Category: schoolreform
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Podcast375: Technology Leadership Advice for 60 New Oklahoma Superintendents
This podcast is a recording of Wesley Fryer’s presentation on April 6, 2011, for sixty new Oklahoma superintendents discussing technology leadership, blended learning, and ideas for successfully leading both teachers and students in our twenty-first century classrooms. Superintendents in the audience for this presentation were attending the tenth meeting of their first year superintendents academy,…
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Apple Believes technology is not all you need, but a critical tool
Apple’s new iPad2 advertisement, “We Believe,” explains the company does not believe technology is ALL you need, but it’s a critical piece to make learning and communication not just easy but “delightful.” I definitely agree with the point that “technology should get out of the way,” and that is what I’ve found Apple technology consistently…
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Kids are the real customers in schools: We need to LISTEN to them!
I love what Peter Senge observed about schools, innovation, and student voices in a 2001 interview with Dennis Sparks. Peter observed what some educators and parents know, but MANY either ignore or simply haven’t considered: Students are smart, creative, and filled with good ideas for improving schools. It’s important for adults to not only make…
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US Army Moving to Embrace iPhones, iPads, and Blended Learning
The official US Army video on YouTube, “Army Learning Concept 2015,” dramatizes a vision of learning for the future soldier filled with iPhone and iPad use which reminds me of Abilene Christian University’s video “Connected” which was published several years ago. The music reminds me of the battle scene music in trailer for “The Lion,…
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iPad as an Interactive White Board for $5 or $10
School leaders around the United States continue to spend HUGE amounts of money on interactive whiteboards for classrooms, despite the fact that these devices universally FAIL to empower students to become more independent, self-directed and engaged learners in the way mobile learning devices (like laptops, tablets or other personal digital learning tools) can. Please do…
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Public Education isn’t a war
Stan Stamper, editor of the local newspaper in Hugo, Oklahoma, misses the boat big time in his editorial today, “Are we losing the education war?” Education isn’t a war and shouldn’t be construed as such, anymore than our struggles to combat terrorism globally or counter illicit drugs should be. Wrong metaphor, and poor policy recommendations…
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High Stakes Testing Must End in the USA
Today’s headline in USA Today, “For teachers, many ways and reasons to cheat on tests,” affirms many points made by Dr. David Berliner in April 2006 at Texas Tech University in his presentation, “Troubles for the NCLB Act: It may not be improving achievement and it corrupts the profession.” This article, like Dr. Berliner’s presentation…
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Manipulated FoxNews Video Shows Why eBooks are the WRONG Choice for K-12 1:1 Environments
The February 13th video from FoxNews, “Florida School Replaces Textbooks” provides a graphic illustration of why eBooks are the WRONG choice for K-12 learning environments. The 91 second news video also shows how reporters can knowingly manipulate media content to mislead the public and encourage false conclusions about “new eBook reader technologies.” A Kindle ain’t…
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The Story of 1:1 Learning in Tupelo, Mississippi #msmeca11
Today in Jackson, Mississippi at the 2011 Mississippi Educational Computing Association annual conference, I had an opportunity to hear Dr Randy Shaver and other members of his learning team at Tupelo Public Schools share the inspirational story of their community’s journey to 1:1 blended learning. Amazingly, this has taken place in the past TWO years…