forward thinking in technology and learning

In celebration of National Computer Science week, I am republishing this post. ENJOY!

The digital world is such a dynamic world. That’s what I love about it. But how can we possible know or even imagine what our world is going to look like 10, even 5 years from now? We do not know what technologies will be available or even what kind of problems the world will be facing. How can we possibly prepare our students for that world?

Regardless of what country we come from, what culture we grow up in, and what economic conditions we live in…we all must solve the problems in our world……our local world…and our global world. We need tools in order to do that. And the tools of today are digital. The people who are in command of those digital tools will be the leaders of academia, research, business, politics, entertainment, and philanthropy.We’ve got to teach the students now how to learn to design, build, program, and reprogram their own digital tools so they can solve those problems.

So, how do we do that? One of the greatest digital “tools” available in our world today is Computer Science. It is central to all subject areas and vital in almost every known industry. It is the cross-curricular by definition. And solving problems is what it does.

Computer Science teaches students how to use build something, maybe a new tool, using technology, computation thinking, imagination, logic, problem solving, and creativity. I tell my students if they can think of it and describe it, we can make it happen on the screen in front of them. That might be a new game to teach difficult concepts to kids, a mobile app for the smartphone to help better manage business inventory, a new data analysis software program for the medical research lab, maybe….. even a design for an entirely new device. It gives people the power and ability to build their own digital solutions to solve their own problems. They can program, or reprogram whatever device is available to accomplish what they need. Computer Science gives you the tools to do that yourself, right there, with your own mind, with your own hands

And what’s great about many of the Computer Science development tools…they are (mostly) free. Many international level companies (such as Microsoft, Google, and Apple) and universities (Carnegie Melon & M.I.T.) provide almost everything FREE of charge. So, schools with limited economic resources can actually design and implement a good Computer Science program.

Educators love to say that we embrace failure and that we’ve got to let our students fail. But, in reality we do not do that. When a student fails a test, we send letter home to the parents, the advisor is notified, the teacher writes on the test “Johnny, I was expecting much better than this”. The student’s average goes down. Johnny probably gets grounded at home and the parents start asking about tutors. That low grade may keep him from entering honors and AP classes. It may keep her out of certain colleges. It may keep him from receiving certain awards. Hmmmm….far from embracing failure, huh?

The Computer Science classroom has no choice but to embrace failure. When we write programs and work with various devices, we’ve got to rely on trial and error and failure to help us figure things out. The messages we get, the things we see on the screen, the incorrect outputs we generate, and the crash reports are our tools for success. In a typical class a student will “fail” 20 or 30 times. In fact, it’s hard not to fail. Most computer programs can be solved in a variety of ways; rarely is there a “right” way to do it.

If you talk with successful project-based Computer Science teachers, you’ll get the same stories about how kids love class, enrollment numbers are going up, the energy in their classrooms, the collaboration, how they create some incredible programs, how they also come up with solutions and strategies that we never expected. Why is that? Well, think about it this way–for most students they are told what to do every day of their life. From the moment they wake up, they are told what to wear, where to go, when to go and when to stop, what to do when they get there. When they get to class, the teacher tells them what to do and for how long. At practice after school, coach tells them exactly what to do. At home that night, mom and dad make them study then say when to go to bed. The Computer Science classroom offers an escape from that. We say come into our room. Here are some challenges to attempt. There is not necessarily any one answer to our problems and projects. In fact, even what we are assigning can be interpreted differently. Finally the students are in control… not just of their own life, but of their own learning. They get to decide exactly what the computer will do, how it will do it, how long it will do it for, and how it will communicate that it did it. And they can change it right there and instantly see the effect. They can fine tune it, or they can overhaul the entire project. All right there.–right in front of their eyes. They are encouraged to “try it, let’s see what it does” It’s one of the few times in a student’s life like where they have complete control. That’s partly why they love Computer Science.

Ok, I’ll bite. I get it and I see your points…..So, what are the first steps?

First: recognize what Computer Science is, why it’s crucial in our world, and consider Computer Science as a fundamental core component of education. What I mean is we have to value Computer Science as central to education as we do language, math, chemistry, and history. In an academic career, students should have as many Computer Science projects as they do essays is English and history class. Programming a computer or device must be looked at in the same way we look at reading and writing. Middle schools, high schools and universities must make it required for graduation. Universities must require Computer Science courses in every major.

Applications such as Microsoft Office, blogging, and photo & movie editing are excellent tools in the various subject areas we teach in our schools. But, those applications must be taught in subject area classrooms, not in the Computer Science classroom. Subject area teachers MUST embrace those tools as much as they value the pencil, paper, and book. Expertise of those applications must be part of the science, math, science, and language classroom experience. Teachers at each grade level must all agree that students mastering technology is a regular part of the day.

That allows us to start Computer Science early. In my school, we’ve got Computer Science introduced as early as the 3rd and 4th grade. If they choose, students can take Computer Science every year until they graduate high school. It cannot be something they take above and beyond an already determined academic path. To accomplish that requires us to ask some really tough questions. Do we really need to teach history, foreign language, and math so many years? Do all classes really need to meet every day? Do all classes really need a full year or even a full semester in order to accomplish their goals? Are the standard required courses in all divisions still relevant?

We must prepare students for the world they are going into, and that world is digital. We are still stuck preparing the students for the world that we went into a generation ago. Students of today see the obvious need for Computer Science in their future. They “get it”. Some of the parents “get it”. Some teachers “get it.” But education in general does not. There will be a time in our future where we will look back and say, “…what took us so long?” Why must we wait for that time to change?

What I am NOT suggesting is that we abandon other disciplines, subject areas, and majors. In fact, quite the opposite, we need those doctors, entrepreneurs, engineers, vets, small business managers, and lawyers to follow their passion and be leaders in their industries, but to also have a Computer Science edge to them…..the ability to create and modify their own tools. As they look to be innovative and distinguish themselves, they will be able to design their own tools, exactly as they need. They will be able to embrace and use new technologies as they develop. Technology and the ability to use, program, and reprogram that technology is what will allow them to be leaders in their fields.

The ability to be in control of and in command of technology, not the other way around…is such an obvious need to me. Yet, I am amazed that colleges don’t require it of incoming freshman; few high schools really teach it; few high schools actually requite it to graduate; almost no middle schools teach it; and it is nonexistent in elementary schools. Sometimes I feel like I am standing over a wooden maze in laboratory. Inside is a rat making the same wrong turns, going backwards, hitting dead ends. And because I am standing over it, I can see the exit right there, just one corner away. It’s so obvious the correct way forward. And “winning” is so close, yet so unclear to the rat. The rat does not even know that it is in a maze, or that it is trying to find its way out. It’s just wandering around. Eventually, when the rat does accidentally find the exit, then it will be obvious to it as well. That cannot be how we educate our students.

I would give credit if I knew who said it, but in the end…..“…program or be programmed…”

update(Thanks to Alfred Thompson)…….That is the title of a book by Douglas Rushkoff

As we look deep to analyze our education system, we usually tend to focus solely on obvious targets such as curriculum, testing, standards, and teacher evaluations. But, there is one additional aspect of education that might be worth taking a hard look at.

Scheduling

Now, be careful! I am going to bring up some ideas and suggestions which go against main stream traditional thinking. These ideas may not coincide with the status quo. Implementing ideas like this would require some change; in some cases major change. And of course when I suggest these ideas, I am not suggesting that we throw out the entire current system. We keep the elements which make good sense and work great. But, we have to be willing to let go of some of the outdated and irrelevant “traditions” which are there, not because of best practice or because of success, but more simply because we have always done it like this—and change would be hard. And yes, there would be things we’ll have to figure out in order to get them to work. And yes, society would have to change to accommodate major shifts like these. That is not necessarily a bad thing; in fact—that is what is so exciting to think about.

Let’s talk about some areas where we can look differently.

First—- some classes do NOT need all the time they are given. “WHAT?! How dare you suggest that!” What I mean is that we tend to give a typical core class 1 full year of time and then those teachers fill that time with content. That is what we have always done. We should be asking a different question, “How much time to you need to accomplish the goals you have for the class”. What we may find is that there are some classes which might not need the full duration, and others which might be able to take advantage of some extra time. There might even be enough freed up time to offer an entire new class. Some classes don’t need to meet every day, others might take advantage of extra time each day. But, I think what we’ll find is that there is no typical schedule that works all year long. So, I suggest we have different schedules at different time of the year.

What does that look like?

How about a few weeks of the year with fewer, but more intensive classes. For example for 2 weeks, two class each meet 4 hours per day, or even one class all day. It would not have to be a complete class, just two weeks “in the middle” where the meeting schedule is different than ordinary, providing time and space and energy to engage with the subject differently. Or perhaps for 2 weeks, all students have homestay or other intensive language study in the country where the language is taught. Art classes might spend a week going on a museum tour. Fine Arts programs might visit a series of performances around town. Physical education and nutrition classes will attend professional and college sporting events, interview athletes, but also the people behind those teams, city officials who are part of the sports leagues and recreation departments. History classes study civil war in the mornings, then go visiting historical sites, taking walking tours with professionals, even offering tours by students. Would those departments be willing to give up days and weeks at other times in the school year for that type of learning environment? I bet they would. Or maybe a math class wants to have a few weeks in the second semester where students work together on an intensive group project. They need a few weeks of long block periods, but would be willing to give up 2 weeks during early August so English classes can have them longer for an intensive writing lab.

Maybe some weeks students meet every day in every class, yet in other weeks they rotate through a portion of their classes. Maybe those rotations, and the length of time and frequency changes depending on the time of year.

What we have to be careful of is assuming that a schedule won’t work in your discipline for cliché reasons. For example, my kids need to have math every day in order to retain knowledge, or foreign language saying kids have to have it every day or they will lose it, or the Computer Science teacher suggesting that they cannot live without JAVA every morning. Just because they are not in-person with you does not mean they cannot be interacting with your content. You will have some options on how you handle that. Yes, if you give them worksheets to do and the questions at the end of the chapter –you will find them not much engaged with your class during that out of class time. Yes, it will require a different type of out-of-class experience. Foreign language teachers will have students recording interviews, acting out role playing parts, and attending cultural events in town and in the area, even traveling. I remember hearing one story of a school which had a short 2-3 week intensive class mini-session. The first year the foreign language department wanted no part of that, thinking it was not long enough for grammar and vocabulary to sink in. Yet after trying it one time the following year, they fought to be part of those mini-sessions.

If we had some time slots throughout the year, different subject areas could take advantage of those times to lead an interactive, hand-on, real-life experience related to their subject area. Because, our role as teacher is NOT to teach content, it is to inspire students(see my video post about this) to learn and help them develop connections with your subject area—-so don’t discount those incredibly valuable out-of-class experiences. And certainly don’t waste your valuable homework time on something that should be done in class—have them do something amazing and interesting and real.

While the corporate business world revolves around a Mon-Fri business hour schedule, the rest of society does not. Why not take advantage of that? Why not offer classes in the evening? There might be teachers who would LOVE teaching in the evening. It might allow them to pursue other ventures during the morning and daytime. Why not take advantage of weekends. Their might be teachers who would LOVE to teach only on weekends.—there might be students who would LOVE to take classes on weekends, freeing up the workweek to pursue additional interests. Yes, society would have to change to accommodate. And that is what is so exciting. Think of the awesome possibilities.

I’ll argue that the days of typical summer vacation should be gone. This old agriculture–based schedule has little relevance today. Yes, society would have to adapt if we changed it—and—-YES , it would. Who knows how we might structure the year without that limitation.

Yes, society would have to accommodate. That is what is so exciting. What an awesome time for internships throughout the year. Students could spend 1-2 weeks on several occasions throughout the year working in the community in areas of their passions just to get a taste. Who knows, students could be inspired to refocus their academic efforts because of their interaction with amazing people doing the things they are interested in

With most universities offering online classes and many colleges even offering entirely online degree programs, perhaps it is time to have students take more advantage of online education. Not every class is good for this type of learning environment, but there might be some that are perfect. Not every teacher has a personality and comfort level that would be good in an online learning environment, but there might be some that are perfect for that. Online learning is a real part of our educational system, even (and especially) in the corporate world—why not have our students embrace that style of learning, not as an elective classes the spring of their senior year, but as a regular part of their curriculum. Online education, in some cases does levels the playing field for some students in some areas. It can also be 24/7. Why not have core classes such as 9th grade English, or Algebra 2, or Ancient History offered online. How about a class that is offered during spring break? Or a short intensive class offered fall break? Woah! How about a class that is offered during the “Christmas” holiday! “WOAH, but that is Christmas”. Let’s not forget there are many religions for which that time is not part of a religious celebration. Let us not forget, that not all students celebrate Christmas in the same way. Yes, society would have to change to accommodate. And that is what is so exciting. Think of the awesome possibilities.

And what an interesting opportunity to recruit good and talented people into the teaching profession. Choose your hours. Choose the times of the year when you would like to teach. Choose the times of day you want to work. Departments could organize their faculty to provide teachers at all the available teaching spots. Each teacher still teaches the equivalent of 5 classes per “semester”, but does so on a varying schedule. And what is awesome is that schedule might change year to year. I am getting my Master’s Degree and might love to have afternoons free now, but next year, I need my evenings free so my spouse can put some extra time in the evenings into her own small business venture. Students might even pay for the chance to take class outside traditional times & places. Yes, society would have to change to accommodate. And that is what is so exciting. Think of the awesome possibilities.

Imagine if we, as a country, had the guts to address our education system and really take hard look at some of the things we can do to raise the bar. Bring together passionate educators and ask them to design a school year from scratch . Who knows what might come out of that.

I think a great place to start the discussion is simply to start asking questions. Take a hard look at the status quo and start asking why? or perhaps why not? What if? How could we? Should we? Why can’t we? And instead of finding reasons we cannot, find ways to say yes.

our grand parents did it

our parents did it(although I really cannot picture that)

we did it

God knows teenagers do it

homework
…..ahhhh yes….
homework…homework…homework.

of course, what else could I have been talking about?

It’s tradition. A right of passage. Teachers assign it, students hate it, but do it…or more than likely–not. That’s how it’s always been. That’s how it will always be.

Really? Is that it? Is that why we do homework, because we always have? Simply because it’s tradition?

Ok, if you are entrenched in the status quo, I beg you — STOP READING NOW. Otherwise, the following 10 minutes of your life is going to have you pissed off, insulted, and defensive. (and hopefully reconsidering your ideas on homework)

Do we ever ask ourselves what is the actual goal of homework? I mean, really, what is the goal? And you cannot say to learn math and science and history and language, because that is what your class is about, so in that spirit everything you do falls under that umbrella. Is homework really necessary in your class to accomplish what you want? How do you know?

Is your class lecture-heavy, so the homework is where they actually get to try it out and think about it? I might suggest flip your classroom. Let the kids see(or hear) your lecture(read a section, or whatever) at home the night before, then do problems–make connections-infer conclusions-synthesize ideas in class. That lets you see who is doing it and getting it, common mistakes and misunderstandings, lets you show(discuss) harder concepts on the board. Just in time learning at it’s best.

Do you assign 20 problems at the back of the chapter for homework. Why? does it really take 20 to get it? 5 won’t do? How about 5 together in class, then 1 or 2 at home? After all, you are going to see them again in 24 hours.

There are some cliche “strategies” (also impractical) that some have followed, but let’s look at those as well. (ugh)

Let’s say that we agree that 30 minute a night for a high school class is legitimate. And lets assume all of the classes are rigorous(and yes we have to include that some teachers and parents define a class as rigorous by the amount of homework assigned. ugh again. and gag). So, for a typical student, they will have 3 solid hours of homework per night. So, let’s do the “math” for one night. Students spend 8 hours going to classes, meetings, assemblies, and other school activities. Then many spend 2 hours in rehearsals or sports practice. An hour to get home. No idea where a part time job fits into this or maybe reading a favorite book for fun or God forbid–thinking about their future. That takes us to an 11 hour total workday.

Some say that having dinner together is important, so we get an hour break for that, maybe time enough to shower or just sit for a moment. Then 3 hours of homework. And if this is a rigorous school, we can assume that the homework is itself something which requires intense focus and concentration, so it should be the kind of homework which cannot tolerate distraction.

So, from 7:00pm-10:00pm – they do homework. Are you ok if I put in there a 5 minute break in between subject areas? Ok, that takes us to 10:30. Let’s hope Gramma did not call which would add 30 minutes to this. Or Let’s hope Dad did not want to hear about soccer practice and hear the new song you’ve been working on, because there is no time for that. Let’s hope there is no boyfriend or girlfriend that they’d like to talk on the phone or FB chat with. So, a typical high school could then ideally get to bed by 11:00…which gives them 7 hours of sleep. Interestingly enough, some recommend students get 8-10 hours of sleep per night in order to be at their best the following day. Hmmmmm.

Where in that schedule is the time for a student to stay after practice to shoot extra baskets, or talk with the coach? Maybe checkout the new audio equipment for the upcoming stage production? Where in that schedule is the chance to work on the bigger outside-of-class assignments, such as research papers, science fair, or other major projects as part of regular class.

Where is the time to read the first chapter of their favorite author’s new book? Where is the time to just sit back and let it soak in. It does not exist. In the scenario I describe above, there is no room for extra. And we all know the “extra” ends of being a major part of any schedule. That extra is what Jim Collins says is the difference between good and great.

How many teachers out there have the students come into class and talk about the fun they had doing their homework? Has that ever happened? I HOPE I am wrong about that. I hope you are fuming right now because you DO have kids come in who really were engaged with your assignment.

So, we are back to the original reason you give homework, or even a higher question, why are you a teacher? To help them memorize formulas, dates, code syntax, and vocabulary and “get through class”? Or to help them see your discipline in a light they have not before. To turn them on to science. To help them LOVE math. To let them see why you are such a history buff. Help them create something in code. To read for enjoyment. Write their first real poem. To But, are all of your assignments “academic”? Are they all rote? Where is the chance to connect to the real world? When do they reflect on real world events occurring on the news that night? Have they found an online article that talks about something cool related to your subject area? Did you have them watch that TV special that talks about? Have they ever seen a TED talk? There are TED talks in every area, with amazing speakers and presenters. Have they ever had a CHAT assignment? Have they ever read a short story outside of English class? Have they ever written a short story outside of English class? Have they ever taught their parents something? Have they ever been required to take some pictures with their phone as part of a homework assignment to show your subject area in real life. Have they brought in real examples of geometry all around them. How often do they bring in real election results of other countries and talk about them. Heck, do the kids create an online election system as part of class? Have they ever responded to a famous BLOGGER in your subject area? Do they go see speakers at libraries, colleges, and societies around town? Do they go see professional sporting events, concerts, and plays? How about visiting the zoo, the dump, the ocean for homework? Do they interview professionals in industry, activists, or politicians? Do they interact via SKYPE with students in other countries? There are teachers in other countries begging to connect with other international classrooms. Are your students preparing for their TEDClub presentations?

If you ever go into the lab or library in the morning, what you have is many of your students doing the homework they should have done the night before. At this point, any value the homework might have offered is officially gone.

One option to address this: have homework due by midnight on the due date. Wait. Whaaaaaat? That’s crazy. And always give them 2 days to do it. Woah. Stop that. And let them do it in class if they want. If it’s important, that should be ok. And don’t give them same type of homework twice in the same quarter; each one should be a different style..keeping it fresh and interesting.

Homework can be used for collaborative work. put them in groups and in a shared document in google docs. they can work together. Stronger kids can lead the way. weaker kids can contribute as well. Set expectations high and keep them to the standard. A bit of peer pressure can be used for students who do not contribute. Groups can be reassigned as needed by teacher. This kind of exercise can be done in math, language, history, computer science, art, even physical education.

Depending on what the goal for homework is also has a tremendous impact on how you grade, when you grade, why you grade, how often you grade. And if you spend 10 minutes going around the room checking homework, is that really the best way to spend 1/5 of class time?

How about define homework as a necessary and valuable part of class. Include as criteria for the “A” in class as “always attempting homework”. But, make sure your homework is in fact valuable. If every kid does the homework without much effort, then I’ll argue there was not much value. If every kid could not do it, I’ll also argue there may not have been much value. If your “brighter” kids did it easily, and your weaker kids did not, what does that show you?

Homework is one of the truly “unknowns” of the educational system in the US. Everyone gives it. No on talks about it. No one plans it. Students hate it; and many don’t do it and certainly don’t get out of it what we want. But, we do not discuss it as grade-level teams. So, we really have no idea what a typical evening looks like for kids. Even within departments, we use homework very differently and really have no idea what each other are doing or WHY. Some teachers give homework just because. Some give it to communicate that their course is rigorous. Some give it as punishment. Some blindly give it with little or no thought. Some grade it. Some don’t. Some check it daily. Some don’t. Some look for effort while some check answers. And even worse, we also do not agree on what percentage of the final grade homework should count. If we really value it’s importance and we want to give value and appreciation for the effort and time spent doing it well, why would it not count dramatically more than it does?

This is one of the topics that desperately needs thoughtful discussion. There is research on both sides of the argument. Some research suggests thoughtful and intentional and limited homework does have value, while other research suggests that the benefit is not what we hope.

Either way, no matter what you believe, it’s a discussion worth having. And if the worse thing that comes from that is that we all take a few moments and consider how and why we use homework in our own class, then I’ll still suggest it is worth it.

Grades are a major source of stress for every person involved in education: teachers, students, parents, and administrators. But, is the effort that goes into “grades” worth it? Is the benefit there? First, let’s make sure we do not confuse grades with feedback; they are very different. And, since we are here stirring the pot, let’s also make the point that grades do not always reflect the learning that takes place in the classroom. I know students who make great grades in AP and Honors classes but tank the standardized test. And don’t we all get frustrated with the kid who does not make much effort but who dominates at test time?! One of my top students got a 1 on the AP test because it was his last after 2 weeks of testing and (I quote) “my brain was fried.” He actually called me to apologize. I know students who are in the Honor Society who do not do well on the SAT test. The cliché response to grades is “we need them” and “we have to have them” and “how else can we compare students to each other”. Don’t even get me started about the BELL curve.

There are points to be made on both sides of the argument—and those arguments could take pages and pages of writing—-at some point I’ll attack that in my BLOG, but not today. (although you can read an older BLOG post that I wrote)

Today, JUST TO GET THE CONVERSATION STARTED, I am going to offer 3 scenarios where grades do not work(well). I’ll argue that these scenarios are probably more common than we like to accept.

Scenario #1
Consider the student who starts slow and so for the first 2 quarters of the class does not do as well. That student continues to work hard and improve. By the end of the class, that student has mastered the material, can demonstrate that mastery, and performs at the highest level possible on all final evaluations and examinations.

But, let’s look at the grade
Q1: 70, Q2: 80, Q3: 89, Q4: 100, Exam: 95

So, the student earned an 84 ( below mid “B“ ) for the year, an 87 with the exam grade. That average would NOT qualify for National Honor Society, Dean’s List, or other grade-centric reward system.

But, hasn’t the student done exactly what we wanted? Isn’t (s)he a success story of what education can be? (S)he learned from mistakes, made improvements, got better, and finished with complete understanding. Shouldn’t that student have earned an “A”, even “A+” ?

Well, it really depends on what the grade actually represents. Does it represent the total perecent of content that the student has mastered and demonstrated? Does it represent the entire year’s effort as compared to just the last half? Does it represent what percent of the required assignments, tasks, and projects that were completed according to the syllabus of the class? What does it represent? Well, actually, that ONE number(84) has to represent all of that. “But that is not possible,” you might say. Correct: that is not possible.

Scenario #2
Consider the student who worked hard all semester long, completing all homework assignments, projects, handouts, worksheets, readings, essays, discussions, tests, and classwork efforts. The student participated in class and was well behaved.

But, for this student, nothing came easy. (S)he had to work harder than most to have that level of success. (S)he was pushing herself to the limits in all classes and so when exam time hits and she has 6 exams during one week, all of which are incredibly challenging, there are going to be 1 or 2 which she does not do well on.

Let’s look at the grade
Q1: 93, Q2: 91, Exam: 77

So, the student, who earned an “A” all semester long finishes the course with a “B”. All semester, every day, (s)he gave her all demonstrating expertise and “success” on various types of assignments and evaluations, then during 1 two-hour instance lost all of that. Yes, one option is say “tough luck.” As a teacher, I am not sure I could say that.

Scenario #3
How about the student who is one of those kids who just “gets it”. (S)he does not have to work as hard as most, and so does not. The class is boring for the student, so there is not much engagement during class. But, (s)he aces all of the quizzes, tests, and exams.

Let’s look at the grade
HW: 0, Participation: 70, Quiz: 100, Test: 100, Exam: 98

So, the student earned an 87 (“B”) for the year, an 89 with the exam grade.
So, in this case if the student has demonstrated full mastery of content, did not need the HW in order to get to that point, what then is the value of this grade? Yes, the student made a choice to do this, but isn’t the reason for HW to help understanding? And so in this case, is the grade a way to punish the student for not following the rules of class?

I’ll argue that these scenarios are probably accurate for more students than we might realize.

There are those who say that the grade in every class means something different— I agree;it does and it should— but if that is the case then it is in direct conflict then with the “standard grading” A,B,C,D, F model that most schools use. If a “B” in one class does not have the same meaning as a “B” in another class, then how can that grade have meaning outside of that class? Even teachers within the same departments and divisions at schools use grades differently. The problem with that is we use those grades in a standardized arena as well (college admissions, scholarships, awards, grants), and that can have unfair, inaccurate, and unintended consequences.

In my classes, which are heavily project-based, collaborative, and where my “homework” is not content-based(more context-based for connection to real world), every semester when I enter grades, I say to myself there has to be a better way. I have not yet had the guts, although seeing some of the work that Mark Barnes and Starr Sackstein are doing is really pushing me to try something.

I am not suggesting we throw out grades completely; I am sure there are some teachers who have found ways to use grades in an effective, productive, and accurate manner. It is those people from whom I want to hear. Let’s take the best of what they are doing and bring that into the conversation.

What I do not think is the best solution going forward is doing it this way “because we’ve always done it like this.”

There is a different way to look at education. As a parent, teacher, student, administrator, or policy maker, keep your eyes and ears open; but look differently and listen better. If something I said here makes sense to you, then we should probably connect. Find me.

(attention to my international friends: This post is very much targeted at an American audience)

I hope the words in that question terrify you. It does me.

I want to take a moment to bring your attention to something which is crucial for us, as leaders and educators and administrators and parents to understand.

I have one real fear in my professional career. It is not fear of failure while in front of a classroom of students. It happens sometimes. It is not fear of something out of my control happening in my class. On a daily basis things happen at school that affect my classes-but over which I have no control. It is not that students will shy away from a class they want to take-even though it is time consuming and demanding—in fact we are seeing our numbers rise. It is not that I may submit a proposal to a conference and get rejected. That happens. It is not that students are going to strongly react to a really challenging project or test. They do. It is not that I am going to get a surprise visit from my boss to observe my class. The door is always open. It is not that I might try a project or explore new technology that fails miserably. It can. It is not that I might have an off-day and lead a bad class. Last semester I had one of the worst classes ever! (and it was my fault). It is not that a planned speaker cancels at the last second. They could. It is not that I might miss an opportunity to recruit an awesome kid into my program. I do miss those on occasion (and I still kick myself)

Nope, none of those. Everything I just described above happens, and has happened, to all of us(hopefully)

My fear is of a different magnitude.

Here is what I do NOT mind: If a student is angry (at me?) because a project or test was so tough that (s)he was not able to complete it in the way in which (s)he hoped. A student might take my class and not appreciate or like the way I lead a project-based student-centric class. A student might want to take another class instead of mine. A student may not be willing to put in the work necessary to earn a spot in our program. A person might have been offended by something I said or did in class. A student may have heard that the class was too time intensive and chose not to apply to be in our program. A student may not relate to my personality. A student may quite simply not like me. All of those I can handle.

The fear that I have is that one day I might be irrelevant.

And that terrifies me. Because what that means is that what I am doing, what I am offering, the time and energy I put into my classes is not even noticed, not even on the radar of those around me. It’s not that they don’t like it, but that they don’t even have an opinion about it because they don’t notice it.

Yes some of that might be because of factors out of my control.

But there are some things we can control.

One way in which we become irrelevant to students is to be so out of touch with the current life of a student that they simply tune you out. I am not talking about a student after lunch who dozes off during class, or the day before spring break your kids are dreaming of beach volleyball. I am talking about something much bigger–I am talking about students who don’t even consider your class, or you as a teacher. I am talking about fellow teachers who do not even ask your opinion because your response is not valued. I am talking about not even being part of the conversation.

And that is WORSE that being a mean teacher. It is worse than being a bad teacher. It is worse than having a colossal failure in class. It is worse than having colleagues perturbed with you. It is worse than having your boss call you into the office because of something you did or did not do.

In computer science, we have a word for this….it is called “null”. It is not negative or positive. It is not 0. It is not infinity. It is not true or false. It is not right or wrong.

It is just “nothing”

And there are lots of reasons it might happen. I’d like to talk about one.

One of the key elements of this in our schools today is technology. Not any technology but the technologies that are important to our kids. Smart phones, tablets, laptops, iPads, Smart watches. We, the current “middle-agers” all remember a time when we did NOT have them, and so we still appreciate them in ways that others cannot. I am one of those. I remember dad and I getting Compute Magazine and entering in pages of pure hexadecimal code in order to play a game or run a program. It took hours, even days. I remember starting to “load” Jumpman from a cassette player into my Commodore 64—that would take a couple hours, so by the time I can home from school, I could play it.

But kids of today, students of today, do not want to hear about the days where we did not have that. In the same way you can’t relate to your parents going to the picture show for a nickel. In the same way you cannot relate to even seeing a silent movie. It is such a difference in experience that not only can we not relate to it….they cannot even really imagine it, much less appreciate it. They don’t want to hear about the card catalog in the library or the Encyclopedia series in the shelves. And don’t show them your slide collection. Don’t say things like

I am not good with technology.

….because for them there is no “good or bad with technology”….it is just something that is part of you, like your wallet. I don’t hear people talking about having difficulty with their wallet(although I do get frustrated when someone cannot figure out the debit card machine at Wal-mart) When your mouse acts up, don’t freak out and give up the entire lesson. When the projector does not work, don’t act like when your car does not start. When the sound is off, unmute or plug in the speaker wire. Right? Just fix it in the same way you would plug in the lamp next your chair at home. In fact, the kids might even enjoy helping you troubleshoot. Technology of today can be troubleshot. If your car does not start, there is not a bunch you can do, but if your laptop acts up, there are many things you can do. Teachers doing things the old way “because I don’t get technology” or “I tried it once and it did not work”–those days have to end. If you need to get a book and read it to learn—DO IT. If you need to take a class -DO IT. If you need to spend the summer practicing–DO IT. Get to a point where the technology is one of the tool you use as a regular part of your class, like markers, homework, erasers, , projects, textbooks, light switches, discussions, desks, chairs, presentations, and whiteboards. Let it help you bring to life your content in ways the other tools cannot–and that is why you are using it. Get to a point where the technology itself is not amazing, but what it does for your class, FOR THEIR LEARNING….that is what is amazing.

We are still having conferences and discussions about whether or not to integrate technology. WHAT?! People, we are past that. We are passed the day where Facebook was evil. We are passed the point where you cannot get email on your phone. In fact, FB for many students is yesterdays news. We are passed the day about whether or not we will. WE WILL. WE ARE. WE HAVE BEEN. It is not a fad or a trend. It is here to stay. I am not suggesting that EVERY technology be part of a class. I use my car to get work, but I do not have my students sit in my car during class. I have several tools in my garage that I do not bring to class every day(although I imagine Kael Martin does). Find the tools that allow you to do WHAT YOU DO BETTER. Think about the lessons, or chapters, or content areas where the kids always struggle the most (or you struggle)…is there technology-based idea or device that might be able to enhance the learning?

Imagine your facilities manager doing a presentation about whether or not to, or how we might, incorporate electricity into our classroom. Gosh the things we could do in our classroom if there were power! Then the human resource director is going to do a presentation about the value of using our cars as tools to get to and from work. Then the English dept is going to do a short presentation on the value of using paper and pencil to record ideas, opinions, and statements in permanent form on this “paper” thingy. And we’ve got an entrepreneur businessman coming in to talk about this new technology called radio where you can hear voices from people located in different locations as you. Ridiculous right? That is what some of the conversation schools have sound like to students. We are becoming irrelevant.

I went for advice on health insurance and there were 2 people there. One was savvy with new vocabulary of the industry, could get around their website with ease and control, and could pull up anything you needed quickly and effectively, and spoke in language that made sense in relation to the current climate (Obamacare, HMO, HSA, major medical, etc). That was not the guy I got. I got the guy who had been trained in the old school way, was using expressions that were not really part of the discussion today, using statements and vocabulary that was just not relevant. He did not seem up to date on current offering. He could not use the “new technology (called a web-page). He even struggled to get the mouse to work correctly. We were not able to find the information we needed. In the end, he leaned over and asked the other guy for some information, which was the most valuable information I received that day. A complete waste of my time….and his. That man, that experience, was irrelevant to what I needed. The “other” guy was not even a particularly likeable man, but he was effective and in command. I wish I had gone to him instead.

Administrators: Have your students said this about classes your school offers?

Recently. I asked my students to do a daily 2-3 sentence summary of progress they made each day during their capstone project. I really wanted to them to do it on a piece of paper so I could collect them and staple them together and read them all at once—-and flip through as quickly and as needed. They begged to do it digitally. One students said he would even print them out for me, staple them as I wanted. I was blown away. Something so simple to me, yet so important to them. So, I created a blog page for them to enter, as we had done before. They thanked me several times. They wanted the ability to edit on their phone, their laptop, wherever they are. they did not want to be tied to a single sheet of paper. I did not get that but they did. But, I heard them and learned my lesson. And I did not let an anthill become a mountain. I understood what they meant–and now they were connected with my assignment. All of that happened in less than 5 minutes.

Question. if psychologists and scientists did a study that said using red pencils had some huge type of effect on students such that they were in tune with their learning better, or helped them write better? The stores would be sold out of red pencil. We would have closets full of red pencils. Every student would have one.

Well, the red pencil of today is internet, cell phones, tablets, laptops, and other electronic devices. Every kids has 1, many have several. Heck, they sleep out in the BestBuy parking lot to get one. The option we have now is to figure out a way of reconsidering how we look at these devices. Students do not even consider the device in their hand a phone. It is the way in which they connect with the world around them, their friends, school, sports teams, clubs, hobbies, and family. And much of what they interact with is images. Can we not take advantage of that? They love video and images and commenting on each others comments. Your students may already Tumblr BLOG? Gosh, is there some hidden value in texting? They love responding to someone else s thoughts. They love the instant communication. They love images of faces. Is there not someone out there that can look at all of that and design some learning environments where that is PART of it, instead of exact opposite. For example, have your students pretend to be a historical figure, or author and send out Instagrams and Snapchats about their life. Have them have an online discussion on FB between two historical figures discussing their decisions and issues. Have them post their essays or short stories to a common area and each kid responds, not to the whole thing, but to parts of it. And then other students respond to those responses. Those examples were far from innovative but it is what I came up with as I was typing without thinking much about it. Imagine what an entire department, and hey ask your kids to help design something, might come up with. Do your students lead online discussions? Do they evaluate each others work. Do they post their work for the world to see. Do they accept criticism or suggestions?

I think there was a time when the only option for content delivery, in a typical classroom was one-directional lecture. When there was no internet, no smartboards, no cell phone cameras, no Powerpoints, no email. There was only 1 way to get across ideas and connections. Then as modern technology started to offer some alternatives, we suddenly had other options. Those options were very different than we experienced when we were in school, and so for those who were going to take the leap, it required learning an entirely new paradigm, pedagogy, and learning experience. And if they embraced that and took advantage of the technologies, then it also allowed for a different experience for the students. It allowed them to be more active, they could “find”, discover, and interact with the content instead of just receive it. Dr. Grant in Jurassic Park said, “You can’t suppress a million years of evolution…..TRex does not want to be fed, he wants to hunt”. The same can be said for students. They don’t mind working for it if the reward is there. And yes, understanding and accomplishment can be rewards–in fact HUGE rewards. The human spirit thrives on curiosity. It is what drives us, sometimes even gets us into trouble. How do we know this? the moment you tell a teenager not to do something, the first thing they do is THAT THING. Not because they are rule breakers, but because you have sparked their curiosity. And they do not want to be told, they want to experience it, even at the risk of a negative consequence. Can we not do better at tapping into that energy. We can set up our learning environments such that their are lots of opportunities for that discovery?

I fear that if we do not, our schools—our teachers–our classes-our educational system—becomes irrelevant.

There is a different way to look at education. As a parent, teacher, student, administrator, or policy maker, keep your eyes and ears open, but look differently and listen better. If something I said here makes sense to you, then we should probably connect. Find me.

This is my second “Questions” post. The first was so well received that it warranted another. (and by well received I mean I definitively got some passionate responses coming from all sides) The following questions are specifically asked here because the “cliché” expected responses which we tend to hear is exactly what I want us to consider.

I’ll ask you to think about what you might expect people to say, then really think about what I am asking—-I think you’ll find that there are some different responses that we might consider if we dig deeper

READERS BEWARE: Be very careful reading past this point. These questions might challenge decades old paradigms and educational philosophies in our society. By asking these questions, we have to be willing to look beyond the cliche answers, we have to be ready to really hear the responses we get. That it might be time to make some changes—-is not a bad thing. Our society has changed dramatically in so many ways….perhaps there are new ways of looking at our education system and making improvements where they make sense

There is no right or wrong when having these discussions. The discussion itself is the goal.

RSVP if there are some huge questions left unasked

Ok, let’s just dive in head first…..here we go….

• Consider our current A-F grading system. If a student starts slow in the class, but by the end of the class has mastered the skills of that area, shouldn’t that student have the highest grade possible?
• Grades: Is a grade a reflective measure of how much content was learned in the class? or a measure of how that knowledge can be used or demonstrated? or a measure of how hard the student worked? or a measure of how well the student followed directions? or an arbitrary measure?
• Are there effective evaluation tools other than quizzes and tests?
• ….speaking of which, what exactly are we trying to evaluate anyway?
• What are we trying to accomplish through nightly homework?
  ** Consider your response to this question. What do you think is the “cliche” response from the schools? from society? Do we actually accomplish that goal?

• Why have we learned to associate rigor with amount of homework?
• …and what is rigor anyway?
• Do departments and schools ever discuss homework, the value of homework, the expectations of homework, the amount of homework, the evaluation of homework?
• Is the value that we think is there for semester/year ending exams really there?
• Have we considered how many hours of time are spent by schools preparing for, administering, and grading exams?
  ** Consider your response to this question. What do you think is the “cliche” response from the schools? from society? How does what we say we are trying to accomplish compare with what we actually accomplish with exams?

• Is a long summer break the best scheduling option for schools/teachers?
• Is a long summer break the best scheduling option for students/learning?
• Is a long summer break the best scheduling option for families?
• Is the daily schedule going from class to class to class over the course of 7-8 hours the most efficient use of our time?
• What if there was a different daily schedule in the fall, spring, and winter?
• Is there any value to offering classes during the evening? weekend? holidays? What if students could choose to take classes during that time? What if teachers could elect to offer classes during those non-traditional times
• Is there value in capstone-like, large, multi-week projects at the end of a semester?
• Why are AP exams offered 1 month before the end of school?
• Why do we offer AP exams? Is the reason students take AP classes the same reason why we offer those classes?
• Why is it a given that students will incur debt as a natural consequence of going to college?
• Is the price of college/university worth it?
• Is the process by which students apply and are admitted to college an effective system?
• Is there value in standardized college entrance examinations such as ACT and SAT? Is any of that value supported by the test itself?
• What is the goal of elementary (Lower) school?
• What is the goal of middle(jr. high) school?
• What is the goal of high school?
• Consider your responses to the previous 3 questions. What do you think is the “cliche” response from the schools? from society? Do we actually accomplish those goals?
• woah…this is gonna sting….has school becomes irrelevant? Has school gotten in the way of education?
• Consider the traditional “core” classes as determined by your state curriculum committees. What subject areas are included as core classes? Do these reflect the values and needs of your community? Do these support the goals of our school system? Do these reflect what is valued and needed by business in order to innovate and lead in the upcoming decade?
• Do you as a parent, through your comments, actions, and behaviors, support the expectations of the school your children attend?
• Do you, as an administrator, take time to ask these types of questions…or do you primarily focus on the day to day issues of running a school?

I look forward to the discussions these questions might spark.

If you liked the style of questions posed here, consider reading my previous Questions (part 1) post.

There is a different way to look at education. As a parent, teacher, student, administrator, or policy maker, keep your eyes and ears open, but look differently and listen better. If something I said here makes sense to you, then we should probably connect. Find me.

(December 8 – 14)

Do we really need to dedicate an entire week dedicated to bringing attention to our discipline?

Uhm YES

Do we really need to try engage an entire planet in just trying out our “discipline” for an hour?

hmm Yeah.

Are we really at that point? In a world where most people probably have several digital devices near them at any time…how can we possible not even know what Computer Science is

90% of the school in the USA DO NOT teach Computer Science.

Watch This(it’s awesome):

Well, first I’ll argue that Computer Science is not a traditional discipline in the same way that History is. It’s a way of thinking, and a set of skills with a blend of creativity and building, and a set of tools that are “behind” not only every other discipline, but behind virtually every aspect of life. And you can like that or not like it but you cannot deny that. In the same way that language is part of what we do all day, every day, wherever we are, whatever industry we are in, whatever grade we are in, or economic status we live in.

So National Computer Science week is a nationally designated week that was created to give schools and communities a chance to focus on and plan learning events and teaching opportunities centered around Computer Science…especially in schools, or cities, or even countries that don’t necessarily know what Computer Science is, nor it’s value to their own business and economy.

One of the biggest problems is quite simply that we have a ton of 1960-1980 “baggage” we are digitally dragging behind us. There was a time where you had to be a top engineer/mathematician/research scientist in order to have any chance of interacting with a computer and putting it to work for you. The world still has this image in their mind when they hear Computer Science. It was truly an elite group of people , super-smart, nerdy, and typically social loners.

Additionally (and sadly) , we still have schools teaching keyboarding and Microsoft Word, and calling that Computer Science. They are truly draining the digital life out of their students. Their students come to them eager to explore, create, and learn—they LOVE the technologies that are in their hands and on their desks. They don’t want to type letters and insert clip art pictures.

Initiatives such as Hour of Code encourage, allow, and enable people (who are willing) to explore Computer Science “along with” their students. We don’t need(nor want) 1980 nerds; we don’t need Computer Science experts, we don’t need you to already know how to program. We just need you to want to try something new. But we warn you–your kids are gonna love it. You yourself may actually find that it is addicting. Yes, it’s hard…but not hard like memorizing a complex Physics formula or BC calculus equation, but hard like “oh man… I really want to make my program function like this, my game go “like this”, my app do that…..and there are so many ways to do it…I just have to figure out which way is best” kind of hard. I joke with my parents of our students, “Your child will learn integral calculus or advanced gravitational equations in order to have their alien bounce across the screen and shoot a green laser blaster.”

So, what exactly is the Hour of Code?

Well, it was started by CODE.ORG (if CODE.ORG was a for-profit start-up, everyone there would probably be millionaires) and they have taken the lead on providing resources and advertising and mass marketing —with a very simple goal: To help the world understand what Computer Science is and help bring it into our educational system. One of the ways they do this is by simply trying to help introduce what it is to as many people as we can—even if just for one hour.

HOW?

There are numerous self-paced, interactive, fun and engaging, “no need for a Computer Science teacher” online tutorials for EVERY grade level. All that is needed is for a school, a parent, or a teacher, to be willing to take small chance and “let go”. Let the learning happen by actively doing, instead of passively receiving. Difficult concepts are actually introduced, communicated, and reinforced, through the activities themselves. Maybe you learn how to build an app, a small program, or even a small game. Especially with research leaders such as Jane McGonigal leading the way, we know that games and gaming are huge attractors and motivators for people (not just students), so we tap into the built-in energy that exists around games, and we use that to let a first Computer Science experience be an engaging one, full of interaction, creativity, accomplishment, and understanding…. and a desire to know more.

Any Computer Science teacher will tell you that we don’t even pretend to be only expert in the room when there is Computer Science happening . There are far too many languages, technologies, gadgets, and tools to be in command of all of them. On any given day, I learn 5 new things from my students and through my continued exploration. In my school, our projects in class are advanced and complex, I have to work just as hard to help students with their project as they work doing their project.

At our K-12 school, we have Computer Science , real Computer Science, happening as early as 5th grade…and we hit it harder starting in 7th and 8th, and then we just open it up full volume in 9th-12th. So, our kids are getting hundreds of “Hours of Code” each school year, so our “Hour of Code” actually focuses on our parents. They are the community leaders, business owners, politicians, and outspoken citizens who can be of huge help in trying to get the word out.

I mean…WORDS

What words?

• What Computer Science really is.
• That Computer Science is needed.
• That Computer Science is not for the academic elite.
• That Computer Science does not require tube socks and pocket protectors
• That Computer Science is as much ART as it is Science
• That Computer Science is fun
• That Computer Science gives you tools that allow you to express ideas
• That Computer Science can enable you be better and stronger and more productive in whatever industry you desire–and wherever your passions lie.

Because most school don’t have Computer Science, or don’t even offer it except as a 12th grade elective, it has not become part of the academic journey for our best students. By the time they get exposed to it, it’s almost too late.

“….So, are you suggesting that because a kid spent one hour going through a tutorial for how to make Angry Birds and (s)he can have a bird flap around on the screen, that they have had a Computer Science experience?…”

Hmmmmm…

Uhm…

Yes

Are they qualified to work in the industry designing software? Of course not. But, did they find themselves understanding the basics of how to build something using commands, seeing how to manipulate the technology in front of them, and explore the different ways of breaking down a problem into step action steps, and being willing to “try this” and “try that”. In order to have Angry Birds hurl across the screen into Pigs, they will explore concepts and constructs such as conditional statements, looping, variables, data storage, and graphical display—all of which are part of Computer Science. Those exact same techniques and skills are used in every industry in almost every programming language in order to help design software for banks, small businesses, factories, websites, restaurants, engineers, real estate firms, tax returns, and schools.

Perhaps because of an unexpected & engaging one-hour experience a student might decide to take a class, explore a club, read a book, or even try an entire online tutorial and see if it is something they can engage with. They might open their eyes to an entirely new world—-one that has been right in front of them their whole life that they just did not see.

Is it even working? well, if you consider over 47,000,000 have tried an “Hour of Code” so far, then YES

Yep the demand is there.

That’s why I say “Yes, making that Angry Bird game was not only worthwhile, but critical for our future”

Keep an eye out for schools in your community who might be offering events centered around the “Hour of Code”

There is a different way to look at education. As a parent, teacher, student, administrator, or policy maker, keep your eyes and ears open, but look differently and listen better. If something I said here makes sense to you, then we should probably connect. Find me.

Dear Parents

Welcome to the new school year! We are so excited to have your child in our school, and I am even more excited to have your child in my class. I get a chance to lead your child through a wonderful and fascinating experience over the next few months. I hope to share with your child my deep love and passion for this area with hopes that your child will learn to share in that passion.

I wanted to tell you a bit about class and school so you can best know how to help your child succeed. That success will be based on much more than the grade. My students will work really hard on everything we do. There will be bumps along the way. There will be some incredible victories and some efforts which do not go as well. Emotions will run high sometimes; there will be distractions; and there will even be some very low points. They may love and hate class all in the same sentence. And all of this is part of the learning experience. In fact, there is some research which suggests that emotions are critical to deep learning.

OK, get ready…I am about to suggest some things which may make you (and your child) a bit uncomfortable:

in order for your entire family to have the best experiences related to this class, your child must take an active part in his/her own education.

What does that mean?

Students won’t be able to stand on the sidelines and passively make their way through class. Your child will need to be on top of every project, assignment, activity, and effort that we do. There will always be something your child can be doing for this class, so if she tells you that she has nothing to do in here, she may be missing something. At those times, we do not want you to take over. We don’t want you to call the teacher to find out what the assignment is/was. We don’t want you to go on the webpage to write down all the assignments. We don’t want you to take away soccer or video games to get their attention. (In fact, there is research which suggests that games have tremendous value in our lives). We want you to support your child as she does what is necessary to figure out what is going on, what’s due, what the expectations are, and what’s on the horizon. You will not be able to solve this problem for your child. You will not be able to plan the next week for your child. But, you can certainly help them lead themselves through that, so they come to a good plan “on their own”. And of course we can help with that as well. So, stay involved but in a supportive role. If you do not, your kids are not prepared in college to take care of themselves. If you do not, your kids are not developing the skills they need to solve problems, learn to communicate, and figure out how they can best make progress. Give them some room to explore their own judgment, but knowing that they may fail.

FAIL?!! WHAT?! Let them fail.

Does that mean stand by quietly and let them get a 45 as the course grade and say I told you so? Of course not… of course not…it means you keep an eye on what they are doing. How? Ask lots of questions and ask better questions. Questions like “How was school?” are useless. If you ask those types of questions, you are going to get nothin’ back. Ask specific questions, “Hey Tom, I know you were a bit worried about that first History quiz, do you feel like you prepared well for that?”, “Good night buddy. Hey, don’t you have that Computer Science project due Friday. I know you were struggling to get the sort routine working, were you able to make progress on that? Are you on target to get that done like you hoped?”, “Ok, Suzanne, I’ll pick you up at 3:30 today. Are you sure you don’t want me to come at 4:00 to give you some extra time in the library for the math test you said was going to be so hard?”, “That project sounds pretty cool…you said it’s due in 3 weeks, right? I’ll tell you what, why don’t you finish that list you are working on for stuff needed and if you need me to, I am happy to go with you to Wal-Mart in an hour and get some supplies, ok?” So, what I am talking about is being fully aware about the academics of your child, but not doing everything for them.

Grades……ahh grades…hmmmmmm. Necessary evil, but potentially valuable if used appropriately…but they are not as accurate or thorough as you might think. Be careful dangling grade-related carrots–it might backfire for all the wrong reasons.

Grades are a dangerous slope to go down if that is all you focus on. While they are at least one way to measure performance of some aspects of a class, they are far from accurate for the total picture. As teachers, we always strive to have students fall in love with (and develop an intense curiosity about ) our subject area…whether it’s language, art, math, economics, or Computer Science. Some classes are hard for some students; other classes come easier. There are so many factors that go into how a student connects with a class: personality of the teacher, delivery of content, amount of and type of homework, style of evaluation, variation of evaluations, time of day of class, class as part of the entire schedule(i.e. a hard & time demanding class by itself might be something students can bite their teeth into, but with 2 or 3 other similar classes, students may not connect as much), number of and type of other students in the class, the life of the teacher at that time(are they going through any major issues in their own life that might detract their passion and attention) ,age of student(a certain maturity might be needed to connect with some material or delivery methods or methodologies), division principal administration turnover or policies,boyfriend and girlfriend problems, social issues, etc. Most likely the priorities you have for them are somewhat different than theirs. So, my point is that there are so many factors that go into how a class is perceived by a student. So, you as a parent simply demanding that they get an A is probably not your best way forward. What parent doesn’t want to have a student who is a life-long learner who studies because she loves it and dives into a class with all her body and mind? So, don’t interact with your student about that class in ways which go against that. He wants to tell you about why he loves that math class…and it is not because he got a 96 on the last quiz. For a student to be asked simply what grade he/she has in a class is like a tennis player going 7-6,6-7,7-6,6-7,22-20 in the finals of a tennis match and all you ask is “Did you win”. Ask better questions. And also realize that your child is not going to hit a home run on every test or project in every class. It may be that the 82 he got on the last quiz was 10 points more than he expected. She was so proud of the 89 on the group project (especially since she did all the work as part of a slacker group), so you asking why she didn’t get an A is a slap in the face. Some grades are not about measuring knowledge, so the definition of what an A is changes in each class and also depending on the type of assignment. (See my BLOG post on the meaning of GRADES)

Is the relationship between you and your child one that can be used to help them work their way through the rough spots? For example, do you have the courage to let your child fail on his own? And don’t forget, the definition of failure in this case is simply not getting what they are used to or expecting. And if they do fail, how do you handle it? Do you take the cell phone away? No going to the movie Saturday night? Instead or in addition to, have you considered having a discussion with your child about the entire experience, letting them work their way through what happened, places where they might have acted/reacted differently, and even how they themselves handled the low grade. Perhaps it was not a failure in their eyes and they would love the chance to explain what that means. In years past (in my classes) I’ve had students fail a quiz just to spite me. I’ve had students fail a project because they were so focused on another part of their life that my project just was not on the radar screen. I’ve had students not prepare for a test just to get under the skin of an overbearing parent. So, especially when the motivations of your child are not necessarily obvious, if all you do is focus on that low grade, you may be missing the entire message. Your desire for them to go to your alma mater Ivy League may or may not be their goal at this point in their life. And considering how little your high schooler lets you into their life, you’ve got to listen better. While they may have earned an F on that evaluation, your child may have earned an A+ on getting someone’s attention. What you have been focusing on may not be what they are focusing on. One last note in this area: there may be a time where your child studies or works really hard on an assignment, and does put in enough time, energy, and mental energy to earn an awesome grade, but simply just had a bad day, or worse, the teacher had a bad day–meaning your child misread the question on the test, or perhaps the teacher focused the test on an area he did not really focus so much this year (but in years past had). And there are times where the project or test was just one of the hardest things your child has experienced so far, and so whatever grade they earned is accurate. And that is where grades are best–giving a non-biased, accurate, precise, and helpful reflection of what was done or what was learned compared with what was expected. It may be that your child’s understanding of and ability to demonstrate some material was about 79% of what was expected, so the 79 he got on the test may very well have been exactly what he should have gotten. And do you as a parent have the courage to celebrate that? Lose the battle to win the war. Lose the round to win the whole fight. Let the emotions associated with the experience sink in naturally. You may be surprised that your teen, because you HAVE BEEN DOING A GOOD JOB RAISING HIM/HER, will learn from this experience in the ways you value.

And if there are other questions to be asked, or conversations to be had that do involve the teacher, encourage your child to initiate and have those discussions. Don’t rob your child the experience of thinking about, planning and following through on that critical part of active learning. Don’t do that FOR THEM. You might be surprised to find that your teacher has been looking forward to that interaction to happen. I am on your side; I want your child to succeed, but in ways that are in addition to the ways you might solely be focusing on. I see your child every day. I see the good days and the bad days. I see the successes and the failures. And as a professional educator, I also see different aspects of the whole child that all interact together to give us what we see. I see the light bulb turn on, and I learn the facial expressions and body mannerisms that your child uses to communicate when in a class full of peers. And those expressions, mannerism, and even way-of-talking are probably different than what you experience at home. It may be that while this minor quiz grade was not up to par, perhaps something else we’ve been working on was more successful. And it may be that even your child was not aware of that because he was only focusing on the grade as well, because that is what you were focusing on.

The expectation you have set for your child may not be the the same as the expectations they have set for themselves. That does not mean they have a lower standard, it may mean they have a different standard. Your expectations may reflect your own experience, not their experience. It is crucial that your child be given the support to develop their own expectations and motivations. And that is hard and it takes time. And I think you’ll find that if you put your faith in your child, give them your support, and spend the time developing a relationship like I’ve discussed here, that your child will far exceed your expectations—and even better than that—they will exceed the expectations they set for themselves.

Let me end with a story that brings all this together. A student of mine I’ll call “Sachiko” really wanted to be in my senior level AP class(Oh God, I cannot believe I am using an AP class as an example to prove my point. I hate AP. I am sure I’ve written a BLOG post about that) She probably did not really qualify to be in there if I based it on previous grades and performance alone, but she really wanted to challenge herself and was so genuinely interested to being part of class that it made complete sense for me to let her into the class. All semester she worked hard, turned in all projects, and was an active part of class. She consistently submitted work at a mid B grade level. The final exam in that class was a really hard exam that would push them far out of their comfort zone, but if they relied on what they knew and could do, they should be able to figure out the challenges on the exam. (Ok, for those of you who know that I have very serious opinions of EXAMS, this was before I saw the light)

Our school policy is that we are not allowed to share exam grades with students during exam week for fear that a great or poor performance on one exam will have dramatic impact on other exam performances (whether good or bad). But, I was so excited for “Sachiko”. I graded her exam and she got a B+. Wow! Nice! Awesome! I could not wait to see her face when she found that out. She thought she had done really poorly. I ran into her that afternoon in the parking lot and yelled across for her to come to my car. She ran over, with a very concerned look on her face. “Sachiko, I am so proud of you! You got a B+! Congratulations!” What happened next to this day I will never forget. She burst into tears and said, “My mother is going to kill me ‘cause I didn’t get an A.”

That experience went from incredible success to incredible failure…but I ask….whose failure was it?

I am truly looking forward to getting you know your child this semester. I look forward to the challenge of figuring out what makes him tick, and also what it will take for your child to deeply connect with my class and my subject area.

-Sincerely

Your child’s teacher

There is a different way to look at education. As a parent, teacher, student, administrator, or policy maker, keep your eyes and ears open, but look differently and listen better.

We are at a crossroads. We’ve been here for years, and just seem to be parked here, not moving or at best… going in circles. Other cars are zooming by honking at us from all sides, but we just keep our blinders on and look straight ahead. We seem lost (but do not admit or accept it), and if we would just look left or right or up or down (or any direction other than “the status quo road ahead”) we would see the sign that has the directions to anywhere all around us. And all are places we want and need to go.

What is the issue?

So during the “first digital wave”, the Digital Divide was between those that had access to technology and those that did not. Some of this digital divide was by choice, some by economics, some by lack of understanding, and some by luck. It was a recognition that not only was it a good idea to use some of the digital tools available, it was crucial. And so we saw that first wave jettison us into the 21st Century.

So, here we are in the beginning of the second digital wave.

And it is here and now that we see two types of people. Both are crucial to success in an economy. The first: USERS of technology. These are the people that are tech savvy and use their digital devices commandingly to help solve the problems in their job or industry. They understand how the software and hardware work and can use it as it was supposed to be used. They are excellent at what they do and effective at using what digital solutions are available to manage business, promote ideas, and address problems. This group of people is also becoming the sought after norm, that if you are not part of this group today, you are probably not able to succeed in business and school. This group of people is very important.

However, this group is also completely dependent upon a new type of person.

Now we introduce the nuts and bolts of new Digital Divide: Those that DO, and those that DO not. Those that GET IT and those that DO NOT get it. Those that CREATE, and those that DO NOT create.

This new second type of person is a CREATOR of technology. They are the ones who create new devices, new software, new apps, new technologies, new ways to program or reprogram existing devices to do more, new solutions, even new tools. They are the ones who take their own ideas, needs, and wants and turn them into something real that be used to solve some problem. There was a time where this group of people was only highly specialized and trained PhD research scientists who took years to develop something, engineers who spent months in the back of a lab tweaking and tinkering until it was ready. And yes, this traditional style of CREATOR still exists in some industries and in some technologies where extreme breakthroughs require that type of commitment. Actually, I might argue the today’s CREATORS are even dependent upon this traditional CREATOR for what they do. But, for many industries, that is not the case. Today’s CREATORS are simply good people, who GET IT, and who are in command of today’s technology. They are the ones who are not afraid to open up a device to troubleshoot, upgrade, replace, reprogram, or fix. There are not afraid to explore “inside” to make something do more than it was intended. They are not afraid of failure because in Computer Science, failure is actually crucial for success. They are not afraid to say “what if…” and “how can I…” and “let’s try this…” They are people in industries and jobs that were chosen because of their passions, but they had the additional forethought to let Computer Science be part of their world as well. They are the real estate agents who are not satisfied with the software that is available to them. They want to do things differently—better– and so they write some software that gives them the tools to do things better than their competition. They are the biologists who are studying dolphin DNA, but cannot get the software analysis tools to access the data like they want it. They have new ways of looking at the data, so they make an app on their tablet that does allow them to access that data in those new ways, thus distinguishing themselves in their industry, and perhaps making new discoveries. They are the small business owners who don’t have tens of thousands of dollars to invest in branding and marketing for their website. They design their own webpages, transaction databases, inventory slide shows, product demonstrations, and online payment buttons. They are ones who look at their smartphone, which they carry everywhere (and so do their customers), and decide to make an app that addresses the needs of their customers. They are a local bow-tie business who designs an app that lets their customers “try on” a bow-tie to see how it looks, without being in their store. The CREATORS are a new breed of student, parents, business owner, leader. They are not saying “we cannot”, they are saying “I just did”. They are not giving reasons why not, they are saying “how do I get started”. They are not saying “it is not possible”, they are saying “look at what is possible.”

So, the new Digital Divide is about schools developing CREATORS vs. USERS, and unfortunately in far too many schools…ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….neither.

WHAT?!!!

Few schools are developing CREATORS. We are barely developing USERS. We are still asking ridiculous questions like, “should we use technology in the classroom?” Our internet filters still block more than they do not block. Think of how that looks and sounds to our students. They have always had smartphones, laptops, tablets, digital toys, and access to information right at their fingertips. To NOT have those is almost funny to them. When we way things like, “this new technology….”, they are looking at us with cock-eyed stares because this technology is NOT new. We are past the days where we adults can still use that excuse. Digital technology like we know it today has been around for 10-20 years. We have got to stop looking at it like it is new. It’s like us saying to our kids in the morning, “I am still deciding whether or not to use this new “car” device to help take us to school and work.” Or, “…these new time pieces that fit around our wrist which automatically tell us the time during the day without using the sun, may be distracting in the classroom with kids always looking down instead of at the teacher…students will not be able to learn to manage their own time…” “This idea that electricity can flow into my house and automatically power some of our devices is something I think will take advantage of, but it may affect the way we live…” When we say things like we are not sure how to integrate technology into the classroom, our students and parents lose faith in our educational system. They are looking to the schools for leadership in WHAT should be taught, and HOW it should be taught. And they are not looking for outdated and thoughtless ideas and solutions. They are not looking for schools to work like they did when they were kids. They assume our schools are keeping up, and even leading, with the world around them.

When we do not lead in regards to technology….for them it is no different than hearing that we’re not sure how to integrate pencil and paper into the curriculum.

Enter Computer Science. This is how we give our students the tools to be CREATORS.

This discipline has a terrible image problem. And a vocabulary problem. Most people do not know what it is, and is not. Yet, we use the term as if we do.

We have schools who are still teaching (ouch……it hurts me to write this) keyboarding, in name of Computer Science, to middle schoolers. We have schools which still teach word processing to high schoolers—in the Computer Science class! Computer Science is NOT word processing, spreadsheets, photo editing, desktop publishing, video editing, and internet searching. So many schools interpret those skills as the ones that should be taught.

And…….give me a second to explain…they should—but NOT in the Computer Science classroom.

No problem if the Foreign Language teacher is having the students make newsletter travel brochures in the native language as a tool to help teach their content. No problem for the math teacher to use spreadsheets to do budgets, statistics, and graphing. In fact, that is exactly what they SHOULD be doing already. Those are both excellent uses of technology to learn and enhance a lesson with real world application. No problem for the art teacher to edit photos in class to study different types of visual art styles. No problem for the Physical Education department to use video editing to studying throwing and jumping mechanics of their kids.

All of those examples excellent uses of USING technology.

But, those projects should NOT be considered Computer Science, and they should NOT be done in the Computer Science classroom. Applications are excellent tools of all subject areas. In those areas, set the expectations of the faculty that technology will be one of the integral components of their educational experience. Students and parents not only want it, they expect it. And when we don’t ever use it as part of the classroom learning experience, THAT gets noticed. Why would we not use it? How could we not use it? As teachers we lose credibility with an inability, or worse a resistance to , the commanding use of technology in the classroom. For so many reasons, this is crucial. Teachers in all subject areas, at all grade levels, must use technology in a variety of ways, in transparent ways, throughout the day, throughout the year.

When this happens, it finally allows us to provide time and place for Computer Science education. What has traditionally been a Computer Science “responsibility” is finally handled elsewhere (and hence enhancing the development of USERS)—and that allows us to direct our efforts on building CREATORS.

Ahhh…..yes…..then we can commit to offering Computer Science as a required course as important in your curriculum as a math or science or language course. Define what Computer Science looks like at your school. Offer it. Require it. Encourage it.

But do not have students choose to do this in place of something else.

In fact, that is opposite of what we need. We need those students who love history to also think like Computer Scientists, so they can go into the world with a passion for History, but also with a new set of tools which let them develop new tools. So, yes, it is time we add a CORE discipline to the standard set of CORE classes that have defined our educational system for decades. Yes, we will have to make room for it. Yes, education is going to have to change. Yes it is also time to look at the daily schedule. Yes, it is also time to look at graduation requirements. Yes, it is time to look at what we are teaching. Yes, it is also time to look at 2 ½ month summer breaks. Yes, it is also time to look at the standard 8:00-3:00 schedule. Yes, it is time to look at what we are evaluating. Yes, it is time to look at how we are evaluating. Yes, it is time to look at how/why we use standardized tests.

Yes, it is time. Yes, it is time. Yes, it is time.

And perhaps those same technologies which have been at the center of so many issues can also be the tools through which we can solve these problems. Maybe there is even a Computer Science solution to how we do this? I imagine there is. Perhaps students who have been through a new type of school will be the one who help use change our educational world.

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Computer Science, as a tool of CREATION, is crucial to society, to economy, to innovation, and to business. But, it is different than other disciplines. Much like math is fundamental to other disciplines and language is part the backbone of other disciplines, so is Computer Science. Recognize that. What industry is not overwhelmingly dependent upon digital hardware and software?! Just as nails and hammers and wood are fundamental building blocks for construction, Computer Science is a building block for “digital construction”. But the Computer Science discipline differs from others in that it is constantly changing. New technologies, even completely new breakthroughs, develop frequently which force us to reconsider how we approach our thinking in this area. Whereas a French class has only 1 language to teach and those constructs and grammar are relatively constant, Computer Science has literally hundreds of languages and development environments that are all important in different scenarios. Some languages will appeal to a specific industry or type of problem or project because of the nature of the language itself. There is no way to say that one language or environment is “better” than another, in same way that we cannot say that one novel is “better” than another. But, just as in English class we study many novel s and types of writing to give students a broad exposure to the type of writing that is possible, Computer Science does the same thing. For the school that is inspired to bring Computer Science into their curriculum, that is encouraging because it allows the passions of your faculty to lead the way. If game design is what you want to focus on, excellent. Love robots? Lots of choices there are well. Love the engineering approach? Arduino is there for you! Need something small and cheap? Raspberry Pi to the rescue. Love iPhones and iPads? Develop software and apps. Love to tinker? Taking apart and rebuilding old computers is a blast and a great way to learn about “under the hood”. Android users can develop apps for their tablets and phones. Even Blackberry phones users can develop apps. Web surfer? Lots of tools to develop for websites and web apps.

I have not even given you the coup d’état……
most of the tools for Computer Science are FREE, tons of free tutorials online, tons of resources, tons of groups to join for collaboration. Almost seems like it does not make sense, huh?! A discipline which is direly needed in our schools. Materials, resources, people, software, even some hardware—all free. And people wanting to help. Companies like Microsoft and Google even offer their employees to come into schools to help get them started. Why are we not doing this?

But, I’ll also add a twist to this way of thinking….I suggest that the world is better suited if we develop a new breed of graduate: students who have a broad range of educational experiences in a variety of subjects, who do specialize in an area of their passion, but who have a Computer Science minor behind it. That gives them access to a set of tools, a way of thinking, that allow them to develop new types of solutions, new design ideas, new types of solutions in whatever industry they choose.

Colleges and Universities can require minors, or emphasis tracks that gives those students an experience in a variety of technologies, languages, and with a variety of hardware devices , so that they can know what is possible. It is crucial that they have a variety of experiences in programming in a variety of languages, taking apart different types of devices, creating apps, developing desktop software, writing web-based scripts, and programming device specific software, such as a robot or Arduino or Raspberry-Pi.

High schools can prepare students to know what Computer Science really is. And instead of giving it an elective status (communicating that is not required), let it be one of the requirements for graduation. And I do not mean one class during the spring of their senior year. I mean in the 9th grade, Computer Science is required. Then follow that up in the next 3 years with more Computer Science. This can be done on the shoulders of a Computer Science education starting in elementary school and continuing through the middle school.

The new Digital Divide is something which is starting to get the attention of leaders across the United States. This year’s Hour of Code was embraced by millions of people across the country, and was even endorsed by our president. Organizations such as Code.org are bringing Computer Science(or rather lack of Computer Science) to the forefront of the educational discussion. The traditional Digital Divide was focused on having vs. not having technology; the new Digital Divide boils down to whether we know Computer Science or not.

It’s an important question and an even better discussion. One that we cannot wait to have. Other countries are having the discussion and changing the way they do business. Did you ever stop to think why some companies have to go overseas for customer support ? We all assume it is to save money….but perhaps it is in part because they cannot find enough qualified people in our own country. What is at stake for any country that does not embrace Computer Science is losing the edge in innovation, research, and business………..and ultimately respect.

There are new ways forward in education. If something I said resonates with you, we should connect.

Subtitle: Microsoft in Education Global Forum

What happens when you put 250 educators from around the world in one place for 4 days?

Borders break down, politics don’t matter, despite the Law of the Conservation of Energy,–energy is in fact created, differences are embraced, cultural differences are cherished and discovered—and even sought out. Ideas are shared. Collaboration happens. Friendships are made. Relationships are built. Connections are made. You can see the bar rising. You can feel education literally getting better right in front of your eyes. The world became both a bigger and smaller place all at the same time.

What was the Microsoft in Education Global Forum?

For 2 days, teachers present their project to fellow educators, judges, friends, political leaders, and educational leaders. I gave my “3 minute pitch” on the airplane, in the airport, in the hotel, in line at the store, in the conference center, at lunch and dinner, and of course to my judges. I think I gave it a couple times in the hotel lobby as well, and probably on the elevator. You see, the people there were passionate about what they did, excited and qualified to be there, and take every chance to make a connection and share an idea- to get to know a fellow educator.

Ever been in a crowd where you really wanted to meet someone? Now, imagine that room is full of people who all think like you, believe what you believe, and have the same vision as you. We had the best first line. “Hi I am Doug from the United States. I’d love to hear about what you are doing”. And any person there was so excited to be able to give you their pitch. And I equally as excite to hear it, and figure out how I can bring some of their energy and ideas back with me . I remember we were right in the middle of breaking down our tables, judging was over, people were leaving to get ready for dinner, and I was still “presenting” to people who came by my table. I think eventually, they kicked us out because they were closing the room. I noticed that there was a large number of people who also were doing the same thing as I was. Sorry, we just couldn’t stop. No apology was necessary.

But, it’s just another conference right?

Wrong.

First, it was a tremendous honor to be there. Only 250 educators were selected out of over 22000 applications. I am not saying that to boast, but more so to qualify the people who were there. This group of people is the inaugural Expert Educators Class of 2014. What that means is that you are meeting some of the most innovative teachers from around the world. Each of us spending 10-20 hours on our applications and making it through a rigorous judging process just to be here. One of my friends, David Renton, was the only representative from Scotland; he WAS Team Scotland. What a tremendous honor for him! And a pleasure to meet him and see the great things happen there!

Yes there was an element of winning, but what is interesting, there was not necessarily an element of losing, at least in the group I was with. And that is rare. Because I met so many people from all over, all doing amazing things with their students in the classroom, it was very likely that someone you knew would be recognized with some type of award. And when you heard any name that you knew, you rushed over for a photo and a high five because you wanted to share that joy with your new friends- and they wanted to share that with their new friends. While I did not win an award, I still won.

We had 2 days to share our ideas, explore other ideas, talk, and meet new people. Most conferences, such as ISTE, while there are some great people there, are centered on the idea of 1 directional presentations. Those conferences do have value, and I do enjoy them, but they are a different type of experience. You are more likely to get some good resources, rather than make real connections.

So, what exactly is this “conference”? Well, the idea of getting innovative global educators together in a forum such as this has been something that Microsoft has been doing for many years. They don’t advertise this; they don’t get much credit in the media for doing it; yet they do it anyway. Each year, the location is different: South Africa, Washington DC, Barcelona, Prague. In some years, there were similar events held at regional events (i.e. just for Europe or Middle East-Africa and these award winners from those events would be invited to the international forum). But each year, hundreds of educators and school leaders from around the world are invited to come to the forum, sponsored by Microsoft Education.

When most people think about Microsoft, they think “Word”, “PowerPoint”, “Windows”, “SQL”, “Xbox” and certainly those are great tools and products, but that is not the side of Microsoft that puts together this event; welcome to Microsoft Education: Partners in Learning, an arm of Microsoft dedicated to providing resources, software, networking, and partnerships to any and all schools and educators around the world. I am sure in the back of some minds, there is a hope that by supporting and sponsoring and leading events like this, there will be recognition for Microsoft, which indirectly can affect their commercial side, but in truth…this side of Microsoft is spending more than it makes. Events like this, put on in a world class fashion, bringing together people from over 90 countries costs money, (wo)man-power, energy, effort, attention, time, and commitment. Last year, Microsoft announced it was infusing 750 million dollars into promoting efforts such as this. Why would they do that? To support and promote innovative teaching and teachers; to show the world that there is another way to “do” education; that those innovative ways are not only working—they are changing the educational landscape as we know it. And it is not just going to take a village—it is going to take the whole world to change the world.

School systems around the world must be embraced/owned/led by the people, not government. It is important that the people of the world take ownership of bringing education into the 21st Century. The days of rote lectures, random note taking, multiple choice tests, doing the questions at the end of the chapter, and standardized tests must start to become the old ways, outdated in pedagogy. The students of today, in order to be problem solvers and leaders for the current and future generations, need a different style of learning environment. The world around them is interactive and dynamic, why cannot their learning also be vibrant and alive? With the advances we’ve made in science, understandings and discoveries in history, computations in math, the ability for us to communicate instantly and widely on an international level, and analysis of data like we’ve never been able to before–our education systems have the potential of being as dynamic as that world outside of school campus–yet many of our schools remain stuck in 1950-style of content delivery with students passively sitting in chairs, missing most of what comes at them. Is that the best we can do? Hence the need for this conference. People now are able to write their own software, build their own devices, and command those devices to solve problems–we can literally design our own tools to solve the problems that we do not even know exist yet. Think about it, how many digital devices do you have in your own life right now? 10 ? 20?

The world around us is different than it was even 20 years ago. No longer is life one directional. Life has become interactive. We are longer able to sit on the sidelines and watch the world go by. We can communicate, problem solve, play, learn, read, study, participate interactively—and not just with those we know, with anyone in the world who wants the same thing. It is because of that world, that it is crucial that the people of the world change the way we educate. All across the world, our governments have grown so large and the world has become so complex, that it is no longer practical that our governments lead the way in education. Top down policies and laws that helped us find our way over the last 50 years do not make as much sense anymore. The role of our governmental leaders, still incredibly valuable, will transform into support roles helping cities, states, and countries accomplish the goals that are being defined by the people in the schools.
The only way for “education” to work is if it is from the ground up. Teachers, schools, districts, parents, and students must take ownership. The companies that are going to hire these students must communicate the qualities that they need. School is preparation for life that we are going into. We have to be careful that schools are not preparing students for life as it once was. If our students are going through school memorizing vocabulary, formulas, and dates…and then regurgitating that back to us every 2 weeks on a content-heavy test, and then taking a 3 hours scantron exam at the end of the class, then we are failing at our jobs.

That is why conferences such as this one are not only valuable, but crucial. We cannot wait for our political leaders to raise the bar of education…it’s not their job…that is the responsibility of the people..us…you and me…and him…and her…and that guy…and this lady…and that school…and that district…..

There is a different way forward in education. If something I said makes sense to you…we should connect. Find me.