I saw the future and it works

by Olga LaPlante

I am borrowing this headline from Larry Cuban, who borrowed it from Lincoln Steffens.

Larry writes about his visit to a hybrid (charter) school in LA. His observations are curious, and honestly, do not describe a school I would like to send my child to if I had a choice. (My son attends a regular public school).

I suggest you read all three parts of the experience, and get to the bottom of the concept. Does it really work?

Part 2
Part 3

Bill Gates taking on state budgets and education

 by Olga LaPlante

This is an interesting talk by Bill Gates. Of course, his main point we need to spend money on education, and disallow state level cuts to school budgets, including universities. He believes that this problem is solvable but – and this I like – we need to draw people in this discussion and search for solutions.

It's certainly a divisive topic. It seems that Bill Gates takes certain things at their face value without questioning them (for instance, the fact that in a failing economy and general price suppression, the tuition has defied the trend like helium balloons, and is so high in the sky you can't see the tuition rates from here). He also promotes the idea that teachers need to be effective and need to be incentivized (the implication is money) in order to work well. While I agree that compensation must be appropriate, this alone is not the incentive to work well with kids. And to be effective, how does one define effectiveness (it sounds like we are back to standardized test results, oh boy!).

Anyway, check this out and tell us what you think.

Bill Gates TED Talk

Using PBworks for Adult Education Reading Class

Ramsey Ludlow has created a site using PBworks that allows an online learning environment for her adult learners. Again, it demonstrates the simplicity, utility, and ease-of-use of wikis.

Maine Job Training

Maine CareerCenter

Maine Adult Education - Learning for Work and Life

Is there a connection here?

Online Tutorials

by Margie Genereux

I recently stumbled on two great sites, and wanted to share them:

http://howtogeek.com/ - great software tutorials

http://www.oooninja.com/ - OpenOffice.org Ninja - awesome, easy-to-follow OpenOffice tutorials

Maine Adult Learning Portal

Link to Portal






This is an impressive use of technology for communication and collaboration of Maine's adult education offerings - a must see.

New Books, New Readers

I had an absolutely delightful morning assisting Oxford Hills adult education teacher, Ramsey Ludlow, in taping a class designed by the Maine Humanities Council called New Books, New Readers. Mary Alice Crosby, in cooperation with local literacy teachers, facilitates this book group, which consists of adults who are learning to read. Books have been chosen according to theme and readability and discussed in an informal and emotionally-safe atmosphere with an emphasis on connecting with the lives of the participants. Students get to keep the books.

The just-completed series called "Telling Our Stories" includes the following:

Session 1: Recalling Our Past

• When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant
• Miz Berlin Walks by Jane Yolen
• Leon’s Story by Leon Walter Tillage

Session 2: Discovering Our Stories

• Tong Ting Finds a Family by Elizabeth Cooke
• The Raft by Jim LaMarche
• Journey by Patricia MacLachlan

Session 3: Other Ways of Telling

• When Clay Sings by Byrd Baylor
• Family Pictures by Carmen Lomas Garza
• Arctic Memories by Normee Ekoomiak

For discussion: How do we tell our own stories? Why are they important? How do we decide what to tell? What do we learn from telling our own stories? From reading others’ stories? How and why do we share our stories with others? How do our personal stories connect to the stories of our communities and country?

This is an excellent model on many levels. Making these connections is important in encouraging persistence in working on the needed reading and writing skills. Oxford Hills Adult Education teachers help participants in developing skills before the discussion group . . . and follow up after the discussion is over.

Personalized education is alive and well in our Maine Adult Education communities!

Related Links at LIM Resources:

Digital Storytelling
Biography
Autobiography
Who

Jason Ohler:

Storytelling

Adult Ed Project Learning at Sanford

I spent Wednesday afternoon with Margie Genereux and her advanced applications adult education class. Students had already developed skills in Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher, Paint, and a number of other applications. In this advanced class, they were collaboratively working on developing the groundwork for a Sports Bar/Recreation Facility, making use of the tools they had learned, sharing and helping one another in pushing those skills to a higher level using the project as a focus. The motivation, energy and enthusiasm that comes through working in real-world projects was obvious. Love it!

We will be publishing their work here when it is completed. It involves floor plans, brochures, award certificates, emergency information, buying spreadsheets, job applications, menus, schedules, daycare information, a website, etc.

Margie explained that the adult ed teachers at SCAE (Sanford Community Adult Education) were involved in a PLC that is focusing on a more constructivist approach in working with adult learners. She introduced me to Best Practice: Standards for Teaching and Learning in America's Schools by Zemelman, Daniels and Hyde. The book is now on my must-buy list. It is about education in general, not just applying to adult education needs. I highly recommend it for groups involved in this kind of work.

Margie expertly introduced new possibilies to the class as the need occurred. Optional tools for those who could not afford Office: StarOffice, OpenOffice, Google Apps.

I loved one of Margie's quotes regarding using instructivism alone: "It's like following someone to a wedding . . . you'll never be able to get there again!"

Related links:

Constructivism
Instructivism
Constructivism vs Instructivism
Project-based Learning
Inquiry Learning
Essential Questions
Jim Moulton's Wiki on Project-based Learning
Educational Games Research: Constructivism vs Instructivism

Promoting Academia

by Harold Shaw Jr.

Good day to all!

I am going to have my students prepare a PPT presentation on WHO AM I and when discussing it with them last week they asked me to prepare an example of what I wanted. As you can see this going to be part of the presentation. I haven't changed a bit!!!!! yeah right. Does anyone else dare to share their H.S Graduation picture and maybe a comparison picture or at least a link. Something fun to do?

Well I just registered at the University of Phoenix - Online CED 515 Secondary Methods of Teaching Technology to take one of the two courses I need to take by 2010 for teacher recertification yesterday. Yes, I do enjoy taking college classes and despite some of my previous tongue-in-cheekiness - I have a great deal of respect for most of academia. The course itself sounds very interesting.

Course Description: This course focuses on technology teaching methods, the process of integrating technology into curricula, and advocating for technology utilization at the secondary level. Students will learn methods to evaluate and enhance learning. Students will also analyze exemplary lesson plans that incorporate technology, create lesson plans, and units for the secondary grade levels. In addition, an overview of strategies for educational technology leadership will be provided. UOPX Course Catalog

So although I don't start until March 18, I am looking forward to learning more about this technology in teaching in a more shall we say "disciplined" environment.

Then I remembered a blog/promotion from the first of the year from Microsoft about their "Ultimate Steal" program for registered college students. Well it seemed as though I qualified, and registered for their program. I have wanted to upgrade for a while and this gave me the opportunity to get Microsoft Office 2007 Ultimate for a very, very reasonable price. So far I tend to agree that Office 2007 ribbon is a much better way to navigate (just in a short time it seems more intuitive) and wish they had used it more in Outlook (perhaps they will later).

Otherwise, I have had a real busy weekend correcting papers. I really have to give credit to my students! I gave them an assignment to write a letter to themselves in 20 years. Yeah I got the usual family, career, wife, kids and where they will be living, but I also got predictions on the presidential election, effects of global warming and if they were in careers that would be helping others. I thought it was actually a pretty good assignment and was pleased with level of effort that the students gave.

Personally, I have run two miles, two days in a row and although I know the hip is there, it is a bearable sort of discomfort. So I can get back on that bet with Bill and loose those 15 pounds, but Mary just made a whole batch of Chocolate No-bake cookies. She is soooo mean, but I do love her.

Well I have made a promise to myself as part of my lessons learned to stay close to 500 words unless, I have something very important to say. But it is hard, once I start writing it is like a switch has been turned on the words just seem to flow out of my fingers without a hardly any effort. But then I have to go back and proofread what my fingers did, that is the issue isn't it. The word count says I am done have a great day --

I just noticed that Jim put my name up with some pretty high flyers in the blogging world, and I thank you for the compliment. But putting me on the same page as the rest of that group is not really appropriate, as they are some of the movers and shakers of the online educational community and I certainly am not. I am simply a teacher from a small school in central Maine. I certainly don't belong in that select group. But thank you Jim -- it did kind of make my day.

Harold

Adult Education & Online Learning

One of my side jobs is to work with adult educators and students at Oxford Hills to investigate the possibilities of online (distance) learning for the adult ed student. The idea is to develop some options for students who might have difficulty with transportation and/or scheduling.

I'm working with Ramsey Ludlow on a U.S. History I course. We have been experimenting with the use of Google apps in delivering the instruction, trying to find out what does and does not work in using distance learning with the high school adult ed student.

Of course, as expected, we have had to punt several times for a number of reasons in order to meet the goals of the course. Initially the idea was to meet with students f2f in the evening once per month and do the rest of the course via Google groups and email. The students were very comfortable with the technology, but some had issues with the difficulty of organizing their time, due to a number of factors, to complete the assignments. So now we are back to having weekly f2f classes for that extra encouragement that being in the same room creates. The digital tools are being used within that meeting time.

We did a reflection during last evening's gathering:

Reflection on history online

1. not as independent learners as we thought
2. in class support is helpful
3. online support /discussions don't work
4. more people to respond to is better
5. support/discussion require us to make an appointment at time
6. helpful to work with others-"community of learners"

This is what the students came up with. Of course, there were the usual issues of technology reliablity and access, and all of the students hold full time jobs . . . and some are taking other courses as well. However, I'm not convinced that it simply "won't work." Ramsey and I, as well as other teachers in the OH group, will be chewing on this for the next year as part of the MARTI grant.

We'll be looking at appropriate tools, teaching methods, and scaffolding.

Please do offer your suggestions and wisdom.

Web 2.0 Collaboration Tools @ Maine Adult Ed Pre-Conference

This morning at the Adult Ed Pre-Conference we'll be investigating many of the web 2.0 possibilities available to encourage communication and collaboration.

Olga's Wiki
Jim's Link Page

Maine Adult Education 2007 Conference

Adult Education in Maine

Yesterday I was introduced to the world of adult education. I'll be doing some work with Oxford Hills Adult Education under a federal grant to encourage student "persistence" through a variety of ways . . . including home distance learning.

Jane Courcy and Ramsey Ludlow graciously gave me a crash course in philosophy, structure, buzzwords, and acronyms used. We also passed notes and understandings of how the grant might be implemented. I have a lot to learn. :)

One document they gave me that I had never seen before is "Equipped for the Future Content Standards," which I understand is the bible for structuring adult learning. This publication has its roots back in the early 90's and yet it seems so current. I'm impressed with its view of learning and education.

I was also pointed in the direction of Project Ideal which has a handbook for adult ed distance learning.

I'll be working with Ramsey on her U.S. history course using home computers of the participants. We looked at a variety of solutions for making the connection, including FirstClass, Moodle, and other online environments. We settled on Google online services because of universality, ease-of-use and dependability. See Kern Kelly's description of the Google options here.

Yup, I have lots of cramming to do . . . but I'm fascinated with the possibilities and also on how this model might be applied to K-12.

Maine DOE - Adult Education

Adult Education Association

Adult Ed Online

Google Tools for the Classroom