Future of Education » education

Toby Fischer — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:34:02 +0000

Earlier today I was listening to an Episode of Shift Our Schools podcast. In the 35-minute episode they were discussing the topics of self-direction, technology, project based learning and much more. I strongly recommend all educators who want to get a better idea of why we are teaching ‘21^st century skills’ give this a listen.

One item in the episode that caught my attention was when they mentioned this IB chemistry Blog. It is quite impressive. The post are very content rich(and over my head). What is most impressive are the comments students are making back to each other. Many are more detailed than the original post.

For teachers, the about page has a great listing of what students can blog about. If you are ready to dive into student blogging, or just want to expand what you are already doing, this is a great resource.

Self-Directed Professional Development

Toby Fischer — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:58:39 +0000

I recently collected resources to help educators guide their own professional development. I would like to thank @web20classroom and @simplek12 on Twitter for sharing. Here is the list. Fell free to share and add to it. (Some of these are local opportunities here in central Ohio)

Conferences and Professional Development Opportunities 2009-2010
Educon 2.2 http://educon22.wikispaces.com/ January 29-31, 2010 Philadelphia, PA	What is EduCon 2.2? EduCon 2.2 is both a conversation and a conference. And it is not a technology conference. It is an education conference. It is, hopefully, an innovation conference where we can come together, both in person and virtually, to discuss the future of schools. Every session will be an opportunity to discuss and debate ideas — from the very practical to the big dreams.
eTech Ohio Conference http://www.etech.ohio.gov/conference/ February 1-3 Columbus, Oh	It is a dedicated time when Ohio educators, (teachers, faculty, librarians, instructional designers, administrators, students, technicians) network, listen and explore — then roll up our sleeves and learn! It is a dedicated time where we rub elbows with people like us; hear from international experts; recognize teaching excellence, scholarship, student accomplishments, and tech innovations. It is a dedicated time where all of us (from pre-school, elementary and secondary education, career centers, colleges, universities, and adult education) can tap into the best educational currents across the state and re-energize!
K-12 Online Conference http://k12onlineconference.org/ New sessions start Nov 30th Online	The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2009 conference theme is “Bridging the Divide.”
Ohio Free Tech Conference 2010 http://www.ohiofreetech.org/index.html	Attain success; learn to seamlessly integrate technology into your curriculum. Explore best practice solutions from leaders in educational technology and experience the most valuable educational innovations. Save time and engage students. Gain need-to-know knowledge on how effective use of technology translates into more meaningful teaching time. Impact student achievement through strategic implementation. Discover how technology integration helps you go green.
Classroom 2.0 Webinars http://www.classroom20.com/	Classroom20.com, the social network for those interested in Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies in education. We encourage you to sign up to participate in the great discussions here, to receive event notifications, and to find and connect with colleagues. Classroom 2.0 is a free, community-supported network. We especially hope that those who are “beginners” will find this a supportive community and a comfortable place to start being part of the digital dialog. If you feel that you are a beginner and want some extra help, please click here to join the Beginner Group as soon as you’ve registered.
Atomic Learning www.AtomicLearning.com	Technology training that moves you from “How do I do that?” to “How do I apply that?”
PBS Teacher line http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/	PBS TeacherLine’s high quality, standards-based graduate-level courses offer teachers the professional development opportunities they need in an accessible online format that makes learning fun, flexible and collaborative. You can earn graduate credit, PDPs, or CEUs while gaining strategies and resources to bring directly to your classroom.
Simple K-12 http://www.simplek12.com/free-offers-your-school	Here at SimpleK12, we know how important technology education is, and we also know that there isn’t always enough edtech funding to get the training and assessments your students, teachers, and staff need. That’s why we have FREE curriculum offers for your students, and professional development solutions for teachers and staff. See below for our simple solutions. We offer every district a free simple solution for their student technology education and a free simple solution for teacher professional development.
North Carolina’s EBistro http://ebistro.org/	eBistro is a professional development tool for educators in North Carolina that will help teachers feel more comfortable integrating technology into the curriculum. Participants are able to create a login, complete individual learning modules, and save their work in their own digital portfolio. Other areas of eBistro provide resources for grant writing and other items deemed important for teachers.
23 Things Project http://the23thingsproject.pbworks.com/	Teachers, Administrators, School Leaders and others with a vested interest in education are quickly realizing that the face of education is changing. Students, begining in the lowest grade levels are coming to school as digital citizens, yet the system has been slow to adapt. The 23 Things Web 2.0 Project is designed to introduce you to the tools that can transform your classroom, school or district. Activities can be completed independently, as a small learning community or as a large staff.
Discovery http://cdwg.discoveryeducation.com/web2.0/video.cfm	See for yourself what the Web 2.0 buzz is all about. Aside from being highly interactive, accessible and collaborative-it’s a fun use of technology! Our experts will guide you through six different ways to incorporate Web 2.0 into your classroom. Prepare yourself to learn a lot and be entertained along the way. GO EXPLORE!
WVIZ http://www.wviz.org/	Online learning is a convenient way to gain valuable technology-based and content-based skills that is flexible and works with your schedule. It’s a great way to obtain graduate credit in an engaging multimedia environment. Intimidated? Don’t be – we’re user-friendly! We have supportive and patient facilitators that work with you to ensure your success!
ITSCO www.itsco.org	Face-to-Face Fridays (F2F) – These hands-on sessions are offered at North, Central and Southern locations from 10-3 and are limited to a maximum of ten participants. Interactive Video Conferencing (IVC) Tuesdays – These one hour presentations are offered via video on Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30. Each site may have as many participants as desired. Online Classes (OLC) – Take an online course in your PJs! Courses are composed of four to five modules with lessons typically posted each Monday and due the following Sunday. You work at your own pace with guided instruction and assistance provided online by an ITSCO consultant. It’s that simple. All you need is a computer and Internet access!

Can this Video get Teachers Started?

Toby Fischer — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:52:12 +0000

I always start professional development sessions with a video clip if I can find a good one that fits. I just saw this one and am wondering how teachers would react to it. What do you think?

Should Schools be Equal?

Toby Fischer — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:38:50 +0000

I have a question. Should all students have the option of getting an equal education? (Equal does not mean the same). Does anyone really need to think about this? If so, what is there to think about?
The 6th largest district in the state of Ohio, nearly 21,000 K-12 students, failed another levy this week. Attached to that failure is the loss of teachers, athletics, high school busing, band, theater, all after school activities. For some students they lost the reason they come to school in the first place. Some can claim the failure was due to the economy. I don’t because two-thirds of the levies in central Ohio passed the same day. I put part of the blame on sections of the community not putting a value on a quality education for the students who live in the neighboring homes. The big question is, do those people have the right to choose the quality of education our children will receive?
I put the majority of the blame on a broken system. A system that give individuals who feel little or no tie to the local schools the ability to choose the fate of its students. All students deserve a quality education. Not just the ones coming from a community that backs it schools because they know the value of a quality education. While a high school teacher in Southwestern City teaches 155 students a day, teachers in neighboring districts will teach 120, 100 and even some as low as 80.
So, what is the solution? We need to stop relying on property taxes to fund schools. There needs to be a solution in which a set dollar amount is guaranteed to be spent on every student in the state. This amount needs to figure in reasonable loads for teachers based upon university research on class sizes. It needs to include technology. In the 21st century, technology should be ubiquitous in our schools. In Southwestern it is just old and dusty (Some labs have 10 year old computers). This money should include choices for our students. High schools should look more like colleges because of the vast experiences that are offered.
I know life is not fair, but should we be teaching that lesson to our youth through an unfair education system? Only a voice as loud as thousands can make a change to this reality.

Re-focusing

Toby Fischer — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 13:34:41 +0000

As I work toward the future (or catching teachers up to the present), I struggle with where to start. The day to day tasks of emails, meetings, etc… sometimes move my focus. I am now trying to refocus on the question, how do we get teachers into the 21st century. Some are already on their way. Those are the early adopters. Many are interested, they just don’t know what direction to take. Should I focus solely on these folks right now. There are enough of them to fill my days. The dilemma I run into is, what about the kids who don’t have these teachers? Is it fair? A student could luck out and get all the “21st century teachers” and live an engaged life. Another students could sit through 6 hours of lecture a day. The only engagement they would get would be lunch conversations.

My goal today is to figure out what the focus of my work is. Do I target groups? Do I fight the fight to change the entire system? Do I keep spending my time with the teachers who come to me (the good news is there are enough of these to fill the majority of my time)? Oh, my brain is already aching and I haven’t even started?

When will the Ignorance End?

Toby Fischer — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 15:56:18 +0000

I am furious. I just received an e-mail from a counselor in our district that her wiki is blocked. I then tried to go to my wiki, blocked. Seriously? We are blocking wikispaces? We use a consortium for our filters. Many of the schools in central Ohio use this same filter. This means that at least on of these schools has asked for wikispaces to be blocked. When will this ignorance end? When will our students and teachers be aloud to enter the 21st century? I’m so mad at this moment I cannot even formulate intelligent solutions.

Lucky for me, we have override power. I’m confident that our district will have their access back before the end of the day. What about the other local districts? Do they have people inside who are educated enough to know these sites shouldn’t be blocked? What about the great collaborative learning experiences their students are missing? Words cannot tell how sick I feel right now.

What a Day!

Toby Fischer — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 13:41:06 +0000

Today I had the great experience of presenting at the Ohio eTech Conference with my wife. I have presented at conferences before, but this was special. I want to thank her and everyone who attended for making it a great experience for me.

For those of you who attended the session, I hope you enjoyed it. I appologize that we didn’t get to share more ideas for using wikis. All of the great questions guided the session in a direction I didn’t expect. All of the ideas I was going to share are on the website. If you didn’t attend the session, the website should be a good resource for learning how to use wikis in educational settings. I will also be adding a few more resources to the site when I get back to my building Thursday.

Feel free to let me know what you thought. If you have a wiki, or go out and start one, post the address on here. I would love to see what everyone else is doing with wikis.

One thing I didn’t get to mention at the conference is I have a free 1 year upgrade for pbwiki. The first person to post their pbwiki address on this blog will get the upgrade.