Avoiding the "I-Know-Better-Than-You-Do" Syndrome

Leadership is getting someone to do what they don't want to do, to achieve what they want to achieve. Tom Landry 

I don't always make popular decisions nor try to steer our district down the path of least resistance. Two moves which have drawn some heat this year have been:

• Supplying classroom teachers with desktop computers (without a DVD drive) and a tablet instead of giving them the option of having a laptop.
• Not installing Microsoft Office by default on any new computer and not upgrading Office to its latest version.

These choices were made (in collaboration with our district tech advisory committee) in the best long-term interest of students.  Lower TOC of desktops allows us to redirect tech dollars for additional wireless access. Giving teachers iPads will allow them to practice using devices which will be generally used by students. Moving away from Office and asking teachers to use GoogleDocs eliminates the need for students attaching work to e-mails or needing flashdrives for file transport; allows access to work anywhere at anytime; eliminates the need for families to have Office on home computers; and increases the opportunities for collaboration.

The reality is that we have enough to do to without making change just for the sake of change.

Some teachers have not been happy with these changes. Not having a laptop to take home has been the biggest complaint. Having to check out a DVD drive is inconvenient. Having to reformat Word documents in GoogleDocs has been problematic for some - and GoogleDocs has a couple formatting features (columns, for one) that some teachers miss.

This spring we will survey teachers about the impact of these changes - and reconsider if necessary. While I believe staying the course is right for our district and its students, I am also leery of contracting the "I-Know-Better-Than-You-Do" syndrome. May I never get so full of myself that I stop listening to those who are impacted by my choices.

So, dear readers, how do you maintain a balance of both vision and humility?

BFTP: Learning from the grandsons

A weekend Blue Skunk "feature" will be a revision of an old post. I'm calling this BFTP: Blast from the Past.  Original post November 30, 2008. I'll miss seeing the Roberts grandsons this Thanksgiving, but I will have the opportunity to learn from the Doth and Stratton grandchildren. This is a selfish reposting, but grandchildren continue to teach this old dog new tricks now and then.

The red hat with earflaps - the fashion acorn doesn't fall far from the tree.

After a busy but enjoyable four-day weekend, it's tough getting back in the blogging spirit. The LWW and I have fed the masses (27) on Thanksgiving, had a great visit with my mom, sister, brother and his family, and enjoyed the longer stay of my daughter, son-in-law, and grandsons. And now it's just a quiet, snowy Sunday. Almost too quiet.

I am always astounded by the degree to which my grandsons, ages seven and three, are little mass-media tech-heads. This despite their parents being genuinely cautious about how much access the boys have to the computer, video games, and television. They can't seem to NOT be Net Genners from whom I always learn a good deal...

• Part of the appeal of coming to this grandpa and grandma's house (beside the sugared cereal) is permission to play the Captain Underpants games on the Dave Pilkey website. Who knew?
• One distinction between Boba Fett and Jango Fett from Star Wars is that one has two pistols and the other only has one. This but a scintilla of the encyclopedic information that both the seven-year-old and three-year-old have about the Star Wars mythos. I hope some day they will learn their world history as well.
• There are 414 different products that appear in the Amazon toy area when the term "lego star wars" is searched. The boys are still missing one or two, it seems. And I thought reviewing these offerings would be an easy way to get Christmas gift ideas.
• Grandpa's iPod was a hit. The battery doesn't last as long in the hands of kids. As the LWW observed, the iPod is the computer that today's kids will always want.
• Not having a DVR (like Tivo) makes me an pitiable antique. "We have to watch commercials?"
• Despite being raised in an aggressively non-violent household (is that an oxymoron?), both boys delight in hand-held weaponry. Their uncle's old Nerf shooters are particularly prized. So many computer games involve blasting something, it isn't all that surprising. That along with the Y-chromosome.
• The movie Bolt was a much better movie than I expected and great fun in 3-D at the theater. Well, it was fun for five of us - the three-year-old refused to wear the glasses and watched it in fuzzy 2-D. Despite the ready availably of DVDs of lots of movies at home, going to the theater is still special. Must be the popcorn.
• Even my computer-loving grandsons delight in bookstores. And Grandpa is usually good for a couple of additions to the home library. The boys are voracious readers. Thank goodness.
• Why does McDonalds put video games in its playland areas? I don't mind the kids being too excited to eat wanting to go on the slides and such, but too excited wanting to play a Ronald McDonald video game? Super-size that chance at childhood obesity, please.
• Kids won't eat beets even when Grandpa fixes them.
• When Dad announced it was time to go home, the three-year-old started to cry. Kind of how I felt too.

A recent MacArthur sponsored report, Living and Learning with New Media: Summary of Findings from the Digital Youth Project, argues for youth access to online resources:

Many adults worry that children are wasting time online, texting, or playing video games. The researchers explain why youth find these activities compelling and important. The digital world is creating new opportunities for youth to grapple with social norms, explore interests, develop technical skills, and experiment with new forms of self-expression. These activities have captured teens’ attention because they provide avenues for extending social worlds, self-directed learning, and independence.

I believe balance is needed. I am very glad my grandsons are also involved in Scouts, swimming lessons, music, and other non-computerized activities. Very glad.

Raising children to be well-rounded, hard-working adults with a good value system has never been an easy job. Quite honestly, I don't envy my daughter and son-in-law this challenging task that seems more difficult today than ever. But my grandsons are delightful young men - smart, funny, and beautiful - so their parents must be doing something right.

Objectively speaking.

Our department's annual buying guide for parents

Hmmmm, Black Friday is just one week away here in the U.S. Actually less, since it seems many big box stores barely give employees time to digest their turkey dinners before opening their doors. The newspaper is full of ads and products like this one from Amazon are popping up all over the place. 

My worry when I see ads for products like these is that parents will purchase such devices for their kids, the kids will bring them to school only to discover that they will not meet their academic needs, parents will get upset with the technology department, and kids won't be happy. "You want kids to bring their own devices, but you didn't say which ones!"

So as a precaution and as an assist to gift purchasers, we will again send out the letter below to all households. Use it to create your own if you are a BYOD district....

Oh, please let me know what "specs" you'd like to have in student-owned devices.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

As the holiday season nears, gift buying will move into high gear for many of us. I am sure that some sort of technology device is on many of your children's wish lists. Products like the iPad Mini, the Microsoft Surface, various Android tablets like the Nexus and the Galaxy, and color e-book readers such as the Fire and the Nook along with netbooks, Chromebooks, and laptops are adding a lot choices (and confusion) to the low-cost computing market. Smartphones, both iPhones and Androids, are popular with many children and young adults and are surprisingly powerful.

We thought it might be helpful if we outlined some specifications of any device you might buy Mankato Area Public School students if you'd like them to use it to complete school work (and not just play Minecraft, watch YouTube, or send text messages.)

While we won't recommend specific models or even kinds of devices, I would encourage you to buy a piece of equipment that meets these requirements if it is to be used for most school work. Your child's device should have:

• an 802.11x wireless networking capability (the district provides filtered wireless access in all buildings to students)
• a virus protection program if purchasing a desktop or laptop computer
• a color screen with a resolution of a minimum of 1024 x 600
• an on screen or external keyboard or other means of entering text
• an audio out port for earbuds or headphones
• a minimum 4 hours of use from one battery charge
• a full functioning, recent web browser (Firefox, Explorer, Chrome, Safari) that will allow it to access GoogleApps for Education tools and documents, the Infinite Campus student portal, Moodle 2.0, the state of Minnesota's ELM content databases, and the Destiny library catalog along with other e-resources the district provides

You may wish to consider getting a device that has

• a camera that takes both still photos and video (front and rear cameras are most versatile)
• a microphone
• ability to run Flash (this is to view some online videos and animations until all sites convert to HTML5)
• machine-based productivity software (MicrosoftOffice, Open Office, iWork) for use when an Internet connection is not available
• the capacity to run graphing calculator software

Many smartphones, netbooks, tablets, or a full-sized laptops (new or used) can do the job.

You might wish to bring the above list into the store to inquire of the salespeople that the devices you are considering meet the requirements.

When writing a paper, solving a math problem, researching a topic or collaborating with fellow students, technology can help your child do his or her school work and develop good technology skills along the way - and maybe even text when the studies are done.

Please e-mail one of us if you have any questions.

Happy holidays,

Doug Johnson, Director of Media and Technology
Tracy 
Marti 
Jacob