On many levels, I’m lucky. My children go to a good school where by and large the educators care about their well-being and want the best for them. There are computers in every classroom, the student body doesn’t get itself into too much trouble, and there’s talk of starting a compost bin in the courtyard for lunch scraps. It’s a safe place, situated right in the middle of corn fields and barns. The air is clean and crisp on these fall mornings, and I know as I watch Tess and Tucker get on the bus each day that they will be getting much more than the vast majority of kids in this world are getting in terms of an education.
My curse, of course, is that it doesn’t feel like quite enough. There’s not enough connecting going on, I think, and the number of worksheets and handouts that come home in the “Friday Folder” frustrates me no end. While there is some technology, it’s not used very well, from what I’ve seen. It’s more for automating (as Alan November calls it) than for constructing and creating and publishing and starting conversations. As I’ve said numerous times, it feels like my children are being fairly well prepared for a world that is already past, not the much more “hyperconnected, hypertransparent” world that is their future.
The good news is that there are some signs of change. Last summer at NECC, our superintendent dropped in unannounced on my open source blogging workshop. And, while I wonder about the wisdom of doing so, I’ve been invited to present to the school’s staff in a couple of weeks. (I’m already nervous.) It feels like there is an opportunity to start some conversations about how to really think systemically about change in the context of curriculum and pedagogy. And while I wonder what effect, if any, those conversations may have on my own third and fifth graders experience, it’s a start, at least.
For my kids, it’s up to me and my wife to add to the experience they are currently getting. And, more thanks to Wendy than to me, we’re starting to do that. Much of it is informal, such as narrating through our clicks when the kids are looking over our shoulders as we work and surf, or having constant conversations about their use of the computer when we let them online to play or work. They both have e-mail accounts which they check (because they get mail from us). I think we do a decent job of trying to model effective use (as much as we know it) and from that my kids are getting something they can apply to their own practice as well.
But this year, Wendy and a friend of ours who is home-schooling her kids have started supplementing their public school education in some more “formal” ways. Every Tuesday afternoon for about an hour, my wife’s office turns into a classroom where my kids are making wikis, learning about searching, and creating stories around whatever their interest is. And they’re being shown some ways in which technology can be used to connect, as in the picture above. (Click on it to see a more viewable size.) A couple of weeks ago, Steve Hargadon made a guest appearance using Skype to help them identify what they might want to work on in terms of projects. And there are plans to invite other people in to speak to them and help guide their work. (Let me know if you want to volunteer!) Real people, real work, real audiences.
Now I know that, again, I’m very, very lucky that I can offer this to my kids. There are literally billions of people who can’t. And I have an incredible partner who despite my frequent absences is able to make this happen (with ample help from our friend.) And I don’t know what type of an effect this will have on their “education,” but I do think it will help them see the potentials, and perhaps push their teachers even more. (The other day Tess noted that she had told her teacher to try to Skype the author of a book they are reading instead of send him e-mails…you go girl!) My biggest fear, however, is that it will only serve to make their school experience less relevant and more mundane. It’s a delicate balance.
And, of course, I wonder where this leads. I look at that picture and see a pretty compelling classroom, (as well as another pretty compelling classroom right outside the window) with a whole range of opportunities that most schools simply can’t offer. The more I think about it…
Technorati Tags: education, learning, homeschooling, stevehargadon
So why not consider opening up the Tuesday class to the rest of us? I know a handful of kids who would benefit from that type of learning. Why does it have to be just your kids? Why not mine, too?
After all, wouldn’t that be “hyperconnected, hypertransparent”? 😉
Seriously, open it up and release the curriculum (project design, etc) so others can take part.
Chris Craft
You know I’ll pop in. 🙂
Why not get our kids networking? I just wrote about the experience I am having with my 4 year old daughter that is using Blogs. http://tinyurl.com/2vjz56
She also participated on a Skype chat and loves incorporating technology in her daily learning.
She has replaced the TV for the computer but what really surprises me is that she can´t read!!
Jennifer Verschoor
Will —
I hear you on the Friday folder bit. What frustrates ME the most is that even at age 7, my son is starting to turn off to the in school learning. Worksheets are SO irrelevant to him in contrast to the “learning” we do in very informal ways at home. Here is a kid who thought he had saved “exactly enough” for a webkinz this summer only to arrive at the store missing the tax…now no matter what he is purchasing, he counts out his change and asks the questions “how much tax do I need to add” yet because he does not fill out all of the lines on a worksheet comes home with the comment “has a basic understanding of money concepts” This is disturbing to me on many levels. I understand that on the “standardized test”, yes, this is what my son’s “work” would represent but when I look at his actual “understanding” I agree with Chris, perhaps we should begin to open up these opportunities…when you say these are opportunities that most schools can’t offer I have to ask WHY…why can’t, why AREN’T they starting to, and should we continue to demand it?
As most laptops have webcams installed now (and PCs can have them for $10-15) I wonder if Skype can ever be a part of the public education landscape on a serious level.
We can all imagine how easy it would be for student to broadcast objectionable visual content from a less than closely montired lab. Can we even imagine how any exlicit visual material broadcast from a school could shut down completely any technology use?
Do you think that this fear (perhaps justified) is what is stopping this protocal from taking off?
My daughter (20 months old) uses Skype and Yahoo to call her Grandma and “play” with her. It is certainly a part of her existence. When she “calls Mimi” she runs to the computer.
Perhaps as more schools get Smartboards and displays this will be easier to manage in a classwide setting.
Will,
What you and Wendy are doing is fantastic. I’d love to see how some of our 4th grade laptop program students might connect with your kids in an after-school program. Not to make it too complicated…
We’re launching several projects here in our middle school using Voice Thread. I’d love to see that platform used for a collaborative study..
I’ll help in any way!
What a great idea to supplement at home! I don’t know what types of topics you are doing, but I would be happy to “appear” in your home. Are you thinking more along the lines of “tech” topics, or are you thinking about teaching more “core-content/electives” type of content?
Also – I don’t know if it will make their school experiences seem “mundane”. Afterall, you said that your daughter tried to have her teacher Skype an author. Maybe your childrens’ school will change thanks to your children.
At any rate, please let me know how I can help.
Will,
Glad to know that I’m not the only one that is dealing with this problem. My kids are a little younger than yours, 6 and 3, but I am experiencing the same things as it relates to the lack of technology use in our district.
We just passed a bond that is supposed to provide increased technology to the district, I fear though that the teachers won’t know what to do with it once they have it. I would kill for an opportunity to talk to the teachers in my district, I have offered several times and still nothing.
We are in the process of hiring a new superintendent and I am going to make sure that my voice is heard and that we get someone that has the vision and background to really make all of our new technology useful and make sure that our teachers are ready and able to meet the challenges of teaching is this increasingly wired world!
I feel similar thoughts. But as a public school educator, I know if there is to be a change, it needs to begin with me. I do my best in my role as teacher librarian / media specialist to model best practige, engaged learning, and implemntation of new tools (not JUST technology)to supplement learning and meeting the needs of todays learners. In collaboative meetings, I try to make teachers see that the design of a lesson may cause students to have the “glazed” look where they are really tuning out. I ask teachers to consider mixing it up, adding mobility and even creativity for students. It doesn’t always work, but it is a way that I can try & help make things better. Some teachers just will not give up thier way. its their way or the highway, and sometimes that works (except students stilll have the galzed over look and folder full of handouts at the end of the week) and sometimes it doesn’t (and the class is a circus). Can’t win them over in one day, so I plug along day by day, doing my best.
Hi Will,
Seems like we are pretty much grappling with the same issues. I’ve got a 6th grader (middle school), a 4th grader, and one in kindergarten. Both the elementary school and middle school are less than five years old and were built with a significant investment in technology. Most of that technology sits idle or is used in very pedestrian ways.
Next week I start hosting an after-school tech club at the elementary school for 4th and 5th graders. About 50 students have signed up so far. I plan to have them work on all kinds of creativity exercises, as soon as I determine which sites are blocked and which are still open. My most sincere desire is to bring out an enthusiasm for learning about and with technology for these kids, in hopes that their teachers will see them get excited about something and maybe decide that they need to look into some of this stuff also. Well, one can dream, right?
After this gets going I’m going to tackle the middle school. My daughter was excited for her “computer class†to start this fall. Now she’s totally disillusioned because in almost 2 months they have only been learning how to keyboard. Oh the humanity!!!
Keep up the good fight. Barry
Will,
If you’re looking for volunteers to pop in, my oldest boy (aged 11) is a pretty good Scratch user (He is known as Munkeeb). I’m sure he’d be willing to explain and demonstrate how to use Scratch if you’re interested.
This idea of having people outside of education–people like Steve Hargadon— volunteer to bring their different backgrounds to the table and teach others has awesome potential for education. Andy Carvin calls it educational crowdsourcing in his “learning.now” blog. I wonder if it would be possible to create a reliable, safe and secure crowdsourcing network for students? There are so many people out there that would enjoy contributing and working with young people. What a tremendous resource it would be.
Hmmm…so does anyone else get the sense that there might be a larger potential here? And @Neil, I would absolutely love to have your son come in and teach Scratch to my kids…maybe we could do it via Yugma?
I share your frustration or I should say I used to share your frustration. Our children have left K-12. My son is a college graduate and my daughter is her third year of college. Much of their formal education was spent in classrooms where computers were treated as novelties. I used to teach keyboarding until my day became so busy tending to computers and users that I was removed from classroom responsibilities. I also used to teach LOGO and we used to program the Turtle. Nowadays, we have lots of computers but their reserved for programs that support Reading First in our elementary school and other canned programs in our high school.
There is some reason to hope though. Working together with one of the high school English teachers we’ve introduced Google Apps and Gmail for students. The teacher is actually expecting students to interact with him outside of the normal class day. We also recently fired up a Drupal server and we’ve got another English teacher encouraging students to blog. In a period of a little over one week, dozens of examples of student writing have been produced on the Drupal blog. Still much of the curriculum is divorced from the use of technology as if breathing were separate from life.
Some of the problem lies with our State Education Department which continues to emphasize curricula that are geared toward the recitation of facts rather than and emphasis on discovery learning.
Keep hope alive and keep moving forward. “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
Now that you realize how lucky you are, tell me what those of us that are teaching in districts that are not as open as yours should do? I feel like I am talking to a wall when I tell my teachers that need to be REALLY incorporating technology into their classrooms. I am in a middle school and that should be happening. All I hear is that there aren’t enough computers (but they aren’t really using the ones they DO have) and there isn’t enough teacher training. Last time I checked, my training came from my desire to be the best teacher I can for my students. They didn’t walk in my classroom and hold my hand and tell me what I needed to do. I recognize a need for kids to know technology, so I do my best to keep up. (Following some of you makes me realize I am lacking a bit, but I am trying!)
I would love to have my kids have afternoons for extra time, but they really don’t have computers at home. After school in my classroom has to compete with football, cross country, volleyball, or even hanging out at the mall.
There is also the issue of all that is blocked within my district. Skype doesn’t happen along with a huge list of other things. Heaven forbid we risk having a student having contact with someone we might not know. After all, they are so many creeps out there lurking and waiting for our kids. Never mind that we can’t teach them how to watch for that themselves when we are in this walled garden.
Okay, I am sorry about my rant. I am totally jealous of the environment you get to raise your kids in and frustrated that I can’t do more for my students.
This is always a timely topic Will…
The fly in the ointment is that your efforts to “supplement” your kids’ education will become impossible because as kids get older the school will consume more and more of their time. John Taylor Gatto refers to this to the “Lesson of Surveillance.”
http://hometown.aol.com/tma68/7lesson.htm
People constantly asked me if I taught my kids to program or build robots or compose music and the answer was, “No. They wake up before sunrise, come home from school fir dinner and if they don’t have other activities scheduled, they’re likely to be doing homework for hours until bedtime.”
The best advice I give parents is to exhaust every opportunity in school, especially ones like band and instrument lessons that may get you out of class. I’m not as inspired by the “connected” world as you, but I am all for offering kids the widest deepest range of learning experiences possible. IF the online world makes it possible (likely) to do all of the things you dream of, then “school” will have to be the place where kids benefit from being in a physical space together for X amount of time. Band is an excellent reason to go to school. Drama is another.
As the homework increases, you might try a little-used technique Sylvia and I have found to be powerful. Write a polite note to the teacher saying that once Tess has demonstrated understanding of a topic, you will sign her homework indicating that is complete and she may spend her time more meaningfully.
EVERY teacher we sent such a letter responded in the same fashion. “Umm, OK.”
For your readers struggling for an answer to the question, “What can I do in my classroom with my population of students?” I respond with a guiding question. “How can I make the time I have with my students the best 43 minutes or six hours of each child’s day?”
Ask that question and the answers reveal themselves to you.
BTW: I’m always available as a resource too.
-=Gary
I think it is great what you and your wife are doing for your children’s “education.” While some schools have already have already started started incorporating 21st Century technology into their classrooms, the amount is still in the great minority. As a future educator it is troubling to me why more schools are not furthering their students preparation for the real world and having them getting accustomed to the technology available, as you and your wife are doing for your children.
You can count on my students for connections too. We’re in China but come from all parts of the world. All the different perspectives in the classroom create a desire for more.
Will,
The frustration you speak of is exactly the reason that the school I teach at exists today. We’re a small, public charter school where students decide what they want to learn, how they will learn it, and how they will communicate the results of their learning. They are, in essence, building their own curriculum.
We have no bell schedule. We have no formal classes. There are no worksheets and no tests. Students organize their day in a way that works best for them. All students have their own computer, filing cabinet and work station. Visitors frequently comment that our school looks more like a business than a school.
Even now, during our sixth year, I am surprised and amazed by what happens when students are in control of their learning. They are engaged in relevant and meaningful work without the constraints that a formal curriculum imposes. They have the time to study areas of interest to them thoroughly and deeply. The time has long past since I considered myself to be only a teacher. I am a learner in a community of learners. That is a powerful thing to model for students.
We do all was can to provide a learning model that fosters the development of the skills students will need to be successful in the 21st Century. Skills like the ability to collaborate with others, the ability to be tenacious as a learner, the ability to work independently, the ability to a creative problem solver and a critical thinker, and the ability to be flexible in this increasingly digital world in which we live.
Our parents are among our biggest supporters. We also have a very forward thinking technology director who understands the need for students to have access to the tools that support the possibilities of what learning can be. I can’t imagine teaching anywhere else.
Best of luck. I’m sure we have students who would be more than happy to collaborate with your children.
You both keep on! I watched a 6th grader literally teach himself how to add a picture to his wiki today because he realised waiting for me would take too long – bravo! I have an 8th grader writing games…this generation impresses me!
I think it is time for Tucker to start using an RSS aggregator. I facilitate Google Reader with my learners.
Has Tess visited Allanah King’s blog? Allanah is in NZ.
Will, Your comments hit so close to home. My kids are now in high school and we have been supplementing their education since elementary school. They are such sponges and will quickly incorporate all the ‘tools’ in their toolbox into their daily life. I am starting a new Enrichment program for gifted students using 21st Century technologies to address the issues you discuss.
http://gtteacher.wikispaces.com/Enrichment2.0
Hey Will, thought you might be interested in this article:
http://www.theage.com.au/news/education-news/the-school-that-john-built/2006/02/03/1138958909988.html
I’m guessing you might have heard of John Marsden. Perhaps this is the path for those of us frustrated with the existing system, starting our own schools. I know a number of my teacher friends here all talk about it as a group at times.
I dropped in on Anne Davis’ creative writing blogs last session – she used some of my photos as stimulus and I’d comment on their writing. I think I was a bit demanding – I’m used to 13-18 year olds – but it seemed to go down well on the whole.
Currently I am struggling to persuade a clever but lazy 15 year old whom I tutor privately to write daily on his blog. I see him weekly for an hour, but have pointed out that writers have to write if they’re going to progress – and he isn’t. So it’s not always the kids that are chafing at the bit – in this case it’s me!
I’d be happy to drop in, though – Ewan put me onto you.
Supplementing at home benefits students who come from homes like Will’s, but it continues to feed into the inequity between the haves and have nots. I fear that grassroots home supplementing efforts will continue to add to the gap between students who have rich learning opportunities and those who do not. The question that needs to be looked at deeper is “Why are classrooms that have the technology, not moving in this direction? Why are teachers not providing the learning experiences that you have described?”
Telling teachers that they need to be doing it is not enough. Giving teachers a couple of workshops on how to do it is not enough. I was also a teacher that learned how to use and integrate technology on my own because I knew how it important it was for my students. I was comfortable with not being the expert and learning from my students as we figured out how to use technology in meaningful learning contexts. But I have come to realize that many teachers are not like that and us complaining about that fact isn’t going to make a difference for our students. We need to accept the fact that a majority of teachers are uncomfortable with technology and unless they are using it in their own lives, they do not understand the value for their students. Or they do understand the value but their own fear of technology and the role the teacher needs to take in order to implement it well keeps them from using it.
We need to address how we can provide teachers with ongoing, just in time support while they are learning to use the technology in new ways. We need to provide the teachers with a huge amount of scaffolding and authentic experiences using the technology tools themselves so they experience success and see the benefits for their students.
As a soon to be student teacher I find the troubles you’re having are something I think about a lot. I’m currently taking a class on using technology in my future classroom and I’m surprised by how much technology is NOT used in many classrooms. I guess I never really thought about the fact that while many educators and administrators use technology regularly in their private lives, it doesn’t seem to translate into the classroom. It seems to me that to rely on parents to do much of this at home is a silly idea.
While many schools are blessed enough to have the technology available, they aren’t using to best of their advantage, for example online assignments and maybe online learning in addition to the everyday stuff like Skype and email. I wonder if people like yourself and your wife could think about starting community education programs or after school programs in areas where kids are getting what they need in the classroom…
I also fear for the students who are in schools that can’t afford technology. I live in a state with next to no taxes, which means little revenue for public schools. Parents here are embroiled in a lawsuit over education funding, similar to other states. The fight is about adequacy, is the public education adequate? I see the education inadequate if you’re not giving students access to computers and teaching them how to properly use them. I say this because in our world being able to effectively using tools online are necessary. Not being taught the capabilities of technology will put the student dramatically behind their peers.
“As I’ve said numerous times, it feels like my children are being fairly well prepared for a world that is already past, not the much more “hyperconnected, hypertransparent†world that is their future.”
Although this statement is blatantly true, I had, surprisingly, never before considered it. If we do not teach our students to be interactive with technology, we are not adequately preparing them for the future. This is becoming more true, as time goes on and more technology, including “everyday use” technology becomes more advanced and widespread. It has come to the point where ignoring our responsibilities to employ in the classroom/teach ways to use technology might be comparable to ignoring our responsibilities to teach students math. Bravo to those encouraging the use of educational technology, and education in technology.