Customization

I have been noticing just how everything is being customized these days. I went to check out the new Droid phone from Verizon and their pitch to me was that the phone was a sand box and I got to create my castle just how I wanted it. No two phones would be alike - it would be a reflection of my interests and thoughts and patterns. I also visited a make-up counter at the mall looking for some eye make-up and eye cream. I could not simply pick one out and be on my way like before; instead, they blended colors and ingrediants according to my skin color, type and tone to create my very own eye make-up and cream.

In education, we are slowly coming to realize that we need to customize our teaching strategies and lessons to reach more students. We certainly give lip service of "meeting the needs of all students." Since I continue ot be an optimist, I am seeing some gradual fulfillment of that goal in a meaningful way. After reading Libby's blog, I see this as (and yes, this is also absolutely wishful thinking) becoming more and more one of the main functions of education in the future. Our whole world is becoming a "made to order" society - people are demanding such customization. And where it may be needed most is education. So perhaps the future of education will embrace more creativity to allow for students to express and be evaluated on their talents. Maybe we will base all their assessments on the talents and skills they present to us - Their choice... Their future...Their education...made to order exactly how they want it and how they deserve it.

more thoughts

This course had really made me reflect about my beliefs and approaches to education and learning. Trying to clarify and isolate what I truly value in an effort to think outside the box has been both challenging and liberating. Throw in technology and all the tools we are being exposed to and responsible for implementing and wow - what results is a whirlwind of reflection and growth. Although we will continue to have these new tools advance and change rapidly, I do believe that what is most important in education will remain the same: connecting to students and engaging them in the learning process. I think this will forever prevail whether it is 10, 15, or 50 years from now. We can not forget that we are here for the students and it is our job to build productive relationships with them in the pursuit of their education. I believe this was also true 25 years ago.

Shifting gears to distance learning, I was amazed at the increase of adult learners in higher ed. I tend to focus on K-12 education and after reading this article, I am seeing the changes higher ed has had to contend with in more recent years. Also a challenge is the difference between adult learners and traditional college-age ones. These differences in motivation seem to mirror those in K-12 education between different groups of students. I think we will start seeing increasingly more differentiation in higher ed (distance learning being one) in order to meet the diverse needs of their student clientele. This continues to be a challenging issue in K-12 so maybe we can finally join forces and collaborate in order to be more effective in meeting student needs at all levels of learning.

2 million minutes

The video we watched certainly raised some questions and awareness of at least one view of education in the U.S as compared to that in China and India. I appreciated seeing the differences and it does make the case that we are behind in educating our youth. I am sure the policy makers of Race to the Top and No Child Left Behind could not agree more. But....it is not standards, assessments, testing and competition that is going to get us ahead. In my view, it is implementation of the 21st century skills that encourage creativity and teaming and interpersonal skills WITHOUT the standardized testing... It is looking at and meeting individual student needs WITHOUT choosing winners and losers when allocating precious fiscal resources. It is working together with the practitioners to make new policy that is not one size fits all. Some key points in the video as well as in Race to the Top are valuable and deserve attention; however, we need not make education a private-like industry. Competition has its place - just not in education.

Open and Free Courses

I just read about Carnegie Mellon's OLI or open learning initiative, and the possibilities it presents are exciting. I can see this being used in public middle and high schools, bringing endless resources of learning to our students. From French to Biochemistry, individuals can learn in their own envirnoment or the course itself can be brought to a classroom of students....for free! There are even ways to get credit for these courses. When I am finished with this program, perhaps I will be able to finally learn that second language.

I am still reflecting about last week's class. Two things stand out for me: leadership is about relationship building. This is something I have known but when it is said out loud, its impact and importance resonate strongly. I have been questioning some leaders in my district and could not put my finger on the exact reason why, until last week. They simply do not build or nurture relationships and they therefore have gained little respect or support from other leaders in the district. The other thing that stands out is RISK BIG! I think we all know how important that is- the question is whether or not we feel we can do it and to what extent, to keep our jobs.

"Ineptness"

I guess we (educational leaders) really are inept; more than that, our educational system is... So the question that stares us all in the face is how do we become effective? We make our students take high-stakes tests and Levin (in 21st C Literacy) states that studies show that how well students do on current tests in no way correlates to how productive they will be in the work force. We have a plethora of technology available to us and yet our standards do not reflect the 21st C skills that studies show are crucial to students' success in our current and future world. So I ask myself, what am I holding on to that is holding me back? traditions? comfort? fear? We all need to taste and feel more discomfort, more than we want to...so that we will lose control and be more open to accepting the sweeping changes that must occur in order for us to no longer be inept. Let's start challenging our thinking and engaging others to join us - the process itself wil bring us the answers we are looking for - this is something I am learning in the JDP.

First Day

After this first class meeting, I left with some interesting thoughts about leadership. First, I never really thought about the fact that I carry two loaded (albeit concealed) pistols with me when I walk around all day "being" a leader. Then, I thought about how many times I merely threatened their use or the number of times I actually pulled the trigger. Not many with either one which I suspect is a "good" thing. Then it really dawned on me that rarely, if ever, do I think about my supposed "power" - which I guess is another good thing. The second thought I left with is I noticed that the approaches and thoughts about leadership which were discussed in class seemed to have some differences based on gender. A colleague, for example, shared that his kindness was mistaken for weakness in an experience he had as a leader. I (a woman) have never even entertained the thought of being perceived as weak. I view this as an example of socialization and gender-based expectations. I wonder if any other of my female colleagues have "worried" about or thought about perceptions of weakness as a leader. It is further interesting to me because I am sure most female leaders up until recently have had, in fact, to deal with this first hand and I am certain, moreover, that this perception of weakness played on their minds heavily. And now isn't it interesting that a male is dealing with this?
As for the technology part, I am excited to be on the cutting edge of such applications! The school district I work in has just outfitted more than half of all classrooms (with all to follow by the end of the year) as 21st Century classrooms with promethean white boards, student responze systems, document cameras, mini-white boards, phones that are connected to send and receive emails, etc, etc. And there is so much more out there! Even with some disconfort, I look forward to learning a great deal in this area.