Friday, December 19, 2014

SCHOOL ZONE 12-18-14



WINTER BREAK
This is a reminder that our winter break will begin December 22, 2014 and continue through January 2, 2015.  I would like to take this opportunity to wish the entire community a safe and happy holiday season.  We look forward to our students and staff returning to school on January 5.       

HOUR OF CODE
In celebration of Computer Science Education Week held each December, many of our classrooms participated in an "Hour of Code" event. These events are one-hour tutorials that provide students an opportunity to write their first few lines of computer code. The tutorials are game-like and self-directed, enabling students to work at the own pace and skill level.  You can learn more about the project on YouTube using this link:  https://www.youtube.com/embed/rH7AjDMz_dc  .  Anyone can join in the fun at http://code.org

WHAT IS IMPORTANT FOR STUDENT TO KNOW?
I recently read an excellent article with some important ideas that speak to what we are trying to achieve in Vermilion through the use of blended learning, co-teaching and center-based learning.  It is copied below, and I hope you will find it as insightful as I did.  The author is Jill Jenkins, a retired teacher and commentator on innovation in education. 
           
            “What is important for students to know?  What should our schools be teaching? If you listen to media, all the schools should be focused on is STEM: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Just like in the 1950’s our society is demanding that education provide more STEM education to provide a technological suave population who can produce a profit for our corporations. Are schools created to serve our corporations or the individual needs of our students?  Society certainly rewards students who perform well in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, but not every student has the desire or the aptitude to do well in those areas.  Are we doing those students a disservice? Since girls have stronger verbal skills and brains wired for an education in communications is this a subtle form of prejudice?  Before we write our curriculum, it is important to determine what is important to know to help our students become both productive citizens and principled people.  We need a more balanced approach to serve all of the needs of all of the varied students in our classes.

            Schools need to prepare students to be productive citizens, but to be honest, with as rapidly as technology is changing that is not an easy task.  As a child, I remember laughing at Maxwell Smart and his shoe telephone.  Now, all of us carry telephones around in our pockets that are not only communication devices, but small computers.  The truth is there will be careers that we can’t even imagine, so we have to give students skills to be life-long learners.  To achieve they must be willing to learn new skills through-out their lives. We need to prepare students to adapt to world that we cannot conceive existing. 

            Research shows that females learn differently than males. Girls have larger hippocampus, where memory and language is stored.  This means they develop language skills, reading skills and vocabulary much sooner than boys. On the other hand, boys have a larger cerebral cortex which means they learn visually and have better spatial relationships.  This could improve their ability in engineering and technology.  These differences become less dramatic as the child grows older.  Perhaps schools need to focus on presenting a broad spectrum of disciplines in a variety of ways to serve all of students. 

            Even though our society does not value careers where communication, rather than subjects like science, technology, engineering and mathematics are the primary focus, they may still be important careers for our society.  For example, teachers are essential if we want to continue to produce an educated workforce, but if pay is the measurement of value, they are not valued by society.  In the state where I taught science, engineering, technology and math teachers were all paid $5000.00 a year more than any other kind of teacher.  Still, if we want to be realistic, students need a balance of both to be successful.  For example, my daughter is a journalist; however, she also needs to know how to write computer coding because the magazine that employs her is on-line.  Most scientists must document whatever they do, which means they need writing and reading skills. Furthermore, who is to say who will be the next poet laureate .   The arts, history and language arts are all equally important skills for students to master as math, science and technological based skills. 
           
            Even more important, the humanities:  literature, history and the arts force people to ask “why.”  Certainly, we can’t think about Nazi Germany without realizing that there was a reason Hitler banned books.  We can’t read a Michael Critchton book without discussing ethics in science and medicine.  We can’t read Charles Dickens’ Oliver Twist without questioning the social problems caused by poverty and homelessness.  Reading, writing, history, the arts are all connected to science, math, technology and engineering.  A quality education is a balance.  All of it is equally important.  Teachers should be compensated fairly and students should be provided with an equal balance.  Teachers should help students develop their own individual talents, so they can become all that they can be.  Schools should prepare each student to become “all that they can be,” not a product to serve the needs of industry.”

Friday, December 5, 2014

SCHOOL ZONE 12-4-14



THE FUTURE OF EDUCATION

In this issue I would like to discuss some recent software (or app) developments that demonstrate how our world is changing, and is a much different place for our students than it was for their parents.  As these new devices and software products are developed and released to the public, they create challenges in the classroom as teachers encounter students who are using them. 

USA Today recently reported on a new, although somewhat controversial, app called Thync.  Just as high energy drinks like “Red Bull” stimulate brain activity, the developers of Thync hope that their app can create for users nothing less than a desired state of mind, or mode, ranging from calm to creative to energetic, all in about 10 minutes.  The company has developed a simple headpiece that is composed of two foam and plastic pads connected by a wire whose power can be controlled with an easy-to-use mobile app.  In a process known as neuro-signaling, brain patterns are recreated using tiny electrical pulses.  Humans experience various mental states during which we feel calmer or have more energy, willpower or creativity, but can’t always access them at will.  In studies conducted by Thync over the past year, users have reported receiving a "strong" or "moderate" response from the Thync device, resulting in increased mental focus that may last for several hours.  This device is subject to FDA approval, but I have no doubt that it will be made available to the public in some form very soon. 

Another more positive app is called Acorns.  This app helps users proactively invest by rounding up each purchase transaction to the nearest dollar, and then investing the change into a diversified portfolio.  To use the app, users complete and short questionnaire, and submit a credit card or debit card, and a checking account, to the company.  A stock portfolio is then recommended based on information such as age, time horizon, investment goals and the amount of risk the user is comfortable with.  Acorns operates as a financial institution, and is only available to residents of the United States.  The investment account is insured and meets bank-level security guidelines.  I believe this type of app could be used in the classroom to teach our students to be more entrepreneurial.  Historically schools have worked to prepare students for a job.  Using apps like Acorns we can also teach students how to invest from a young age and encourage them to be inventive toward owning their own business.  Teaching students to become independent minded is something we would like to work toward in the future. 

If you are not familiar with the myriad of apps available for tablets and Smart phones, take a quick look at an app store.  You will be amazed by the volume of electronic self-help software products that are available, both good and bad.  It is inevitable that these apps will impact our students and will be topics of conversation in school.  As educators, our challenge is to continue to learn more about apps that students are using every day, and determine whether these tools can play a positive role in educating or preparing students for careers of the future.  The world is changing quickly, and schools must be constantly evaluating our approach if we are to ensure our students are college or career ready when they move to the next level.