Moving at the Speed of Creativity by Wesley Fryer

Janet Barresi’s ODLA 2011 Keynote

These are my notes from Janet Barresi‘s luncheon keynote presentation on November 9, 2011, at the fall Oklahoma Distance Learning Association (ODLA) conference. Dr. Barresi is the Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction. (AN ELECTED OFFICE IN OUR STATE, SHE TOOK OFFICE IN JANUARY 2011.) MY THOUGHTS ARE IN ALL CAPS. HER PRESENTATION WAS SHARED WITH US OVER A H.323 VIDEOCONFERENCING CONNECTION, AND HER PRESENTATION SLIDES WERE ON GOOGLE DOCS. GOOD MODELING OF EFFECTIVE TECHNOLOGY USE FOR ODLA ATTENDEES!

Janet Barresi presenting at ODLA 2011

Referencing Fast Company article: “Great Tech War of 2012
– big 4: Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon
– Disruption goes exponential
– Post-PC World: smartphones, tablets, ultrabooks
– the Cloud is Everywhere

Hopefully everyone in the room has read “Disrupting Class”

We are in a post-PC world
– we need to embrace cell phones and deliver content to them over their mobile devices, instead of taking them away at school

cheap tablets ($199 and dropping)
– broadband access expanding
– smart phones ubiquitous
– free content exploding
– digital natives teaching

I listened to Sal Kahn recently at a luncheon I attended
– a nice uncle who was looking for a way to teach his niece math skills, now thousands of views on YouTube

Consider this: Young teachers just coming into education now were born around 1994 or a little before
– they have never known anything other than technology
– those kids are ready to embrace these tools and use them
– they are already there

MY COMMENT: MY EXPERIENCES TEACHING PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS THEIR TECHNOLOGY COURSES SINCE 2005, AND MOST SPECIFICALLY THE LAST THREE SEMESTERS,

I visited with Tom Vander Ark: his book “Getting Smart: How Digital Learning is Changing the World
– TOM’S BOOK WAS ACTUALLY ON DR. BARESI’S DESK DURING HER PRESENTATION, CLEARLY MANY OF HER VIEWS ARE CONGRUENT WITH TOM’S ON DIGITAL LEARNING / SCHOOL REFORM
– so many important points brought out in that book
– migrating to “just in time learning” instead of “just in case learning”
– students being able to acquire information required to solve a problem
– think of a gaming system, advancing on to higher levels

Tom talks about 10 shifts that are happening
– 2 are critical
– change in expectations: this ties to what we are doing with shifting to Common Core
– there is consensus that students need to be prepared for college (everyone)
– 68% of new jobs in Oklahoma will require competency in algebra, statistics, data analysis, technical reading

Common Core is not just about content: there are two classes going on at the same time
– students get critical content but also develop critical skills, learning about inquiry, engaging in higher order thinking
– real currency of the 21st century is being able to create things

Kids today are used to customized learning
– we know kids today learn differently
– kids need to advance based on competency, not just seat time

Another Tom Van Der Ark point: kids need to develop their ability to persist under dynamic conditions

Through gaming, kids learn to persist until they are successful

Tom talks about new testing/assessment tools where students are in a game, but it assesses the students’ cognitive skills

Let’s talk about Sal Kahn and disruptive technology
– 80 million YouTube viewers
– has developed 2800 videos, has a pilot in California where 7th and 8th grade students are taking trigonometry because “they are progressing through his videos with lightning speed’

Sal talked about ‘the flipped classroom’
– students will watch videos at home
– homework is in class
– very impressive tracking tools are available for his tools, which are free and he’s committed to keeping them free forever

MY COMMENT: OF COURSE MOST OF OUR K12 SCHOOLS IN OKLAHOMA STILL BLOCK YOUTUBE FOR STUDENTS, MOST (I THINK) ALSO STILL BLOCK YOUTUBE FOR TEACHER ACCESS
– ACCESS IS NOT THE WHOLE ISSUE, IT’S ALSO ABOUT THE ABILTY/RIGHT TO PUBLISH THERE!

A few months ago I visited Yuma, AZ and visited the “Carpe Diem” school
– 300 students, grades 6-12
– students are in 2 learning environments: large learning center with own computer in cubicles, kids are constantly taking short quizzes all day
– some short instruction and guided program, and lots of individual
– 60% of kids are free and reduced lunch, 48% are minority kids
– ranked in top 10% of AZ charter schools

MY COMMENT: IT’S VERY INTERESTING TO AGAIN HEAR ABOUT CARPE DIEM, THIS IS THE SCHOOL TOM HIGHLIGHTED THIS SUMMER IN HIS KEYNOTE AT THE SDE INNOVATION CONFERENCE. OFFICIAL SCHOOL WEBSITE IS carpediemschools.com.

In California I visited “Rocketship Education” center in San Jose
– serves kids in K-5
– it’s a blended education model

Now watching a video about “Rocketship Education”
– I’M NOT SURE IF THIS IS THE SAME ONE JANET SHOWED OR NOT, BUT IT IS A RELATIVELY RECENT ONE FROM FEB 2011

I’m proud to be part of “Chiefs for Change” founded by Jeb Bush
– he is working with others on the “Digital Learning Council”
digitallearningnow.com/roadmap-to-reform

Roadmap for Reform | Digital Learning Now

key points for me:
– personalized learning, customized learning for students
– promotion based on competency, not on seat time

As a state I see us moving in that direction
– through digital learning we are moving in that direction

We are truly at an ‘inflection point’ now as a country
– these points are not comfortable when we’re in transition

Our PASS objectives are a mile wide and an inch deep
– beauty of the common core is they let students go deeper into the content

MY COMMENT: IT’S INTERESTING TO LOOK AT ALL THE EXAMPLES JANET HAS SHARED TODAY, AND SEE THEY ARE ALL CHARTER SCHOOLS. SO THE QUESTIONS SHOULD BE ASKED AND ANSWERED: CAN ALL OUR SCHOOLS BE CHARTER SCHOOLS? DO WE WANT ALL OUR SCHOOLS TO BE CHARTER SCHOOLS? ARE THERE NON-CHARTER PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN OKLAHOMA DOING GREAT THINGS WITH KIDS AND ENGAGING THEM IN GREAT LEARNING WHICH COULD BE HIGHLIGHTED? (I KNOW THERE ARE.) IT’S VERY INTERESTING TO HEAR OUR SUPERINTENDENT OVER PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN OKLAHOMA CHAMPION EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN CHARTER SCHOOLS AND NOT SAY ANYTING POSITIVE ABOUT ANY PUBLIC SCHOOLS. I TOTALLY AGREE WE NEED EDUCATIONAL REFORM AND CHANGE, AND MUCH OF THE EDUCATIONAL INNOVATION WE SEE IN SCHOOLS IS HAPPENING IN CHARTERS. HOWEVER, PUBLIC SCHOOLS IN AMERICA DO HAVE WONDERFUL TEACHERS DOING GREAT WORK WITH STUDENTS EVERY DAY, AND WE NEED TO AVOID THE PITFALL OF DEMONIZING ALL PUBLIC SCHOOLS AND PUBLIC EDUCATORS.

Now responding to questions from the audience
– KUDOS TO SUPERINTENDENT BARRESI FOR TAKING QUESTIONS!

Question about rural broadband
– Congressman Lucas talked about Dept of Ag offering grants for expanding broadband for rural businesses to function
– schools have to be allowed to piggyback on that grant-funded bandwidth

I ASKED SUPERINTENDENT BARRESI ABOUT CONTENT FILTERING: DOES SHE HAVE IDEAS ABOUT HOW TO ADDRESS SEVERE CONTENT FILTERING IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS? AS AN EXAMPLE, OKLAHOMA CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS BLOCKED ALL STUDENT ACCESS TO GMAIL AND GOOGLE DOCS IN OCTOBER. DO YOU HAVE IDEAS ABOUT HOW WE CAN RESTORE OR ESTABLISH MORE BALANCED CONTENT FILTERING POLICIES IN OUR K-12 SCHOOLS?

The Gates Foundation has provided writing templates available online, but accessing those depends on digital/online access

In the next 5-6 years we are going to be moving away from use of paper-based textbooks and embracing digital content / curriculum

40 districts in our state have already implemented the Common Core

Question from Larry Cochran on needing more K-12 representation and participation in ODLA
Legislation last year established a P-20 Council for Oklahoma education

Best way to get back to Superintendent Barresi on questions: contact Damon Gardenhire
– also work with Eric Hileman

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