Blessing in disguise

The Gods have two ways of dealing harshly with us – the first is to deny us our dreams,
and the second is to grant them. Oscar Wilde

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With no small degree of amusement I read Patrick Welsh's editorial in the washingtonpost.com - A School That's Too High on Gizmo (Sun, Feb 10, 2008). Schaudenfruede, I believe the experience is called.

Welsh complains that teacher morale in his high school in Alexandria, VA, "is the lowest and cynicism the highest" he has seen. Why? There has been a top-down implementation of new technologies like fixed LCD projectors, hand-held devices to use with the the LCDs and school-issued student laptops. (All stuff many, even most, of my teachers would kill to have.)

Welsh's teachers seem to be expected to use this equipment for instruction whether it fit their teaching styles or not. It doesn't sound like teachers were given a voice in the selection or implementation of the technology. Looks like a lot of one-size-fits all kind of thinking. Or as my dad would've said, "These are people with more money than sense." It seems to me the teachers have a right to complain.

It's unlikely such an article would be written by one of my disrict's teachers. But that's less to do with my magnificent leadership and planning skills and more to do with our schools' finances. Our district rarely has the funds to implement any technology in one swell foop. And that is probably a blessing in disguise. Teacher computers, interactive whiteboards, mounted LCD projectors, audio enhancements systems, portable labs and classroom mini-labs have all been phased-in over time. Teachers need to submit thoughtful proposals to obtain most of this equipment and it is on the basis of these proposals that we usually determine who gets the gizmos first. (An early example is here.)

Hmmm, giving tech to teachers who actually want it - what a concept!

Now we do have some technology requirements of all teachers. Everyone is expected to:

• Take attendance and lunch count online.
• Submit grades online and keep them up-to-date and accessible to parents via the web.
  
• Complete electronic progress reports, report cards and IEP forms.
• Read bulletins and announcements sent via email.
• Have a basic online presence with contact information for parents.

Pretty basic, managerial kinds of things - nothing that would dictate how or what teachers teach.

There is, however, an interesting discussion going on - should all teachers be required to teach an identified set of information and technology literacy skills in their classes at the secondary level. Doing so, I expect, would necessitate teachers also using the technology as well. The other discussion we continue to have is what constitutes a minimum web presence. Is just contact information enough or should teachers be required to make other information available as well - classroom support materials, forms, etc.? So we will also be askeing whether teachers can opt out of using  classroom voice enhancement systems that seem to be helping a lot of kids hear and understand verbal instruction?

Nobody much likes being told what to do. No teacher likes his/her professionalism questioned. But nobody wants to see our students not get the IT/IL skills they need to survive because teachers opt out of teaching them. And all parents who wish to be partners in their children's educational experience ought to have the right to access the materials that will help them be effective partners. And it seems the use of audio enhancement systems is a no-brainer - at least to me. (To date we have few of these and they've all been requested by teachers.)

Where's the balance? What should be optional and what should be required? How does your school keep from being "too high on gizmos"?

Beginning Rubric 1 - Basic Computer Operation

This a continuation of the 2008 revision of the CODE77 rubrics - Basic level. An introduction is here.

I.     Basic computer operation (1994)

Level 1     I do not use a computer.
Level 2    I can use the computer to run a few specific, preloaded programs. It has little effect on either my work or home life. I am somewhat anxious I might damage the machine or its programs.
Level 3    I can set-up my computer and peripheral devices, load software, print, and use most of the operating system tools like the scrapbook, clock, note pad, find command, and trash can (recycling bin). I can format a data disk.
Level 4    I can run two programs simultaneously, and have several windows open at the same time. I can customize the look and sounds of my computer. I use techniques like shift-clicking to work with multiple files. I look for programs and techniques to maximize my operating system. I feel confident enough to teach others some basic operations.

I. Basic computer operation (NETS I.A., I.B.) (2002)

Level 1   I do not use a computer.
Level 2   I know the basic operations of using a mouse, clicking, and working with windows. I can use the computer to open, run and close a few specific, preloaded programs. Computer use has little effect on how I work. I am somewhat anxious I might damage the machine or its programs.
Level 3    I can set-up my computer and peripheral devices, load software, print, and use most of the operating system tools like the clipboard, clock, note pad, find command, and trash can (recycling bin). I can format a data disk, connect to my school’s network, and run programs that require a CD. I have a virus protection program that scans my files on a regular basis.
Level 4    I can run several programs simultaneously, and have multiple windows open at the same time. I can customize the look and sounds of my computer. I use techniques like shift-clicking to work with multiple files. I look for programs and techniques such as using virtual memory to maximize my computer system. I feel confident enough to teach others some basic operations.

I. Basic computer operation (NETS ? ) (2008)

Level 1    I do not use a computer.
Level 2    I know the basic operations of using a mouse and trackpad, clicking, and working with a windows-type interface. I can use the computer to open, run and close a few specific, preloaded programs. Computer use has little effect on how I work. I am somewhat anxious I might damage the machine or its programs.
Level 3    I can set-up my computer and peripheral devices, load software, print, and use most of the operating system tools like the clipboard, clock, note pad, find command, and trash can (recycling bin). I can format a data disk, connect to my school’s network and access programs and resources on the network. and run programs that require a CD. I have a virus protection program that scans my files on a regular basis. I can identify the type and version of operating system my computer uses. I can put my computer in a sleep mode for energy conservation.
Level 4    I can run several programs simultaneously, and have multiple windows open at the same time. I can customize the look and sounds of my computer. I use techniques like shift-clicking to work with multiple files and right-clicking to access contextual menus. I look for programs and techniques such as using virtual memory to maximize my computer system. I feel confident enough to teach others some basic operations.

Other "basic" computer operations? Next up: File Management 

CODE77 rubrics 2008

One of the most interesting and perhaps important questions I have been trying to answer for the past 15 years or so is -

What should a "technologically-literate" teacher know and be able to do?

I always believed it was patently unfair to ask teachers to become "computer-literate" and then not be able to describe what that means in fairly specific terms. Since I was one the people advocating for computer literate teachers back in the early 90s, I wrote a set of rubrics for our district - the Beginning CODE 77 rubrics. These later became the backbone for my book, The Indispensable Teacher's Guide to Computer Skills published in 1998. I also wrote two additional sets of rubrics - Internet rubrics and advanced rubrics in the mid 90s.

I revised all these rubrics in 2002 to bring them into alignment with the ISTE NETS for Teachers standards and to reflect changes in technology at that time. I also added a set of leadership rubrics for the second edition of The Indispensable Teacher's Guide in 2002.

Guess what? The 2002 rubrics are looking pretty dusty. I used them in a workshop last month and asked participants what things teachers now need to know about and be able to do that weren't reflected in the 2002 rubrics. Here is just a partial list: 

• Interactive white boards
• Audio systems
• Podcasting
• Web 2.0 - wikis, blogs, social networking, RSS, media sharing
• Safety
• Video streaming - online content
• Graphic tools for planning and brain storming
• Webquests
• Online learning environments
• Distance learning
• Virtual worlds

So, over the next few weeks (or months - whatever), I am going to be using the Blue Skunk to get feedback on an updated set of CODE 77 rubrics. I will be looking at just one rubric at a time, beginning with each of the beginning rubrics then moving to the Internet rubrics, advanced rubrics and leadership rubrics. I'll categorize each entry as CODE77 and rubrics. We'll also discuss whether some additional rubrics need to be added or if some can be dropped.

I have defined each set as follows:

Beginning: These rubrics primarily address professional productivity. They are the foundation on which more complex technology and technology-related professional skills are built. Teachers who have mastered these skills are able to use the computer to improve their traditional instructional tasks such as writing, record-keeping, designing student materials, and presenting lessons. These skills also build the confidence teachers need to use technology to restructure the educational process.

Advanced: These rubrics below are designed to help teachers move to a second (and final?) level of professional computer use. Rather than the computer simply being a tool which allows a common task to be done more efficiently, these skills fundamentally change how instruction is delivered, how student performance is measured, and how teachers view themselves as professionals. The technology is used to actually restructure the educational process to allow it to do things it has never been able to do before.  

Internet: These rubrics focus on using the Internet skillfully and purposely for educational purposes.

Leadership:  These rubrics are designed to help superintendents, principals and directors determine how well they use technology to improve administrative effectiveness through efficient communication, planning, and record keeping.

Looking forward to reading your ideas for improvements.