Lessons Learned

Well, here I am at the end of my last course. Although I had no doubt that I would make it through to the end, I knew it was going to be the most demanding and exhaustive undertaking than at any other time during my PhD journey. This was not because the course work was that demanding or the work load prohibitive ,but more so the demands on my time in addition to the work load requirement. As the President and CEO of two new educational companies, and as the leader with staff dependent on guidance and direction proved to be almost overwhelming...I say almost. If not for the understanding of the professor regarding key assignments, there was no way to successfully complete this course.

This was a great course for me and I learned a lot. Although my experience as an instructional designer brought me in contact with most of the technologies covered, especially as far as the web is concerned, the emphasis here was an academic approach and perspective. My past experience had been mostly in the corporate arena. So there was plenty to learn with respect to the area my business is focused in. For the past three years my company Learning4Today has been the company with the innovative approach to using technology in our curriculum and pedagogical model. We have been dedicated to education, the use of technology and the cognitive development associated with the use of emerging technology. immediately blogging (which was new to me) made sense and I could envision several different uses in my business. And wikis provided an inspiration for a community of practice for teachers that tutor in my program as well as teachers everywhere to share the kinds of strategies/tricks they employ to explain or teach skills to students to help them be successful. For example, while on one of my recent trips to Alabama, I was seated next to a woman who identified herself as a math teacher as we engaged in conversation. When I talked about my tutoring company and my idea about a wiki to share Tricks, Strategies and Best Practices, she immediately shared a strategy she employed when trying to explain slopes in algebraic problems to students that had a problem grasping the concept. She also indicated that she was dyslexic and had a problem all through school with reading. I asked her how did she overcome the problem and she proceeded to explain a technique she employed when reading. WOW! this is the kind of content that I envisioned, would populate the wiki I was developing.

So there was plenty of useful information and ideas from my peers that I gained during this course that made it extremely worthwhile. If you are a teacher please check out and contribute to http://tutorteachingwiki.pbwiki.com/ .

Blogger Rant

I'm sitting here in Charlotte NC waiting for my connection back to Little Rock so excuse me while I rant a little. I know there is lots of good stuff to blog about with emerging technology, LMS/LCMS and learning objects et al., however, there is something that is really starting to bother me a lot. What is going on with parents today. I have been in Montgomery, Union Springs, and Selma Alabama this past week (not that those locations are atypical or any different than Jonesboro Arkansas or Thomastown Mississippi) and there seems to be a system problem with parents getting involved with their child's education. Now I am a Supplemental Educational Services Provider which means my company provides after school tutoring for students that are behind, at-risk of failing, have not passed state exams at the proficient level, you get the picture. My services are free to those students. and since they also have to be on free and reduced lunch, means that they are on the lower rung of the socio-economic latter. All that is required is that their parent/guardian sign them up for it, ergo parent choice. The schools where we perform our services are in School Improvement status, another requirement that means that for at least two years, that school has failed to make adequate yearly progress (AYP), are required by law to provide my services at no charge to the student. So you have a student that is failing in a school that is failing and all that is required is that the parent agree to let their child avail themselves of my services for three to four hours per week over a 12 week period and the parents are a no-show. Now granted it is not all of the parents. I think the national average is between 5 and 15% of the students are being served (dismal) and when they have parent informational fairs at the schools so that parents may learn more about the free tutoring, a percentage of the parents that show up are not from failing schools or their children are making good grades and they just want to get additional help to move them further ahead. But the ones that really need it just do not respond. And there are school districts that really don't want to let go of the funds for that purpose and don't make a real effort to get the information out to the parents. Schools in Improvement status are required to set aside 20% of their Title l funding specifically for that purpose and they would rather not in some cases. The bottom line is that there is such low interest on the part of parents that often the funds go unused. The districts say they have done what is required of them by notifying parents. I have been out in the communities talking to parents, handing out flyer's in front of Wal-Marts, Dollar Stores, churches, laundromats...you name it...I just don't get it. Then you have those parents that ask...get this...ask their kids if they WANT to go to after school tutoring. I have to stop here. They are boarding my flight...to be continued

Al

Al:

Where do I go to your multimedia project? Been out of town this week and I just realized I have nothing on my computer that gets me to your presentation.
Frank

LMS & LCMS

Al:

Your experience reminded me of the implementation process that has been going on in our university for the past five years. We started out with him and CMS where content was made available to students, and they are now working on LMS where records will be automatically recorded in the school's records. The reaction of the faculty has been about 75% negative to the final step. I think it's because there has always been an intermediary to assist with mistakes in the transferral of grades, and this enabled Blame to be deflected.

Memories

This weeks lesson on LMS and LCMS brings back memories of my previous career as an instructional designer in the corporate world. It is different viewing learning management systems and content management systems from an academic perspective in contrast to praxis.
As an instructional designer and training analyst I was intimately involved with content management systems (not so much learning management systems, that was the professional development group). To use the analogy from Greenberg (2002), you might say I created the jelly beans and bags of jelly beans that involved employee job training and certification. At that company the LMS supported learning events that involved employee career development and the LCMS was used more for job development and training events. Content from the LCMS was not associated with the content on the LMS although there was some over lap. As manager of the eLearning group I remember the company initiative to integrate the LMS and LCMS platforms…endless meetings with vendors (SAP, PeopleSoft, et al). That’s where the discussions on reusable objects began to take place and I first heard the term SCORM compliance standards. Anyway, my impression of the difference is quite distinct. LMS manages learning events and LCMS manages the content to support those learning events. A university is like a large integrated LMS/LCMS that consists of a blended learning environment. Greenberg (2002) states that an LMS should offer a curriculum smorgasbord that mixes classroom and virtual courses easily. Combined, these features enable prescriptive and personalized training. A student can enroll with a major focus or specific curriculum or just take a few courses. The curriculum department and department heads decide on the courses/content that make up the curriculum.

From a hotel room in Montgomery Alabama.

Using Emerging Technology to Reach Dropouts

Here is an instance of using new media and emerging technology to stem the rising tide of students dropping out of school.

http://www.myfuturemydecision.org/

Reaching Dropouts with New Media
By Lesli A. Maxwell

To raise anemic high school graduation rates, education leaders in Los Angeles are turning to YouTube, MySpace, text messaging, and the radio waves to reach students at risk of dropping out of school and lure back thousands who have already left.
The Los Angeles Unified School District—the nation’s second largest, with 708,000 students—is believed to be one of the first districts to use social-networking Web sites and text-messaging communications as a vital part of a dropout-reduction strategy.
Students who abandoned the city’s high schools and have come back to finish their diplomas will be the primary messengers to their at-risk peers in the new campaign, said Debra Duardo, the director of Los Angeles Unified’s dropout-prevention and -recovery program. They will post video testimonials on YouTube and build groups on popular MySpace message boards to spread the word about their own experiences and the alternatives for earning a diploma, which don’t necessarily require a return to one of the district’s giant four-year high schools.
With a list of at least 17,000 dropouts to target for recovery this school year, leaders in Los Angeles Unified said they must use a variety of strategies to find the youths who have already left school. The district’s graduation rates have been under fire—especially during Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s campaign last year to gain some control over the school system.
But district officials will have to do more than simply get those students back in school for the program to be successful, experts say.
“The new-media approach is very creative and thoughtful and should reach kids where they are,” said Russlynn Ali, the executive director of the Education Trust-West, an Oakland, Calif.-based research and advocacy group that supports increased rigor in high schools for all students. “For the district to take this on is really a big deal, but where they run a risk is if it ends up being dropout recovery for the purpose of recovery only and not for getting these kids meaningful diplomas that prepare them for college and work.”

Al

Emerging Technology, the ACLU and the Constitution

I'm sitting here watching the news and a story comes on about the ACLU suing on behalf of students who feel their rights of privacy are being invaded since teachers began monitoring text messages. It seems that Monarch High School in Colorado suspended a few students after reading text messages about drugs on their cell phones. The ACLU accused the school of committing felonies under Colorado law. It used to be that students would write notes to each other and occasionally the teacher would intercept the notes and read them aloud. That was only embarrassing. Today teens are text messaging each other and the schools policy on the use of technology doesn't even mention text messaging. The bottom line is there is a thin line between rights to privacy and school safety and that is at issue here. Do schools have the right to monitor text messages. I can see this becoming a major issue that schools will have to address not only in the area of school safety and drugs but also cheating on tests.

Al

Group Chat

This week I participated in a group chat with Frank, Ruth, Kristy and Melanie. There was an attempt to use the white board but it was only relatively successful. I haven't had an opportunity to use my camera yet and still looking forward to it.

Weekend Conference

What a week. From Sunday through Tuesday I was in the Ozarks at the Arkansas 21st CCLC conference with teachers, principals and superintendents from all over the state. The theme of the conference was 21st CCLC All That Jazz! (a reference to jazzing up afterschool programs. I conducted two workshops on performing assessments in addition to a musical performance Sunday night at the jazz café. The highlight of the conference was the keynote speaker Salome Thomas EL. If you are unfamiliar with him I have included a link to his web page. He is the principal from Philadelphia that taught his students chess. They went on to win 8 national championships (first time in history). Disney is now making the movie.

http://www.ichoosetostay.com/index.html

He has two books out, “I choose to stay” and his latest “The Immortality of Influence” with the foreword by Will Smith. If you are ever looking for a keynote speaker that will light it up…I promise you will not be disappointed.

Moving...moving...Moved!

That's right...I have finished moving out of my apartment into my house. And I made it by the management imposed deadline of 9/28 at the close of business. I think I mentioned that in the midst of traveling, conferences, training...that I was also moving. I couldn't believe how much stuff you can accumulate in a short two years since I have been here in Arkansas. And Up and down the steps (second floor apartment)...anyway there hasn't been much time for anything else especially posting by Thursday this week. I did however think about the assignment and had previously read the text...so I am very actively thinking about how I can use wiki in my current business. Sort of as a repository of best practices from the teachers that are tutoring for my company. Hold that thought...I will have to finish this later....I am a little exhausted.

Ever forward

AL

Clone needed

This has been quite a week and it has tested the limits of my resolve to get through it. First of all I am moving from my apartment to a house and have to be out by the 28th. That in itself is a task if you have ever moved...hate it...packing, packing and more packing. but I had to do it in the midst of two days of presenting assessment training for after-school site coordinators, interviewing teachers all week from an ad placed for tutoring positions and attending two all day parent fairs for supplemental educational services. Did I mention I have been shopping for a refrigerator and some furniture. I did manage to IM a couple of classmates as well as Professor Tim and complete my discussions even if it was not as timely as it should have been. It is a good thing that I have spent some of my professional life as an instructional designer having designed the first multimedia training for UPS, both CBT and WBT. So the subject matter is not at all unfamiliar to me.

Al

Welcome

Welcome to my blog. This is a new and exciting experience for me. I look forward to sharing my views on everything from education to world politics. (Did I mention I was a news junkie?) I have many diverse interests and now I have a forum for sharing. My PhD journey is in the final stages and I am consumed with research and of course writing. One of the areas that I have a passion for is finding ways to turn at-risk students into life long confident learners. At my company, Learning4Today, we have plenty of irons in the fire and at the forefront is the continued expansion into more and more states. Check us out at www.learning4today.com. We have some exciting new programs that we are preparing for the national market and everything is moving forward...

Al

Greetings

Hello from Albloggaman, always looking forward.