The following post on ICT (Information/Communication Technology) appeared as part of a forum with the above title hosted by Education Technology Debate. Other contributors are listed there.
If ICT means the use of computers in schools and classrooms and if learning means what academic content, skills, and behaviors students can perform in and out of school, then the massive investment over the past 30 years in wiring schools, buying computers and the latest hand-held device has fallen far short of being a “revolution” in students’ learning and teachers’ teaching (Failure of computers PDF 1995). While not a fool’s errand–the idea that ICT would revolutionize schooling was, at worst, sloppy thinking and, at best, ardent wishfulness.
Note I said “use” of ICT, not access to it. For access to ICT in the U.S has been an unvarnished success. From
Just as more teachers are facing performance rankings of their work, dozens of teacher training schools in California will be judged for the first time in a nationwide survey set for publication in U.S. News and World Report.
The planned rankings come against a backdrop of plummeting enrollment in California's teacher training programs, as well as harsh criticisms of these programs, including a now famous blast from U.S. Secretary of
The 21st century Western world, driven by American corporate and consumer ideology, is a perpetual media culture that depends on sound bites and “the next thing,” leaving the public reduced to media consumers never allowed time to reflect on the information. Volume and speed have consumed and obliterated nuance, ethics, and accuracy.
Numerous media outlets report the fact that Secretary Arne Duncan spoke, but none will pause long enough to verify whatDuncan said. . .
The education debate over the past two years has been characterized by
A Superior Court ruling narrowing the scope of two suits challenging the state’s system of funding education is distressing to those favoring more money for California schools. But while disappointed, lawyers for the cases say they’re not despondent – or ready to give in.
Three factors are giving them hope, as they plot strategy over the next few weeks: Serrano,Proposition 8, and Judge Steven Brick’s ambiguity.
Serrano. That’s the name of the landmark court case that
You needn’t look far to see that state public employees are under intense scrutiny. Politicians and other commentators are using rhetoric that is simplistic and often misleading. But, in the debate over their relative value, these state workers have an additional problem: I get the strong feeling that most Americans have little idea what they do.
If you ask the average person to describe what a public employee does, you might hear the word “bureaucrat.” Those who wish
Co-sponsored by Class Size Matters, CAPE, GEM, the UFT, and many other parent, teacher and community groups. Click on the flyer above for more info.
Even as Mayor Bloomberg, Chancellor Cathie Black and Michelle Rhee are arguing for experienced teachers to be laid off regardless of seniority, every single study shows teaching experience matters.In fact, the only two observable factors that have been found consistently to lead to higher student achievement are class size and teacher experience, so that it's ironic that these same individuals are trying to undermine both.
Generally speaking the corporate reformers argue that only the first few years of
Thanks for sticking around, despite the relative lag in updates. We love and appreciate you.
While I finish revising some things and preparing new content to share, please be sure to check out this motley assortment of recent stories from elsewhere in the blogosphere and the news that bear repeating and sharing.
On the news wires this week, U.S. News & World Report and the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) announce today the launch of a landmark survey. The survey will consist of more than 1,000 schools of education across the country. Unprecedented in its scope and comprehensiveness, the project will rate the quality of teacher preparation programs from which more than 200,000 new teachers graduate each year.
The article goes on to say:
The new rating survey, to be published in the second half of 2012, will be useful for both consumers and policymakers. Teacher education is a critical national issue, and preliminary data indicates that there are wide variances in the quality of programs. Aspiring teachers will be able to identify which programs will best prepare them for the classroom, and school districts will know
"No food was given. My son and daughter said classmates were peeing into trash cans," said Odette Fulliam, whose children attend Hale and El Camino. In fact, a 5-gallon pail is part of a "lockdown kit" that is supposed to be accessible to every classroom. The pail with a removable lid is "solely for the purpose of this kind of situation," said district spokesman Robert Alaniz. --L.A. Times)Alabama leads assault on teacher unions
"I don't think there's any doubt that
A headline in Friday’s NY Times caught my attention.
To Really Learn, Quit Studying and Take a Test.
It was in the Times’ Science section. It could just have been the ad on late night television claiming you can lose weight by holding shaking dumb bells.
But the problem was that the research wasn’t
Say it isn't so, Mayor Gray.
Here's why I was so disappointed to read my colleague Bill Turque's report on a plan by D.C. schools officials to have the flawed IMPACT teacher evaluation system reviewed by a Harvard professor:
1) I was optimistic that Mayor Vincent C. Gray (D) was serious about fixing the problem when he said at a public forum recently that the evaluation system - instituted under former schools chancellor Michelle A. Rhee - was unfair to teachers.
He said, "I guess I would say at this stage . . . it's a step in the right direction, but it's got a long way to go to be a fair evaluation of our teachers. And, frankly, any system that isn't sensitive to the differences in challenges of the kids in the schools only encourage
The Knowledge Is Power Program, the nation's and the District's most successful charter school network, has a new official name, KIPP, and a new approach to raising achievement for disadvantaged children.
In its first decade, the network - with 91 schools in 20 states and eight in Washington - focused on creating middle schools that started with fifth-graders two or three years below grade level and got them up to speed by eighth grade. Now it is opening elementary schools, including three here, so that it can start raising
I taught in secondary schools for sixteen years. I left because I had two choices… 1. Fight constantly with administrators, school boards, district officials et al for the freedom to teach the best possible curriculum with the best possible methodology for the students in my classroom… OR 2. Blindly follow the wishes of all of the above people regarding curriculum and methodology to
Rare, undercover footage from a principals’ retreat in Omaha last month…
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Mr. Teachbad
