Saturday, November 15, 2003
Hi Ladies,
Brook just wrote an interesting question. She said, "Does it ever just get easy?"
My reply was, "Not as long as long as there is Murphy's Law."
Let's face it. Life isn't easy, but you have to look at it and ask whether the gain is worth the cost. To that question, I would have to give a resounding, yes. The gains in personal productivity on the teacher's part and the strides in learning on the students' part (when implemented properly) are more than worth the gray hairs and the occasional Excedrin headache. But it's rare when things run smoothly.
I'm consulting with Southern Regional, the district from which I retired. Technology is like money. With money, the more you have the more you spend. At Southern, there are about 3,700 students and about 1,800 computers. The biggest complaint is lack of access, but that's not the only complaint. The more proficient the user, the greater the support demands.
Take a look at this message I received the other day. I'll preface it by saying it was written tongue in cheek and it's not a complaint per se, because the writer understands all the district issues that are causing his frustration. He simply wants those who may not understand to get the message. It was written by one of our top technology using teachers. It illustrates obstacles that are holding him and his students back. At the same time is speaks to issues that are pervasive throughout education. These are the same obstacles that prevent new users from moving forward or cause them to give up in frustration, and that give the technophobes an excuse not to move at all.
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Plan A - Utilize Inspiration to complete project based on books the students had read.
Result - Project cancelled because the software didn't arrive and/or wasn't installed on computers.
Plan B - Train on the Middle School's new portable computer lab and utilize lab to complete project base on books students had read.
Result - Training cancelled (second time). Lab not delivered to Middle School due to high winds. Students blocked out of open computer lab, because other teacher had signed up.
Plan C - Use jagged rocks and fire-blackened sticks to draw images on cave walls to complete a project based on books that students had read.
Result - Still awaiting the delivery of rocks and sticks. District policy forbids the use of open flames.
AND I BELIEVE IN USING TECHNOLOGY!
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The pioneers like Rich will continue to use technology and look for ways to support themselves, but they are a small percentage of the population. The need for support and the lack of it is one of be biggest roadblocks to serious implementation.
I'm not sure whether Rich intended this, but I see another lesson in what he wrote. At one time in the past, Rich's Plan C was everyone's Plan A. Think about it! No matter what the technology, support is absolutely critical for its implementation and that no matter how good you are, you can't do your best without the support you need.
It also shows that this is not a new problem. It has been with us for a loooong time. It is ingrained in the system and we put up with it, because technology has not been a critical part of the curriculum. Today, we must recognize that technology is an integral part of every curriculum area.
So who's problem is it that the necessary support exists in so few places around the nation? If you check discussion areas around the web, you find fingers pointing to teachers, administrators, tech support people, tech coordinators, schools of education, students, cheer leaders, the football team, and the lunch ladies. (I may be wrong about the last three.)
The fact is that assigning blame or even thinking that "someone" is to blame is the wrong approach. The fact is that it is a systemic problem compounded by a lack of systems thinking that is at fault. When a system doesn't work, it's not the fault of a person or people. It's the fault of a poorly designed or "broken" system and a lack of systems thinking, but that is another huge discussion for another time.
Does it every get easier? Perhaps not, but when you see what teachers like Rich are doing, it makes it all worth it.
Art
Brook just wrote an interesting question. She said, "Does it ever just get easy?"
My reply was, "Not as long as long as there is Murphy's Law."
Let's face it. Life isn't easy, but you have to look at it and ask whether the gain is worth the cost. To that question, I would have to give a resounding, yes. The gains in personal productivity on the teacher's part and the strides in learning on the students' part (when implemented properly) are more than worth the gray hairs and the occasional Excedrin headache. But it's rare when things run smoothly.
I'm consulting with Southern Regional, the district from which I retired. Technology is like money. With money, the more you have the more you spend. At Southern, there are about 3,700 students and about 1,800 computers. The biggest complaint is lack of access, but that's not the only complaint. The more proficient the user, the greater the support demands.
Take a look at this message I received the other day. I'll preface it by saying it was written tongue in cheek and it's not a complaint per se, because the writer understands all the district issues that are causing his frustration. He simply wants those who may not understand to get the message. It was written by one of our top technology using teachers. It illustrates obstacles that are holding him and his students back. At the same time is speaks to issues that are pervasive throughout education. These are the same obstacles that prevent new users from moving forward or cause them to give up in frustration, and that give the technophobes an excuse not to move at all.
Rich Tramontana's Plan for Infusing Technology
Plan A - Utilize Inspiration to complete project based on books the students had read.
Result - Project cancelled because the software didn't arrive and/or wasn't installed on computers.
Plan B - Train on the Middle School's new portable computer lab and utilize lab to complete project base on books students had read.
Result - Training cancelled (second time). Lab not delivered to Middle School due to high winds. Students blocked out of open computer lab, because other teacher had signed up.
Plan C - Use jagged rocks and fire-blackened sticks to draw images on cave walls to complete a project based on books that students had read.
Result - Still awaiting the delivery of rocks and sticks. District policy forbids the use of open flames.
The pioneers like Rich will continue to use technology and look for ways to support themselves, but they are a small percentage of the population. The need for support and the lack of it is one of be biggest roadblocks to serious implementation.
I'm not sure whether Rich intended this, but I see another lesson in what he wrote. At one time in the past, Rich's Plan C was everyone's Plan A. Think about it! No matter what the technology, support is absolutely critical for its implementation and that no matter how good you are, you can't do your best without the support you need.
It also shows that this is not a new problem. It has been with us for a loooong time. It is ingrained in the system and we put up with it, because technology has not been a critical part of the curriculum. Today, we must recognize that technology is an integral part of every curriculum area.
So who's problem is it that the necessary support exists in so few places around the nation? If you check discussion areas around the web, you find fingers pointing to teachers, administrators, tech support people, tech coordinators, schools of education, students, cheer leaders, the football team, and the lunch ladies. (I may be wrong about the last three.)
The fact is that assigning blame or even thinking that "someone" is to blame is the wrong approach. The fact is that it is a systemic problem compounded by a lack of systems thinking that is at fault. When a system doesn't work, it's not the fault of a person or people. It's the fault of a poorly designed or "broken" system and a lack of systems thinking, but that is another huge discussion for another time.
Does it every get easier? Perhaps not, but when you see what teachers like Rich are doing, it makes it all worth it.
Art
Hi Ladies,
My daughter went to Boston University and if you know anything about Boston, you know that driving there is not fun. I used to joke that Boston is the only place in the world where "you can't get there from here" is true. Well, today was a day where most of what I tried to do came under that same heading. ;->
It started when I drove in and realized that I was two exits past the expressway and about to head into Ocean City. Then came the problem with the StarW site that consumed a big chunk of the day. At one point I left MLK to meet Pat, whom I though was in his office at the board building, but was actually downstairs in the telephone room. The third grade teachers had building meetings during prep. It was parents day and you had the power outage.
When I drive in to work in the morning the oldies station that I listen to does the horoscopes. Today mine said, "Find a nice quiet place to work by yourself today." I'm beginning to thing there might be something to them!
At any rate, the problem with the StarW site actually appear to begin on or about the Thursday before convention, but it didn't become clear until today that it was a real problem.
Pat was great today trying to track down the problem. He seems to think and I tend to agree with him, that for some reason they are blocking access from the AC system. There are a number of reasons that could happen that really have nothing to do with the school system (I won't go into it now.)
Resolving a problem like this could be a nightmare. Convincing a big organization that they are blocking our access is no small undertaking. With a network issue like that, you have to work your way through three different levels of tech support before you even get to someone who understands what you are talking about, and then you are just starting.
With the power outages you have today, I know Pat will have plenty to keep him busy and I have much better things to do than to fight tech support demons. I told him not to worry about the StarW site and that I would take care of it. Here's what I'm going to do to resolve the situation. Rather than spend hours and possibly days with Godaddy.com tech support, I'm just going to close the account and move it to another hosting service that I use. That will take all of about 30 minutes and it should solve the problem.
However, it could take 24-72 hours before the change of IP numbers for the service providers is propagated to the Domain Name Servers (DNS) on the Internet. In the meantime, I've already moved the entire web site over to the OII server where we had the original site. You can get to everything tomorrow (Friday). So until the site finds its new home, just go to http://oii.org/starw and you will see the old site there with a new link that says StarW.org site. Click on that and you'll be in familiar territory.
Janine and Brook, I know you'll get this about 30 seconds after I send it. Please the message on to everyone in your respective grade levels in case they don't get the message right away.
As far as next week goes, we'll roll today's plans over until then. Today was sort of a smorgasbord, because I know you were ending up the marking period. We didn't have anything firm. Options were to work individually with you of FTP to the site, using 3DWriter to create the activities, and I offered to do the Search lesson with the 4th grades. FTP might be something we want to do during prep period, because it lends itself well to a small group lesson, but I'll leave it up to you. We can decide early in the morning.
If there's anything else that anyone wants help with, don't hesitate to ask.
Take care,
Art
My daughter went to Boston University and if you know anything about Boston, you know that driving there is not fun. I used to joke that Boston is the only place in the world where "you can't get there from here" is true. Well, today was a day where most of what I tried to do came under that same heading. ;->
It started when I drove in and realized that I was two exits past the expressway and about to head into Ocean City. Then came the problem with the StarW site that consumed a big chunk of the day. At one point I left MLK to meet Pat, whom I though was in his office at the board building, but was actually downstairs in the telephone room. The third grade teachers had building meetings during prep. It was parents day and you had the power outage.
When I drive in to work in the morning the oldies station that I listen to does the horoscopes. Today mine said, "Find a nice quiet place to work by yourself today." I'm beginning to thing there might be something to them!
At any rate, the problem with the StarW site actually appear to begin on or about the Thursday before convention, but it didn't become clear until today that it was a real problem.
Pat was great today trying to track down the problem. He seems to think and I tend to agree with him, that for some reason they are blocking access from the AC system. There are a number of reasons that could happen that really have nothing to do with the school system (I won't go into it now.)
Resolving a problem like this could be a nightmare. Convincing a big organization that they are blocking our access is no small undertaking. With a network issue like that, you have to work your way through three different levels of tech support before you even get to someone who understands what you are talking about, and then you are just starting.
With the power outages you have today, I know Pat will have plenty to keep him busy and I have much better things to do than to fight tech support demons. I told him not to worry about the StarW site and that I would take care of it. Here's what I'm going to do to resolve the situation. Rather than spend hours and possibly days with Godaddy.com tech support, I'm just going to close the account and move it to another hosting service that I use. That will take all of about 30 minutes and it should solve the problem.
However, it could take 24-72 hours before the change of IP numbers for the service providers is propagated to the Domain Name Servers (DNS) on the Internet. In the meantime, I've already moved the entire web site over to the OII server where we had the original site. You can get to everything tomorrow (Friday). So until the site finds its new home, just go to http://oii.org/starw and you will see the old site there with a new link that says StarW.org site. Click on that and you'll be in familiar territory.
Janine and Brook, I know you'll get this about 30 seconds after I send it. Please the message on to everyone in your respective grade levels in case they don't get the message right away.
As far as next week goes, we'll roll today's plans over until then. Today was sort of a smorgasbord, because I know you were ending up the marking period. We didn't have anything firm. Options were to work individually with you of FTP to the site, using 3DWriter to create the activities, and I offered to do the Search lesson with the 4th grades. FTP might be something we want to do during prep period, because it lends itself well to a small group lesson, but I'll leave it up to you. We can decide early in the morning.
If there's anything else that anyone wants help with, don't hesitate to ask.
Take care,
Art
Tuesday, November 11, 2003
Hi Ladies,
Man, it's tough to get back into work mode. Our school had off all of last week and I tried my best to do an imitation of a vegetable. Now it's time to get back to work or I'll end up in a stew. (Sorry about that.)
Before the convention, I did an Internet Search lesson for the 3rd grade classes. If the 4th grade wants to do it this week or next, I can do that.
November is a crazy month and with Thanksgiving coming up, I don't want to put a lot of new stuff on your plate. (We have to keep room for the Turkey.)
I'm guessing that the activites you sent me to post will provide plenty to do and I'm willing to bet that more will be coming.
I think we can try to work individually with FTP and 3DWriter to try to get you uploading your own material. This will take a little time and unless we are real lucky with scheduling time to do it, I will probably take a few Thursday's to reach everyone.
See you Thursday.
Art
Man, it's tough to get back into work mode. Our school had off all of last week and I tried my best to do an imitation of a vegetable. Now it's time to get back to work or I'll end up in a stew. (Sorry about that.)
Before the convention, I did an Internet Search lesson for the 3rd grade classes. If the 4th grade wants to do it this week or next, I can do that.
November is a crazy month and with Thanksgiving coming up, I don't want to put a lot of new stuff on your plate. (We have to keep room for the Turkey.)
I'm guessing that the activites you sent me to post will provide plenty to do and I'm willing to bet that more will be coming.
I think we can try to work individually with FTP and 3DWriter to try to get you uploading your own material. This will take a little time and unless we are real lucky with scheduling time to do it, I will probably take a few Thursday's to reach everyone.
See you Thursday.
Art
