tkt8763-01: CoSN Reflections (fwd)

["Larry S. Anderson -- NCTP" <lsa1@ra.msstate.edu>]

This is an extremely important piece for all of you to read carefully.  In
this message, Ferdi illuminates, relatively clearly, the national (even
global) imperatives that beckon to us leaders.  

What will we do with this information?

How will we respond?

What will we write in our journals, as a result of reflecting upon the
important elements embodied in his message?  Will we simply read it, shrug
it off, and go on to the next message?

Orrrrr........

Incidentally, this past week, when Drs. Perry, Abraham, Hillman, and I
were in Washington, we stayed at the same hotel where the CoSN Conference
was being held.   So, we got to spend some quality time with Ferdi Serim,
Chip Daley, Andy Carvin, and a host of other "luminaries" who are good
friends with Dr. Perry.  He was nice enough to introduce us to his friends
so we could engage in our "chat."

Larry S. Anderson, Ed.D.                              LSA1@Ra.MsState.Edu
Assoc. Prof., Dept. of Technology & Education       Voice: (601) 325-2281
Founder, National Center for Technology Planning      Fax: (601) 325-7599
                    Mississippi State University
Chair, Council for Education Technology              State of Mississippi
         My personal home page URL-- http://www2.msstate.edu/~lsa1
                    NCTP web page -- http://www.nctp.com

---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 11:00:07 -0500
From: Ferdi Serim <ferdi@SILICON-DESERT.COM>
To: COSNDISC@COSN.ORG
Subject: CoSN Reflections


HI folks,
This past Thursday and Friday I had the privilege of participating in the
CoSN Conference "Learning for All in the Digital Age" in Washington, DC.
Those of us who live "outside the beltway" often have difficulty
understanding the imperative tone that accompanies the announcements and
calls for action that emanate from Washington, but this event fostered
sharing that allowed connections to be made between policy and practice.
Although it is fashionable to frame discussions into mutually exclusive
dialectics (should there be textbooks *or* computers?) the single lesson I
took away from this conference is that we won't reach our goals until we've
learned to work together, across our customary professional boundaries. To
do this, we need to rely upon information instead of opinion. No matter how
inspired our individual actions in individual classrooms, until our lessons
influence policy development, our successes will not be replicated
sufficiently to become "the way we learn" in America.

The intimate settings of the breakout sessions (many had a dozen or so in
attendance) permitted extensive interactions between presenters and
participants, and people took advantage of these opportunities. The first
session I attended (Issues & Dilemnas Related To Technology in Teacher
Education Programs) painted a troubling picture. Kathleen Fulton, Lynne
Schrum and Deborah Jolly shared information which confirms our worst fears:
schools of education face the same challenges that hold back K-12 progress
(inadequate access, support, time to develop effective/meaningful
curricular technology uses), but may be even further behind. The bright
spots are that this problem is finally getting attention, that some Schools
of Ed are clever enough to recruit K-12 talent who can guide the growth of
their programs, and that the new US Dept of Ed. program devoting $75M to
build capacity for technology preparation among our Colleges of Education
allows us to act on what we've learned. Again, partnership is the key to
progress.

Next, it was my turn. I shared a session on Technology Professional
Development with colleagues Lorenzo Gonzales and Susan Ceppi-Bussman from
New Mexico. The RETA program has been awarded a US Dept. of Ed Technology
Innovation Challenge Grant, which provides opportunities for K12 educators
to develop their abilities to deliver effective technology-enhanced
instruction to improve student learning, and builds upon four years'
experience in providing statewide professional development throughout New
Mexico. Following their presentation, I shared lessons from work we're
doing in the Online Innovation Institute. For years now, pioneering
educators have helped their students achieve incredible things (taken a
look at ThinkQuest, KidLink, I*EARN or Global SchoolNet recently?) Why
should it be so hard to extend these opportunities so that they become
commonplace, rather than remarkable? Our experience has led us to apply
systems thinking, Margaret Wheatley's insights from Leadership and The New
Science, and awareness of Emotional Intelligence to provide a "user
upgrade" instead of the predominant focus on "hardware, software and
network upgrades" that get most of the attention these days.

As practical examples, I shared Mike Eisenberg's "Call to Action", which
challenges us to form teams of library/media specialists, technology
teachers and administrators, as the nucleus for change in each of our
schools. I also shared the innovative work being done at the Defense
Department's Dependent's Schools which defines the roles, competencies and
professional development required for such teams, as described by Sharyn
Van Epps. For handouts, I was able to provide the March issue of MultiMedia
Schools magazine, which focuses on professional development. Since I can't
give you all a copy, here's the next best thing (the pertinent articles are
all available as full text at:
http://www.infotoday.com/MMSchools/MMStocs/mar99toc.htm )

The main event was a Town Hall Debate between Jack Christie (who proposed a
program in Texas to use textbook funds to provide every student with a
laptop) and William Rukeyser, noted technology "devil's advocate". Each
opening statement was convincing, but many of us in attendance felt the
wrong question was being asked. Andy Carvin, a designated "responder" gave
eloquent voice to these misgivings by noting the proper question is
"context, context, context!" What we need more of is good teaching.
Technology has a place, particularly in strengthening higher order thinking
skills, project based learning and collaboration. So do books. What emerged
from this discussion was a realization that we have an immediate need for
reliable research data, and that more often than not, thoughtful people may
disagree but increasingly "meet in the middle" when it comes to
implementing Information Technology.

The next morning, Linda Roberts and the Hon. Major Owens (the only
librarian in Congress!) shared what's being done to provide the research
data we need and to move forward with equity. As Congressman Owens said
"eradicating the Digital Divide must be a priority!" In his district (10
sq. miles that's home to 528,000 people) it's proven impossible to hire and
retain a basic science teacher (one who's majored in science in college),
in a common scenario where high poverty, low access to technology and a
host of ills siphon off talented, qualified teachers to nearby suburbia.
Distance Learning is not just a frill in this scenario...it may be a major
source of hope in terms of providing access to suitable instruction for
these students. Linda Roberts relayed new information about the state of
technology in education. Soon, she predicts, more than 50% of our nation's
classrooms will be wired for Internet access. This is a profound shift in
terms of critical mass. What had been a "boutique solution" can now be seen
as "mainstream" and considerable resources are being directed to provide
the needed research into which contexts work and why. Extensive funding
will soon be available to provide this data through the Education Research
Initiative.

Linda Roberts also shared her impressions from a recent visit to Singapore,
where the phrases "Thinking Schools" and "Learning Nation" are embraced by
much of the population, and where incredible resources are being made
available to kids and teachers through technology. Finally, she noted that
the National Exhibit in Singapore involved students, parents and
teachers...for free. What if CoSN or NECC had a day where kids could show
off how they were using technology for learning? Yes, there would be
thousands of extra participants, but there would also be press coverage in
abundance, and for once our message would be "disintermediated"...in other
words "straight from the source"...it's an idea worth pursuing!

However, the most profound workshop I attended was Andy Carvin's session on
Digital TV. The implications for education are truly revolutionary, both in
terms of content, equity and professional growth. While current media
discussion centers on $7,000 High Definition TV sets, the real news will be
the convergence of digital data, broadcast technologies and interactivity.
Whatever you can put on a CD-ROM or a web page can be broadcast over
Digital TV, and by year's end there will be set top boxes ($150?) that
allow existing TV's to receive digital signals. We know that within 5
years, the FCC is requiring all broadcasts to be fully digital...but will
the content providers be ready to take full advantage of the potentials?
Not unless we help them. As educators, we are used to begging, but among
the readers of this list are the innovators who could lead the revolution.
Will we get our act together and take our place at the table, or will the
institutional obstacles foment a further "brain drain" as dollars seek
talent? Remembering that the best way to predict the future is to invent
it, we have a new opportunity to leapfrog many of the barriers which this
conference addressed. By forging stronger links between doers and
decisionmakers, on the basis of reliable research, shared effectively
through new communications/collaborations technologies, we can deliver on
the promise of the conference's theme: Learning for All in the Digital Age.

Ferdi


______________________________________________________
Ferdi Serim                        phone: 609 921-3135
Princeton Regional Schools         fax:   609 924-7347
Computer Teacher
Online Innovation Institute, Director http://oii.org
ferdi_serim@monet.prs.k12.nj.us (school)
http://oii.org/ferdi/Ferdi.html

co-author: NetLearning: Why Teachers Use the Internet
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/netlearn/

"We are more than the sum of our knowledge,
   we

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