No more sick days?

Unless being bedridden with a dreadful case of the flu, most sick days involve a student simply moseying around the house, snacking on chips and watching a movie or playing video games to pass the time as he or she gets well.  Upon their return to school two days later, they may discovery mounds of homework from their 3 AP classes, as well as the workload from the current day.  It's enough to overwhelm anybody.

These poor students can be helped.  We have rather simple technology these days that teachers can tap into and assist a student's recovery from sickness back into the classroom with unnoticeable ease.  Introducing streaming audio, podcasts, or, even easier: Skype video chat.  "Skype is software that enables the world's conversations. Millions of individuals and businesses use Skype to make free video and voice calls, send instant messages and share files with other Skype users. Everyday, people also use Skype to make low-cost calls to landlines and mobiles."

Is the student really playing hooky?  Have him log in to find out. Poor sick Johnny can now pop up on the classroom's TV screen to interact, raise his hand to ask a question, and even speak into a microphone to converse with the other students.  To prevent a student from abusing the system, maybe only a handful of those would be considered excused absences from class.  Don't have a video camera or want to activate one?  Might have to have some stricter attendance rules.  Just listening to the teacher over the speaker isn't too different from sitting in the corner of the class, blindfolded and turned around... which isn't necessarily interactive.

But should we force students and parents to buy such expensive technology like video cameras and broadband internet?  Let's get up to speed with the facts (pun intended).  High-speed internet is becoming more and more necessary and accessible, even in lower income households. The Pew Research Center just reported in June that homes with annual household incomes below $30,000 experienced a 34% growth in home broadband adoption from 2008 to 2009.  Also, what with school supplies, new clothing, and a new iPod and cell phone the student isn't supposed to take to school in the first place, a decent video chat camera these days is hardly a drop in the bucket when only about $25.

Not only could it help students on sick days, it could shift support to the other side of the spectrum for the teachers as well.  Is it virtually impossible for a California history teacher to have a National Museum scholar from D.C. speak to her class?  It used to be.  With Skype, there are many examples cropping up of teachers hosting authoritative and credible guest speakers in their classrooms with this free and easy-to-use software.  Heck, there's even a possibility that the teacher/professor herself can teach from home for a lesson if on a sick day.

All of a sudden, a whole new world is available.  A teacher isn't on the educational battlefield alone anymore; he or she has an arsenal of an endless list of government officials, professionals, research experts, or even motivational guest speakers to augment the day's lesson plans, keeping a class excited and guessing on where they are going and having a say on how they want to learn (almost Montessori-like).  Such exciting technology could make anyone envious of the resources today's youth have in the classroom.  As a matter of fact, I wouldn't mind living high school history class all over again.

Facebook University: How Far Away Is It?

Ever realized how quickly Facebook has been spine-grafted to our social lives?  Excuse the harsh analogy, but it's true.  After all, what would we do without it?  It's a networking site that allows anyone who isn't internet-savvy to become high-tech overnight, yet complex enough to satisfy the most hardcore of programmers into creating applications for the masses.

I heard the fastest growing demographic on the explosive site were the baby boomers, and whether or not this has a ring of truth to it, one can't deny the power of this website behemoth.  It took Facebook 5 years to accumulate 200 million active users.  After that,  it took only 5 months to acquire an additional 100 million active users.  How incredible would it be for any company to grow 50% in just a half year?

Let's introduce a little business and e-commerce for a moment.  Facebook apps (applications) like Yoville are free for anyone to use, but they have optional bonuses that are pay-to-use.  Want a new bedroom set for your little simulation self?  Just 50 cents.  A new entertainment center for your Yoville friend's birthday?  Dollar fifty.  This may not seem like an impressive profit-maker, but it brings to light a rather interesting concept. 

Chris Anderson, editor in chief of Wired magazine, calls it the concept of "Freemium."  Provide most of your product or service for free, but charge extra if your consumer wants more.  This small percentage of one's consumer base that bites will theoretically pay for the marketing and then some.  Not bad if it didn't cost you anything to put your free samples out there, save a bit of bandwidth.

So, the relevance question: How does this apply to education?  Well, to be frank, your kids are learning on Facebook.  Whether it's how to level up your mafia or how to rescue an animal from someone else's farm, they're learning something.  The pieces are all there, it seems to be just a matter of time before someone makes the connection.  Pay-to-use applications on Facebook; online education pioneered by schooling systems like Florida Virtual School; online colleges like Phoenix University providing a degree in a matter of a few years;  edutainment software such as Leap Frog and Rosetta Stone that must be used on the computer.  Why not combine them all?  As a matter of fact, it probably wouldn't be much of a surprise if Rosetta Stone becomes a free app on Facebook with extra pay-per-lessons available for the user that wants to become more serious.

*UPDATE* 7/29/10 Here's a company that has just done that.

This by no means would be proper to replace primary education, nor might it even be proper to replace secondary education.  On the contrary, an authoritative and interactive figure, such as an instructor, is crucial for a student's success.  However, for a short college preparatory summer course or supplemental lesson to a college student's foreign culture class, Facebook University doesn't seem like too much of a stretch when folks don't think twice to purchase a new fish tank for their virtual Yoville residents (because they're lonely).

Use of IT in the classroom helps students learn

Universities were able to start the trend with their flexible funding, but high schools are following suit.  The ECAR Study of Undergraduate Students and Technology has observed the use and possession of technology at students' fingertips and in classrooms throughout colleges for the past five years.  Taking a glance through the key findings will grab the attention of any educator's eye.

Not only have our students grown up and been immersed in the use of computers, these technology natives are also up to date: "Despite the current economic downturn, students are entering school with newer equipment, since nearly 8 of 10 (79.0%) freshmen owned a laptop that was one year old or less" (ECAR, 2009).  Who would have thought the day would come where a student would care more about having a new computer than having a new car?

So why do they want new computers and how does IT help a student learn?  Take a look:

Do you remember the History lecture you had on the Vietnam War freshman year?  How about that lesson you read out of the textbook on the first World War sophomore year?  No?  Maybe the DVD you watched on how the US Government works with its three branches senior year?  Still no?  Hmm... You remember the field trip to the Holocaust Museum, the Chemistry Labs, Home Ec. class, and Woodshop though?

With the technological advancements in today's world, it's becoming much easier for students to do.  And that, they are: "Participation in content creation and sharing is also revealed in students' responses to questions about contributing content to Web 2.0 user-driven sites.  44.8% contributed content to video websites and 41.89% to wikis, and a little over a third of respondents said they contribute to blogs (37.3%) and use podcasts (35.0%)" (ECAR, 2009).

We are working with students who always want to become involved, and these figures are proof enough.  Forums allow for students to discuss the hottest topics of our society.  Google Earth allows you to explore the geography of the world deep into a country, into a region, into a city, into a square mile, even in 3D now.  Save for the discussion that takes place in person, contributing as an expert to a wiki or a blog is similar to teaching on a topic when you know your content is to be viewed by a multitude of persons (especially when comments are allowed and questions are answered).  Some say students just don't take school seriously anymore.  Or maybe it just could be that students are discovering a more convenient and successful outlet to obtain their information.

So much is the millennial generation growing its use of IT in their everyday life that most students (60.9 percent) said in the 2007 ECAR study they believe it improves their learning when used in the classroom.  In the 2009 study, only 1 in 10 (11.5%) disagreed, saying the use of IT in courses did not improve their learning.  It's no secret that almost all careers in today's day and age requires some sort of technological proficiency.  Students know this.  Almost half (46.8%) agreed that upon graduation the IT used in their courses will have adequately prepared them for the workplace.  Critics may argue of incorporating IT into the lessons due to personal distaste, but proponents like Tory Iiyoshi, a senior scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching encourages educators to "start thinking from different perspectives.  How they can teach better or improve student learning is, I think, very important."

But will grades improve by just sticking a computer in the classroom?  Certainly not.  In the conclusion of the 2009 report, an excellent point was made: "No matter how extensively the mobile revolution--or any other technology-based disruption for that matter--impacts higher education, respondents to our survey consistently tell us that they want to see the use of IT balanced with the human touch in their academic environment."  Or to put it in a plain and succinct perspective of a student quoted in the 2007 report: "IT is not a good substitute for good teaching. Good teachers are good with or without IT and students learn a great deal from them. Poor teachers are poor with or without IT and students learn little from them."  Simply stated, wonderfully put.

Brick and mortar high schools a thing of the past?

What would it be like to live in a world without the hectic mornings of waking up the kids because they'd be late for the bus? A world without a boulder-sized backpack hanging off of your 4-foot son that, with one misstep, would topple him over like a helpless turtle? A world without the need to make lunch for the kids at midnight because the family got back late from your daughter's basketball game?

What would allow this? An accredited and completely online high school, accessible from anywhere in the world. Is Florida Virtual School off their rocker or are they the pioneers to something even bigger than we could have ever thought in the world of education? Founded in 1997, FLVS was the country's first state-wide, internet-based public high school. Since then it has opened its doors to out-of-state students and even out-of-country students. FLVS is also the only public school with funding directly tied to student performance.

Wait, hold up. Funding tied to student performance? How could a school possibly get adequate funding? Let's be honest, if all schools shifted to this model in January, there would be quite a few schools shutting their doors within the year's end. Let's take a look at how this works:

Outlined by our previous post, it's becoming more apparent that a student spends a large amount of his or her time socially interacting through the internet. Let's take the same student from our original example and instead enroll her in FLVS--or any accredited virtual high school for that matter. Maybe we'll give her a name this time.

So, Jane wakes up at 9 AM on a warm Florida morning to her cell phone alarm once again. It's the usual time for her to leave for a day's practice of her true passion, dance. After checking a text on the phone, she sees that Matt, a fellow classmate in Michigan has reminded her they still need to work on their project later in the evening since it will be due the following day. After checking her emails and the virtual school website, she responds to the updates from her teachers on the week's lessons before heading to her private dance instruction for the day. She departs from dance and drives a half hour to the state capitol to meet up with her congressional representative to complete an assignment for her online government class. She heads back to town to work at her part-time job at the library until going home for dinner. After sharing the stories of the day with her parents, she begins her latest math assignment. Having difficulty with a certain problem and concept, she phones her teacher in California and speaks with her for half an hour until she understands the chapter. Taking a quick break, Jane catches her favorite TV show before video chatting with Matt on their Literature project. Wrapping up the night, Jane downloads her favorite science podcast before setting her cell phone alarm and falling to sleep.

Jane can do what she needs to do without being chained down to one building for 7 hours a day. She also isn't holed up at home with her schoolwork. On the contrary, not only can she work a part-time job, FLVS moves her away from a computer and gets her to interact with the community. Jane can have her cake and eat it, too. She gets private instruction from her dance teacher while still achieving high marks in the her studies on her time, when she feels most productive and least distracted. FLVS' tag line is evidence enough of their understanding of this: "any time, any place, any path, any pace." Even home schooling parents can supplement their child's education with an impressive and reputable program that has its resources readily available.

With the versatility of the internet, more and more careers are either being made to work from home or being shifted from the office to home. FLVS' addresses this, and their 90+ courses that address "national standards with a specific eye to global awareness" are able to employ a staggering 1,104 staff members and educate an astounding 63,675+ students in their 2007-2008 school year. They have not released their latest numbers, but judging from their growth in the past ten years, it wouldn't be a surprise if they are nearing 100,000 by now. Just as business has drastically shifted to e-commerce in the past ten years, it seems there are less and less excuses for education not to follow suit. With free in-state tuition but fee-based out-of-state tuition, FLVS' method of business is beginning to look daftly smart in a world of globalization. During that same academic year, only 2,625 of their students were out of state. If every one of those students took just one 2-semester course, this bad boy of a school district is bringing in almost $2 million on the side. This doesn't even include state funding for the students that are doing well. But how many of them are really doing well? I can't speak on their behalf, but the school's compiled list of awards might help explain.

Let's not forget about what it would be like to be a teacher employed by a virtual high school. Suddenly a teacher's salary doesn't have such a negative connotation when you're working it from the comforts of your home and in your pjs. Such a schedule could allow for a teacher to incorporate a part-time venture on the side of their scheduled mandatory online presence.

Is America fully ready to make the transition? Certainly not. However, it will be a shame for many states' parents when their hard earned salaries to go to FLVS because their state didn't want to have a virtual public high school.

By 2020 most students will learn online

According to the New York Times, most high school students by the year 2020 will be receiving their information and/or lessons in an online format. With the rapid rise of classroom technology, Tom Vander Ark highlights pilot programs such as New York City's "School of One" that blends online learning with small group sessions.

But does this make sense in today's culture? Are the traditional teachers that oppose the use of a projector and mouse falling behind to an inevitable evolution that is taking place in the classroom? Let's think about this.

A student wakes up to her cell phone alarm and checks her text message from a friend that's asking her to bring her DVD back to school because she forgot it yesterday. After getting on the bus, the student plugs her ears with her iPod nano and plays a 3-minute downloadable game on her phone. After school, the student finds herself back at home with a TV that is set to the Relentless Consumer Channel, rapid firing 30-second commercials on the viewer (that are all accompanied by a website of online deals). Another text from a friend redirects the student's attention to the computer to check her friends' 140 character tweets and newest mobile uploads on Facebook. To wrap up, that night after eating dinner, the student needs to work on an important math assignment. She decides to video chat with her friend over Skype and hovers the camera over her notebooks to discuss an equation both students are working on. Before heading to bed, the student decides to listen to her favorite podcast on science, only to set her alarm on her phone to start over again tomorrow.

We are receiving almost all of our information online, especially young adults who have access to a computer and a data transfer phone. Who needs to wait for weather on the 6 o'clock news when you can go to weather.com? Why wait to catch that important newscast when there's live feed on the website? Why worry about watching your favorite TV show at 8 PM when you can come back from a PTA meeting and catch the episode at your own leisure on the official website, commercial free?

In other words, the point is, why on earth are schools the last place to adapt? If a student acquires almost all of her information from some online source, does it really make sense to keep an old method of learning as mainstream? Schools used to only have one chalkboard and one room. Then we gained multiple rooms with multiple whiteboards in each. Now we've peeked into the future by starting computer labs, allowing for every student to his and her own "personal whiteboard," with the implementation of virtual chat rooms such as "Second Life."

The graffitied and torn fossils on the bookshelves (I've heard they were once called textbooks) can be replaced with periodically-updated online materials that a student can access not only in school but at home. A student pulling down a map from a wall in front of the whiteboard can instead use a mouse and projector to zoom deep into a third world country and analyze its GDP and political corruption with a second country pitted against it, side-by-side on the same screen.

Yes, there are funding issues, but this post isn't addressing that fact. There are online tools and rising technology available that will provide breakthrough curriculum at next to nothing cost. What is stressed here is the fact that our educators must catch on to the method of communication that our world is evolving to, regardless of if education wants to or not. If schools should remain where vital thoughts and constructive reasoning come from for a curious and growing student, it seems we must catch on, else Wikipedia will become our home schooling agent.