Great article in the WSJ about teaching in a Charter School

Deborah Kenny's article on the future of education.

This is a very good article in the Wall Street Journal about where we should be going in education.

I like the content and am a big supporter of Charter Schools. She points out that we need to trust our teachers as professionals to do a what they do out of love of the job not money. Teachers are a bit like children, they are motivated by knowledge and success, not just money.

Interesting video from the OTEN conference.

This is long but it has some good comparisons

OTEN Notes and Reflections

These are my audio notes on the 2010 OTEN (Oregon Technology in Education Network) conference.
Saturday, Sept. 25: 8:30am - noon.

This includes a brief description of the Keynote Speaker and two of the sessions.

The first session was with Becky Tengs who teaches Digital Citizenship to grade schoolers

The second session was with Suzete Lewis and she talked about developing a video game for teaching that incorporates all the attributes of a good classroom. She also compared learning to WOW.

OTEN Website

Unemployment in Oregon

I just found this data sheet for Oregon Unemployment, Labor Statistics by State. By comparing our all time low of about 4.7% relative to the rest of the rest of the nation. This almost double some of the other states. I think our current rate might not be as bad as I once thought.

The uses of Blogs in education.

There are many applications for using blogs in education at all levels. Their basic function is to share information and this is almost the same as the school system. We know that most of what is on the internet is not very accurate, but some sources in fact can be. For example wikipedia is actually fairly accurate. For example this webcast Assessing Wikipedia's Accuracy from NPR explains the relative accuracy of Wikipedia. This shows us that collaborative websites have a higher level of education content and are more trustworthy.

What this means in education is that blogs can be a large source of reliable information for everyone in the teaching environment. We can use them to get information from teacher to student, teacher to parents, parents to students, administrators to teachers, and even students to teacher.

I think that one of the best uses of blogs is to get parents involved in their children's education. By opening up the lines of communication parents can contribute their experiences, goals for their children and fears to their teachers on a daily basis. It is a powerful tool in everyones arsenal. A teacher can post assignments or homework so teachers know what is going on in the class. Parents can post related stories to make the lesson more relevant to the real world. Students can ask questions and get answers in real time, and combined with video and audio all groups can carry on real time discussions. Here is a blog that further discusses this issue. Classroom 2.0, Getting Parents Involved

Blogging can also be used for students to present papers and class work. Not everyone likes to get up in front of class and speak. Maybe through this forum children who are sometimes quiet and sitting at the back of class could break out of their shell and speak out about what is important to them. I think that anyway to get a child involved is good. It also would encourage them to do better work if they new there might be some pier review and discussion. As you see by this video, Student Blogging, children get excited about sharing their blogs with the world.

Of course there are some implication of blogging in education that are scary. Every teacher who uses blogs in their classroom need to setup rules in order help protect the children, the school and them self. But as long as it is a safe, educational and a positive environment these blogs are an excellent resource for everyone involved in education. In the Salem Keizer School District they have made a set of goals related to students and the internet under digital citizenship in The Salem Keizer School District Technology Plan.

One more use would be be the ability to share information between piers. Such as me posting this list to volunteer opportunities at South Salem High School.

Who am I?

I am a first year student in the Willamette University MAT Aspire program. I have gone back to school after 15 years as a graphic designer for several reasons. Partly because I don't see much of a future in graphic design. Most of it is becoming automated by websites or outsourced to other countries. Mostly because I want to make a positive difference in the world. My mother is a retired teacher who was very respected in her field and I want to effect the kind of change that she has had on her many students.

I intend to teach middle school math or social studies and I look forward teaching at this level. I know you might think middle school is scary but I think it is one of the best times in a child's life. I know it is one of the most important times for them them to have consistent quality interactions with positive adult role models.

I bring with me 15 years of real world experiences including Graphic Design, Construction, Theatre and other professional skills. I also enjoy exploring through hiking, motorcycling, camping and fishing. I hope that with all my experiences I will be able to bring the real world into the classroom. I plan on making every lesson relevant to each child I have the pleasure to teach.

Sundays in Salem

It is another lazy Sunday in Salem, Oregon. Just sitting, drinking coffee and doing homework (or not doing). I have spent much of my life in coffee shops, watching life go by. Interesting stuff, but now I am joining the throngs who pass by and doing something new with my life. Should be fun, will be scary, looking forward to the next thing in life. All is good.

Josh