ODYSSEYWARE

The Obama Presidency promises to be the most technologically, web-connected presidency to date.  Although this is largely a function of the technology not coming around until recent years, President-elect Obama is making concious moves to improve the use of web and digital tools in his administration.

The infrastructure that surrounds the web and has dictated how we connect with eachother, however, is woefully underfunded and maintained.

While we are all busy emailing, sending videos around and getting ready to watch television on the web, the infrastructure that supports all this activity remains invisible and underfunded. No one really knows what will happen if everyone decides to jump on the web to watch the inauguration. I’m guessing that web performance would quickly downgrade and eventually go dark. The continued rise of broadband communications requires a lot more than lighting up dark fiber. Major access points, data switches and automated bandwidth allocation require not just planning, but investment.

These changes could be the final push toward completely digitizing our nation and, hopefully, our schools.

Due to overwhelming enrollment numbers, New Mexico is broadening its online curriculum course offerings for students.

In the fall semester, more than 870 students from 46 school districts, nine charter schools, three private schools and a juvenile justice center signed up for courses on the Innovative Digital Education and Learning online system.

New Mexico offers over 30 courses currently with each course taught be a licensed teacher.

Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, founders of KIPP Charter Schools, have this opinion article outlining the possibilities for schools in the 21st century.  Based upon a ‘can do’ mentality both Feinberg and Levin think that now is the time for a national priority for schools to improve.  They believe that President-elect Obama could be just the leader to do it.

First, Obama should use his ability to inspire Americans to set a goal for our educational system akin to putting a man on the moon. Much as President John F. Kennedy did with the space program in the 1960s, Obama could establish a paradigm-shifting goal — ensuring that within 10 years every child in America will be on track to earning a college degree or completing a meaningful career training program. Achieving this goal would significantly enhance the opportunities our children will have over their lifetimes, especially in our new global economy.

For years leaders and education advocates have pushed for increased funding as the solution to many of the nation’s education problems.  Although funding is important and greatly needed for many impoverished schools, often times reforms of other brands could help as well.  As Feinberg and Levin close, however, they too make the case that funding cannot be lost in the reform shuffle.

· Finally, we urge Obama to follow through on his campaign pledge to double federal funding for public charter schools with proven results. Because of technicalities in state laws, successful charter schools looking to open new campuses are often ineligible for federal money set aside for new charter schools. Along with granting successful charter schools access to federal funds, we should provide these schools with the space to operate. If Obama includes funds for infrastructure projects in his economic stimulus package, we hope that charter schools will be given the same access to facilities funding as any other public schools.

The Gordon Bernell Charter School in Alburquerque, New Mexico is one of a handful of schools across the country that cater to inmates, assisting in their high school diplomas despite their incarceration.  For many in the education world, this is an excellent opportunity to reach students who never completed that ever important phase of their learning, and for the country an important opportunity to improve recidivism rates.

The Gordon Bernell Charter School at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center in Albuquerque and the Five Keys Charter School in San Francisco have turned their state laws on charter schools into opportunities to grant high school diplomas — rather than GEDs — to jail inmates regardless of their age.

In a country where lower levels of education are consistently correlated with crime, decreasing an inmates propensity to commit another crime could be crucial to our country’s growth.

“I think they are stunned to discover that they have some ability to be successful in the academic world. You see a pretty overwhelming sense of joy and pride in them when they accomplish writing an essay or solving a math problem or getting a science project,” he said.

Due to the budget shortfalls facing California, Governor Schwarzenegger has proposed shortening the school year by 5 days.  From salaries to gas for buses, the move is receiving criticism throughout the state.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger included the plan to lift the 180-day requirement for 2009-10 as part of his budget proposal. The move would save $1.1 billion, and is part of more than $5 billion in proposed cuts to public schools over the next 18 months.

Once a school becomes integrated with online curriculum, moves such as these would be far more available as students can complete work assignments at home and save on transportation costs.

This is a fascinating story by the Atlanta Journal Constitution documenting a program that allows kids, through virtual worlds, to contribute to philanthropic pursuits.

In this world, nobody knows anybody’s real name or address, only that everyone has a common goal: to help Habitat for Humanity build real houses in Honduras. And the kids do this not with hammers and nails or donations, but by playing games in which they earn the virtual wood and bricks needed to build virtual Habitat houses.

After Elf Island’s thousands of “inhabitants” collectively build 10,000 virtual homes, the game’s Atlanta-based owners promise to donate the money to build a real Habitat house, says co-founder Liz Kronenberger.

Through a fictional land called Elf Island, kids can build fictional homes that lead to the purchase of real homes in Honduras.  This is a great force for good for many students as Habitat for Humanity, a respected and well-trusted name in aiding the poor, can certainly help our digital natives learn a little about philanthropy online as well.

Jay Matthews, the Washington Post’s respected education columnist, has this article today outlining some of his responses around the country to what 21st century skills are, how we should teach them and if they are even pursuable and desirable.

Granted, the 21st-century skills idea has important business and political advocates, including President-elect Barack Obama. It calls for students to learn to think and work creatively and collaboratively. There is nothing wrong with that. Young Plato and his classmates did the same thing in ancient Greece. But I see little guidance for classroom teachers in 21st-century skills materials. How are millions of students still struggling to acquire 19th-century skills in reading, writing and math supposed to learn this stuff?

I’m not so sure that I agree with his definition of 21st century skills.  Although collaborating and working creatively are components of 21st century skills, I would submit that they are more the means than the result of 21st century skills.  Today’s student, in order to compete in a global marketplace, needs a variety of capabilities, not the least the ability to communicate effectively over multiple modes, including the internet, as well as a deep understanding of the maths and sciences.

Toward the end of his argument, however, Matthews has this well-written paragraph that succinctly labels the problem that is, having engaged students wanting to learn the material.

Great educators tell me that teaching and learning are more about relationships than content, more about asking questions every day of everyone in class than depending on students to soak it up on their own. In our poorest neighborhoods, we still have some of our weakest teachers, either too inexperienced to handle methods like modeling instruction or too cynical to consider 21st-century skills anything more than another doomed fad. There might be a way to turn them around, but if there isn’t, instead of engaged and inspired students, we will have just one more big waste of time.

A North Carolina school has recently won the Malcolm Baldridge National Quality Award for excellence due to their incorporation of technology in teaching programs.  The school allows students to take courses online, nearly 500, which are completed by students either inside or outside of the classroom.  The award, generally reserved for businesses, is a high water mark for those that have remained concerned about introducing technology into the classroom.

Congress established the Baldrige Award in 1987 to enhance the competitiveness and performance of U.S. businesses. The award, given through the National Institute of Standards and Technology, is designed to promote excellence in organizational performance, recognize the achievements and results of U.S. organizations, and publicize successful performance strategies.

“For more than two decades, the Baldrige Award has honored the most industrious, enterprising, and productive organizations in America. This year’s recipients have displayed the hard work, dedication, and leadership that have allowed them to achieve excellence in the fields of business, health care, education, and nonprofit work,” Bush said in a press release.

With Congress preparing to begin a massive stimulus program aimed at injecting anywhere up to $1 trillion in direct program spending, many educators are arguing for a large portion to be dedicated to improving education programs and infrastructure across the country.

Mr. Obama announced in a recent radio address that his administration would seek to direct a portion of a federal spending bill aimed at getting the economy back on track to school construction and to expanding broadband access in schools. The overall legislation could cost as much as $850 billion, according to published reports.

But, as more states warn of substantial cuts to K-12 spending, some school and state officials are lobbying lawmakers and the Obama transition team to include money for programs such as special education, teacher training, and grants to help districts educate disadvantaged students.

At the heart of this current economic situation, according to many educators and economists, is a lack of serious discussion on our nation’s education agenda.  This might be an appropriate time for just such a step.

I’m reminded of the commercials on the television about the most uncommon areas users are able to use the internet around the world, due to satellite internet connections when I read this article.  Because online courses are portable, allowing students to access content from nearly anywhere, many rural districts that have access to broadband connections are making the wise move to online courses.  As this article illustrates, this option is gaining steam quickly.

The term is “distance learning” and it encompasses just about any class in which the teacher is not physically in the classroom. Distance-learning courses include interactive-TV classes — where classrooms at several locations are linked through video feed — and online courses in which students attend virtual class through a computer.

Another important area where online learning can help rural districts is by introducing highly specialized instructors to teach courses in small, rural districts that might not otherwise be able to afford a teacher in a particular discipline nor fly them in to teach the classes.  With online learning, you can have that option at a much reduced rate.