Monday, March 7, 2011

It Just Isn't Going to Happen

Meaningful Use of Technology in the Public School Classroom


This isn’t a rant about how unprepared teachers are to use technology in the classroom or that our digital native students really don’t have clue how to use any type of technology to help them learn or about all the “tech gurus” who tell stories about their kids or small groups of kids and their exceptional use of technology and then extrapolate these findings into general truths and have no basis in the regular public school classroom.

No, this is more about what I see in the trenches. And it ain’t pretty.

First a few of observations

1. I have never met an educator that doesn’t want to do more for their kids and there is an implicit understanding that technology has something to do with this. The problem resides in not knowing exactly what that something is. So for the lack of a better term or description, we'll call that technology solution "something".

2. No one really has a clue what that "something" is.

3.  Even if that "something" was discovered today, the technology infrastructure is pretty well non-existent at worst and rapidly becoming outdated at the best. Or put another way, if I had a killer iPad program, there's an iPad2 now and that makes my hardware outdated with no funds to upgrade in a timely manner.

4. Given current day fiscal pressures on funding bodies (mostly the government), a sustainable model to fund educational technology will also be trumped by the needs of the Health Care system. After all, if you were a politician, where would you put your money? Into another MRI machine or computers for kids.

5. Kids have more current technology in their pockets than schools have after 10 years of building a technology infrastructure.

6. #5 is a fact. And will be for a long time

7. School Boards that do not accept #6 will see their students not be ready when we figure out what that "something" in #2 really is.

8. The new educational buzz words "21st Century Learner", allows decision makers to say all the right things, but put no financial resources forward to making it actually happen. No one disagrees with what is being said, but it's time to walk to the talk.



Does any of this matter?

My gut tells me that all the above really doesn’t matter that much and in the end, I’m not exactly sure how much of the whole focus in on using and integrating technology in a lesson really matters in the long run. We really haven’t been that successful with any other technology. While I wasn’t around during the birthing of radio, I suspect from the time radio was in metaphorical diapers, educators felt this new medium would level the playing field and bring education to the masses. Television certainly had similar visions. TV did work for some people in certain situations, but today, most educational television is geared at kids in way that tries to entertain and be funny with the hope some learning will occur before and after the show. But, I don’t think any of us would say TV replaced any part of the education system.

Now the Internet seems to be promising the same gains as television first did. A new technology poised to change education and how we go about the business of learning. But, I remain unconvinced access to information per se will somehow change how students learn. 

Access to unlimited amounts of information on any topic certainly has developed an understanding of the copy and paste functions on our laptop. But, learning is an intimate action and challenging process that each of us engage in at our own rate. The teacher in the room facilitates and supports us through the tough spots and in the end we achieve some level of understanding and cognitive coherence about the world around us. Not as sexy as checking out your friends latest antics on Facebook. But down in the trenches, a long way from the snappy one-liners about the benefits of educational technologies, that's our education system hard a work. 

And thankfully so ...


Future Thoughts .....


Will this "something" be an evolution or a revolution?


Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The Next Five ....

6. Electric Pickle
  • Safety rider on this one - make sure you work with someone who has electrical experience. Basically you design an electrical device that attaches two electrodes (two nails in a piece of plywood) to a 120 V outlet (at least in North America). This device should have a circuit breaker built into it. Many electrical power-bars have the breaker built in. Place a pickle on the two electrodes. Plug device in and watch the pickle glow. You could cook a hot dog wiener the same way, but make sure you poke a couple of holes into the wiener first. Check out a fancy version of this with fellow science education advocate Steve Spangler and his electric pickle demo.
7. Egg Osmosis using Straw and Gum
  • Not your usual Osmosis demo. What makes this one work is the membrane in an egg between the shell and the inside of the egg. Gently crack one end of the egg and pick away about a dime's worth of area (or the area of your largest finger nail). When you're done, you should have the shell removed, but not the thin membrane. Then at the other end of the egg, make a hole big enough to insert about 2 cm of straw. Seal the straw in place using some chewing gum or similar material. Now place the whole thing in a glass that holds the egg upright, ensures the membrane is not touching the bottom of the glass. It's actually easier than it sounds. Then fill the glass with enough water to cover half the egg. Watch. 
8. Two Candles

  • I like demo's that have different levels of learning attached to them. That way kids can say "oh I've seen that", but then you can bring a completely different line of thought into the discussion. This activity does just this thing. You need two candles - dripless are best (and I've been told IKEA has the best dripless candles). Light both candles and while holding both candles horizontally, place them in a vertical line about 10 cm apart. Quickly remove the bottom candle, blow it out and replace it back in the same position. It relights! This simple demo allows you talk about phase changes, chemical changes and convection energy transfer/currents. And for the really good observers radiation transfer as well. Plus, it provides a great opportunity for kids to ask testable questions. 
9. Reaction in a Bag

  • I first came across this demo or activity sitting in an elementary school waiting to work with an amazing kindergarten teacher for the day. Not only was the day a lot of fun, this demo has been successfully completed with grade 1 to grade 12 kids. In a medium sized plastic zip-lock bag place some baking soda in one corner, and calcium chloride (rock salt) in the other. In the middle place a small amount of bromothymol blue indicator in a small container or film canister. Carefully zip up the bag without spilling the liquid. Once the bag is sealed, combine the reactants and observe. The first time you will want to place the bag on the table and step back. The carbon dioxide produced will cause the bag to expand. If it appears like the bag will pop, just release the zip lock or poke a hole in the bag. Also note the colour changes. Once you have the amounts of reactants figured out so the bag doesn't break, have the kids repeat demo. This time they can hold the bag (while wearing eye and clothing protection). They will notice exothermic and endothermic reactions depending on how they hold the bag. Very cool. A highlight of my teaching career was when a colleague told he did this activity with his grade 12 Chemistry kids and one said it was like holding a reaction in his hand. That send shivers up and down my spine.
10. Alka Seltzer Rockets

  • Every time I do this activity I am impressed how quickly kids get the idea of variables and the need to control all but one when completing this demo/activity. It's a simple idea, an alka-seltzer tablet and small amount of water in a film canister. The film canister is the type where the lid fit's inside the canister. Now I'm not sure how much long we'll be able to get film, so this might be worth stocking up on now. Place the reactants in the canister, seal the canister, flip it over and place on a table or floor. 15 to 30 seconds later the canister takes flight propelled by carbon dioxide! That is pretty cool, now give the kids two tablets, some water and ask them to figure out what makes the canister go the highest. Eventually a small amount of water, and about half a tablet - crushed, does the trick. When it's done, debrief how they got their answer and you've got the teachable moment for independent, dependent and controlled variables.
11 . Flying Tea Bag
  • OK, I know I said 10 demos, but this one is easy and cool, but there is a safety note. Make sure you do this demo in an area where there are no fire hazards (loose paper etc). I use a Bigelow Tea Bag, but other bags may work. When you take one of these tea bags apart and drain out the tea you'll notice the bag is a long tube. Place the tube upright on a plate and light the top with a match. Watch. The bag lifts up when it's about half burnt and light enough to be carried in the convection current that has been created by the flame. Again, just be careful to observe where the bag floats to in the room.
And finally, please remember that the safety of anyone with you and you are paramount in any of these demos. Try and practice each one before doing them in front of anyone. If you have any questions or concerns, talk to a colleague or drop me a note.

Otherwise, have fun and I'd love to hear your best demo or modification of any of the ones listed here.