So I’m thinking the March issue of Educational Leadership (due on their website soon) represents a not so insignificant marker in the continued deepening and broadening of the change conversation around these shifts and technologies. It’s not just the theme, “Literacy 2.0” but the quality of the articles and authors that are included. And, most importantly, it’s the level of understanding that most of the pieces display around the idea of living and learning in networks and communities online.
I feel privileged to have a piece in the collection, “Becoming Network-Wise,” (which is why I got the advance copies) especially so when the other authors include Jason Ohler (“Orchestrating the Media Collage”), John Palfrey (“Mastering Multitasking”), Michele Knobel (“Let’s Talk 2.0”), Howard Gardner (“The Best of Both Literacies”), James Paul Gee (“Welcome to Our Virtual Worlds”) and others. And there are articles on “The Importance of Deep Reading,” “Stepping Beyond Wikipedia,” and “Plagiarism in the Internet Age” as well. And I’m most happy with a piece titled “The Joy of Blogging” by my old friend and compatriot Ann Davis, with whom I did my first classroom collaboration almost six years ago now. It’s great to see her research in classroom blogging finally begin to see the light of a larger audience.
The small little problem, however, is that most of these articles will be inaccessible to a general audience. While Educational Leadership usually publishes full text of one of the pieces from each issue to it’s website, the full slate of articles will only be available in print. As far as I can tell, they never become fully available even in the archive (which appears to be down at the moment.) That, of course, is an ironic problem in a world where most of what we learn is a direct result of the transparency and accessibility of ideas.
Still, if educational leaders take the time to read this issue, if they really think about the ideas and experiences captured within it and consider deeply about the changes that are underfoot, the boulder will move a few more inches (if not feet) up the mountain. Make sure the leaders at your school are on the lookout for it.
This is a great observation. Should we all grab copies from our school libraries (if available) and put them in the snail mail boxes of our administrators?
Good point Brian…but even if they have it in hand, it is one of those things that they need to see in order for it to make an impact. We are making progress, but it is a slow battle…it is still seen as a “nice to have”, not an essential for learning.
My “early adapters” are getting tired fighting the good fight, only to be facing tremendous budget cuts, especially in the area of instructional technology. I am really trying not to get discouraged, because I know in the end, that it is best for kids to be able to access, communicate and understand ideas with technology resources.
It just seems like such an uphill battle….any models out there that are more successful…on the cheap?
Hi,
Do you know if isit possible to get the magazine from abroad?
Thanks,
Bibiana
Will- thanks for the heads up! I will definitely spread the word on and offline! I am impressed with the direction ASCD is going, and yours and the others voices will propel this conversation forward. If leaders do not understand the connections between literacy and technology, it limits the possibility and potential of changing classroom practice! Bravo!
I’m happy to remind that subscribing to the print version is not the only way to get at this article. The full text from this issue (once published and distributed) and most back issues of Educational Leadership can be accessed through online databases available through school, public, and/or academic libraries. If a library does not have access to a particular publication, they can always find a way to secure an article on your behalf. Feel free to ask a librarian for help.
While this type of access to information probably doesn’t meet the level of transparency you had in mind, it’s important to know that libraries can work to connect us to the information we need. Why not take advantage of a resource that’s already there and paid for?
Thanks for the ‘heads up’ on this article. Can’t wait to read it!
Great reminder, Martha. You’ll be happy to know that I reference the use of online databases in my essay. ;0)
Thanks for giving the heads up. I am looking forward to getting the issue in the mail (a little jealous that you have an advanced copy!).
Sounds like some great articles that I will surely pass on to my administrative colleagues and Central Office personnel.
I am sure that they will also be good to share with our staff.
You wrote a piece for this, right? Why not publish it online yourself, right here?
If you can’t because you signed away that right, then I guess think about that next time you write/sell for such a publication. 🙁
Seriously, there isn’t much we can do from our end — I can send a letter or get a subscription canceled, maybe. I read the things you publish online, and I click on ads and buy bloggers’ books when they’re interesting. I’m trying to support this.
As a sought-after author, you can insist that you retain publication rights so you can publish your work online. Are you willing to not have your work printed in Education Leadership so that you may see it published online, available more readily to a larger audience, even if it means less money?
Thanks for the comment, Dave. I think for me right now it’s all about being able to get these ideas out to people who may not be thinking of them. My audience here on my blog has a pretty good understanding of the shifts; the people in most administrative offices don’t. That’s the bargain I strike by giving up copyright to the magazine owners. And, btw, I was not paid for this piece.
In terms of moving the conversation to a more open-publishing environment, that’s underfoot in some ways already. I think we’ll get there at some point, not without a lot of pain and anger.
Thanks for your nice comments about the March issue of Educational Leadership! As one of the editors there, we’re hoping it’ll raise consciousness among educators that technology has fundamentally changed things. I think the issue will be helpful because it gives readers practical ways to get started and shows them how they can use technology in really meaningful ways in the classroom.
I wanted to clarify, though, a couple of issues you brought up, as well as address some points raised by people responding to your comment. Educational Leadership usually publishes the full text of two to three articles from each issue online. In the March issue, “Orchestrating the Media Collage†(by Jason Ohler), “Are Digital Media Changing Language?†(by Naomi S. Baron), and “Plagiarism in the Internet Age†(by Rebecca Moore Howard and Laura J. Davies) will be open to the public. The public will also have full access to three other articles that are running online; a review of Clay Shirky’s book, Here Comes Everybody; and all the March columns. Of course, members have access to all articles, both online and in print.
One person posting a comment wondered whether she could get the magazine from abroad. Yes, we mail print copies internationally–and of course people anywhere in the world can access the magazine online at http://www.ascd.org/el.
I appreciated Martha Rossi’s comment about accessing issues of EL through databases, as well as Brian Smith’s heartwarming comment about putting copies of the magazine in administrators’ mailboxes. Hey, when that’s not an option, you can always photocopy articles and put those in the mailboxes instead :-). Thanks again for the kudos!
Hey Amy,
Thanks so much for dropping by, Amy. Very cool to have you here. And I stand corrected on the number of articles made available via the website.
So, on the chance that you might be willing to share your thoughts, I’m wondering how Educational Leadership is thinking about the changing nature of print publications and sharing online. Would be interesting, I think, to hear about how you see your publication and others with similar models pushed by these shifts.
Thanks again for your comments.
We realize that the shift is, as they say, already shifting :-). Print publications are responding in several ways. As for El, we’ve knit the print publication more closely with online content, for one. Knowing that many members read EL online, we’ve added lots of links in the print edition, to online articles and to tools that readers might find useful there–such as rubrics, etc. So the division between the two spaces–print and online–is becoming increasingly porous for all of us in publishing. Also, readers increasingly want to engage actively with authors online. They want two-way conversations as opposed to soliloquies–so that has repercussions on organization blogs. Our EL authors now appear in the EL blog regularly, interacting with readers. And readers also want a human face–or voice–on content. That’s another change we see. We’ve begun podcasting some of our columns to fill that need. As for sharing articles, we see the importance of enabling the general public to access some of our content–and to pass articles on to others. We’ve got some things in the works right now focusing on just that–stay tuned! 🙂
I’ve been perusing EL for shareable resources for a decade or more and have noticed and uptick in the number of articles they make accessible to the “general public.” It seems to me that older articles sometimes get moved into the “public” category over time as well. EL and ASCD are more generous than many other organizations in this regard (Kappan, NSDC, NASSP, NMSA, etc).
For folks who can afford it, the $49 per yr. ASCD membership offers a lot of bang. I know it doesn’t resolve your core concern, but does offer opportunities for some spread at a reasonable cost.
A relevant piece I enjoyed in the Feb. issue of EL was Bill Ferriter’s piece on self-selected professional learning using blogs and wikis. It picks up on themes close to Will’s heart. This one was made public.
http://ascd.typepad.com/blog/2009/02/the-curse-of-the-digitally-illiterate.html
Sometimes, it seems, ASCD will decide to promo an article in their “Inservice” blog and switch it over to public access as a result.
Perhaps they’ve kept Will’s article private, figuring it will boost membership sales. Seriously.
I’m ASCD’s librarian, and I’ve enjoyed reading the discussion here. I just wanted to encourage folks to check out ASCD’s blog, Inservice, which as someone has mentioned features public articles from EL. Also, a colleague and I write a biweekly feature on the blog, My Back Pages, which digs up articles from our 60+ years of online archives – often with a technology focus. These articles are free to the public as well. I hope you can check it out and consider it for your RSS reader.
Also, for fun browsing: a few articles from every issue dating back to 1943 are public on our web site, and members can access every article from every issue. The October 1943 issue is on “Teaching in Wartime”.
Got my copy yesterday at school. Didn’t know it was going to be on Literacy 2.0, but was thrilled to see it.
Now about the negative comments at administration! While I agree there are administrators (I am an Assistant Principal) who are unaware of the shift happening in education, it is also true that there are still teachers who are unaware. I see it as a professional responsibility to share what I learn and I see myself as a teacher first; I have been sharing my learning from thw world of Web 2.0 with the teachers in my school.
I don’t see over-generalizing the short comings of some administrators as being helpful to creating positive change. Instead we need to create schools where administrators and teachers are taking the time to collaborate and learn from one another for the good of the children in their schools. We need to build people up not knock them down!
this point is absolute right
While Educational Leadership usually publishes full text of one of the pieces from each issue to it’s website