Screencasts, Periscope, #MakeSchoolDifferent and More!

Flip your classroom with instructional screencasts

If your class is reviewing key concepts about the Civil War, for example, you could use a screencast to reference historical photos on the Library of Congress website while correlating the key concepts students need to master for their final assessments. In math, you could use programs such as SMART Notebook to provide virtual paper and pen to work through complex algorithms, explaining each step of the process.

http://tinyurl.com/o8kpp9v 

Photo from Wikicommons--awesome for Civil War screencast!

What You Need To Know (So Far) About Periscope

The ability to reuse and repurpose the broadcasts may ultimately make this my iPhone video cam of choice for our studio and brings another layer to the potential of Periscope.  This will be more effective when landscape mode is available which is coming soon . . . . But in the meantime it’s nice that you can easily download your broadcast as a video to your device with the touch of a button in the app.  

http://tinyurl.com/lgl5e2v

How Leadership Can Make or Break Classroom Innovation

In addition to setting the tone for nimble and progressive teaching that’s geared towards what students need most, school leaders can also find ways to integrate technology in smart ways that work on the same goals. And they can help to remove roadblocks when necessary.

http://tinyurl.com/p6s4fyv

New Research Shows Free Online Courses Didn't Grow As Expected

One of the biggest MOOC platforms, edX, is run jointly as a nonprofit by Harvard and MIT. And researchers at both schools have been poring over the data from everyone who participated in 68 courses over more than two years. That's 10 million participant-hours. Here's what they found. . . . 

http://tinyurl.com/nj3luwe 

Filmmaking for Kids: Rough, Raw, and Real

There’s a big difference between being tech savvy and knowing how to leverage that technology. . . .Realizing that you can use this technology to have fun and share personal moments, and be socially engaged with your friends, is one thing—but to use this technology at a more powerful level, to communicate with people who perhaps don’t know you. . . .It can change opinions, educate, and inform.

http://tinyurl.com/qarszs5

We Have To Stop Pretending… #MakeSchoolDifferent

We have to stop pretending….That teachers have a choice in using technology as a tool for teaching and learning. . . .

That content which is being taught is more important than teaching students how to curate, critically think, communicate, collaborate, and create as life long skills.

http://tinyurl.com/nbzk6u2

Building a MOOC Fallout Shelter

Reflections on ISTE '13, one of three

The most impactful presentation I listened to at ISTE 2013 this past week was delivered by Dr. Scott Garrigan of Lehigh University.  Garrigan described to us the massive impacts on Massively Open Online Courses (MOOCS) on higher education.  While he devoted too little time to speculating about the ramifications for K-12, he did a masterful job describing the disruption that this will create for educational institutions.

He pointed out that hundreds of thousands of learners are already taking (and completing) thousands of online courses.  Some are simple modules from the Khan Academy.  Others are full fledged university courses from Stanford, Harvard, M.I.T.,  Duke, etc. ranging from Algebra to Biogenetics. What is more the process for accrediting these courses has begun.  "Courses" at iTunesU also proliferate.  Two recent developments have struck terror in the hearts of university presidents everywhere:  

1. Georgia Tech is offering an online three year Masters Degree in computer science for $6,600.
2. The California State University system in partnership with Udacity announced an initiative for piloting online courses from San Jose State for $150 a piece in courses like remedial algebra course, college-level algebra and introduction to statistics.  These will be offered through community colleges and high schools with the aim of proliferating throughout the state (and no doubt, beyond).

Creative Commons Photo by CornDogBlog

Certainly there are drawbacks to online courses, not the least being the "caring" touch, and accountability provided by face-to-face learning.  Obviously the thousands of persons taking these classes are drawn to the ability to take them at one's own pace on one's own "class meeting" schedule.  Regardless, the incredible cost differential almost makes these arguments moot.  The university system is facing a massive shakedown as a consequence.  It is clear  that the traditional brick and mortar university as we have know it will change soon, and some may face extinction altogether.

Unfortunately, though titled, "How Will the MOOC Explosion Affect K-12 Schools and Students", not much time was spent speculating on the affect on K-12.  I have been reflecting on this since and have the following meagre thoughts.

It is obvious that ubiquitous online course offerings from some of the top professors in the nation will have an effect on K-12 schooling that goes far beyond the home schooling front. I have the strong impression that the powerful pressures on traditional high schools to accept these courses in place of requirements or for advanced placement will come before enlightened policies are in place to deal with these demands.

Accreditation is a huge issue.  Even if schools and school districts welcome (or are mandated to) accept online courses across disciplines it certainly will be difficult to sort out what kind of courses are acceptable.  Perhaps this will occur at the state level. Michigan's our current governor, Rick Snyder is a keen proponent of online courses as part of his Anytime, Anywhere" education reform plan, believing that school funding should follow students who seek options other than their neighborhood school.

Of course MOOCS challenge brick and mortar schools to justify themselves as providing significant value-added beyond providing content.  Teachers that offer conventional lecture/test methods will find it difficult to argue that they provide an experience superior to lectures provided by the leading authorities in the world accompanied by interactive software developed an extremely sophisticated outfit like Udacity.

I really appreciate how clearly and profoundly Scott presented these issues. I have more questions than answers, but hope to revisit this subject in the coming school year with my colleagues, so that we can do are best to prepare for the inevitable.