EdTechTrek

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 It also reportst that while many schools have computers, they are often out of date and unreliable.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 few weeks back teacher, Carl Chew, made the headlines for receiving a 2 week without pay suspension for refusing to give the WASL (Washington Assessment of Student Learning) standardized test in his Washington State classroom. Here is a reposting of his response explaining his actions. It is a MUST READ!! I am going to continue to process his detailed, response. It is not a political response. It is not a research-based or scholarly response. It is a response grounded in reality, in the personal, social, emotional, and physical learning environment.

“25 years after the seminal report, A Nation at Risk, American education remains in a state of crisis.” (source)

Information on this issue is not new in the news (here (2008), here (2006) and here (2003) but the recent report released by Strong American Schools (a nonpartisan awareness campaign aiming to bring education to the forefront of presidential campaign discussion and supported by the broadfoundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates foundation) titled, A Stagnant Nation: Why American Students are Still at Risk (Gerald Bracy in Huffington Post … and again here… warns to interpret with caution) about the current state of education in the US and some information that revisits the federal report “A Nation at Risk” (1983) released some 25 years ago has led ABC news to do a short spot on our underachievements. Here are some of the statistics presented in the news report (embedded below):

• 40% of high school seniors do not understand 8th grade math
• 23% of seniors cannot identify Adolf Hitler
• 57% of seniors cannot place the Civil War in the right century
• 33% of seniors do not know the Bill of Rights guarantees free speech

This all brings new meaning to the old addage, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” They also fail to get to the heart of the issues that have long plagued education and democracy in this country. Take a look at the news spot below and let me know what you think needs to be done after seemingly little progress over the past 25 years to stop this old addage.

Here’s today’s headline:

Teen Dating ‘08: Nude Pix On Cell Phones

The CBS news article describes unabashed teens sending sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves to others. A psychology professor at San Diego State University who studies young people’s trends, is quoted as saying:

“Adolescents are not known for thinking things through - that’s a generational constant,” she said. “Now, with the technology that is out there, instead of taking a picture and passing it around the classroom, it’s online, which is a whole different ball game. (Teens) don’t see it that way.”

It reminds of the video series on YouTube, Think Before You Post. There is absolutely no control over the content once it is sent, as the article briefly touches on.

Where are the parents in all of this? Where is the village that is required to raise a child? It would seem like there are a large number of children raising themselves in these digital times. Kids, more than ever, need involved and caring parents, teachers, and significant others in their lives like never before. Peter Benson, from the Search Institute, has a short article with some great information titled, “What Happened to My Little Angel”. See also the document, Building Assets for Youth. Kids need us more than ever! Here are a few of the Search Institute’s findings when it comes to adult responsibilities for growing healthy children:

• helping young people feel loved, supported, and accepted;
• giving young people appropriate boundaries and structures;
• providing constructive, healthy activities for young people;
• helping young people stay committed to education and learning;
• nurturing positive, caring values in young people;
• building basic life skills and positive views of themselves and the future.

These are things that happen week after week and year after year in families, congregations, schools, and communities. These are the things that make a difference! It makes a real difference when . . .

• parents make it a top priority to spend time and talk with their teenagers;
• adults in a congregation or from the community volunteer to be mentors for youth;
• youth ministry programs provide positive activities that involve youth;
• young people learn how much they have to contribute to their community and world through volunteering to serve others;
• teenagers get involved in positively influencing public policy;
• schools learn about assets they can offer youth and seek to strengthen those assets for all students.

We can’t abandon kids. We must engage them in positive and healthy ways, in the classroom, at home, and in the community - this includes the digital community (see Freerice.com or GlobalNomads). We must empower them and equip them for success in a highly connected, complicated digital age.

Well, it goes like this: My son, who is in third grade, gets home and is telling me about his day. I know, he won’t be doing this much longer. He tells me that he had computer lab today. He tells me they worked on keyboarding skills. He tells me they work on keyboarding skills every time they go to the computer lab. He tells me it gets boring doing it for 30 minutes. He tells me that even if you finish the lesson early, you have to go back and do it again. He tells me that every 5 weeks they get free choice. This is his experience with computers at school.

What does this tell you?