Cross Cultural Instruction: An Instructional Design Case

Please link to the International Journal of Designs for Learning. It is the first volume of an interactive journal published by AECT. I had the privilege of working with my advisor and professor on an article for the journal. To view our project click here , scroll to the bottom, and click on FLASH next to: Cross Cultural Instruction: An Instructional Design Case. Enjoy!!

The journal is a multidisciplinary, peer-reviewed online journal is dedicated to publishing descriptions of artifacts, environments and experiences created to promote and support learning in all contexts by designers in any field.

The journal provides a venue for designers to share their knowledge-in-practice through rich representations of their designs and detailed discussion of decision-making. The aim of the journal is to support the production of high-quality precedent materials and to promote and demonstrate the value of doing so. Audiences for the journal include designers, teachers and students of design and scholars studying the practice of design.

Notes/Thoughts from Oprah Education Show -9/20/10

I was away on vacation when this show aired, but I had my boyfriend set the DVR when I saw the commercial for it. I do hope that EVERYONE watches this show or documentary: Waiting for Superman as it describes the failing US educational system. I've decided to take some notes and jot down some thoughts as I watch.

1. I haven't seen the documentary yet, but it is starting to sound like Jonathan Kozol's Savage Inequalities book from 1991. And here we are still seeing the same inequalities in public education 20 years later? Why do we accept this? Why do we educators continue to allow our students to be mediocre? Parents, why do you not demand better of your child's teachers' and schools? Why is spending hours and tons of money on sports and various travel teams more important than spending the hours and effort on attending school board meetings, PTA, parent night, open house, local council meetings? Those parents that are capable to send their children to private schools, doesn't it bother you that you pay taxes for FREE education in your own community, but because the school isn't performing you now have to pay more money for tuition and transportation in order for your child to receive a good education?

2. Bill Gates: take what the good teachers do well and those teachers that want to learn to do what the good teachers do and place those in an accountable system for performance, and longer school days is what will help the US school system succeed.

3. Teacher Evaluation is almost non-existent. Inappropriate teacher mentality: "I get paid whether you learn or not." After two years, teachers receive tenure and they have a job for life.

4. Charter schools started in the 1990s. They are allowed to operate outside of the rules. Not ALL charter schools work.

5. More than 2,000 Drop Out factories: Where more than 40% do not graduate. That equals 1,200,000 kids leaving our schools without a diploma. If this continues, we will not be able to compete in a global economy. So for those of you reading this and you don't have children, or your children aren't in school anymore...THIS STILL MATTERS!! Other countries are getting better and we are getting worse. US children rank 25 in Math and 21 in Science of other industrialized countries.

6. Michele Rhee, Chancellor of DC Schools. Why does our NATION'S CAPITAL have the worse schools? Fired of 1,000 teachers and principals for not doing there job. "The children are not the problem, the adults are the problem. We are the problem." "It is so DIFFICULT TO FIRE AN INEFFECTIVE TEACHER." Why is this the case?

7. GOOD teachers should not watch this show or documentary and feel attacked, they should watch it and expect the POOR (ineffective) teachers to step up their game. Is the union really helping already good teachers?

8. Oprah brought some educators to the show who work at schools that perform well. It appears that most of these schools are charter schools. She just gave each of them 1 million dollars to allow more students into their schools. Will this money really be used for tuition for more kids that can't afford or get a good education? Wouldn't this money $15-20 million dollars be better spent trying to develop a better evaluation system for teachers and administrators? Instead, this money will most likely line the pockets of the CEOs who opened the charter schools. Why not put this money into public schools to help those that are already behind?

Waiting for Superman: Documentary on current state of public education. EVERYONE must step up! http://ping.fm/h2kM4

Watching Monday's Oprah about the failing US educational system. I hope you watched, or will watch it.

Learning Moment

I received some feedback from my post yesterday, and just had an "ah-ha" moment. What if this school could purchase, or have staff purchase a copy of the Book: From Fear to Facebook: One Schools Journey, and have all administration and faculty read it. Create a Facebook page and begin facilitating discussions on the page about the book, possible curriculum activities that FB could be used for, etc...and move on in a positive light from this negative experience. This activity cam increase the knowledge of using social networking tools in education, provide hands-on experience with using a new technology, and provide an area of collaboration and reflection for integrating the tool into the school's curriculum.

Facebook and Educators

Due to writing other items I haven't been blogging too often. An event occurred the other day that inspired me to compose this post. I was on Facebook, and a former coworker of mine, a teacher, chatted me to find out how to delete "friends" on Facebook. As I provided the instructions, I was informed that another teacher at this school was printing off teachers' Facebook posts and turning them into the building principal. I just find this entire issue absurd! This is absolutely childish behavior, from both the person printing, and the principal for reading. My question, first of all is, "Why isn't the principal on Facebook?" This is a person LEADING educators and children to become productive citizens of society. One of their jobs is to assist in the development of children to be prepared for post-secondary education. FYI folks...Social Networking Tools are EVERY WHERE: Higher Education, Business, K-12 schools, and most of all SOCIETY! Kids are using these tools and they are FREE, so why isn't this principal learning ways to incorporate a tool that students and most teachers already know how to use into the curriculum? Instead, you have now created an environment that promotes hostility among your staff, and one that diservices your students by not learning a tool that can be beneficial because you are "afraid" of it. It is something that YOU don't know how to use so you automatically think it is "bad." Create and account! Interact with your students and staff. Model Information Age citizenship and responsibility! You have also instilled a sense of "fear" into your teaching staff, which can definitely not be good for you, them, or the students. Instead of this teacher embracing Facebook as tool, you have now deterred her from using it. Do you even realize the possible educational activities she could have done with Facebook? Created a page for each of her classes, hosted discussions as a continuation from class instruction, linked to experts in her content area field (not just for her own contact, but with students), linked her students with other students, chatted with students in the evenings if they had questions about homework. There are so many possible and imperative teaching moments you have just blocked. Teachers, you are definitely not off the hook here. Some of you post heart wrenching comments about your jobs. If you don't want to be there or are miserable everyday, and continually count down the days to summer break how engaged and motivated to participate in the instruction do you think your students will be? Embrace this social tool and figure out ways to incorporate instructional activities with it. If you are reading this and are at a loss of how to use Facebook for instruction, I do have a few items to suggest:

Book: From Fear to Facebook: One Schools Journey - Matt Levinson
Website: http://fromfeartofacebook.com/
Book: Using Web 2.0 Tools in the K-12 Classroom - Beverly Crane
Book: Elearning and Social Networking Handbook - Robin Mason and Frank Rennie