EdTechTrek

Having just read a recent post by Scott McLeod over on Dangerously Irrelevant, I felt compelled to ask the same questions that he raises… that being, why are districts compelled to enforce the same level of filtering on their teachers as they do for their students? The result of this is that so many potentially useful resources and related learning activities go unrealized. I do understand the vicious cycle that precipitates all of this, though. I don’t think anyone is intending to treat teachers like children, yet that is the perceived result. From an administrative point of view, I think all employees are simply not trusted to avoid situations that could bring about embarrassment and even litigation for individuals, schools, and districts. I also believe that is true… that there are always “bad apples” mixed in with the great apples of any basket. The problem is that policy tends to err on the side of caution rather than risk. The result is that all employees get treated like children… except for the I.T. folks who control the filters.

Although ‘how things are’ make sense to me, they do not appear ‘right’ to me. I cannot for the life of me understand why teachers cannot have control over filtering and enable or unblock sites they deem professionally worthy. Just as we have consequences for poor choices that students make, we should also have the same logical consequences for the poor choices that teachers [may] make.

On one hand, we criticize and admonish teachers for not quickly adopting new tools and implementing them in innovative ways, yet in the other hand, we put so many roadblocks in their path that – for most – are just not worth the time and frustration. If the administration is not going to advocate for teachers, then who?

Perhaps scissors and other sharp objects should also be off limits to teachers. After all, they are potentially dangerous. Heck, how about just removing the power cords on those interactive whiteboards while you’re at it. Oh, and put that software on all of the teachers’ computers so that if any changes are made to the system, they will all be undone on a reboot. After all, it’s all about minimizing risk and need for intervention/support.

…of course, we could always expect and assist teachers in being the professionals that they are.

(image by Scott McLeod)

Edweek discusses a  June report released by the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers that surveyed close to 2,000 K-12 public school educators from across the US. It finds that although there have been increases in technology in schools overall, there are still “significant disparities” when it comes to access to computer tools and networks. It also reportst that while many schools have computers, they are often out of date and unreliable. Here are some more statistics that are reported:

• 83% of educators report having 5 or fewer computers in the classroom; > than half report no more than 2.
• > half surveyed use computers for daily administrative tasks
• about half use them to daily communicate with other educators (communicate what?)
• about 40% use technology to monitor student progress (electronic gradebook?)
• about 37% use technology for research and information gathering
• about 32%  use it to teach lessons
• < a fifth of teachers surveyed use technology daily to post student and class information online or to communicate with parents electronically.
• a majority feel that professional development that they received was most effective for noninstructional tasks (hence, the second bullet point here)
• a majority were “highly optimistic about the impact of technology on their jobs and on their students” and that technology positively impacted student motivation

Yet…

• 89% said they view technology as essential to teaching and learning.

What’s missing here?

• No mention of teacher personal learning networks to share and collaborate
• No mention of teachers using technology to further their own professional development
• No mention of students using computers for learning in powerful ways
• No mention of students using networks for collaborative learning

What I find most curious is that the survey itself is so minimalistic in terms of what technology can bring to the teacher-learner. If focuses on access and administrative tool use, research, and teachnolgy as a teaching tool. It does not see the larger picture of the need for systemic change, the need for lifelong teacher learning and growth, and the full potential of networks and computer technologies. What is sad is that it would appear that we, in general, are failing at such a basic level. Although there are certainly pockets of innovation and change, they are not sweeping in scope. Here is a quotation from the report’s executive summary:

“The findings of this study reveal that although all educators and students in public schools
have some access to computers and the Internet, we have few assurances that they are able to
use technology effectively for teaching and learning.”

Well, that’s certainly less than encouragine, isn’t it.

So, we have schools lacking in current tools, lacking in networked access, lacking in professional development, lacking in vision, lacking in systemic change, and overwhelmed with the incredibly diverse burdents placed upon them. What do we need then? Leaders. We need leaders who are willing to put their necks and reputations on the line district by district, building by building. We need leaders who have a powerful vision of what learning can and should be and who can effectively communicate it to others. We need leaders who can inspire by example. We need leaders who reward risk-taking. We need leaders who understand the learning potential afforded by new tools and learning networks. We need leaders who understand what meaningful learning is and looks like. We need leaders (at all levels, including governmental) who value all forms of assessment – not just formal standardized assessments. We need leaders to support urban schools. We need leaders who understand the value all pedagogies. We need leaders who help their teachers be all that they can be.

We need LEADERSHIP. Without it, we will continue fulfilling this report’s outlook – “The findings of this study reveal that although all educators and students in public schools have some access to computers and the Internet, we have few assurances that they are able to use technology effectively for teaching and learning.”

A recent report by the Education Sector and the FDR Group “surveyed 1,010 K–12 public school teachers about their views on the teaching profession, teachers unions, and a host of reforms aimed at improving teacher quality.”

Here is one finding that I think merits serious thought:

Only 26 percent of teachers say that their most recent formal evaluation was useful and effective in helping them to improve their teaching. Seventy-nine percent support strengthening the formal evaluation of probationary teachers. And nearly a third of teachers (32 percent) say that tenured teachers should be evaluated on an annual basis.

I can remember some of my “formal” evaluations. They were typically done by an overburdened administrator who had the monumental task of evaluating every teacher in the building at least twice a year in addition to all of their other responsibilities. Often, those evaluation visits where rescheduled due to unexpected events that arose. And, all of those evaluations where scheduled ahead of time. The result – teachers (myself included) would plan a smashing “song and dance” lesson that included those key elements that we all knew the principal liked and was looking for. Once the evaluation was over, it was back to business as usual. In the evaluation de-briefing (which also had to be scheduled with every teacher), unless there was anything glaringly abhorrent, most constructive criticisms were insignificant at best.

So, it is no surprise to see the low statistic of only 26 percent of teachers reporting that they found their most recent formal evaluation useful and effective. Along the same lines, 32 percent of tenured teachers feel that they should be evaluated on an annual basis. That makes total sense if almost the same percentage feel that those evaluations are not all that beneficial.

So, what to do? Are K-12 administrators perhaps not the best candidates to do faculty evaluations? Are they too busy to really give useful constructive criticism? Is their own teaching craft stale and their own idea pool dry? Can we expect building administrators to really be excellent teachers as well? Perhaps you consider yourself lucky to have an administrator who is still an active practitioner and who is keeping up with teaching innovation. But, my guess is that if you did a PowerPoint, projected a web page, sang a cool song, or did a nifty craft, you would get kudos – assuming your students were well-behaved (notice I didn’t use the term “meaningfully engaged”).

Who said education reform was simple? Are new models of teacher growth and evaluation needed?

With the number of recent discussions on our educational system at risk (see my last post and Will Richardson’s latest post), I experienced a little reality check when I read this EdWeek article titled, “Districs Experiment with Cutting Down on Teacher Absence“. It it is described the problem of teacher absence, especially on Fridays, and the relationship between teacher absence and student achievement.

One cannot discount the problems of our educational system without considering the workplace environment (morale, leadership, support, safety) contributing to teachers not even wanting to be there. There is little chance of these teachers considering how they can use technology in powerful ways or developing their own professional learning networks – or participating in any meaningful professional development, for that matter. If our educational woes were simply due to a lack of information – for example that teachers simply don’t know about the great learning opportunities out there faciliatated by new technological tools, the fix would be simple. It is so much more than that.

However, the Lancaster district south of Dallas “plans to reward a teacher missing two or fewer days this year with a three-year lease on a Cadillac”. That may fix truancy problems for some teachers, but certainly won’t address the deeper issues at play. If incentives are needed to get teachers to show up for work, we have a serious problem.

The article concludes with a teacher’s sentiment that is my own:

“The majority of teachers don’t like to take a sick day because it’s a whole lot of work — something always happens that you have to deal with when you get back.”

I hated being sick, and I think most teachers do. They come to school sick and find that the excitement and energy of the moment somehow pushes their attention on how they are feeling to the back. Of course, it all comes crashing down at the end of the day.

Educational change is so complex. But we need to stop these band-aid fixes and begin to get to the heart of a dysfunctional educational, professional culture.

What a title, right? Well, I just went through all of those emotions when I read this February 10th article from the Washington Post titled, A School That’s Too High on Gizmos. What can I say… you have to read it to see if you experience the same emotions. In a nutshell, it describes the teachers’ and students’ experiences in a very high-tech school in Alexandria… and most of what is reported is not good. Imagine – a new building, state-of-the art, all of the technologies anyone could want (and it turns out more than most want), and teachers who are disillusioned, turned off, and frustrated. Students who are recognizing technology for technology’s sake. The term used is “administrative technolust” -

“a disorder affecting publicity-obsessed school administrators nationwide that manifests itself in an insatiable need to acquire the latest, fastest, most exotic computer gadgets, whether teachers and students need them or want them.”

Teachers being told that they cannot use more traditional technologies (i.e. overhead projectors, chalkboards…). Technical problems continually interrupting learning. The mourning of face2face socialization and increased depersonalization. I love this one quotation from a student who admits that his favorite teacher

“isn’t into all this computer stuff. All he uses is the board — the whole board. He’s lively, energetic, witty and really knows his math. He forces you to pay attention; you can’t drift off even if you want to.”

I love that. It brings a balance to the conversation about 21st century teaching – that good teaching must precede effective technology use.

Now, there are so many issues to address in all of this – technology before training, unsupported infrastructure, mandated teaching styles, mandated tools, lack of mentorship, technology for technology’s sake, technology as magic bullet, technology diversion, poor leadership, and more… I think this might be the first article that I have read that includes so many illustrations of poor technology implementation. It also brings some insights into the great conversations that happened over on Scott McLeod’s blog Dangerously Irrelevant and Pete Reilly’s blog, Ed Tech Journeys, about whether technology should be mandated or not. And, in all fairness, it is one highly publicized article that I am sure does not capture the situation in a totally unbiased and objective manner.

Anyway, read it for yourself. How did it make you feel? Let me know.