize that facilitation is also a form of professional development and allow those facilitators to include their facilitation as part of their own annual professional learning hours.

What else would you add to this list?

How do you arrange for professional development activities in your organization?  Who facilitates your professional development?

From the article (I have highlighted the numbers in bold):

At Frost Elementary on Houston’s south side, third- and fourth-graders gathered in the school’s library to watch Obama’s address on TV. No parents opted out their children, according to Principal Christian Winn….

Not all school principals, superintendents or parents in the Houston area were as enthusiastic about Obama’s speech. Several school districts decided not to show the speech live. Galena Park, for example, recorded the speech and teachers can opt to show it later in the week. The district has received opt-out notices from parents of 59 of about 21,300 students, said spokesman Craig Eichhorn…

In the Klein school district, which encouraged teachers to show the speech if it fit into their lessons, most parents seemed to let their children watch. At Klein Forest High School, for example, about two dozen of the 3,400 students were excused…

Westside High School in the Houston Independent School District appeared to draw one of the largest protests from parents. About 300 students, or 10 percent of the study body, were opted out of watching the speech…

While I do understand that some districts decided not to air the speech (or at least not air it live), for those that did air the speech the “opt-out” numbers seem very low to me considering all of the noise that was made prior to the speech being aired.

I don’t see data on how many phone calls the districts received and whether or not the number of phone calls was comparable to the numbers above, but I do find the low numbers very interesting.

What about your school or district?  What was your attendance like yesterday?  How many students on your campus were opted-out of viewing the speech by their parents?

Apply to become a TED Fellow @ TED2010!

Ever dreamed of attending a TED Conference…of being around some of the world’s greatest minds and discussing the best technology, art, architecture, music, film, science, literature, etc? Are you innovative and want to meet with other people like you from around the world? Then apply to the TED Fellows program!

Apply online here: www.ted.com/fellows/apply.

Organizers of the TED Conference are searching for 25 promising Fellows from around the world to participate in TED2010. The TED Fellows program will accept applications for fellowships from through September 25, 2009.

MORE INFO:

About the TED Fellows Program

The TED Fellows program is a new international fellowship program designed to nurture great ideas and help them spread around the world. This year, organizers will select 25 individuals from around the world to attend TED2010. At the end of the year, organizers will select 15 individuals from a pool of the TED and TEDGlobal Fellows to participate in an extended three-year Senior Fellowship, bringing them to six consecutive conferences. The principal goal of the program is to empower the Fellows to effectively communicate their work to the world.

Benefits

Benefits of the Fellowship include conference admission, round-trip transportation, housing and all meals. Fellows will also participate in a pre-conference with the opportunity to present a short talk for consideration for TED.com, elite skills-building courses taught by world experts, social opportunities and surprise extras. This is not a monetary Fellowship; the benefits are in-kind only.

Who we are looking for:

The program seeks remarkable thinkers and doers who have shown unusual accomplishment, exceptional courage, moral imagination and the potential to increase positive change in their respective fields. The program focuses on innovators in technology, entertainment, design, science, film, art, music, entrepreneurship and the NGO community, among other pursuits. The program targets individuals from the Asia/Pacific region, Africa, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Middle east, though anyone from anywhere in the world is welcome to apply. Applicants are generally between 21-40 years of age, though anyone over 18 and over 40 may apply. They must also be fluent in English.

Application process and more information:

All applicants must apply online at http://www.ted.com/fellows/apply. Information about TED is available at http://www.ted.com; and information about TED2010 is available at http://conferences.ted.com/TED2010/.

Please email fellows@ted.com if you have any questions, would like more information, if you’d like to nominate an extraordinary individual!

About TED:

TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader to include science, business, the arts and the global issues facing our world. The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes). Attendees have called it “the ultimate brain spa” and “a four-day journey into the future.” The diverse audience — CEOs, scientists, creatives, and philanthropists — is almost as extraordinary as the speakers, who have included Bill Clinton, Bill Gates, Nandan Nilekani, Ashraf Ghani, Jane Goodall, Vilayanur Ramachandran, Ngozi Okongo-Iweala, Sir Richard Branson, Stephen Hawking and Bono.