No Assembly Required

Presented by Mark E. Moran

Founder & CEO, Dulcinea Media

Edscape Conference

October 15, 2011

Links to this presentation and all resources referenced can be found:

http://bit.ly/Edscape1

Our mission: to help educators teach students how to use the Web effectively.

Mark E. Moran

•Corporate Attorney•Internet Executive since 1998•Parent of three in grades 6, 9, 12•School District Committees•15 education conferences in past year•Hired 50 recent college grads since 2001

Premise…

If the goal is to create students who can

function in a real-world, dynamic and

unpredictable environment, then school

work needs to move away from finding and

memorizing the “right answer”

Growing Awareness…

Life has become an open-book test.

“Schools run a great risk of becoming irrelevant to students.”

-- Peter PappasFormer Social Studies Teacher

WEWE’’RE LOSTRE LOST

We found our own study materials online.

“There is no textbook for what effective practice looks like in continually morphing information and communication landscapes.”

- Joyce ValenzaHigh School Librarian

Question of the Hour

What are the principles that should

guide education companies and

educators as they support

classroom teachers in embracing

online content, relevant technology and

a student-centered teaching style?

Chicken or the Egg…

"One of the enduring difficulties about technology and education is that a lot of people think about the technology first and the education later.”

-- Dr. Martha Stone Wiske

Harvard Graduate School of Education

“Nintendo has been on a mission to expand the

video game market far beyond the core

consumers.

The $250 Wii console has been stealing the show

from, higher-powered more expensive consoles.

While those rivals focused on cutting-edge

graphics and high-tech bells and whistles,

Nintendo focused on making game play easier,

more intuitive and more appealing to a mass

market.” intuitive and more appealing to a mass market.•That bet paid off.

Paradox of the Active User

“Teachers don’t like the words, “partial assembly required.”

- Peter Pappas, former HS Social Studies teacher, now EdTech blogger & consultant

“If an historical event happened in April but I teach about it in October, show it to me in October.”

-Jimmy Davey, HS Social Studies teacher

Give it to me when I need it

Teachers should be encouraged to develop a personal learning network through which they can reach out across the world to find colleagues to learn from and collaborate with.

•That bet paid off.

I recognize information culture is changing fast

will not wait….will educate myself….not be defensive… be courageous…will let go…willing to make mistakes

I will enjoy the excitement of positive change

-- Laura CohenLibrarian, SUNY Albany

Write a Manifesto

There are no Jedi Masters

Teachers should be encouraged to let students take over.

-Shannon Miller,Librarian

“Kids haven’t changed. I have.” - Marlene

Thornton

Students today want to be told what they did wrong and be allowed to fix it themselves – it is the ONLY way they learn.

They don’t respond well to a “Command and Control” structure – they want to collaborate. You are no longer the “sage on the stage.” 

 

11. Under-Resourcing. The initiative is not accompanied by sufficient resources (e.g., time, support, funding, training) to actually make it happen. So why should we bother?

Ohio’s Galion Middle School

$250,000 ARRA Grant25% spent on professional developmentA year of PD before any technology purchasedExciting results, but encountering rocks

“Teachers can have tech savvy parents demonstrate real-world applications of technology and help bring non-tech savvy parents up to speed.”

-- Shelley Blake-Plock

“Teachers waiting for a workshop to show them how to use technology are never going to do it.

Encourage them to jump in and try something.” 

-- Brent Jorth

Social Studies teacher

7. Concerns About Future Competence. Educators can question their ability to be effective after a change: Can I do it? How will I do it? Will I make it in the new situation?