“When middle school students Alison and Nat confer with their teachers, it’s to talk about the lessons the students are preparing for student teachers as part of a new Generation www.Y program. The young people are part of a growing group in schools across the country who are sharing their own expertise to help make prospective teachers more aware of how students learn and the best ways technology can be used to support their learning.”
Edutopia, the website of the George Lucas Educational Foundation published this story and video on the GenYES program in Olympia, WA. The video is from a while back when the model was called Generation www.Y. That was a bit difficult to pronounce, so we changed the name to GenYES.
This video was created during an interesting time period – the GenYES students not only worked with teachers at their school, but formed teams with their teacher and a pre-service teacher. These 3 member teams learned and taught each other technology, and prepared lessons using new technology. Just another way students can be involved in improving education for all!
US K-12 students aren’t getting adequate instruction in “cyberethics, cybersafety, and cybersecurity,” according to a just-released study sponsored by the National Cybersecurity Alliance and Microsoft released today. The survey, of more than 1,000 teachers, 400 administrators, and 200 tech coordinators, found that – although over 90% of administrators, teachers, and tech coordinators support teaching these topics in school – only 35% of teachers and just over half of school administrators say the topics are required in their curriculum. A bit of pass-the-buck thinking turned up in the results too – 72% of teachers said parents bear most of the responsibility for teaching these topics while 51% of administrators said teachers do.
Check out my quotes later in this article – I was thrilled to be interviewed by Ann Collier, one of my heroes in the effort to address Internet safety and ethics in a sane manner. We had a long conversation about digital citizenship and what it means. To me, citizenship is a verb, an act of participation in a community. To be a citizen means more than being told rules, it means having the rights and responsibilities of membership. So it’s simple. If we want students to be “21st century citizens” or “digital citizens” or ANY kind of citizen, we have to give them responsibility and include them in the actions of the community. This, of course, should be guided, gradual, and mentored, but it should not just be telling them the rules of a game they aren’t allowed to play.
Otherwise, it’s digital dictatorship, not digital citizenship.
Tinkering is still at the top of my mind these days, even though I haven’t had much time to blog about it much (besides this). But often when things are on your mind, everything you see seems to relate. If you think about buying a yellow car, all of a sudden the world seems full of yellow cars.
So reading this Alfie Kohn News and Comments article about grades made me think about tinkering again. Because often when we talk about doing something different in schools, we hear, “but how will that fit into the current classroom?” And that means everything from 42 minute periods to test prep to grades.
But tinkering is one of those things that doesn’t fit in neatly. It takes time, doesn’t result in neat projects that work with canned rubrics, and might not have any impact on test scores. But should that matter? Can’t we help kids at least a little by making things more like tinkering and less contrived and pre-planned?
Then this hit me.
As for the research studies: Collectively, they make it clear that students who are graded tend to differ from those who aren’t in three basic ways. They’re more likely to lose interest in the learning itself. They’re more likely to prefer the easiest possible task. And they’re more likely to think in a superficial fashion as well as to forget what they were taught. Alfie Kohn
These are exactly what kids need to be able to do to tinker. And grades squash that.
Maybe we are asking the wrong questions. Maybe implementing “some tinkering” where kids are eventually graded, no matter how authentically, is a contradiction. Maybe even counterproductive if it confuses kids. Is it even worth doing?
We are calling on educators and web professionals to join our new effort – the 2010 MLK Day Technology Challenge. The idea is simple: to connect schools with technology needs to IT and web professionals, developers, graphic designers and new media professionals who are willing to volunteer their skills for good, take on these technology projects and give back to a school in need.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: what are you doing for others?” We ask that you answer his call in 2010 by participating in the MLK Technology Challenge.
Why not turn this around – how about students offering services to the community or their own school? Why rely on the help of kind-hearted outsiders when there is a tech savvy crew right on campus who just need some guidance to get busy!
The Day of Service website has some great suggestions for projects -
Enhance the school’s website by creating blogs or discussion groups for various student groups, such as student council, chess club, drama group, dance troupe, or varsity and intramural teams.
Create a Facebook Fan Page for your school or for your Parent-Teacher’s Association, Student Government Association or Alumni Association.
Create a NING social network for your school or a school organization.
Of course, all of these things could be done by students.
Even if you bring in outside expertise, include students. You can register your school’s technology need and ask for help by registering your school’s technology need as a “volunteer opportunity” with one of the partner websites listed here.
When you create your volunteer opportunity, be sure to:
Use a descriptive title and make sure to include the “MLKTech” keyword – the keyword is necessary for search.
Set the date as January 18, 2010
But remember, when you do get volunteer help, include students in the meetings. Let them apprentice with the volunteers so that once the volunteers go back to their real jobs, you still have students who know what to do. Building local capacity pays off in the long run!
My original posting was not a criticism of NYSCATE – which is one of my favorite ed tech conferences. Vendor-led sessions are a fact of life at any conference, often informative, and NYSCATE does a good job of identifying them as such.
A quick search on the Google reveals that this company has a whitepaper with the same title which can be found on several security industry websites. It’s also been a session (same title and description) at more than one ed tech conference in Texas.
So it’s clear in this case it’s not just a matter of a single regional company representative clumsily trying to come up with a catchy title for a session. This is a well-thought out marketing plan from this company.
Perhaps conferences should read ALL session descriptions a little more carefully to make sure they promote the values of the organizing body.
Because really, this attitude does not start with companies. Sales 101 is about reflecting the language and attitudes of your customers. They wouldn’t be saying it if they weren’t hearing it. Sales 102 is creating a climate of need, fear-based if necessary, that if you don’t have whatever they are selling, something horrible will happen.
Teachers, tech directors, and superintendents talk about what they want and need, and companies simply take those problems, what marketeers call “pain points” and find ways to frame their solutions with that language. Marketing is about talking your customers language, so when you hear language like this, as Pogo said, “We have met the enemy and he is us.”
On September 8, President Barack Obama called on the nation’s students to take greater responsibility for their education. Now, the U.S. Department of Education is asking students to respond by participating in a national video contest titled “I Am What I Learn.”
The website has a YouTube video introducing the contest to students.
The contest is open to active middle, secondary and college students, ages 13 and older. Starting September 21, through November 2, students can submit their videos on the contest website. The videos must be less than two minutes long, but otherwise, there are no restrictions on the style of the video. Winning videos will be chosen based on the following criteria: use of creativity, strength and originality of content, and ability to inspire.
November 9 – 24, the public can view the finalists’ videos and vote on their favorites. The top three finalists with the most votes will each win $1,000 prize issued by the U.S. Department of Education.
Winners will be announced the week of December 1.
Contest rules
Each video must be submitted by an active student, age 13 and older, and a U.S. citizen or legal resident.
Contestants chosen as finalists will be contacted through their YouTube account and must respond within seven business days to confirm eligibility.
Finalists under the age of 18 must submit a parental consent form.
My comments: This is an incredible opportunity for students to show their media and technology literacy skills to a wider audience! Don’t wait for your “video production” lesson set for May — if you can shuffle things around, why not?
And why limit the topic to “I am what I learn” – how about “I am what I do”, or how about some of our GenYES or TechYES student-mentors show “I am what I TEACH.” Learning is not just about input, but output too – it’s what students do that counts.
Yes, sigh, I know that YouTube is blocked at many schools. It’s ironic that the federal government is using this information channel without seeming to realize that their own regulations cause schools to block that channel.
And finally, several people commented on my previous post (President to speak to students) questioning the age limit. Why 13 years old? My guess is that because they are using YouTube to submit videos and also to contact contest winners, they are bound to the President to speak to students) questioning the age limit. Why 13 years old? My guess is that because they are using YouTube to submit videos and also to contact contest winners, they are bound to the terms of service set by YouTube. YouTube requires anyone creating an account to be at least 13. This, in turn, is a direct response to the federal government online child protection regulations that severely restrict any online interaction with children younger than 13.
The focus on “21st century skills” while scrupulously avoiding the only real new 21st century skill completely puzzles me. This post nails it… please read…
So all I’m asking, on behalf of the thousands of nerds who could one day change the world for the better, is that we give them access to simple, open, programmable devices; a little time to work on them; and a safe space to work in. They’ll take it from there. They don’t need adult supervision, or a certified curriculum. If we network them together, they’ll answer each others’ questions and collaborate on projects we can hardly imagine.
Every year, Project Tomorrow administers the annual SpeakUp survey of students, parents, teachers, and administrators. Every year, we hear from U.S. students that they are fascinated by technology, love learning, and want more. Results from the over 300,000 participants in the 2008 survey should be available soon.
While we wait, let’s look at some interesting data from the science questions from 2007.
In the U.S., STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) is a hot topic these days. Pundits bemoan the lack of basic science literacy, blame American students for apathy, and predict we will be crushed by global competition. But who ever asks students what they are interested in or how best they learn?
In looking at the report, Inspiring the Next Generation of Innovators: Students, Parents and Educators Speak Up about Science Education, you immediately see the glaring inconsistencies in how students learn, what fascinates and excites them, how teachers want to teach, and what’s actually happening in classrooms. What does it mean for the future when less than 40 percent of these students see learning science as important for making informed decisions in the future? How does that square with the same students reporting that they “…are open to learning science and pursuing STEM careers—intrigued by opportunities to participate in hands-on, group-oriented, “fun” experiences, as well as by opportunities to meet with professionals and use professional-level tools.”
It’s obvious that students are experiencing a disconnect. They are interested and intrigued by science — but not in school.
Students report that their especially fun or interesting learning experiences using science and math have been hands-on and group-oriented.
Students are interested in pursuing careers in STEM fields — when they know about them.
When asked about the essential features of their imagined ultimate science classroom, the leading answer for students in grades K-2 and in grades 9-12 was “teachers excited about science”. Students in grades 3-5 were more interested in “fun experiments” (69 percent). Other highly essential features for students in grades 3-12 were “real tools” (standard lab and technology-based tools) and being able to do “real research,” including online research on computers.
Imagine that — students want teachers who are inspired and inspiring, who bring the classroom to life with real world tools and examples. These teachers are out there, students want and need them, but apparently are getting them too rarely.
This disconnect is reflected in the teacher responses as well.
Just 25% of teachers say they’re using inquiry-based methods with their students; methods that both educators and researchers argue are essential for the development of scientific literacy.
Only 16 percent of teachers reported they are assigning projects that help students develop problem-solving skills.
Teachers report that 21st century tools and projects would help — but lack the time and funding to implement them, and feel constrained by mandated curriculum.
But the biggest disconnect is that most K-12 school administrators don’t see this problem. Here’s the percentage of each category that gave a passing grade to their school for preparing students for jobs of the future.
This perception gap is a crucial indicator that we are not only failing our students in providing the relevant, inquiry-based, hands-on science education they hunger for, but that we are fooling ourselves about it. What’s worse?
Last year, with very little publicity and a shoestring distribution network, people funded over 100,000 laptops now in use around the world. That was an amazing show of support. But this year is going to be different.
Amazon.com is handling the distribution, with their reliable shipping, tracking, and return handling. There should be no repeat of last year’s long delays and lack of information.
The publicity this year is being handled by some big names too. According to the New York Times,
The advertising time is donated, and the spots are expected to start conversations. One spot is an uplifting vision of a 7-year-old girl in a South African township, sitting in a dark room, her face lighted only by the laptop’s glow. “With education, we will solve our own problems,” she says.
Another TV spot says children learn quickly, whatever their tools of survival are — whether loading an AK-47 or mastering an XO laptop. Other settings show child labor camps and child prostitutes. “There are some very challenging scenes,” said Paul Lavoie, chairman of Taxi, the agency that created the ads.
(For those of you with YouTube blocked, this is one of the planned commercials, Zimi’s Story.)
There’s room for us too!
Just because some big names are pitching in doesn’t mean there’s no room for us regular folks! This is still a grass roots campaign, and we can all help. Everything from blog posts and fundraisers at schools, to using the XO as a lesson for our well-off children about how education matters most to those who have the least.
This website, Laptops4Kids.net, helps people understand how the G1G1 program works by pulling together information that is scattered on various websites and wikis. For example, they created a downloadable flyer that would be useful for a school event or fundraiser.
Not only did they build this website, they sent out a press release to announce it. These educators are learning that technology in education is not just about the equipment, but about winning the hearts and minds of everyone involved to build support for initiatives they believe in.
Give One, Get One, Change the World!
Next up – what can K-12 schools and students do to support the XO laptop program?
Every year, 
