Session 10- Wrapping It Up

After so many years working with, in and on instructional technology, it was wonderful to take my first distance learning class. I have worked on learning distance classes as a developer and instructional specialist, and it was great to be on the other side as a student. Also, I have learned so much with my projects- I have created websites and blogs, but never learned how to host them myself until now.

I enjoyed looking at Rogers again, and very much appreciated Dr. Newberry's Technology Hierarchy- I have been using this model as a way of explaining and justifying my recommendations for adoption and diffusion of new technology, both at my site and within my district.

And to give a name to the frustration that is Ed Norman; what a droll, perfect two-word descriptor for this syndrome. Mostly, I need to look for Ed inside of myself as I branch out to more and more support and innovation within my region.

As anyone that has had a chance to look at my Project #3, one can see where I am going with Instructional Technology. I am very much interested in exploring the power inherent in combining Visual and Performing Arts and the use of technology to support these standards. In so many ways, our performing and visual arts are stuck- literally and figuratively- in the 1950's. Band, choir, drama, drawing/fine arts dominate the classrooms of what is quickly a disappearing, underfunded quagmire of anachronistic artistic expression. There is a need, both in terms of instructional opportunities, as well as real-world connections, to present the visual and performing arts through technology. To give drawing/painting classes real immediacy, all student work must be catalogued and shown via websites create and maintained by the student artist. The musician must be able to not only be able to play in an intricate and musically complex marching and/or orchestral band, but they need to be able to record, arrange, compose and publish music electronically, and to harness the power of technology to advance their musical expression.

I am developing the REAL Project (recording and electronic arts lab), which will be a classroom with 20 workstations (pairs of students working each station). Each workstation will have a USB connected guitar, bass and keyboard, controlled by a Macintosh computer loaded with recording, looping and sound creation and management software, allowing students to create, compose and record their own music. Also, students will be able to record remotely, allowing them to record, mix and archive performances by the school band, choir and theater. Also, each station will have a digital video camera, allowing for video recording editing, program creation and event archiving. Using the REAL workstations, students can create video for web applications, local cable affiliates, and live video and image projections for concerts and school events. Finally, the same labs can serve as web creation stations, allowing students to learn to create webpages for music, video, and school and community orginizations.

By marrying current VAPA programs with the future and real-world power of technology, students will be engaged in projects that gaurantee that their passion for the arts will be joined together with skills and knowledge that will make them marketable in the world of their tomorrow.

Activty Log- Session 10

Monday, March 16
Completed and posted Project #1, my ETEC Masters portfolio.
Listened to lecture for Session 10, Wrapping it up. Took notes via Google Docs.

Tuesday, March 17
Revised project #1 with suggestions from teacher.
Reposted webpages.
Completed blog for Session 10.
Responded to three other blogs.

Session 9: Professional Development

Describe an excellent and a poor experiences in PD- Key similarities and differences.

When being part of a professional development experience, or if I am the one creating it, I find there are 5 indispensable components that need to be in any workshop-
1) Inspire and model what it should look like (See)
2) Break it down into manageable parts (Hear)
3) Hands-On (Do)
4) Evaluation(Change)
5) Follow-up(Care)

Imagine, if you will, a Wednesday afternoon, after the kids are gone, and you are sitting in an after school workshop on creating websites for your classroom. In the "typical" PD experience, you would be talked to about the benefits of using a website for your classroom- you would then be shown a PowerPoint that illustrates how to begin your own website. You would be told the various features of the website protocol and the ways you can access them. You would be given a print out of the very PowerPoint being used to teach the workshop, and you would be encouraged to use the program as soon as you could; an hour and a half later, the presenter would leave, and the subject would not be broached again.

Same Wednesday afternoon. Same crowd. However, the workshop begins with the shared commitment to increase parent communication and parent involvement. Also, the collective commitment to increase student homework and student involvement. Finally, the collective commitment for increasing the use of technology to facilitate learning and communication would be reviewed. Once the purpose for the technology had been set, then the learning would begin.

The presenter would then have teachers on computers, with working examples of websites that have been created by teachers in the respective grades. The communication, ease of posting notices, assignments and calendars would be highlighted as the teachers explore the teacher-created websites. Various on-line templates would be shared, and teachers would create a single entry for their own webpage.

Teachers would then break into workgroups that are grade or level specific, and they would work together to create their webpages. The facilitator would be there to help, there would be clear guidelines for creating websites posted around the room, and in hand outs, as well as models of websites projected on walls. Finally, there would be weblinks to videos showing how to complete their webpages on their own in accessible, step-by-step formats

Evaluations would be on-line, using SurveyMonkey, and results would be instant.

The Facilitator follows up on-line, and answers questions, suggests links to model websites, offers step-be-step directions for ONE MORE piece of the website. The principal features screenshots of teacher's websites as part of her weekly bulletin, and offers links to other staff webpages in her staff e-mails.

Although both scenarios have a presenter, a group of teachers, and a technology lesson to impart, they are different in both tone, substance and style. The latter is focused, broken down into manageable parts, meets the predetermined needs of the institution, is supported by both the principal and the presenter later on, and offers multiple models and entry points into the training for the various learning styles of the participants.

For me, both as a participant, and as a trainer, the second scenario is more empowering, more effective, will have long-term results, and will produce more bang-for-the-SD-dollar. This kind of workshop presentation could be used for other topics other than technology, and would garner much more staff buy-in, and, in the end, cost less than constantly coming out to the site to train those who "didn't get it the first time".

Activity Log- Session 9

Monday, March 9
Listened to podcast- took notes via Google Docs, which I highly recommend. Sent up a blog on Professional Development, and continued working on my Project #1, which will be my ETEC Portfolio done as a webpage.

Tuesday, March 10
Started responses to peer's blogs. Worked on Project #1, creating links to activities, projects, lessons and grants I have written or completed.

Wednesday, March 11
Completed responses to peer's blogs.

Thursday, March 12
Uploaded partial Etec portfolio into bravaehost.com. I hate the adds. I need to make different hosting situation.

Saturday, March 14
Changed markermorse.info to smallorange.com. Changed DNS settings, and changed domain servers.

Sunday, March 15
Finished two more sitings in Etec portfolio. Uploaded components into new webhost. Downloaded new FTP manager, and moved all files and folders from bravehost to smallorange. Reconnected all links from webpages and blog to connect to new webhost.

Session 8- Data Driven Decision Making

One of the areas our school, and our district, excel is in the use of data to drive decision making. We have used Accelerated Reader to maintain a treasure-trove of data about students reading. The data from AR has been used in many positive ways. Students can keep track of their own data, and determine which books to read, what level of books to pursue, genres of book enjoyed, and students can be rewarded for their reading with prizes, contests, privileges, entertainment and grades. Teachers at my school use the data from AR to create reading groups, literature circles, incentive programs, homework tracking, and to give another data piece in the literacy puzzle of each of their students. Administration has been able to use AR data to direct spending to library replacement of books, reading program support, and to justify after school library hours and summer reading programs. What makes AR such a positive way of obtaining and using data in the classroom? First, their are multitudes of ways data can be displayed and disseminated, from student friendly printouts to web-based dashboards, to detailed item analysis to in-depth reading ability evaluations. Second, AR is relatively easy to use, and students can be trained quickly and effectively to use the program. The program can also be used at home, school and at public libraries throughout the city. Third, The data that is collected can be mined easily by teachers, staff and parents to compare, contrast and confirm progress over time.

Leadership, at least at our site level, is what made this program so successful at my school. The temptation to use the program as a stick, instead of a carrot, was avoided from the very beginning, and the program was pushed to be used as it was designed- as a reading incentive program. Buy-in was gradual, and required use in all classrooms was a five year process. Rewards and incentives were the primary way the program was implemented, for both students and teachers, and early use was rewarded and successful use was demonstrated. Clear expectations of use was expressed by year 5, so that when it was a required part of our school's technological infrastructure, it was clear how it was to be used.

Although we have been successful at my school in using data driven decision making, utilizing other programs besides AR (Data Director, SASSI, On-line report cards, PearsonSuccessNet, etc), there are real concerns about using data driven decision making. One such concern is that although we have many pools of data from which to gather information, are we ignoring the areas in the curriculum that have few if any data resources? Do we simply wish away those areas? I find that areas such as art, music, PE, and especially history and science, are tossed aside curricularly and instructionally because we have no data mandates for these subjects. If we don't test it, or collect data for it, it often just does not exist in our classrooms anymore. Just because we can not quantify art, or because we do not test for science or social studies, does this mean that they are any less important than grammar? Second, we tend to value the data that is easiest to get, and ignore the more complex, and more educationally relevant, data. For example, we look at grammar and mechanics in writing far more than the student's actual ability to communicate, simply because this data is so much easier to obtain through multiple choice tests. Looking at student writing, scoring on a rubric, and imputing those scores takes time, and it is often hard to compare scores over time and across grades. So, we concentrate more and more time on teaching to the multiple choice test, and ignore the actual task that the test is supposed to prepare students for- writing. We are even taking time to teach kids how to choose the best sentence in a choice of sentences presented, not because this is good teaching, or will make them better writers in anyway, but because this form of writing assessment is on the state test.

Leadership is key. When leaders demand high quality assessments that actually get at what students can and can not do, we create assessment programs that actually test what kids know. When leadership is more interested in speed, continuity and cost, then we get multiple choice tests that assess only what their limited design allows them to assess, and all other knowledge, skill and student ability is ignored. As we lurch forward in our toddler-like way with the new world of assessment technology, it will be bold, insightful and knowledgeable leaders who will make the difference in whether assessments are either meaningful or simply mandatory.

Activity Log- February 22-28

Activity Log-

Sunday, February 22
Uploaded successfully my Project #2, Communications. Linked to blog, linked blog to webpage. Checked all the links.

Monday, February 23
Tried to access other webhost site for Project #1, my portfolio, but server must be down. I tried to FTP files into the server, but this did not work, and cpanel just timed out. This is the site I am paying for! AHHHHH!

Tuesday, February 24
Listened to Session 7 podcast. Took notes using Google Docs. Continued to work on program outline for Project 3, long-term VAPA use of technology in a high school setting.

Wednesday, February 25
Created blog for session 7 and activity log. Responded to 3 other blogs.

Session 7: The Ed Norman Syndrome

A few years ago, I was working on a wonderful project that involved creating student-generated radio shows. These podcasts were reader's theater version of books that we shared in class- students wrote the adaptations, acted out the parts, created the Foley, mixed and posted their shows. District bigwigs wanted to see how the project worked, so a crew from the DO came to observe. Most were impressed and gave their blessings. But a few could not see the innovations, they could only see the problems. Ed Norman had arrived.

Because I had created a LAN with computers from home mixed with computers from the school, and because I had networked them together, instead of being praised for my integration and use of computers to enhance and promote active learning, I was upbraided for daring to bypass the network restriction of the district, and required to remove the home computers. I was never given any way to replace the hardware that was needed to run the program. Also, because the Podcasts where data heavy, they were never posted on any district server. Finally, I was warned that I might be running into intellectual property laws, and I was asked not to do this anymore. Of course, anyone that has taken any fair-use training would know immediately that my student's projects were exempt.

So, Ed Norman stuck his ugly little head in the way of innovative, standards-based use of current and cutting-edge technology in 3 ways. First, there was the networking concerns about home computers mixing and infecting the system. Second, there was a bias against posting student work on line, using the "size" issue as a reason to nix having student work on the net. Finally, there was ignorance about fair use.

How do I deal with this issue now? I am currently having my students work on a project in which they create music to express their understanding of core science learnings, and I am using my own computers again from home. They are accessing the network to download loops, and I will be uploading their songs onto a website that I am maintaining for the project. There are district people coming to video tape the project, and, of course, I am nervous. So I am resorting to subterfuge. I am taking out old district computes that no longer work, and putting them in front of my home computers to mask them during the taping. I am posting the music, without any identifying labels of course, on the internet myself. Since their work is completely original, I am free of any fair-use problems.

To successfully implement cutting-edge use of technology, and to get around the Ed Norman Syndrome, I am falling back to the old adage, "It is better to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission." Are others of you forced to act like a sneaky teenager just to do what is best for kids?