A first impression of Connexions or www.cnx.org might result in a thought of like… ‘oh, another interesting e-learning website…’, and that impression would not be invalid or even ho-hum. In depth, though, Connexions is a big step toward the transition in textbooks evolving at higher levels of education. Connexions enables teachers to customize their textbooks for a particular class; they can select and compile modules that are submitted by teachers and professors in interrelated fields. The economics is compelling as much as the uniqueness of the textbook. A 600 page high-level mathematics textbook can cost ~130 dollars whereas a comparable Connexions textbook would go for ~30 dollars. Some Connexions textbooks are free.

The website has most of the features that you would expect from an e-learning resource, but the intriguing speculation about Connexions is where it will be in the next 5 or 10 years. The founder, Richard Baruniak, has stated that the customization can reach the level of the individual. He envisions textbooks that, in his words, “learn about you, while you are learning from it.” The textbook of the future would have the ability to learn about your strengths and weaknesses. The AI would enable the textbook to learn how you are learning best and even what motivates the particular student.

I often think that our culture has become increasingly depersonalized because we have opted for escape from anyone needing to take personal responsibility. I believe some students (and anxious parents) might be alarmed by how “deeply” personal textbooks of the future might be, but the initial mistrust or discomfort will soon be overcome by the realization that a textbook can be responsive instead of passive words/formulas on a page. A lot of innovation will be needed to “pull of” individualized textbooks but the motivation for better learning tools will create it.

The November issue of CSTA Voice, a Computer Science Education newsletter, arrived recently. This is a good thing. The main focus of this issue is heralding the upcoming CSEdWeeK, which occurs December 4-10. Schools of all age groups (K-16) are encouraged to pledge activities and events to raise awareness about the importance and potential of computer science education.

A long article in the newsletter addresses the issue of “equity” in computer science education, and smaller bulletins at the back of the issue highlight classroom tools, game development with XNA Game Studio, and membership news. One bulletin announces that CSTA has partnered with the National Research Center for College and University Admissions in creating a new online tool for CS teachers to stoke students by matching student needs, interests, and aptitudes with university programs. Useful stuff.

I was looking, in desperate futility, for something a little off the beaten path, and suddenly, in the middle of the issue was an article called “Transforming Data Into Knowledge”. The article reported that Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology in Charlotte, NC has developed two courses in data mining/informatics using SAS, a 4th generation (4GL) programming language. 4GL projects are more oriented toward systems engineering and problem solving. For kids hooked on digital media and the power to make pretty pictures, this probably does not sound like fun. One of the projects involved the analysis of TV ratings collected from peers. The project simulated real world statistical analysis. The classes have grown from 12 to 80 students, and those 80 HIGH SCHOOL students have experienced an innovative offering in CS education. We should all be so fortunate…

Internet habits are ephemeral. How many people are visiting the same sites as they were a few years ago? Goodbye, myspace, and good riddance. So long, Runescape, sad to see you go. See you later, Powder Game. Anyone still using Usenet?

Reasons vary for the shifting behaviors, and the short-lived utility of websites/networking. The challenge for web creators/developers to keep content and functionality vital is enormous. It is safe to say that informatics databases like the genome browser at UCSC will be around for a long while and established social networks like Facebook and even Second Life will stand the test of time, but only if they continue to evolve. And innovate. It is not enough for a social networking site to add a feature that is irrelevant to the user experience or presents redundancy. Users will respond negatively.

For an example of an innovative jumpstart to an existing program, I have to recall Minecraft and the explosion in popularity I saw when this 3D building game peaked at the school I was working at. The game was dominant for months and for students entering a certain grade, it may still be a big hit. The curve of change required to hold on to a user base sometimes requires a quantum idea, the clichéd out of the box thinking. Researchers at MIT came up with the idea of using Minecraft 3D building designs as models to be printed out in 3D!   http://www.minecraftprint.com/

Far fetched for home use? Sure, but the day of an affordable 3D desktop printer is probably not that far down the road. Roland has a desktop milling machine for around $3500 and if someone is ambitious, they could try RepRap (http://reprap.org/wiki) for under a thousand dollars, do it yourself. The point of this blog post is not 3D printing, the idea of invigorating Minecraft with a novel enhancement is the real story.

A slight shift if it passes…

A new California bill, SB 547 would replace API, the 12-year-old Academic Performance Index, which scores each school and district, using standardized tests in reading and math, with a much broader set of priorities.

In an issue of the California Progress Report, Peter Schrag wrote: “The criteria would still include the standardized tests – accounting for a minimum of 40 percent in the elementary schools, a maximum of 40 percent in the high schools — on a new Education Quality Index (EQI). But they would also comprise, in the upper schools, dropout and graduation rates, readiness for college and careers and a set of other items yet to be determined, among them, possibly in the future, a Pupil Growth Index, a Pupil Engagement Index and an Innovation Index.” (http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/site/node/9402)

I have looked through the considerable text of SB 547 and I found no mention of innovation anywhere. But, for younger students, SB 547 calls for the state to measure something beyond tests, and it will leave the details to a committee within the state Department of Education, with approval by the state Board of Education. The plan in SB 547 is that the committee would devise ways to encourage schools to provide a more enriched education, possibly including innovation. Problem is, of course, how do you quantify innovation. The answer is – you don’t, at least not in the traditional sense. A class or an individual can be rewarded for an innovative solution or method but the idea is to get kids in an environment where they practice using imagination and engineering to innovate. Perhaps the closest thing to a traditional metric would be to have the class type a short report on how the lesson designed for innovation worked. In the report, the students could reveal their understanding, or lack of understanding, about innovation. The report could include ideas about how the lesson encouraged imagination, how the class or group/individual used imagination and creative design to arrive at a discovery and a description articulating (as well as they are able) how the lesson and class was different from a math or English lesson.

The students in K-12 will largely design the future of this new century; and we need to introduce them to the field of innovation, or design engineering, at an early age. We owe them that much…. The link below has some examples of lessons encouraging innovation.

http://www.thesmartbean.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/1-hour-innovation.pdf

The topic of this post is less about technology than school reform, although innovation and reform can be closely linked. I have roundly condemned the ‘Race to the Top’ initiatives that were dangled in front of states. One plank of the Department of Education’s initiative included offering federal funds if the applying states tied teacher salaries to classroom performance, an idea I believe to be disastrous.

I recently came across information that, at least one state, Massachusetts, is using Race to the Top money for grants to open Innovation Schools. Innovation schools are similar to charter schools in that both move in the direction of more freedom and flexibility for the school to determine staffing, budgets and curriculum. The difference is that the Innovation Schools will NOT report directly to the state. To me, that sounds like a big deal. An innovation school will report to the superintendent and the school’s governing committee.

Although the innovation schools will be tied to the “accountability” of one size fits all standards, it releases the pressure for students to finish the standards at the same rate. Over time, the stigma against “later blooming learners” will disappear, while the students showing academic skills early in life will not be held back. They can “race” ahead. In some innovation schools, multiage classrooms will become prevalent, and teachers drawn to innovation will not object.

The innovation schools will take many designs; the Massachusetts communities proposing innovation schools include a bilingual high school and a K-8 school with an arts focus. Charter schools include many designs as well, but innovation schools will have a longer lasting, and more powerful impact, I believe, because they will have more pathways to innovation.

http://www.ccebos.org/innovation_institute_3.10.10.html

The Open Courseware presence on the web is, for me, the “killer application” of the web.
John Chambers of Cisco predicted that an education program would be the killer app on the web but it didn’t seem like it at first. Previous killer apps were VisiCalc, Wordstar, Lotus 1-2-3, and Adobe Postscript (not technically an app). Others would put forth social networking sites as the “killer apps” and I could not argue that for most people, that is true, but I think open courseware will have more impact over time…

Khan Academy and MIT OpenCourseWare are two well known open courseware sites. The MIT OpenCourseWare site has “virtually” all the MIT course content. Khan Academy has 2400 video tutorials that range from elementary school level to college level and this website has practice exercises as well. So, between just these 2, you can learn about Rounding Whole Numbers or Differential Equations. Killer! Both sites have life science video tutorials as well.

Open course materials are not useful in the paper chase. You can’t get a diploma or even a certificate from these sites. Well, I can print out a certificate for you if you need one – lol. But seriously, for many jobs in the tech world, you get the position by what you can do and what you know, not by the paper/diploma you hold.

I can imagine innovative uses of the online course materials. One can even imagine them being replicated in an online university that can give you a degree. Of course, there are existing online degree programs but I think the grand integration of comprehensive online course work and degree-seeking students is yet to come. I can also envision creative integration of these video tutorials with labs or projects that are produced offline. The possibilities are exciting…

http://ocw.mit.edu
http://www.khanacademy.org

The May print issue of t|h|e Journal has an article entitled 360 Degrees of reflection. The article features classroom observation tools developed by Teachscape, “under the auspices” of MET (Measures of Effective Teaching), a project of the Gates Foundation.

The article is online here:
http://thejournal.com/articles/2011/05/02/360-degrees-of-reflection.aspx

I wonder what the percentage of teachers in the classroom would agree that the panoramic camera is a valid evaluation tool. 3,000 teachers volunteered to try the system, but the article did not include teacher feedback. One consultant, quoted in the article, seemed to think administrators were too busy to observe first hand. The same consultant acknowledged that the classroom observation cameras might seem “big Brother-ish”, but said they are “part of the emerging conversation” about teacher evaluations. Feel better, everyone? Teachscape, the developer of the system, “insists that self-reflection and evaluation” is the core enabling function of the recorded video, but gives no assurances on what else the video might be used for. Not one of the consultants or business reps in the article draws on their own teaching experiences.

I don’t see how this kind of classroom observation will encourage new and innovative teaching methods or the spontaneous flashes that give a classroom life. I think many teachers will feel inhibited and adhere to orthodoxy like glue. What do you think?