Personalized System of Instruction? That Sounds Like 1:1!

Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) is sometimes called the Keller Plan and that's because it was developed by Fred S. Keller, along with others, in the 1960s. The research shows that when compared to traditional lecture-based methods of instruction, The Keller Plan has an influence on learning that is significantly positive.

As I learn more about this method of instruction, I see its relation to the use of instructional technology, especially as this technology facilitates distance and independent, self-directed learning. Traditional classroom teachers, even those not yet in a 1:1 or technology rich environment, will most likely find they incorporate many, if not all, of the five elements of the Keller Plan.

• In PSI, written texts provide the medium through which new ideas and content should be presented. This is not to say that other media is not to be used (I would be hard pressed to find a teacher who says that the role of digital media is sure to decline), only that there is great instructional value in texts which are in the students possession; i.e., texts that are portable, can be read at a place and pace determined the student, and can be reviewed and annotated by the reader. My school is demonstrating a renewed emphasis on literacy and the use of grade level texts, and as we increase our use of ebooks and ereaders, we are seeing the potential in portable and personal text. This is not to say there are no drawbacks, but we are learning how to use this new technology.
• While the teacher may establish the order in which lessons are done and units of study completed, students proceed through the material at their own speed. Again, this sounds like a 1:1 classroom.
• Students have time to explore the material at their own pace; they are no longer compelled to stay on the same page. This is the promise of education enhanced through technology: personalized instruction.
• The previous bullet point notwithstanding, students must demonstrate mastery of the material before they are allowed to progress to the next unit. Students who are unable to demonstrate mastery are redirected and review unit materials. Being allowed to continue is, to behaviorists, sufficient motivation; classroom teachers, those jaded and otherwise, know that for some students, "being allowed" to move on to the next unit of study is hardly motivational.
• The future classroom teacher will be more of a facilitator of learning rather than the fount of knowledge. They guide students by addressing areas of weakness and modifying learning activities based on constant formative assessment. Teachers will model and reinforce the learning behaviors necessary for success.

I am eager to learn more about PSI through the creation of a learning module. The Audio-Tutorial approach is also suited for asynchronous distance learning, although the required assembly sessions may chafe learners used to the freedom of PSI. Like PSI, A-T students are themselves responsible for their own learning, and upfront planning by the instructor and facilitation through formative feedback lead to greater probability of student success.

Why Public Education?

The purpose of education, in my opinion, is to prepare students, with a love of learning and the training to take future experience and turn that into knowledge. To paraphrase Robert Maynard Hutchins, education “frees a person from the prison-house of class, race, time, place, background, family, and even nation." I also feel education plays a role in the sharing and shaping of local and national culture. Since most children spend a great deal of time being educated, educators have the power of the bully pulpit to promote these desirable personal qualities: love of freedom and respect for responsibility, cooperation and consideration for the common good, defense of the weak, etc. Education is also relevant to the propensity of a populace to function as a society. As Lord Henry Brougham said, "Education makes people easy to lead, but difficult to drive; easy to govern, but impossible to enslave." The truth of this statement brings into question the motives of our elected representatives and others whose actions are detrimental to education.

Photostory 3

Sometimes called PowerPoint on steroids, Photostory 3 is an excellent educational technology tool for students. Created by Microsoft and freely available, this program allows users to take still images, add narration, text, and a variety of effects, transitions, and music to create impressive multimedia presentations. One of the most attractive features is the Ken Burns effect: students can create zooms and pans that highlight selected portions of the image or add artistic expression to their project. Learn more from the Langwitches blog or from the University of Houston.

Today is the Day

It's always trouble that makes you strong
Today is the day, today is the day
Today is the Day – Yo La Tengo

There are several reasons why this refrain from Yo La Tengo’s Today is the Day is appropriate for online learning and why it keeps running through the background music in my mind. One, if a student in distance education wants to stay caught up, there’s really no time to wait: there’s an assignment to do, and today is the day. Another reason is that today is the day could be a slogan for educators contemplating/integrating educational technology in their classrooms. Depending on the comfort level of the teacher, it could either mean today is the day to just try it or today is the day to do it differently or better. Finally, today is the day means exactly that: today is the day: technology integration is happening, not in the future, not even tomorrow, but right now – today is the day.

The Flat World is Better Off

I recently reread Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat and found it reads differently now than it did before the global, debt fueled financial troubles began to surface. The implications of Thomas Friedman’s flat world on education in general and student preparedness in particular are real; however, in light of recent economic upheaval which can be blamed, in part, on forces that use globalization in pursuit of profit despite resultant cost to country or society, Friedman’s sometimes breathless promotion of a flat world can ring hollow to some readers today. Like the world of Friedman’s book, education is also “changing due to the advances in technology” and our society is undergoing change in response to these forces. Educational technology in the hands of teachers and students can change the traditional classroom from one that is hierarchical with clear lines of command-and-control to a much more open, unstructured, and non-hierarchical configuration. What are the ramifications of a flat classroom? Will the tools that we use in distance education lead to future outsourcing of teachers or open sourcing of education? A bill in the Florida legislature will allow for outsourcing of teachers. The bill's sponsor, state senator Anitere Flores (R-Miami), calls it "broadening the choices available to school children and their parents. Teachers call it "outsourcing."

In Mr. Friedman’s Flat World, the untouchables, those workers whose job or work cannot be outsourced, are special, specialized, anchored, or really adaptable. Educators can help students achieve untouchable status by imparting the knowledge and practicing the skills that will prove to be valuable; job requirements are becoming more complex. On the library shelf below The World is Flat, I found Better Off. It also demonstrates the need for critical reasoning, communication and collaboration skills; I found it to be a nice counter to Friedman's vision: " a plug-filled, free-trader leg-humping that passes for thought in this country."

Google Sites

What is Google Sites?

Google Sites allows users to easily create free, custom, fully functional websites.

Google Sites began as JotSpot. Google purchased JotSpot in 2006, and Google Sites, using the JotSpot technology, was launched in 2008.

Features

Google Sites lets students work together to create webpages and edit content; this feature is especially attractive to educators in the 21st century classroom.

Information can be organized and stored in a central place (on the web) so that viewers and editors can access the site from any device and anywhere there’s an internet connection.

Access to view the website or pages can be restricted, and only collaborators who have been invited can make edits. Edits are recorded; this means editors can be identified and edits can be rolled back.

Google Sites works really well with the other Google Apps, and teachers and students can easily add documents, images, presentations, spreadsheets, calendars, forms, embedded media, and videos to the webpages they create.

25 GB of storage for Google Apps users (100 MB of storage for free account)

WYSIWYG editing; there are many templates to choose from.

How Google Sites can be used in the Language Arts classroom

Classroom webpage (communication, announcements, assignments, calendar, student work, links, etc.)

Project based learning

Platform for student products (see student created sites link below)

Classroom discussion and sharing of ideas

Responses to literature

Online newspaper, digital literary “magazine”

Collaborative writing projects and presentations

Group projects

Student portfolios

A platform for international collaboration

Provides a larger audience for students

Incorporate technology and give students anytime access to the classroom

Give students experience working in a collaborative, online environment

Battle of the Books team, clubs

Examples

Student created sites

More Google Sites for education

Classroom Site

Student Book Reviews

Internet Safety

More information

Google Sites for Educators Webinar

Intro to Google Sites

This Information in a Google Site

Edmodo - (if it's not )The One Tool to Rule Them All (at least it helps)

As students and teachers anxiously await the arrival of the protective cases which will finally free the laptops from the proximity of their classroom carts, the excitement continues to grow. Teachers with varying levels of experience and comfort have started using Edmodo as a way to organize and manage their classrooms and assignments. Students like it because it looks like Facebook and it helps with organization. Edmodo has a number of features that make it attractive to teachers. Foremost, it is private. Students create an account for which an email address is not required, and then users join classes using a code provided by individual teachers. The code is entered once and the student joins the class; each time the student logs in to Edmodo, their classes appear on a sidebar menu. Teachers post notes, links, announcements, alerts, assignments, polls, and quizzes. Teachers can communicate to the entire class, to small groups, or to individual students. Student posts are private to the teacher or to the group; there is no private chat between students. A code for each student is available that gives parents access to the Edmodo account of their student. In the class, students can read comments from their peers and add their own. If a student has trouble with this freedom, their status can be set by the teacher to "read only" until the student is ready to demonstrate a better understanding of cyber citizenship. The creators behind Edmodo are very receptive to the concerns of teachers and respond quickly and thoughtfully to suggestions for improvements. These are some of the reasons I advocate the use of Edmodo in the classroom, especially in 1:1 environments. I look forward to learning more about this useful tool and how it can be used to facilitate learning.