NACOL Annual Review of States' Online Learning

The North American Council for Online Learning (NACOL) has released its annual review on the different online programs offered in the 50 states.  There are 21 states who offer a statewide virtual school (4 are charter schools only).  There are 23 states that offer supplemental programs for online learning.  Iowa is one of these, with their online AP academy and their Iowa Learning Online.

Some of my perceptions from the review:

• Iowa is definitely in the lower half of states in terms of the breadth of what is offered.  Not surprisingly, statewide online education in Iowa has not gotten a toe-hold, being overwhelmed by the desire for local control and the recent focus on the Iowa Core.  But the review also points to online education being seen as a competitor to distance education through the ICN, which the state has made a considerable investment in.

• The review took special note to point out the "little state policy activity" in our state.  

• Florida continues to be the largest statewide provider of online learning, as it had 120,000 registrations last year.  That is 10 times as large as second place.

• Two states, Michigan and Alabama, now require students to complete an online component in order to graduate.  Both will start to implement that requirement next school year.

• Wisconsin, meanwhile, made news this past year because of the court ruling declaring the Wisconsin Virtual Academy in violation of state laws and not eligible for state funding.  Lawmakers have since looked to amend the law to keep the academy a viable option.

And on a final note, I always enjoy the thoughts and work of Clayton Christensen, who argues that unlike what some legislators think, online academies are products not in competition with brick-and-mortar schools, but rather with "non-consumption".  Meaning, students not attending school or taking courses that a traditional school couldn't offer.  But, NACOL has an interesting rebuttal worth the read.

Workplace mantra

A poster in the cubicle next to mine, showcasing a Heartland motto:













Simple, yet makes the point about the need for quality assessment.

Call For Action: Digital Curriculum

I had mentioned that providing a 1:1 for every 3-12 grade student in Iowa was the easy part. There's heavy irony given the current economic conditions and past funding levels of technology in schools.

Compared to this, though, the purchasing is easy. That's because what I call for now will really bring about dragging of heels and gnashing of teeth.

We need to completely change the structure of the learning environment in every grade and subject. The curriculum must be a constant interchange with the technology tools of today.

Let me give you a vision of what I am talking about. Jane arrives at school early and immediately goes to one of the learning pod areas, where she hops on her educational ning online. Here, she collaborates with a student in Texas, Kentucky, Nevada, Alberta, Sydney, and Nottingham. The group is extremely interested in crickets, and together they are discovering all they can about the insects. They share resources they have found on the internet with each other and pose different thoughts that they have. Bill, the student from Nevada, recently posed the challenge to the group to discover what conditions are ideal for the growth of crickets, and since the research the group conflicts, each person is experimenting with their variables at the local level.

After catching up on an update from those overseas, she goes to her first hour class, social studies. In class, the teacher is introducing a new concept (the Articles of Confederation), but wants to see what students already know. Every student has their laptop ready and they hop on Survey Monkey to take a quick pre-survey of the material. The teacher then displays the results, which show a couple students are quite knowledgeable on the concept. He turns the class over to them, and they discuss what they remember. While they say this, the teacher pulls up the class wiki and enters, as close to verbatim as he can type, what the students say as the initial entry on the wiki for the Articles of Confederation. After the students finish what they recall, the teacher has the students look online to verify the information and add to the wiki, or to branch off and make new entries based on topics that have arrived. Jane split her time between adding more on to the Continental Army, which the Articles gave some direction to, and putting together a new entry for federalists.

Second hour has her in family/consumer science today. The class puts their laptops on the work area next to the kitchenette. Today, Jane's group is to create a chicken entree given the ingredients that are found in their refrigerator and cabinet. They do a meta-search, given the ingredients, and find a recipe for a casserole. As they create the activity, they are to take a digital photo at each stage and upload that to their Flickr account. They also will take a temperature probe when the entree is finished and that data will be loaded in their classroom database record. Finally, they will portion up the entree, and each student in class will travel around and sample them. They will log in on their own computers and score the entree on a four-point scale of how it tastes. The teacher will use the digital images, hard data, and student feedback together to give summative assessment on student proficiency.

Third hour is physical education. Jane has already downloaded her playlist into her mp3 player for the day... she has picked her upbeat music since she is doing aerobics. Like always, Jane gets her Polar Fitness monitor, which will monitor her breathing rate and pulse to assess the exertion. Once again, Jane is doing well to stay in her zone. Like the rest of the class, she is given the last 5 minutes of class to download the data and write a 2-sentence blog on how she is progressing to her physical fitness goal (to reduce her "fitness" age and beat her previous best in the mile by 45 seconds).

Fourth hour is English. Students hop on their blog immediately to give their reflections to the question that was recently posted by a student in class. Each day, a student posts a question to trigger free-writing in a connection to what they are reading. Once students are finished with their blog, they shift into free reading of the book, until the teacher has had a chance to peruse the answers. The teacher then gathers a couple of quotes to share with the class for some further discussion. Then, the students are given an essay topic to write about, and they log into their Google Docs account to start the process of composition. With 10 minutes left in the class, Jane "invites" her editing partner Sarah to her essay, and vice versa. Jane looks over Sarah's writing, knowing she has to give 3 suggestions, be it thoughts to develop the essay, sentences to help the structure, or words to build meaning and style.

Okay, you get the idea. This is what I refer to as the Digital Curriculum. I'm not the first to use this phrase, but I needed to put forth a common term and definition.

You can see some of the features of the digital curriculum:
• Schoolwork makes seamless integration of the laptop in all that they do
• Learning takes place on an individual level, a classroom level, a small group level, and an outside-school level.
• But it always is student-centered. The student is pushing forward the exploration, the connection, the progress on goals, and the assessment of growth.
• The laptop serves as an extension, in and out of the classroom activity. It doesn't take 20 minutes to grab laptops and log in just to do a survey or a physical education journal entry because the device is there when you need it.
• The curriculum finds tools that fit their objectives, not vice versa.
• There is a constant data collection taking place; assessment is real, authentic, and ongoing, and the student plays the critical role.
• This pace may seem fast, but today's learners can handle this with aplomb. It mimics the pace of highly-skilled professional occupations, and is helping students prepare for the future.

There are many other conclusions you can draw from the example. That's the other piece... if we are going to require the state to provide a laptop for every 3-12 grade student, then we must have every teacher use digital information and collaboration as a central piece to the curriculum. And, this is equal parts daunting, scary, and necessary.

The leap that has to be made is gigantic. It will require new curricular development and mapping of 21st century skills. It will demand leadership and vision. Let me be the first to begin. Any school that would like to collaborate with me about how they can move to a digital curriculum, please contact me; if you are willing to make the leap, I'm more than willing to help.

A note on technology leadership

A nugget I haven't mentioned before from ITEC 2008 came from a session for technology coordinators, where the presenter, Rich Molettiere, who echoed a statement I have believed in for years. He mentioned that if he had a new piece of technology (let's say Program X), the best way to bring about X's use in the district is to find your go-getters and work with them individually.

The thinking here is that a professional development session for all teachers will result in some getting lost, some getting mad at the program, some getting mad at having to do the initiative, and those who are truly going to benefit from it will be bored by the watered-down session tailored for everyone else.

As a technology coordinator, this was my mantra. Avoid the "shotgun-style" training. When we got Elmos for the first time, I picked four teachers to use as guinea pigs and had them try out the devices. It helped me learn the way to teach them (and others), and it let them know there were benefits to being a go-getter (first crack at the new technology and individual attention from the tech coordinator). I did the same for Smartboards, blogging, InspireData, and every other new item to come. Some, like Elmos, caught on like wildfire, where teachers were literally peering into their neighbor's room to see what the hubbub was, and next thing, I had an email request from another who wanted in on the act. Some, like InspireData, did not spread beyond the go-getters. But regardless, this was the way I facilitated change.

Looking to move your district into the 21st century? You need 2 things. You need a leader who is willing to sacrifice their own time to go out individually and meet with teachers, who takes pride in seeing everyone else succeed. And you need to bury the egalitarian shotgun-style approach. Todd Whitaker made it one of his 15 things that great principals do differently: "Base all your decisions on your best people. What will your best teachers think?" The same should be done with technology.

Call For Action: 1:1

This is part one of a two-fer (part two is about the accompanying digital curriculum). But, realistically, they cannot be separated.

I'll call for the easy thing first. We need a statewide 1-to-1 initiative, at the least for students in grades 3-12. Every student grade 3-12 needs a mobile computing device, be it a laptop, mini laptop, or some sort of handheld PDA device. Something that connects wirelessly to the internet and allows them to interact through the digital web 2.0 tools of today. And even if students PK-2 don't have their own device, they need access to one.

But that isn't all. Every school district needs the supporting network to allow that to happen. This means broadband access that allows for digital video streaming both down- and upstream. We had the vision in the state beforehand to put in high amounts of fiber (we're one of the leaders in the country here) for connection. We need to make sure every school district and building has that type of networking speed.

And, we need each district to allow access to the tools of the read/write web. When it comes to philosophies of technology in education, there is a spectrum, where on one end is security and the other end is access. Like other businesses, education has landed on the end of security, and with recent court decisions about archiving email and preventing cyberbullying, it has gotten tighter. But education is not like other businesses. We must provide a laboratory for opportunity and creativity with all the tools available.

Now before I move on to the second part, the biggest questions that come up are What's the Cost? and Will it work? Cost is, of course, a relative factor. So first, let's start with a premise, that as Dr. Leigh Zeitz pointed out at ITEC, "Ownership is more important than Loanership". The key is to get a device in every student's hands that is theirs. If that requires simpler machines to save on costs, so be it. The only things we cannot sacrifice is portability, wireless access to high-speed, ability to connect to the network and internet, and the ability to input information. Those are the non-negotiables.

The flip side of this is, higher-end machines do not build in more learning potential the way that "each student having one" does. "Anytime learning" cannot happen when the computer cart has a signout sheet. Students should not have to put their learning on hold for an evening if they cannot check out a computer.

That said, let's look at some figures.

• There are roughly 500,000 students in the state of Iowa. With our initiative, we'd be looking to go one-to-one with 3/4 of that population (just grades 3-12), or 375,000.

• The cost of the device can range tremendously. Apple and Dell laptop prices for schools historically have been around $1200, unless you are looking for add-ons (such as burners and more hard drive space). We are not... we want devices solely for the purpose of connecting students to the tools of the internet. New mini-laptops are even more affordable, and although they might sacrifice screen size and storage space, they don't give up much if anything in terms of our non-negotiables. Mini-laptops range in costs from $800 all the way down to $300 (the much publicized One Laptop Per Child Project has made the $100 mini laptop). Handheld devices could be even cheaper, from $150-$500. For those who are skeptical of this as a learning tool, try out an iPhone for its flexibility.

• We should take advantage of open software. Open Office or Google Docs, NVU, Skype, Audacity, and the host of web 2.0 tools out there. And, we should consider Linux, which will save on operating system costs as well as virus protection costs over Windows. (But we have to keep in mind our non-negotiable of having the machines networked... we have few technology coordinators well-versed in the usage of Linux networking).

• We should aim for the devices being replaced twice during the student's career. So, that would be 3 devices every 10 years. Number-wise, that will work out to 112,500 devices a year.

• To participate in this, the district would then provide the networking infrastructure (a minimum of 100 Mbps with a long-range plan to move to Gigabit) and the wireless access (a minimum of every classroom and learning space covered with 802.11g access, and again, a plan to improve once the shift to "n" is deemed ready). They would also assure an overall broadband access commensurate with the number of students. Wesley Fryer recommends 5 Mbps up and down as a starting point. In addition, the district would need to have policies that promote access to these tools.

But, will it work? The answer... a conditional yes.

Yes it will work if there is another piece, the aforementioned local accountability and a digital curriculum. Connectivity is easy to gather data on with line-speed tests. But accountability on the access requires a thorough technology plan, much more thorough than the ones required during the Branstad money. One that promotes what I refer to as a digital curriculum (the topic of a future post). One that will be the subject of not only site reviews from the department, but also must maintain coordination with area educational agencies, local businesses, and the community to make sure they meet the 21st century skills of the Iowa Core.

This has been seen throughout the research. The best example is perhaps Maine, who uses a 1:1 initiative in their middle schools and has seen statistically significant improvement in their writing especially, among other areas.

If we have the resources and the planning and the curriculum and the accountability, it will work. Not just in test scores, but college admissions and employability skills. Which will result in a more knowledgeable work force, better jobs and higher wages. Which will result in more tax revenue, making the "total cost" a hard thing to determine. When one considers the cost of un-education, where graduates with a bachelor's degree make twice as much as high school graduates, and more than three times as much as those without high school diplomas, one can see this is a sound investment. When one considers that the top 10 most-needed jobs in 2010 didn't exist in 2004, and all require the high use of technology, it is more than a sound investment, it is a social obligation to meet the needs of our students.

ITEC 2008 - Day 2

ITEC 2008 is in the books. Lots of great ideas from day 2...

• Keynote for the day was Alan November. While he is definitely more of a professor than a presenter, he has plenty to chew on.

• Bitingly true comment #1: Students now learn how to be taught, not learn how to learn.

• He used the term "Global Voice", which I'm adding to my lexicon. He may have understated this, but he feels it is mandatory that teachers engage students in developing this voice. To keep learning confined in the walls of the classroom is bad teaching. He even postulates that teachers should be evaluated on the basis of connecting students to the global culture. (Gigantic cringe from ISEA on that one). Go Alan!

• Bitingly true comment #2: Too many exercises in education make computers the equivalent of thousand-dollar pencils.

• A very good explanation of point of view in research. Rather than using the internet to get other points-of-view, people often use the internet to reinforce their own point-of-view. I can find a hundred other things that reinforce the crazy thought that I have; therefore I must be right. He used the example of American students' and British students' differing perspectives on the American Revolution. It's interesting what happens when you search in British domains for sources.

• To go along with the above, he advocates no-holds-barred "deathcage" debates between an American classroom and a British classroom. (I'm elaborating on the wrestling imagery, but he did joke that students would have a lot of motivation to win that debate).

• And biggest biting point, if our response to controversial tools is to "block, baby, block", then we are setting up students for failure in this digital age. We have to teach them to be digital citizens.

• In other topics... if you are a superintendent or high school principal who does not know about the Iowa Learning Online, we need to talk. Pronto. It's not the virtual academy some nuts are calling for, but it is a step in the right direction. And large parts of it are free.

• The Microsoft Settlement saga continues (here's the Power Point from that presentation). Dates have been moved back to April 15 for application (same time as taxes... interestingly enough). Still important for districts to know that this settlement (the "Cy Pres") requires schools to have a plan tied to the Iowa Core with half the purchases being software and 30% being professional development, as well as a matched commitment from the district. More important... do not buy anything before 8/17/09! You will not be reimbursed.

Of course, John O'Connell mentioned this would all change tomorrow, so you should do what others do and not listen to him (his words, not mine).

• I discovered my Power Point presentations suck.

• And finally, heard the vision of Iowa's technology in education future from Dr. Leigh Zeitz, Ann Thompson, and Vic Jaras. Lots of thoughts, lots of uncertainty, lots of work to do. But, universal agreement in Scott McLeod's vision for Iowa. A mobile learning device in each student's hand, a new forward-thinking curriculum, a backbone assuring broadband access for all, P-20 coordination, pre-service and inservice training for all educators, and online education opportunities (yes, another nutball). There were some good minds in that room at the time, but I was hoping the room would be full. We need to pick up the ball and run with this.

Chinese Pod

One tool Curtis Bonk raves about is the podcast Chinese Pod. Not that I'm planning on teaching in China any time soon, but I took the plunge and added Chinese Pod to my podcast subscription list.

This site at the heart is a podcast of daily Mandarin Chinese lessons aimed to help you learn the language. But, it is an exceptionally well-designed site with much more. There is a large appeal to today's youth with the younger teachers and the, as my teenage neighbor suggests, cheese-ingly cool Chinese music. It comes with searchable tagged lessons and vocabulary builders. Best of all, it incorporates the web 2.0's mantra of community with a host of teachers and other learners who help you.

Bonk suggest that this is starting to redefine how we teach foreign language, and I have to agree with him. In Iowa, we have had Willard Daggett for years tell us about how schools are stubbornly offering French when the real language of economic opportunity was Mandarin. Say what you want about Daggett (and I do...), he does do us well by challenging us to justify our offerings. Chinese is a source of future opportunity, and for young students in Iowa in an uncertain time, possible job security.

The problem that I, like any other administrator can tell you, is that it is next to impossible to find a Chinese teacher. Outside of the Urban Eight, Chinese education remains a pipe-dream. Or does it?

Chinese Pod might be the first step, coupled with a distance-learning program. It can be the resource needed to help students get engaged. It works with 21st century "just in time" learning. Students can accelerate or work at their own pace, and jump off with enrichment. And best of all, a school wouldn't have to invest in a teacher, making it worry about enrollment. This type of education can ebb and flow with student interest, meaning those who take it will be more dedicated.

Check it out! (This is the part where I would end my blog with the cheese-ingly cool Mandarin word for "Later!" or "Have a good one!" but I haven't gotten there yet).