Those around me know that I have become a cheerleader for the power and promise of project-based learning as a way to promote 21st century teaching and learning. It is such an exciting prospect to me that I naively assume that all will instantly share my excitement. That obviously isn’t the case, and that is probably a good thing. Nonetheless, as I was recently looking through some of the “Best Presentations in the World” at Slideshare.com, I came across this presentation. While it doesn’t actually state anything about education or project-based learning, I contend that it perfectly articulates a core value that drives project-based learning advocates. Imagine a school that truly let the spirit of this presentation drive and direct everything in the school. Let me know what you think.
Innovative Schools
Nov 29
Part 1 –
Part 2 –
Back in 2008, Wisconsin Act 222 was approved. This state statute requires that anyone who teaches for an online public (including charter) school in Wisconsin be required to complete at least 30 hours of training on online teaching. This act goes into effect this summer, July 2010. Training is intended to equip teachers to transfer the 10 Wisconsin Teacher standards to the online world. In addition, this professional development is expected to be built upon the National Standards for Qaulity Online Teaching.
You can learn more about this as well as the 18 (and counting) programs in Wisconsin that are committed to providing online educational opportunities for Wisconsin students by going here.
I’m now one week into exploring the freelance writing community at Ehow.com. You will note my recent post was quite positive about the quick welcome from other Ehow members. I continue to find many great aspects of the Ehow community of writers. However, at the end of the first week, I’m starting to experience the corporate interest/strategies that inform how Ehow runs. Those initial feelings of grass roots community have temporarily dwindled as I’ve immersed myself in reading forum posts, terms of service, and FAQs. Scanning the community forums, I am coming across writers who are frustrated about various Ehow practices regarding the removal of their articles, articles that were sometimes bringing in decent revenue for the author(s). I can see how writers would be frustrated, but this led me to more carefully review Ehow terms of use and various policies. Ehow makes it quite clear that that get significant rights to author content (although author’s retain rights to it) when it is posted, including deciding how much or whether not to pay someone for their articles. If I understand the terms of service correctly, it appears that Ehow can even re-use author content, re-write it, re-publish it, re-work it, etc.
As an effort to dive into the community and try to offer what I consider to be genuinely good web content, I have submitted close to a dozen articles during this first week (three are still under review). And as of today, I have earned $0.00. This is the first week, after all, and my first goal is not to make money as much as it is to better understand this freelance writing community. However, I must confess that I am already a bit hesitant to submit more articles. In many cases, I am sharing knowledge in my Ehow articles that has come from years of study, analysis and synthesis; and I’ll need to develop more trust in people at Ehow before I go much further. I plan to dive into the community aspects of the site for a month, hold off on writing more articles, and see what happens with what I have written. If you are interested, stay tuned for more reflections and updates.
I am compelled to post once more about the fact that the Apple iPad doesn’t seem to have Flash support. This blogger called for critics of Apple’s decision to “get over it.” Let me expand upon one educator’s perspective on this issue.
I don’t think the “no Flash support” criticisms from educational bloggers come from a desire to take a shot at Apple. I’m convinced that it genuinely comes from a disappointment that this could have been one of the most transformational educational technologies since the personal computer. I honestly believe that. And in due time, this iPad groundbreaking may still be that significant.
From the early days of Apple, their products were touted as having potential to transform education, and some wonderful things have been done with Apple products in learning environments. Apple is now involved with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. They are not just suggesting that their products might be useful for education, but they are involved in a group that seeks to transform the “what” is taught in (not just how) schools. Given that context, you will notice that many of the strongest critics about no Flash support are educational bloggers. A huge number of the more exciting and potentially beneficial educational applications that are free and being used in schools around the globe are written in Flash. So, for Apple to claim that they really have the best interest of education in mind with their products and then leave out Flash support, seems to send a mixed message. This decision limits the product’s immediate usefulness in the classroom, although I’m open to the possibility that the Flash issue may not be significant in the long term.
I suspect that many of the criticisms comes from frustration that this could be an amazing educational technology that could benefit learners right now…if only they would add Flash support. Most of us in education are not developing our own apps, so we depend upon the quality of what is on the market right now. As an educator, it feels like Apple missed an educational grand slam by inches. I’ve been waiting for a product like this. It could replace many traditional texts and paper-based resources, support just-in-time differentiated instruction and assessments, provide powerful opportunities for augmented reality learning environments, replace expensive polling devices, allow for dynamic forms of digital collaborative…and the list goes on. But, no flash support…so a smaller base of immediate applications and educational app developers.
Apple has clearly demonstrated a commitment to excellence, innovation, and thinking outside of the box. As an educator committed to 21st century learning and one who is aware that the entire structure of schooling must change, I see Apple as a friend. So, even with this criticism, I am far from giving up on Apple. I will be one of the first to purchase an iPad, and I am already exploring dozens of potential ways to use such a device to improve student learning, improve student engagement, and to design highly interactive digital age learning experiences.
But Apple, please give us Flash support, or provide a public and compelling argument why the decision not to include Flash support is in the best interest of education.
This month, I was at a conference where an Apple representative talked about their commitment to improving education, and their involvement with the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. There is much that I commend about this partnership. They do provide much food for thought about what is needed in order to best prepare students for life and learning in the 21st century landscape. As much as I appreciated the presentation from the Apple representative, I was compelled to play the devil’s advocate.
I noted that some are critical of the corporate interests within the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. I asked if Apple was truly interested in improving education, or if sales and cultivating a next generation of clients was their primary motive for being involved with such initiatives. This wasn’t an accusation. I truly wanted to hear what the representative had to say. The response was reasonable. He admitted the obvious, that Apple is a for-profit organization and that Apple obviously wants to sell their products. He continued by explaining that this doesn’t mean that they are not also interested in improving education and helping prepare the next generation for life in our ever-changing world. It was a reasonable response and I left the meeting open to giving Apple the benefit of the doubt, granted that their product decisions support such claims.
Jump to yesterday, with the official announcement of Apple’s new iPad, or what I like to call the Texan iPod Touch. It is an impressive innovation, one that immediately caught my interests because of the educational implications. However, my skepticism about Apple’s true commitment to education emerged again when I saw that picture indicating that this product might not support Flash applications. That single omission does much to hint at what may or may not be Apple’s true intentions. Think about where we see some of the most exciting interactive applications emerging in education over the last few years…interactive whiteboards like the Smart Board and Promethean Board. Now consider that a ton of the educational applications that work so wonderfully with these boards are Flash applications. So, it seems to me that, if Apple really wants to create an iPad that has the needs (and not just the wallets) of students and educators in mind, then it would support Flash applications. I’m open to a reasonable explanation from Apple or others. Is there a genuine educational benefit to the iPad not supporting the plug-in that would allow us to run the thousands of free and inexpensive applications that are already being used in classrooms? Or, have I missed something? Will the iPad support Flash applications?
I welcome your thoughts and comments.
