Shift Happens

I am sure most of you have been shown a “Shift Happens” video at one time or another. If you haven’t: http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=1785. It is a real eye-opener and what the principal at my school used as a motivator for us to use more technology in our classrooms. I was thinking about the changes that are so rapidly taking place in today’s technology and that prompted me to look back on my technology journey. My dad is a computer programmer so we always had the most current technology in my childhood home. Does anyone remember the gaming system, Odyssey 2000? It was one of the first gaming systems, introduced in the early 70’s. We stuck a “cling-on” tennis court to the TV screen and proceeded to hit a white “ball” back and forth. What a sharp contrast to the incredible graphics and 4-D gaming that the kids have today! Our next big technology purchase was an Atari gaming system, then a Radio Shack TRS-80. When I think back to the simplistic nature of these machines compared to what we can do now it blows my mind. At the age of 12, my first job experience with a computer was doing keypunching at my dad’s office every Saturday morning. I loved it so much I spent my high school career focusing on learning how to do COBOL programming and card punching. For two years, three hours a day that is what my focus was. By the time I entered the work force these skills were already becoming obsolete. I never even saw another computer that required a card reader. I used to think that I wasted my time in high school on useless knowledge. I now think different. The problem solving, reasoning, and computer skills that I learned have accompanied me through my personal and professional life. My point is, don’t be discouraged that we cannot keep up with technology and that it is a losing battle so why bother using it with our students. It isn’t. We need to help ourselves and our students become comfortable with technology and problem solving techniques so that we are not afraid to tackle the new technology as it comes.

Review of the National Educational Technology Plan

I found the plan to be very interesting reading and was encouraged to hear the direction that education is moving in. The goals of the plan are very similar to those of the Michigan Educational Technology Plan, however, the national plan goes into much greater detail within each goal. It was evident that the people that developed this plan understand the plight of the American educator: teaches in isolation, not enough planning time, limited resources. The plan discusses how we as educators need to become involved in Connected Teaching, to not be so isolated in our teaching; that we need to explore best practices through on-line professional learning communities. The document also had within it links to on-line teaching resources. I was instantly connected to sites such as Mathforum.org and Teachers.tv.

Although I found the plan to be inspirational, as with any plan there has to be a way to implement it. Unfortunately, updating the technology found in schools and educating teachers to use the technology is very costly. The computers in the school that I work in are so old and slow that newer software and internet applications won’t run on them and we do not have the funding to outfit each classroom with new computers. I could not find where the plan discussed where the funding to reach all of these wonderful goals is going to come from. How do we keep schools outfitted with the equipment and training they need to keep up with the technology that our kids need to be successful in the 21st century global economy? I saw a t-shirt once that read, “It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to get a new bomber.”

Review of the 2009 Michigan Educational Technology Plan (Grades 3-5)

The school that I work for is a small private school. We are currently aligning our curriculum to the Michigan Content Level Expectations. We have not yet begun looking at the Michigan Technology Standards as classroom teachers. Our students attend a 45-minute computer class per week. The computer teacher is required to turn in plans that are aligned to the Michigan Educational Technology Standards. After thoroughly reading this document, I can see how impossible it is for this teacher to adequately prepare our students in 45-minutes per week and how it is imperative that the classroom teacher be involved in the technology education of our students.

It is very evident that, in order to meet the standards, technology has to be incorporated into every aspect of the student’s education. Although we have a Smartboard in every classroom and a computer lab, these tools are not being used to the extent which they need to be used. We use them for the occasional math drill and practice or to bring up documents that were once displayed on an overhead projector. Based on these standards it is expected, and it should be expected, that the teacher be innovative and pursue new ways to incorporate these important technology standards into his/her everyday teaching.

After reading the standards I couldn’t help but wonder how teachers are expected to meet them when they themselves do not know how to do many of these things that the kids are expected to learn and also do not have access to much of the technology that is mentioned. I am hopeful that the 2010 Michigan Educational Technology Plan will help remedy these problems and make it possible for schools to train staff effectively and update equipment. Unfortunately, every year that goes by that a school remains outdated is another year that new technologies are being implemented and another year that we fall behind.

Review of 2010 Michigan Educational Technology Plan

The 2010 Michigan Educational Technology Plan gave me the opinion that the State of Michigan is serious about providing Michigan students with the tools they need to succeed in a global economy.

First, I think it is very important that the technology goals are integrated into the Michigan Curriculum Framework. Teachers already complain that they cannot possibly meet all of benchmarks without adding more. In order for teachers to keep an open mind it is important that they do not look at these goals “as more work”, but look at the goals as a tool to reach the benchmarks in a different way.

Secondly, requiring that all students receive one-credit through an on-line course as a graduation requirement insures that all students are being exposed to technology. I am sure that it will be hard for the state to verify that all students have access to technology-enabled learning opportunities throughout their school career. Making this a graduation requirement helps to push the schools into the 21st century.

Finally, requiring that all educators be competent in the implementation and use of technology to educate students is long overdue! How can we expect to educate kids to be successful in this technology driven world if the extent of our technical savvy is typing on a word processor? My only concern is that the teachers that have Permanent Teaching Certificates will not be included in this because they do not have to get certificate renewals.

I know with the decline of enrollment in Michigan schools many districts are finding themselves struggling to keep schools open let alone incur more costs. It is vital that we find corporate partners and federal funds that will help the State of Michigan meet the goals of this plan and help make 21st century technology available to all students.

Cyber Bullying

How would you like to go on YouTube and find a video made about your 13 year-old daughter? The video you find is two girls narrating a book that illustrates different ways that your daughter may die – dog attack, electrocution, drowning. All of her fears brought to life by two girls that don’t like her. You go to the school board with the video and they tell you they cannot do anything about it because it did not happen at school. The parents of the culprits are angry with you because you went to the school board and now you are the bad guy. This is my friends experience with cyber bullying.

I was horrified when I heard this story. I think that the victim was saddened most by the thought that many of the students in her school had viewed the video. Bullying has been around since the dawn of time; however, it now is a whole new monster. The “old” bullying was done face to face or maybe a hateful note was slipped onto someone’s desk at school. The victim went home after school and the bullying stopped, at least for the day. There was always the possibility that you would not see the bully the next day or he/she may have found a new victim. Now, cyber bullies can bombard their victims 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Statistics show that 42% of kids have been bullied online and 58% of those kids never told an adult (Based on 2004 i-SAFE survey of 1,500 students grades 4-8 ).

The only way that this type of bullying can be prevented is through parental control. Parents must monitor what their children are doing on-line by restricting use, keeping the computer in a location in the home that is public, talking to their kids about cyber bullying, and not being naïve. Also, school authorities cannot turn their back on cyber bullying because eventually it will become the schools problem in one way or another – whether the fight continues on school grounds, a student commits suicide, or a student retaliates with violence against the student body.

Cyber High Schools

My how high school has changed since I graduated from high school in 1983! It is amazing to think that our children have access to learn about “virtually” anything. My son graduated from high school this past May. In his junior year he wanted to take AP Chemistry and signed up for the course. The class was cancelled because only five other students had signed up and it was not economically feasible for the school to provide a teacher for only six students. We were very disappointed. The school did not provide us with any options for my son to take this course. My son is now entering college and is majoring in chemistry. It would have been wonderful for him to be one step ahead in his college career by learning more about chemistry before entering college. He may have even found that he is not interested in pursuing a career in chemistry had he taken the course. I am now wondering why we were not given the opportunity to explore the cyber high school option.

Cyber or virtual high schools are used by many different groups of students: special needs, struggling, gifted and talented, and students such as my son who needed a course that his school didn’t offer. I visited the Michigan Virtual School website (www.mivhs.org). The school offers more than 350 courses, coursed ranging from mathematics to Mandarin Chinese and Film Studies. The virtual school also offers career exploration tools and on-line resources for teachers.

There are many different learning modalities. Cyber high schools are another tool for educators to use to help reach every student. Cyber high schools may not work for all children, however, they may be exactly what some children need to succeed. I hope that all traditional schools see the benefit of cyber high schools and provide this very important option for students who may not be benefiting from the traditional school setting.