The new National Technology Plan was released last week. I love this part:

Yet students of almost any age are far ahead of their teachers in computer literacy, according to the report, which is based on comments from thousands of students, teachers, administrators and education groups. Students say they see this knowledge gap daily…

Students across the country see technology as an essential part of their lives, yet the primary place most of them gain access to it is at home, not at school, the report said.

The plan lists seven steps to changing things around, among them leadership and bringing content online. They also note that students are behind their international counterparts. There’s even what they are calling a blog that goes along with the site where people can comment. Problem is, they have no clue what a blog really is.

There is much to go through, and I’m just capturing the bare essence here, but basically, it feels like more of the same. I mean the goals are all well and good, but without a fundamental change that focuses on experiential, constructivist learning instead of test taking 101, this will never happen:

This is an exciting, creative and transforming era for students, teachers, administrators, policymakers and parents. The next 10 years could see a spectacular rise in achievement – and may usher in a new golden age for American education.

Oy.

Today I observed a Spanish classroom. I watched as the teacher used the following technologies: blackboard, cassette recorders, overhead projector, CD player. She did a great job with all of them, given the circumstances. But I couldn’t help think as I watched her class what it would be like if the kids had their own iPods and Weblogs and computers.

Each night, the teacher could post any audio files she was planning to use which iTunes would download onto the student’s iPods. Students could listen to the files before class which would make them more prepared to discuss them during class. The teacher could also post some questions for students to respond to using their iPods which they would then dump onto their computers and post to their own blogs. The evening’s homework would be for each student to give feedback in writing to three of his/her classmates on their blogs. On occasion, the teacher could even record responses to the posts, creating a kind of asynchronous audio conversation. Those audio files put up by the students could at some point be shared with native speakers for even more feedback.

Using the iPods, students could easily create oral narratives in Spanish as they moved around campus or even around town. They could collect some of the better narratives in a best practices blog where future classes would be able to listen and respond to them. Every now and then, as a treat from the teacher, she could also post some Spanish music that could be collected onto the iPods while the children slept. (Sounds so poetic.)

Aye Ca-rumba. The possibilities! Now I’m not saying my school can’t get there, but it won’t be anytime very soon. And unfortunately, you won’t find much to support that in the new tech plan, which, for all intents and purposes, seems pretty much rooted in sustaining the NCLB model for preparing a country of factory workers; everyone knows the same stuff and has the same skills. Does anyone see the irony in educating kids for jobs which are being shipped offshore? And I mean really, what relevance do iPods and blogs have for standardized tests, anyway? Right? Way too risky.

What’s even more ironic (scary? sad?) is that we have an educational system that still asks students to basically try to learn independently (they work collaboratively but seldom learn) and use that learning to impress a very limited audience of teachers. Meanwhile, what the real world expects are students that are able to truly learn through collaboration and share that learning with large, extended audiences for meaningful purposes.

One not so funny true story. My wife works with a programmer who moved his family over from India to the US about 10 years ago. His son took his SATs last year and scored a 950. The father was amazed. Back in India, it seems, the kid’s cousin had scored a 1500, and she was taking them over. “How can that happen?” he asked his son. “We’re in the same family!” The son’s reply? “The difference is, Dad, she wants to get to America. I’m already here.”

Oy.

So this is the potential of the Read/Write Web in the hands of creative educators:

This project is based around stories. The idea quite simply is to let young people tell each other stories and by doing so share experiences, analyse and create a new sort of learning. Using old and new technologies the project will bring young people from around the world together into a virtual learning space where they can share, talk and learn.

In its pilot phase, young people from the Anglo European School (AES), and contemporaries from a school or educational establishment in ‘The Third World’ will create a website and a magazine focused around issues of global citizenship.
The site will be designed to enable young people to create new pages and links without any knowledge of computer programming or design. The site will also enable participants to add content direct from their mobile phone. Running alongside the site will be a high-quality print magazine offering content in attractive, easily accessible and portable formats.

The project is deeply rooted in the existing work of the school, the children and the management. It is also deeply rooted in the world of the young people. It begins with their world, it uses their language and exploits their technologies. Using networks and tried-and-trusted ink and paper media the project will allow young people to tell their own stories, listen to others and, under the auspices and through the curriculum of the Anglo European School, build a real learning experience. (Emphasis mine.)

This from Paul Caplan from London who is building this project for his Masters in Education for Sustainability. (Where do I sign up?) He plans on using Weblogs, wikis, cell phones and more to make this work, and he’s looking for either ideas or collaborators. Drop a comment if you’re interested.

The best part is, it’s not that hard. If you don’t believe that, check out the blogversation that George Mayo and Jane Levy are having about getting started.

Just wanted you to know that my whole class listened to your podcast. They loved it and they also read some of the magazine. They’re motivated to give it a go. Please let your students know that they have given my class a lot of ideas of what we can do with our class blog. Send them my thanks and complliments!

Have I mentioned lately how much fun this is???
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