Marie’s October Musings
Quote of the Month
"This is for all of you who are disempowered."
-- Kapil Sibal, India’s Human Resources Development Minister,
on announcing the introduction of Aakash, a low-priced tablet
THE SKY’S THE LIMIT!
India has just unveiled a cheap ($35) tablet computer called “Aakash,” the Hindi word for “sky.” The Aakash has a color screen and provides word processing, web browsing, and video conferencing. A contract between the Indian government and Canadian development partner DataWind should put between 10 and 12 million devices in the hands of students across India by the end of 2012. The ultimate hope is to have all of India’s 220 million children online sometime in the future. The Aakash tablet is an example of a “leapfrog technology,” a concept where the latest innovations jump directly into areas where legacy technologies never penetrated. For example, tens of millions of people throughout India who never had access to a landline phone now walk around with cell phones in their pockets. So, many of those likely to use or own the Aakash may never have used a desktop computer, and it’s possible they never will. The noble and ambitious goal of the initiative is to deliver modern technology to the countryside to help lift villagers out of poverty. On a recent trip I took to India, I was told that it was virtually impossible for the poor to get an education, especially those in remote areas. Perhaps this is an answer to that crushing need. As Minister Kapil Sibal inspirationally declared at the launch of Aakash, “To every child in India I carry this message. Aim for the sky and beyond. There is nothing to hold you back.” KUDOS to India. And may the Apples and Amazons of the world take note.
ULTIMATE BRAIN SPA
Each year, the world’s leading thinkers and doers gather for an event many describe as the highlight of their year. This event, know as TED (technology, entertainment, design), is a four-day foray into the future. Prognostications are made by the likes of Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, Malcolm Gladwell, Al Gore, Bill Gates, and Salmon Khan. Check out Kahn’s presentation at this year’s TED. Welcome to the future!
ONLINE GATHERS STEAM
At the risk of stating the obvious, online learning is on the rise in our nation’s public schools. In the year 2000, roughly 45,000 K–12 students took an online course. In 2010, roughly four million did. And according to professional projections, 50 percent of all high school courses will be taken online by 2019. Blended learning—where students get instruction both online and in class—is gaining momentum. The Washington D.C. Chancellor, Kaya Henderson, is exploring bringing one of the more successful blended-learning models, Rocketship Education, to the district. In Florida, entering ninth graders will now have to complete at least one online course during high school in order to graduate. School districts in other states, such as California and North Carolina, are aggressively implementing this approach. Who isn’t looking at online instruction in these times? Read on….
ON THE OTHER HAND
A recent New York Times article cites some surprising criticism of technology in school. Apparently, employees of Silicon Valley high-tech titans, such as Google, Apple, Yahoo, and Hewlett-Packard, are sending their children to schools that are anything but high-tech, or even low-tech. The Waldorf School of the Penisula is one that is highly coveted. At the Waldorf, you’ll find pens and paper, blackboards with colorful chalk, encyclopedias, wooden desks, and number 2 pencils—but no computers, no screens, no digital devices of any kind are to be found. In fact, they are not allowed in the classroom, and the school even frowns on their use at home. The school subscribes to a teaching philosophy focused on physical activity and learning through creative, hands-on tasks. They believe that computers inhibit creative thinking, movement, human interaction, and attention span. One explanation offered for the seemingly obvious contradiction between the parents’ choice of career and their preferred children’s education is that the parents feel their kids will easily “pick up” what they need to know technologically from the parents themselves, the home environment, and family experiences they will share. MY TAKE—The children of these high-achieving tech parents will undoubtedly become high achievers themselves and will “pick up” whatever they’ll need to succeed given the advantages they are born to. It’s not as predictable for those on the lower end of the economic ladder. If technology can make learning more accessible for all children, if it can level the playing field, if it can give all children hope, I’m all for it! Who wouldn’t be?
FLIPPED OUT
The flipped classroom: lectures/lessons learned online at home by the student, and homework/projects done in the classroom with the aid of a teacher mentor/tutor. In part, because of the success of the Khan Academy (I promise—I’m not on their payroll!), this model is gaining traction. QUESTIONS: Are all teachers capable of creating or finding high-quality lectures that would cover the curriculum goals for the year? What happens to those students who don’t have computers at home? These are not insurmountable obstacles in the future perhaps, but we need to go slowly, taking baby steps so that students don’t lose any critical learning along the way.
DOTH SPEAKETH RAVITCH
In a recent post on Diane Ravtich’s blog, Bridging Differences, which she coauthors with Deborah Meier, Ravitch speaks of her recent trip to Finland and her investigation into their educational system. She was especially interested to explore why Finnish students have consistently scored at or near the top of all nations in reading, math, and science for the past decade and why Finnish students can get the same high-quality education in virtually any school in the nation.
Here’s what she reports:
- Finnish students never take a standardized test until the last year of high school when they take a matriculation examination for college admission.
- There is a national curriculum—broad guidelines to assure that all students have a full education—but it is not prescriptive.
- Admission to teacher education at the end of high school is highly competitive; only one in ten—or even fewer—qualify for teacher-preparation programs.
- All Finnish teachers spend five years in a rigorous program of study, research, and practice, and all of them finish with a master’s degree.
- Teachers are prepared and trained to meet the needs of all students, incuding those with disabilities, language difficulties, and other kinds of learning issues.
- Teachers are given a large degree of autonomy to design and implement curriculum because they are considered and treated as professionals with the concomitant status and respect.
ALERT
Be on the lookout for a new book, Finnish Lessons, by Pasi Sahlberg, the leading authority on Finland’s educational system and whom many consider to be the leading educational innovator in the country.
CLOSING THOUGHTS
These are heady times indeed in education. Every day there is a new initiative, a new product, new research that gives us reason to pause and ponder. Clearly technology is at the forefront of disruptive education—and with good cause. But other voices, from highly acclaimed institutions like the Waldorf School, deserve our consideration as well. Is there something to be learned from both sides? Is there something to be learned from Finnish education? I think so. Let’s keep reading, listening, talking, experiencing, and learning.
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