Category: Thoughts (Page 6 of 16)

CDC Recommendation

The CDC has recommended “remote learning” be put in place in the event that schools close to contain the spread of COVID-19. While this may sound reasonable, (after all, kids are “on their phones” all the time), this is fantasy filled with Science Fiction surrounded by dreams. The reality, as one of my professors once told me, is that learning is messy.

Remote Learning

Let’s start with “remote learning.” What does this really mean? Students “video conferencing”? Fully utilizing a Learning Management System (LMS)? Students completing “worksheets” digitally instead of paper copies?

Technology in Education

If “remote learning” were the best option, we would have fully deployed it already. Technology certainly has a role in education. Technology takes years to fully develop and vet. Teachers need skills in utilizing technology.

Technology is not the saving force that many propose. Ask Mark Zuckerberg about the $100 million that he spent on education. Ask the many Silicon Valley parents who eschew technology for their kids.

Students

Students are real people. Not widgets. Not statistics. Not plots on a number line. They are real. They are messy. They are different. They have emotions. They have needs. Some of the them have broadband access and powerful computers at home. Some of them have rate-limited cell phone plans. Some access the internet on a four-inch, broken phone screen. Students may know how to access TikTok. They may be Instagram proficient. However, they may not know how to leverage technology to learn.

Teachers

Teachers are really all over the map in terms of technology skills. Elementary teachers may not understand how to teach their students how to use email proficiently. I have heard of a teacher call a Helpdesk because they didn’t know how to bookmark their Daily Agenda (which was done in Google Slides); this same teacher teaches Computer Applications to High School students. There is a perception that “new” (read younger, freshly graduated from college) teachers are “good” with technology. The problem is that they are frequenty “good” like kids; they aren’t afraid to push buttons on a phone or computer, but they don’t really understand how to leverage the tools for learning. This is not all that surprising. These new teachers are really just learning how to truly teach.

Tools

If the guidance on “remote learning” really means effective use of technology to teach, we’ve got a long way to go. There are some schools that are already touting Google Classroom as their “remote learning” tool. There is nothing wrong with Google Classroom. It is a fine tool. Generally, it is liked by teachers because it is easy to understand. Google Classroom largely replicates what schooling has done for the last 100 years. It is really good at “handing out” worksheets and collecting and organizing those. (Full disclosure, Google Classroom has tried to implement some other limited capablities. It can provide teachers with opportunities to provide more accurate and useful feedback. Most of those features are rarely used.) Again, there is nothing wrong with Google Classroom. It has some nice features. In the case of closing schools, it is certainly better than nothing.

We do, however, have much more powerful tools (like Moodle) that could provide students with more online learning opportunities. This takes training though. Online learning requires professional staff to develop new skills, new ways of thinking. That is not easy or quick.

Summary

One of my favorite professors told me “learning is messy”. The longer I taught, the more I realized just how right he was/is. Learning is messy. That is not a bad thing. It just is. Learning is messy. Online learning can’t replace a good teacher. Technology can help good teachers reach and push students to heights that were previously unreachable. Learning is messy. A simple suggestion to utilize “remote learning” isn’t going to change that. That call could be a futile political positioning. That call could be a wake-up call for education to start preparing for the future. Learning is messy. Not just for kids. Learning is messy for all of us.

The sale of Instructure, the maker of Canas, to the Private Equity Firm Thoma Bravo, seems to include all of the data that Instructure collected.

The State of Michigan bought into Canvas to provide Edupaths (don’t worry, they got a great deal for three years*). I took classes through Edupaths. So, what happens to my data? Does Thoma Bravo now have a good bit of data about me?

I’ve reached out to the State of Michigan asking if they exempted our data from being collected and sold by Instructure. I haven’t heard back yet. If they haven’t/didn’t/don’t, Thoma Bravo has a great treasure trove of teacher data. My data would be included in that.

*Canvas was well known to always be peddling a “great deal” for three years. Their stated intention was to turn those accounts into profit by raising prices after three years. This short-sighted thinking always kind of bothered me. Let’s be honest about what things cost. It seems somewhat unlikely that the Canvas model worked out as planned (though it did work out – they were purchased for $2 billion) as they never actually made money.

Recently, a family member was hospitalized. I was reminded (re-learned?) the power of passion.

He was a very “good” patient. He was not demanding, very cooperative and had a sense of humor about all that was going on.

He also didn’t want to embarrass himself. This required some care and attention. Several of the nurses and assistants helped with this. Most of them truly had passion for what they were doing. They cared. Simple and straight-forward. They cared. They brought passion to their job.

Then there was one who lacked that passion. She wasn’t incompetent. Not at all. She completed her tasks. But she was obviously lacking passion. I’m sure that she completed the task as per the checklist that was developed for her training. However, since sometimes “just enough” isn’t enough to truly prevent some issues. So, the work that she completed didn’t last very long. One could tell that she was being frustrated. Additional procedures were being considered.

Then, someone with passion would pick up the process and all would be right again. I truly don’t think that she meant ill will. I would guess that she would go home and be frustrated as well. I’ll guess that she may have even expressed that frustration to her friends/loved ones. On one hand, she would be correct. She did follow procedures. She was just lacking one thing – passion.

I’m still amazed at the passion and caring that we saw and experienced at the hospital. That passion made a difference. It made a difference for the patient. It made a difference for the family. I’m not sure that you can teach that passion, but I believe that each of us can find it for ourselves.

I also believe that we can hire it in. I’ve tried to always hire people who are truly passionate about what they are about to do. I’ve missed a few times. I’ve hit more times than I’ve missed.

No matter what, we can find/reclaim/develop/foster passion in our work. It can be easy to lose in the demands and responsibilities. It can be tough to hold onto without support. It can be destroyed by negativity.

Keep fighting for your passion.