21st Century Learning

Letter to my Colleagues

I have been spending some time recently responding to a listserv discussion that has many brilliant, award winning teachers on it who are not sold on the idea that we really are going to have to change education to remain relevant; that *they* are going to have to change.  I thought I would share my most recent letter.

One member writes-
I've been waiting and wondering when someone would take up the thread that Mark began during our "Here Comes Everybody" discussion, wherein he talked about how the printing press put scribes out of work and wondered whether or not technology would have a similar effect on teachers.

I am often asked as I travel to various places to present why I would spend so much time talking about technology knowing that with outsourcing and such that I am undermining job security in that computers could replace teachers. To that I respond,  If you can be replaced by a computer then you probably should be! The truth is that technology will never replace teachers, however teachers who know how to use technology effectively to help their students connect and collaborate together online will replace those who do not.

Change is Here
The way we "do" school in the 21st Century will change. Teacher will be/is being redefined. (Lord knows it is time- while the rest of society has changed in its response to technology, education has
remained timeless the last 100 years.) What we have to do is ask ourselves what principled changes need to take place in order to remain relevant in the lives of the students we teach?

It Doesn't Change Some Things- It Changes Everything
With knowledge expanding at the rate it is and the world changing at a dizzying pace- to keep the status quo is to accept obsolescence. Teachers will need to accept the fact that even with all we have invested, the pace of change is going to demand us to unlearn and relearn. Every major technological innovation through time has demanded it of its users.  Think of the world and how it functioned before electrification and the how it functioned after electrification- before television- after television (the way we fought wars and politics alone because of TV changed drastically)-- As Mark alludes to, technology doesn't change *some* things, it changes *everything*. Before TV, the thought of allowing someone to interrupt you constantly trying to sell you things you didn't want was unheard of- people were run out of town for such antics. But now it is part of our culture- to the tune of 500 channels-- which have figured out that by providing mediocre content (like reality TV)  we will sit still and let them sell us things we do not really need and we will hum their jingles and use their products, all the while our culture becomes more and more superficial and kids lose out on developing deep, meaning (which they are so capable of grasping).

Incremental is becoming Exponential

Technology is and has changed society and the students we teach. The question isn't are you preparing for 21st Century teaching and learning- rather the 21st Century is here. The party has started. The kids have already arrived. We are 8 years into it.

Ask Them- They Know
Want to know how a 21st Century learner learns? Ask them. You will be amazed at what you hear and if you are smart- you'll act upon it. Sylvia Martinez says we are trying to solve this 21st C PD issue in schools with 6% of the population (teachers) when 94% of the population (kids) are better positioned to help us learn what we need to know to be successful. Turn your classrooms into learning ecologies- learn with and from your students. Get rid of top down, expert driven instruction methods and nurture self-directed discovery- both your own and theirs. Turn your passions into classroom curriculum. Get excited and mentor your kids integrating your passions with core content and foundational knowledge. Help them develop a love and understanding for culture and our rich heritage. Advocate hard to get the metrics we are using to measure classroom effectiveness changed- for we teach what we measure. Leverage NCLB to push for personalization of curriculum in an effort to meet AYP and all the various needs of your subgroup populations.

It Isn't "If", it is "When"
Technology WILL redefine schools- good or bad- it will/is happening. We are one node, one means, one stop in a 21st Century learners learning journey and options. We need to be having conversations about how to make sure that their time spent with us is preparing them for jobs that haven't been invented yet and enabling them in authentic ways to be a productive member of society now. As Dave Mathews says, "The future is no place for your better days." 

And teachers need to be driving these discussions and this change- not policy makers. However, it will require you to redefine yourself. It will require you to unlearn and relearn which means an implementation dip in terms of personal power and knowledge-- but oh well, you are in this for kids remember? This will be messy, but you can't give away what you do not own. You have to own these tools and concepts before you can give them (empower) your students with them. However, once you do- get out of the way and let them show you all the ways to use them to learn that
you never dreamed possible.

Want to be amazed? Check out Laura (a 5th grader's blog) from a project I helped lead in WNY. How many of you can say you have the attention of 30,000 readers and that companies who are known for their giving acts are in regular contact with you? http://twentyfivedays.wordpress.com/   

We think as teachers -- oh ok blogs can help kids learn to write - they will supplement what I,  the teacher does. When the kids think-- hmm blogs, you mean people can hear me? Watch what I can do with this- outside of school- in another node (space) of learning- my home.

Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach
Virginia Beach
Networked Learner

photo credit: http://www.jobs.ac.uk/careers/images/articles/stages_of_change.png

Culture Change- Breaking Down Tradition

Interesting discussion over on Student 2.0 by Sean (the bass player) a student in Scotland and a group of teachers.

The post was inspired from some well meant questions from a caring American adult (teacher) who was chatting with Sean at 1:30am (Scotland). I think it was more the perceived inferences Sean drew from the questions that inspired his post, not necessarily the intentions of the asker, but regardless, the conversation struck a chord with me.

Where do we draw the line?
Sean asks, "Where do we draw the line?" in response to the question- “Does it seem strange to you to associate with a bunch of adults?”  There is more to the conversation- I encourage you to go read Sean's post for contextual reference for this discourse that follows.

The line Sean is talking about has more to do with the hidden rules of tradition and territory than it does with a moral or digital citizenship line of sorts. It is one that while more visible in the 21st Century has been around since Amateur radios began showing up in homes.  It also has a bit to do with motivations, goals, intellect and family culture I think. Let me explain.

It is a matter of family norms and culture
Sean's preference for adults is not new and he certainly isn't the only one. There are others who don't quite fit the mold and in some families it is by design. I homeschooled my four kids. Amber, my oldest (http://myaimistrue.com), only attended 1 year of conventional education. And Grace, my youngest, entered the traditional system in 5th grade(11-12 year olds).They mostly hung with adults and each other- which had some real advantages. Sure, they had some friends that were their own ages who they mostly saw at church or later in the collaborative school I created, but mainly they preferred adults. Why didn't that bother me? Because in our family the culture (mantra) was- I am raising adults, not kids. I wanted the end product to be adults, so having lots of interaction with adults seemed to make sense.

My kids were mature for their age and had lots of questions and interests that other kids simply were not into, so it just made more sense for them to connect with folks who could help them learn what they wanted to learn. Besides, learning in our family took place 24/7 even at 1:30am-- as we all had people we spoke to around the world. And I do not think that is so different than it was for my father as he was a Hamm Radio nut when he was a kid and up at all times of the night trying to accommodate for time zones.

And being a homeschooling family, the more interesting or diverse the adults my kids befriended, the better. Since my kids could pursue their passions in terms of content studied, we actively sought out adult mentors who could serve as SMEs (subject matter experts), and technology helped a great deal with that. My kids would often attend the college classes I taught and participate in the discussions. They felt as comfortable around adults as they did children, not because they were so different- but more because our culture and experience was different. 

Tools today are more powerful
While we didn't have the same tools we have now, we did have some. Bulletin boards and asynchronous chat boards were popular, IRC chat, and various protocols that gave us direct access to each other's machines. Sometimes I would make the relationships online and introduce my new found friends to my kids and sometimes they would introduce me to who they had met. I will admit- in the beginning of all this- there were typically more "techie types" online than there was Joe average, so less chance for a need to exercise digital citizenship (safety)  skills. It simply hadn't caught on yet. However, if I had been given a choice between my kids being online at 1:30 am talking to someone in Scotland who was a responsible adult or having them out riding around in a car, breaking curfew with other immature, age-specific peers-- well you get the idea. Plus, when you raise your kids to be responsible online and have open lines of communication there is a level of trust that is developed. And until that trust is broken, there is no reason to doubt that the relationships  they are making in person or online aren't healthy. Staying involved is the key.

I say all this to say- not all kids are the same. Not all parenting styles are the same. My kids now are all very successful and madly creative. They are well adjusted and have lots of friends. They all say they have fond memories of growing up in a house that included such different learning opportunities and access to a variety of interesting adults through both hands-on and virtual experiences. And they all have continued to develop relationships with interesting adults from around the world.

Teachable Moments and Networking

Let me help you understand the different mind set. Because the culture in our family was learning as a life style and not just when school was in- we were always on "game" in terms of teachable moments.
I remember going to WalMart and seeing two young adults (my age at the time) on bikes who were traveling long distance. I thought, what a cool experience this would be for my kids. I struck up a conversation with these strangers and invited them to stay at my house for a few days. Turns out, Jenny and Dan were from Seattle and had just gotten married. As part of their honeymoon, they decided to take a cross country bike trip for a year and Jenny, a writer was documenting it all on a laptop!!! (Remember 15 years ago laptops were not as common). Boy did I score. Here we had young, interesting adults who used higher order thinking to plan a year long trip, one was a writer, they were traveling and could share their experiences with my kids.

We got out a map and documented everywhere they had been with pins and yarn. (picture shows how we used this technique to study other things too) We researched the geography, culture, and landforms. We talked about how you plan a year long trip and the kids planned their own using their newly found skills. We  looked at bikes in general, the mechanics, how to wrench, the science behind them and the environmental impact. The curriculum we discovered in Jenny and Dan was endless. When they left- they emailed back their locations and we continued to track them on the map.

Well meaning friends asked-- How did you know they weren't mass murders? What if they had been drug addicts or had hurt your children while you slept or what if they had stolen things? All valid questions I guess but  not part of our reality, much like Sean 's feeling of  surprise, " I surprisingly hadn’t thought about it before."

Not Wrong- Just Different
That isn't to say this way is "the" way to raise a family. Homeschooling sure has gotten its share of criticism as well. It is to say that there are different ways to raise kids that are acceptable even if they do not fit into the traditional vein. And adults are not the only ones who feel discomfort with breaking tradition (Sean's post).  Teens also feel territorial about places like MYSpace. My kids use to get asked all the time if it creeped them out that I was on MySpace and Facebook. They would laugh and say not at all as I was there first. 

Bottom Line
I think the most important message I got from what Sean wrote was this- Teachers we need to ask ourselves...

Do we want what we are preaching or not? Do we want kids who know how to use these tools in powerful and pervasive ways to connect and collaborate with others from around the world-- even at the cost of breaking our comfort and relationship with the status quo. Are we willing to unlearn most of what we know and relearn new ways -- new norms-- for how healthy relationships are established and nurtured in the 21st Century? Do we believe in learning ecologies made up of very diverse people who help inform our student's interests and passions?

Model for your students how to build a personal learning network
The kids are ready for relationships defined by community and what each learner has to share- and not bound by the traditions of teachers having to be the expert. I feel I have come full circle. Now rather than looking for teachable moments with interesting adults so my kids can learn what they need to learn, I find myself looking for opportunities to learn with/from interesting students who have garnered skill and wisdom through their use of these participatory medias. I want to learn all Sean has learned in his late night ventures with interesting adults. I hope he doesn't hang with kids all the time and that his parents continue to allow him to be part of a learning community that is trying to leave education a better place.

As educators we need to get ready for a real shift in culture. The shifts that are coming will not allow "business as usual" rather it will be "business as unusual". That is why it is critical for all of us to first own these emerging technologies and the pedagogy/culture that surrounds them, by using Web 2.0 tools to connect- in an effort to chase our own passions. Through the experience of building of your own PLN, not only will you model for your students how this should be done, but you might find some transformational moments along the way -that like mine with Jenny and Dan- will leave you a better person. And do NOT discount what those younger or older than you have to offer. Use expertise and passion- not age- as criteria for who you should learning from and for who should be part of your learning network.

I look forward to your comments, concerns, and push back. Let's have this hard conversation.

Photo credit: http://www.ky4ky.com/yhn.htm

Second Life-Thinkerer Challenge Announced at Symposium

Got this from Alan Levine's NMC site.

August 15, 2007 (Thinkerers Quest, Second Life) - Thinkerer Studios - a network of residents in the virtual online world of Second Life - today announced the launch of an awards program to identify and encourage the development of creative products and services that use Second Life capabilities to enrich or empower experiences in Real Life. The first Award recipient will be made known at the end of September, 2007.

Recipients of the Thinkerer Challenge Award will receive 30,000 Lindens - the currency of Second Life - and the use of a parcel of virtual land (or an equivalent arrangement) for one year. In addition, they will be invited to become judges of future Thinkerer Challenges.

Cash awards will be funded by the founder of Thinkerer Studios, Thinkerer Melville. Awards will be given as often as once a month, depending on the volume and quality of nominations. Honorary Awards will also be presented on occasion, depending on merit and circumstances. All winners and their projects will be publicized and promoted, both in and off-world.

For more info: http://sl.nmc.org/2007/08/16/thinkerer-challenge/

It Is Still About the Learning...

I was over on Christopher Sessums site today. If you do not have him in your feed, you are missing out. His blog is the perfect mix of art, information and intellect. This post caught my eye:Educational Technology and Teacher Preparation: Bridging Theory to Practice. Chris does a wonderful job of looking at the struggles teacher educators have with technology adoption, which in turn creates a struggle for preservice adoption, which in turn carries over to the classroom. As you can imagine a wonderful, engaging conversation began in the comments. One comment jumped out at me...Kelly says...

Christopher, so much to be done at so many levels. After reading through Will Richarson's discussion with soon-to-be-teachers and having several interns in our school in the past few years, it is clear that the new teachers will not bring about the momentus change in technology use that many thought would happen. From my perspective, we need to look to the people in the middle, those who have been teaching for a while yet who are willing to try new things. To me, they are the best hope. They are not struggling with all the stresses of new teachers nor are near the end of their careers. Most have children that are "wired" all day and see the possibilities of what could be done. We almost need to focus on a retraining program and then have these teachers be mentors. As someone in the middle of my career, I would love to do more work with technology and help others to do it but the time just isn't there no matter how I refine my schedule. As for higher learning, it is in the same rut. We've been waiting for quite a long time for there to be a change in teacher education. It must become a priority and this will only happen once we have gone the next step and begun to hire people who see that technology is important and not an add-on because they live with it. I feel that, until we see a movement in the upper administrative positions in these areas, technology will not be a part of the whole picture.

There were other comments too - all passionate and brilliant laying out well thought ideas. But Kelly's comments and one about tech integration kept gnawing at me. So I responded with this:

We have to stop thinking of it as integration and start thinking of it as teaching in the 21st Century. At what point did we stop thinking of the whiteboard as new technology and it became simply a medium through which we communicated to our classes.

Not sure I agree with preservice teachers not being part of the solution. If Ingersoll is right and 1/3 of the teaching force is retiring or leaving, then these bright idealist could truly become the tipping point for true educational reform. What I have noticed is this--

1. Who we think of when we think of netgenrs are not showing up in my ICT education courses. It is as if we draw the technophobic/resistent to education.

2. However, when they spend a semester in a virtual community with tech savvy minds from the blogosohere, when they start blogging for deep reflection based on what they are reading in their content classes and in the edublogosphere, when they start co-creating the syllabus and direction of the class and actually start using the tools and planning for the kids to use the tools to create and collaborate in their lessons--something happens. A light comes on and they see kids getting totally turned on by learning. Then they become true advocates.

My last few weeks are spent showing them how even as novices entering the workforce they can be teacher leaders. That teacher leadership is when you have an expertise to bring that can help other teachers- help their students achieve. That their expertise in 21st Century teaching skills makes them teacher leaders by default and advocates for children. By cultivating an attitude of advocacy early on, these fresh minds who can still remember why they went into teaching- "want to change the world and help kids"- are bold in advocating for using knowledge management tools, adaptive expertise, modeling connectivism, and being ok with the messy side of change.

I do think we need to be breathing life into mid-career teachers as  well, but I place my money on those who havent been tainted by the system or jaded by disempowerment- as being the real power behind educational reform.

We really need to focus on teacher prep programs -- cant wait to read Linda's new book, thanks for sharing.

Then I scooted over to David Warlick's site reading this post. Diane Hammond rocked my world with this-

“She talked about how they teach teachers to collaborate.”

I wonder if we shouldn’t be lowering the profile of the technology in these conversations with teachers and just focus on getting the job done. Why do the teachers want to collaborate? What do they expect to accomplish? What impact will collaboration have on professional practice? These are the questions they should be getting their heads around. The technology should be incidental, merely tools to accomplish specific tasks.

I don’t notice “technological apprehension” in other professional groups as much as I do in education. For instance my husband had a new ocular imaging system installed in his office last week. This is completely new equipment, software and processes for the office staff. This week staff are familiarizing themselves with the camera, imaging and analysis software, and patient database. We aren’t hearing questions such as “Why do I have to learn this; how will I learn this; how will I keep up?” Everyone is focussed on the end result, improved patient care. The staff are getting some preliminary images that are too dark or out of focus. They are practising and working together to take clearer, sharper images that will show the healthy eye, or the pathology, the doctors are looking for. Along the way…they’ll master the technology…

Why don’t we do that in schools - job-embed learning opportunities and give teachers a variety of tools to meet their pedagogical goals? Then along the way…

It Is What You Want to Do and Learn That Matters!

I couldn't agree more. I ask teachers all the time- When do you think about the air conditioning/heating unit? They always respond, "When it isn't working." EXACTLY!  Web 2.0  and other technologies should be just like that. You do not even notice them. They are so not the point. Have you ever seen this?  Proving change is always seen as premature.

Change will happen when we have a reculturation of the institution of school. When we focus on what is important rather than the tools. We are like a bunch of 4th graders who have just been given math manipulatives for the first time-- we have to play and explore with them first before we can actual get down to business of using them for learning.

Photo credit: http://flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/434872938/

Vinnie's Virtual Monday

If I was ever to believe there are computer gremlins, today would have been the day. Today's Virtual Monday speaker was Vinnie Vrotny and despite the tech issues we had in Elluminate he did a wonderful job. Vinnie's school is doing some incredible things with their students. You absolutely need to check out his resources on the class wiki. Also, you can catch the archive of his presentation here.

From student made digital movies about Vietnam to Google Sktechups of student created Mayan Villages, Vinnie and his colleagues are modeling for all of us the wonderful things we can do with open source tools to make students content creators rather than content consumers. Also a big thanks for Annie and Frank, two of the teachers at Vinnie's school for joining us today.

NAEHCY Keynote

On Monday, I had the most awesome time delivering the keynote at the National Assoc. for the Edc. of Homeless Children and Youth conference. Where a caring group of homeless service providers, policy makers, higher education, K12 teachers, administrators and other interested stakeholders gathered, all with the goal of advocacy for those who can't advocate for themselves- homeless and high poverty children. It was awe inspiring talking to and be with such dedicated folks who are making such a difference in the lives of so many.

I arrived Sunday night just in time to hear the acceptance speeches of the Le Tendre Education Fund Scholarships winners. These are all children who have or are currently experiencing homelessness and they want to go to college. Their stories are powerful. Here are their names. Expect great things.

Stephanie Emanuel, Bennettsville, SC
Roni Antoinette Flakes, North Little Rock, AR
Jessica Funk, Kansas City, MO
Chad Gossett, Centre, AL
Syhemia Gray, Elgin, IL
T’airra Johnson, Cleveland, OH
Kenneth Randall Kurfi s, Denver, CO
Amber Lockhart, Edinboro, PA
Beatrice Martinez, Las Cruces, NM
Charlotte Murry, Cleveland, OH
Michelle Rowland, Anchorage, AK
Kristin Schmitz, Arlington, TX
Aruna Sukhu, Brooklyn, NY
Ashley Utzman, Arlington, TX
Simone Williams, Denver, CO

On Monday, I gave my keynote. The title was Unexpected Outcomes:Empowering Those Who Need it Most. Download NAEHCY_keynote.ppt   I am editing my recording and will share the podcast of the event this weekend. Basically, my presentation tells my story of growing up as a highly transient child and unaccompanied youth, intertwined with strategies you can use for reaching at-risk kids and their parents.

I followed that session with one entitled Schooling for Tomorrow: Learning to Bridge the Digital Divide. Download schoolfortomorrow.ppt This was my favorite session ever! We talked about how schools needed to change to truly serve the way technology has changed society, but also to meet the need of the changing demographic of students. I shared this clip that explains what demographers believe the population will look like in a few years and how redesigning curriculum so that it will meet the needs of children who are highly mobile will be critical if schools want to remain relevant.

Then I shared the Hole in the Wall Experiment.  Here is the clip.

From a Businessweek Online Daily Briefing,
March 2, 2000.

http://www.greenstar.org/buttrflies/Hole-in-the-Wall.htm

An Indian physicist puts a PC with a high speed internet         connection in a wall in the slums and watches what happens.         Based on the results, he talks about issues of digital divide,         computer education and kids, the dynamics of the third world         getting online.New Delhi physicist Sugata Mitra has a radical proposal for bringing his country's next generation into the Info Age.

We discussed why student centered, inquiry-based approaches were best for at-risk and high poverty students. And we ended with Skyping in several guests from different schools in the US and Canada that serve these populations. (Darren Kuropatwa, Felicia Myers, Jon Hanbury, and Kevin Johnson)

In the afternoon, I had the honor of watching my colleague from my previous school (W.T. Cooke)- Jill Belch, receive her national award for the work she does with homeless children in my home town. She is so deserving.

Community and More...

I really like reading what Taran Rampersad has to say. Taran is a computer consultant, software developer, and educator for the University of the West Indies School of Continuing Studies and blogs at
KnowProSE.com

He picked up on my post Schooling for Tomorrow:Learning to Bridge the Digital Divide and specifically on the clip (Linux commercial) I used to intro the post. The message of the video really does speak on several levels and I had chosen to only go with one that was relevant to my upcoming NAEHCY presentation. But Taran reminded me that there is more. Much more.

In the commercial one of the voices mentoring the boy from the Web tells him, "Collecting data is only the first step toward wisdom, but sharing data is the first step toward community."  As I read Taran's post I realized, he's right! This is incredibly important.

Then in my mind,  I started making comparisons to technology adoption and Maslow's basic needs model. I began entertaining the thought that maybe the reason Web 2.0 has become so popular is because it really meets basic human needs in a hierarchical way...as individuals move along a developmental continuum to self-actualization.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

      

• Self Actualization Needs (full potential)
• Ego Needs (self respect, personal worth, autonomy)
• Social Needs (love, friendship, comradeship)
• Security Needs (protection from danger)
• Physiological Needs (warmth, shelter, food)

Technology Adoption

Digital Access is level one.  It is most basic in any adoption model. Without access you aren't even in the game. You are dead to the opportunities and potential. From a district perspective this is where  lots of equipment and computers are purchased.  This compares to  Physiological Needs (warmth, shelter, food).

Internet Safety is level two. The focus at this stage of adoption is protection from danger, sometimes at the cost of access and accessibility.  This compares to Security Needs (protection from danger).

Building Community through Virtual learning communities (open- like blogosphere and closed- like gated communities ex. groups in Tapped In) meets the social needs of Maslows level 3.  People are drawn to the Web for love, friendship, comradeship. Trust is established and sharing begins.This compares to Social Needs (love, friendship, comradeship).

Tagging and Linking tie directly to achieving level 4 of the adoption process. As proficiency develops in using Web 2.0 tools for communication and collaboration the basic ego needs are met. You are recognized, quoted, tagged, and linked.  This compares to Ego Needs (self respect, personal worth, autonomy).

Self Actualization occurs with full adoption. Technology is seamless. It becomes a medium rather than a tool. The emphasis is on content, authentic audience, connections, meaningful collaboration, and self-satisfaction which allows the user to reach a place closer to realizing their full potential.

Schooling for Tomorrow: Learning to Bridge the Digital Divide

The truth is that parents of children with technology access at home will ensure that their children have this information advantage.

Who will ensure that the children of poverty are given an equal opportunity?

Sure-- this is a Linux commercial, but forget that. Rather look at the real message. The message of information and how this generation of digital learners are being given an advantage over those who do not have access. As I watched this commercial I was taken with the fact that children of parents with digital access have a distinct advantage over children with parents without access.

I have been thinking about the digital divide more than usual, partly because I have been asked to keynote at the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth conference called Building Futures Through Education. I am humbled to say the least. After the keynote, I will give a breakout Q&A session in which I have decided to include my take on bridging the digital divide from a social empowerment perspective.

Bottom line - here is my take on the digital divide. As teachers we have to realize that we are preparing students for jobs that haven't even been invented yet. I challenge you to name a trade or profession (besides education) that your students will enter that doesn't take technical skills. Affluent kids will get those skills outside of your classroom. Their parents will make sure they are able to do what they need to do to get ahead.

But the at-risk kids will only get those skills within the safety net of our classrooms. If we do not embed the digital literacy skills into our instruction, then where else will they gain the competencies to be successful and competitive in the 21st Century? I have teachers who say to me– I can’t use technology as the medium through which I deliver my curriculum because most of my students do not have access at home. I say to those teachers – from where I stand you have a responsibility to make sure these kids become digitally literate or you are just adding to the problem.

I would go so far as to say that that to not give these students the opportunities to use Web 2.0 technologies while they learn only deepens the digital divide and puts them at yet another disadvantage when competing for jobs in the future. It is one more way to keep the have nots... the have nots.

Technology in and of itself, however, will not bring about change. Tools alone do not create educational reform; teachers and policy makers create educational reform. It takes teacher leaders operating as "agents of change," advocating what is in the best interest of their students.

To be sure, technology access is an important issue. Wiring schools, giving students laptops, setting up community technology centers and processing used computers all are important actions. But the real reason to help schools make principled changes in the way we educate students is to reach beyond these issues of access and cut to the heart of social divides themselves. By using web 2.0 tools– the pencil and paper of the 21st Century– our most neediest population can collaborate globally and be competitive in today’s flat world and global marketplace.

In my opinion, we are the last generation of teachers who have the prerogative of deciding whether or not to master technology. Many of us chose not to acquire proficient skills and still have experienced a high level of success in our professions. However, the children we teach today are not going to be afforded that choice. Students MUST become digitally literate in order to be successful in the 21st century. As educators, I believe we do our students a disservice if we do not provide for them the opportunity to master these skills in our classrooms.

If Not Us, Then Who?

I was over at  Around the Corner where Miguel Guhlin posts, reading his latest Girls and their Gadgets

I was moved. I so identified with the ideas and feelings he expressed.

I'm sorry, I see the benefits, but it appears that giving kids access to  the Read/Write web is like putting a loaded pistol in their hands without education. And, how many kids have to be bullied online before everyone wakes up (no, not you edubloggers...the other people who haven't read your blogs) and realizes that digital citizenship, that       education is the only way?

I remember I watched a documentary on automobile safety once. It emphasized the problems this innovation had in the beginning before they had figured out the rules and regulations of driving. Lots of people died and were hurt. Because this was a new technology (cars) they had to figure out what to do to keep folks safe as things happened. Mistakes were made. Rules were rethought. Lives were saved.

I have four kids. The youngest is 18. I have taught them all to drive. As they showed responsibility, I let them have their own car. I also let schools help educate them about driving and to practice driving with them. But I never relinquished my primary responsibility in determine when they were ready. For one of my children that was at 16 and for another it wasn’t until 18. And now, I still ride with them occasionally and gently coach from the side. Because like the Web, cars can be dangerous places.

The point being, as a society we didn’t just say-- look this car thing, yeah it has great potential, but at what cost? Folks who championed the cause saw it through and did what they could to protect and educate along the way until they got it worked out.

My Space. What a mess. I have one daughter there who is 24 and we have an ongoing conversation about what is appropriate and why online. She is an adult, but I still coach her through this Wild West Web.  I have a My Space account. So should you. I model responsible use. And those  who I am trying to influence think I am cool to be there.  It  serves as a cultural identifier that let's me have a place at their table and enter into their conversations.

My second daughter and son have bailed from My Space and they are using Facebook, this in some ways is much better. At least many of the pictures of past students I am finding are less sensual and the conversations are usually about their studies in college. There are abuses there too, but it seems to be less.

My youngest daughter, 18 who still lives at home, has chosen to avoid both. She blogs on Live Journal and not as often. However, she can text message and uses her Ipod like there is no tomorrow.  It was her choice not mine, and her friends rag her for it all the time. I am so proud of her for taking a stand.

Miguel thoughts continued to resonate...

As an ed-tech admin, I can sympathize...I want to turn off the Web at school and home. I have to fight that urge. It's too simplistic a response...it's too late to do that. We have to move forward, painful as the journey is and will become.

I also wish at times we could just turn it all off. Just as I wished they never had to drive. As parents and educators it is natural and right to want to protect our children and students. But rather, our job is to teach them to use the tools they need to survive in society in the safety net of our homes and schools, so that when they step out to use these tools unsupervised they will be discerning.

It is mentally overwhelming. I remember when they placed that first child in my arms thinking, “How will I ever do this all right?” I had a similar reaction my first day in the classroom. But if not us, as their parents and mentors, then who? We cannot simply give up. We have to go where they are and model and coach. We have to be consistent. We have to care deeply and remember that for some of the students we teach, we are the only significant adult with which they will ever have meaningful conversations around this topic.

We teach students to not run with scissors, to not talk to strangers, and to travel safely in a 5000lb lethal weapon. We can teach them to be safe and healthy on the Web.

Thank you fellow educators for all you are doing to help make this realty. Working together we can each make a huge difference for the students on our watch. And who knows? We just might hit the "Tipping Point" in our lifetime. In the meantime, we are helping to champion the rules of the road, much like they did at the onset of the automobile.

Gearing Up for Year 2

 
  Alabama Best Practice Center 

The Alabama Best Practice Center is gearing up for a busy second year of our professional development program that encourages powerful conversations and practice around 21^st Century teaching and learning. Working with my colleagues, John Norton and Cathy Gassenheimer, we have begun the application process to bring 20 more schools across Alabama into the work. 

Last year, with support from the Microsoft Partners in Learning grants program, ABPC recruited small teams from 20 forward-thinking schools across  Alabama to participate in a professional development program we call “Keeping Up with the Net Generation.” A second cadre of schools will be selected for Year Two of the project.

Educators in Year One’s participating schools and districts say our curriculum and related activities have heightened their sense of urgency about preparing students for success in a global, digital-based society.

We designed our curriculum to establish a context for why schools need to rethink and redesign themselves to prepare students for the 21^st Century. Our participants are learning about web-based tools and other strategies that can be used to help students become critical thinkers, collaborators, adaptive experts, and knowledge creators who are able to embrace ambiguity and thrive in the uncertain future.

Participating schools now have a higher level of comfort with virtual learning and are role models for the type of effective professional development that can be delivered without requiring educators to travel away from their building. They are also helping colleagues capitalize on free Internet tools (blogs, wikis, podcasts and more) and Internet strategies like Webquests to actively engage their students. For many participants, this immersion in 21^st Century learning has revolutionized their teaching.

To read more about year one please download the Spring 06 Working Toward Excellence journal. If you you like to see some of the products created by the Year One schools that they are using in their classrooms and as professional development tools click here.  We also have created a FAQ document about our work.

Year Two is shaping up to be just as exciting! We'll begin with a "21^st Century OctoberFest" — a face-to-face conference where our 21^st Century Teacher Fellows and many of last year's participants will help bring our new school teams up to speed. During the Fall semester, our new teams will also participate in an online curriculum that has been polished and fine-tuned, based on feedback from Year One teachers and principals. Meanwhile, our returning teachers will engage in an advanced curriculum strand, culminating in an Alabama 21^st Century Fair attended by state leaders.

The Advance Strand will be organized around a Learner 2.0 Bootcamp theme. The main focus will be the development of a plan for a Learning 2.0 project. Year 2 schools will work in teams (school-based or interest-based) and be led by a Fellow or other team leader to define a project idea, develop a plan, and deliver the plan as a podcast, wiki, vblog, screencast, social networking tool product or any combination there of. Conceptually, projects will likely take existing lesson plans and activities and re-develop them into new lessons based on Web 2.0 applications. The teams will document the project work on blogs read by all participants in both Cohort (year) 1 and Cohort (year) 2. And all projects will be reviewed and critiqued. At the end of the bootcamp they will walk away knowing how to apply Web 2.0 to typical classroom instruction and how to use these tools to create learner centered, collaborative environments!

Big News
The most exciting news recently is that three of our 21st Century schools that applied have recently been chosen to participate in the 2006 U.S. Innovative Teachers Forum! This event recognizes outstanding examples of educators working collaboratively to share expertise and build collective knowledge. A very large round of applause goes out to the following Alabama ABPC 21st Century school teams

Wrights Mill Road Elementary
Vestavia Hills East and
Calcadever Elementary School

Amazed and in Awe
I continue to be amazed and in awe of how Alabama is positioning itself to be a real leader of school reform in terms of 21st Century teaching and learning. The work of the center has spilled over not only in the participating schools but in near by districts as well. For example, I am going to do a two-day workshop at the end of the month for the Auburn Regional Inservice Center. Sixteen school districts will bring teams that include teachers, administrators, and district office IT professionals, as well as other educational leaders from the district office to talk about the following:

Day #1 : "Introduction to 21st Century Learning: The Digital Natives Are Restless" – What is 21st Century learning? Why is it important? This session introduces the research about why 21st Century teaching and learning strategies are critical to student learning in a digital age. How students need to be taking responsibility for their own learning. Session will help participants work toward a clearer understanding of how a networked, self-directed, social learning "ecosystem" works. Session will include access to multiple resources and the defining of 21st Century concepts and terms.

Day #2: "Cool Web Tools for Teaching & Learning" – This session move us from talking about 21st Century Learning to actually examining some specific tools and gadgets available on the Web. It introduces a sample of "what's out there" that you might use to enliven your teaching and your classroom participation. Participants will consider how these tools can support and enhance project-based and inquiry driven approaches to learning – there will be lots of examples and if a lab environment is available—we’ll do a hands-on “make and take” session with web-based tools.

Here is my draft agenda

Keep your Eyes On Alabama

I recommend everyone keeping an eye on the deep south for key educational reform around Read/Write web initiatives. There are some very exciting things taking place and the momentum is starting to build.