Acceptable Use

The best way of thinking about this whole topic is in terms of “rules, tools and schools.”
There are rules in place for a good reason. CIPA does require that we block or filter inappropriate sites, but if sites are found that are deemed appropriate they can be unblocked. So having the process in place for unblocking sites is definitely important.

As educators and change agents we can impact the technology behaviors for years to come.  These guidelines as spelled out in the articles provided gives educators permission to teach the expectations of personal devices.  Throughout the Frey Fisher article, courtesy the new policy, love and logic, action with consequence, these are the soft skills our students need to develop the human element in using technology.

I love this, I may use it in part as a parent letter regarding technology and personal devices.  I would also like to add that a students grade will be a direct reflection of their on task behaviors.  

Thanks for your question.  When we implemented our new filter this school year, we looked at all the things we were currently blocking, what things were required to be blocked by law, and what we were blocking that we shouldn’t be. #

What we’ve decided is that we will no longer use the web filter as a classroom management tool.  Blocking one distraction doesn’t solve the problem of students off task – it just encourages them to find another site to distract them.  Students off task is not a technology problem – it’s a behavior problem.  It is our intention that we help students to learn the appropriate on-task behaviors instead of assuming that we can use filters to manage student use.  Rather than blocking sites on an ad hoc basis, we will instead be working with folks to help them through computer and lab management issues in a way that promotes student responsibility.  We know that the best filters in a classroom or lab are the people in that lab – both the educational staff monitoring student computer use as well as the students themselves. #

This opens up possibilities for students and staff using websites for instructional purposes that in the past were blocked due to broad category blocks.  It requires that staff and students manage their technology use rather than relying on a third party solution that can never do the job of replacing teachers monitoring students.

That said, we will still block sites that are discovered to violate CIPA requirements.  If you discover one, please do not hesitate to share it with us.  Also, if you discover a site that shouldn’t be blocked, please pass that along so that we can open it up.

I hope this makes sense.  I’d be happy to speak further with you if you have further comments or questions.

Digital Citizenship

Pick any two elements that stand out in your mind as a problem you think needs to be addressed more in your school. Next, do some research on that problem, andcreate a blog post detailing the issues, links to possible solutions, and your own proposed solution to help mitigate those issues.

(1) 4.   Digital Literacy:   process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology. 
While schools have made great progress in the area of technology infusion, much remains to be done. A renewed focus must be made on what technologies must be taught as well as how it should be used. New technologies are finding their way into the work place that are not being used in schools (e.g., Videoconferencing, online sharing spaces such as wikis). In addition, workers in many different occupations need immediate information (just-in-time information). This process requires sophisticated searching and processing skills (i.e., information literacy). Learners must be taught how to learn in a digital society. In other words, learners must be taught to learn anything, anytime, anywhere.  Business, military, and medicine are excellent examples of how technology is being used differently in the 21st century. As new technologies emerge, learners need to learn how to use that technology quickly and appropriately. Digital Citizenship involves educating people in a new way— these individuals need a high degree of information literacy skills. 

(2) 7.   Digital Rights & Responsibilities:   those freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world.
Just as in the American Constitution where there is a Bill of Rights, there is a basic set of rights extended to every digital citizen. Digital citizens have the right to privacy, free speech, etc. Basic digital rights must be addressed, discussed, and understood in the digital world.  With these rights also come responsibilities as well.  Users must help define how the technology is to be used in an appropriate manner.  In a digital society these two areas must work together for everyone to be productive. 

As an school to work instructor what is modeled the classroom mirrors what expectation are in business.  Both 4 & 7 are issues that extend beyond the classroom into our working society.  Personally both elements could be improved upon in our cluster and open for center wide discussion.  Dr Mike Ribble discusses technology, manners, and engagement that there is so many people who don't know the basics moving on to expansion in using technological tools. I found the information to be helpful and discussed in a non threatening way.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_8dKP3bzUQ

I am excited about this site and Dr. Mark Ribbles categories and plan to use them in our classroom code of cooperation and mission development.  As for researching these two elements I plan to speak with our advisory board and include our students in contacting businesses by surveying and sharing their responses.  I'm familiar with Survey Monkey and find it a simple way to create and collect information.

Excellence in Personal Practice

There seems to be a lot of information in this unit.  I keep trying to find the common threads but have reduced to answering the questions posed.


1. Then, create a post on your blog about what you have learned about the evaluation process. Do you think your students are skilled at Internet search? What could educators do to help improve a key 21st Century literacy?  Much of the internet research in Layout and Design is looking for competitors approaches to selling an idea or product.  It's the comparison of approach and the students, or customers visual likes or dislikes.  There are many search options for students to use starting with subject titles to designers they frequent or genras of advertising.  ie: decades, age groups, specific product, color & font use  Following a search of what's been done already, its the challenge to create in a different approach.  Ideally in a way that hasn't been done before.  In this type of research the student can compare their work to professionals, use the instructor rubric for necessary skills and then its good ole' fashion "the kid just sees it" outcome.  The Critical Evaluation of a Website form is an excellent way for our students to qualify and share their findings.  I plan to use this to help guide students with building their websites for validity and then to create a clearing house for other students to search.

Finally, in your blog, write your reactions to both the Hattie research questions and also what you found in the IES research. In addition, visit the Research and Reference Tools forum and respond to the question there.

2.  Growth per year is a great concept.  I appreciated the up front language regarding the number or questions that can follow such a broad collection, and the variables that can mucky up the water.  However, the green and yellow findings are not so much as  surprise as a great way to identify what is happening in our classrooms.  Taking the categories and increasing the influences or to halt the time in areas that won't produce in the long run.  I will use the feedback influence in a different way, student lead opposed to instructor lead.  I actually use to do this.  Have the students get in groups of 2 - 3 to critique a product.  This interaction gave the receiving student an opportunity to see what others saw and time to change out the design for improvement.  I got away from that when time lost its luxury in the classroom.  The findings have reinforced the need to bring it back, along with the challenge of class environment.  

3.  What works clearinghouse.  Great information with a lot of topics but nothing specific enough for my interest. I was searching high school special needs social & emotional development as it relates to job market entry skills.  The soft skills range across the board, and maybe this is the answer to my search.  I should be concentrating on the soft skills rather than career specific.  Currently 30% of all students grades are Career & Employability, perhaps the special needs support team could look at ways to support the lifelong skills at 70% for students with specific needs.  Currently the interaction with the support team is merely overall grades. Intervention happens when a student is receiving 60% or below.  The student may be growing leaps and bounds in C&E yet unable to meet the career goals.  Something to think about.

Post - In your blog, talk a little bit about what you learned regarding UDL. Describe the key points of UDL and what they mean to you. Include things like why teachers should always begin with the end in mind as it relates to lesson plan development and inclusion of all learners.

First off, what a great time in history to be an educator.  Edward Demming worked with the leaders in the Asian car industry after being turned down by the big three American car industry leaders.  It was only when the American car industry saw the benefits in the Asian competition did they begin to think quality product demands a quality system of delivery.

http://www.skymark.com/resources/leaders/deming.asp

Fifteen even twenty years ago when the Design Down Deliver Up approach to curriculum delivery was working its way through education the traditional educator was caught in a much larger system.  A system that denied the kind of changes DDDU was ready to change.  If you can define the final product, a quality student ready to join the job market as a productive citizen, you can design the curriculum to get it.  

Fifteen even twenty years ago when Performance Objectives were coupled with Outcomes Based Education, the theory was revolutionary.  That it was possible for a student, all students to learn, taken away the time factor.  That students will achieve beyond the standards, beyond the standard test scores, beyond the expectation of even themselves.  Unfortunately a much larger system denied the kind of changes OBE was willing to provide.

http://www.langfordlearning.com/

When speaking with educators an underlining urge to "make change" is present.  In the same sentence a sense of fear is looming.  Not just the unknown of how to be a change agent, but the financial consequences that surround it.  The current state system demands an output measure that is stifling the creativity and spontaneity of less experienced instructors. State standards, wages based on student performance, administration that are given less time for quality development, and district costs that choke continuous improvement are factors for possible failure. But, I believe it can be done, and now is the time.  

All the the UDL listed points is what vocational education has been doing since its inception.  I felt selfish reading the UDL and thinking that maybe I should choose one or two that I might not be doing just to fit in to the general education environment.  Vocational education is the development of skills a student can use, just in time delivery with a quality end product.  The innovative classrooms are looking at the end result, taking what the state dictates and creating an environment to learn.  They are turning the classroom upside down, using the technology available, taking all the expectations imposed on them and delivering a quality product for the next step in their continuous learning.  State testing, standards, sequence and the rest can be used as a factor in the students education but not the delivery of a creative teaching environment.  I would challenge if an instructor took their eyes off the test schedules, state measures and used them as guidelines their students would surpass their expectations, while meeting the needs of a much bigger system.

Instructors who are reaching outside of their classrooms to other teachers, other districts, and most importantly to business and industry can make the changes needed so desperately in our school delivery system.  You know how people will say, "If only I knew then what I know now, I could change the world"?  Our biggest challenge in education is still believing that an older instructor is less than important than a younger less experienced instructor.  

Visionary Leadership and UDL

Video impressions: Do we really need technology in the classroom? Classroom technology is dictated by industry. From industry a fundamental transformation will take place based on advisory approval, and purchased equipment. Many of the students have personal devises that they use in class, for electronic portfolio products. The software cost is generally out of their reach, however trials will help to bridge the students excitement. I use whatever resources I have available to me by asking the student what resources they have available to them. How much of the innovation shown was instructor lessons or student self exploration. Process learning helps to develop mind maps for future challenges. The instructors have more mind maps to help lead the student through their exploration. Art has always been a self expression of the environment exposure. I think this still holds true, yet now you can make money faster and it's sending and storing capability is endless. For me personally, industry has always dictated advancement. 

There's already an interest group, learning to join may be the lesson. We are in a world of rapid change, with a short shelf life. The power and importance of play will always be the piece that creates intrinsic drive.

Design Down Deliver Up has been a focus since 1990. Much of the material presented is packaged in a similar way. Implementing industry standards for productive workers, I have been practicing, changing, reaching out to community, meeting the needs of all students, for so long that I keep asking .. Are there people in this cohort who are hearing this for the first time? 

UDL
Truly wonderfully expressed through the videos. After taking the How do YOU teach survey I wasn't surprised that the diversity in my classroom reaches students through UDL.

May 28 2013 First Post

Fish On!