Working (or not) for a Technology Start Up Company....

     Ah, the cost of wanting to push the edge of the envelope, being on the forefront of innovation, meeting kids where they are in terms of their technology use, increasing their level of engagement and excitement about the process of schooling, and changing the face of education as we know it - unemployment!  After 7 months of helping schools implement blended learning classrooms across the country, I find myself unemployed for the first time in 40 years.  On the second day of my new life I reflect on what went wrong.....
     Education Elements, without a doubt the leading band of forward thinking technology consultants in the country, downsized the band by 50% last week.  The "pivot" (corporate speak for "we better do something different 'cause we are running out of money quick") was in response to the market not responding as quickly as hoped, and for that matter as quickly as it should.
     We have been talking about transforming schools for the past quarter of a century, but walk into most schools across the country and you'd swear you were back in my old school in the seventies, except of course that now there are laptops instead on Apple IIe's.  Unfortunately, too much of the innovation out there in the educationsphere is being driven by grants, all too often all too short.  While many education leaders are labeling themselves as "innovative" it is about time somebody stepped up and put their money where their mouths are.
     You would be hard pressed to find anyone in the field who could present a case as to why schools should not increase the level of blended learning in today's classrooms.  Even those old dogs who just figured out how to text are beginning to see the light.  Here's the rub - until school systems, CMO's and boards start making blended learning a priority by funding it within their own budgets rather than relying on grants, schools will look pretty much the same another quarter of a century from now.  I will mark my calendar for 25 years from today and make sure I update you on the state of our schools and blended learning, unless all of the kids have completely checked out by then....

Personal note - My apologies for not posting for the past 7 months. It was grueling trying to change the system.  Time to figure out another approach?

Validated Evaluation Rubric for Mobile Applications (APPS)

As promised, the link below will connect you to the empirically validated evaluation rubric for mobile apps that was the result of my doctoral research at Johns Hopkins University.  I appreciate everyone's support who contributed as subject matter experts in the study, as well as those who are currently using and adapting the rubric in their wok around the world.  When my dissertation is completed, I will be certain to provide a link so that any interested may have easy access to my research.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/169iZMhNMB_ycJLRT2zSRbozAR_1TiGQ1-FmjfKzoppk/edit

And if you have been wondering where I've been.....  40 days and 40 nights without a post......

At the end of October, I resigned after 32.8 years in the public schools to take a senior consultant position with Education Elements.  Our company is in the process of truly transforming education.  And I thought I was changing the world before.  We are doing amazing work all over the country designing and implementing personalized learning environments for kids.  I'll have more about my work in an upcoming blog.  Until then, you can check out my new company at-

http://educationelements.com/

If you have tried reaching out to me in the past month, your emails have likely gotten kicked back as I no longer work in BCPS system.  You can reach me at harry.walker@comcast.net.  I look forward to reconnecting with folks I have worked with in the past.

Do You Kuno?

What's this?  A competitor for the iPad? Not so fast Josh and JR (CEO and Vice President).  At a $500 price point, breakage issues, and ice cream sandwich (not a big fan, the platform this is, not the treat), I'm not convinced.  Your timing was great, seeing a great opportunity to cash in on the tablet market, but your product?  Not the "biggest competitor" to the iPad as Eric Lai suggests in this ZDNet posting.  Me?  I'm still hanging around what for the iPad Mini to be released.  Come on Apple.....

http://www.zdnet.com/this-is-the-biggest-competitor-to-the-ipad-in-the-hot-education-market-7000004446/

Capitalism - Alive and Well, But Really?

     Okay, I'll admit it. I am proud to be an American, a dyed in the wool capitalist and proud of it, but really, $197 for a webinar to have some published, tech geek share his top apps?  This guy, Harry Dickens, co-author of Apps for Learning: 40 Best iPad/iPad Touch/iPhone Apps for High School Classrooms tells you about his "prize bull" (his words) apps, sprinkles in some Common Core for good measure (why not, everyone else is) and charges you $197.  Only in America.  What happened to sharing docs and the promise of worldwide collaboration for the greater good?  Maybe I should start charging $19.99 to use my app rubric?  Just kidding.  As educators, let's continue our focus on the children as our way of en"rich"ing our lives.  Here's the link to his webinar if you've got a couple of Benjamins burning a hole in your pocket.

 

http://www.ernweb.com/public/Apps_apps_apps_Bring_iPad-classroom-6-12.cfm

App Rubric Research Update

     I just completed the data analysis for the second round survey of my doctoral research utilizing the Delphi process to establish content and construct validity for the Evaluation Rubric for iPod/iPad apps.  Overall, very few changes to the rubric are indicated by the data.  One domain name will be changed and point descriptors in two of the domains will be revised as driven by the input from the subject matter experts who participated in my research.  Based on the data, I am not going to need to do a third round survey.  You can view the data summary from the second round by clicking on the link below.  I will be making the final revisions and publishing the validated rubric in the coming weeks.  I am hoping to have my dissertation completed sometime around the first of the year. Thanks for your interest in my work.  Stay tuned for the final validated rubric later this month.  Happy computing....

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bo_nURJgwTmvwmmGCSDzbt8tTUzuHVmdIJ4K_6Burfc/edit

Driverless Cars? Not Science Fiction Anymore!

What's the next big thing Siri?

So how would you feel about a 1/2 ton vehicle speeding down the highway at 65 miles an hour being driven by a computer?  After you get over the initial freak out, check out the stats.  Google has been testing a fleet of 12 "autonomous" (no pun intended) cars for several years, racking up 300,000 miles without an accident, making it safer than my own personal experiences driving around my little fender bender.  Does that mean folks can now text, eat their Big Macs, and apply eyeliner without crossing into my lane?  And will people maintain the speed limit as they pass a cop car sitting on the side of the road?  And will I not have to cringe while braking, watching the car in my rear view mirror hurtling toward my back bumper as the operator checks his email? And will folks not slow down to read those overhead signs on the highways causing mini traffic jams for no reason at all?  (Right there is a huge reason to improve reading instruction in schools).   If the answer is yes to any or all of those questions, where do I sign up?

That being said, leave it to California to write a bill regulating this whole advance in technology.  Do California legislators get some kind of bonus for sponsoring bills?  If the whole driverless car thing works, it will work, not because the government has a hand in it, but because it works.  To our elected officials - get out of the way and let technology run, or drive its course.

You can read a piece posted on the BBC website below:

http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-19726951

More Tech Please!

     It seems that everyone recognizes the need for more technology in schools. A LEAD Commission survey indicated 82% of teachers and 71% of parents said technology would be helpful to enhancing learning.  SO how do we translate that enthusiasm into actual funding? Ditching textbooks, expanding online learning, encouraging BYOD, leasing rather than buying technology, flipping classrooms, expecting local governments to set up broadband towers to reach into our poorer neighborhoods?  How about all of the above?
     While the above survey numbers are encouraging, check this one finding out.  Only 54% of teachers think technology will become much more important during the next 10 years.  Really?  And therein lies the problem.  If the folks running the show don't have a vision for what the future might hold, are they advocating for the changes that need to occur in our classrooms?  Heck no.  Too many of "us" are part of the problem, standing in the way of significant changes to our classrooms that still look pretty much the way they did 100 years ago.  Minus the whiteboard, of course.
     You can read the piece from Ed Week below.  You can also continue being the voice for your students, as most of them are not able to vote yet. 

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/DigitalEducation/2012/09/new_survey_finds_parents_teach.html