Marc Prensky on digital_nation: life on the virtual frontier

I'm cruising around looking for resources that will contribute to understanding for attendees of my Web2.0 for US! professional development session next Tuesday for Metro Nashville Public Schools teachers and came across this wonderful just-over-4-minute snippet from the PBS project digital_nation: life on the virtual frontier. I think it says a lot of what I'm moving toward in my own thinking and I thought I'd share it out with you, dear reader. I'd also like to point you to a recently published Education World interview with my colleague-in-change Will Richardson (well, okay, he's really an idol). In it he points out some obvious areas for change and admits frustration with the snail's pace rate of it. Here's a sort of a "re-tweet" from Twitter:

scottmerrick Scott SIGVE Merrick 

Great Will Richardson interview:http://www.edweek.org/tsb/articles/2010/10/12/01richardson.h04.html

artclectic preview, ya'll

I'm just sayin' -- if you are anywhere near Nashville the 3rd week of October, and you fail to visit artclectic 2010, you're playin' de foooooooool.

"Lives" is now available on Kindle!

From Amazon today!

Lives relates one soul's journeys through three times: the American Civil War, mid 20th Century middle-class America, and a post-holocaust future in which the protagonist might well be the only man left on the planet. (Contains sexual references and scenes of violence in a dramatic context.) It has been described as a contemporary-historical-sciencefiction-futuristic-fantasy. The author welcomes categorizations from readers...

Hello,

Congratulations! The book(s) you recently submitted has published to the Kindle Store. Please note that while the title is available for readers to purchase now, the product description and links to the book’s physical counterpart may take up to 48 hours to appear on the book’s detail page.

Here’s a link to your book(s) in the Kindle store:
Lives | http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0014JKC36

Live Interactive Event Monday--Come Join the Discussion!

From http://futureofeducation.com, an invitation: 

Date: Monday, October 4, 2010

Time: 2pm Pacific / 5pm Eastern / 9pm GMT (international times here)

Duration: 2 hours

Location: In Elluminate. Log in at http://tr.im/futureofed. The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support. Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event at the event page.

Event and Recording Page:  http://www.learncentral.org/event/106358
Hashtag:  #elev8ed

The Future of Education Charting the Course of Teaching and Learning in a Networked World

A message to all members of The Future of Education

Between the NBC "Education Nation" Summit, Waiting for Superman, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg's $100 million gift to Newark city schools, there has been a lot of media attention focused on the topic of education reform. Unfortunately, much of it has excluded actual educators, let alone students. Furthermore, and perhaps as a consequence, the dialog has become divisive, blaming, and ultimately counter-productive. FutureofEducation.com and Edutopia are collaborating this coming Monday on a two-hour live and interactive look at "Elevating the Education Reform Dialog"--an online discussion with special guests and specifically for educators,  to help move past the bashing and to engage in a constructive conversation about the best way forward.  Connection details are at the bottom of this post.  Confirmed speakers include:                              Julie Evans is the CEO of the national education nonprofit organization, Project Tomorrow (www.tomorrow.org) whose mission is to ensure that today's students are well prepared to become tomorrow's leaders, innovators and engaged citizens of the world. Alfie Kohn writes and speaks widely on human behavior, education, and parenting. The author of eleven books and scores of articles, he lectures at education conferences and universities as well as to parent groups and corporations. Chris Lehmann is the founding principal of the Science Leadership Academy, a progressive science and technology high school in Philadelphia, PA. The Science Leadership Academy is an inquiry-driven, project-based, 1:1 laptop school that is considered to be one of the pioneers of the School 2.0 movement nationally and internationally. Deborah Meier has spent more than three decades working in public education as a teacher, principal, writer, advocate, and ranks among the most acclaimed leaders of the school reform movement in the U.S. Diane Ravitch is Research Professor of Education at New York University and a historian of education. In addition, she is a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.  She shares a blog called Bridging Differences with Deborah Meier, hosted by Education Week. She also blogs for Politico.com/arena and the Huffington Post. Will Richardson considers himself an "evangelist" for the use of Weblogs, RSS and related Internet technologies in classrooms and schools. Over the past six years he's had the chance to speak and work with thousands of educators from around the world on the merits of "The Read/Write Web." He was a classroom teacher for over 20 years who integrated these technologies into his curricula for over four years. Sir Ken Robinson, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in the development of creativity, innovation and human resources. He has worked with governments in Europe, Asia and the USA, with international agencies, Fortune 500 companies, and some of the world’s leading cultural organizations. Since 1982, Gary Stager, PhD, an internationally recognized educator, speaker and consultant, has helped learners of all ages on six continents embrace the power of computers as intellectual laboratories and vehicles for self-expression.

I'm on for ESBOCES Webinars in February

Cool.

ESBOCES in New York is setting up a cool year of professional development for their administrators and teachers, and I've been asked to belly up for a 4 week series of weekly webinars on the general topic of Leadership in education. Cool!

New! Model Schools Virtual Technology Leadership Series

Get inspired from the comfort of your own home! 

All administrators and interested teachers are invited to join us for this exciting and inspiring technology leadership series.  Participants will be given the opportunity to learn from and interface with technology subject matter experts.  This Leadership Series is designed to broaden your perspective on technology and its application to improving teaching and learning.   Each series will run once a week for four weeks and will feature a different technology expert. Weekly webcasts will be followed by additional on-line interaction (blogging, discussions, etc.) and will allow you the chance to interact with technology leaders from other districts as well.

Here's some info on my contributions to this innovative effort, and I'll post links for participation here once everything's set in virtual stone:

February 2, 9, 16 and March 2, 2011, from 8-9pm EST, facilitated by Elluminate

Scott Merrick--Innovative Leadership: a Contradiction in Terms?

An essential element of effective leadership is making sure our academic institutions improve and thrive. Or is it? For example, maintaining an ongoing plan for Professional Development can be well nigh impossible: What works one year may not work the next. What one school needs may not be what another needs. Are our schools and our school districts missing something important that may, if not "save the day," at least help in particular settings? This four-week set of hour long interactions will focus on several general topics through the perspectives its presenter has developed over the last decade of teaching, teacher training, volunteer work, and professional practice. The topics are at this writing subject to change, but they will likely include the following:

• The Read-Write Web and what that means for teaching practice, professional development, and personal satisfaction
• Personal Learning Networks, Professional Learning Networks, and the big question--"Why Bother?"
• 3Dimensional Immersive Environments--Sense of Presence at a Distance and Why You Want It
• Distance Education in K12--"Disantiquating" Schools and Schooling with Virtual Learning

Cool.

Education Nation Attempts to Talk about It!

Did you miss the highly touted EducationNation broadcast on NBC yesterday?

I didn't, though I did check out before its ending. As a chat participant who did the best he could to be an active participant, it was immensely frustrating to be one of 6,000 educators  who had been given access to the live chat stream--only to discover that it was being filtered manually by a reader who was then reposting comments into CoverItLive.

I've use CIL myself some over the past couple years, and I must say I'm in awe of the chutzpah shown by this attempt. And I'd bet that I'm not alone in spending an hour of my time in a conversation that really wasn't one.

Don't get me wrong, the attempt was epic. I'm just saying that if dialog didn't move beyond trying to "fix" the current educational system into some right radical ideas for right radical restructuring, nay, re-imagining, then all the fol-de-rol was just that, and balderdash, too. Discussions about "are teachers under attack?" and arguments about teacher tenure just aren't enough. 

Since I didn't get any of my comments into the live chat, I am going to pull a few onto this blog post from the Facebook page set up for an alternative outlet. To my mind, this was a far better venue for the dialog than CoverItLive, but that could be just because I felt a modicum of dialog was going on there since immediate feedback from "likes" or comments on my comments could be seen immediately. Here are the comments, then I'm taking off out of the office for home. Without sounding despairing, because I'm not, really, I plan to wake up tomorrow to try to make some change in a system that is antiquated and held in place only because it's supported by the 7 most dangerous words in the English language, "That's the way we've always done it."

(After 30 minutes of searching for my now "older comments." I give up, but I will spend some time tomorrow working through the current topics. I hope they're not as dead-end as they were when I tried to participate...

Cheers,

Scott

New Research on Study Habits: We've got it all wrong.

This is a most interesting NYTimes article about new research centered around the best way(s) to study/learn. It seems the most important think (though certainly not the only important thing) is motivation, something we can almost certainly assume our Virtual Learning kids have from the get-go. Thanks to USN's Justin Karpinos for sharing it and to Lee Ann for passing it along to me!


http://tinyurl.com/24l2wtk is the article. 

How-to Open G!

I'd shore like one of 'em Ovation Gitt-tars. Vote for moi, please!!!

Contest details

Gravity Arc

I was just walking the big black dawg, on one of the very first pleasant evenings of the fall. I watched a bird flying and had a moment where an analogy formed and I want to share it.

Gravity Arc.

A sparrow flew out in front of us. You've all seen this, I know you have. The tiny bird flew in spurts, beating its little wings and gliding and falling, then beating its little wings again to proceed. I thought, "That fall must have a name, let's call it the Gravity Arc." That's the space it falls in, where gravity takes over, it rests, and, inevitably, it works again. That's where we are now, in the Gravity Arc.

We presented our program to the Metro Nashville Public Schools Board of Directors today. Barbra set out the state of our progress to date: Website creation, identifying students in our core pioneer group of 13 students, all with qualifying states of their own education that made them prime candidates for involvement in our first group of full-time students, all eager to learn in ways that traditional schooling fails them, all with parents who want them to succeed. Kecia shared some important legislative issues we need to deal with. The Board was interested, supportive, and I think visibly excited for the possibilities. Our key advocate, Jay Steele, MNPS Associate Supervisor of High Schools, was supportive and vocal. I do believe that I heard a little tentative applause at the end of our presentation. We went back to work, involved ourselves in the incredibly difficult and insanely complicated task of enrolling our pioneers into online classes. Flapping our wings we were.

Tonight, I'm walking the dog, and I'm watching that sparrow (maybe a wren: no matter) and thinking, "This is what I'm doing now, falling, resting, and the inevitable next thing is flapping our wings again to make the next forward progress. Tomorrow."

The process is predictable and repetitious. The path is not. The path is forward.

I hope this analogy will help those of you who are making progress. I'm happy tonight in ways I haven't been happy in a long, long time.

G'night.

Words, words, words...

My dear friend Cathy Walker, of the uber-innovative initiative MUVE Market, has often expressed an opinion just this side of disdain for the blogger or tweeter who only parrots what he's heard in the dialog, creating online presence completely based on others' thoughts. I personally think there's a place to that but I also value the extra input generated by those who contribute to the viral discussion. So much information is flowing by that the more a brilliant thought is repeated the more likely it is that I won't miss it altogether.

I hope, though, that this characterization is not applicable to me. That said, I'm parroting here.

I discovered Sam Chaltain's blog yesterday evening on Facebook, his "We Need a New Set of Words, Words, Words" post called to my attention by a share out statussed by Bonnie Brace Sutton, an educator I've never met in person but whose train of thought I get to glimpse occasionally through our connection on Facebook. Her post was basically a snippet of Chaltain's Shakespeare-fueled musings about the way our efforts in educational reform (there's another word that needs replacing) are crippled by our established lexicon, especially those old standby jargon staples "data, testing, and accountability." It was enough of a snack to make me want more, so I hopped on over to the original post.

I want to offer a couple of snacks here, then to hope that you'll do the same. How about:

"... it’s unquestionable that the words we use are somehow divorced from the essence of what schooling is all about — helping children unlock the mystery of who they are by acquiring the skills and self-confidence they need to be seen and heard (at college, in their careers, and as citizens in a democracy) in meaningful, responsible ways.

Why is the significance and power of this goal so absent from the most common vocabulary of the current reform movement? The optimistic side of me says it’s simply because we haven’t thought about it enough. The pessimistic side wonders if it’s because we’re so blinded by the current charade of labeling schools (or reform efforts) as successful or unsuccessful based on a single measure of success that we’ve come of believe our own press clippings: if the scores go up, we really are closing the achievement gap. If the scores stay stagnant or go down, we’ve made no progress whatsoever.

or chew on:

"Every time you want to talk about testing, talk about learning instead. Tests will always be a component of our education system. But take a moment to reflect back on your most powerful personal learning experience, and I can guarantee you it did not involve a test."

or, finally, and then you need to read the source, which will likely spur you to get your hands on a copy of Chaltain's book, American Schools: The Art of Creating a Democratic Learning Community:

" ...in case you think this is flowery progressivism at its worst, you should know that I’m partially basing this notion on the insights of renown business guru Jim Collins, who says the best organizations create environments where employees need no motivation, and leaders trip up when they destroy that drive."

There you go. I've done my best. If I haven't spurred you to go read Chaltain's stellar post in its entirety, perhaps I've served by parroting some of the best bits...Cheers!

From Metro Nashville Public Schools News 08-06-2010

MNPS Virtual High School: A new era in education

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Aug 6, 2010) – Imagine the day that all 22 credits needed for high school graduation could be earned in a student’s own time, a time when students will be able to learn at their own pace earning credits based on mastery not seat time. Metro Nashville Public Schools is excited to say that day is here thanks to the district’s new Virtual High School.

“Virtual High School will open so many doors for so many students,” said Executive Director of Instructional Technology Dr. Kecia Ray. “We will now be able to meet students where they are on their path to finish high school on time and provide options for students where the traditional school or classroom is not conducive to their learning style. Our opportunities with Virtual High School are unlimited.”

For the 2010-11 school year, Virtual High School will seat 10-15 full-time students and will be able to seat more than a thousand part-time students at any given time. 

Full-time students can take up to three courses at a time. Though all courses will be taught entirely online, the group will be required to meet at least once each semester for non-academic reasons, such as social skills and bonding. Students will maintain a Virtual High School blog and other social elements to help them feel part of a bigger community.

“The beauty of virtual education is that students are in control of their own education,” said Associate Superintendent of High Schools Jay Steele. “We want to meet students where they are academically, regardless of age or geographic location.”

Upon completion of a course, they can immediately enroll in a new course, regardless of day or month. This will allow all students the opportunity for accelerated learning. Eligibility guidelines are still being developed, though five full-time students have already been identified for the upcoming school year. The district is now accepting full time students or students may enroll part time through their regular high school.

Ray explains this first class will be very small so that the district can “build out student support.”

“We have to be able to provide every student certain support services -- access to advisors and counselors, assistance with financial aid and post-secondary education opportunities, online resources like libraries, social networking -- all the things students in traditional high schools have access to. So we will start with a small group of full-time students in 2010-11, but we expect to be completely open by 2011.”

The school will also be open to students enrolled in other high schools in the district. These students will take a regular load of classes at their enrolled high school and be able to take additional courses online. This will benefit students who want to take classes not offered at their regular school, or those who want to get ahead but not miss out on the traditional high school experience. There will be a fee for non-Metro students; it has not been determined.

All students interested in Virtual High School must have access to a computer. Parents must also be prepared to learn. All parents of full-time students will be expected to participate in a training program that will teach them how to help their children.

About online learning

Online learning is different from e-learning, which MNPS already offers in the form of A+ Credit Recovery. While e-learning does not require an actual instructor, every online course has a full-time instructor. The teacher may be in another state, but he or she monitors and instructs the students daily.

MNPS will contract with an online learning vendor to locate and provide courses. The district will purchase so many “seats” which can be used for any course and any student. One of the greatest benefits to online learning is the unlimited number and type of courses MNPS will be able to offer students. According to Ray, “Japanese, AP Archaeology, you name it. If it’s out there, we can offer it.”

MNPS has a Coordinator for Virtual Learning and a Virtual Curriculum Specialist in place. Coordinator Barbra Thoeming worked with Florida Virtual School as an instructor and Instructional Manager. In addition, she was an online student during her Master’s Degree program. This gives her a unique insight into the needs of students, parents, and teachers in the virtual environment.  

Specialist Scott Merrick was recently selected as a National Association of Independent Schools “Teacher of the Future” and is chairperson of the Virtual Learning Environment Special Interest Group for Virtual Environments. He served 14 years as a Technology Coordinator at University School of Nashville.

Virtual High School will be funded through federal grants. This is the first school in our state to offer online learning in this capacity.

Important Reminder:

The 2010-2011 school year begins on Thursday, August 12, 2010, with new immunization requirements for pre-school, pre-K, kindergarten and 7^th grade students. Vaccination information is available, in English and Spanish, at   http://www.mnps.org/Page68374.aspx.

- MNPS -

Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools serve more than 76,000 students with the goal of being the first choice for families in Nashville and Davidson County. The governing body for MNPS is the Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County Board of Public Education, a nine-member group elected by residents of Metropolitan Nashville. For more information, please visit www.mnps.org.