Steve Hargadon interviews Susan Patrick on Web 2.0

In reading Steve's recent post, I was so impressed with her interview and this quote. It is truly what we face on so many levels. Whether passing budgets and asking for "extras", increasing transportation routes (when parents have walked 2 miles, up hill, both ways), etc...
http://www.stevehargadon.com/
My only concern is that while many parents have this perspective, if leaders are still functioning in this mindset, they don't belong being leaders in the 21st century.


"Our biggest barrier is our memory of what schools look like. Those of us running the schools have a very strong memory of 'this is how a school looks, this is how it works.' And the system itself is designed to be very resistant to change. But the innovation and the change is going to come very naturally to our students, and if we are going to keep our students in school--which we have to--...we're going to have to make these jumps and these adaptations. And the thing is, if we don't make them, students will simply go around us. We really need to strengthen our public institutions by being open to new ways of doing things and having them adapt to the School 2.0 model.... I don't think those of us in the U.S. understand how stuck we are in the status quo, and how precarious the situation is for our kids to be successful in the new global economy."

Infinite Thinking Machine does it again!

The Infinite Thinking Machine is a blog I follow regularly. The author Chris Walsh has several videos I find so provocative with respect to integration of technology with learning. His latest video can be viewed at the link below. It's worth seeing. The title is ITM: Calculate This!

http://www.infinitethinking.org/index.html

ProProfs Launches Free On-Line Quiz Service

I just read an article by Dave Nagel about a new service which allows teachers to generate custom quizzes online. The new service is available free for educators and students. What an incredible resource for those teachers and students that wish to take advantage of such a free on-line service. Below is a link to the article and a demonstration of the service.


Dave Nagel, "ProProfs Launches Free Online Quiz Service," T.H.E. Journal, 2/22/2007, http://www.thejournal.com/articles/20280



http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/tour.php

Michigan's Merit Curriculum

Last week Michigan's Governor passed into law Michigan's Merit Curriculum. It is the state's attempt to make their high school requirements more rigorous. While New York State has high standards and now the Regents With Distinction Diploma, something stands out about Michigan's new curriculum. What caught my attention is a requirement that all students take 1 credit in online/computer technology. While we are integrating technology into our coursework and students can take courses as an elective, we have yet to make the next leap to make it a graduation requirement. Needless to say, this is something I would strongly advocate for. Not only would this make our curriculum requirements that much closer to what is relevant in schools today, it would be the impetus for all schools to address the need for students to be technologically literate in the 21st century.
Most schools do have keyboarding and have students exposed or required to use word processing or powerpoint. Obviously, I'm taking more sophisticated than that- social bookmarking, online collaboration, video-conferencing, blogging, wikis, etc... Almost all of which is FREE. We all would like computers for every student and more computer labs. Hopefully that will happen. All schools have 'some technology' available to students which could and should exposed them to Web 2.0 technologies. Michigan is taking that leap.
In New York, the Regents have identified technology as an area to address in their P-16 initiative. I do hope that results in requiring students some basic requirement for 21st century technological literacy.
If you want to read more about Michigan's first leap, the link below will take you there.

http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140--152784--,00.html