Crandall’s Blog

  I began the summer going to the NECC conference in San Antonio, Texas.  I’ve been to National Conferences many times, but never one focused on Technology.  I was lucky to attend with seven other colleagues and though we had a very good time, the learning was beyond my expectations.  Because we were so caught up in the topic, the conversations invariably turned to technology.  I learned so much! I was introduced to Cha Cha that week – what a fun tool! I use it all the time. 

   My cohorts in crime also convinced me to join a social journal called Plurk.  It’s like Twitter  (though I could never get into Twitter) but more.  I resisted for awhile but jumped in a few weeks ago.  There is a network of people I follow – people who might share what they are doing at that moment or the plans they have for the day.  The more you Plurk, the more you build ‘Karma’ that supposedly will get you more bells and whistles as it grows.  I don’t do it for the Karma (though it’s fun to tease/compare with my cohorts).  The big thing for me has been the unbelievable resources they share.  Plurks are real time posts and on July 30, when the earthquake hit Los Angeles, I found out from a fellow Plurker from LA, within one minute of it hitting!  Wasn’t even on TV yet!   Amazing.  I spend a lot of time reading posts and not as much posting myself.  There have been a couple Plurkers that I no longer follow…their plurks were fluff and not of interest.  Many of the plurkers I follow are professional technology folks so there isn’t much I can offer – but I sure have benefited from their knowledge!!  It’s fun and the people are from all over the world.  The perspective, information, quotes, valuable websites and sometimes even pictures are overwhelming!  This has become a valuable “Personal Learning Network”  for me (as Sheryl Nussbaum Beach advocates we all have!).  With the exception of my very knowledgeable (and willing to teach me) colleagues, these Plurkers have become my daily dose of learning!

   Watching all that’s out there about China and the Olympics right now, reminds me of my trip to China three years ago.  I had the opportunity to visited Hong Kong and Beijing.   A close, young friend lives in Hong Kong and he was our tour guide.  He’s fluent in Mandarin, and I was thankful for that, because I don’t know how much I would have eaten if I didn’t know what it was… I love to travel and will go just about anywhere – wanderlust, I guess.  Anyway, I visited schools and talked to lots of people when I was there and thought I’d share some of the things I learned.

     When in Hong Kong, I spoke with people connected with the “American International School.”  They spoke of the concern many teachers have regarding the thinking/learning style of the students coming from mainland China and those from traditional Chinese schools.  Those students are having difficulties with the strategies the teachers use that reflect a cognitive approach to learning. They are excellent at memorizing and regurgitating back what they’ve read or learned, but not at problem solving and real life application.  I was told they can’t think ‘out of the box.’   While I was there, I got the English version of the newspaper whenever I could.  There was an article in it one day, about the number of college students returning from the U.S. after failing out of Medical School.  It seems their study habits and learning style would not withstand the more application, problem or scenario type of learning that is more prominently utilized in Med school.  That confirmed my conversation with the folks from the International School. 

     In Beijing, I visited a preschool that was just around the corner from our Hostel.  It was in a traditional Hutong (neighborhood).   Those who live in the Hutongs live very simply – they are high poverty areas.  Each morning I watched as the mothers and fathers dropped off their little ones.  They were fascinated with my blond hair and often stopped to stare as they passed me sitting on the steps.  (There are numerous pictures of me, floating around all of China, with various Chinese children and adults.  Many times I would get a small child thrust into my arms, followed by many pictures).  By the 2^nd or 3^rd morning they were looking for

me and tried to practice the English they knew.  Every time one little girl saw me, she would spout the litany of English words she knew, “hello, good morning, thank you, good night, goodbye.”  She beamed with pride when I answered her in English and loved having her picture taken with me.   I went to the school one morning and watched tiny hands working the Chinese characters on the keyboards of computers (just a few computers).  There were about 25 children and 6 adults in the large room.  There were small rooms off this ‘great room’ and they were used for smaller groups.  There was one I saw with a group of 5 students who were counting and using an Abacus.  There was another that had a few (not many) picture books.  A number of them stories about, Mao Tse Tung.  Another was like a resting area or nurse’s room.  Still another held the few computers.  The walls were bare except for the occasional drawing, and the colors on the walls, were dingy from the coal used to heat.  One of the teachers told me parents expect their children to work hard and not spend a lot of time on drawing and playing.  She said the government provided money to run the school, but supplies were limited.  It’s important for them to learn a foundation of English before they leave the school so they will succeed in the next phase of their education.  In China, those children who go to school are required to learn English – the language of business. 

     Like I said, I love to travel and meet new people and learn about other cultures.  Writing this is making me want to go again!!

   When is technology at it’s best?  When it works the way you want it to, of course!  I have improved with my trouble shooting abilities when technology doesn’t work as planned, but sometimes I have to call for backup.  What about in our classrooms?  Do you see a great deal of technology integration?  I see pockets of teachers who are doing great things with technology, for sure.  But…there are many more who are doing nothing to prepare our kids for the technological world they will enter.  Don’t misunderstand, I’m certainly not saying it’s entirely the fault of the teachers.  Our schools don’t seem to recognize the urgency.  Most leaders are so buried with the work of running the schools that they don’t look up and see what’s going on outside their school environment.  Globally, we’re falling behind.   We in the U.S. have always seen ourselves as the leaders of the world.  Not happening anymore.  We’re not equipped anymore.  Our schools are not keeping up with the times.  We’re still hanging on to a system that is over one hundred years old; designed for a different time and culture. 

   I watched Michael Wesch’s June presentation to the Library of Congress, ”The Anthropology of YouTube,”   today.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPAO-lZ4_hU - it’s really quite interesting.  He talks a lot about individuality vs community and how YouTube has changed, and continues to change, how we see and hear each other.  Our students are using these Web 2.0 tools and skills to communicate with each other.  We need to leverage their knowledge of technology with our curricula.  It’s fascinating to talk to kids who are composing, creating, and sharing on the Internet.  Just ask some teens how long they spend on their computers (outside of school) each day.  The cell phone is still banned in many schools, yet the technology is already there for the cell phone to be a powerful tool for learning.  So how do we make sure our kids are learning the best ways to use the technology?  They know how, for the most part, but they don’t have the guidance to use it for their schoolwork.  We need to make sure we are supporting and encouraging teachers to try integrating more technology, to use and instill  21st Century Skills,  and to make sure our leaders understand the urgency!

Since I have been in my present position as a 12 month person, I’ve given a bit of thought to the summer break enjoyed by teachers.  I took this position in the month of February (more than 10 years ago), and didn’t give much thought to my summers off until that first summer came along.  I can’t say I miss it entirely, but there are times when the relaxation and pace of those summers long ago, bring a sense of nostalgia.  Lately my thoughts have been on the learning I enjoyed during those long summers, the planning and organization of my classroom and the leisure time to write and read.  Though I am no longer afforded the long stretches of time off in the summer, I am attempting to refocus some of my energy to the reading and writing I used to do.  Part of that will be this blog. 

There are many parts of the country that have year round school.  My niece and nephew in Las Vegas spent a few years in a year round setting and it seemed to make sense.  Of course, their motivation was space.  They didn’t have enough schools so there was a group of kids off at all times to accommodate the number of students.  My sister didn’t like it much, she was pleased when they were ‘lotteried’ out of the option.  It seems to make sense for the students in many ways, though.  They had quite a few two week breaks throughout the year and then were off the month of June.  I have a friend who teaches in a year round setting in North Carolina and she loves it.  For her, the two week breaks throughout the year are used for (optional) professional development.  She said it gives her the opportunity to learn strategies and pedagogy and then try them out with her students.  Sounds like a good plan!  Of course the cost of year round education makes it prohibitive for many places.  You would have to consider salary increases, busing, and the cost to maintenance.  There would be more opportunity for innovation with scheduling and continuous progression though.  Consider the possibility of students passing on to the next level in their own leaning time!  It’s pretty tough to do that wih the system as it is now.  We’ve been talking for years, in eduation, that we have to retool an antiquated system, but it doesn’t get very far.  The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation seem to be making some progress with the Big Picture School.  It’s a good fit some areas, but we are far from meeting the needs of our present student population.  No matter what experts recommend, the politics and beuacracy always seems to win out.  Research and the experts tell us repeatedly that educating our kids is the answer to lower crime rates, poverty and even becoming more globally powerful, yet…it doesn’t change much. 

It certainly gets discouraging, but I do think there is hope.  I spent a few days this summer at the High Schools New Face conference with over 200 local educators and their enthusiasm and commitment tells me there is hope.  Check out what  HSNF Leaders blogged about during the week.  It’s inspiring!  The conversations I took part in and the ones I heard tells me there are still great possibilities.  Ken Kay suggested we  must start a ground swell by advocating for 21st Century Skills.  He’s right. 

I read a great blog post this morning on why someone became a teacher.  It’s called “think, think, think” and it’s worth the read.  Summer has always been a time for reflection and renewal in education, I guess.  It’s our “New Year’s Resolution” time of the year.  What’s yours?

   I have been struggling for the past year, trying to figure out if I have enough to say to warrent a blog.  Now, my colleagues and family will tell you I always have something to say, but is it important enough for a blog?  I definitely have opinions and beliefs that I feel strongly about, so I’m going to give this medium a whurl. 

   I am a Staff Specialist for BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) and 40% of my time is contracted to a specific district as a Director of Instruction and Federal Grants Coordinator.  Though my role does not focus on technology, it does play into a lot that I do in the school.  From software decisions to planning professional development, technology integration has been a big part of my job – mostly the facilitation of it occuring rather than the training itself.

   This has been a busy but great summer of learning.  I recently had the opportunity to attend the NECC conference in San Antonio, Tx.  Seeing and hearing about the latest and greatest in technology was very enlightening.  Of course the frosting was spending time with some of my colleagues.  The other big learning experience was High Schools New Face at Holiday Valley in Ellicottville, NY.  It was wonderful!  The New York State Teacher of the Year, Richard Ognibene, was inspiring!  The focus was on 21st Century Skills and who better to begin the conference than Ken Kay.  There was a great deal of information and ideas shared during the conference and ended with Tony Wagner of Harvard University.  He is about to publish his new book, The Global Achievement Gap.  It’s due out in August but we got a copy and I look forward to reading it in the near future. 

   There are many things I hope to write about here.  Time will tell…