I was fortunate enough to have some early experience integrating technology and the Internet for student learning. Back in the 80s with the Internet in its infancy and e-mail both proprietary and extremely limited, I approached Apple Computer about linking a small group of California schools electronically using Apple’s own e-mail system. I was directing a science education project at the University of California and I asked Apple to help us set up weather stations at ten elementary schools around California and use the fledgling Internet for the students to share weather data and develop other science related projects. All ten schools had organic gardens – used as living laboratories for the study of science – and were using a science curriculum called The Growing Classroom that I co-developed as a science teacher. Apple donated primitive computers – none of the teachers had computers then - installed phone lines in the classrooms for dial-up (remember dial-up?) and set up student friendly weather stations at all ten schools.
With that, the students were off and running collecting, interpreting and sharing weather data with other students across the state. Teachers took it further than anyone imagined, creating rich learning opportunities with the new tools they had. It was an amazing project for the time and even earned a mention in Scientific American. Clearly, application of technology and the Internet to education has traveled light years since those early tentative experiments.
All this comes to mind because I caught a presentation last week by Republican State Senator Wayne Kuipers to the State Board of Education on his proposed Neighborhood Public Schools legislation. The bill would allow existing public schools, with the vote of over 50% of parents and teachers to essentially secede from their school district and become an independent neighborhood public school. Talk about shifting the educational landscape!
Buried in the legislation and attracting little attention is a provision allowing something called cyber schools. For the first time ever in Michigan, public schools would be allowed to exist entirely without a brick and mortar home. No school to go to. No school cafeteria. No school library. No school gym. No principal’s office. Though it seems like a radical notion, it’s already happening to some degree in over half of the 50 states according to K12, an online education company. http://www.k12.com/schools-programs/online-public-schools/
When I took those first tentative steps over two decades ago to connect students and teachers across great distances, the idea of Internet-only schooling without the schools was beyond fantastic – it was simply too far out to even imagine. Now, it’s real.
But what does that say about our conception of learning? At its best, learning is a social activity where students and teachers engage together in making sense of the world and finding meaning in ever more sophisticated ways as they journey through schooling into adulthood. So I’m anxious about the potential for student isolation. Part of me holds a probably outdated picture in my head of a student sitting alone in front of a computer all day. Is that just a product of the old school side of my brain? At the same time, I’ve seen the creative ways many home school families have built networks and community without the benefit of a brick and mortar centralized place to gather.
Schools face tough budget choices and are looking deeper than they ever have at reducing costs. Are school buildings dispensable? Do we really need all of them?
The whole cyber school idea brings up numerous issues around quality control, accountability and the role of teachers. All the research tells us that the teacher is the most important player in student learning. The evidence is clear. Strong teachers get results. What would a strong teacher on the other end of a fiber optic cable look like? How would they support learning? I’m not sure about the answers, but I’m eager to find out.
As a Traverse City Area Public Schools Board member, I’m studying these and other ideas to understand their implications. I'd like to know your thoughts so I can make informed decisions. Your comments are appreciated.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I also wonder about cyber schools - especially for those under a certain age. I hope you will continue to keep reading about those things that impact education! I appreciate you for taking the time to not only look at local impacts of our district, but also those national trends and ideas that may influence us as well.
ReplyDeleteAs a teacher of 9-12 graders, I look forward to learning about effective ways to use the internet as a delivery tool for instruction. As you note, there are many challenges and questions about online instructions, but the potential benefits are significant. Cost is one possible benefit; although I don’t see us getting rid our school buildings just yet as a complete online curriculum would probably not be a good idea for most students. Most high school students, and many college students, need coaching and mentoring to become independent learners – one role of the teacher is to be that learning mentor or coach so that they will develop the 21st Century Skill of independent learning. Also there are many lab or performance courses that would not work online.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to possible cost savings, another benefit of using online content is to help deliver instruction to students with different learning styles and speeds. Already some TCAPS teachers are putting content online so as to address the different needs of their students. For example, some teachers are putting lectures and content into Moodle so students who fall behind for any reason can catch up. Advanced students can go faster or deeper. Students with flexible schedule needs can also be accommodated. I hope TCAPS embraces this use of online learning.
At present, I think a blended structure with online content mixed with close teacher mentoring or oversight is probably the right mix for some classes and students. The challenge is finding the time to develop quality content. One possible way to make the time would be to give time to several teachers to develop content for a class and then distribute to all teachers of that subject. Automation and technology should improve our productivity and we should embrace it.
In the future for high school students, a more project based curriculum that stresses and encourages independent learning, online or otherwise, with teachers as learning coaches might be a good idea. Getting there is going to be challenging, but it is a good goal.
Gary, I think a combination of the two would be an excellent training ground. Certainly students are using the Internet more on their free time, and treat this medium as a way to do both homework and socialize with their friends. But I still believe there is no substitute for in-person collaboration and discovery, led by a teacher/mentor who can challenge and question, leading to even greater learning.
ReplyDeleteThe workplace that our kids will enter will be very different than the one we entered so long ago. At my company, we have instituted a policy where people can choose to work from literally anywhere on the planet, so long as they stay connected via Skype, IM, email and other media. Key staff have smart mobile phones to stay in touch with the office.
We also redesigned our offices this year to encourage collaboration when necessary, investing in a large "think tank" room where project discussions, staff meetings and educational presentations are done.
All this is to say that the skills our kids have developed in collaborating will be equally important whether in cyberspace or "meatspace." The rules of etiquette, learning how to communicate an idea clearly, even having excellent writing skills are all a part of this mix. As a person who now employs Millennials, I've learned to alter my thinking, and our culture, to fit these new ways of working.
Thanks for the post!
Gary, thanks for your thoughts. I agree with others that online learning coupled with meaningful interactions with teachers and other students can be an effective approach to learning not only content, but also acquiring those 21st century skills required in the global economy.
ReplyDeleteThe "bricks-and-mortar" reference in your blog speaks not just about the physical structure of the school building, but also to the structures and policies in place--real and imagined, formal and informal--that often act to impede systems change. These structures and policies are familiar and include the length and organization of the school day, how high school credits are earned, how grades are reported, time for collaboration(?)among staff, and many others.
I view the increase in online learning as an outgrowth of tech-saavy young people, but also as a way of reaching beyond some of these structures and policies. As you know Gary, although I live here and have three kids enrolled at various levels of the TCAPS system, most of my work is with the Ohio Department of Education. The Ohio State Board of Education recently adopted a credit flexibility plan for Ohio. Implementation of this plan will require sharing of best practices and strategies used by school districts to provide high school students with options other than seat time for earning credit. But implementation of credit flexibility runs up against questions regarding the role of teachers, and structures and policies in place that preserve familiar ways of doing business.
Online learning and learning in the community will be some of the approaches that student will choose.
I would not want to see the loss of bricks-and-mortar buildings, but I would like to see us as a state and district reimagine, redesign (and remove)some of the structures and policies that impede necessary system change. Michael Flanagan has begun that reimagining discussion as noted in your other blog post Gary.
Thanks!