So the most recent thing I've done for my class is watch the following video from Edutopia.org.
http://www.edutopia.org/effective-technology-teaching-in-digital-age
I think it is an interesting video, but obviously a few years old. I think that at this point in history, you probably don't have too many districts that need to be convinced of the need for email... But, there was a comment made at the beginning of the film I found very interesting. The principal states at the very beginning of the film that they wanted technology available to kids, but not in the form of a computer lab because "you wouldn't have a pencil lab." What a great idea. Wouldn't it be wonderful if the money and training were available to teachers to have enough computers in every classroom and the knowledge and insight as to how to best use them... Maybe Pres. Obama's ed-tech money will take us a little closer to this place.
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
"Stimulus" Plan
I watched the President’s speech last night (pretty good overall, I thought) and this morning I read the following article http://www.edutopia.org/poll-economic-stimulus-school-technology
In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that I have a problem with federal funding of education to begin with. Admittedly, if I were President, I would give the states a 2-year warning, then remove it all together from the budget, allowing the states to set up their own educational system and fund it themselves based on the needs that they have. (I would probably keep a small line item to fund national groups to establish recommended standards – like NCTM, etc)
With that said, I don’t like the technology in education money in this plan. Not just because I don’t like the feds involved in local affairs, but because I have doubts that the money will actually show up in a classroom. And herein lies the problems with any federal program designed to help at the local level – oversight and overhead. The expense of running a large bureaucracy is great. Plus, there is just no way to ensure that the money is used as intended… There is no way to protect the “investment” of the tax payer when the money goes to D.C., then back to the states, then to the ISD’s, then to the local districts, and lastly ends up in the school. There are just too many hands in that pot, and some money will be lost every step of the way. Additionally, I have yet to see a definition of the types of technology this money will be used to purchase. Of course once the purchase is made, will there be funding for training of teachers and maintenance/replacement of the technology?
In the interest of full disclosure, I have to say that I have a problem with federal funding of education to begin with. Admittedly, if I were President, I would give the states a 2-year warning, then remove it all together from the budget, allowing the states to set up their own educational system and fund it themselves based on the needs that they have. (I would probably keep a small line item to fund national groups to establish recommended standards – like NCTM, etc)
With that said, I don’t like the technology in education money in this plan. Not just because I don’t like the feds involved in local affairs, but because I have doubts that the money will actually show up in a classroom. And herein lies the problems with any federal program designed to help at the local level – oversight and overhead. The expense of running a large bureaucracy is great. Plus, there is just no way to ensure that the money is used as intended… There is no way to protect the “investment” of the tax payer when the money goes to D.C., then back to the states, then to the ISD’s, then to the local districts, and lastly ends up in the school. There are just too many hands in that pot, and some money will be lost every step of the way. Additionally, I have yet to see a definition of the types of technology this money will be used to purchase. Of course once the purchase is made, will there be funding for training of teachers and maintenance/replacement of the technology?
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Legal Pains
So for this class that I am taking, which requires that I make these posts (we’ll see if they continue once I have my final grade…), I read an article that warns against teachers doing stupid things on the internet, which results in their being fired from their jobs. (Here’s the article: http://www.edutopia.org/teacher-blogs-online-media-law)
I am occasionally frustrated with the level of litigation in our society, the ease with which we are offended, and the need to cover one’s backside. But, just to be careful, I have added a disclaimer to my blog, as suggested by the authors in the afore mentioned article. I hope my attorney is happy!
I am occasionally frustrated with the level of litigation in our society, the ease with which we are offended, and the need to cover one’s backside. But, just to be careful, I have added a disclaimer to my blog, as suggested by the authors in the afore mentioned article. I hope my attorney is happy!
Monday, February 23, 2009
First Entry
Well, this is it, my first blog entry... I feel like I am entering a brand new world where I spout off meaningless things with the misconception that others care.
I have created this blog as a requirement for EDU-653, and apparently, one of the things I am to use this blog for is to post things about my RSS Feed for the class, so I guess I'll start off with that.
One of my feeds is just for fun; it is an online comic strip that runs on Mon, Wed, and Fri. It's one of my fav's - XKCD. One of the great things about these strips is the punch lines are always 2-for-1. You get the punch line in the comic, and you get a second punch line when you mouse-over.
The reason I bring all this up is today's comic had a biting (but appropriate) criticism of math professors within the mouse-over comment. As a math teacher, I found it very funny.
Check it out for yourself: http://xkcd.com/547/
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