Greenhaus Education and Other "Effects"

In two previous postings, What Should We Be Teaching? and Financial Literacy - Bring It Back To School I brought up the fact that we are doing our students a disservice by NOT teaching financial literacy.  Well...it appears that there is some movement on that front, which is exciting for me to see.  I am hoping this economy crisis we are in has perhaps opened the eyes of many our education system needs to better prepare students for reality, not just standardized tests. Great that you can pass a test to get into a college, but not so great when you can't figure out how to save for that college. In the article, High Schools, Colleges Push Financial Literacy by Caralee Adams , the focus is on student-loan debt and helping students understand debt and earnings starting in high school in order to hopefully prevent future problems. Helping students realize what debt is, how payment of loans works, and how to start saving and planning for the future is a skill that our students...

Well...it was a wild and crazy night in St. Louis last night. I was right down the street from the stadium and the streets were packed for hours with screaming, dancing, high-fiving Cardinals fans. Insane!! But, hard not to get caught up in the enthusiasm. My palms hurt from all the high-fiving and my throat is sore and I can't talk... Anyway, with all the excitement I totally forgot to post yesterday...what I was going to post  from the math conference was how the baseball fever had permeated the booth. St. Louis Cardinals shirts, signs, feather boas were all over the exhibit hall. In our booth, we had a Sketchpad tessellation done by a college student that was the cardinal, and using TinkerPlots, we did a quick statistical analysis of the two teams. They were so close in comparisons that predicting the winner was hard....obviously home team advantage and Freese made a difference! Just wanted to share a picture of the team comparison.

So, I am here in St. Louis for the NCTM Regional math conference starting tomorrow.  But...it also happens to be the site of the World Series - St. Louis Cardinals vs. Texas Rangers . I am not a baseball fan...much more of a football fan...but I feel the need, in the spirit of the game, to maybe be prepared for tomorrow at the booth with some baseball 'stuff' to show. And, as I look at some baseball statistics , I am just amazed at the sheer amount of mathematics that surrounds baseball.  It just has me thinking that any math teacher who is worried about the how to explore statistics with students using relevant data need look no further than baseball. More later - hopefully some interesting data explorations using TinkerPlots ....will keep you posted.

Taking a quick side trip away from 'education' directly to give a shout out to Facebook as a powerful communication tool and to an unknown Texas A&M student who has reaffirmed my faith in humanity and honesty. First - little background - in the last three months my credit card number was stolen twice (while I still had the credit card....) and my entire wallet, with ID, credit cards, ATM card, was stolen right out of my purse while I was sitting eating at a restaurant.  So, needless to say, I am a little down on humanity in general and dishonest slimy thieves specifically.  After hundreds of dollars lost, hours wasted getting new id's and cards, I have not been feeling too kindly about our society in general.  So when my daughter called me from college yesterday to inform me she lost her wallet with her id and all her cards, school id, dorm keys, etc., panic mode set in and there was an immediate call made to the bank and the credit card company cancelling the ca...

Clearly, the loss of Steve Jobs has many people wondering where are the next innovative technology ideas going to come from, what's going to happen to Apple, who is the NEXT Steve Jobs?  There are articles galore on Jobs impact, so I was not surprised to run across one connecting Steve Jobs to education entitled " If we don't let our children play, who will be the next Steve Jobs?" by Darell Hammond . I really loved the idea of this article - that schools need to let kids PLAY in order to foster their creativity, curiosity, and imagination.  It's something we have lost with the emphasis on standardized testing and assessment.  Time is short in schools, so the play (i.e. recess, music, art, etc.) is being eliminated for more time spent on practicing, testing, reviewing, and memorizing.  Check out the article - there are some great anecdotes  from Steve Jobs about the value of playing and creating.  The message here - let kids get out there, play, tinker, ...

Okay, just wanted to report back on my 'gambling adventure' on my 21st anniversary while at the NCTM Regional Math Conference in Atlantic City .  In my post , I believe I referenced the idea that I would put 21 dollars down on 21 at the roulette table. So, with my good friends and colleagues at the casino, after a lovely dinner, I went right up to the roulette table to get my chips.  Apparently, lots of etiquette rules on how to get the chips and place the bet - thank goodness the nice gentlemen next to me filled me in!  I shared the anniversary story and the man next to me suggested that instead of placing my 21 dollars on 21, to place my bet at the bottom of the column where the 21 resided, where I would get 2-to-1 odds if it landed on any number in that column, which included the 21.  I would have more likelihood of winning....it's all about the odds. And here is where I believe math teachers are at a disadvantage in gambling - we know the odds and we know th...

Had a lovely morning with some terrific teachers yesterday morning at the AMTOPV ( Association of Teachers of Mathematics of Philadelphia and Vicinity) at Germantown Academy in Plymouth Meeting, PA.  First, what an absolutely beautiful town and school.  Second, what a great group of teachers, dedicating their Saturday to learning more about how to improve math education for their students.  Met some wonderful teachers and the presentations that were going on were so exciting.  It's a shame that the media can't capture things like this conference, where dedicated teachers are giving up their day off to do something to help students learn.  Might bring to light that there are amazing teachers out there working hard to educate our students. Anyway, just wanted to mention what a great time I had doing my short little presentation - I learned some new things about whiteboards and Sketchpad from the teachers and hopefully they got some ideas and help from me as we...

Well, as I mentioned previously I was going to Atlantic City for the NCTM Regional math conference.  Today was the first day at the booth, and it was a very busy day - lots of teachers stopping by to check out the new booth and play with Sketchpad, TinkerPlots and Fathom .  I spent the whole day talking to so many different folks - teachers, administrators, students, and it was so fun to see them trying out the software, or help them find some resources to support their own learning of the software or find an upcoming lesson to use. I think the overall message I got out of today is that the technology is being used, but teachers really want and need curriculum and support/resources they can use right away because they don't have the time to search or create on their own.  I think it's one of the strongest components of what Key's software offers - (shameless plug, but hey - I am at a math conference!) - we have great software but more importantly we don't leave teach...

I am off to Atlantic City tomorrow for the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (whew...that's a mouthful) (NCTM for short) Regional Math Conference .  I am a little nervous and a little excited.  We are going completely technology this year, so a little nervous at setting up and making sure I am up on TinkerPlots and Fathom demonstration, as my strong point is Sketchpad.  But...very excited about the prospect of focusing on technology and getting to play with math and technology all day.  So...any of you folks planning to attend Atlantic City, stop on by and say hi...would love to see you!  I will update on how things go. On a side note - Atlantic City - gambling....  Should I try Black Jack? I am a HORRIBLE gambler because I don't like to lose money - even a dollar.  But how can you be in Atlantic City and not even try, right?!  Do math teachers have an advantage?  I know this math teacher doesn't....

I read a fun blog posting this morning by Peter DeWitt called " No Testing Week"   Basically, his school is planning a testing hiatus, where no tests will be given for the entire week of November 28 - December 2. Instead, the focus will be on project-based learning, reading, theater, creating works of art, interdisciplinary projects.  In other words - learning and enjoying learning. I think it's a great idea.  I think EVERY school should be doing things like this, because as DeWitt says (and which I completely agree with) "the US is too focused on testing and we need to bring back creativity and not always worry about collecting data. .. we are raising a stressed out generation of students who are overtested and overanalyzed".  Hear hear!! So, those of you out there teaching and leading (i.e. principals, curriculum specialists, district supervisors, etc.), consider stepping back and letting school be about creativity and learning and connecting, if onl...

In my posting on Wednesday regarding a 2-hour Sketchpad workshop I was doing, entitled "How to do a 2-hour Technology Professional Development" , I listed four basic things that in that short amount of time would be important to do: Inspire, Relate, Practice, Support. Let me now share the REALITY of what happened in my 2-hour workshop.  Already, not an ideal situation with only 2 hours.  However, it gets worse.  Those of you who are teachers and have attended any professional development will be able to relate to this: the 2 hours turned into 1 hour and 15 minutes because the district whole-group session prior to the break-out sessions didn't end on time - so good-bye 30 minutes.  And then, of course, all break out sessions were told to end 15 minutes early so participants could fill out evaluations.  So...down to 75 minutes.....to train teachers on Sketchpad .....with the expectation they will start using it after the session. Ha! But, the show must go ...

As I posted previously , if you are trying to integrate new technology into teacher practice, a one-stop workshop is not going to be the best solution.  Long-term training and support is what is needed to help teachers learn, try and slowly begin the hard process of integrating technology effectively and making long-term change in instructional practice. What do you do then when a one-stop, 2 hour workshop is all you have? This is the predicament I find myself in - preparing for a 2-hour Sketchpad workshop. The reality is, one-stop workshops are still the norm because of costs and time mostly. I am not stupid enough to think after 2 hours I am going to convince all my participants that they should use Sketchpad in their math classrooms, nor am I idealistic enough to think that they will even try to implement things. My goal is to spur some excitement and provide the tools where they can try and get support. If you only have a couple of hours, then you want to inspire, re...

In my post yesterday, I brought up the idea that education technology is assumed to be the solution to all the problems facing education today, when in reality, they should be viewed as tools.  And these tools need to be researched and evaluated carefully to make sure they fit in to the social and political structure of the learning environment and to make sure they will really do what is needed - improve teaching and learning. But how do you know?  If we are to believe advertisements, it's no wonder so much technology is purchased for schools.  What I want to caution is that company's are trying to sell you the idea - make sure you research, analyze, evaluate and try new technology out to see if it fits and if it does what's promised, or else it's going to sit on a shelf gathering dust or worse, change nothing, or worse, hinder teaching and learning. I thought it would be fun to share some of the advertisements I saw this morning in my daily reading of educational ...

Jack Schneider's article Questioning Our Mania For Education Technology   reemphasized what I have been reading in my doctorate course the last couple of weeks regarding the assumption by many that education technology is going to solve all the problems of education and help all students succeed. I have been immersed in Neil Selwyn's book, Education and Technology: Key Issues and Debates , where, he goes into much more detail on the points Jack Schneider brings up - that basically a lot of investment in money and time are put into getting technology into schools in order to improve education, but that it doesn't work.  A lot of assumptions are made, but buying the latest and greatest technology tools doesn't mean the underlying problems of education are going to be solved. Neither Selwyn nor Schneider are saying we shouldn't be investing in technology.  The underlying message in Selwyn is that educational technology is going to to impact teaching, teachers, schoo...

I am pretty excited - I got an iPad2 this weekend. I am still learning how to navigate and play around with it - I am definitely a novice, but it's pretty cool.  I got this for work (thank you work!) in large part because of Key's new app, Sketchpad Explorer , which for those of you out there teaching or learning math, is amazing!  If you are familiar with The Geometer's Sketchpad , which is the best dynamic math software out there for teaching, learning, constructing and exploring mathematics (yes, I am a little biased, but I felt this way before I worked for Key!), then you will definitely want to explore Sketchpad Explorer for the iPad.  Sketchpad Explorer is a version of Sketchpad for iPad - it has built in activities for all grade levels, but it also let's you open any Sketchpad sketch/activity from our Sketch Exchange online learning community that has been shared by others (you can post sketches to Sketchpad Exchange and then open them with the Sk...

In part 1  I brought up the issue of technology in school and how it's use is often spotty at best. Part 2  offered one possible solution, which was to do away with only offering one-stop workshops for teachers when training them on technology, as this is ineffective and will not create sustained change or use of the technology.  Time and support need to be part of these one-stop workshops. Today (mainly because I found a great article this morning about this) is related to the actual decision process of deciding on what technology to bring into the schools (in this case, digital content).  This should be the FIRST step - if the decision process on what technology will actual help students is done carefully, then this should go a long way in helping ensure that the use of that technology happens.  If the technology fits in the first place, it makes integration into instruction an easier process (though training, time and support are still needed).  R...

In my perusal of Twitter postings this morning, I ran across this link "What's the Most Important Lesson You Learned from a Teacher?" Touching story about remembering teachers who have impacted your life.  If you haven't done it, with Facebook and Twitter and other social media avenues, it's easy to find that teacher (or teachers) who made some impact in your life.  Admit it - there's at least one - so go find them and thank them. With the constant bashing teachers get for the failed education system, it would be nice to get some positive feedback that yes, indeed, they did make a difference in at least one of the hundreds of lives they have touched.  We know it's more - but they they usually never even hear about one.  So...reach out.  Let a teacher know that in fact, because of their hard work and dedication and caring, you are who you are. I did this last year - found Senora Frances Pettigrew from McLean High School and let her know that in large ...

Step 2 in my multi-part series on technology in schools and why it isn't being used.  From part 1 , I pointed out that there is a lot of technology in schools that is either not being used effectively, is unknown to teachers in the schools, or is being used but ineffectively or in a very limited manner.  Part 2 here is my first suggestion on how to help increase the use of current technology that exists in schools. Do away with the one-stop workshops.  You know what I am talking about.  Those one or two day workshops that teachers attend to learn about a new technology.  The expectation that after these one or two day workshops teachers are going to integrate the technology into classroom instruction is ludicrous. The more gun ho teachers will give it a try, but if the attempt goes awry, as it is bound to do, that technology is going in the closet to gather dust.  Long term support is needed if real integration and change in practice is to occur. How ...

Read an interesting quote yesterday in my research book, which comes from Jakob Nielsen about the 90-9-1 Rule for online community participation, or open-source.  Basically it says that even though open-source and free online communities are open for anyone to contribute, so in theory provide a wider audience to contribute the content, making it a diverse resource, in fact this is NOT the case.  90% of the users are passive consumers, with only 9% willing to comment or contribute content periodically, and most of the content and commentary being contributed by 1% of the users. Who is that 1%?  To me, a scary question. This finding is not surprising but is a little disturbing in the educational arena, where free and open-source are becoming more prevalent options due to the tight economy.  It begs the question, who is this 1% of the population that is contributing to the content being used by educators/education sites, and is it really reliable, res...

I spoke about this in earlier postings (see What Should We Be Teaching... ) , but just found this article on the state of Virginia bringing back financial literacy as a requirement for students and I just thought I would share.  Think it's exciting!

Not a surprise, but there is a lot of great technology out there in schools that is not being used. Whiteboards gathering dust, calculators never coming out of the closet...I am sure those of you in schools right now can site a hundred examples of great technology that should be in the hands of students that is just sitting somewhere gathering dust. Why? I know from personal experience as a teacher, and now, as someone who travels around and works with teachers, often times, there is technology that has been bought that many teachers don't even know the school has. Can't tell you how many times I have been to a school to train on Sketchpad to find it's been in the building on the computers for years and no one knew about it. How does that happen? Often times it was a case of money had to be spent quickly, so administrators or coordinators buy something they think sounds like good technology, but then no real training or information is sent out. Or...the person who spea...