Is keyboarding a dying art?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/22443621@N00/151077464/

How much time do your students spend practicing keyboarding in your school?  The students in our district begin learning keyboarding in kindergarten.  In the past they have spent a significant amount of time in their computer literacy courses learning how to type.

Over the past year our district has been developing a plan to completely change how our elementary lab courses work.  We want to move to a more project based curriculum framework, and we want to focus less on specific tools, and more on skills.  Our plan is to create a new project based curriculum that will pull content from the core subject areas for projects.  In these projects we will target technology skills like word processing, data analysis and research, animation, filming, and photography.  This way our students are gaining technology skills while also reviewing content from their core subjects.

Once we discussed what we wanted our students to do, we then needed to tackle the device we wanted to use.  We decided to go with iPads.  However, we were concerned that our students wouldn't learn to type as well if they only learning on the virtual keyboard.  So we plan to buy full size bluetooth keyboards that will be used specifically during keyboarding practice.

My question is:  How important will keyboarding be in the next five years?  As voice dictation capabilities improve will there be a need to type?  As I was brain storming this idea I used the voice dictation features of Evernote to save some of my thoughts.  Based on this experience, I won't be dropping my keyboard anytime soon.  But five years is a long time.  Will next years kindergartner still need to rely on keyboarding skills when they move on from elementary school in 5 years?

If we didn't spend time dedicated to keyboarding we could dedicate more time to teaching critical thinking, data analysis and research skills.  Would time be better spent on these skills over that five year period?  Or will keyboarding still be critical?  In my opinion keyboarding may just be a dying art.

Innovating around mono vision - The School CIO Summit

I was lucky enough to be invited to the Tech and Learning SchoolCIO Summit in La Jolla, CA on June 22-23.  I have to give a shout out to my boy Carl Hooker for helping me get the invite (he is a pretty big deal around here in case you didn't know - http://youtu.be/HRJ6I0X0BKg).  This was one of the most enjoyable events I have attended in recent years.  The attendees were made up of CTOs, CIOs, Technology Directors, Superintendents, and even a few Curriculum Directors from across the nation.  Texas, and Illinois spawned the largest groups of attendees, and yes it did turn into somewhat of a competition.

Our first stop was at the Calit2 facility on the UC San Diego campus.  This research team is studying innovative commodity technology.  These are technologies that will eventually be brought to the masses, but are still in development/testing.  The first demo we saw was video in 4K vs. DVD quality.  The difference was amazing!  4K is basically 4 times the quality of 1080p HD.  Wrap your head around that!  4K is for kids you say?  Good news, they are working on an 8K standard too!  They showed us recording of a  vocal performance that was recorded live in 4K.  The definition was amazing.  It looked (and sounded - but that is a different standard) as if you were actually sitting there at the performance.  One of the attendees suggested that if there was a way to produce the sound as if it were coming from the location of the performers mouth that would make it just as good as being there live.  This vocal performance was being streamed from disc, and it required an 800mb+ stream to send the data.  Talk about truly needing a gigabyte connection!

If you want to get started on filming in 4K, you are in luck.  If you can afford it, you can pick up one of these cameras from Red.  These are the cameras that were used to film the Hobbit, and Prometheus.

Next we got to see live demos of their 3D virtual cave, which uses a combination of angled screens/projectors all connected together with a software package that allows you to explore in a world in 3D.  Now, I have to add here:  For those of us in the world that can only see in 'mono' vision, this isn't all that exciting.  You need to be able to see in stereo (using both eyes).  However, as it was bluntly pointed out, only about 10% of the population can't see in stereo (as you can tell, I'm not bitter at all).  The education aspect of this was thinking about how your students could explore a location that they can't physically get to.  Such as the great pyramids, or an archaeological dig site. You could also use an augmented reality browser (like Argon for example) to markup the physical world.  One attendee wanted to know how using hologram technology would fit into this realm.  He cited hologram Tupac as an example.  He was met with very confused looks.  And the rest of us Texans just had to sigh...

The other aspect of this demo was a room with LCD panels all connected in series.   We were shown a gigapixel image of a mountain.  What was amazing was the ability to zoom in on specific areas of the image (even a child playing soccer) without losing resolution or clarity.  They also showed us a picture from a microscope of actual brain fibers.  The discussion around this topic was pretty amazing.  Having a screen this size, with this resolution allows for the collaboration of video/image analysis.  Imagine being able to stand with a group of peers in front of an image on a wall, instead of huddling together around a laptop screen.  Then take it a step further, add in the ability to interface directly on the screen with tactile input in order to manipulate and adjust the video/image.  This would be an amazing collaboration experience for students.  While the Calit2 team didn't have the tactile input features available, they were working on it.  They actually had the cameras setup to begin testing a feature similar to the Xbox Kinect.

I also decided that I wanted to order a set of these contact lens!  WiFi enabled with a 16 megapixel camera!  That is what I'm talking about it!

The following day we came back together to listen to our keynote speaker Jaime Casap from Google.  We spent the day discussing four key areas in break out groups, and addressed concepts that Jaime had us think about.  Some of the key questions that came out of those discussion were:

1. Can we create a 1:1 for the user experience rather than for the device?
2. Why is collaboration cheating?
3. How do we better use technology to create individualized learning?

However, the biggest 'aha' came after the break out groups presented and we were discussing the presentations.  We started talking about 21st Century Learning, and the four Cs (Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, and Creativity).  Someone mentioned that it was time to stop talking about the 21st Century aspect (something that has been driving me nuts for the last few years).  And finally a solution to this problem was suggested!  Henry Thiele from Illinois proposed that we just drop the 21st Century part and call it Learning!  Bravo Henry!  I love it!  He wrote a great blog post about his suggestion here.

This event was amazing, and very thought provoking!  I want to say thanks to Tech and Learning for inviting me.  I have also created a Twitter list of all of the amazing leaders that I met at this event.

Related Links:

http://www.schoolcio.com/article/schoolcio-technology-summit-2012/52640

http://hookedoninnovation.com/2012/06/27/leadership-in-4k-its-beyond-smell-o-vision/

Students as teachers #edchat

While subbing in a 4th grade classroom I setup my iPad and my MacBook in two different areas of the room.  I quietly pulled two kids and gave them each about 15 seconds worth of instruction on Photobooth.  Basically, I said it lets you take silly pictures and here is the button that takes the picture.  I told them to experiment with it, and take a few pictures of themselves.  After a few minutes I came by and told them that I was going to send a new student over to each of them, and they had 2 minutes to teach the new student how the app worked.  I rotated all the students through, with each of them teaching the next.  The students loved it!  And as more of them rotated through, their knowledge grew.  When they figured out something new they were so excited to teach it to the next student.  At the end of the day we took about 10 minutes and looked at all the pictures.  It was so exciting to see how their skill set expanded. Right before we left class that day I took a minute and I explained to them what they had done.  I told them that while they had been learners that day they also had become teachers.  I let that thought sink in for a seconds and then I told them again as I watched their faces.  As they processed you could start to see the pride swell up in them.


My goal was to inspire them and to motivate them not only to learn, but to understand that they can be teachers too.  Learning doesn't just go one direction anymore.  It has to go in all directions.  We are all learning from each other.


Students should get the opportunity to be teachers every day!

WebDAV integration with AD #edtech

http://www.flickr.com/photos/74995919@N00/4597780822/

We have been working to get WebDAV configured in our environment for a while now.  We determined at the end of last year that this was a critical need for our shared cart implementation with iPads.  Because the devices aren't 1:1 we can't rely on the mail app as the primary means to transfer content off of the iPads.  WebDAV is a solution that gives the users access to a Windows network drive where they can transfer content to and from their iPad.  Most of the iLife/iWork apps have native WebDAV integration now.  And you can also use apps like WebDAV Nav+ and GoodReader to access your WebDAV shares.

However, we have had a very difficult time making our WebDAV configuration work with AD.  We kept having a problem with folder permissions.  Either a user would get full access to every folder, or they wouldn't get any access to any folders.  Which is kind of a big problem.

We found that the key is to install and configure your WebDAV server on the file server that is housing the network drive you want to give access to.  When you set it up this way the WebDAV server can properly managing the permissions.  If it is on a separate server you will continue to run into the permission problems.

We actually plan to expand our WebDAV use outside the iOS application.  We are planning to use WebDAV to provide access to all user drives when they are away from the office, and do away with the need for VPN access.

Break the learning limits!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/frants/1464952138/sizes/l/in/photostream/

Recently, I was trying to purchase a belt and socks that would work for my son's t-ball uniform.  He is playing t-ball for the first time and is on the Red Sox team for his age group.  Now, I don't claim to know anything about baseball.  I've never really played baseball, and it is probably one of my least favorite sports to watch (unless I actually get to go to the stadium).  However, I want my son to try every sport he is interested in, and I plan to help encourage him wherever possible.  I don't want my knowledge of the sport to limit him from learning/enjoying it.

As I stood there with a light blue belt and a dark blue belt in my hand, I struggled to remember which color of blue are in the Red Sox uniforms.  I tried to Google it, but I couldn't get any great images on my phone that really told me for sure.  I decided to post a picture of both belts to twitter and see if my PLN could help me.  I quickly got a number of replies, and was told that the dark blue belt was the one to go with.

What as great about this, is that my limited knowledge of baseball did not limit my son's education/experience in baseball.  Even though I didn't know the correct colors, I was able to figure them out, and make sure he didn't end up looking like he was on Spiderman's team instead of the Boston Red Sox.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stuckincustoms/6306983152/sizes/l/in/photostream/

I think this draws an important parallel with education.  Just because I don't know the answer to a question, doesn't mean that should limit a student's education.  We now have the power of PLNs to rely on.  We all have Google in our pocket.  We can always find the answer!

There is no longer an excuse for education to be limited by an individual's knowledge!

Apple Education Event Summary

Here are my notes from the Apple Event (from twitter/liveblogs):

New Book Experience

• iBooks 2 App - awesome new reading/interactivity options
• iBook Author App (for the Mac) - easy to use tool for creating these new books (comes with templates)
• Both of these are free

Textbooks

• Textbook Store now in the iBooks Store (broken down by grade and subject)
• Books will be $14.99, owned forever, and continuously updated (may be re-downloaded from the cloud at any time)
• Pearson has two books available today
• McGraw Hill has five books available today

iTunes U

• iTunes U has a new app
• Features include the ability to create online courses
• Hundreds of online courses already available from Duke, Yale, Stanford, MIT and others
• K-12 Institutions can sign up as an institution for free starting today

Lots to think about!

The iBooks 2 App is an update to the existing iBooks app.  All three new apps iBooks 2, iBook Author, and iTunes U are all available now!

'Appy' Hour! #edtech

I recently got a great idea from Carl Hooker (@mrhooker) to have an 'Appy' Hour in my district.  Carl has been doing these in his district this semester, and his implementation was influenced by the ideas of Lisa Johnson (@computerexplore).

The idea is to get a group of iDevice users together and facilitate the sharing of their favorite Apps.  One of Carl's great ideas was to create an App menu.  I love this idea as it fits in so well with the happy hour theme, and then it gives the group some specific Apps to explore/discuss.  The App menu is created as a PDF with embedded links to the provided apps.  When you open this PDF in either your iPad browser or iBooks the links are clickable, and the users can easily navigate the App Store to research and install the apps.  This really makes it simple, AND FUN!

My first Appy Hour will be for our Principals.  The apps I pulled together for them focus mostly on note taking and audio recording/translation.  I added in a few creative Apps (like puppetpals) for when they might need a laugh at a staff meeting!  Here is the App menu I have created for them:

I used the open source Scribus software to create this App menu.  It was my first try at using Scribus, but I was impressed.  It took a little getting used to at first, but then it started to go pretty smoothly.  If you are looking for an open source desktop publishing package, I recommend it.

What Apps would you include on your App menu for Principals/Administrators?

iOS Management Webinar #edtech

Carl Hooker (@mrhooker) and I did a presentation on iOS management at our Fall TECSIG meeting a couple of weeks ago. Tim Holt (@timholt2007) talked us into doing this same presentation as a webinar using Adobe Connect.

Tim was kind of enough to archive this webinar for us and you can find it here:

http://connect.episd.org/p58955314/

You need flash in order to view the archive, but as long as you use a flash enabled browser (like Photon) you can still view the archive on an iPad. :)

Carl does the first half of the webinar and talks about how his district managed their processes and decision making while embarking on their 1:1 initiative with iPads. In the second half of the webinar I talk about how we have managed our shared cart model with iPads. I also cover the details of the VPP program and how App licensing works.

You can also find some detailed notes that Sandy Kendell (@edtechsandyk) took during our TECSIG presentation here.

Storytelling - Dean Shareski

I had the pleasure of learning from Dean Shareski (@shareski) today at West Lake High School. He was discussing storytelling and how we have so many ways to tell a story these days. Below is the prezi he was working from:

The Truth About Stories on Prezi

He had our group do a couple of activities that I enjoyed, and I was able to do them on my iPad which was great. They would be perfect for showing how easy it is to create on an iPad! The first activity was to create image depicting what we think learning is. Here was my image:

What I loved about this activity was that Dean had us all email our images to him. And then he created a slide show of all the pictures on his iPad. He set the slides to change after 20 seconds, and then he hit play. When your image was shown you had 20 seconds to explain it. I believe he said this process was based on the Pecha Kucha presentation style. It was a great way to quickly see and hear what everyone was thinking.

The other activity was called a six word story. You can find some samples of these here at Ben Grey's (@bengrey) wiki. The idea was to end up with six words that tell the story of an image. Dean said we could either chose the story first and then find a good image to go with the story, or start with the image and then create the story. Here was my first six word story:

For both of these activities we used http://compfight.com to search for creative commons images on flickr. On the iPad we saved the image into the camera roll and then used the Fotolr app to add the text.

Special Interest Groups (SIGs) in your district? #edtech

Has anyone successfully created special interest groups (SIGs) for the teachers in their district? This is a project I want to try this year, but I am wondering if anyone else has tried it already. And if so, how did it turn out?

I would like to create different SIGs for specific technology topics. Like say an iPad SIG, or a collaboration SIG. The SIG could meet monthly, or every couple of months. Not so often that people get burned out, but enough that people can get regular information on the topics.

I want to run the meetings in an 'un-conference' style. Where we can run short concurrent breakout sessions which are driven by the requests of the crowd. I think we could start out with our technology specialists running the breakout sessions, but my hope would be to eventually have the teachers (and possibly students and community members) take over the presenting.

Is anyone already doing something like this? How would you feel about participating in district PD run this way?

Allotment gone for Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN)

New legislation from the 82nd Texas Legislature, First Called Session, 2011 introduced changes to funding for students taking online courses through the Texas Virtual School Network (TxVSN). A student enrolled in a course offered through the TxVSN enables the district to earn funding under Texas Education Code Chapter 42 in the same manner as a student who is enrolled in a traditional classroom setting. Separate TxVSN allotment funding is no longer available to Receiver or Provider Districts.

TxVSN will continue to offer quality online high school and dual credit courses for Texas students; however districts and open enrollment charter schools will be responsible for the course cost beginning with fall 2011. Schools may use a variety of sources of funds, such as Foundation School Program (FSP) funds, the Instructional Materials Allotment (IMA), applicable state and federal program and grant funds, or local funds.

For additional information, visit www.txvsn.org.

SBOE Approves Standards for Technology Applications

Because of the changing nature of computer technology and the digital environment, the State Board of Education gave final approval to the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Technology Applications for kindergarten through eighth grade, as well as to 19 high school courses.

The revised curriculum standards will be implemented in 2012-2013. These replace standards in use in Texas classrooms since 1998.

Some of the courses for which curriculum standards were approved are Robotics Programming and Design, Game Programming and Design, Mobile Application Development, and Digital Design and Media Production. AP Computer Science A, IB Computer Science-Standard Level, and IB Computer Science-Higher Level were all included in the new Subchapter D, which was approved by the SBOE in April 2011.

At the board’s July meeting, standards for six high school courses were approved. Those courses are Fundamentals of Computer Science; Computer Science I, II, and III; Discrete Mathematics; and Web Game Development.

All the Technology Applications courses are organized around six strands: creativity and innovation; communications and collaboration; research and information fluency; critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making; digital citizenship; and technology operations and concepts.

More information about the curriculum standards update is available at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=8192

60 Seconds on the Internet #edtech #infographic

This is a great infographic that I came across in Google+ and wanted to share:

Infographic by- Shanghai Web Designers

You can view the web page here:

http://www.go-gulf.com/blog/60-seconds

Shared Evernote notebook

I finally took the time to figure out how to share an Evernote notebook this morning. Here is the link to my EdTech Articles notebook. It seems pretty neat. It looks like you can even subscribe to the notebook via RSS. Then as I add new articles they will show up in your reader.

When you go to the link you can also sort by tags. So if you want to look at all of the BYOT articles that I have collected you can just pick that tag and there you go.

Pretty neat stuff!

Here is the Evernote blog post that I used to help me get this setup.

New look and feel for Google products #googleapps

Hello Apps EDU Administrators,

Google is rolling out a new look and feel (http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/evolving-google-design-and-experience.html) across Google’s products, and these interface changes will also be released to Google Apps services, such as Gmail, Calendar, and Docs, over the next months. Following is information about the new rollout and steps to take for your account.

How will this affect my Google Apps users?

We’ll release interface update an ongoing basis initially to consumers, with some services offering an opt-in/opt-out option for Google Apps users, before the changes become permanent for all users. For example, you can start to preview the new Gmail look this week.

The rollout will follow the Google Apps Release Track process (http://whatsnew.googleapps.com/release-tracks). Administrators can choose the Rapid Release track to move to the new look at the roughly same time as consumers. Or they can choose the Scheduled Release track to receive changes later and take more time to prepare for the transition.

What do I need to do now?

See what’s new: The first updates to Gmail (http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/preview-of-gmails-new-look.html) and Calendar (http://www.google.com/support/calendar/bin/answer.py?answer=1351806) were released this week. We encourage you preview the new look over the next few weeks to gain familiarity with upcoming changes. See the What’s New (http://whatsnew.googleapps.com/new-look) site for instructions.

Review your current release track settings. Administrators who choose the Scheduled Release track will have more time after the Rapid Release date before changes become available to their users. Depending on your needs you may want to update the release track setting your Google Apps Control panel. (http://whatsnew.googleapps.com/choose-release-track)

How can I keep up to date?

On the Google Apps What’s New site (http://whatsnew.googleapps.com/new-look), you’ll find information about the release process, and instructions on how to try the new designs for Gmail and Calendar. We’ll keep this site up to date with information on the new look, how to give feedback, and resources for you and your users.

Sincerely,

The Google Apps Team

You have received this mandatory email service announcement to update you about important changes to your Google Apps account.

Google Inc. 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043.

©2011 Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google Inc.

What IT departments can learn from Braveheart #edtech #iste11

I have to admit I am a fan of the movie Braveheart. If you have seen it you know there are quite a few notable quotes in the movie. One of the quotes that has always stuck with is this one:

"There's a difference between us. You think the people of this land exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure they have it." - William Wallace to Robert the Bruce

The more I think about this quote I think it can apply perfectly to an IT department. While not always the case today, all to often IT departments have the idea that they need to lock down their network, and serve as the police of the network. I know. I have been there. And I am ashamed to say I have put processes in place to lock things down. However, I have seen the light. And I am working hard to get us out of the police business. If you take out the word 'land' in the above quote an replace it with network, it really hits home.

"There's a difference between us. You think the people of this network exist to provide you with position. I think your position exists to provide those people with freedom. And I go to make sure they have it."

The network doesn't exist to provide the IT department with jobs. It also doesn't exist so that we can limit its use. The network is there to support creativity and innovation, to allow collaboration and communication, and to facilitate data analysis and problem solving. The network is there to provide freedom. And our IT departments are there to make sure we have it!

Where is the bailout for Education? #txlege

A colleague shared a thought with me earlier today, and it has been bothering me ever since. The thought was: Why was our country willing to bail out for-profit organizations (which were mismanaged until it was impossible for them to recover) but when it comes to non-profit educational institutions, the coffers are empty?

Why is it that companies like GM and AIG were worthy of our tax dollars, but not education? Why are companies that were giving out millions of dollars in bonuses (while being bailed out) seen in a better light than education? Are these companies really more critical to the success of our state (and nation) than educating our children? I struggle to see the logic here.

Consider the following facts (as shared here by Michael Gilbert of White Oak ISD):

"The fact is, the US Education System ranks 20th in the world, according to the United Nations Education Index"

• The combined population of the nineteen countries ranked higher that the US are not equal to the population of the USA.
• Only seven of the countries ranked higher that the US have a population greater than New York City.
• Only five of those countries have a population greater than the State of Texas.
• None of the countries ranked above the US are regularly mentioned as economic rivals the US.
• Japan ranks #34, China ranks #97 and India ranks #145.

"One of the most often heard complaints is that the increase in expenditures has not resulted in an increase in results. Although there has been an increase in total dollars spent on Texas Education, there has not been a significant increased in the cost per student. Texas adds 85,000 new students to the rolls every year."

Now consider this (as posted here by Spring Branch ISD):

In 2005, state property taxpayers were told by the Texas Legislature that their property taxes would be lowered and that the funding loss to our schools would be made up through other taxes or revenue sources, including a new business or "margins" tax. That promise to make up for the funding loss has not been kept. The Texas Legislature must honor its commitment and restore this funding.

In 2006, the state froze school district revenue at the 2006 level. Since that time, in order to fund basic inflationary cost increases, including cost-of-living increases for our teachers, SBISD has made difficult non-campus reductions and used its savings to limit the direct effect on our classrooms.

Yes, education spending has gone up over the years, but as Mr. Gilbert pointed out that is largely due to the number of new students enrolled in the educational system every year. In other words: spending has not gone up over time due to mismanagement or wildly extravagant purchases. Nobody is getting million dollar bonuses, and as Spring Branch ISD pointed out, Texas hasn't even allowed for a cost-of-living increase since 2006. Furthermore, the current fiscal problem in Texas was created, not by the local education agencies, but by a poorly thought out tax reform.

Where is all the fat in this system? I can't seem to find it. At this point the only thing left to cut will be crucial programs that are vital to the success of instruction. And when we do that we hamstring our state (and nation). We will literally cut the feet out from underneath ourselves. How can we let this happen?

I leave you with one final question: Does it make sense that we should prioritize GM, AIG and other big businesses over our educational system? My answer is NO!

Know Your Texas Legislators #txlege

*Reminder - You can use the link below to find out who representatives you in Texas!*

http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

Thanks to Scott Floyd for posting this committee info (via ATPE). Below are the Texas Legislative Committee assignments (related to education).

Senate

The Senate committee assignments for the 82nd Legislature were officially released Jan. 28. Here are the assignments for the public education-related committees:

Senate Education Committee

Florence Shapiro (R–Plano), chairwoman

Dan Patrick (R–Houston), vice chairman

John Carona (R–Dallas)

Wendy Davis (D–Fort Worth)

Mario Gallegos (D–Houston)

Steve Ogden (R–Bryan)

Kel Seliger (R–Amarillo)

Leticia Van de Putte (D–San Antonio)

Royce West (D–Dallas)

Senate Finance Committee (budget)

Steve Ogden (R–Bryan), chairman

Juan Hinojosa (D–Mission), vice chairman

Bob Deuell (R–Greenville)

Robert Duncan (R–Lubbock)

Kevin Eltife (R–Tyler)

Craig Estes (R–Wichita Falls)

Eddie Lucio (D–Brownsville)

Jane Nelson (R–Lewisville)

Dan Patrick (R–Houston)

Kel Seliger (R–Amarillo)

Florence Shapiro (R–Plano)

Royce West (D–Dallas)

John Whitmire (D–Houston)

Tommy Williams (R–The Woodlands)

Judith Zaffirini (D–Laredo)

State Affairs Committee (Teacher Retirement System (TRS))

Robert Duncan (R–Lubbock), chairman

Bob Deuell (R–Greenville), vice chairman

Rodney Ellis (D–Houston)

Troy Fraser (R–Horseshoe Bay)

Joan Huffman (R–Houston)

Mike Jackson (R–La Porte)

Eddie Lucio (D–Brownsville)

Leticia Van de Putte (D–San Antonio)

Tommy Williams (R–The Woodlands)

For full committee assignments, visit www.senate.state.tx.us/assets/pdf/TXSenCmtes82R.pdf.

House of Representatives

House Speaker Joe Straus (R–San Antonio) released his committee assignments for the 82nd Legislature Feb. 9. Below are the line-ups for the public education-related committees:

House Public Education Committee

Rob Eissler (R–The Woodlands), chairman

Scott Hochberg (D–Houston), vice chairman

Alma Allen (D–Houston)

Harold Dutton (D–Houston)

Ryan Guillen (D–Rio Grande City)

Todd Smith (R–Bedford)

Jimmy Don Aycock (R–Killeen)

Dan Huberty (R–Kingwood)

Mark Shelton (R–Fort Worth)

Mark Strama (D– Austin)

Randy Weber (R–Pearland)

House Appropriations Committee (budget)

Jim Pitts (R–Waxahachie), chairman

Sylvester Turner (D–Houston), vice chairman

Warren Chisum (R–Pampa)

Myra Crownover (R–Lake Dallas)

Dawnna Dukes (D–Austin)

Craig Eiland (D–Texas City)

Helen Gidding (D–De Soto)

Scott Hochberg (D–Houston)

Ruth Jones McLendon (D–San Antonio)

Geanie Morrison (R–Victoria)

John Otto (R–Dayton)

Debbie Riddle (R–Houston)

Mike Villarreal (D–San Antonio)

Jimmy Don Aycock (R–Killeen)

Angie Button (R–Garland)

Drew Darby (R–San Angelo)

Lance Gooden (R–Terrell)

Eric Johnson (D–Dallas)

Susan King (R–Abilene)

Dee Margo (R–El Paso)

Armando Martinez (D–Weslaco)

Doug Miller (R–New Braunfels)

Diane Patrick (R–Arlington)

Charles Schwertner (R–Georgetown)

Mark Shelton (R–Fort Worth)

Raul Torres (R– Corpus Christi)

John Zerwas (R–Katy)

Pensions and Investments (TRS)

Vicki Truitt (R–Southlake) – chairwoman

Rafael Anchia (D–Dallas) – vice chairman

Charles “Doc”Anderson (R–Waco)

Marc Veasey (D–Fort Worth)

Brandon Creighton (R–Conroe)

Ana Hernandez (D–Houston)

Ken Legler (R–Pasadena)

Barbara Nash (R–Arlington)

Rob Orr (R–Burleson)

The full House committee assignments can be found at www.house.state.tx.us/_media/pdf/member.pdf.

Legislative Panel at #TCEA2011

Panel Members:
Rep. Scott Hochberg - Houston
Rep. Mark Strama - Austin
Thomas Ratliff - SBOE - Mt. Pleasant
Scott Floyd - Technologist - White Oak
Melanie Pritchett - Compass Learning - Austin
Frances McArthur - Superintendent - Lexington

Question: Vision for online textbooks (and technology), and what are the challenges/barriers to accomplishing that vision?
(I kind of spaced out at the beginning so I missed the exact opening question and part of Hochberg's response...)

Hochberg- Digital content readily available. Get content at 20% cost via open source providers. A state repository that can be loaded on an iphone and then content can be more accessible from there. Funding will be a challenge as well as equitable access at home for all students.

Pritchett - A vision where choice is critical. Communities need to feel that their schools are the center of the community and that they can make the choice that fits their community. Challenges are how to provide equal access to all children.

Strama - We are teaching the subject, not the children. The only way to customize education to meet every student's needs is through technology. Challenges are along an adoption path. Phrase in the 90s was 'Killer App' - Email. What is going to be the killer app for schools? Probably the conversion of textbooks. This is not the vision he has described, but it might be the killer app that helps you to move along that path. Fund 1:1 programs through the savings of online textbooks, and that solves the equitable access issue. Other challenges, bandwidth, the right hardware, content, and the killer app. Diagnostically deliver the right content to the right kid at the right time, that is the vision. Final barrier is teachers. We can't make it happen from legislative policy. It has to come from the ground up through teachers. Government can support it and help to facilitate it, but can't make it happen. Project Share is the right direction in order to allow teachers to share content so they aren't continually reinventing the wheel.

Floyd - How you deliver the content doesn't change the instruction side of it. If we keep assessing the way we are assessing, then we will keep instructing the way we are instructing. Why do we keep paying the same amount of money every couple of years to repackage and receive the same content? Challenges are in the current system. Be more open with our instructional styles and move towards authentic assessment. Find the content to support those instructional models.

Ratliff - Need the SBOE to evolve because they are living in an 8-track world. Kids have to power down when they come to school. In multiple or ubiquitous formats so that there is equitable access. Universal delivery. SBOE has forgotten that ISD stands for Independent School District. SBOE needs to pull back and give ISDs the resources they need and then get the heck out of the way. If the state can give the content, parents will find the way to get the device to support it. The big elephant in the room is the financing.

McArthur - We are losing teachers and students that are having to power down before class because they aren't engaged and they aren't interested. The range of learners in our classrooms is incredibly diverse. How do we get teachers and students excited about learning again? Diagnose student need, and then effectively place, monitor and adjust instruction based on a daily review of progress. Social media will be a game changer. Challenges are bandwidth, and hardware issues as well as getting access to all students. Textbook adoption processes are also a barrier as they were built with a paper based textbook in mind. We also have issues with teacher training and what technology integration really means and looks like.

Hochberg and then Strama - Asking for feedback on the type of hardware that we should be be using? The legislature is in a fog and not sure where should be going with hardware.

Ratliff - my kids at home only have access to a hard set list of sites, can we do that at schools?

Strama - That can lead to cutting off the magic of the internet by filtering to much.

Floyd - Challenge every teacher in Texas to try to find something they need that is not available in iTunesU or YouTube.

Ratliff - biggest barrier: how do we get a laptop in their hands tomorrow. The device doesn't matter, if we can get you the content the parents or the district can find the way to get the device, and it doesn't have to be the same device. Internet access at home is not a show stopper in terms of the textbook discussion.

Hochberg - We have to be careful. Things that are supposed to be temporary in the legislature tend to hang around. Spending another billion dollars on textbooks will not get us any closer to where we want to be.

All in all I was surprised (in a good way) by most of the thoughts shared by the panel. I was concerned however, that there was a lack of understanding (by the elected officials) with respect to CIPA and E-rate. These are pretty major components of Edtech. This definitely reinforces the idea that we need to continue to find ways to reach out to our representatives and help to educate them on the issues that we are dealing with. The reps on this panel definitely seemed to want more information.

Learning Spaces discussion - #lsebc11

Sitting in a discussion at Lonestar Edubloggercon listening to David Jakes (@djakes) and Ryan Bretag (@ryanbretag) talking about learning spaces.

Where does learning happen? It should happen in the whole building.

Build the space you want teachers to work in, then bring them to that space to train them. Let them experience learning themselves in that space. Model the space with them. Don't just try to create the space and expect them to change.

What does it mean to be well educated? And what type of space allows that to happen? These are the questions that we should be asking.

Turn non-learning spaces into non-traditional learning spaces. Google learning streets to get some more ideas.

Resources to look at:

Flickr search for learning commons

Google search for learning streets

thethirdteacher.com

Learning Spaces Educause e-Book