Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Feedback About PowerPoint Presentations
I enjoyed doing small group presentations as opposed to each member of the class presenting there individual slideshows. This allowed me to really focus upon the presentations I was viewing and critique them according to the accepted guidelines discussed in class. First I noticed the sense of accomplishment among my colleagues. Each group member was so eager to show there Power Point and offer explanations and clarifications about the topic they selected. I always appreciate someone's enthusiasm about a topic they feel a particular passion for. Like with my students, I tried to make constructive criticism in a tender and efficient manner so that my point was understood and the presenter did not feel threatened by my comments. When it came time to give my presentation I was pleased by the group's approbation and feedback. I selected a controversial topic and was concerned about the possibility of someone not understanding the message. However the theme was readily embraced and my team responded that they enjoyed watching my slideshow. The suggestions of my group focused upon adding slide transitions, and ensuring that I give enough "wait time" before moving on to the next slide.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Response to Disrupting Class
I strongly agree with Christiansen's belief that we must be prepared to embrace disruptive innovation with a new readiness to improve educational research because our current system is failing and in business terms we may be close to government liquidation if we don't start to show immediate results. Christiansen's use of examples from the business world is most appropriate for proving this point beginning with Digital Equipment Corporation, the leading minicomputer company of the 1970s and 1980s. This company in its own arrogance-ignorance completely disregarded the emergence of Apple's personal computers and did not observe the possibility for competition that would ultimately put DEC and minicomputers out of business. Changes or "disruptions" in microprocessor technology allowed smaller personal computers to be more efficient and cost reductive than the established technology of the times. While our system of education claims to be differentiating instruction and incorporating multiple instructional strategies that appeal to various learning styles, the truth is we are still teaching in a monolithic fashion rather than embracing student-centric technology. Proof lies within Christiansen's argument regarding the ill-affects of No Child Left Behind and standardized assessments. Despite countless evidence from scholarly research that endorses an individualized technology based system for learning, policy-makers in both education and government continue to adhere to the "one size fits all" method for assessing what students learn. The only difference is unlike in the classroom where students simply move on even when they do not demonstrate satisfactory comprehension of the material, negative results of standardized tests administered at the elementary, middle, and secondary levels stay with students for the rest of their academic careers.
The implications for me as a future school principal are best illustrated with Christiansen's introduction to Chapter 7 where Stephanie Allston replies, "What a tough gig," to her superintendent regarding the school she was about to inherit. The first issue lies with contradictions in established educational research. Administrators often come in contact with a hot new topic at district mandated workshops for professional development and ultimately embrace these concepts without actually understanding how they can best be applied to their school community. As with Christiansen's example, "one study praised breaking large schools into smaller schools, and then another indicated that small schools created had been a mixed bag- some were great, while others were disappointing." Unfotrunately our system of education continues to reinevent the wheel by embracing a particular trend for a brief period only to swing the pendulum in the complete opposite direction in the name of educational reforms. One need only look at the current issue with special education for a shining example of how policy-makers continue to engage in meaningless reversals of educational trends without properly understanding the consequences of these actions. Resource rooms were a common trend in classrooms just twenty years ago. Today we are mainstreaming special-needs students not to best meet their educational needs but for obvious cost-reduction purposes. While pros and cons exist for both models of special education, think of how much time and money has been wasted in reversing these trends! Today's administrators must be prepared to make committed decisions that will positively shape the short and long term interests of their school community. This is only the beginning. Once we observe successful pilot schools integrating student-centric technology, they can provide the data for continued educational research which can then motivate lawmakers to enact policies that will ultimately counteract our monolithic and outdated standardized systems of assessment and learning.
Actions that should be taken with students, teachers, and parents in relation to this topic are to bring them all onboard and allow them to actively participate in the decision-making process that will affect their school community. All too often administrators seem to adopt a "God-complex" and embark upon a dictatorial crusade of establishing their power and authority while forgetting who it is they really work for. Teachers constantly get lost in their content due to the pressure of meeting state and federal standards while forgetting exactly why they got into this business in the first place. Parents are asking today's schools to do more for their children including playing the role of surrogate parent for eight hours of the day, and blaming the system at every opportunity rather than forcing their children to accept responsibility for their shortcomings. This of course leaves students ,who are usually forgotten in the equation which is perplexing because this is who administrators, teachers, and parents are really working for! Shockingly enough it is not just today's students who were forgotten, but studies show more than half of our society did not have an enjoyable or positive educational experience. Administrators must develop more student-centered leadership opportunities for school improvement because they are the ones who know best how to improve the quality of their educational experience. I first got into teaching because my educational experience was mostly negative and hoped to improve upon this for future generations. As an educator I frequently employ student-centered activities and allow students the ability to choose from a variety of activities, participate in alternate assessments, and have an active role in interpreting the curriculum. This has greatly enhanced the learning process for them and has helped me move closer to my goal of achieving the status of "master teacher." I hope to one day offer the same decision-making ability to parents, teachers, and students so they become an active and valued part of our school community.
The implications for me as a future school principal are best illustrated with Christiansen's introduction to Chapter 7 where Stephanie Allston replies, "What a tough gig," to her superintendent regarding the school she was about to inherit. The first issue lies with contradictions in established educational research. Administrators often come in contact with a hot new topic at district mandated workshops for professional development and ultimately embrace these concepts without actually understanding how they can best be applied to their school community. As with Christiansen's example, "one study praised breaking large schools into smaller schools, and then another indicated that small schools created had been a mixed bag- some were great, while others were disappointing." Unfotrunately our system of education continues to reinevent the wheel by embracing a particular trend for a brief period only to swing the pendulum in the complete opposite direction in the name of educational reforms. One need only look at the current issue with special education for a shining example of how policy-makers continue to engage in meaningless reversals of educational trends without properly understanding the consequences of these actions. Resource rooms were a common trend in classrooms just twenty years ago. Today we are mainstreaming special-needs students not to best meet their educational needs but for obvious cost-reduction purposes. While pros and cons exist for both models of special education, think of how much time and money has been wasted in reversing these trends! Today's administrators must be prepared to make committed decisions that will positively shape the short and long term interests of their school community. This is only the beginning. Once we observe successful pilot schools integrating student-centric technology, they can provide the data for continued educational research which can then motivate lawmakers to enact policies that will ultimately counteract our monolithic and outdated standardized systems of assessment and learning.
Actions that should be taken with students, teachers, and parents in relation to this topic are to bring them all onboard and allow them to actively participate in the decision-making process that will affect their school community. All too often administrators seem to adopt a "God-complex" and embark upon a dictatorial crusade of establishing their power and authority while forgetting who it is they really work for. Teachers constantly get lost in their content due to the pressure of meeting state and federal standards while forgetting exactly why they got into this business in the first place. Parents are asking today's schools to do more for their children including playing the role of surrogate parent for eight hours of the day, and blaming the system at every opportunity rather than forcing their children to accept responsibility for their shortcomings. This of course leaves students ,who are usually forgotten in the equation which is perplexing because this is who administrators, teachers, and parents are really working for! Shockingly enough it is not just today's students who were forgotten, but studies show more than half of our society did not have an enjoyable or positive educational experience. Administrators must develop more student-centered leadership opportunities for school improvement because they are the ones who know best how to improve the quality of their educational experience. I first got into teaching because my educational experience was mostly negative and hoped to improve upon this for future generations. As an educator I frequently employ student-centered activities and allow students the ability to choose from a variety of activities, participate in alternate assessments, and have an active role in interpreting the curriculum. This has greatly enhanced the learning process for them and has helped me move closer to my goal of achieving the status of "master teacher." I hope to one day offer the same decision-making ability to parents, teachers, and students so they become an active and valued part of our school community.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Response to Blooming Questions Exercise
1. The "tuning" of another group's questions at first seemed difficult because I was concerned about the possibility of compromising the integrity of the group's original intention. These people felt a need to express something intensely personal relating to the reading using the words they chose, therefore I felt that changing their words could somehow alter their original purpose and did not want that to happen. However, once we began discussing the group's original questions we clearly identified what we believed the original purpose of question was as well as what we thought the author's of the original question intended to express. Once we arrived at this understanding I felt more comfortable revising the work of the original group and believe we actually enhanced the group's original vision using the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.
2. Receiving the other group's tuning of our question was quite easy because we as a group were happy to receive constructive criticism and feedback to our original vision. We as educators are used to interpreting the suggestions of colleagues, administrators, and other members of our school communities in order to enhance our professional development. However, I could understand that this could be a harrowing task for groups of people who don't like to receive constructive criticism. Recent studies through the Art of Living Foundation have shown that people are more likely to remember negative feedback rather than complimentary comments. An example is if we were to meet in any given professional situation and I gave you five compliments about your teaching methods and pointed out one area of concern, you would immediately lock onto the negative feedback and disregard the five complimentary comments altogether.
3. I think it would have been more difficult to tune our own questions as a group rather than tuning another group's question because we tend to personalize things and are more resistant to changing our own ideas than others. Tuning another group's question allows us to step outside our own perspective and try to understand that of someone else. Once we established this type of learning environment, the group was able to build upon the original vision by adding what we found most important and relevant.
4. This exercise reinforces my belief that we as educational leaders must also accept that lower level or basic skills should be cultivated as well. I find that administrators are focusing specifically upon teachers implementing the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy into each lesson, while sacrificing or not appreciating the value of developing the basic foundation of the learning experience which is pivotal for a successful exchange of knowledge between the content and our students. Today's students have difficulty with the most basic grammar skills such as spelling and conjugating verbs, yet can create a well-documented thesis statement and provide factual support for it in each body paragraph of an essay. Yet if we were to remove the spelling and grammar tools from Microsoft Word, our students would be reduced to an elementary school level with the most basic skills. This is something that needs to be reevaluated among educational leaders especially since we must understand that not all students learn the same way and our monolithic standardized system of education is failing.
5. The implications of this excercise for school administrators is it provides a wonderful example of a successful technique that should be used in professional development workshops because it engages colleagues in the critical thinking process associated with the highest levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, namely Evaluating and Creating. If we are asking professionals to enhance there teaching methods and participate in meaningful professional development, we as educational leaders must infuze a reflective component that engages colleagues to refine and critique our system of learning for the benefit of today's students. All too often teachers find professional development workshops cumbersome and do not implement the suggestions of the presenter, mostly because they are the victims of the same monolithic standardized practice of teaching that students in there classes must suffer through. However, when we engage teachers in a meaninful reflective and demonstrative process where they observe clear correlations between the workshop materials presented and exactly how they can be used in the classroom, it becomes most meaningful to individuals as well as whole groups of educators.
2. Receiving the other group's tuning of our question was quite easy because we as a group were happy to receive constructive criticism and feedback to our original vision. We as educators are used to interpreting the suggestions of colleagues, administrators, and other members of our school communities in order to enhance our professional development. However, I could understand that this could be a harrowing task for groups of people who don't like to receive constructive criticism. Recent studies through the Art of Living Foundation have shown that people are more likely to remember negative feedback rather than complimentary comments. An example is if we were to meet in any given professional situation and I gave you five compliments about your teaching methods and pointed out one area of concern, you would immediately lock onto the negative feedback and disregard the five complimentary comments altogether.
3. I think it would have been more difficult to tune our own questions as a group rather than tuning another group's question because we tend to personalize things and are more resistant to changing our own ideas than others. Tuning another group's question allows us to step outside our own perspective and try to understand that of someone else. Once we established this type of learning environment, the group was able to build upon the original vision by adding what we found most important and relevant.
4. This exercise reinforces my belief that we as educational leaders must also accept that lower level or basic skills should be cultivated as well. I find that administrators are focusing specifically upon teachers implementing the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy into each lesson, while sacrificing or not appreciating the value of developing the basic foundation of the learning experience which is pivotal for a successful exchange of knowledge between the content and our students. Today's students have difficulty with the most basic grammar skills such as spelling and conjugating verbs, yet can create a well-documented thesis statement and provide factual support for it in each body paragraph of an essay. Yet if we were to remove the spelling and grammar tools from Microsoft Word, our students would be reduced to an elementary school level with the most basic skills. This is something that needs to be reevaluated among educational leaders especially since we must understand that not all students learn the same way and our monolithic standardized system of education is failing.
5. The implications of this excercise for school administrators is it provides a wonderful example of a successful technique that should be used in professional development workshops because it engages colleagues in the critical thinking process associated with the highest levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, namely Evaluating and Creating. If we are asking professionals to enhance there teaching methods and participate in meaningful professional development, we as educational leaders must infuze a reflective component that engages colleagues to refine and critique our system of learning for the benefit of today's students. All too often teachers find professional development workshops cumbersome and do not implement the suggestions of the presenter, mostly because they are the victims of the same monolithic standardized practice of teaching that students in there classes must suffer through. However, when we engage teachers in a meaninful reflective and demonstrative process where they observe clear correlations between the workshop materials presented and exactly how they can be used in the classroom, it becomes most meaningful to individuals as well as whole groups of educators.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Response to Administrator Blog
My next adventure in blogging focused on blogs published by school principal's and other administrators. I was expecting to find a "brag" page of accomplishments and mission statements, but to my suprise that was not the case. Principal Dustin Swanson's blog entitled "Muddling About" posted his reflections on exciting events taking place in the school as well as scholarly articles about education that were commented on by fellow educators and administrators. Principal Scott Briitain's blog entitled "Ram Review" posted important information for faculty regarding meetings and deadlines, as well as interesting facts about his school. Principal Greg Carroll's blog simply named "Greg's Blog" offered reflections concerning videos he posted about incorporating technology into the classroom and the affects of technology on today's system of education.
I am pleased to see that administrators are actually using the technology they want faculty and students to incorporate into the classroom. Most of these administrators blogs had a variety of topics posted and I was suprised to see how many people actually responsed. I wonder if any of them were faculty members hoping to gain favor with them, but regardless it certainly offers a tremendous opportunity for professional development. Perhaps in the future Principals will be able to have faculty and staff view their blog rather than conducting long and monotonous meetings. I know many professional staff members who would jump at the opportunity to work for such an administrator.
Under the administrator blog's section the first one that I noticed was called "The Other 85%" sponsored by Capella University. This offered articles and opinions concering various college-related topics from online courses to the rising cost of tuition. Another blog entitled "Data and Technology" focused on maximizing student achievement data to bring about meaningful change in the learning process. One case study offered featured Adams County School District #14 which is currently attempting to implement a program that features a balanced scorecard of assessments for Financial, Learning and Growth, Internal Processes, and Customer/Student Achievement. Sample PDF and Word documents were available for download which helps someone like me who otherwise would have absolutely no idea what the article was talking about.
As a result of this blogging experience I can see that our system of education has embraced technology. Today's educational leaders must not only demonstrate knowledge of how to use technology but also to provide meaningful professional development opportunities in order to ensure they have a productive teaching staff. All too often administrators proclaim that technology is the future of education and insist teachers use it in their classrooms, but when push comes to shove we find out that neither the teacher or administrator really has the proper training to successfully utilize technology for the benefit of today's learners. I think we will find that most students will be able to develop the skills necessary for learning technology simply because they are used to using it than previous generations.
I am pleased to see that administrators are actually using the technology they want faculty and students to incorporate into the classroom. Most of these administrators blogs had a variety of topics posted and I was suprised to see how many people actually responsed. I wonder if any of them were faculty members hoping to gain favor with them, but regardless it certainly offers a tremendous opportunity for professional development. Perhaps in the future Principals will be able to have faculty and staff view their blog rather than conducting long and monotonous meetings. I know many professional staff members who would jump at the opportunity to work for such an administrator.
Under the administrator blog's section the first one that I noticed was called "The Other 85%" sponsored by Capella University. This offered articles and opinions concering various college-related topics from online courses to the rising cost of tuition. Another blog entitled "Data and Technology" focused on maximizing student achievement data to bring about meaningful change in the learning process. One case study offered featured Adams County School District #14 which is currently attempting to implement a program that features a balanced scorecard of assessments for Financial, Learning and Growth, Internal Processes, and Customer/Student Achievement. Sample PDF and Word documents were available for download which helps someone like me who otherwise would have absolutely no idea what the article was talking about.
As a result of this blogging experience I can see that our system of education has embraced technology. Today's educational leaders must not only demonstrate knowledge of how to use technology but also to provide meaningful professional development opportunities in order to ensure they have a productive teaching staff. All too often administrators proclaim that technology is the future of education and insist teachers use it in their classrooms, but when push comes to shove we find out that neither the teacher or administrator really has the proper training to successfully utilize technology for the benefit of today's learners. I think we will find that most students will be able to develop the skills necessary for learning technology simply because they are used to using it than previous generations.
Response to Classroom Blog
I selected a blog entitled American Studies from the list of classroom blogs because that is the title of a course I currently teach. At first I wasn't sure what to expect but I was immediately linked to an amazingly interactive website for the Humanities sponsored by Hunterdon Central Regional High School. I was amazed at how detailed this blog was posting a study guide for the course, information about the final examination, upcoming quizzes and tests, as well as analysis papers and class presentations. Links to downloadable assignment descriptions were readily available and students are encouraged to provide feedback about course readings in the class blog.
After navigating through this blog I looked at the rest of the lists of blogs under the classroom blogs section and noticed that most of them were geared for elementary and middle school rather than high school. We currently utilize First Class software at my high school where students have access to a class calendar, homework bin, and blog. I have embraced this technology and post assignment due dates in the calendar, collect submitted homework assignments from the bin, and allow students to interact and post feedback about course topics in the blog for extra credit. I was pleased with myself for this and thought I was serving as a trailblazer for integrating technology into my classroom, until I looked at some of these class blogs!
Another blog entitled Get Lost attracted my attention for obvious sarcastic reasons ; < )
Navigating through this blog I was amazed to find middle school students posting travel information for various European countries they visited on a virtual tour for a class project. Intrepid classroom was posted by a 21 year old "perpetual student of the universe" who offers a wide variety of topics for discussion among educators and students. I can't imagine this kid having problems finding a job in education some day! Finally I noticed a blog offering an opportunity to learn basic music recording skills and to make your own music, entitled "Music Production Skills." I work for a commercial advertising agency called Omni Music Corporation recording original compositions to be sold for radio, television, and internet commercials all over the world. This blog offered various resources and links for teachers, upcoming events, and products available for purchase.
After navigating through this blog I looked at the rest of the lists of blogs under the classroom blogs section and noticed that most of them were geared for elementary and middle school rather than high school. We currently utilize First Class software at my high school where students have access to a class calendar, homework bin, and blog. I have embraced this technology and post assignment due dates in the calendar, collect submitted homework assignments from the bin, and allow students to interact and post feedback about course topics in the blog for extra credit. I was pleased with myself for this and thought I was serving as a trailblazer for integrating technology into my classroom, until I looked at some of these class blogs!
Another blog entitled Get Lost attracted my attention for obvious sarcastic reasons ; < )
Navigating through this blog I was amazed to find middle school students posting travel information for various European countries they visited on a virtual tour for a class project. Intrepid classroom was posted by a 21 year old "perpetual student of the universe" who offers a wide variety of topics for discussion among educators and students. I can't imagine this kid having problems finding a job in education some day! Finally I noticed a blog offering an opportunity to learn basic music recording skills and to make your own music, entitled "Music Production Skills." I work for a commercial advertising agency called Omni Music Corporation recording original compositions to be sold for radio, television, and internet commercials all over the world. This blog offered various resources and links for teachers, upcoming events, and products available for purchase.
Response to Long Tail Article
Anderson sums up the consumerism system of business today with a series of examples beginning with Simpson’s Touching the Void and Krakauer’s Into Thin Air. This is exactly the kind of marketing ploy that companies are exploiting and using the logic of the phrase PT Barnum appropriately coined, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” I recently upgraded my Itunes browser to include the “genius” sidebar and it continues to encourage me to purchase songs similar to the ones I have in my library. In fact musicians from the classic rock era have been systematically rereleasing older albums through carefully marketed “greatest hits” anthologies while not even recording a new hit single. In fact I know people who have purchased Beatles CD’s that apparently have new digitally enhanced sound for the same songs they have been listening to on vinyl, 8-track, cassette, and CD for the past forty years! The Bollywood example really shocked me because I participate in two very Indian-affiliated groups; The Art of Living Foundation and International Society for Krishna Consciousness. I thought Bollywood was an up and coming phenomenon especially with the latest craze for Slumdog Millionaire, where I was certain that countless well-educated Americans were going to claim to have in-depth knowledge of the social and political situation in contemporary India especially after viewing Deepa Mehta’s controversial film Water.
But one needs only to view the Super Bowl to understand commercialism and its negative effects. I work for a commercial advertising agency called Omni Music and provide original compositions as a side job. Yet I can’t imagine major companies like Pepsi and Budweiser spending millions of dollars for thirty seconds of air time while we are supposed to be in the midst of an economic crisis! The New York Yankees spend over five million dollars on two pitchers while teams like the Tampa Bay Rays make it to the World Series on a fraction of a payroll. It seems to me that American society is always looking for the “quick fix” rather than embracing the hard working values of previous generations. Among my best students no one wants to be a plumber or a carpenter anymore, they just want to have corporate jobs and make lots of money while sitting in an air conditioned office doing next to nothing. Laziness is running rampant in this country and with it comes the issue of obesity. Children used to enjoy a healthy snack after school and then play outdoor games with friends while fostering positive social interactions. Today’s kids are coming home to minimal adult supervision, eating chips and cookies (after having pizza and French fries for lunch), watching exorbitant amounts of television, and communicating with peers online or over the telephone.
As I prepare to conclude this reflection I find myself searching for a response to how this article is relevant to school administration. I clearly see points I agree and disagree with, and as stated above found topics that resonates particularly strongly in terms of my personal knowledge and experience. I even found things that surprise me and make me want to learn more about. Perhaps as administrators we should take this article’s suggestions as a means of finding community support for the budget, or selling the faculty on a set of guidelines, or securing state and federal funds through grant writing opportunities. Successful administrators have to be able to play the marketing game utilized by corporate America. Education is not recession proof and we have to find new ways to maintain our inflated budgets. As we look to the future one can only venture a guess as to where our system of education will be in the long-term. If we are not serving as trendsetters I fear that we will lose our autonomy and allow federal and state regulations to control our every action because we won’t be able to afford any alternative.
But one needs only to view the Super Bowl to understand commercialism and its negative effects. I work for a commercial advertising agency called Omni Music and provide original compositions as a side job. Yet I can’t imagine major companies like Pepsi and Budweiser spending millions of dollars for thirty seconds of air time while we are supposed to be in the midst of an economic crisis! The New York Yankees spend over five million dollars on two pitchers while teams like the Tampa Bay Rays make it to the World Series on a fraction of a payroll. It seems to me that American society is always looking for the “quick fix” rather than embracing the hard working values of previous generations. Among my best students no one wants to be a plumber or a carpenter anymore, they just want to have corporate jobs and make lots of money while sitting in an air conditioned office doing next to nothing. Laziness is running rampant in this country and with it comes the issue of obesity. Children used to enjoy a healthy snack after school and then play outdoor games with friends while fostering positive social interactions. Today’s kids are coming home to minimal adult supervision, eating chips and cookies (after having pizza and French fries for lunch), watching exorbitant amounts of television, and communicating with peers online or over the telephone.
As I prepare to conclude this reflection I find myself searching for a response to how this article is relevant to school administration. I clearly see points I agree and disagree with, and as stated above found topics that resonates particularly strongly in terms of my personal knowledge and experience. I even found things that surprise me and make me want to learn more about. Perhaps as administrators we should take this article’s suggestions as a means of finding community support for the budget, or selling the faculty on a set of guidelines, or securing state and federal funds through grant writing opportunities. Successful administrators have to be able to play the marketing game utilized by corporate America. Education is not recession proof and we have to find new ways to maintain our inflated budgets. As we look to the future one can only venture a guess as to where our system of education will be in the long-term. If we are not serving as trendsetters I fear that we will lose our autonomy and allow federal and state regulations to control our every action because we won’t be able to afford any alternative.
Response to World Is Flat Article
Our current system of education is a business that is strongly being influenced by the current globalization process and technological updates. The days of instructors lecturing students from behind podiums and scribbling notes that read more like a physician’s prescription are over. In fact the perennial classroom that most educators have become accustomed to has become nearly obsolete by today’s standards. Most educators are making use of the Internet for more than a research tool and posting assignments online, creating interactive webquests, establishing class blogs for student feedback, and communicating with parents and students via email.
Administration must ensure proper training and professional development opportunities for today’s educators if they want them to be successful in the “Information Age.” No longer can educators rest on the laurels by having effective classroom management, incorporating multiple instructional strategies, and maintaining open communication with parents and administration. In order to prepare students for the challenges they will face from globalization, schools must now become state of the art facilities with broadband connectivity to the Internet, high performing laptop and desktop computers for staff and student access, multimedia centers with more than just outdated books, and a vast bevy of other assorted technological pursuits. In the past, the purpose of education was to prepare students for the “real world” by infusing the necessary job-related skills into their repertoire as learners. At one time cooperative learning was considered a pivotal component for establishing successful “team management” skills necessary for the workplace. Now it seems that while this is still useful, today’s students would best be served acquiring knowledge of the latest software trends due to the growth of outsourcing in our global economy.
Though this may be intimidating for some (my father refuses to even look at a computer screen and says, “I’m old and have earned the right to never have to use those annoying contraptions”) others embrace the convenience technology brings not only to the workplace but for our life at home as well. Attendance at mandatory production meetings can now be accomplished over the Internet, as colleagues can assess their growth and development while establishing new clients in foreign countries. At home, parents are making monthly payments while their kids are downloading music, participating in chat rooms, and checking their email, and of course watching clips from their favorite television programs online. However, we cannot continue to believe that this lifestyle is uniquely American as foreign competition has more than caught up and in many respects is serving as the trendsetters while incorporating technology. A great example from the article suggests, “Only 30 years ago, if you had a choice of being born a B student in Boston or a genius in Bangalore or Beijing, you probably would have chosen Boston, because a genius in Beijing or Bangalore could not really take advantage of his or her talent. They could not plug and play globally. Not anymore. Not when the world is flat, and anyone with smarts, access to Google and a cheap wireless laptop can join the innovation fray.”
Finally I agree with the article’s selection of the first three flatteners that essentially created a new platform for collaboration beginning with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, launch of Netscape in 1995, and Y2K scare of 2000. I believe that the emergence of Europe, Asia, and Latin American economies in the mid1990s has been the quintessential component for the flattening of our world because it demonstrates as the article claims, “there is nothing that guarantees that Americans or Western Europeans will continue leading the way. These new players are stepping onto the playing field legacy free, meaning that many of them were so far behind that they can leap right into the new technologies without having to worry about all the sunken costs of old systems.”
Administration must ensure proper training and professional development opportunities for today’s educators if they want them to be successful in the “Information Age.” No longer can educators rest on the laurels by having effective classroom management, incorporating multiple instructional strategies, and maintaining open communication with parents and administration. In order to prepare students for the challenges they will face from globalization, schools must now become state of the art facilities with broadband connectivity to the Internet, high performing laptop and desktop computers for staff and student access, multimedia centers with more than just outdated books, and a vast bevy of other assorted technological pursuits. In the past, the purpose of education was to prepare students for the “real world” by infusing the necessary job-related skills into their repertoire as learners. At one time cooperative learning was considered a pivotal component for establishing successful “team management” skills necessary for the workplace. Now it seems that while this is still useful, today’s students would best be served acquiring knowledge of the latest software trends due to the growth of outsourcing in our global economy.
Though this may be intimidating for some (my father refuses to even look at a computer screen and says, “I’m old and have earned the right to never have to use those annoying contraptions”) others embrace the convenience technology brings not only to the workplace but for our life at home as well. Attendance at mandatory production meetings can now be accomplished over the Internet, as colleagues can assess their growth and development while establishing new clients in foreign countries. At home, parents are making monthly payments while their kids are downloading music, participating in chat rooms, and checking their email, and of course watching clips from their favorite television programs online. However, we cannot continue to believe that this lifestyle is uniquely American as foreign competition has more than caught up and in many respects is serving as the trendsetters while incorporating technology. A great example from the article suggests, “Only 30 years ago, if you had a choice of being born a B student in Boston or a genius in Bangalore or Beijing, you probably would have chosen Boston, because a genius in Beijing or Bangalore could not really take advantage of his or her talent. They could not plug and play globally. Not anymore. Not when the world is flat, and anyone with smarts, access to Google and a cheap wireless laptop can join the innovation fray.”
Finally I agree with the article’s selection of the first three flatteners that essentially created a new platform for collaboration beginning with the collapse of the Berlin Wall, launch of Netscape in 1995, and Y2K scare of 2000. I believe that the emergence of Europe, Asia, and Latin American economies in the mid1990s has been the quintessential component for the flattening of our world because it demonstrates as the article claims, “there is nothing that guarantees that Americans or Western Europeans will continue leading the way. These new players are stepping onto the playing field legacy free, meaning that many of them were so far behind that they can leap right into the new technologies without having to worry about all the sunken costs of old systems.”
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