The playing field for mobile device photo editing got a little more crowded yesterday and the stakes were raised considerably (metaphors well-mixed) by the release of Photoshop Mobile for the iPad.
I've started to use it a little and I'm favorably impressed by the way Adobe has finessed the necessary trade-offs between power on the one hand and ease of use on a mobile device on the other. It's obvious that some thought was put into this release...
I'm not the only one saying this. I believe that poorly conceived, mindless, knee-jerk content-filtering policies implemented by non-educators without the input from or consultation with end-users–teachers and administrators–are a significant factor in preventing schools from becoming 21st century learning institutions. See my policy study of content-filtering in the HIDOE...
Originally published by KQED Mind/Shift, via ASCD and reprinted in its entirety:
Winter 2011 | Volume 17 | Number 4
Can Social Media and School Policies be "Friends"?
Dispelling Six Myths About Blocked Sites
Tina Barseghian interviews U.S. Department of Education Director of Education Technology Karen Cator and reveals six surprising rules that educators, administrators, parents, and students might not know about website filtering in schools.
Accessing YouTube does not violate CIPA rules.
"Absolutely it's not circumventing the rules," Cator says. "The rule is to block inappropriate sites. All sorts of YouTube videos are helpful in explaining complex concepts or telling a story, or for hearing an expert or an authentic voice—they present learning opportunities that are really helpful."
Websites don't have to be blocked for teachers.
"Some of the comments I saw online had to do with teachers wondering why they can't access these sites," she says. "They absolutely can. There's nothing that says that sites have to be blocked for adults."
Broad filters are not helpful.
"What we have had is what I consider brute force technologies that shut down wide swaths of the Internet, like all of YouTube, for example. Or they may shut down anything that has anything to do with social media, or anything that is a game," she said. "These broad filters aren't actually very helpful, because we need much more nuanced filtering."
Schools will not lose E-rate funding by unblocking appropriate sites.
Cator said she's never heard of a school losing E-rate funding due to allowing appropriate sites blocked by filters.
Kids need to be taught how to be responsible digital citizens.
"[We need to] address the topic at school or home in the form of education," Cator says. "How do we educate this generation of young people to be safe online, to be secure online, to protect their personal information, to understand privacy, and how that all plays out when they're in an online space?"
Teachers should be trusted.
"If the technology fails us and filters something appropriate and useful, and if teachers in their professional judgment think it's appropriate, they should be able to show it," she said. "Teachers need to impose their professional judgment on materials that are available to their students."
Tina Barseghian is the editor of MindShift (http://mindshift.kqed.org), a website about the future of learning.
(3/6/12 update: I just tried to access a Cnet article on upgrading computers from my work computer. My organization flashed a dialogue saying that the site was blocked because it deals with "Computers and the Internet." I'm going to pound my head against the wall now)
And another voice; this time, the voices of students in Los Angeles
"One by one, students pleaded their case. Though some teachers and administrators think of social media sites like Facebook as being distracting and ultimately harmful, students said it can be used as a tool for learning, for example by creating class topics. “Plus, there’s no time limit to Facebook,” a student said. “Learning stops when class ends at school, but learning happens outside school too. We use Facebook to create a dialogue between teachers and students. We can use Facebook to speak our minds and make changes, share our thoughts, our notes, and resources.”
Update: 3/8/12 - Hawaii Teachers May Get Less Restrictive Web Access Soon
"So what? It's just a screenshot of YouTube." what makes this historic is that after six years of contesting state-wide policies, Teachers in Hawaii's Public Schools will have the opportunity to access a multitude of sources in their classrooms that for decades have blocked by Draconian Content-Filtering Policies. (Right now, it's a captive-portal proxy pilot and there are some bugs like the inability to upload images but it's progress.)
Report says giving iPads to Auburn kindergarteners increases test scores
Amber Waterman | Sun Journal
Mia Burgess, left, shows Rebecca Noone something on her iPad in Susan Lemeshow's kindergarten class at Sherwood Heights Elementary School on Wednesday.
By Bonnie Washuk, Sun Journal Posted Feb. 16, 2012, at 7:23 a.m.
In 9 of the 10 areas of testing around pre-reading skills, the group of 129 students with iPads made slightly larger gains than the 137 students without. Testing included listening and comprehension, identifying letters, reading, vocabulary and identifying letter sounds. Only one area, however, was statistically higher: recognizing sounds and writing letters. In that test, students were dictated words. They had to translate the sounds into letters and write the words. Kindergartners with iPads gained 13.72 points, compared to an 11.58-point gain for students who didn’t have iPads. That difference is significant, said Mike Muir, the Multiple Pathways leader for Auburn schools. Damian Bebell of Boston College, who worked with Auburn on the research, told the Auburn School Committee on Wednesday night, “In every measure we examined, the iPad students were outperforming the comparison students. When looking at short-term literacy gains, we’re definitely seeing the data trending toward favoring the iPad students.”
Global education leader Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH) today announced the results of a yearlong pilot of HMH Fuse: Algebra I, the world’s first full-curriculum Algebra app developed exclusively for the Apple iPad, involving the Amelia Earhart Middle School in California’s Riverside Unified School District. The pilot showed that over 78 percent of HMH Fuse users scored Proficient or Advanced on the spring 2011 California Standards Tests, compared with only 59 percent of their textbook-using peers.The first assessment of the pilot— Riverside’s district Algebra benchmark –took place during the second trimester of the 2010–2011 year. Students using HMH Fuse scored an average of 10 percentage points higher than their peers. The app’s impact was even more pronounced after the California Standards Test in spring 2011, on which HMH Fuse students scored approximately 20 percent higher than their textbook-using peers.“By engineering a comprehensive platform that combines the best learning material with technology that embraces students’ strengths and addresses their weaknesses, we’ve gone far beyond the capabilities of an e-book to turn a one-way math lesson into an engaging, interactive, supportive learning experience,” said Bethlam Forsa, Executive Vice President, Global Content and Product Development, HMH, in the press release. “With HMH Fuse, teachers can assess student progress in real time and tailor instruction as needed.”
Three years down the road, Mooresville is making a difference in how students learn and how teachers teach. This article points out that it's not simply a matter of showering a school district with hardware but success comes when 21st century tools help bring about fundamental changes in the ways in which students and teachers meet each other in the school house.
There are several things that stand out in this article. One is the manner in which differentiation becomes "built in" to the curriculum. Another particularly appealing point is the transition from "Lecture instruction to lattice" with teachers "swooping" in to provide guidance just when it is needed.
There were some major changes that the district had to make. Some things had to be given up in order to make this initiative move. One of the big things was the loss of 37 teaching positions in the district; causing class sizes to increase.
MOORESVILLE, N.C. — Sixty educators from across the nation roamed the halls and ringed the rooms of East Mooresville Intermediate School, searching for the secret formula. They found it in Erin Holsinger’s fifth-grade math class.There, a boy peering into his school-issued MacBook blitzed through fractions by himself, determined to reach sixth-grade work by winter. Three desks away, a girl was struggling with basic multiplication — only 29 percent right, her screen said — and Ms. Holsinger knelt beside her to assist. Curiosity was fed and embarrassment avoided, as teacher connected with student through emotion far more than Wi-Fi.“This is not about the technology,” Mark Edwards, superintendent of Mooresville Graded School District, would tell the visitors later over lunch. “It’s not about the box. It’s about changing the culture of instruction — preparing students for their future, not our past.”
As debate continues over whether schools invest wisely in technology — and whether it measurably improves student achievement — Mooresville, a modest community about 20 miles north of Charlotte best known as home to several Nascar teams and drivers, has quietly emerged as the de facto national model of the digital school.
Mr. Edwards spoke on a White House panel in September, and federal Department of Education officials often cite Mooresville as a symbolic success. Overwhelmed by requests to view the programs in action, the district now herds visitors into groups of 60 for monthly demonstrations; the waiting list stretches to April. What they are looking for is an explanation for the steady gains Mooresville has made since issuing laptops three years ago to the 4,400 4th through 12th graders in five schools (three K-3 schools are not part of the program).
The district’s graduation rate was 91 percent in 2011, up from 80 percent in 2008. On state tests in reading, math and science, an average of 88 percent of students across grades and subjects met proficiency standards, compared with 73 percent three years ago. Attendance is up, dropouts are down. Mooresville ranks 100th out of 115 districts in North Carolina in terms of dollars spent per student — $7,415.89 a year — but it is now third in test scores and second in graduation rates.
(read the entire article from NY Times)
"Do You Feel Lucky?" "Go Ahead, Make My Day" Adolescent Facebook user meets Dirty Harry-Dad
I, as a parent of a recently-out-of-teens celloson, just had to post this. At the end of this article however, I want to make a point about "Tech Savvy" kids...
Of course, nobody is advocating violence against defenseless computers. (even if they are Winboxes) but it does bring up a valid point that everyone, not just teenagers, needs to be aware of audience when venturing into the tangled thicket of social media. It's not just your immediate audience but the potential audience. It's not just adolescents who don't stop to consider the potential audience for remarks made online. A couple of years ago, several of us counseled an Administrator-in-training who was trash-talking on Facebook, the school at which he was cross-training. Just recently, I read remarks made by a teacher about the school at which he currently works and saying that he will take any job to get away from there.
This is a message that has been made before but it probably bears repeating. I tell staff members not to use the organizational email to write anything that you wouldn't want read by your Administrator, a Police Officer, an Attorney, or your Mother. When we put words out on the internet, it's just impossible to predict where they will end up.
Teens can be precocious, difficult, and presumptuous. Oh, and whiny. So given how tech-savvy they've all become, one idea to offer them perspective might be to take their laptop and blast it with a gun.
No, no, this is not my advice. This is the advice of Tommy Jordan, a man who appears to run an IT company in North Carolina called Twisted Networks.
Jordan, you see, became frustrated when he discovered his daughter Hannah (we're guessing at the spelling of her name) had posted a rather whiny message about her parents and her domestic responsibilities on her Facebook wall. She thought, Jordan said, that mom and he were blocked from seeing it.
Psst, Hannah. Dad works in IT. He seems to be able to circumvent those little privacy settings on Facebook with a mere flick of his gun-toting wrist.
Follow up (13 Feb 12):
[It seems that, once the first million people enjoyed his laptop-blasting exploits, the police and child-protective services operatives paid him a visit. They may have wondered whether his 15-year-old daughter, Hannah-- she who believes she is a "slave" and ought to be paid for doing household chores-- is safe and happy. The Daily offered, from a perusal of Jordan's Facebook page, that all now seemed calm at Casa Jordan.]
The Myth of Tech-Savvy kids:
There are several terms that drive me nuts when I hear them used in schools. Preëminent among these is the term "Tech-Savvy" when used to describe millennial children. Our kids, for the most part, are very adept Consumers of digital technologies. They skillfully consume Smartphones, social media, and streaming audio and video content. The problem is that in the 21st century, society is increasingly looking for people who are equally adept digital Producers of knowledge and content and who are comfortable with digitalCollaboration and Communication.
Where are our young people supposed to acquire these skills? In the schools, of course. Who is supposed to teach them? Teachers, of course. Who is supposed to encourage, insist and empower teachers to learn to teach millennial kids the skills, aptitudes, and habits of mind necessary for success in the world in which they will live and work? School, District, and State-level Administrators, of course. When Administration doesn't get "it", teachers won't get it. When teachers don't get "it", children won't get it.
What's the other term that sends me up the wall? I would like to see the word Technology banned from the shared vocabulary of people who work in schools. (Wait, isn't Technology a good thing?) I don't have a problem with digital technology in schools; obviously. What bothers me is that every time an educator in the school uses the word "Technology", people immediately get mental images of pads and tablets, laptops and iMacs, interactive whiteboards, and the whole panoply of goods that are purchased for schools and apportioned to deserving or lucky teachers. What they aren't thinking about are processes, outcomes, collaboration, communication, knowledge production. Educators, when they hear someone say "Technology", think about things rather than content, strategy, and learning outcomes. Until the word "Technology" elicits the same visceral and cognitive response as words like "Office Supplies, Paper, Textbooks, Markers, and Classrooms," I'll have a problem with it.
Unintended Consequences - Content Filtering in the HIDOE
The landscape has changed a bit since I wrote this but most of it remains the same now as it was two years ago. I'm going to be revisiting and updating in the next few months but this provides a little background on why Emerging Technologies encounter adoption problems in Hawaii's Public Schools.
The recent announcement that Massachusetts Institute of Technology would give certificates around free online course materials has fueled further debate about whether employers may soon welcome new kinds of low-cost credentials. Questions remain about how MIT’s new service will work, and what it means for traditional college programs. (read entire article)
Laura Gibbs, an educator who teaches online classes for the University of Oklahoma, commented on Google+
"A big complaint by students is that faculty do NOT use Desire2Learn, except mostly to post the syllabus and grades and send out emails. Many faculty don't want to post course materials (students won't come to class...), and they use the discussion board in such a perfunctory way that it is not a very meaningful experience; the faculty themselves are not necessarily adept at online communication, other than email, and the discussion board tool in D2L is a travesty of a discussion board anyway; I don't think I could even manage to make good use of it, and I really LIKE to communicate online!"
I thought that the publication of this interview was fascinating in light of last night's online conversationIn the emerging technologies class concerning open educational resources. The substance of the interview addresses one of the key points discussed last night which was the connection between online open educational resources and the attainment of a degree or certificate. I agree that this may have implications for education in the traditional setting, but I don't see it substantially impacting the number of applicants to MIT. I see this initiative rather providing the institution with even greater recognition, if possible.
I have had the same thoughts when looking at offerings by such institutions as Stanford and Berkeley on iTunesU. I believe that having a significant online presence may serve in the long run to bring more applicants to these institutions.
For institutions who place instruction and other educational resources online but do not actually keep enrollment statistics or reward viewers with certificates or degrees, my original question remains. Going beyond simple tracking of page views, how do institutions know who is visiting and accessing educational materials, what are their motivations for doing so, and how will they use the information they are learning? Without the development of metrics that can provide information about these questions, it's really difficult for an institution to claim that it is providing significant online education rather than simply publishing educational resources.
"Over the last few years technology implementations in the K-12 sector reached record levels with tablets, laptops, social networking, and other e-learning technologies making their debut in classrooms around the nation. The frenzy is expected to continue in 2012 as districts implement e-learning tools that impact all aspects of the educational and administrative experience. To find out what's on tap for the next several months THE Journal conferred with several academics and instructional technologists who revealed the following top five trends to watch in the year ahead."
Cutting the Wires: More Mobile LearningSome school districts believe that mobile phones and tablets in class are nothing more than distractions, but many others are using such tools to better engage their K-12 students. (more)
Learning from a Distance: An Upswing in Online InstructionThe days when online classes were geared either to remedial learners or students who wanted to work ahead of their regular classes could be numbered. (more)
Social Awareness: More Facebooking and TwitteringLike it or not social networking looks like it's here to stay. Rather than fight the movement Stephen Canipe said the K-12 sector should embrace social networking and use it to its advantage. (more)
Getting a Grip: More Learning Management SystemsThe growth of online learning has resulted in more data, information, coursework, and communication. All of these elements must be effectively managed without over-taxing districts that are already testing the limits of their budgets and human resources. (more)
Leading the Charge: Teacher-Led 1:1 ImplementationsThe growth in 1:1 implementations at the K-12 level isn't news, but when you combine affordability with a wider array of computing options such as tablets, laptops, netbooks, and other portable devices, you wind up with the right combination for schools that want to put a computer onto every student's desk. (more)
The thing that I found most interesting about this article was how the trends that were cited diverged from those that appeared in the most recent K-12 Horizon report. Specifically, and in support of my own observations in the high school, conspicuous by its absence, is the idea of cloud computing solutions as a significant emerging trend in public schools.
It's all about Connections at the new (beta) Small Demons site...
(this has to be one of the most intriguing YouTube trailers for a website ever)
"Small Demons is a Los Angeles based company that believes powerful and interesting things can happen when you connect all the details of books.This site is the first step in showing what happens when you do just that."
I've always enjoyed projects that seek to explore the connections between things, people, places, and ideas. In many respects we are super-saturated with data. One way to give meaning to all of the information is to show how it connects with other things
Here's a sample page showing some of the relationships among people, places, and things mentioned in the biography of Steve Jobs:
(an example page from Small Demons)
Small Demons begins from books, leading us to explore a web of connections between all the people, places, and things mentioned in the books we read. Connections and information are provided by users who can also help curate specific topics; much like Wikipedia.
(post continues after I've had a chance to investigate this site a little more)
There, a boy peering into his school-issued MacBook blitzed through fractions by himself, determined to reach sixth-grade work by winter. Three desks away, a girl was struggling with basic multiplication — only 29 percent right, her screen said — and Ms. Holsinger knelt beside her to assist. Curiosity was fed and embarrassment avoided, as teacher connected with student through emotion far more than Wi-Fi.“This is not about the technology,” Mark Edwards, superintendent of Mooresville Graded School District, would tell the visitors later over lunch. “It’s not about the box. It’s about changing the culture of instruction — preparing students for their future, not our past.”
