The Digital Native Teacher

The American Education System is Like an Old Building

If there is one thing we can all agree on it is that the educational system is broken. There are plenty of solutions out there but they all feature one fatal flaw, they attempt to build on top of an already collapsing structure.

This type of thinking is pervasive in American politics. Is something not working? Stick some legislation on top of it, that oughta' take care of it! Imagine if a construction company were tasked with fixing a collapsing apartment building and they said "I know! Let's just put some penthouses on the top! That should straighten it right out!"

Our educational system is like a building. No matter how big and beautiful a structure may be it is never meant to last forever. There comes a time when you must stop attempting to prop up the crumbling structure and decide instead to bring the building down in a controlled way and use what was learned to build a better, stronger and ultimately longer lasting structure in it's place. That doesn't mean the original architects failed, it simply means that time has passed and new must eventually replace old.

The educational system has been treated like this since it's beginning. It has had reforms tacked on one after the other. We have never as a nation seen it a a good idea to simply say you know what, let's just scrap this and start again.

Understand that I am not a fan of having Congress create a new school system from scratch, I can't say I fully trust their judgement when it comes to what is best for our educational system. However I do trust our teachers. Why not let the teachers decide what our educational system needs.

Leaders rely on data to show what problems exist at the classroom level. The problem is that there is no way to reliably gather data about what the problems really are. It's like being in a war and the troops on the ground calling for a strike on approaching enemy troops and the people controlling the missiles say "No, we have data that says the problem is actually over this way. Let's shoot there." It's reckless and potentially has vast unintended consequences. Let the teachers have a say, they know where the problems are and can help guide the hand of the government to the right answers.

The teachers are with the students every day. In the trickle down of the system, they are where the proverbial 'sh*t' rolls. We have the power to devise a system by which leaders can crowd source solutions to the plagues of the system from those that truly know what those problems are. Trust the people that know what is happening on the battlefield. Protect the ones that are living in the crumbling building. Don't just build around them, give them a new and better place to call home.

I Love Open Source

image: Bill McConkey

I love Open Source. This wouldn't be a surprise to anyone that knows me but few people actually understand why I am so enamored with the idea of Open Source. I thought I should take a minute and explain why Open Source is so important to me.

What is Open Source?

I have talked about Open Source before but I will quickly redefine it here. Open Source refers to software where the source code is shared to the public. This means that anybody can access the code, make changes and release the results themselves. While this began as a type of software licensing it quickly evolved into a way of life for people like myself.

I became fed up with traditional software programs. Programs that cost $500 simply because they could. I soon found that Open Source software was highly competitive as far as the feature set but more often then not was completely free to download and use. Programs like Photoshop, Dreamweaver and even Windows itself could be replaced with an Open Source alternative.

Open Source put simply means to share. Share your resources so that others may stand on your shoulders. This leads to better options and features for everyone. In addition to forcing to big players to work harder and adapt faster to keep their market share.

It's Quick to Adapt

This is my favorite part of Open Source. Unlike proprietary software which is usually developed and updated by a small number of people, Open Source uses the power of crowd sourcing to develop extensions, additions and updates which can repair bugs and often keep to development cycles that would bankrupt a software company. This leads to software that evolves at such a fast rate that certain Open Source packages are becoming equal to or better than their proprietary counterparts.

It's Uncomplicated

Let say you are in charge of installing and updating the operating systems on the computers in your school. If you were to use Windows or Mac you would have to work purchase a volume license in order to install and activate the OS on all the systems. The same must be done with all programs that require a license to activate. Anyone who has experienced this could explain what a headache this can often turn into.

With Open Source this isn't necessary. Simply install the program and it is ready to run. On Linux (a popular Open Source Operating System) there are simple methods to install many applications through the command line, which would allow an administrator to quickly and efficiently install and update programs with little frustration.

It's Fun

I've always had a sense of adventure when it comes to technology. I like experimenting with new technologies and trying then out for the first time. With many proprietary programs I am forced into using a feature crippled trial version or a version that is only usable for a limited amount of time. With Open Source software I can try as many programs as I like. If I don't like it I simply uninstall it and try something else. This satisfies my sense of adventure because it allows me to experiment without having to break the bank.

It's Free!*

Most Open Source software is free. There is an asterisk next to this one because not all of the software is free, however so much of it is free it deserves a mention. Open Source is often free because with public access to the programs code anyone could compile and release the program free of charge, thereby undercutting the developers revenue. While selling Open Source software is perfectly fine within the scope of the Open Source guidelines, it is often looked down by the more strict adherents to the Open Source philosophy.

Again, I love Open Source. It is easy, fun, free and quick to adapt. I use Open Source whenever the opportunity presents itself and apply the same Open Source guidelines to many other aspects of my life. If you take the time to try out Open Source software most of you will not be disappointed. You can find some links to the more popular Open Source programs and programs below. Try one of them out and let me know what you think in the comments.

Ubuntu - Currently the most popular Open Source operating system available.
Linux Mint - Another widely used Open Source operating system.
Android - A very popular phone OS release by Google
FireFox - One of the most popular Open Source programs available.
LibreOffice - An Open Source replacement for Microsoft Office.

I am an Educational Fanboy

I had an odd epiphany yesterday while at EduCon 2.4 in Philadelphia. This epiphany has been long overdue but I think that many others may feel the same way so here it is...

I am an Education Fanboy.

That may not be a big surprise to the hundreds of educators at EduCon who dedicate their lives to furthering education but I say fanboy in a very specific way. When most people meet celebreties they get weird. They are unable to talk and when they can get words out it's generally just "Hey... uhhh... I like your movies!" and then they slink away hoping that star never shares that awkward moment with some reporter. I have never been this way. I have met a few music and film personalities and I have been able to talk to them like regular people. I never understood why people got like that around what I see as normal people.

Until yesterday.

I am a 27 year old 2nd year teacher who dove into the world of education reform and technology about 4 years ago. I have grown my PLN and learned to respect many people in the educational sphere. At conferences I have watched people like Rodd Lucier, Zoe Branigan-Pipe, Ira Socal, Dean Shareski, Chris Lehmann and many others give presentations and talks that have changed the way I think about education and at events like EduCon I have had the good fortune to be in their company.

Meeting those people face-to-face has made me understand in some sense what people feel around celebrities with one slight difference, what those other people feel is excitement for seeing these stars, what I feel is respect. When I speak to these people I respect I don't want to come off sounding like an idiot so, of course, I wind up sounding like an idiot. Yesterday I was able to introduce myself to Dean Shareski who led one of my favorite conversations at EduCon 2.3 on Mythbusting in the classroom. I sounded like a complete moron with nothing of any significance to say. So I'd like to take this moment to apologize to Dean as I am sure I all but terrified him.

It was at that moment that I realized I am a fanboy of education. Events like EduCon and EdCamp are my rock concerts. Places where I get to meet the people I admire and effect what I do in the classroom everyday. I have a desire to be like these people I respect one day and what I truly love is that the barrier is low enough for anyone with a revolutionary idea to do so.

So I guess I should finish this up with a few points:

I am an Education Fanboy
I respect all those people who have affected change in the educational sphere
I want to be one of those people some day
I apologize for scaring Dean.

How Do You Teach What You Don't Know?

About a year and half ago I walked into my first classroom as a teacher. I walked in to no curriculum, 4 different textbooks and about a month to prepare. Needless to say it was extremely difficult to get started. My vice principal was as helpful as she could be in this regard but a curriculum still needed to be created from scratch.

My first step was to create a "curriculum" for the current set-up of the class. This involved a Sophomore and Junior curriculum to cover objectives necessary to pass the CompTIA Strata (Sophomore) and the CompTIA A+ (Junior). This was my first time writing a curriculum at all so it was a little rough around the edges. It was competent enough but focused too much on assignments and not enough on overall goals.

After some discussion with my vice principal we decided to overhaul the computer technician program. We decided to teach computer repair (CompTIA Strata) during Sophomore year and introduce programming in their Junior year. I was able to refine the current curriculum to meet the Sophomores needs and then turned my attention to the Juniors. We focused on Python and HTML/CSS as the core of the programming curriculum. There is only one problem, I don't know how to code.

Let me clarify a bit, I understand the basics of programming. I know about variables, strings, loops, if/then statements, etc but not nearly enough to actually teach a class on programming. I have designed and coded basic websites for friends but nothing approaching what people expect to see on the web today. I have messed with javascript and other client side scripting languages but would have to do alot of research to even appear semi-competent in any of them.

So the question remains, how do I write a curriculum for something I don't completely understand? Is it possible? Do I purchase a program or hire outside help to do this? Do I create a self-guided curriculum which allows the students to learn at their own pace? I have started learning python3 and am brushing up on my HTML/CSS. I am knee deep in research right now and hope to come upon a solution soon but we will have to just wait and see.

Leave any suggestions in the comments.

The Internet: Simplified

If there is one ting that I am good at it is teaching. I have been told that I have a way of making complex topics easy to understand. I've decided to take that quality and use it here. I hope to write a series of posts that help to explain how the common computer works. As the title implies I hope to make this as simple as possible. You won't be able to get a certification from reading these posts but they may inspire you to learn a little further.

I thought I would start with something that every one uses and it seems that nobody really understands;

The Internet

opte.org

The internet is a complicated animal. Most people get what the internet is in the most basic sense, a collection of computers that share information with one another. What people don't understand is how. Think about it; how does a computer in Philadelphia retrieve information from a computer in California?

Webpages:
When you visit a website you are requesting information. The information being requested is spread all around the world. Everything on the internet is stored somewhere in some internet code (HTML, CSS, Ajax, Javascript, etc) that the browser must translate. This storage place is known as servers. Web hosting companies sell server space to people to store their web pages on their servers. When you type in a web address you are requesting that page of code, your browser then translates that code into something you can read and understand.

The Browser:
Everyone has their preferred browser. Whether it be Internet Explorer (IE), Firefox, Chrome, or some other browser they all are doing the same general thing when you visit a website. They translate the code that the computer understands into text, images and videos that you can read and view. You can check out the code your browser is translating by doing the following: If you are in Firefox or Chrome press CTRL+U, if in IE go to Page>View Source. Early web-pages were composed entirely of this code. Your browser is able to read this code and create the pages you view.

The Web Address:
When you type in a web address such as http://www.digitalnativeteacher.blogspot.com you are contacting the DNS (Domain Name System). This is a collection of names that hosts like GoDaddy, Network Solutions and NameCheap sell to users. These names link to an IP address, which is the actual location of content you are trying to access. The simplest way to explain why DNS is used is to think about your own name. Imagine if instead of being able to remember all of your friend's names you had to identify them by their phone numbers alone. You can see how that would be confusing. An IP address is a set of numbers that acts not unlike your phone number. It tells the browser where it is sending the information request to, and if the connection is successful it sends the requested information back. Try typing 74.125.43.147 into your browser and seeing what happens. Even without the actual domain name you still arrive at the destination. The DNS just makes it easier to remember.

This is just a basic overview of how the internet works. If you are interested check out the links below for a more in depth look at how the internet works.

http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/internet-infrastructure.htm
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/internet-works-infographic/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7_LPdttKXPc

A Google a Day

Have you ever wanted to test your search skills? How about find out useless trivia that you will never be required to recall again? Well have I got the tool for you!

A Google a Day is a new Google play-thing that gives you a question and provides you with a 1-day old search box (to avoid any spoilers via increased searching for that topic) to answer the question. It could be a useful warm-up for students while they get settled in class as well as a way for them to practice their searching skills (it has a timer).

Have Fun!

Have Your Students Build Multi-touch Tablets for Under $15

...and learn about optical multi-touch techniques in the process

I found the above video on StumbleUpon a couple of months ago. That video led me to this link about building a cheap and easy multi-touch display called the MTmini. Apparently I was to busy to think but I had the good sense to at least bookmark the link in Diigo. While looking ahead in my curriculum I realized that next quarter we start talking about computer peripherals and in that is a section about multi-touch displays.

I remembered the link and started looking online for where I could find the necessary parts and how much they would cost. I decided to stash the links I find here so that others can use them (and so I can find them later).

What You'll Need

Here is the list of the required items with links and costs. I will update the list if I notice a price change or if the item no longer available at the link:

Cardboard/Plastic Box- Depending on the amount of displays you plan on making you can either find an appropriate sized box around the house or buy packs of 25 at Staples. Tip: ship to a local store to avoid shipping costs.

Cost: approx. $1.50/box ($36 for a pack of 25)

Clear Acrylic/Glass- Check your local hardware stores or sign shops for deals on clear acrylic (glass may be to fragile). 1/8" thickness should be enough for a small display. You can order pre-cut sheets here cut to the specific size for the box you bought. Tip: order the sheet 1/16"-1/8" oversize to ensure a secure fit.

Cost: $3.75 per 12"x12" sheet (15% discount on 10 or more)

Paper- You will need on standard size sheet of printer paper per tablet. You most likely have access to enough sheets of standard paper around your school or home. If not you can grab a ream at Staples when you pick up your boxes.

Cost: Free-$6.00

Webcam- The instructions say any generic webcam will do but recommends a Sony Eye-Toy. You can find both on Amazon for about the same price

Cost: approx $5+shipping

Computer- This is only item that I am not going to include on the list. You will need a computer for each MTmini you are going to build

Cost: Already Owned

Software- All required downloads are listed on the website.

Cost: Free

Total Cost per Student= $10-$15

This project is an excellent way to teach students about optical multi-touch techniques as well as how to install and troubleshoot drivers and software. The website this is derived from has project guidelines that allow students to start with the above project and gradually build up to making a full size multi-touch surface like the one in the video below. I am planning on doing this with my students around the beginning of December, I will update with tips and tricks to pulling this off as soon as I can.

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