Tag: Education

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Massively Open Online Course

A couple of days ago I signed up for my first ever MOOC and then I visited the Coursesites.com and signed up for a course about Locating, Creating, Licensing and Utilizing OER (Open Educational Resources). MOOCs are potentially disruptive innovation.  They are free courses primarily from higher education institutions that have traditionally charged tuition for such opportunities. Regardless of the implications I jumped at the opportunity to learn more about open educational resources (OER). It’s an area that has interested me ever since I began to explore open source software and open source resources. I’ve found the course I’m taking to be very engaging and already I have learned a great deal. I’ve found out about Coursesites and Coursera. I’ve learned more about OER Commons and how to add your own open educational resource and license it properly using Creative Commons.  I’ve learned about resources that support the open educational resource community like Merlot.org and added to the knowledge I already had about other sites like CK-12 which allows teachers to create their own Common Core aligned texts which can be shared in a browser or on any tablet that can view portable documents (PDF).

Whether massive online courses are the future or not few can say. But one thing is for sure they along with pervasive broadband and wireless have changed the landscape of traditional higher education and will transform aspects of K-12 as well.

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Once a teacher, always a teacher

I am preparing once again to teach class next Wednesday night at the Blount Library in Franklinville, New York. My first class of three adults met a couple of weeks ago and our topic was introduction to computers. The next class will be an extension of that same topic. I was fortunate to be asked to teach this group. I was thinking earlier today of my first student, my brother, whom I taught when we were in primary grades. I would make up tests for him with my Dad’s typewriter. Later as a member of the United States Navy I was called on to educate members of my company in recruit training at Great Lakes, Illinois. Though I recently retired from public education, teaching is something I enjoy. My students on Wednesday night will learn more about Google Drive and Microsoft Office. I’m going to teach them how to attach documents to an email and how to collaborate with others.  I enjoy blogging and using social media and soon I hope to teach a class on that topic too. I was thinking too of teaching a course on introduction to Linux and open source software. Though iPads and tablets in general are very popular there are still computer users who enjoy tinkering and that group would enjoy a class on open source software like Ubuntu Linux or creating your own podcasts with Audacity. Linux is like a software erector set. There is almost no limit to what you could teach a class about Linux. Linux skills are in demand in the marketplace too according to a recent article in PC World.

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Twitter a medium for storytelling and more

I’ve been watching Andrew Fitzgerald’s, “Adventure’s in Twitter Fiction,” another interesting TED talk. I’ve been a Twitter user for almost six years.  I was not sure what Twitter was at first and a bit skeptical and unsure of how this worked. A bit more than four years ago I began to follow sources on Twitter and I found it superior to RSS feeds that I had been reading up until then. Andrew’s talk provides yet another application of Twitter and invites the viewer to consider yet other ways which Twitter empowers its users both active and passive to be part of an international multiple point broadcast network. Virtual Abbey is one such application of Twitter. Virtual Abbey tweets the Liturgy of the Hours each day. It’s a unique application of Twitter. I’ve found that using Twitter for conversation forces me to be more succinct and it also helps me to appreciate the power of just a few words.  Andrew’s talk is an invitation to consider the similarities between Twitter and the early days of radio. I’ve found Twitter a great way to follow sporting events that are not broadcast of blacked out locally. Thanks Andrew for a great talk.

[ted id=1841]

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Economic Development for the Southern Tier

I’m meeting on Wednesday with an attorney in Buffalo to help me setup a 501c3 entity whose purpose is to wed social enterprise with economic development and community empowerment in New York State’s southern tier. That’s my backyard and this idea sprang from a course that I took at St. Bonaventure University’s “Franciscan Institute” this past summer. The course taught by noted author Keith Warner, OFM inspired me to consider how we could help “at-risk” youth in the area, students at St. Bonaventure University, foster entrepreneurs, encourage sustainable business and provide an incubator for other entrepreneurs.The project which is currently called “mPath” is still in its infancy. We have one board member and some people who are interested in being involved.

As a 501c3 we will need to raise money. That’s something I know very little about. I’ve been in a partnership and now the CEO of DGW Enterprises LLC. Those businesses fit a more traditional model of providing service for a fee. This venture is much more ambitious and requires some skill sets that I have not employed yet. The southern tier of New York State which includes Cattaraugus, Allegany, Steuben, and Chautauqua counties are among the most spectacular tourist vistas in the Empire State. Nonetheless, Cattaraugus and Allegany counties are among the state’s poorest. An area that was once home to dairy farming, agriculture, oil and gas production and industrial development has been languishing for over thirty years. Communities and school systems are in decline. The area is home to Alfred University, Houghton College, State University at Alfred, Fredonia State College, Jamestown Community College and St. Bonaventure University. Graduates of these institution have not found local employment a lucrative market. Politicians continue to promise a chicken in every pot and a return to the prosperity of yesteryear. Until now the rhetoric has been hollow. How do we empower and mentor youth with realistic twenty-first century skills. How do we create a sustain an economy that keeps our youth and encourages the development of the area in a manner that respects the earth and blesses its inhabitants.

Contemporary society needs new models of engagement and practice which will result in healing the social fabric through the offer of hope to a beleaguered citizenry. Globalization is an economic reality which cannot be sidestepped or avoided. We need leaders who can embrace a world view that reflects not and either or proposition but one that is both and. The Franciscan Intellectual Tradition embodied in the writings of St. Francis of Assisi, John Duns Scotus, St. Bonaventure, and others indicate a way forward. We seek an ethic that looks for and appreciates the common good and invites fraternity among us. In recent decades a broad intermediate area has emerged between the two types of enterprise. It is made up of traditional companies which nonetheless subscribe to social aid agreements in support of underdeveloped countries, charitable foundations associated with individual companies, groups of companies oriented towards social welfare, and the diversified world of the so-called “civil economy” and the “economy of communion”.

One of the most important things is for every business to measure what matters — not just profits, but impact on our communities, employees, and the environment. I want to re-create my own LLC as a B-Corp, but more than that I see mPath as an incubator of social good that connects at risk youth, with aspiring college students and their institutions that form partnerships and provide a think tank for the creation and sustenance of vision and direction for the southern tier that is not wed to any particular politics other than empowerment for all.

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Contemplative practice in education

For the second time in the last four years I am embarking on an educational journey at St. Bonaventure University. Yesterday and today were my first classes at the Franciscan Institute. I’m taking a course called “Retrieving a Franciscan Philosophy for Social Engagement.” This class leapt out of the catalog in March and after two days I’m not surprised. Our professor, Keith Douglass Warner, OFM is an engaging friar who has put together lecture and readings that invite us to explore and retrieve an authentic Franciscan approach to social engagement. Dr. Warner is a scholar who comes from Santa Clara University in California.
Franciscan philosophy emphasizes praxis before abstraction and in this course already we have explored both contemporary and medieval models of that engagement. All of this has re-energized me with ideas about how this can help both educators and students in contemporary education.
In the past few months I’ve been reflecting on a reinvented self and a redirection of my life journey that respects and honors my own experience while at the same time reflects personal growth and an effort to bring innovative approaches to problems faced in our educational communities today.
Stress is at an all time high and it’s fracturing communities of all descriptions and especially educational ones. The old formulas and approaches aren’t working as they used to. Therefore a new approach that features principles of mindfulness, yoga and other healing practices are becoming increasingly relevant.
I wrote an essay four years ago which earned me the “Dean’s Scholarship” at St. Bonaventure University enroute to a masters degree in educational leadership. Now, I have a chance to bring that heart and theory into a practical application that unites and heals. Namaste.

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Yoga for teachers

In the past year I’ve discovered that there are many teachers who are stressed about a variety of things. For many it involves high stakes testing and tying their evaluations to the results of those tests. For others its a combination of raising a family, higher fuel prices, uncertain futures, children in college and more. I’ve been taking yoga classes locally and one at Bikram Yoga in Tempe, Arizona when I was on vacation this past February. I’ve found in all of this a relaxation and stress relief that not only works but also invites others to respond the same way. There are some in our society who classify Yoga as a religion and some go so far as to insinuate sinister forces in operation at its core. Those assertions are not grounded in reality but they do keep some from seriously investigating this practice and applying it to their own lives.

My approach to this discourse has been Franciscan. I have let my activity, actions, reactions and other people’s reactions to me be the testimony of my practice. I’ve found other Franciscans who practice Yoga too. Of much greater importance is a natural method to deal with stress and improvement of one’s life and the lives we touch each day. Who among us doesn’t witness the reactions of our pupils to these incessant high stakes tests. Add to that the normal stresses of growth and maturation and you have a climate that invites bullying and other negative behavior.

This year I used some simple practices like mindful breathing to reverse these conditions with students. Each class period we began with six deep breaths. This mindful moment focused the children and calmed them too. It provided a natural break between the excitement of passing from class to class to the learning environment and it brought more oxygen into their blood which helped them to be more alert and focused too.

Each day prior to class I spent a few minutes in downward facing dog and forward bends along with mindful breathing to help me relax and prepare for my time with the students. I know that this was reflected in my teaching and my other interactions with them each day. Recent interactions with some of my peers invited me to consider how I could share my experience with other teachers and encourage them to consider yoga for themselves and their students too.

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Ready to Rally

In a few hours I will join other educators from around New York State at a rally at the state Capitol to protest the current destructive policy of subjecting our students to relentless testing. Since the Truman Report in 1947 nearly every president has had something to say about public education. Many of these commissions while well intentioned have concluded that we are a nation at risk due to a poor system of public education. The most recent iteration of this political focus has been the Common Core.

The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.

— Mission Statement from Common Core

Despite the good intention of the policy and even those who crafted it the result has been the emergence of a high stakes testing environment that is actually destroying public and private education in New York State and elsewhere with its over reliance on testing. This culture of stress and testing is harming our students who are the future of our country. I’ve never seen children so stressed and at such an early age.

I’ve long been an advocate for social justice and this is one of the issues that cries out for those of us who can speak and can rally to be a voice for those who cannot. Today those of us who have come to Albany, New York will rally for the hundreds of thousands of students and teachers who could not come. We stand in the gap on behalf of our beleaguered constituents. The prophet Ezekiel gave voice to this thousands of years ago.

“I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land.

Ezekiel 22:30

Today we join the prophets of old as we stand in the gap on behalf of teachers and students everywhere and implore the policy makers to end this oppressive plague upon our children and our schools.

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It’s not just about technology

I use technology every day. Who doesn’t? We all flip on electric lights, Many of us drive cars. Others ride buses. Some of us have cell phones. Some of those phones are “smart” phones and others are “feature phones. Some people have PCs and some have Macs. There’s an emphasis on 21st century tools and 21st century schools. Will students be prepared to use this tool or that tool? How can they truly be prepared for college or the work force unless they know Microsoft Word or use an iPad or an iPod? What are the skills that they really need to be successful in this day and age? There are the same 26 letters and the same 10 digits now as there were forty or fifty years ago and there are a nearly infinite number of combinations and permutations of those figures. 

We emphasize Common Core and the NETS standards. We’ve got students who get benchmarks and schools that achieve AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress) and teachers who are evaluated by APPR and test scores but we’re falling apart. We’re coming apart at the seams. Never in the last 40 plus years have I seen our country so stressed, so divided. Never have I seen schools, teachers, administrators, students and parents so stressed as they are now. 

So what do we need that’s way more important than high tech and high standards? We need heart. We need compassion. We need community. We desperately need community more than at anytime in our past. Without community the rest is just waste and consumerism. Jargon and bandwagons can’t prepare us or our children for the 21st century any better than community. Without community we cease to exist. We break down into warring fragments. 

Instead of iPhones and iPods we need I love you’s. Instead of text messages we need touch messages. We need people who can connect at the heart. We need people who can be present to each other. Wherever you are whatever you are doing make sure that you tell the people you’re working with or teaching with that you love them. Tell your children and anyone’s children that you love them. Love builds community and that is what we need more than anything else. 

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What next?

Conferences are great and this years NYSCATE was no exception. Opportunities to meet other professionals eager to educate children. Educators are an overwhelmingly idealistic community. That’s what makes me glad to be one. These are challenging days in education as educators everywhere seek to implement the Common Core. There is a great deal of stress generated as teachers and administrators are being evaluated more stringently than ever. Politicians, the public and corporations are demanding more accountability. Children face more of this pressure too to succeed on these benchmarks.

Everywhere in the vendor area I saw sales people exploiting this new trend. Company after company selling software designed to assess learning. The emphasis today is using the web and iPads or other similar I-devices. Regardless of the platform the emphasis is clearly on assessment. In stark contrast to all of this I attended Dr. Gary Stager’s presentation which emphasized authentic learning and authentic assessment of the learning. Gary Stager offers a clear choice between the view that everything can and/or ought to be measured and what might defy measurement.

Are we educators who enlighten or merely trainers who impart knowledge. You can easily assess training. You cannot easily assess enlightenment and transformation. Enlightenment which is marked by flashes of insight defies measurement. Ironically enlightenment and transformation are at the highest levels of Bloom. The Common Core despite its lofty goals might actually be frustrating education with its emphasis on measurable goals.

Can we we combine the two? I’m interested in what you think.

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NYSCATE 2011

It’s been 20 years since my first NYSCATE Conference. The changes in that time have been remarkable. I’ve attended a number of sessions and most have been very interesting. Although I’ve seen no presentations on open source per se but I have seen a number of presentations where the applications are on the web and they are PHP served applications and most likely those applications are run on Apache servers. While Google is not open source, it is hosted on open source data centers. Great buzz here about Google Apps for Education. Twitter is huge in Educational Technology circles and it’s yet another open source based application.

The growth of iPads has been phenomenal. Very few attendees carry notebooks or even netboks anymore. Almost everyone has an iPad. Almost everyone has a smart phone and while many conference goers sport iPhones, many more are carrying Android based phones. Interactive white board vendors are more numerous and there must be at least a dozen separate vendors.