A luddite speaks of online learning

Professor William Price from Eastern Michigan University provides some commentary in the current issue of the Education Week. His commentary is entitled, “The Impending Death of Face-to-Face Instruction.” He provides us with a great definition of a luddite (“Luddites, named for their leader, Ned Ludd, were members of a social movement of English textile workers in the Midlands of England in the early 1800s. Their notoriety occurred as a result of their opposition, often violent, to changes being produced by the Industrial Revolution…”). And he even says that he, soon to be 70, would classify himself as a Luddite around his university. As a former superintendent, Dr. Price discusses the increasing numbers of university level students who are now taking online courses.

Up to this point in the commentary, I agree with Dr. Price. However, he goes on to quote from Neil Postman who said, “digital communication and media “privatize” us, isolating the individual and diminishing community.” And then he says, “our digital transformation, remind us that technology was supposed to connect us, but instead has fostered a kind of social isolation.”

Personally and professionally, I have found that Internet communications and Internet communities have brought many of us closer together. Online courses taught well cause students to become a community. The communications that occur on discussion boards or through synchronous devices such as Elluminate truly do cause individuals to connect and learn from one another in a way that face-to-face instruction can not.

Recently, I facilitated some online professional development for new teachers. They completed short online lessons on topics such as classroom management, engaging student learning, and learning about the value of the school library. In each of these lessons, teachers had to reflect on the reading as well as interact with others who read the same article. In a face-to-face course, if a question were asked about a reading, perhaps a few students would respond. However, in an online course, every student has to respond and contribute and no one can hide.

I would encourage Dr. Price to incorporate an online discussion board in his next education course to learn how online interaction causes communication that is different than face-to-face interaction and causes reflections and interactions that do not occur in face-to-face classrooms. As a professor at Eastern Michigan University, he could use a WebCT course shell to simply have students react to weekly readings though a discussion board.

Graduation and daughters and fathers

Leonard Pitts, a Miami Herald columnist and author, wrote a great letter to his daughter who graduated from high school this year. His description of his daughter resonated with me: “That was 17 years ago, 17 years that have moved as cheetahs move. The infant is a toddler, the toddler is a little girl, the little girl is an adolescent, the adolescent is you, a girl on the verge of womanhood, graduating high school — with honors! — this spring, going to college in the fall.” So, I get a little emotional thinking about my daughter growing up, just like Leonard’s. It was just yesterday that my daughter and I were going for walks around the neighborhood noticing each flower and tree and bug along the way. Every trip was a new experience – whether to the zoo, to the grandparents or to the library.

My daughter graduated from high school this year, too. Here is a picture of us following the ceremony:

And today is the end of all of the planning leading up to the graduation festivities and all of the graduation festivities of the past week. My daughter and my niece are the first grandchildren in our family to graduate from high school – luckily the niece graduated three days before my daughter so family members could attend both. There are five other cousins who will be following in their footsteps. And, hopefully, four years from now, we will be celebrating their graduation from college. The grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins all made the trip to the graduation. Initially, my daughter did not think it was necessary to make such a big deal about graduating from high school. And, at one point, I agreed. However, as the day came closer and everyone was making plans to attend, the importance of this day became apparent.

I never really knew how high school graduation could be such an emotional time – especially with an only child and a daughter. The last several months have been a series of ups and downs for my daughter – happy with friends one day and frustrated with them the next, enjoying school one day and despising it the next, wanting to complete the school work at her academic level one day and then just doing the work to just get by the next, having warm conversations with her parents one day and ignoring them the next, and then finally, understanding the importance of graduation one day and then questioning its significance the next. I had originally believed that the final semester of high school would be one of the most enjoyable. Little did I know the range of emotions that would go along with this time in life – the emotions of growing up, of letting go, of saying good bye to much of what has been security in school, of the realization that things are changing and then, learning to accept these emotions and changes in preparation for the next stage of life.

As with many things in life, it is a time to feel and embrace the emotions and embrace where life will lead. And, now to get her organized to go to college. Unlike studying for many high school tests, going off to college cannot be done the night before .

Disrupting Class Reflections

The authors of the book, Disrupting Class, make a strong case for how online learning will “disrupt” current, mainstream schooling. They quote trends and facts and research that show that “by 2019 about 50 percent of high school courses will be delivered online.” The Pew Internet studies have shown how high school students today are now the second generation who have grown up on the Internet. Educational futurist speakers such as Ian Jukes, David Thornburg , Mark Prensky and others continue to remind all of us how kids are growing up wired today. Those of us in education know that across the nation, the addition of computers into mainstream, traditional classrooms has not resulted in the change we know is needed to educate students with the skills needed for the 21st Century.

The authors repeated reference to “student-centric” and “modular” learning is exactly what is currently happening in many online schools across the nation. The use of modules and lessons, the ability to click into a math tutorial when needed, and the ability to meet online with a teacher to better understand scientific principles are occurring now in online courses. No doubt, more of this needs to occur in mainstream education. However, the theory of disruptive innovation shows that for this to occur, it has to occur outside the regular school culture first. This allows the innovation to incubate and mature. And, then, the newly developed educational services and principles can be utilized back into mainstream education.

Across the nation, the educational trends bear out what the authors suggest. More students are choosing non-traditional schools, more students are dropping out of high school, more students are being home schooled , more students are enrolling in chartered schools, and more students are enrolling in K-12 online schools. The charter school movement in itself is a disruption to traditional schooling. Some charter schools are truly a disruptive innovation (e.g. online charter schools, project based schools, etc.) while others simply duplicate what already exists. According to the authors, those schools that offer a different path to graduation – different than one that currently exists – will be the ones that will be successful. Successful both in student achievement, in student choice, and in preparing students with skills to better meet 21st century business and compete in a global economy.

This book does shake many of the principles and concepts upon which current school has been built. However, applying the principles and ideas from this book will cause anyone to look at how we currently educate students in the United States and consider what needs to change in order to better meet the needs of all students. Online learning is one path to a diploma that should be available for all students. Ultimately, every student in the United States should be earning a high school diploma. The theory of disruptive innovation and the power of online learning will help this to occur.

i would agree with Paul Houston, Executive Director of the American Association of School Administrators, who comments about this book, “A must read for anyone thinking and worrying about where education should be headed.” And, I would add that anyone involved or getting involved in K-12 online learning should read this book.

Disrupting Class part 6

Some more of the themes that I find interesting in the book, Disrupting Class, are listed below:

Sustaining Innovations – These are innovations that exist within exiting companies or organizations. Generally, a company continues to add value to their current products or services, e.g. planes fly farther, computer that process faster, televisions with clearer images, or cell phone batteries that last longer. Generally, many of these “new” features are more than the average user can ever use, so for many companies, the cost of adding or discovering these features does not result in a return of investment. (For me, when there is a new version of an operating system, I shudder because I was very happy with the current operating system).

Cramming Computers into Schools – Despite adding computers into classrooms, the classroom looks pretty much the same: lecturing, group discussion, small group assignments and the occasional video. Computers have not increased student-centered learning and project-based teaching practices. And, most importantly, computers have not been used in the way they would have the greatest impact: “allowing students to learn in ways that correspond with how their brains are wired to learn, thereby migrating to a student-centric classroom.”

Nonconsumption – People who have not been able to consume certain products or services. This is the market for a disruptive innovation. (A disruptive innovation does not serve current customers better).

Substitution - When a new approach or technology substitutes for an old one. Four factors drive substitution in relationship to online learning. 1) computer based learning will keep improving; 2) ability of students, teachers and parents to select a learning pathway; 3) looming teacher shortage; 4) costs fall as the market scales up.

Stages of Disruption – Two stage process. First, an innovator makes a product much more affordable and simpler to use than what currently exists. Second, increase in technological change to a modular design which will make it simple and inexpensive to build and upgrade the products.

Research - The body of understanding for a product or service. For any new innovation, the body or research takes time to develop and validate. Goes through three stages: 1) Observation (observe and describe the phenomena); 2) Classification (categorize the attributes); 3) Defining Relationships (associating correlations between attributes).

Consensus of Change – For change to occur, there needs to be agreement within the organization. The driving forces towards change are: A) success and B) identifying a common language and having a shared framing of the problem.

Tools of Cooperation – The leadership methods that work when there is broad or no consensus. If there is broad consensus among people, then the leadership tools that are most effective tools are “leadership” and “management” tools such as: vision, role modeling, strategic planning and training. If there is low consensus among people then the most effective tools are “power” tools such as role definition, hiring and promotion and coercion.

The authors believe that the only way education can change is by applying the principles of common language, power, and separation.