My Thoughts on "Joe's non-netbook"

In this fast past, "microwave" world we are living in today people are becoming increasingly more impatient.  No one wants to get out of the car and wait in line to get something to eat anymore, they rather stay in their cars and place their order in the drive thru window.  In the case of education students don't like to read the textbooks or a novel anymore, they'd rather download the information from the internet, copy and paste it, and turn the assignment in without even knowing the material.  My response to the Youtube video entitled "Joe's non-netbook" will probably sound like so many other frustrated teachers today who are finding it more difficult to motivate students today.  In the video, Joe plays a high school student who complains to his teacher about his history assignment.  Joe is sitting in the classroom explaining to his teacher that he can't read the information in the textbook because it is too small.  Then he complains to his teacher that the pictures in the textbook are too small and then starts to patronize the teacher by asking the teacher, "why can't I double click on the picture in the book to make it bigger"?  As the teacher tries to help Joe the student and answer his sarcastic question, other students are laughing.  The video is less than 2 minutes long but the message rings loud and clear.  Why are so many students not motivated to do their best?  The following may be reasons students aren’t motivated to complete their school work.

• The work is too boring
• The work is too hard
• They do not see the connection between the daily work they do now and successful future they could have.

These are reasons I have heard over the years as a teacher myself.  Many students feel education is irrelevant to life.  Education now has to compete with friends, cell phones, MySpace, shopping, latest T.V. show/movie, Xbox, IPODs, PSPs, etc. They do not see education as preparing them for their future life or career.

I think that parents should held more accountable for the children.  They should be required to attend PTSA meetings and other school related functions that supports their child, the school and the community.  I feel that if parents, teachers, administrators and students all became familiar with one another, then the expectations and the motivation factors can be reached. 

References

Joe's Non Notebook,  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkhpmEZWuRQ

Thompson, J, Why Students May Not Be Motivated to Do Their School Work.  http://theapple.monster.com/benefits/articles/6996-why-students-may-not-be-motivated-to-do-their-school-work

Review of the 2010 Michigan Education Technology Plan

As I reviewed the current state of education in the State of Michigan I am cautiously optimistic over the positive effects new technology has made in the classroom.  Many states including the state of Michigan now have its own Educational Technology Plan.  A substantial number of the goals and objectives in the Michigan Educational Technology Plan come directly from the National Educational Technology Plan.

Under the current National Educational Technology Plan, education has become an urgent priority driven by two clear goals.

•    By 2020, America will raise the proportion of college graduates from where it now stands [39%] so that 60% of our population holds a 2-year or 4-year degree.
•    By 2020, America will close the achievement gap so that all students – regardless of race, income, or neighborhood – graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and careers.

These are two clearly stated goals that can be measured.  On the other hand, the State of Michigan Education Technology Plan comes up short when it comes specifying objectives and goals, and instead have goals that are too general with a lot of complexities that “looks and sounds” like a wonderful plan to implement in all schools across the country.

For instance under the Michigan Education Technology Plan’s Teaching for Learning Objective “all Michigan students will have meaningful technology-enabled learning opportunities, including assistive technologies and virtual learning opportunities that develop proficiencies as defined by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (21stcenturyskills.org), required to become lifelong learners, including ethical, safe, and discerning behavior while using information and media technology.

This objective sounds nice, it has all the bells and whistles, but it is too general and not specific enough.  As a result of not having clearly stated goals, I feel that the state of Michigan has lagged behind other states when it comes to providing quality technology education.  There is research that support my case.  According to Technology Counts 2007, a joint project of Education Week and the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, Michigan received a D+ grade in the area of access to technology and a D grade in the area of capacity to use technology.  Now Michigan did do well in the area of use of technology receiving an A- grade, however the overall grade for the Michigan was a C grade.

State of Michigan Technology Report Card     Overall Grade C
Access to Technology     D+
Use of Technology    A-
Capacity to use Technology    D

Reference:

Michigan Department of Education. (2010). State of Michigan Educational Technology Plan. Teaching for Learning in a Digital Age. Retrieved from http://techplan.org/STP%202010%20Final.pdf.

Technology Counts 2007, Education Week, Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2009/03/26/index.html

Technology Counts 2009, Education Week, Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/apps/tc2009/state_compare.html

Much Needed Program That Is Making a Difference

In a state that has had major problems with high school students dropping out of school, Michigan is doing a good job trying to change the trend.  Michigan's newly created Dropout Prevention Efforts are showing progress and positive signs that may actually help students graduate on time.  In the two years the Dropout Prevention Program has been in existence Michigan has reported a 1.7 percent decrease in the number of overall students that drop out of school. 

When I first read about Michigan's Dropout Prevention efforts I immediately thought about a topic I had read about, heard about, and talked about with my colleagues a couple of years ago concerning our nations dismal graduation rates.  I can remember back in the fall of 2006 when an article in the USA Today listed the graduation rates of the 50 largest school districts in America.   In the USA Today article, fourteen cities including Detroit, Baltimore, New York, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Los Angeles, Miami, Dallas, Denver and Houston had less than 50 percent of its students graduate on time according The Council of the Great City Schools. In the Detroit school district only 21.7 percent of its students graduated on time according to the report which was the worst out of the 50 largest school districts in the entire country.  This kind of striking data was an embarrassment to the state of Michigan school system, which had a 15.9 percent dropout rate according to the Michigan Center for Educational Performance and Information and ranked 39th out of 50 in per state graduation rankings.  As a way to help step up its efforts in education Michigan Department of Education came up with the Dropout Challenge, a four year strategy of engagement that support new strategies that schools are implementing to solve its dropout rates.

I applaud the efforts being made by the state of Michigan’s Department of Education in their approach to being proactive to help students graduate on time.  The Dropout Challenge has a lot good components in it that I feel could help improve, not only the state of Michigan, but all schools.  One component to the Dropout Challenge is the online professional learning community, which is alternative education program for students who have either already dropped out or are at risk of dropping out of school.  In the two years Michigan has reported actual dropout rates since this program has been introduced, the number of dropouts has dipped by 591 students, or 1.7 percent, a small but positive improvement.  Other components seem to be working in the plan as well.  I find this to be a positive sign and hopefully more states adopt similar programs to help more “at risk” students graduate from high school and go on to be productive citizens in their communities.

Reference:



Umpstead, B. (2010). Michigan uses online learning to reach at-risk students. e-School News, Retrieved from http://www.eschoolnews.com/2010/06/02/michigan-uses-online-learning-to-reach-at-risk-students/ 


Toppo, G (2006) , Big-city schools struggle with graduation rates, USA TODAY, Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-06-20-dropout-rates_x.htm