The Learnal

As one might expect with the rise of any recent technology development, the research literature on the use of social networking sites in workplace training is limited. Much of the literature is descriptive in nature, with suggestions for applications to a particular field such as professional development in nursing or teaching. Although the study of social networking sites in workplace training is a new field and an understanding of their application to training is limited (Rutherford, 2010), the use of technology to support networked learning has been found to support lifelong learning and professional development and offers some encouragement (Hanraets, Hulsebosch, & de Laat, 2011). Despite how little is actually known about the use of these social networks in workplace learning, a review of the literature indicates the potential of social networks for fostering informal learning, highlights some key issues surrounding the deployment and use of these learning networks, and provides some valuable recommendations for any organization considering their use as additional tool in the training toolbox.

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According to a report by the Rennie Center for Education Research and Policy (2009), nearly one-third of American students do not graduate from high school. In 2007, The Center for Labor Market Studies (2009) estimated that 16.0% of persons between the ages of 16 and 24, or 6.2 million people, dropped out. Although the National Center for Educational Statistics reported a 2.6% increase in the high school completion rate between 1975 and 1985, between 1985 and the time of their report the completion rate had shown no consistent trend, hovering between 85 and 87 percent (Phillip Kaufman, Alt, & Chapman, 2004).  A few of the reported factors associated with this dropout dilemma include: increased academic standards (Lillard & DeCicca, 2001), economics (Rumberger, 1987), disengagement from the school community (Stanley & Plucker, 2008), and grade retention (Jimerson, 2001). More specifically, students who are retained, particularly in the 9^th grade, or fail to accumulate enough credits to graduate on time appear to be at a much higher risk of dropping out than their peers (Christian, 2003; Letgers & Kerr, 2001; Shepard & Smith, 1990; Zegarac & Franz, 2007).

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In the early sixties there was a new movement in education whose principles embodied creativity, collaboration, authenticity, individualism, and openness. Walls and doors were dramatically removed from classrooms so students could communicate with peers of all ages and share resources across the building. Teaching was tailored to individual students as they frequently pursued their own learning interests, worked in the community, and collaborated with peers on self directed learning projects. Teachers shifted their roles from learning directors to learning mentors and spent more time working with students individually and in small groups. This movement was called the Open Classroom. Sadly, the open classroom faded away and as standards-based curriculum and high-stakes testing have taken the forefront, one wonders if there is any hope for the principles the open classroom embodied. I believe there is.

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Openness, peering, sharing, acting globally; these principles sound more like guidelines for operating an international hippie commune or a non-profit NGO than they do for running a competitive and successful business. And yet Tapscott and William’s Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything demonstrates how these very principles have revolutionized companies, resuscitated dying businesses, and restructured traditional models to remain competitive and foster innovation. But is it possible for schools, whose business it is to shape the lives of students for future success, to apply these principles that have impacted so many businesses so profoundly? I believe it is not only possible to transform our schools into the collaborative and open communities powered by the technologies of Web 2.0, but is essential if we wish to breath new life into what some have considered an outdated institution. I believe that with a little creativity and a lot of open minds, schools can apply the principles of Wikinomics to create vibrant learning communities of Wikucation.

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Twenty-five years ago I was in third grade. We had two Apple II computers in our classroom complete with word processor, an Oregon Trail simulation, math drills, and a very noisy printer. Many years later I had my very own classroom. There were still only two student computers, but there was at least one for the teacher now. The word processor was still present, in addition to some other productivity tools, we still had simulations and some skill practice software, the Internet was now accessible, and the noisy classroom printer had been replaced by the quiet laser printer five classrooms away. A new computer lab made at possible for every student to access the computer simultaneously for approximately two hours a week, and sometimes more if scheduling permits. The point of this little anecdote is that while technology may advance at a lightning pace in the outside world, technology in the classroom advances at a snail’s pace. Perhaps the best way to accurately predict where classroom technology will be ten years hence, and how it will impact our schools is not to look at the plethora of emerging technologies and fantasize about their potential applications, but to look at cutting edge schools of today that are setting the standard for schools of tomorrow.

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Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) used for instructional purposes has become common practice in the United States. While its penetration and impact on learning are a source of debate, there is no question that in nearly every school throughout the country you’ll find countless examples of students learning with computers, teachers teaching with technology, and districts and states with policies and standards for ICT use. But what if we were to take look at outside our borders? What would teaching and learning with computers look like in other parts of the world? How would a country’s culture impact ICT policy and pedagogy in China for example? How does a developing nation like Chile harness the necessary resources for ICT implementation? And what is technology’s teaching potential when developed European nations already have the resources?  The following paper examines three studies from three separate regions of the globe and their cultural and conditional impact on ICT on classroom instruction, followed by a discussion about the implications of their findings and what these nations and global regions can learn from each other.

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The 2020 visions of our students clearly bring into focus the views our student have about technology and education. And I think with a little imagination we could even use their visions to create something akin to a photo mosaic of what the classroom of 2020 might look like. A classroom where where every student has a small portable computer that allows them to read text, link to media rich databases, collaborate with peers, engage in stimulating environments, and access learning at any time, place or pace. However, I think if we look beyond the visions, and listen rather to the voices of 2020, we will hear something even more significant. We will hear that our students are not really asking for technology gadgets and gizmos, they are asking for the tools, opportunities, support and change that our schools are failing to provide.

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The apprenticeship is likely as old as civilization. A skilled practitioner in a given field takes on a starry-eyed youngster and learns him the tricks of the trade by showing him how its done and cudgeling him til he gets it right. At least was the impression I got from watching the master/pupil relationships on USA network’s Kung Fu Theatre as a child. Perhaps a more apt example, however, is the relationship between Almanzo and his father in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Farmer Boy mentioned in a previous post. In that instance, young Almanzo gradually learned the skills of the farmer from his father by “observation, coaching, and successive approximation”  as Collins, Brown, & Newman (1999, p. 453) point out. These early apprenticeships, however, were intended to “transmit complex physical processes and skills” of a very particular field (p. 455). Aside from teachers in a trade or specific professional school, this teaching model poses a problem when the complex skills and processes aren’t necessarily tied to a specific trade, or even a physical act like farming or kung fu, but rest more in the cognitive and metacognitive domain, or the realm of thinking and thinking about thinking.

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Anyone familiar with a KWL chart and its big brother the KWHL chart, probably has at least some experience with problem-based learning (PBL). In it’s simplest form, PBL starts with what you (K)now about a problem, identifies gaps between (W)hat you know and need know to solve the problem, progresses to (H)ow you will bridge this gap, and ultimately evaluate what you’ve (L)earned. This process repeats, continuously building upon prior knowledge, integrating new knowledge and ultimately synthesizing what’s been learned until there is enough information to solve the problem. I this sense, PBL flips the traditional deficit driven approach to learning on it head by having student immediately address the problem first with what they know, not informing them of what they don’t. Students tackle problems immediately, acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills along the way, rather than being taught the skills and content necessary to solve the problem beforehand

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Cooperative learning has probably played a role in public education long before the radical new models shunning traditional learning spawned during the ’60s. In its simplest form, cooperative learning is a small group of students working together on a specific task (Millis, 2002). This is something students have been doing in American schools since the time of the one-room schoolhouse. As part of some enjoyable self-assigned readings in preparation for future read-alouds with my baby girl, I’ve been blazing through the the Little House series and can recall several instances of cooperative learning that happened both out of necessity and out of intention. In one instance, the children were simply too poor have their own separate readers, so consequently they shared the materials and worked through the exercises together. In another, Laura Ingalls and classmates were working together on a recitation for the folk living in and around the little town on the prairie. Outside of the classroom, I would wager that cooperative learning has taken some shape or form since the first band of wandering neanderthals roamed the earth in search of mammoth meat.

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The 60′s were apparently fertile ground in the transformation of Instructional D & D. The Guided Design process is linked both to the A-T approach and the PSI model with the inclusion of self-paced instruction, sequential lessons, and it’s emphasis on mastery learning. What sets guided design apart from the others, however, is it’s emphasis on real-world problem solving through cooperative learning.  Guided design does share some of the rigidity of the other models in this component, however, with its systematic, linear approach to solving  problems, be they convergent on single solution or divergent with multiple answers. Trivette (2005) neatly summarizes this model by providing it 4 major components:

1. a sequential process for mastering course content,
2. a team or small-group processing component,
3. the provision of verbal or written feedback from the perspective of an expert in the field
4. the use of realistic problems to be solved.

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Digging deep once again into the archives of instructional design, we come across another model of self-paced instruction: The Audio Tutorial (AT) Approach. Devised by Postlethwait in the early 60′s, the AT approach initially utilized audio tapes to deliver supplemental lectures to students from disadvantaged backgrounds in order to assist them with complexity and pace of the material. Shortly afterward, the supplemental program evolved into a full blown system for delivering a complete instructional program via weekly “learning kits” that provided students with a set of audio instructions and the materials and media (photos, text, films, etc.) needed to complete the assigned activities.

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This is the first post in a series of postings examining historical and contemporary instructional delivery and design models and their implications for instructional technology, hence the title, ID Meets IT.

Individualized instruction may be a familiar buzzword for today’s educators, but its historical roots extend deep into the educational soil.  At a time during social upheaval, cultural revolutions, and questioning of authority, it no surprise that in the early 60’s F.S. Keller devised an unconventional plan to address a problem many teachers still face today: why students refuse to learn. The Keller plan was a dramatic break from the traditional system of instruction in which the teacher delivered the same instruction, to the same group of students, and at the same time, same speed, same order.  Davis (2000) succinctly outlines the system as:

…a plan, which was designed to maximize learning by stressing achievement and positive reinforcement. This approach has come to be known as The Keller Plan, Self-Paced Instruction, or the Personalized System of Instruction. The key elements of the system are:
•    Clear educational objectives.
•    Small learning modules with associated achievement tests and immediate feedback
•    Student self-pacing
•    Positive reinforcement
•    Student emphasis on doing rather than listening 

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Don Quixote had his decrepit steed Rocinante, Steinbeck his camper-truck of the same name. Both set off on a journey; one on a whimsical quest to perform acts of chivalry, the other a classic American road-trip to chronicle the American landscape and its people. Jonathan Mooney, author of The Short Bus as well as it’s driver, has his equally decrepit mode of transportation, a modified special education bus named after Bob Henry, an eccentric man he met in the parking lot of a Home Depot.  The Short Bus chronicles his own journey aboard Bob Henry to travel the American landscape and chronicle the people who, like himself, have or could have ridden the short bus at one point in their lives. His plan was to:

create a new map of a minority community that was connected by the shared experience of oppression, discrimination, and marginalization… not only a community but also a culture: the values, beliefs, and unique forms of knowledge that arise not despite disability but from the experience of being disabled in America. (p. 39)

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Given distance learning’s potential for increasing access to foreign language instruction, it’s not surprising that distance language learning course offerings have been expanding rapidly. Research in the area of distance language learning has likewise seen a recent and rapid expansion with a heavy emphasis on descriptive studies focusing on course development and decisions about course elements (White, 2006), typically with small groups of students at the college level (Yang, 2007). When compared to its traditional counterpart, previous studies have indicated that Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) has the potential benefit of reducing anxiety (Ushida, 2005), improve writing composition skills (Lee, 2005), equalize participation (Warshauer, 1996), and promote student-centered learning (Sullivan, 1996). Student achievement has likewise compared favorably with studies indicating either equivalent or improved performance on formative and summative student assessments (Adair, 1999; Blake, R., Wilson, N., Cetto, M., & Pardo-Ballester, C. 2008; Cahill & Catanzaro, 1997; Chenoweth & Murday, 2003; Nagata, 1996).

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As one of the fastest growing sectors of K-12 education, virtual schooling has seen significant growth. In a recent review of U.S. state level policy and practice regarding K-12 online learning, Watson and Ryan (2007) reported that 48 states now have either significant supplemental or full-time online learning programs, with over half of the programs reporting a 50% increase in student enrolment for the 2006-2007 school year. The age range of students served by online schools has expanded as well. In a survey of 60 online programs, 38% reported offering courses to students at the elementary level and 62% at the middle school level (Watson & Ryan, 2007). Virtual schools face several challenges, however, including designing and delivering quality online courses.

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In the fall of 2009, my 4^th grade students were preparing to begin a new unit of study in mathematics focusing on graphs, probability and data analysis.  Before starting a new unit, a pretest is typically given prior to instruction in order to establish baseline data for measuring student growth and to assess students’ prior knowledge in order to assign them to classroom cohorts based on specific areas of need. The same test would also be used as a summative assessment after the completion of the unit of study to determine content mastery and identify students needing remediation. The purpose of this paper was to research the content domain being assessed in order to provide later evidence for the content validity of test items and to perform an item analysis to identify potential problem items that would need to be either modified or removed to improve the reliability of the assessment.

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Studies about the teaching of mathematics online have focused primarily on comparing the academic achievement of online and traditional students, while “research investigating student satisfaction, motivation, engagement, and interaction… is scarce” (Hughes, McLeod, Brown, Maeda, & Choi, 2007, pg. 200). Moreover, the few studies related specifically to online mathematics instruction have revealed conflicting results regarding both academic achievement and student satisfaction.

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The Rise of One to One

According to the Apple Computers, “Today’s generation of students look at technology as part of their everyday environment.  To fully meet their needs, technology should be pervasive, always available.” Through 1 to 1 computer learning, this idea of ubiquitous access to technology has become a reality. As early as 2003, a survey from the market research firm Quality Education Data found that 4% of respondents said their districts were planning any kind of 1 to 1 computer programs during the 2003-2004 school year. These numbers are are on the rise. According to Jeanne Hayes, a researcher on 1 to 1 computing, more than 23% of the 2,500 U.S. school systems surveted are said to be implementing 1 to 1 computing programs in at least one grade.  Hayes also found that 48% of school districts’ chief technology officers said they were likely to purchase a computing device for each student by the end of this year.

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Jonathon Kozol, National Book Award winning author of Savage Inequalities, once again visits the topic of inequity in America’s public schools. Focusing this time on totalitarian teaching methods in urban districts and near apartheid levels of segregation, Kozol examines the growing divide between the haves and have-nots of our public schools and the waning hopes that the levels of desegregation and opportunity once envisioned in former times will one day be achieved.

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Abstract: Given the potential of technology to enhance teaching and learning, there is little surprise that schools have been investing in technology. Unfortunately, technology has been and continues to be an expensive and ongoing investment. Recent federal mandates and public demand have led to increasing pressures on schools to show results and to justify such heavy expenses as technology. Sandy Grove Elementary has followed national trends in its recognition of technology’s potential, its increasing investment, and its need to justify this expense with hard evidence. Sandy Grove is still in the early stages of its evaluation process and currently there is little hard data on the impact of program efforts on teaching and learning. This purpose of this study, then, is to gather an early assessment of where Sandy Grove stands in its current efforts to integrate technology into the classroom, what impact these efforts were having on teachers and students, and what is needed to move forward. In order to assess the technology needs of Sandy Grove Elementary, a survey of Sandy Grove’s educators was conducted using School Technology Needs Assessment (STNA). Findings from the survey suggest that while the technology resources are in place, the human resources have yet to be fully developed.

Perhaps the most intuitively obvious need for schools to utilize technology is simply the presence of and access to the technology resources themselves. Some of the key questions identified by the U.S. Department of Education (2002) for assessing technology in schools ask whether the equipment is present, is it available to staff and students, and are personnel available to proved technical support. The state of North Carolina has likewise provided access and infrastructure guidelines for successfully implementing technology in schools through its IMPACT model for media and technology programs adopted through the state’s technology plan (Public Schools of North Carolina, 2007). These include providing technology resources, providing barrier free access to technology resources, and providing support staff to maintain equipment and assist with technical questions. The necessity of these components is further documented in the literature (ISTE, 2002; North Central Regional Education Laboratory, 2000; Milken Exchange, 1998; Benton Foundation, 2003).

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Based on years of experience providing technical assistance and professional development, Byrom and Bingham (2001) concluded, “leadership is probably the single most important factor affecting the successful integration of technology into schools” (p. 4). A survey of the literature on school technology integration reveals a number of frequently cited components of effective technology leadership including: developing and communicating a shared vision for technology use, modeling the effective use of technology use by administration, administrative support of changes in policies and practices, providing teacher incentives, and hiring practices that consider technological literacy and leadership as criteria for selection (Baylor & Ritchie, 2002; CEO Forum, 1999; Kelly & Thomas, 2002; Milken Exchange, 1998; Byrom, 2007; ISTE, 2002; U.S. Department of Education, 2002: Frazier & Bailey, 2004).

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On a recent mission to incorporate American Memory and PowerPoint as part of a 4th grade webquest, I though I would browse the literature on the subject. First off, I was surprised at how few results were returned when entering the keyword “webquest” in the NCLive database. If I’m not mistaken, I believe that there were about 72 hits. Just out of curiosity, I tried the ERIC database and only got 74. Considering that the webquest has been around since ’95, there has apparently been very little written in the major media sources on the topic and the academic journals. As a student in a Masters program in Educational Technology, this was  alarming. Typically, instructional delivery models are frequently studied and evaluated, but there has been very little concrete research on this topic. I was, however, fortunate enough to find in the NClive database an article from an excellent source called the Journal of Research on Technology in Education published by the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE), famed for the NETS standards that are used widely in schools and teacher education programs

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An old proverb says that, “A vision without a plan is just a dream, a plan without a vision is just drudgery, but a vision with a plan…” Perhaps having a plan for technology is unlikely to change the world, but it is certainly as important for effectively integrating technology into schools as the support of a strong leader. Without a sound plan, the necessary resources to carry out this plan, and an evaluation of whether or not the plan is working, the vision is merely wishful thinking, despite the initial good intentions. Perhaps this is what the state of Kentucky had in mind when they became the first state in the union to fully fund a comprehensive technology plan, or why in 1994 state legislators in Ohio required every district to develop a technology plan a prerequisite to participation in a statewide technology initiative (Milken Exchange, 1998).

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I’ve spent the past few day pouring over a series of reports that are part of the Use, Support and Effect of Instructional Technology Study in an effort to determine how technology use is being studied and to gather insight into conducting my own survey of technology use within my district.  I’ve decided that this particular study will serve as a model for my own because of the similarity in purpose and the method of investigation, specifically for phase one of USEiT study which dealt simply with documenting the classroom uses of technology and support. 

Although the scale of this study and the technical aspects involved in the data analysis are intimidating, what I have been able to understand from the study has helped me to clarify my own research questions, focus the scope of my thesis, and understand how an instrument is designed and implemented. As a result, my own study will still focus primarily on teacher use of technology but will be expanded to include factors related to technology use.

What I have found disappointing in terms of the technical aspect of the study was a failure to mention the specific sources used to determine the factors related to technology use and why those factors are important to examine. 

Notes continued…

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Although I’m naturally skeptical of a study whose findings so neatly coincide with the business objectives of the large company who sponsored the Teachers Talk Tech survey, there is still much in this study that is relevant to my thesis. 

Both the purpose and the goals of this survey, i.e. learning  "how k-12 teachers use computers in their jobs" in order to "help communities make academic choices" are quite similar to my own thesis, so examining which questions were asked and how provided some guidance and understanding into my own project.

Although there is little within the report besides the findings, I found it interesting to note that the majority of questions focused on teacher attitudes and beliefs (which are often linked with use) and teacher skill level or training, as opposed to specific uses by teachers or barriers to use. So, although the actual results were not very informative, knowing that factors such as professional development, teacher’s attitudes and beliefs, and their confidence and skill level are being considered when examining technology use is helpful. I would have been curious to understand specifically why the question used were chosen and the literature that guided the report, but I suppose that will have to be left for later lit reviews.

Notes Continued…

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Authoring tools for creating multimedia instructional content have come a long way since the early days of complex scripting and programing languages that required multiple Ph.D’s in computer science to create even the simplest of learning objects. Today’s powerful software tools such as Web Expressions, Adobe Captivate, Flash, Moodle, iLife and more have helped simplify this complex process, and have made it if not exactly easy, at least within the realm of possibility for even rather ordinary teachers (and let’s not forget students) to create engaging and exciting digital content for the purpose of learning.

As toolbars, icons, menus, plugins, import, export, text editors and graphical user interfaces make it increasingly easier for users to work with such powerful tools, the real difficulty that emerges is deciding how the use of such tools will support student learning. Should teachers or student be creating the content? Do these tools support constructivist or “instructivist” learning? Which models fit with which tool and which combination will meet which curricular goals? With the technical barriers to authoring tools rapidly crumbling away, we can begin to focus less on how to use such tools begin to focus on the more important question: why?

Ingredients: 50 whole dollar bills, 15 ripe earthworms, 4 young boys, 1 disgusting dare

Combine all ingredients into a small book, carefully mix with witty dialogue, stir in unforgettable characters, add a dash of nausea, a pinch of mischief and generously sprinkle with humorous chapters. Let stand for fifteen days, remove from bookshelf and enjoy in large helpings.

How to Eat Fried Worms is a recipe for fun, laughter and possibly an upset stomach. However, it is sure to please even the pickiest of young readers who are reluctant to try new things and tend to stick with those familiar authors or their favorite series.

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Knowledge-building, communities of practice, learning networks, collaborative learning, cognitive apprenticeships, situated/problem/inquiry/thematic/case-based learning; whatever constructivist learning model you subscribe to, the mild-mannered Moodle has the tools within to unleash power of the super e-learning environment.

For those of you new to Moodle, a moodle is a learning management system used to create, deliver and manage online instructional content. Traditionally, using online tools made the integration of instructional models and methods a managerial nightmare. Tools such as Filimentality and Edheads made it easier for student to explore content; while social tools such as PBwiki, Gaggle, and Edublogs made it possible for students to carry discussions and collaborate beyond the classroom. But the dawn of the LMS has now made it possible to integrate these these kinds of tools (blogs, wikis, chat, forums, email, RSS, etc) into a single learning environment. To help illustrate this point, I’ve set up a demonstration site to showcase of some of the capabilities of Moodle.

Theories and models aside, most of us spend our time in the realm of instructional strategies, while these theories and models inhabit the shadowy recesses of our brains, unconsciously guiding the actions and strategies we choose. So what kinds of instructional strategies would be appropriate to Moodle? Big question. I’ve been toying with some ideas lately and here are some things I’ve come up with so far:

• Role Play- Using the blogging tool to have students create diary entries of historical figures as part of a social studies unit on American history
• Reflection- using the discussion forum to facilitate interclassroom bookclubs
• Articulation- creating wiki encyclopedia entires to share new knowledge and link ideas across the course
• Exploration- using a links directory to let student explore content as part of a webquest
• Collaboration- using the workshop module to allow student to peer assess writing pieces using a rubric

Those are just a few general ideas I’ve come up with so far. Feel free to add to the list if you have any bright ideas that I can steal borrow.

Who could resist such a terribly tempting tale on the topic of toiletry — or a little alliteration for that matter? In the grown-up world, books on how everyday household edibles like salt, soda, chocolate, potatoes and even the olive have shaped cultures and civilizations throughout the ages are as common as single-ply toilet paper. So why not a book about the final destination of all of these digestible goodies? And who better to appreciate such a history than kids?!!

“Flush” spirals children through the ages from the time before toilet paper to today’s self flushing potties. Along the way kids will discover some downright disgusting dirt on the the story behind doody. They’ll learn why kings and queen avoid castle moats, why umbrellas were good on a medieval sunny day, and how differently the business is done depending on where you live.

As you might have already guessed, this scoop on poop is filled with some very amusing and colorful illustrations that please the eye if not the senses. Told entirely in verse, the clever rhymes and rhythmic pace will make the contents of this history a little easier to digest. There is just this one caveat to parents though, “Flush” might make an excellent bathroom reader but should probably steer clear of the other coffee table books to avoid contamination.

Finally, as a sample of just how enjoyable this book can be, my friend and I put together this song from the book on the “Uses of Urine“. Enjoy!!

“It was the best of designs, it was the worst of designs.” As if instructional design isn’t already as mind-boggling as a Dicken’s novel, there exists yet another acronym in the world of ID to add to the all popular ADDIE model for developing and implementing instruction. The ILDF, or Integrative Learning Design Framework, is supposedly “a systematic yet flexible process for designing and developing online learning.” In reality, it’s merely an ADDIE with a numerical twist.

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“Savage” is the only word that can begin to describe the system of education portrayed in Jonathon Kozol’s 1991 ground breaking work, Savage Inequalities. Often compared to Upton Sinclair’s infamous exposé on the dehumanizing and substandard working conditions of the meat packing industry, Kozol’s work takes us deep inside many of America’s urban school districts and shows us conditions that are equally dehumanizing and substandard. As we listen to individual voices of America’s students and begin to see the miserable conditions many have learned to accept unconditionally, Kozol forces us to question some of the fundamental principles of equality and justice upon which our country was founded and our system of education depends.

In the land of plenty, it seems improbable that so many schools throughout our country could go without the basic necessities required for even an “adequate” education. And yet, as Kozol takes us on a field trip to urban classrooms across America, we find children forced to share discarded textbooks, perform schoolwork with non-existent materials, use dilapidated and often dangerous facilities, and learn from a merry-go-round of substitute teachers with little or no investment in their students’ futures. Contrasted against the bleak and miserable conditions are the schools within elite city pockets or neighboring suburbs, schools in many cases just a stone throw away, where resources abound and the quality of education is considerably higher. These savage inequalities are sad reminders that not only can such disparity exist, but that separate and unequal public school systems can be found co-existing side by side.

Beyond simply describing material inequities, Kozol explores issues such as federal court rulings, state funding, and local administrative decisions that have either indirectly impacted school equality or have been directly responsible for creating an uneven playing field for millions of students. What surprises and often enrages the reader throughout this book are some of the arguments made for refusing to take action to raise the level of education in these neglected school districts; arguments such as those made by business leaders in the community who consider children of urban schools as poor “economic investments,” arguments made by political leaders against providing urban schools with equitable resources, or an argument made by a Supreme Court Justice who states that education “is not among the rights afforded explicit protection under our Federal Constitution.”

Despite Kozol’s fluid writing and engaging subject matter, his work is a difficult read because of the emotions his material stirs and the feeling that to continue reading is to accept a social responsibility that would simply be easier to ignore. And yet, this is all the more reason that a book like Savage Inequalities needs to be read, for it is one of those rare books that harshly awakens the conscience from its peaceful slumber and refuses to let it sleep again.

I came across some interesting and even surprising research findings today in a review of the literature from Dabbagh’s Online Learning citing a number of studies related to hypertext and hypermedia. Among other things, they found that depending on the order, amount, and support, hyperrtext can have a negative impact on student learning.

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Wow, “intrinsically constructivist”, that’s a phrase I’ve never used before, and perhaps even a Google stumper. I’ve been reading in Online Learning this week about the “roles and competencies” of learners and instructors in traditional vs. eLearning settings. Hence the mind map above I’ve adapted from Dabbagh’s adaptation of McLoughlin and Oliver’s table on the “contrasting roles and discourse” in T vs. eLearning. And as these roles in chapter 2 unfolded, so did the pedagogical models that followed. Which led to an interesting question: is there something intrinsic in traditional face-to-face and eLearning environments that naturally leads the former to an objectivist approach and the latter to a more constructivist approach?

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What’s faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a quad-core processor, and able to leap to conclusions in a single bound? Your brain, apparently. Malcolm Gladwell’s foray into the region of the brain and it’s superhuman capacity to judge, reason, decide, and identify, all in the Blink of an eye, make for a compelling narrative that’s able to sustain the brain’s attention throughout the length of the book.

Gladwell’s journalistic prowess is readily apparent as he assembles a variety of sources ranging from pop culture to empirically based research that demonstrate the power of thinking without thinking, and in some cases the danger of thinking too much. Some startling illustrations from the book are a researcher who can accurately predict a couple’s likelihood of divorce based on just minutes of conversation, a high-tech billion dollar military machine defeated by a Vietnam vet, and a whole category of musicians judged solely on their gender. Gladwell also introduces us the concept of “thin slicing”, or our ability to sift through a massive amount of past experience in a split second, to reach conclusions that seem like irrational intuition but can prove to be as effective as that rational methods of science.

So is it just intuition or is it really thinking without thinking? Everyday we make split second decisions; whether we’re deciding between hard shell or soft, sizing up our best friend’s new date, or navigating a baffling network web links for information on obscure movie trivia, our brains are actively analyzing information that has been finely tuned from the vast database of our personal knowledge. And all so quickly that we’re frequently unaware that we’ve even had time to think, as if it’s some thoughtless reflex. However, Gladwell’s examples from the world of cognitive psychology, market research and neuroscience have helped reveal the inner thinker inside us all and develop an appreciation for the hunches we so often rely on.

Can today’s small town libraries keep up to date with today’s increasingly tech savvy patrons? Bill Gates seems to think so. I recently had the opportunity to attend the Gates foundation funded Rural Librarians Conference in the beautifully cherry-blossomed town of Traverse City, Michigan. This was the final conference among the 50 states that brought together hundreds of rural librarians to share, brainstorm, discuss and workshop there way into updating their libraries to version 2.0.

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“Yeah, but what about the face-to-face interaction? E-learning is too impersonal!”

This is perhaps one of the most common responses I hear when I’ve eavesdropped on educators discussing online learning. And it’s true. Despite the potential for incorporating live video (face-to-face), or even voice over Internet protocols (ear-to-ear), my own experience in the Ed. Tech online Master’s Program and with online environments in public schools has shown that these tools are rarely incorporated as part of the learning experience. The result can often be an impersonal and isolating experience.
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