Does Classroom Use of Computers Cause Gains in Students’ Academic Achievement? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Does Classroom Use of Computers Cause Gains in Students’ Academic Achievement? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Does Classroom Use of Computers Cause Gains in Students’ Academic Achievement?

A decade ago when a surge of interest in placing computers in classrooms was joined to available public and private money, U.S. schools went on a rampage of buying and distributing devices to students and teachers. At that time I wrote a post about a puzzling fact that was overlooked  or simply ignored:  With increased access to new technologies, there is little reliable and valid evidence showing that these technology investments have yielded gains in student achievement.

That was then and this is now. Amid a pandemic-induced shift of face-to-face lessons to online instruction, the question is irrelevant. The need is that every single public school child must have a device to use for remote instruction.

While there was certainly a digital divide a decade ago even amidst the splurge spending for devices, school closings due to the pandemic have pushed districts to triple-time distribution of devices and Internet connections to families lacking either or both.  Yet, the lack of solid evidence that student computer use–especially now when lessons are online–is strongly associated with increased test scores and other academic outcomes remains puzzling. So I updated that post and publish it now.

After decades of school and classroom use of new technologies, some facts have CONTINUE READING: Does Classroom Use of Computers Cause Gains in Students’ Academic Achievement? | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

CURMUDGUCATION: Ed Department Produces Advertisement For Computer-Based Education

CURMUDGUCATION: Ed Department Produces Advertisement For Computer-Based Education

Ed Department Produces Advertisement For Computer-Based Education

Even as Betsy DeVos has been demanding that public schools get their doors opened and their teachers back in the bricks and mortar classrooms, the department has announced its release of a slick "guide" to computer-based edu-flavored products. It's a nice package of marketing materials for the folks working the digitized street corner of the education privatization neighborhood.

From the Office of Educational Technology, we get the Parent and Family Digital Learning Guide. The 23-page promo opens with an introduction that suggests that this is to help those families that find themselves thrust into the world of digital learning (that's the department's preferred phrase, though I keep thinking of doing math by counting on your fingers). The intro also includes the usual disclaimer that "of course" technology is only a tool. This guide "focuses on empowering you with information and resources." 

So let's leap in. It's only 23 pages, but I've read it so that you don't have to.

Part One: Benefits of Digital Learning

Yes, we drop the pretense of "empowerment" pretty quickly, and move directly on to the sales pitch. Let's look at all the ways that digital learning is better.

See, "most American classrooms have taken a 'one size fits al' approach to instruction, a claim that will come as news to all the teachers who bust their humps designing differentiated instruction. But learning, the writers say, should be flexible and adapt, and just in case you might forget that this is CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Ed Department Produces Advertisement For Computer-Based Education

“We Can Only Hope” (Terence Freeman) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

“We Can Only Hope” (Terence Freeman) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

“We Can Only Hope” (Terence Freeman)

Freeman is an English teacher at Lawton High School in Lawton, Oklahoma. He has taught 14 years at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and 26 years at Lawton High School. This story appeared in the Washington Post’s online article, October 6, 2020. Freeman is one of nine teachers the newspaper asked to report on their experiences in returning to remote and in-person instruction during the pandemic.

Hope was on my mind in the summer months leading up to this academic year. I hoped the school had plans and funding for sanitizer, cleaning liquids, paper towels, masks, teacher testing and more; hoped that I and my students would remain healthy; hoped that I could still have the personal relationship with students that enables learning to happen.

I will remember Hands. During Week 2, I took my classes to the library, where the district fulfilled its promise to provide every student with a Chromebook. I CONTINUE READING: “We Can Only Hope” (Terence Freeman) | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

CURMUDGUCATION: McKinsey Has Ideas For Fixing Schools (Pandemic Edition)

CURMUDGUCATION: McKinsey Has Ideas For Fixing Schools (Pandemic Edition)

McKinsey Has Ideas For Fixing Schools (Pandemic Edition)

McKinsey is the 800-pound consulting gorilla with its hairy hands in everything. That includes dabbling in education; they've consulted with Boston schools and shown how to slash and privatize the crap out of the district, they've made data based advanced analytics explanations of how to improve test scores, and they've made the argument for computerizing classrooms. Their world view is captured by Anand Giridharadas in the must-read Winners Take All, dubbed Marketworld. They are the kings of neo-liberal thinking-- use data, unleash markets, measure everything (especially money). 

So of course it's no surprise that they have some thoughts about how global education should respond to the whole pandemic crisis. Some of it sounds good, but it's important to pay attention to the language (probably a good motto for this blog).

Yet crises often create an opportunity for broader change, and as education systems begin to make decisions about investments for the new school year, it’s important to step back and consider the longer-term imperative to create a better system for every child beyond the pandemic.

Yeah, "investments." Because everything is an investment with these guys, and every investment CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: McKinsey Has Ideas For Fixing Schools (Pandemic Edition)

Effective Remote Teaching Part 1: Tools of the trade | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Effective Remote Teaching Part 1: Tools of the trade | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Effective Remote Teaching Part 1: Tools of the trade

Like many teachers around the country, I am currently teaching my students in a room by myself. Remote teaching is very taxing. It takes me about five to ten times as long as it used to to prepare my lessons each day. At the end of the day my head is spinning from all the screen time and the lack of walking around. And the feedback that I’m used to getting, the energy I get back from seeing the students learn in person is replaced by students looking into a zoom looking equally struggling.

But if I’m going to do something in teaching, I want to do it as best as I’m able so I’ve taken the task very seriously and I’m hoping that I can share some of the methods I’ve come up with to be as effective a remote teacher as I can.

In this first post, I want to show you my setup. Every component of this setup is absolutely critical to me being able to do all the things I need to: teach, give feedback, get student input, and assess. I know that some teachers will not have access to all this technology and they will say they can’t afford to buy all this stuff. But hopefully many will be able to CONTINUE READING: Effective Remote Teaching Part 1: Tools of the trade | Gary Rubinstein's Blog

Thousands of Devices Available for Schools - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

Thousands of Devices Available for Schools - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)

State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces More Than 500,000 Additional Computing Devices Made Available to California Schools Amid Worldwide Technology Shortage

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced Wednesday that the California Department of Education (CDE) has worked closely with technology companies to make available more than 500,000 more computing devices for California students in need.

“We cannot stop until we know we have leveled the playing field for every student in California by connecting them to the technology they need to succeed now, and in the years ahead,” Thurmond said. “At a time when there is a worldwide shortage of devices, I want to thank these companies for prioritizing California students, and I am proud that we have been able to work together to give school districts a unique chance to equip every student in need with a computing device.”

Thousands of devices will be made available within weeks as many schools either continue distance learning or transition to hybrid models that require some remote instruction.

As the 2020–2021 school year began, it became clear that worldwide disruptions to the technology supply chain created new challenges to school districts striving to fulfilling their unmet computing needs, with hundreds of thousands of devices on backorder in August.

During a virtual news media briefing Wednesday, the State Superintendent said the CDE has worked directly with manufacturers and technology re-sellers to identify and prioritize available devices for California students. Companies working with the CDE to increase availability include ASUS, CDW, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Staples, and Office Depot. These devices are on top of the hundreds of thousands of internet-enabled iPads prioritized for California students under a collaboration announced last month between the CDE, Apple and T-Mobile to connect up to 1 million students in need.

Schools can find regular updates on available devices on the CDE Securing Devices and Connectivity for Students web page. Updates are sent to school districts weekly. Many devices are available for delivery now and more will be coming in the weeks and months ahead.

School districts this year received $5.3 billion in one-time funding in the state budget for schools to strengthen distance learning. These funds—a rare opportunity for districts to make short and long-term investments in student technology—can be used immediately for purchasing needed devices. School districts are encouraged to order devices as soon as possible since they are in high demand across the country.

As communities across California respond to and recover from the devastation of multiple wildfires, the CDE has also helped secure and distribute hundreds of computing devices, hotspots, and accessories for students in schools that are preparing to resume learning in the coming weeks. As of Tuesday, at least 36 schools and 12,000 students were known to be in evacuation zones.

The State Superintendent and the Closing the Digital Divide Task Force, which Thurmond created and co-chairs, continues to focus on identifying solutions that expand reliable internet access to low-income students and households in underserved rural communities. Building on the work of State Superintendent Thurmond’s task force, the Governor in August signed an executive order directing state agencies across government to work toward expanding broadband access and bridging the digital divide.

Since April, the task force has worked with internet service providers to secure commitments to expand discounted service to households in need, and with the California Emerging Technology Fund to address low-income service programs.

The task force also has worked with the Department of Technology, the Department of Transportation, and emerging connectivity companies to address infrastructure barriers. The CDE worked closely with the Governor’s Office and California Public Utilities Commission to secure $25 million in funds through the California Tele Connect Fund to subsidize service plans for hotspots loaned to students by school districts and $5 million in California Advanced Services Fund grants to school districts for devices and hotspots.

An archived broadcast of Wednesday’s full media check-in with the State Superintendent can be viewed on the CDE’s Facebook page.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100

Thousands of Devices Available for Schools - Year 2020 (CA Dept of Education)