Four leading education and business organizations -- the Consortium for School Networking (CoSN), the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) and the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) -- recently applauded President-elect Barack Obama's call to invest in technology for the classroom as part of the forthcoming economic recovery package and urged targeted action by Congress. The groups endorsed the President-elect's goals to "equip tens of thousands of schools, community colleges, and public universities with 21st century classrooms . . . [and] provide new computers, new technology, and new training for teachers" to not only prime the nation's economic pump but also allow "students in Chicago and Boston [to] compete with kids in Beijing for the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the future."
CoSN, ISTE, SIIA and SETDA have recommended that Congress agree to disseminate these new classroom technology grant funds through the existing Enhancing Education through Technology (EETT) program in order to ensure that the funds quickly reach the neediest schools and are used for their intended purposes.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Friday, February 6, 2009
THINK: EduWood Digital Learning Studios!
Hollywood comes to Oakland
The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON A building in the General Motors Centerpoint complex in Pontiac, which will be the site of a $70 million movie studio with nine sound stages.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 11:40 AM EST
By CHARLES CRUMM and RANDAL YAKEY
Of The Oakland Press
Founders of a movie studio planned for Pontiac want to be making movies within 90 days. That’s a realistic goal, says county Executive L. Brooks Patterson.
The movie studio initiative was the high point of Patterson’s State of the County address Tuesday in Troy. Gov. Jennifer Granholm was supposed to make the same announcement at the same time in her State of the State address to the Legislature. Patterson blamed the governor for leaking news about the studio a day before the concurrent speeches. “The governor got so excited about the news — you remember she lived in Hollywood for awhile — she couldn’t contain her girlish enthusiasm and let the cat out of the bag,” Patterson said.
Patterson is among a halfdozen Republicans considering a run for governor when the term-limited Granholm leaves office in 2010.
But all agree the studio is certain to generate much-needed jobs.
“It’s good news — it’s going to be 3,600 jobs,” Patterson said Tuesday.
The local investors in the new studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
“They’re the real deal,” state Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, said of Raleigh and Endeavor. Melton’s district includes Pontiac.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture, the reason it was included in both Patterson and Granholm’s speeches.
The new venture, called Motown Motion Pictures LLC and currently based in Birmingham, will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority on Tuesday approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Also receiving assistance from the authority are two other film industry businesses — one to be based in Plymouth and one in Detroit.
Michigan currently has the most favorable tax incentives for the film industry in the country.
Movie studio a definite among many ‘maybes’
Thursday, February 5, 2009 6:08 AM EST
By The Oakland Press
Amid all of the promises and glowing predictions we heard Tuesday night from both Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, there was at least one bit of very good, defi nite news.
In their state of the state and state of the county addresses, we were informed of the establishment of a movie studio in Pontiac. Motown Motion Pictures will invest $70 million to build its new film studios at a former General Motors plant.
Granholm noted that Pontiac’s studio was one of three projects coming to Michigan to boost its ongoing efforts to attract Hollywood filmmakers to the state. The governor noted that Wonderstruck Animation Studios will invest $86 million to build a new studio in Detroit and Stardock Systems, a digital gaming manufacturer, will build its production facilities in Plymouth.
The local investors in the Motown studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture.
Motown Motion Pictures LLC is based in Birmingham and will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority has approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
However, tax revenue for Pontiac is expected to be anywhere from $1.4 to $2.8 million annually, according to city officials. The state expects its tax revenues to be $178 million by 2020.
Patterson even mentioned the county was in the early stages of its first-ever film festival, possibly coming in 2010.
In speeches that made a lot of promises, it was good hear about some real, concrete projects coming to Oakland County and the state.
We commend Patterson, Granholm, the Pontiac mayor’s office as well as other local and state officials for their efforts in securing this project.
Generally, Granholm painted a beautifully bright future for Michigan.
Of course, she had to do something positive because with the highest unemployment in the nation and an economy that is reeling, gloomy doesn’t even do justice as a description.
Meanwhile, Patterson also did some painting. As usual, he focused on the county’s accomplishments.
Patterson, among other things, noted that Automation Alley, on the strength of a 17-percent increase in membership last year, has hit the magical 1,000 membership mark. He also said that 106 Emerging Sectors companies have either located in Oakland County or expanded here over the past four years, resulting in $1.3 billion in new investment and the creation of 14,762 new jobs.
The picture Granholm crafted certainly sounded good. She plans to shrink state government and balance Michigan’s budget while creating more jobs through diversification of the state’s industries.
Obviously, the devil is in the details.
Will the state balance the budget through some type of tax increases on the backs of businesses and individuals? Will Granholm remember that whatever federal stimulus funds the state receives will be a one-time shot, so they need to supplement Michigan’s finances, not just prop them up for one more year. We certainly can’t argue with anything Granholm and Patterson said. We hope their visions come true.
But just how realistic are they? Historically, we would predict that Patterson’s projections are more accurate because Oakland County has continually led the way in fiscal responsibility and acumen.
Time will tell.
We’ll get a glimpse of Granholm’s plans to finance her visions when she presents her budget next week.
But no matter how successful Granholm and Patterson are in their programs, one thing is certain: For the time being, we’re all in for a bumpy ride, so hang on.
The Oakland Press/TIM THOMPSON A building in the General Motors Centerpoint complex in Pontiac, which will be the site of a $70 million movie studio with nine sound stages.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009 11:40 AM EST
By CHARLES CRUMM and RANDAL YAKEY
Of The Oakland Press
Founders of a movie studio planned for Pontiac want to be making movies within 90 days. That’s a realistic goal, says county Executive L. Brooks Patterson.
The movie studio initiative was the high point of Patterson’s State of the County address Tuesday in Troy. Gov. Jennifer Granholm was supposed to make the same announcement at the same time in her State of the State address to the Legislature. Patterson blamed the governor for leaking news about the studio a day before the concurrent speeches. “The governor got so excited about the news — you remember she lived in Hollywood for awhile — she couldn’t contain her girlish enthusiasm and let the cat out of the bag,” Patterson said.
Patterson is among a halfdozen Republicans considering a run for governor when the term-limited Granholm leaves office in 2010.
But all agree the studio is certain to generate much-needed jobs.
“It’s good news — it’s going to be 3,600 jobs,” Patterson said Tuesday.
The local investors in the new studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
“They’re the real deal,” state Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, said of Raleigh and Endeavor. Melton’s district includes Pontiac.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture, the reason it was included in both Patterson and Granholm’s speeches.
The new venture, called Motown Motion Pictures LLC and currently based in Birmingham, will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority on Tuesday approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
Also receiving assistance from the authority are two other film industry businesses — one to be based in Plymouth and one in Detroit.
Michigan currently has the most favorable tax incentives for the film industry in the country.
Movie studio a definite among many ‘maybes’
Thursday, February 5, 2009 6:08 AM EST
By The Oakland Press
Amid all of the promises and glowing predictions we heard Tuesday night from both Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, there was at least one bit of very good, defi nite news.
In their state of the state and state of the county addresses, we were informed of the establishment of a movie studio in Pontiac. Motown Motion Pictures will invest $70 million to build its new film studios at a former General Motors plant.
Granholm noted that Pontiac’s studio was one of three projects coming to Michigan to boost its ongoing efforts to attract Hollywood filmmakers to the state. The governor noted that Wonderstruck Animation Studios will invest $86 million to build a new studio in Detroit and Stardock Systems, a digital gaming manufacturer, will build its production facilities in Plymouth.
The local investors in the Motown studio are Oakland County developers A. Alfred Taubman, Gary Sakwa of Grand Sakwa Properties in Farmington Hills and Linden Nelson of Nelson Ventures in Birmingham. They’re teaming up with Raleigh Studios of Hollywood, Calif., and Endeavor Talent Agency of Beverly Hills, Calif.
The Michigan Economic Growth Authority also is putting up money for the venture.
Motown Motion Pictures LLC is based in Birmingham and will include both a film studio and production company.
The investors plan to spend $70 million for a 600,000-square-foot development, including nine sound stages located inside General Motors’ former Centerpoint truck plant at South Boulevard and Opdyke Road in Pontiac.
The state’s growth authority expects the studio to create 3,600 direct jobs and another 1,500 indirect jobs by the year 2020 with an average weekly wage of $824.
The authority has approved a state tax credit valued at $101 million over 12 years. The project also will receive $12 million in state incentives along with job training assistance through the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.
However, tax revenue for Pontiac is expected to be anywhere from $1.4 to $2.8 million annually, according to city officials. The state expects its tax revenues to be $178 million by 2020.
Patterson even mentioned the county was in the early stages of its first-ever film festival, possibly coming in 2010.
In speeches that made a lot of promises, it was good hear about some real, concrete projects coming to Oakland County and the state.
We commend Patterson, Granholm, the Pontiac mayor’s office as well as other local and state officials for their efforts in securing this project.
Generally, Granholm painted a beautifully bright future for Michigan.
Of course, she had to do something positive because with the highest unemployment in the nation and an economy that is reeling, gloomy doesn’t even do justice as a description.
Meanwhile, Patterson also did some painting. As usual, he focused on the county’s accomplishments.
Patterson, among other things, noted that Automation Alley, on the strength of a 17-percent increase in membership last year, has hit the magical 1,000 membership mark. He also said that 106 Emerging Sectors companies have either located in Oakland County or expanded here over the past four years, resulting in $1.3 billion in new investment and the creation of 14,762 new jobs.
The picture Granholm crafted certainly sounded good. She plans to shrink state government and balance Michigan’s budget while creating more jobs through diversification of the state’s industries.
Obviously, the devil is in the details.
Will the state balance the budget through some type of tax increases on the backs of businesses and individuals? Will Granholm remember that whatever federal stimulus funds the state receives will be a one-time shot, so they need to supplement Michigan’s finances, not just prop them up for one more year. We certainly can’t argue with anything Granholm and Patterson said. We hope their visions come true.
But just how realistic are they? Historically, we would predict that Patterson’s projections are more accurate because Oakland County has continually led the way in fiscal responsibility and acumen.
Time will tell.
We’ll get a glimpse of Granholm’s plans to finance her visions when she presents her budget next week.
But no matter how successful Granholm and Patterson are in their programs, one thing is certain: For the time being, we’re all in for a bumpy ride, so hang on.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Real World: 21st Century Digital Learning Environments
| Learning Environments Must Break Through the Silos that Separate Learning from the Real World |  |
ORLANDO, FL — Jan. 23, 2009 — Successful learning environments break through the barriers that separate schools from the real world, educators from each other and policymakers from the communities they serve. Yet, many schools continue to reflect their Industrial Age origins with rigid schedules, inflexible facilities and fixed boundaries between grades, disciplines and classrooms, according to a new paper released by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and sponsored by Cisco Systems.
The paper, 21st Century Learning Environments, finds that learning environments – the structures, tools, and communities that inspire students and educators to attain the knowledge and skills that are required of them – must embrace a diverse and complex world of people, places, and ideas. While a tremendous amount of attention has been paid to standards, assessments, professional development, and curriculum and instruction, the paper finds that learning environments are an essential component to supporting positive 21st century outcomes for students.
The report notes that the term ‘learning environment’ has traditionally suggested a concrete place (schools, classrooms, libraries, etc.), but in today’s interconnected and technology-driven world, a learning environment can be virtual, online and remote. In addition, physical learning structures must be designed to suit the immediate and future requirements of a community and should enable collaboration, interaction and information sharing among community members.
While the relationship of physical spaces and technological systems to learning continues to be ever important, even more important is how – and whether – these environments support the positive human relationships that matter most to learning, according to the report. The most essential element of all learning environments has always been the ‘people network’ – the community of students, educators, parents, business and civic leaders, and policymakers that constitute the human resources of an education system.
“It is critical that 21st century learning environments address the multiple and interconnected needs of the whole child,” said Paige Kuni, worldwide manager of K-12 education for Intel Corporation and chair of the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. “Learning supports are only valuable if they effectively reinforce human relationships, give relevance to learning and encourage student engagement. Schools must devote themselves to more than the mind-body connection to ensure student achievement.”
Likewise, technology must go beyond merely supporting instruction to help foster personal connections to ensure students have the necessary foundations to become successful 21st century citizens. Toward that end, technology can enhance student learning and promote mastery of 21st century skills – learning and innovation skills, core subjects and 21st century themes, life and career skills and information, media and technology skills – by promoting greater student achievement, increasing student engagement, assessing student performance, facilitating communication and collaboration and maximizing administrative effectiveness.
The paper notes that the greatest challenge to incorporating technology into learning environments is not finding time and money, but finding ways to adequately support the use of these tools. Technology can only make a difference when students, teachers, and administrators are provided the necessary supports to proficiently integrate it into daily routines. Educational technology is most valuable when it functions as part of a thoughtfully orchestrated system that includes effective curriculum and instruction, ongoing professional development, authentic assessments and a positive learning culture.
“Schools are being designed for a new balance that combines the best of traditional classroom learning with leading 21st century learning methods and tools,” said Bernie Trilling, global director of education strategy and partnerships for the Oracle Education Foundation. “The learning environments of the 21st century will encompass a powerful mix of face-to-face learning opportunities with digital connections to bridge cultures and blend virtual and real-life relationships. At the same time, federal, state and local policies must help guide the creation of learning environments that serve all students in every corner of our states.”
With tight budgets and worries over the economy, policymakers face tough decisions concerning whether school design really makes a difference, notes the report. According to Georgetown University researchers, design has a bearing on achievement, as test scores can increase by up to 11 percent by improving a school’s physical environment. With that in mind, school design must also effectively address increasing enrollment, which is estimated to grow at record levels though 2013. This, in turn, signals that total spending on construction and maintenance could be as much as $30 billion annually. This is not an unprecedented occurrence – faced with similar demands a century ago, policymakers built thousands of schools that mimicked industrial forms to fulfill increased enrollment.
While, today, many schools have advanced well beyond those outdated models and classrooms have become undeniably more flexible, colorful and engaging, this is just an initial step, cautions the report. Successful learning environments must be able to adapt to the constantly evolving and ever-changing nature of technology, teaching and learning. One solution to achieve this necessary flexibility is to design learning environments that incorporate movable furniture and walls that can be made to conform to different class sizes and subjects.
"As important as it is for physical structures to be adaptable, it is even more important that class time be elastic. Instead of assigning a certain amount of time for teaching one subject per day, teachers need the flexibility of bigger and more adjustable time slots to truly impact learning," said Charles Fadel, global lead for education for Cisco Systems. "There must be a renewed focus on increasing the quality of teaching by providing teachers more time and opportunities to plan, collaborate and work with advanced technology systems."
In addition, schools cannot continue to use seat time as a measure of academic attainment. Rather, assessment of learning must include thoughtful measures of a student’s ability to apply and demonstrate knowledge in complex situations, the report concludes.
21st Century Skills Leadership States include: Arizona, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, South Dakota, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Educational Technological Imperitive!
A Plea for Educational Technology
Four education leaders call on Congress to meet President-elect Obama's request to target classroom technology modernization in economic recovery legislation.
By News Report
"We're very encouraged by the economic stimulus proposal now under consideration," said Don Knezek, CEO of ISTE. "It puts a world-class, future-focused education front and center while also preserving and creating jobs now."
The four groups -- representing more than 100,000 educators and hundreds of high-tech employers -- believe that a major spending infusion on education technology will create jobs within the education, education services and technology sectors, as well as enable innovative instructional practices in America's classrooms to address the needs of today's digital-native students. For example, a federal expenditure of $9.9 billion could ensure that every classroom in economically-disadvantaged Title I schools is technology-rich.
Additionally, the groups noted that further investments in broadband would improve the nation's unemployment picture, citing a recent study by the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation that a $10 billion investment in broadband would lead to the creation of nearly one-half million jobs.
For the complete press release, please, click here.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Pontiac Promise / Update!
Pontiac pegged as Promise Zone
By DIANA DILLABER MURRAY
Of The Oakland Press
PONTIAC — The Pontiac school board has put the school district on the fast track in what is becoming a statewide competition to create a Promise Zone that would guarantee graduates a college education.
The board voted Friday at a brief special meeting to schedule a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 5 at the urging of state Rep. Tim Melton, D-Auburn Hills, who said only 10 Promise Zones — similar to the one created in Kalamazoo — will be authorized throughout the state.
Melton sponsored the Promise Zone legislation with Pontiac School District in mind, and it was signed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm this week. Melton and Granholm are expecting the Pontiac district to be the first Promise Zone in the state, he said.
Board Vice President Gill Garrett, and trustees Robert Bass and Karen Cain all had questions and concerns about the process and the details of how the Promise Zone will work.
But the board agreed to schedule the public hearing to start the process immediately with the commitment of Melton to provide the answers to all their questions during the 20-day period leading up to the hearing. The process will go no further than the hearing without approval of the board.
“This is an exciting opportunity for the city and the district,” Melton said, explaining that the promise of a college education would bring more families and businesses into the district and increase property values and the tax base the way it did in Kalamazoo.
“As I drafted the bill, Pontiac was number one in my concern. The number one reason kids don’t go to college is money,” Melton said. A district is eligible to be a Promise Zone if the youth poverty rate is above the state average and the district qualifies, he said. The state Department of Treasury accepts or rejects the applications.
Melton said once children know tuition will be paid, they begin planning and expecting to continue with education after high school.
“In the second grade in Kalamazoo, colleges begin recruiting kids. They know they are going to college. The psyche starts changing. Interest in high school goes up.”
Under the legislation, the school board would create a Promise Zone Authority board and appoint nine of the 11 members. The other two would be appointed by the speaker of the House and the leader of the Senate majority. The authority would cover full tuition to any public school in Michigan and a capped amount to any more expensive private Michigan college.
The Promise Zone Authority board would set the criteria — such as the required gradepoint average — for the scholarships and would be responsible for raising money in the private sector to fund them. No school board members would be on the authority.
In the third year, after two years of fund raising, the state would authorize the district to keep a percentage of funds generated by property tax growth to put toward scholarships. Children in all the cities and townships in the district would benefit, not just those who live in Pontiac. And the fund would reap revenue from growth in property taxes from all the entities in the school district.
Bass, Garrett and Cain said they are concerned and disappointed the board would not have any part in decision making, such as setting the criteria that makes a student eligible. That would be entirely the authority’s role.
“I want to make sure our students can take advantage of it,” Bass said.
As far as Melton is concerned, he said, “I think the criteria should be (a free college education) for any student who graduates high school,” which is the criteria set in Kalamazoo.
Melton said the school board will have some influence because they interview and select the members of the authority. School attorney George Pitchfork said trustees will also have the right to remove authority members.
Pitchford also advised the board that they could have a trustee on the authority as a nonvoting member to provide input from the board and to keep trustees up to date on the authority’s activities.
One thing that was worrisome to Bass is the fact that students and their parents would have to show they did their best to obtain other scholarships and grants before the Promise Zone fund would cover the difference.
Contact staff writer Diana Dillaber Murray at (248) 745-4638 or diana.dillaber@oakpress.com.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
SMART!
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Editorial
Focus of New Year must be education
Forrest Gump had it right: Stupid is as stupid does.
Michigan has been doing some awfully stupid things when it comes to educating its citizens. If it doesn't commit in 2009 to smarten up, the state has little chance of joining a national economic recovery, when it finally comes.
For starters, the state has to at last match its policies to its priorities. It has said for all of this decade that improving education is the most essential task of state government, absolutely vital to developing a workforce capable of filling Knowledge Economy jobs.
But instead of diverting resources to schools and colleges, Michigan has cut education funding, particularly for universities, and has no new education initiatives to boast of except for a tougher high school curriculum, which local school districts are busy dismantling.
If it wants 2009 to be the Year of Education, here are some things Michigan must do:
• Direct more dollars to classrooms. This can be done in two ways. First, education should get first claim on state budget dollars. Decide how much money per pupil is needed to provide a first-class education to every student, and then divert dollars from every other program to make it happen. Investing in schools should be considered a cost-cutting measure. Students who are failed by the education system overwhelmingly tend to end up on welfare or in prison, a far costlier place to keep them than in a classroom.
Second, cut administrative and benefit costs. School districts have been to slow to consolidate and share services. Lawmakers should force them to do so. They've also had little progress cutting the cost of teacher benefit packages. Michigan should pass a law this year that caps the cost of health care and retirement benefits.
• Stop protecting failing districts. Detroit has a failure rate for students that reaches 70 percent. And yet Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Legislature continue to protect the Detroit Public Schools from competition. High-quality national charter school operators have said they will come to Detroit if Lansing lifts the cap on charter schools. That must happen this year. Let DPS keep the schools that are making acceptable progress, and force it to contract with private operators to run the schools that are failing. That is the quickest way to save students now trapped in inadequate schools.
• Make educators accountable. Michigan has very little accountability for education performance. One example is the new high school curriculum, which was a major achievement of the Granhom administration. The curriculum is nation-leading, but the state has not taken the necessary steps to make sure districts are teaching it properly. Many districts have worked harder to find ways around the new curriculum than they have to implement it. The course schedule is designed to give every student the best shot at college success. The state must take a hard line to make sure it is being taught to every student.
• Address college affordability. Having world-class universities in the state does little good if state students can't afford to attend them. Incomes have been falling in Michigan and jobs have been disappearing. And yet college tuition costs keep soaring. Blame the state in part for continually cutting budgets. But also blame college and university boards that have found it easier to pass along tuition hikes to hard-pressed families than to cut deeply into operating costs. Schools should focus this year on affordability, rather than on expansion programs often motivated by status and ego.
Do these things this year, and Michigan can look back on 2009 and declare it the year it started thinking seriously about its future.
Editorial
Focus of New Year must be education
Forrest Gump had it right: Stupid is as stupid does.
Michigan has been doing some awfully stupid things when it comes to educating its citizens. If it doesn't commit in 2009 to smarten up, the state has little chance of joining a national economic recovery, when it finally comes.
For starters, the state has to at last match its policies to its priorities. It has said for all of this decade that improving education is the most essential task of state government, absolutely vital to developing a workforce capable of filling Knowledge Economy jobs.
But instead of diverting resources to schools and colleges, Michigan has cut education funding, particularly for universities, and has no new education initiatives to boast of except for a tougher high school curriculum, which local school districts are busy dismantling.
If it wants 2009 to be the Year of Education, here are some things Michigan must do:
• Direct more dollars to classrooms. This can be done in two ways. First, education should get first claim on state budget dollars. Decide how much money per pupil is needed to provide a first-class education to every student, and then divert dollars from every other program to make it happen. Investing in schools should be considered a cost-cutting measure. Students who are failed by the education system overwhelmingly tend to end up on welfare or in prison, a far costlier place to keep them than in a classroom.
Second, cut administrative and benefit costs. School districts have been to slow to consolidate and share services. Lawmakers should force them to do so. They've also had little progress cutting the cost of teacher benefit packages. Michigan should pass a law this year that caps the cost of health care and retirement benefits.
• Stop protecting failing districts. Detroit has a failure rate for students that reaches 70 percent. And yet Gov. Jennifer Granholm and the Legislature continue to protect the Detroit Public Schools from competition. High-quality national charter school operators have said they will come to Detroit if Lansing lifts the cap on charter schools. That must happen this year. Let DPS keep the schools that are making acceptable progress, and force it to contract with private operators to run the schools that are failing. That is the quickest way to save students now trapped in inadequate schools.
• Make educators accountable. Michigan has very little accountability for education performance. One example is the new high school curriculum, which was a major achievement of the Granhom administration. The curriculum is nation-leading, but the state has not taken the necessary steps to make sure districts are teaching it properly. Many districts have worked harder to find ways around the new curriculum than they have to implement it. The course schedule is designed to give every student the best shot at college success. The state must take a hard line to make sure it is being taught to every student.
• Address college affordability. Having world-class universities in the state does little good if state students can't afford to attend them. Incomes have been falling in Michigan and jobs have been disappearing. And yet college tuition costs keep soaring. Blame the state in part for continually cutting budgets. But also blame college and university boards that have found it easier to pass along tuition hikes to hard-pressed families than to cut deeply into operating costs. Schools should focus this year on affordability, rather than on expansion programs often motivated by status and ego.
Do these things this year, and Michigan can look back on 2009 and declare it the year it started thinking seriously about its future.
Informs OUR Understanding (NSF ITEST Grant)
Linda Paramore, acting superintendent of the Pontiac School District, addresses residents last month at one of several forums. The district may be forced to close and combine some schools due to declining enrollment.
Final forum scheduled to get feedback
BY MELANIE D. SCOTT • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • January 4, 2009
Ellen Logan said she was looking forward to sending her youngest child, 13-year-old Tyler, to Pontiac Northern High School in the fall.
But that changed when Logan found out Pontiac School District officials were planning to redesign the district and possibly close one high school, making students from Northern and Pontiac Central attend the same school.
"I'm not sure what to do," Logan said. "I have some safety concerns because the schools are rivals, but I want to hear their plans before I make any decisions."
Declining enrollment and budget constraints have prompted Pontiac School District officials also to consider closing about half of all school buildings, including some middle and elementary schools. The district wants to reconfigure its schools to a save a yet-to-be determined amount of money. The redesign is expected to happen sometime this school year, said Georgette Johnson, the district's director of communications.
School officials expect to host the district's fourth and final public forum about the redesign plan Jan. 13 at the district's Whitmer Human Resource Center to allow parents and community leaders to talk about the plan. Three forums have been held since November.
"If we are going to save this school district, we are going to have to work together," acting Superintendent Linda Paramore said.
The redesign comes as district officials say there will be a projected $10-million deficit during the 2009-10 school year. There were nearly 8,000 students enrolled at the end of the 2007-08 school year. This year, there are 6,700 students in the district, which has space for nearly 20,000 students.
District officials are considering offering kindergarten through eighth grade under one roof. Another plan would change the current elementary school configuration to kindergarten through sixth grade, while middle school would include seventh through ninth grade and the high school would have 10th through 12th grades.
The district created an advisory committee in October to examine the redesign. Two advisory subcommittees were formed to look at proposed changes in the district's instruction as well as facilities and finance.
After hearing the feedback at all of the forums, the advisory committee will make its redesign recommendation to district officials. After hearing the recommendation, district officials will announce a plan.
"This needs to continue to happen," said Denise Morgan, a social studies teacher at Bethune Academy. "I think it's wonderful to get parents, teachers and the district talking. We are all in this together."
Officials say they believe the second forum had the most participants with more than 200 people in attendance.
"We don't think enough parents have been out," said Paramore. "If they don't come, I don't know where they will get the information from. We want to see more people."
Contact MELANIE D. SCOTT at 248-351-3681 or mdscott@freepress.com.
Funding Constraints could become CATALYST for Disruptive Digital Learning
Michigan school districts fear budget cuts
Declines in state revenue could create deficits
BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI • FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER • January 4, 2009
The January revenue conference -- when lawmakers meet to begin deciding how much money the state will have for next year's budget -- has an ominous feel for many Michigan school administrators this year.
They gratefully accepted an early Christmas present from the state, when Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced that midyear budget cuts would not affect schools.
But with 54% of Michigan's districts holding less than the recommended 15% of their budget in savings, and about one third of the districts approaching dangerously low levels of savings, administrators will be nervously watching the conference -- which starts Jan. 9 -- and hoping there will be enough money in next year's budget to keep their programs going.
"The thing that really frightens me for the future is, where do we go next?" said David Houle, business manager for Willow Run Community Schools. "We're going to come to a point where there are no additional cuts you can make that don't impact in the classroom."
In these uncertain economic times, state revenues could be down between $500 million and $1 billion next year, according to Mitch Bean, director of the House Fiscal Agency.
At best, any drop in state revenue could mean school districts have to make cuts in anything from supplies to transportation. At worst, cuts in school revenues would drive some districts into a deficit.
"This is not an environment in which we expect to get anything," said Tom White, executive director of Michigan School Business Officials. "It's really a question of how difficult it's going to be and what we're going to do about it."
"There are so many unknowns, it's like playing with a whole deck of wild cards," White said. His organization is recommending school administrators plan for no increase in school funding next year.
The good news is that there may be more money available for schools because there are fewer students. Michigan lost about 5,000 pupils, saving about $40 million because school money is doled out on a per-pupil basis.
The bad news is that schools don't necessarily lose pupils in cost-saving ways. A district that loses 25 students is unlikely to lose them in the same classroom or even the same building. So expenses such as teachers, heating and transportation remain the same.
What could help? Strong Christmas sales generating more tax revenue, help for the U.S. automakers saving Michigan jobs or a timely federal economic stimulus package that could include a significant savings for Michigan in Medicaid.
"As soon as those sales in the state go down, we're not funding our schools," Houle said.
But even if these situations materialize, no one knows whether they will be enough. Most worried are those whose districts are likely to fall into a deficit if the state cuts any funding.
"It's the equivalent of squeezing blood out of a turnip," said Charles Muncatchy, superintendent of Mt. Clemens Community Schools. He said his district is out of savings, and the likely result of any funding cuts would be a deficit.
East Detroit Public Schools also would be likely to end up in a deficit if state funding is cut. The district is down to a slim $57,000 in savings.
"It's a mess," said Superintendent Bruce Kefgen. "I can't tell you where we'd ultimately cut."
The Willow Run Community Schools district already was in a deficit, and files an annual plan on how it is reducing its deficit with the state.
"We've already made major changes and concessions with our employees and staffing," Houle said. "We don't have anyplace to go for discretionary spending."
Even well-heeled districts can struggle.
Bloomfield Hills Public Schools has a cushion in the form of $20 million in savings, but its officials still feel that it has to close two schools next year.
"Just because we have a fund balance doesn't mean our board wants to tap it," said district spokeswoman Betsy Erikson.
Educators say if money is tight, it's only fair for the state and federal governments to chip in by dropping some of the schools' requirements.
"If you don't have the money for us, you could cut some of those unfunded mandates," said Kefgen. He suggests cutting back on the state testing programs such as the MEAP, which he said costs districts thousands of dollars to administer, or rethinking all the databases that districts are required to keep.
Muncatchy said he would like the federal government to fund some of the requirements under No Child Left Behind.
"I'm all for rigor and that schools should be places of excellence, but other countries in the world spend 30% of their federal funds on education, and America spends less than 3%," Muncatchy said.
Contact PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI at 586-826-7262 or mmwalsh@freepress.com.
Declines in state revenue could create deficits
BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI • FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER • January 4, 2009
The January revenue conference -- when lawmakers meet to begin deciding how much money the state will have for next year's budget -- has an ominous feel for many Michigan school administrators this year.
They gratefully accepted an early Christmas present from the state, when Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced that midyear budget cuts would not affect schools.
But with 54% of Michigan's districts holding less than the recommended 15% of their budget in savings, and about one third of the districts approaching dangerously low levels of savings, administrators will be nervously watching the conference -- which starts Jan. 9 -- and hoping there will be enough money in next year's budget to keep their programs going.
"The thing that really frightens me for the future is, where do we go next?" said David Houle, business manager for Willow Run Community Schools. "We're going to come to a point where there are no additional cuts you can make that don't impact in the classroom."
In these uncertain economic times, state revenues could be down between $500 million and $1 billion next year, according to Mitch Bean, director of the House Fiscal Agency.
At best, any drop in state revenue could mean school districts have to make cuts in anything from supplies to transportation. At worst, cuts in school revenues would drive some districts into a deficit.
"This is not an environment in which we expect to get anything," said Tom White, executive director of Michigan School Business Officials. "It's really a question of how difficult it's going to be and what we're going to do about it."
"There are so many unknowns, it's like playing with a whole deck of wild cards," White said. His organization is recommending school administrators plan for no increase in school funding next year.
The good news is that there may be more money available for schools because there are fewer students. Michigan lost about 5,000 pupils, saving about $40 million because school money is doled out on a per-pupil basis.
The bad news is that schools don't necessarily lose pupils in cost-saving ways. A district that loses 25 students is unlikely to lose them in the same classroom or even the same building. So expenses such as teachers, heating and transportation remain the same.
What could help? Strong Christmas sales generating more tax revenue, help for the U.S. automakers saving Michigan jobs or a timely federal economic stimulus package that could include a significant savings for Michigan in Medicaid.
"As soon as those sales in the state go down, we're not funding our schools," Houle said.
But even if these situations materialize, no one knows whether they will be enough. Most worried are those whose districts are likely to fall into a deficit if the state cuts any funding.
"It's the equivalent of squeezing blood out of a turnip," said Charles Muncatchy, superintendent of Mt. Clemens Community Schools. He said his district is out of savings, and the likely result of any funding cuts would be a deficit.
East Detroit Public Schools also would be likely to end up in a deficit if state funding is cut. The district is down to a slim $57,000 in savings.
"It's a mess," said Superintendent Bruce Kefgen. "I can't tell you where we'd ultimately cut."
The Willow Run Community Schools district already was in a deficit, and files an annual plan on how it is reducing its deficit with the state.
"We've already made major changes and concessions with our employees and staffing," Houle said. "We don't have anyplace to go for discretionary spending."
Even well-heeled districts can struggle.
Bloomfield Hills Public Schools has a cushion in the form of $20 million in savings, but its officials still feel that it has to close two schools next year.
"Just because we have a fund balance doesn't mean our board wants to tap it," said district spokeswoman Betsy Erikson.
Educators say if money is tight, it's only fair for the state and federal governments to chip in by dropping some of the schools' requirements.
"If you don't have the money for us, you could cut some of those unfunded mandates," said Kefgen. He suggests cutting back on the state testing programs such as the MEAP, which he said costs districts thousands of dollars to administer, or rethinking all the databases that districts are required to keep.
Muncatchy said he would like the federal government to fund some of the requirements under No Child Left Behind.
"I'm all for rigor and that schools should be places of excellence, but other countries in the world spend 30% of their federal funds on education, and America spends less than 3%," Muncatchy said.
Contact PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI at 586-826-7262 or mmwalsh@freepress.com.
Disruptive Digital Learning equals Cheaper, Better, Faster!
Waivers free high school students to study online, off-campus
State steps up role in Web-based high school education
BY LORI HIGGINS • FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER • January 4, 2009
Eleven Michigan school districts and one charter school can now allow students to take more courses -- and in some cases all of their classes -- online and off-campus, moves that could further cement the state's reputation as a leader in online education.
Michigan already broke new ground in 2006 by becoming the first state in the nation to require students take an online class or have an online educational experience in order to graduate.
Just in November, the Center for Digital Education ranked Michigan second, behind Florida, for online education.
Two metro Detroit districts -- Waterford and Avondale -- are among the handful moving farther ahead, winning approval from the Michigan Department of Education to allow larger numbers of students to take online courses wherever they want.
At least two dozen of the state's 552 districts and 230 charter schools have applied for the waivers from rules that require students be in a school building for nearly 1,100 hours each school year. Students also are currently limited by state law to taking only two online courses outside a school building during a semester.
"That would be so much easier," Kayla Jacques, 18, of Waterford said of the chance to take online courses from the comfort of home. She is a senior at Waterford Alternative High School and stays late after school several days a week to take an online class.
The waivers are a result of a challenge issued to districts earlier this year by State Superintendent Mike Flanagan, with the goal of seeing what innovative ideas school districts could come up with if they were allowed to bypass some rules that might be "standing in the way of schools reaching more kids," said MaryAlice Galloway, senior adviser to the chief academic officer at MDE.
Most of the 24 districts that submitted proposals targeted struggling students, particularly those attending alternative high schools. That's not surprising given that a quarter of the state's students fail to graduate on time, including 15% who drop out altogether.
Nearly all of the districts made online education a key component of the plans.
"It gives them a shot at catching up," said George Heitsch, Avondale superintendent.
Virtual enrollment boom
Online education has soared in Michigan in the last decade, illustrated by growth in enrollment at Michigan Virtual University, one of the options students have to take online classes. MVU offers more than 200 high school courses and enrollment has spiraled upward from 100 students in the 1999-2000 school year to an expected 15,000 this school year.
Part of the growth is influenced by students who need to make up credits required to graduate. But there also are students who want to take on larger course loads, those who want to take courses their schools don't offer and those with scheduling conflicts that prevent them from taking classes they want.
Most of those students who enroll at MVU, however, take one course at a time. The seat-time waivers will give students in districts that win approval an opportunity to take most or all of their course work online. And, in most cases, it allows them to take classes anywhere they can find an Internet connection.
That's what has Jacob Carman, 18, intrigued. A student at Waterford Alternative High School, he said being away from school would mean fewer distractions while he's learning. And there would be the convenience of not having to follow a school schedule.
The Avondale district, approved for a seat-time waiver last month, already has 10 students taking all of their classes online. Conor Helmrich, 16, is one of them.
"I'm able to wake up, turn my computer on and get going," Conor said. It's a lifestyle that has made him the envy of his friends. "They wish they could sleep in until whenever, and then do their work."
It may sound unstructured, and for the student who lacks inner motivation, online classes from home may not work. It helps that Conor's parents play an active role in his education. And the school closely monitors online students' progress and how often they log into the system.
"I got my parents all over my back on this," Conor said. "They're calling me like every hour making sure I'm on track."
No one is expecting hordes of students to sign up for a schedule in which they don't have to show up for school every day, if at all.
Jacques and her friend Katie VanOvermeer, 17, say they wouldn't want to take all of their classes online.
"I like coming to school here," Jacques said.
The Waterford district is beginning the program with alternative high students and those who are homebound for medical reasons. It will then expand it to its traditional high schools, said Lynn Kosinski, supervisor of secondary education.
But the district's plan includes limiting participants to 10% of the student body.
Trial program
The state is looking at the seat-time waivers as a pilot program and will closely monitor how well it works.
"What we're going to learn is not only which kids do well, but what kinds of support a district can give them to help them succeed in a virtual learning environment," Galloway said.
One thing they do know is that students taking online classes need support. Districts allowing students to take their course work online will assign a teacher mentor who regularly will meet face-to-face with them and monitor progress between meetings. Some districts also require students to take exams on a school site.
The Avondale district last spring piloted an afternoon program in which 12 students came into a computer lab and took all of their courses online. That program is still going on, but the seat-time waiver has opened it up to allowing up to 80 students to complete their course work outside of school.
Among the 10 students enrolled are four who would just rather not come to school. But there are others who have been expelled and can't come to school, said Chuck Granger, director of community education, adult education and the Avondale Academy, the district's alternative program.
Contact LORI HIGGINS at 248-351-3694 or lhiggins@freepress.com.
State steps up role in Web-based high school education
BY LORI HIGGINS • FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER • January 4, 2009
Eleven Michigan school districts and one charter school can now allow students to take more courses -- and in some cases all of their classes -- online and off-campus, moves that could further cement the state's reputation as a leader in online education.
Michigan already broke new ground in 2006 by becoming the first state in the nation to require students take an online class or have an online educational experience in order to graduate.
Just in November, the Center for Digital Education ranked Michigan second, behind Florida, for online education.
Two metro Detroit districts -- Waterford and Avondale -- are among the handful moving farther ahead, winning approval from the Michigan Department of Education to allow larger numbers of students to take online courses wherever they want.
At least two dozen of the state's 552 districts and 230 charter schools have applied for the waivers from rules that require students be in a school building for nearly 1,100 hours each school year. Students also are currently limited by state law to taking only two online courses outside a school building during a semester.
"That would be so much easier," Kayla Jacques, 18, of Waterford said of the chance to take online courses from the comfort of home. She is a senior at Waterford Alternative High School and stays late after school several days a week to take an online class.
The waivers are a result of a challenge issued to districts earlier this year by State Superintendent Mike Flanagan, with the goal of seeing what innovative ideas school districts could come up with if they were allowed to bypass some rules that might be "standing in the way of schools reaching more kids," said MaryAlice Galloway, senior adviser to the chief academic officer at MDE.
Most of the 24 districts that submitted proposals targeted struggling students, particularly those attending alternative high schools. That's not surprising given that a quarter of the state's students fail to graduate on time, including 15% who drop out altogether.
Nearly all of the districts made online education a key component of the plans.
"It gives them a shot at catching up," said George Heitsch, Avondale superintendent.
Virtual enrollment boom
Online education has soared in Michigan in the last decade, illustrated by growth in enrollment at Michigan Virtual University, one of the options students have to take online classes. MVU offers more than 200 high school courses and enrollment has spiraled upward from 100 students in the 1999-2000 school year to an expected 15,000 this school year.
Part of the growth is influenced by students who need to make up credits required to graduate. But there also are students who want to take on larger course loads, those who want to take courses their schools don't offer and those with scheduling conflicts that prevent them from taking classes they want.
Most of those students who enroll at MVU, however, take one course at a time. The seat-time waivers will give students in districts that win approval an opportunity to take most or all of their course work online. And, in most cases, it allows them to take classes anywhere they can find an Internet connection.
That's what has Jacob Carman, 18, intrigued. A student at Waterford Alternative High School, he said being away from school would mean fewer distractions while he's learning. And there would be the convenience of not having to follow a school schedule.
The Avondale district, approved for a seat-time waiver last month, already has 10 students taking all of their classes online. Conor Helmrich, 16, is one of them.
"I'm able to wake up, turn my computer on and get going," Conor said. It's a lifestyle that has made him the envy of his friends. "They wish they could sleep in until whenever, and then do their work."
It may sound unstructured, and for the student who lacks inner motivation, online classes from home may not work. It helps that Conor's parents play an active role in his education. And the school closely monitors online students' progress and how often they log into the system.
"I got my parents all over my back on this," Conor said. "They're calling me like every hour making sure I'm on track."
No one is expecting hordes of students to sign up for a schedule in which they don't have to show up for school every day, if at all.
Jacques and her friend Katie VanOvermeer, 17, say they wouldn't want to take all of their classes online.
"I like coming to school here," Jacques said.
The Waterford district is beginning the program with alternative high students and those who are homebound for medical reasons. It will then expand it to its traditional high schools, said Lynn Kosinski, supervisor of secondary education.
But the district's plan includes limiting participants to 10% of the student body.
Trial program
The state is looking at the seat-time waivers as a pilot program and will closely monitor how well it works.
"What we're going to learn is not only which kids do well, but what kinds of support a district can give them to help them succeed in a virtual learning environment," Galloway said.
One thing they do know is that students taking online classes need support. Districts allowing students to take their course work online will assign a teacher mentor who regularly will meet face-to-face with them and monitor progress between meetings. Some districts also require students to take exams on a school site.
The Avondale district last spring piloted an afternoon program in which 12 students came into a computer lab and took all of their courses online. That program is still going on, but the seat-time waiver has opened it up to allowing up to 80 students to complete their course work outside of school.
Among the 10 students enrolled are four who would just rather not come to school. But there are others who have been expelled and can't come to school, said Chuck Granger, director of community education, adult education and the Avondale Academy, the district's alternative program.
Contact LORI HIGGINS at 248-351-3694 or lhiggins@freepress.com.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Fit for Achievement!
Plan for schools fit for achievement, some say
Obama's program to modernize schools around the country could make big difference, educators say
BY LIBBY QUAID • ASSOCIATED PRESS • January 1, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama probably cannot fix every leaky roof and busted boiler in the nation's schools. But educators say his sweeping school modernization program -- if he spends enough -- could jump-start student achievement.
More students than ever are crammed into aging, run-down schools that need about $255 billion in repairs, renovations or construction. While the president-elect is likely to ask Congress for only a fraction of that, education experts say it still could make a big difference.
"The need is definitely out there," said Robert Canavan, chairman of the Rebuild America's Schools coalition, which includes both teachers unions and large education groups. "A federal investment of that magnitude would really have a significant impact."
Obama is promising to give every student access to the Internet. Outgoing Education Secretary Margaret Spellings pointed out that billions already has been spent through the E-Rate program.
"We should never spend money in the public sector, especially in education, unless we're getting something for it, unless it's to some good end," Spellings said. "I commend him (Obama) for taking that on. That's another very ripe area. But not unless it's moving the needle for kids."
There's widespread agreement, however, that improving classrooms helps student performance.
Studies in Houston, New York City and North Dakota have made a link between classroom conditions and performance; in the New York study, researchers found students in crowded classrooms scored lower in math and reading.
Nearly half the principals in primary and secondary schools said deteriorating conditions are interfering with learning, according to the Education Department.
Judi Caddick, a middle school math teacher in Lansing, Ill., just south of Chicago, said in the older part of her World War II-era school, classrooms had just two power outlets, forcing teachers to string extension cords into the rafters or to unplug a TV power point presentation in order to plug in a computer for a child.
"It looked like a spaghetti bowl," Caddick said.
A new school is almost complete.
"It's a huge difference," Caddick said. "We don't have to have necessarily state-of-the-art and fluffy stuff. But at least when you don't have mold problems, and you don't have things that are broken, and you don't have an inability to use the technology, it's an investment."
Obama's program to modernize schools around the country could make big difference, educators say
BY LIBBY QUAID • ASSOCIATED PRESS • January 1, 2009
WASHINGTON -- Barack Obama probably cannot fix every leaky roof and busted boiler in the nation's schools. But educators say his sweeping school modernization program -- if he spends enough -- could jump-start student achievement.
More students than ever are crammed into aging, run-down schools that need about $255 billion in repairs, renovations or construction. While the president-elect is likely to ask Congress for only a fraction of that, education experts say it still could make a big difference.
"The need is definitely out there," said Robert Canavan, chairman of the Rebuild America's Schools coalition, which includes both teachers unions and large education groups. "A federal investment of that magnitude would really have a significant impact."
Obama is promising to give every student access to the Internet. Outgoing Education Secretary Margaret Spellings pointed out that billions already has been spent through the E-Rate program.
"We should never spend money in the public sector, especially in education, unless we're getting something for it, unless it's to some good end," Spellings said. "I commend him (Obama) for taking that on. That's another very ripe area. But not unless it's moving the needle for kids."
There's widespread agreement, however, that improving classrooms helps student performance.
Studies in Houston, New York City and North Dakota have made a link between classroom conditions and performance; in the New York study, researchers found students in crowded classrooms scored lower in math and reading.
Nearly half the principals in primary and secondary schools said deteriorating conditions are interfering with learning, according to the Education Department.
Judi Caddick, a middle school math teacher in Lansing, Ill., just south of Chicago, said in the older part of her World War II-era school, classrooms had just two power outlets, forcing teachers to string extension cords into the rafters or to unplug a TV power point presentation in order to plug in a computer for a child.
"It looked like a spaghetti bowl," Caddick said.
A new school is almost complete.
"It's a huge difference," Caddick said. "We don't have to have necessarily state-of-the-art and fluffy stuff. But at least when you don't have mold problems, and you don't have things that are broken, and you don't have an inability to use the technology, it's an investment."
Saturday, December 27, 2008
GIVE STUDENTS ALTERNATIVE ENERGY EDGE by DESIGN!
St. Clair County students work on a solar-hydrogen fuel cell car. From left: Jason Hoogerhyde, John Freeman, Cody Benedict and Evan Miller. Rather than learning TV repair, students are getting trained in alternative energy.
Schools to invest in alternative energy, give students edge
BY PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI • FREE PRESS EDUCATION WRITER • December 27, 2008
St. Clair County RESA Career Technical Center students will be calculating actual energy outputs from school-owned windmills, solar panels and a hydroelectric plant.
In Warren Consolidated Schools, students will find lessons from a district-owned wind power station integrated into their classes.
Both programs are the result of a trend by a growing number of schools to meld alternative energy into their lesson plans.
"I think kids are interested in this type of thing. And a lot of us see it as the future, to lessen our reliance on nonrenewable sources. And there are going to be jobs there," said Dan DeGrow, superintendent of St. Clair County Regional Educational Service Agency.
St. Clair RESA plans to invest up to $450,000, depending on how much grant money it receives, in three wind turbines -- each about 100 feet tall -- solar panels next to the turbines and a mini-hydro plant. It will be working with local governments on getting site permits.
Gone are the days of students taking high school electronics to become TV repairpeople. The jobs are moving to other categories, such as alternative energy technicians.
"What we decided was we wanted a way to teach traditional electronics but within a more current context," said Pat Yanik, director of career and technical education for RESA.
Beginning next fall, students will monitor the electricity generated by their three alternative energy sources, learn how to convert the power to actual energy and make decisions on how to distribute their self-generated electricity to RESA facilities. The actual energy generated will be small, but the lessons will be huge.
"With the energy crisis and the government push for it at the federal level and the state level, alternative energy seemed to be a pretty going item that students and parents can understand," said electronics teacher Zack Diatchun.
The Warren Consolidated Schools Board of Education has approved up to $9,000 for a wind spire -- a smaller (30-foot high) version of the windmill-style turbine -- to establish a district-wide alternative energy institute, said Superintendent Robert Livernois. Like St. Clair RESA, Warren Consolidated also hopes much of the cost will be offset by grants.
"The sky's the limit for us. That's what's so exciting about it from a K-12 perspective, you can talk to a second-grader and a 12th-grader," Livernois said. "Our belief is you've got to start somewhere, so as we launch this institute, it's really designed to begin cultivating awareness."
Students at St. Clair RESA have been told their program will open in the fall.
"It doesn't seem like something that they put into a high school-type course, but it's a really good idea they're putting it in," said Cody Benedict, 17, a senior from Yale High School who will be going to school for another year and taking the energy program. "It's going to be a larger range of stuff to learn for jobs."
There's no timetable for the Warren Consolidated program yet, but Livernois expects there will be varying components of alternative energy that will be applicable to most grades.
"We're going to use it in a study of just how much energy you can produce in the community," said Mark Supal, a technology teacher at the Macomb Mathematics Science and Technology Center, where the wind spire will be located.
Even students who won't be around for the new programs recognize the possibilities.
"I got accepted to Michigan Tech ... and I'm probably going to take electrical engineering, but I'm probably going to branch into some kind of alternative energy," said Dalton Pelc, 17, a senior from Kimball Township attending Port Huron High School. "That's what we need, and that's because that's what the economy needs."
Contact PEGGY WALSH-SARNECKI at 586-826-7262 or mmwalsh@freepress.com.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
21st Century Digital Learning Environments (Pedagogy)
21st Century Pedagogy
Even if you have a 21st Century classroom (flexible and adaptable); even if you are a 21st century teacher ; (an adaptor, a communicator, a leader and a learner, a visionary and a model, a collaborator and risk taker) even if your curriculum reflects the new paradigm and you have the facilities and resources that could enable 21st century learning - you will only be a 21st century teacher if how you teach changes as well. Your pedagogy must also change.
So what is 21st Century pedagogy?
Definition:
pedagogy - noun the profession, science, or theory of teaching.
Source: http://www.askoxford.com/concise_oed/pedagogy?view=uk
How we teach must reflect how our students learn. It must also reflect the world our students will move into. This is a world which is rapidly changing, connected, adapting and evolving. Our style and approach to teaching must emphasise the learning in the 21st century.
The key features of 21st Century Pedagogy are:
? building technological, information and media fluencies [Ian Jukes]
? Developing thinking skills
? making use of project based learning
? using problem solving as a teaching tool
? using 21st C assessments with timely, appropriate and detailed feedback and reflection
? It is collaborative in nature and uses enabling and empowering technologies
? It fosters Contextual learning bridging the disciplines and curriculum areas
Knowledge
Knowledge does not specifically appear in the above diagram. Does this mean that we do not teach content or knowledge? Of course not. While a goal we often hear is for our students to create knowledge, we must scaffold and support this constructivist process. The process was aptly describe in a recent presentation by Cisco on Education 3.0 [Michael Stevenson VP Global Education Cisco 2007]
We need to teach knowledge or content in context with the tasks and activities the students are undertaking. Our students respond well to real world problems. Our delivery of knowledge should scaffold the learning process and provide a foundation for activities. As we know from the learning pyramid content delivered without context or other activity has a low retention rate.
Thinking skills
Thinking Skills are a key area. While much of the knowledge we teach may be obsolete within a few years, thinking skills acquired will remain with our students for their entire lives. Industrial age education has had a focus on Lower Order Thinking Skills. In Bloom's taxonomy the lower order thinking skills are the remembering and understanding aspects. 21st Century pedagogy focuses on the moving students from Lower Order Thinking Skills to Higher Order Thinking Skills.
The 21st Century Teacher scaffolds the learning of students, building on a basis of knowledge recall and comprehension to use and apply skills; to analyse and evaluate process, outcomes and concequences, and to make, create and innovate. For each discipline in our secondary schools the process is subtly different.
Collaboration
The 21st century is an age of collaboration as well as the Information Age. 21st Century students, our digital natives, are collaborative. The growth of social networking tools, like bebo and myspace and the like, is fueled by Digital natives and Gen Y. The world, our students are graduating into is a collaborative one.
Collaborative projects such as Julie Lindsay's and Vicki Davis's Flatclassroom project and the Horizon Project, iearns and many others are brilliant examples of collaboration in the classrooms and beyond. These projects, based around tools like ning or wikis, provide students and staff a medium to build and share knowledge and develop understanding.
For example:
My own students are collaborating with students from three other schools, one in Brisbane, another in Qatar and a third in Vienna; on developing resources for a common assessment item. Collaboratively, they are constructing base knowledge on the technologies pertent to the topic. They are examining, evaluating and analysing the social and ethical impacts of the topic. But perhaps even more holistically they are being exposed to different interpretations, cultures and perspectives - Developing an international awareness which will be a key attribute in our global future.
URL: http://casestudy-itgs.wikispaces.com
Don Tapscott in Wikinomics, gives are many of examples of the business world adopting and succeeding by using global collaboration.
In a recent blog post from the Official google Blog, Google identified these as key traits or abilities in 1st Century Employees...
"... communication skills. Marshalling and understanding the available evidence isn't useful unless you can effectively communicate your conclusions."
"... team players. Virtually every project at Google is run by a small team. People need to work well together and perform up to the team's expectations. "
Source: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2008/07/our-googley-advice-to-students-major-in.html
So to prepare our students, our teaching should also model collaboration. A vast array of collaborative tools are available to - wikis, classroom blogs, collaborative document tools,social networks, learning management systems - Many are available at no cost. If you have not yet tried them, look at:
? wikis - wet paint and wiki spaces
? Classroom blogs - edublogs, classroomblogmeister
? Collaborative document tools - Google documents, zoho documents
? Social Networks - ning
? learning managements systems - Moodle etc
These tools are enablers of collaboration, and therefore enablers of 21st century teaching and learning.
Collaboration is not a 21st century skill it is a 21st century essential.
If we look at UNESCO's publication "The four pillars of Education, Learning: The Treasure within" Collaboration is a key element of each of the four pillars.
- Learning to know
- Learning to do
- Learning to live together
- Learning to be
(http://www.unesco.org/delors/fourpil.htm)
Collaboration is not limited to the confines of the classroom. Students and teachers collaborate across the planet, and beyond the time constraints of the teaching day. Students work with other students regionally, nationally and globally. Learners seek and work with experts as required. This is 21st Century Collaboration
Real World, Inter-disciplinary & project based learning
21st Century students do not want abstract examples rather they focus on real world problems. They want what they learn in one subject to be relevant and applicable in another curriculum area. As teachers we need to extend our areas of expertise, collaborate with our teaching peers in other subjects and the learning in one discipline to learning in another.
Projects should bring together and reinforce learning across disciplines. The sum of the students learning will be greater than the individual aspects taught in isolation. This is a holistic overview of the education process which builds on and values every aspect of the 21st Century students education.
Assessment
Assessment is still a key part of 21st Century Pedagogy. This generation of students responds well to clear goals and objectives, assessed in a transparent manner.
Students should be involved in all aspects of the assessment process. Students who are involved in setting and developing assessment criteria, marking and moderation will have a clearer understanding of:
? what they are meant to do,
? how they are meant to do it,
? why it is significant
? why it is important.
Such students will undoubtedly do better and use the assessment process as a part of their learning.
Students are often painfully honest about their own performance and that of their peers. They will, in a collaborative project, fairly assess those who contribute and those who don't.
This is their education, their learning and their future - they must be involved in it.
Linked to assessment is the importance of timely, appropriate, detailed and specific feedback. Feedback as a learning tool, is second only to the teaching of thinking skills [Michael Pohl]. As 21st Century teachers, we must provide and facilitate safe and appropriate feedback, developing an environment where students can safely and supportively be provided with and provide feedback. Students are often full of insight and may have as valid a perspective as we teachers do.
Fluency
What is fluency and why is it better than Literacy? Ian Jukes introduced this concept at NECC. He asserts that students need to move beyond literacy to fluency. They need to be
fluent in:
? The use of technology = technological fluency,
? Collecting, processing, manipulating and validating information = information fluency,
? using, selecting, viewing and manipulating media = media fluency,
What is fluency compared to literacy? A person who is fluent in a language does not need to think about speech, or reading rather it is an unconscious process of understanding. A person who is literate in the language must translate the speech or text. This applies to our students and their use of 21st century media. We need them to be unconsciously competent in the use and manipulation of media, technology and information.
The conscious competence model illustrates the difference between Literacy and Fluency. The person or student who is literate is in the conscious competence category. The person or student who is fluent is in the unconscious competence category.
As educators, we must identify, develop and reinforce these skill sets until students become literate and then fluent..
Conclusion and the path forward.
To teach using 21st Century pedagogy, educators must be student centric. Our curricula and assessments must inclusive, interdisciplinary and contextual; based on real world examples.
Students must be key participants in the assessment process, intimate in it from start to finish, from establishing purpose and criteria, to assessing and moderating.
Educators must establish a safe environment for students to collaborate in but also to discuss, reflect and provide and receive feedback in.
We should make use of collaborative and project based learning, using enabling tools and technologies to facilitate this.
We must develop, in students, key fluencies and make use of higher order thinking skills. Our tasks, curricula, assessments and learning activities must be designed to build on the Lower Order Thinking Skills and to develop Higher Order Thinking Skills.
Acknowledgements:
For being a brilliant critical friend, thanks for the advise and especially for the grammar - Marg McLeod.
By Andrew Churches
Arne Duncan Secretary of Education
Reform Starts Now: Obama Picks Arne Duncan
His secretary of education selection shows education is a priority.
by Grace Rubenstein
December 16, 2008
President-elect Barack Obama talked reform while announcing Chicago schools chief Arne Duncan as the next U.S. secretary of education.
"For Arne, school reform isn't just a theory in a book, it's the cause of his life," Obama said at Tuesday's press conference. Obama specifically mentioned pay-for-performance teacher salaries and charter-schools development as strategies with strong potential.
"If charter schools work, let's try that," Obama said. "Let's not be clouded by ideology when it comes to figuring out what helps our kids."
Duncan described his clear-eyed view of education in a June 2007 interview [1] with Edutopia when he said, "Quality public education is the civil rights issue of our generation."
Duncan, known for transforming underperforming schools and experimenting with new models, has a record as a pragmatist with a taste for innovations. His version of reform, judging by his record, centers on boosting teacher quality and supporting students with added services such as after-school programs. In the Chicago Public Schools [2], where 85 percent of the 400,000-plus students live below the poverty line, test scores, attendance, and teacher retention all went up during Duncan's seven-year tenure, while the dropout rate declined.
The Buzz
For weeks, pundits, educators, and education bloggers have speculated on what Obama's pick would show about his true beliefs on education.
"Arne Duncan has a type of personality that Obama seems to prefer, which is a pragmatist who will bring about change, but he'll do it in a way that will minimize confrontation in conflict," says Jack Jennings, president of the nonpartisan Center on Education Policy [3]. "He's brought about change in Chicago, but it hasn't been a head-on clash with the teachers' union. He's done it in a way that they all walk away from the table congratulating each other."
Supporters say Duncan has the right constitution for the job. On both substance and style, he has won praise from divergent interest groups, including the American Federation of Teachers [4] and the New York City-based Democrats for Education Reform [5].
Duncan shut down Chicago schools that performed poorly and reopened them with entirely new staffs. He started coaching and mentoring programs for teachers. He also supported a boom in new charter schools with diverse models, from military academies to single-sex schools, and piloted a program to pay teachers bonuses for top performance -- two controversial innovations Obama supports.
An Uncertain Future
Of course, an education secretary can't exactly dictate reform from on high. But he can use the bully pulpit to put a spotlight on certain problems and solutions, says Jennings, and hand out grants to support new innovations. He can also provoke change through regulations -- most notably those that guide implementation of the No Child Left Behind law.
On NCLB, Duncan is a middle-of-the-roader [6]; he supports the law's goals of high expectations and accountability but has challenged Congress to improve it by doubling its funding and amending it "to give schools, districts, and states the maximum amount of flexibility possible."
Not the least of Duncan's hurdles will be the nation's preoccupation with the economic crisis. In a sign of the media's interest in education, the first question at Obama and Duncan's press conference after the announcement of Duncan's nomination was about the Federal Reserve Bank lowering its interest rates.
The financial squeeze hitting schools could hinder Duncan's efforts.
Making money and resources key to success, Duncan and Obama both made the case for education by defining it as the path to prosperity; Obama called it the "single biggest determinant" of the economy's long-term health.
"We're not going to transform every school overnight," Obama said. "What we can expect is that each and every day, we are thinking of new, innovative ways to make the schools better. That is what Arne has done. That's going to be his job. That's going to be his task."
Grace Rubenstein is a staff writer and multimedia producer at Edutopia.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
School of the Future World Summit 2008
Evan Arthur - The Australian Digital Education Revolution
Martin Bean - What Technology Makes Possible
Randy Fielding - Design for the Creative Age - Part 1 (slides 1-49)
Randy Fielding - Design for the Creative Age - Part 2 (slides 50-75)
Randy Fielding - Design for the Creative Age - Part 3 (slides 76 - end)
Julio Fontan - Country Spotlight: Colombia
James Grant & Lee Burley - Building Schools for the Future
Bill Hill - The Digital Renaissance Age
Michael Horn - Disrupting Class
Victor McNair - Teacher E-Portfolios
Katrina Reynen - Innovation that Drives Transformation Across School Systems
Don Richardson - Innovation Management
Ratnasingam Selvarani & Angeline Fern - Transformational Learning - Part 1
Ratnasingam Selvarani & Angeline Fern - Transformational Learning - Part 2
Yasutaka Shimizu - NEXT Project - Part 1
Yasutaka Shimizu - NEXT Project - Part 2
Jaeshin Song - e-Learning of Korea
Wim Veen - Homo Zappiens: New Learning Strategies in a Digital Age
Tony Wagner - The Global Achievement Gap
Sunday, December 7, 2008
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