Map of Future Forces Affecting Education

After reviewing the Map of Forces Affecting Education site, I found myself going back and forth to the "Sick Herd" driver. Not to be morbid, but here I continued to land and open the trend that identified the rise in youth obesity and the need for mental health care among our school age children.
I can tell you first hand that I have seen the population of children at our school who need and take advantage of mental health services rise to a point that the school system now partners with New River Mental Health to provide a program and service delivery that we note as "In-school therapy." The idea being that students who are either in need of care, be it court appointed or school or home initiated, can receive services at school instead of visiting a psychiatrist's or psychologist's offices. Some of the major reasons for setting these up at school are that transportation can be a hardship on the family or the more popular 3:30 slots are often times taken when a parent tries to request an appointment; all of these remedied by providing in-school therapy.
Serving the child at school provides a "safe place" for the child to discuss issues with their therapist. However this program is not free of its dilemmas. Things such as space and time away from class instruction have become hurdles that have had to be dealt with. Not to mention issues surrounding confidentiality.
Think about this for a moment; twenty years ago the idea of counseling children within the school setting was not even considered. Sure we had guidance counselors but their job at that time was to guide students into making career goals and good life habits. Now we use them to as clearing houses for community agencies such as New River Mental Health.
Research shows that children do better in school when their basic needs, such as food, clothing, and shelter, are met. The notion of providing the mental health support ensures that the school system really is attempting to educate "the whole child."

Think.com

I spent some time navigating through and exploring the Think.com website. The first step to this process is registering to become a user. This was not an easy process compared to many other free/educational sites. Once the required information was entered into the fields and submitted, a wait period begun in which Think.com searches and validated the request. Think.com is very strict on the requirements for allowing access. For example home schools and schools without accreditation are not allowed access.
During the wait time, an email is sent to the principal/head master (in my case it came back to me however I also asked the Technology Specialist to submit a request and her email notification was sent to me as well) notifying them that a request has been made. An option is also sent to opt out if the recipient feels the notice was sent in error.
Once Think.com recognizes the school as valid a pass code is emailed to the original user. If the user does not take advantage of the access code within 30 days the password will expire and the user will have to go through the process from "square one."
Once on, the user can navigate and explore other sites that have been created by "teams" of students. These sites range the span of the curriculum from "Arts and Entertainment" to "Math" to "Social Studies" and beyond. The premise of this site appears to be closely related to that of the applied technological piece of an Odyssey of the Mind (OM) Team. Think.com could easily take the place or supplement an OM team at the school level.
Think.com also gives a school the opportunity to compete in a national arena with true, authentic learning set in an applied sense. Students not only have to have a deep understanding of the content, but their content must also be published, polished and made available to the masses.
This process still requires a faculty advisor and registration is not easy but the end product and the value of the experience is one that fosters true learning.

Using Windows Movie Maker for the first time.

In an effort to "kill two birds with one stone" I created a movie using Windows Movie Maker and still pictures from my wife's classroom. I had not experimented with this program in the past but enjoyed using it to produce this file. The music on this movie is that of Valle Crucis School's Guidance Counselor, Greg Ward. He is an incredibly talented man both in and out of the classroom.

This was a relatively easy program to use and was fun to produce. I enjoyed seeing the final product and have given my wife the link to this blog so that she may share this with her class.

Please enjoy!!

ISTE NETS (A)

I'm not sure if you have had the chance to read Critical Technology: Issues for School Leaders by Susan Brooks-Young or not, but if you haven't, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. She begins the book by discussing the difference between "Digital Immigrants" and "Digital Natives." The immigrants are those of us that are typically over 30 who are caught up in this whirlwind of new ideas and products and are just simply trying to figure it all out. The natives are those, usually under 30, who have been surrounded by technology all their lives. The real challenge then becomes, what happens when the native attempts to teach the immigrant.

Outstanding and quick read...our district purchased a copy for us as part of the administrator's summer time reading list. Each chapter has a handful of questions that are perfect for discussion and, more importantly, thinking.

So we understand what direction the world is moving and then we enter the ISTE NETS(A) goals and we run into...dollars and sense. AHHH the age old dilemma. Who is going to pay for what we obviously need? What cuts will have to be made if new technology is installed in our classrooms?

While the goals and objectives are clear the "paper to practice" is not. Many systems "flood" their schools with technology as a cure-all but the follow-through and staff development never makes it to the teacher and ultimately the student. Some choose to spend dollars in faculty, and allow technology to take a backseat with the idea that more teachers and instructors are the answer. The ISTE NETS(A) goals need to serve as a catilist to guide each individual system into the future. The objectives and goals are clearly thought out and take into account each stakeholder in the process.

While funding will be the dilemma that has no easy answer, one thing is clear...this world is advancing at a much quicker pace than we relize. Funding or not our studetns are entering schools with a knowledge base of technology that, often times, is larger than ours. It is time to allow the immagrants to take some of the lead!!

Skype Reflection

Earlier this week, I had a conversation with a good friend of mine using Skype. Skype was a new adventure for me but one that turned out to be quite enjoyable. Once I became used to not having a phone to my head and making necessary adjustments to my own personal volume (I found myself yelling at the computer), it really is quite handy. I was able to multitask throughout our conversation, working on emails, taking notes from our conversation and filling out field trip forms.

Scott, my Skype partner for this assignment, is a Ph.D. student at UNC Chapel Hill working toward a degree in Culture, Curriculum, and Change. He and I taught together at Blowing Rock School when I was a third grade teacher and he taught sixth grade. He has always been an incredible thinker and a person I have come to really admire over the years. He had read Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat and we spent some time discussing some key points.

It was obvious to Scott that Friedman had me “hook, line and sinker” with the idea that globalization is a good thing. Scott posed a few questions that made me rethink what I had read. As we began our discussion I noted some key points within the “While I was Sleeping” chapter about the notion of India being the “grunt work” for outsourcing in America. While I thought this point was well made by Friedman, Scott was quick to say, “Let’s not automatically assume this is a good thing.” Scott pointed out that Friedman “thinks like a businessman.” We also discussed a handful of points that I hope inspires you to think: “How would Friedman’s book have been different if, instead of conversations with CEO’s of multi-national corporations and political leaders, conversations revolved around those doing the ‘grunt’ work? What are the hidden costs of globalization not presented in the book? Who benefits the most in a changing economy? What are the long-term consequences?”

As our conversation carried on, Scott also informed me that Friedman has just recently, within the last week, released another book, Hot, Flat, and Overcrowded. It appears that, by the title alone, this is perhaps the great tragedy as a result of the “Flat World.” Although I have yet to read this book, I would dare to venture that it points out what may be the results of the “flat world” with new environmental problems including global climate change, pollution and overcrowding.

In addition, we also spoke of the effects of the “Flat World” we find ourselves in now and the impacts on education. We now require the instant gratification that comes with being able to communicate faster but does that also mean that we lose the “art” of letter writing or the response we would receive with a compassionate voice on the other side? Is it more important for America to maintain the past superiority that once was or is it time to give that up to other countries and how do we do that gracefully?

We both had an appreciation for Friedman’s words and agreed that he is a clear thinker and writer. It is obvious that he buys into capitalism and the free market where there are winners and losers. As we closed our conversation, Scott asked me how I liked using Skype and my response was, “Well it’s free. No use of minutes or long distance charges.” His response: “There you go. Capitalism, free is better?”