The Demise of Public School Education - Classroom 2.02024-03-28T13:44:13Zhttps://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/the-demise-of-public-school?commentId=649749%3AComment%3A342120&feed=yes&xn_auth=noNancy, I have made Flash prog…tag:www.classroom20.com,2009-05-15:649749:Comment:3424382009-05-15T21:53:05.649ZAnne Pembertonhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/AnnePemberton
Nancy, I have made Flash programs, games, and quizzes. I have just gotten the new Flash for a 30 day trial, and look forward to doing some of what Flash can do more easily. I can also use JavaScript which makes some nice interactive pages. But, to be honest, the most frequently used on my website are the Famous Americans pages with pictures, summaries, and links to more information on something close to 200 people. Those pages are pretty plain, but I do try to put more than one picture of the…
Nancy, I have made Flash programs, games, and quizzes. I have just gotten the new Flash for a 30 day trial, and look forward to doing some of what Flash can do more easily. I can also use JavaScript which makes some nice interactive pages. But, to be honest, the most frequently used on my website are the Famous Americans pages with pictures, summaries, and links to more information on something close to 200 people. Those pages are pretty plain, but I do try to put more than one picture of the person, and keep the summary simple enough for the younger grades. The older kids can get more informaiton on the links. Next in popularity and use are the personalized stories in which the child's name is inserted (via JavaScript) into a story, and they have an adventure with someone in history, like joining George Washington at the battle of Trenton. Putting the child's name into the story seems to draw them in and help concentration. I designed them originally for my autistic nephew, and then a bunch of grandmothers wanted them to print and use as gifts for the grandkiddies.<br />
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Anyway, it is all a fun way to spend one's retirement. It isn't for everyone, but if you are aleady somewhat into technology, and don't want to give up the opportunity to educate, even from a distance, you can do it. Good luck, I just think when…tag:www.classroom20.com,2009-05-15:649749:Comment:3424312009-05-15T21:37:48.063ZNancy Boschhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/nbosch
Good luck, I just think when one tries to compete with the flash and dash of video games kids are not going to be interested in looking at a list of links and answering a question (which is what some see as online learning). I'd think you'd need some of the quality of the <a href="http://averyoldplace.blogspot.com/2009/01/do-history.html">Dohistory</a> project or some other phenomenally rich sites using java, flash, whatever. I certainly don't have those skills.<br />
<br />
Homeschoolers would definately…
Good luck, I just think when one tries to compete with the flash and dash of video games kids are not going to be interested in looking at a list of links and answering a question (which is what some see as online learning). I'd think you'd need some of the quality of the <a href="http://averyoldplace.blogspot.com/2009/01/do-history.html">Dohistory</a> project or some other phenomenally rich sites using java, flash, whatever. I certainly don't have those skills.<br />
<br />
Homeschoolers would definately be a huge market for any good online opportunities. I appreciate your desire to do something productive, I'll retire in a year or two--I wonder what that will look like for me. Nancy,
I'm not one to put my…tag:www.classroom20.com,2009-05-15:649749:Comment:3423852009-05-15T19:04:58.747ZAnne Pembertonhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/AnnePemberton
Nancy,<br />
<br />
I'm not one to put my mouth where I won't put my money. I've been doing the ES website for some five years now, since I retired. I got a few bucks last year when there was some interest in putting ads on the site. No interest this year, but it could be the recession.<br />
<br />
We've added a moodle to the website, along with a drupal forum (which has not caught on yet). I hope to add some mini-courses, aimed at elementary and middle school by September. I will be taking Tammy Moore's class on…
Nancy,<br />
<br />
I'm not one to put my mouth where I won't put my money. I've been doing the ES website for some five years now, since I retired. I got a few bucks last year when there was some interest in putting ads on the site. No interest this year, but it could be the recession.<br />
<br />
We've added a moodle to the website, along with a drupal forum (which has not caught on yet). I hope to add some mini-courses, aimed at elementary and middle school by September. I will be taking Tammy Moore's class on using Moodle to address the wide variety of learning styles. She does it, free for donationa, for homeschoolers. So, I'm headed in that directions, not expecting to make any money at it, but just for the sheer pleasure of continuing to pioneer in education on the Internet.<br />
<br />
I am hoping to draw in some "experts" in various subjects, to get their input, and maybe their involvement. I am forever the optimist! Anne, The point is well taken…tag:www.classroom20.com,2009-05-15:649749:Comment:3423702009-05-15T18:03:46.399ZNancy Boschhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/nbosch
Anne, The point is well taken about copyright and intellectual property (from Indigo)when it comes to writing stuff for your school district. A school district would NEVER give you enough time to write good curriculum ON the clock and NEVER pay you enough to do it OFF the clock. Whatever you pieced together would be theirs not yours. Then there is the problem with scope and sequence (is that a dead term?) How would you know where to start and stop, ah you would collaborate with others??? Yikes…
Anne, The point is well taken about copyright and intellectual property (from Indigo)when it comes to writing stuff for your school district. A school district would NEVER give you enough time to write good curriculum ON the clock and NEVER pay you enough to do it OFF the clock. Whatever you pieced together would be theirs not yours. Then there is the problem with scope and sequence (is that a dead term?) How would you know where to start and stop, ah you would collaborate with others??? Yikes when would you do that?<br />
<br />
What you want, it sounds like, is enrichment (or remediation) for individual students on topics of their interest. It sounds like a great idea and I've actually given it a lot of thought but you will never make money doing it and most people don't have the time of the technology skills to do an online class which may benefit only a few students each week.<br />
<br />
I gave serious thought at one time of doing an online school for gifted kids K-8, years ago there was one in Australia that charged $350.00 AU for each course. Basically school districts could buy it to provide enrichment (and put teachers out of work) or parents could purchase courses in the summer for their kids to do instead on DS or Nintendo. Topics could literally include anything, Civil War, Dinosaurs, Art History, whatever---BUT it would take hundreds of hours to write good units that could be done independently and were self directed and advance technology skills to include interactive capabilities like video, messaging or chat, uploading etc. I'm getting old, I didn't want to work that hard!!! I know your heart is in the right place but realistically IMHO, it ain't gonna happen. Nancy,
That is why I advocat…tag:www.classroom20.com,2009-05-15:649749:Comment:3423522009-05-15T16:40:04.098ZAnne Pembertonhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/AnnePemberton
Nancy,<br />
<br />
That is why I advocate having specialists and experts, perhaps in conjuction with tech specialists, develop the courses, probably mini-courses, that can be intersperced with other mini-courses or f2f sessions, to develop the next level of instructional technology. The tech person, perhaps a generalist teacher, could do the work of making the course equally useful for the widest types of students, but the subject expert needs to direct the subject content.<br />
<br />
It is probably not a good idea…
Nancy,<br />
<br />
That is why I advocate having specialists and experts, perhaps in conjuction with tech specialists, develop the courses, probably mini-courses, that can be intersperced with other mini-courses or f2f sessions, to develop the next level of instructional technology. The tech person, perhaps a generalist teacher, could do the work of making the course equally useful for the widest types of students, but the subject expert needs to direct the subject content.<br />
<br />
It is probably not a good idea for all teachers to develop their courses into technology format. Just some, who are very good at it, and prouce stuff that can be used by other teachers. As for having the students create technology projects and products, I think many more teachers should more toward having students do that. But again, as you say, if the instruction is FOG, you will get FOG for products.<br />
<br />
Anne Agree with what you are sayin…tag:www.classroom20.com,2009-05-15:649749:Comment:3423202009-05-15T14:57:49.717ZNancy Boschhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/nbosch
Agree with what you are saying but what I see here and from some edubloggers is the touting of the tool that is 'the next best thing' without mention of content, thinking, learning, reflecting, teaching, discussing etc. Machines are only as smart as the people who use them. I heard Carol Tomlinson say once in regards to meeting the needs in the classroom for all learners "You can't differentiate FOG". That's how I feel about technology--if the content is not real, relavent and rich with…
Agree with what you are saying but what I see here and from some edubloggers is the touting of the tool that is 'the next best thing' without mention of content, thinking, learning, reflecting, teaching, discussing etc. Machines are only as smart as the people who use them. I heard Carol Tomlinson say once in regards to meeting the needs in the classroom for all learners "You can't differentiate FOG". That's how I feel about technology--if the content is not real, relavent and rich with authentic learning going on then it doesn't matter how much you mash it, twitter it, d/l it, or mix it it's still FOG. Nancy,
I agree that technolo…tag:www.classroom20.com,2009-05-15:649749:Comment:3423032009-05-15T14:15:00.135ZGary Latmanhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/GaryLatman
Nancy,<br />
<br />
I agree that technology is "just a tool not a magic bullet", but integrating technology (not just using it), balanced by excellent knowledge of content and the ability to transfer that knowledge to the students, along with excellent classroom management, and technology becomes the magic bullet. It certainly is the hook to grab this generation's attention.<br />
<br />
I remember when we began using videos to augment our lessons. But these were often not used as part of the instruction; they became…
Nancy,<br />
<br />
I agree that technology is "just a tool not a magic bullet", but integrating technology (not just using it), balanced by excellent knowledge of content and the ability to transfer that knowledge to the students, along with excellent classroom management, and technology becomes the magic bullet. It certainly is the hook to grab this generation's attention.<br />
<br />
I remember when we began using videos to augment our lessons. But these were often not used as part of the instruction; they became rewards or an alternative way of presenting information for the reluctant and lazy student. Too often, the entire period was given over to "watching the movie" without any interaction between students and students and students and instructor. When used to assist the visual learner and generate discussion, it was a successful tool.<br />
<br />
The computer and its numerous applications and web sites present an opportunity to engage today's learners on very many levels, but I find very little dialogue and/or professional development within each school about "best educational practices" for the use of technology. We've already spent billions of dollars wiring our schools and adding the hardware to our budgets, but why do we pre-suppose that every instructor knows how to drive it in the fast lane. Even newbies coming into the field are not adequately trained. By common culture I don't mea…tag:www.classroom20.com,2009-05-15:649749:Comment:3422932009-05-15T13:41:13.892ZKevhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/Kev
By common culture I don't mean to imply WASP culture. That is, in fact, the problem. So many people today assume that common culture is a racist, bigoted idea when in reality it has everything to do with class and nothing to do with race. I simply mean an agreed upon set of general cultural values.<br />
<br />
I mean things like:<br />
-Education is a good thing for everyone<br />
-Respect is earned through behavior, not violence<br />
-Family matters<br />
-Politeness should be assumed, not earned<br />
<br />
These don't have to be racial…
By common culture I don't mean to imply WASP culture. That is, in fact, the problem. So many people today assume that common culture is a racist, bigoted idea when in reality it has everything to do with class and nothing to do with race. I simply mean an agreed upon set of general cultural values.<br />
<br />
I mean things like:<br />
-Education is a good thing for everyone<br />
-Respect is earned through behavior, not violence<br />
-Family matters<br />
-Politeness should be assumed, not earned<br />
<br />
These don't have to be racial issues and shouldn't be. If you look at what the Charter schools in Harlem are doing with rebuilding culture it is quite incredible. There was a fantastic article in the LA Times just a few days ago documenting their gains.<br />
<br />
So, to answer your question more directly. I'd say the loss of culture began to spike roughly 20 years ago and has exploded in the last 10. I'm fairly sure that will be the lasting legacy of my generation and it is nothing I'm very proud of. Nancy,
Sadly it is true that…tag:www.classroom20.com,2009-05-15:649749:Comment:3421252009-05-15T01:16:45.541ZAnne Pembertonhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/AnnePemberton
Nancy,<br />
<br />
Sadly it is true that there is money to be made in education for everyone but teachers!<br />
<br />
I just put the link to Exploring Leonardo DaVinci in a few places on my FREE website. Like you, I offer it to anyone who wants it. I offered it once to the district I was working on, but when they found out how large it was already (it was only a year old, much smaller than now), they decided they couldn't afford to host it.
Nancy,<br />
<br />
Sadly it is true that there is money to be made in education for everyone but teachers!<br />
<br />
I just put the link to Exploring Leonardo DaVinci in a few places on my FREE website. Like you, I offer it to anyone who wants it. I offered it once to the district I was working on, but when they found out how large it was already (it was only a year old, much smaller than now), they decided they couldn't afford to host it. I simply want to echo this se…tag:www.classroom20.com,2009-05-15:649749:Comment:3421202009-05-15T01:16:11.007ZAndrewhttps://www.classroom20.com/profile/berkshirecat
I simply want to echo this sentiment: The teacher is no longer the center of the classroom, the owner<br />
of information. How do we evolve within our Public System? That's what I'm interested in exploring.
I simply want to echo this sentiment: The teacher is no longer the center of the classroom, the owner<br />
of information. How do we evolve within our Public System? That's what I'm interested in exploring.