I had the opportunity to tour Ramona High School in Riverside Unified. What an unbelievable school and school district. The Superintendent spent about 2 hours with us and it was apparent that he is fully vested in the technology of his schools. It was a great experience! They are freeing up technology in all of their schools. It will be interesting to find out if it is working and they see student achievement results.
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Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Friday, February 17, 2012
I just had to share some of these direct quotes from a great article I just read. I am extremely passionate about CTE and the benefits CTE has on underprivileged students. The article I have drawn these exerts from is refereced below. Happy reading!
"Our CTE "formula for success" commits us to a higher standard of learning. After the political winds shift from NCLB, and overly stressed standardized testing gives way to applied common sense, public schools will still teach everyone who walks through their doors. There are no simple solutions. But the elements of academic excellence combined with the relevance of CTE give secondary education incredible potential to build lives and inspire".
“Career and technical education also has a profound impact in saving the youth that even No Child Left Behind (NCLB) leaves behind. Each year, tens of thousands of our kids, feeling disconnected and disenfranchised, drop out of school. Politicians and legislators seldom mention these endangered students in their rhetoric. They disappear from the political radar as if they constitute the "dark side" of education. Increased standardized testing and mandates will not likely bring them back. And, if they do not come to school, you cannot teach them”
“Passionate educators applaud, rather than fear, increased learning and accountability. However, they also understand that far more important than regimented academics and mandated over-used standardized testing delivered with factory-like precision, is the higher purpose of education-empowering people to build their own lives”
“Healthy CTE stimulates higher achievement and results in quality education with enthusiastic community support”
"Our CTE "formula for success" commits us to a higher standard of learning. After the political winds shift from NCLB, and overly stressed standardized testing gives way to applied common sense, public schools will still teach everyone who walks through their doors. There are no simple solutions. But the elements of academic excellence combined with the relevance of CTE give secondary education incredible potential to build lives and inspire".
“Career and technical education also has a profound impact in saving the youth that even No Child Left Behind (NCLB) leaves behind. Each year, tens of thousands of our kids, feeling disconnected and disenfranchised, drop out of school. Politicians and legislators seldom mention these endangered students in their rhetoric. They disappear from the political radar as if they constitute the "dark side" of education. Increased standardized testing and mandates will not likely bring them back. And, if they do not come to school, you cannot teach them”
“Passionate educators applaud, rather than fear, increased learning and accountability. However, they also understand that far more important than regimented academics and mandated over-used standardized testing delivered with factory-like precision, is the higher purpose of education-empowering people to build their own lives”
“Healthy CTE stimulates higher achievement and results in quality education with enthusiastic community support”
Brewer, R. L. (2004). CTE in high schools: The formula for success. Tech Directions, 64(5), 15-18.
Retrieved from http://ezproxy.csusm.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/62012599?accountid=10363; http://www.techdirections.com/
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Visitors & Residents by David S. White
The video, Visitors and Residents by David S. White discusses some very interesting concepts surrounding digital visitors and digital residents. In education, many of us are consumed with this misconceived notion that our students are going to eventually "pass us old folks up" because we believe they fully understand the uses of technology and have grown up in the ever expanding digital age. The video disproves this misnomer and instead, creates a clearer concept of digital residents vs. visitors. In fact, the concept of digital proficiency has nothing to do with age. Digital proficiency has more to do with personal beliefs, interests and personality than it does with age. Digital rresident's live a portion of their lives on the web and in the social media platforms in order to communicate with prexisting friends. They thrive on the attention and communication with others and enjoy the visibility established as digital residents or "micro-celebrities". The visitor, according to White, is much like a person with a job to do who will rummage around the tool box for a while, get the job done, and leave. The visitor doesn't spend time getting to know people through social medias and simply doesn't see the connection to these platforms as a way of learning. The visitor may see personal privacy as greater value than the resident and in addition, may feel content with their established friendships.
An interesting concept that White discussed in the video was that just because someone understands the use of technology, it does not necessarily make that person any wiser or more intelligent. This resonated with me as we oftentimes link intelligence with digital proficiency in education. I think we do this because we are so mindful of the magical "21st Century skills" that all students need to know and if we can find someone who understands these skills, they must be smart! In reality, most of us don't know what these "skills" look like . Therefore, if you are technologically savoy, you must understand these hidden skills that everyone talks about which makes you much wiser than the rest of us! This obviously is not true.
As an educator, I believe in staying current and thrive at any opportunity to become more proficient with technology. However, personally, I err more on the side of privacy which lends me more toward being a visitor in the digital age. A topic that did not come up during the video is how access may hinder digital residency status. I have worked with several teachers, some of which were fresh out of college, and it was brutally apparent that lack of access to technology had hindered their ability to perform simple digital functions. I have had the same experience with students who were very proficient with technology because of their access to it growing up in comparison to those who fumble around with it due to a lack of background. I understand that the person without access can learn to use the tools available although, how does that impact their status as a visitor vs. a resident?
On a final note, I am glad that video discussed "Twitter for Idiots". As I find myself fumbling around with Twitter and trying to learn it, I now understand that one just has to use it and explore it before fully learning it. I must get better at this and hopefully I will eventually learn how to "feed the machine"!
An interesting concept that White discussed in the video was that just because someone understands the use of technology, it does not necessarily make that person any wiser or more intelligent. This resonated with me as we oftentimes link intelligence with digital proficiency in education. I think we do this because we are so mindful of the magical "21st Century skills" that all students need to know and if we can find someone who understands these skills, they must be smart! In reality, most of us don't know what these "skills" look like . Therefore, if you are technologically savoy, you must understand these hidden skills that everyone talks about which makes you much wiser than the rest of us! This obviously is not true.
As an educator, I believe in staying current and thrive at any opportunity to become more proficient with technology. However, personally, I err more on the side of privacy which lends me more toward being a visitor in the digital age. A topic that did not come up during the video is how access may hinder digital residency status. I have worked with several teachers, some of which were fresh out of college, and it was brutally apparent that lack of access to technology had hindered their ability to perform simple digital functions. I have had the same experience with students who were very proficient with technology because of their access to it growing up in comparison to those who fumble around with it due to a lack of background. I understand that the person without access can learn to use the tools available although, how does that impact their status as a visitor vs. a resident?
On a final note, I am glad that video discussed "Twitter for Idiots". As I find myself fumbling around with Twitter and trying to learn it, I now understand that one just has to use it and explore it before fully learning it. I must get better at this and hopefully I will eventually learn how to "feed the machine"!
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