Louisiana will test large numbers of preschool children this fall to determine their academic readiness. If they are found to be not ready, it is not clear who will be held accountable: Their teachers? Their families? “The goal, they say, is to create a grading system like the current School Performance Score reports for public elementary and secondary schools, which are ranked for student performance on standardized tests and progress made from year to year. “But whether pre-schools will be rewarded for academic progress, or sanctioned for lack of it, like elementary and secondary schools are, remains to be seen.” John White says that testing toddlers will promote equity.
This was also from Diane Ravitch's blog, but I couldn't help myself. I just don't know what to think about this...my husband and I went out tonight looking for lots to build a house. In the twenty minute car ride, this was the conversation with my four and five year old sons:
"Dad, I want a new pet. Can we go to the pet store and get a horse?"
(Other son) "You don't want a horse, then you and mommy would have to clean up poop."
"Mom, do turtles poop?"
"Yes son, everyone poops."
"Moose? Does a moose poop?"
"I have a pile of crumbs."
"Mom, do you know that in ancient times, before swimming pools, people swam in lakes?"
"Mom mom mom mom mom mom mom mom mom....
So, what I guess I need to know, is if they plan on doing this in Florida, should I start working with them on analogies? the essay section?
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Why Did the U.S. Department of Education Abandon Student Privacy Rights?
From Diane Ravitch's blog:
In 2009 and again in 2011, the U.S. Department of Education changed the regulations in the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), making it easier for third parties to gain access to private information about students. The DOE is being sued by the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) on behalf of student privacy. “EPIC is challenging recent changes to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) that allow the release of student records for non-academic purposes and undercut parental consent provisions.” At bottom, this is about Arne Duncan’s desire to clear the way for inBloom, the $100 million Gates-Carnegie-Murdoch project to collect personal student data and make it available to vendors for commercial uses.
I was aware of this change in 2009 based on the role I played in my former school district. I wondered at the time why it was not more widely publicized. At the time, I was told the only information that was collected was student/parent names and addresses. Isn't that enough? I don't know if she is correct about this being a part of a sinister 'plan' on the part of Arne Duncan and company, but I have a major problem with the access of student records distributed to anyone without parental consent. Arguments were actually presented today in Federal District Court.
I was aware of this change in 2009 based on the role I played in my former school district. I wondered at the time why it was not more widely publicized. At the time, I was told the only information that was collected was student/parent names and addresses. Isn't that enough? I don't know if she is correct about this being a part of a sinister 'plan' on the part of Arne Duncan and company, but I have a major problem with the access of student records distributed to anyone without parental consent. Arguments were actually presented today in Federal District Court.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
Does Dr.Dennen like The Simpsons?
This sign generator allows users to create clip art by creating signs out of preexisting sign templates. They are fun to make and easy to download. Since my other blogs have been so long lately, I thought I'd throw in this little tidbit of fun :)
Sign Generator was listed as one of thirteen free web tools for students and teachers. The link to the article is here:
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/07/13-free-web-tools-students-and-teachers-should-know-about/
Sign Generator was listed as one of thirteen free web tools for students and teachers. The link to the article is here:
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/07/13-free-web-tools-students-and-teachers-should-know-about/
Yes, I'm saying Produsage is a bit like Graffiti
How do issues such as authorship, copyright and open access impact your desire, ability and willingness to engage in produsage, both personally and professionally?
I view produsage as synonymous with collaboration.
Take this crazy analogy...I once taught at a high school where graffiti was rampant in the restrooms. All over the walls, doors, and stalls you would find out who was in love, who was 'so hot', and a variety of other expletives that I won't repeat here...If you were a 'lurker' (like most of us were) you would read the comments but never contribute. But if you did...if you were brave enough to say "Mr.Brook's class sux!" or whatever, you expected that it would be seen by others. You didn't think that this was your own private stall and no one else would see your thoughts. You were, in a sense, communicating and collaborating with nameless, faceless others. That being said, if you don't want to actively participate or are worried about the sanctity of your professional or personal thoughts you probably shouldn't be a "produser" outside of limited access environments.
However, there is something additional to keep in mind. Don't believe everything you read. I, for one, loved Mr.Brook's class and I did not think "For a good time, call the Principal" was a wise idea...
Shirky said in 'Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations':
"Mass amateurization has created a filtering problem vastly larger than we had with traditional media, so much larger, in fact, that many of the old solutions are simply broken. The brute economic logic of allowing anyone to create anything and make it available to anyone creates a staggering volume of new material, every day, that no group of professionals will be adequate to filter the material...The expansion of social media means that the only working system is publish-then-filer." He goes on to say..."The expansion of social media means that the only working system is publish-then-filter (Shirky, 2008).
This publish-then-filter system certainly applies here; whether an individual decides to 'take' authorship or not is no guarantee that their material is worth reading.
*ps-yes, I know graffiti is vandalism and a crime punishable by something, probably, and produsage is not. Whatever.
I view produsage as synonymous with collaboration.
Take this crazy analogy...I once taught at a high school where graffiti was rampant in the restrooms. All over the walls, doors, and stalls you would find out who was in love, who was 'so hot', and a variety of other expletives that I won't repeat here...If you were a 'lurker' (like most of us were) you would read the comments but never contribute. But if you did...if you were brave enough to say "Mr.Brook's class sux!" or whatever, you expected that it would be seen by others. You didn't think that this was your own private stall and no one else would see your thoughts. You were, in a sense, communicating and collaborating with nameless, faceless others. That being said, if you don't want to actively participate or are worried about the sanctity of your professional or personal thoughts you probably shouldn't be a "produser" outside of limited access environments.
However, there is something additional to keep in mind. Don't believe everything you read. I, for one, loved Mr.Brook's class and I did not think "For a good time, call the Principal" was a wise idea...
Shirky said in 'Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations':
"Mass amateurization has created a filtering problem vastly larger than we had with traditional media, so much larger, in fact, that many of the old solutions are simply broken. The brute economic logic of allowing anyone to create anything and make it available to anyone creates a staggering volume of new material, every day, that no group of professionals will be adequate to filter the material...The expansion of social media means that the only working system is publish-then-filer." He goes on to say..."The expansion of social media means that the only working system is publish-then-filter (Shirky, 2008).
This publish-then-filter system certainly applies here; whether an individual decides to 'take' authorship or not is no guarantee that their material is worth reading.
Technology is a Tool, Not a Learning Outcome.
I think a lot of times technology tools, like teaching strategies, are misunderstood and misused. I remember visiting a teacher's classroom where she was having the students create avatars of the characters from the Carl Hiaasen novel "Hoot". They were clever, creative, and the kids were having a good time designing them but what exactly were they learning? How to create an avatar? What the characters looked like? How well spent was that time? It's interesting to think about the intended outcomes...
teachingquality.org
Does Online Learning Hinder Student Performance?
I came across this article last week and it has caused me to think a lot about on-line learning, moocs, and virtual instruction. How ready are secondary students for this type of environment; especially students with learning disabilities? Almost every day I receive a banner ad on my home page for the company K12 Education. I have never home-schooled my kids and all three are in a school they love and don't intend to leave. A lot of what I love about their current school is that engage in a wide range of hands on projects and emphasize individualized instruction.
This project at Stanford suggests that instead of independent reading or watching a video, students learn best through kinesthetic (tactile) learning. I was been under the impression that we all have our preferred styles (visual, auditory, verbal, kinesthetic). I've always considered myself a visual learner. Is distance learning too distant? Too passive?
In any case, because I am also interested in neuroscience, this article was particularly interesting to me.
"Studying a particular lesson, the Stanford researchers showed that when the order was reversed, students’ performances improved substantially. While the study has broad implications about how best to employ interactive learning technologies, it also focuses specifically on the teaching of neuroscience and underscores the effectiveness of a new interactive tabletop learning environment, called BrainExplorer, which was developed by Stanford GSE researchers to enhance neuroscience instruction."
This project at Stanford suggests that instead of independent reading or watching a video, students learn best through kinesthetic (tactile) learning. I was been under the impression that we all have our preferred styles (visual, auditory, verbal, kinesthetic). I've always considered myself a visual learner. Is distance learning too distant? Too passive?
In any case, because I am also interested in neuroscience, this article was particularly interesting to me.
"Studying a particular lesson, the Stanford researchers showed that when the order was reversed, students’ performances improved substantially. While the study has broad implications about how best to employ interactive learning technologies, it also focuses specifically on the teaching of neuroscience and underscores the effectiveness of a new interactive tabletop learning environment, called BrainExplorer, which was developed by Stanford GSE researchers to enhance neuroscience instruction."
Here is the link to the article by David Plotnikoff if you are interested in reading the whole article:
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/07/before-reading-or-watching-videos-students-should-first-experiment/
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Professors' Facebook Content Affects Students' Perceptions and Expectations
This article caught my eye and even though we are in the heart of the summer, I thought it was interesting to take a look at how 'public' personas may effect enrollment decisions. If you've ever been on ratemyprofessors just to see other student reactions, this article may interest you. (The citation is at the end of the blog.) I think seeing professors in photos with their children is certainly harmless enough. However, I do research professors before taking their class. I may not start by searching for a Facebook page, but it is certainly on the list...
Here are two excerpts from the study:
"Overall, our
data suggest that given only limited information on a Facebook profile,
students formed judgments about professors. However, our participants did not
differ in their reported willingness to take a course with these teachers. One
possible explanation is that participants do not typically use Facebook as an
academic resource15; thus, in this somewhat abstract situation,
students did not translate the information to the context of course planning. Students
are much more likely to use Facebook for entertainment.3 The
majority of our participants did not have professors as Facebook friends and
disagreed that they look for professor profiles on Facebook. This finding
matches previous research16 and provides support for the argument
that course planning is not a motive for students' use of Facebook."
"As
King et al.7 argue, the importance of addressing teacher use of
Facebook cannot be understated. Students currently do not appear to rely on
Facebook for academic purposes. However, Facebook is a rapidly evolving medium.
As professors utilize Facebook as a means to stay technologically relevant to
their students, they need to monitor what they self-disclose. Our data
demonstrate that students form perceptions about the classroom environment and
about their professors based on the specific details disclosed in professors'
Facebook profiles."
Professors' Facebook Content Affects Students' Perceptions and Expectations
Merry J. Sleigh, Aimee W. Smith, and Jason Laboe. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.
Here are two excerpts from the study:
Merry J. Sleigh, Aimee W. Smith, and Jason Laboe. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking.
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