Standardized testing measures nothing
In the real world, bosses don’t know the answers. They have ideas, they have projections, but they don’t know for sure. So, instead of training employees to give specific answers, they teach employees have to solve problems. Problem is, young employees might have no idea how to handle this.
Why? Because they’re used to being taught to excel on standardized tests. No discovery here, just multiple choice questions with straight-forward answers. This works in some disciplines–anything involving math, usually–but not in all. They don’t measure innovation, they don’t measure musical aptitude and they don’t measure writing skills.
So what do standardized tests measure? They measure a student’s ability to take standardized tests, nothing more. No way to determine if the student might be a great speaker, a superb manager or even a theorist who might push the boundaries beyond what we currently know about physics.
There’s plenty of people in my workplace that are good at taking tests. They study hard, they show up on time and they do the right things at the right time, every single time. What happens when something is changed, a crisis happens or life just throw you a curveball? They freeze. They clam up. They offer up nothing but nonsense. These people suck. These people waste everyone’s time.
Students (later, employees) don’t need rote memorization anymore. We don’t need to know all the answers beforehand. The world now has knowledge everywhere. Students need to learn how to solve problems, how to figure things out and how to improve.
Notice how many of the most successful people are the ones who left school early? Who achieved great success in areas unrelated to rote memorization?
I’ll leave you with one last question: do YOU think students are better off now than they were even 10, 20 years ago? I do not.
Large companies fear change
The business model is changing. Education is changing. The way we communicate is changing.
Who is leading it? Who will stand out as a true voice in the change that needs to happen?
School board transparency
In today’s age, it has been easier to get information on where our tax dollars are going. No longer do we have to search old archives in a dusty library basement, we can can real-time access with the educations and administrators on the school boards.
Blogs. The answer is blogs. I don’t care if the boards aren’t comfortable with such communication, it’s no longer acceptable for them to hide where the money is going.
If your school board doesn’t blog, ask them why. Don’t you want to know what’s being done with our educational system?
Nicole Starke on SMIE
Can I let my current students tell you what they think? (HA! That’s if we actually let them into Facebook in class!)
I would like to add more later but start out by saying that I think there’s a role for all types of technology in the classroom, but it’s all about your purpose for using it within a lesson. If you can find a way to get students to move past the “glitter” of the technology (for example, Facebook) and to see instead the power of the technology (i.e., connecting a person with people one may never actually come in contact with if the technology were unavailable), then it serves a purpose.
The biggest problem with using social media in the classroom is that currently, the students know more than the most of the teachers.Y our average classroom teacher (math, social studies, etc.) may or may not even be aware of social media…and isn’t going to stumble over to try and teach a lesson using it for fear that their students will do something they aren’t supposed to…
Mmm…I don’t think it’s laziness.
I think it’s two-fold. First and foremost is the time factor. In most other jobs, if you need to do something directly related to your job (like training), you are generally given time to do that while you are on the job. However, there are very few districts that offer the same time allowance to teachers. Some districts will find subs for their teachers while they go to training during the school day; many (most?) make teachers attend training on their own time. Which is challenging. So professional development staffers are forced to offer training to teachers at inopportune times (before school, lunch, prep periods)…which sometimes leaves teachers either feeling rushed about what they learned, or resentful about having to learn it during that crunched time.
Number two is fear. I think fear about learning something new, fear about not understanding it (the technology) like they understand their current subject matter, and fear that if they try to use it in front of their class and something goes wrong, they won’t know how to fix it and will no longer be perceived as an expert/leader, etc.
The biggest problem I have with this aspect is really with the educational training at the post-secondary level. There are not enough colleges and universities that are requiring mandatory technology courses to their education students. It is starting to change; but there should be a much harder push for technology curriculum throughout the entire four-year process for teachers getting their certifications. If they learned it then, they would be comfortable throughout and be much more likely to transfer those experiences to their own classroom environments…
I assume this will eventually be forced to change as the current generation grows up?
You have to also consider one more thing…availability of technology. There are still a large percentages of classroom that do not have easy, reliable access to technology. When I say easy I mean they can have it whenever they want it (i.e. a dedicated classroom computer) and reliable meaning the equipment is regularly serviced and updated, and access to the Internet is guaranteed a large percentage of time. I think a HUGE fear for teachers who do anything on the Internet are mainly concerned that they will plan an entire lesson involving the technology, only to have the technology fail at the exact moment of the lesson, or the Internet to be down. That really, really stresses a teacher out and puts a kink in the flow of a lesson (and the management of the classroom as a whole).
Must reads!
Here’s a report for my activity so far this week. I’ll break each section down with a short summary.
First, I was asked to be a guest blogger here: http://umiamied.wordpress.com/
An example of how Rubbermaid uses Social Media (SM) to listen: http://blogs.zdnet.com/feeds/?p=346
How SM can make a customer’s day: http://www.buzznetworker.com/businesses-using-social-media-the-right-way/
Found this on Twitter. It’s free advertising: http://twitter.com/rebeccahodgen1/statuses/1038617029
People WANT to be talked to. They are forming groups to be found easily: http://twitterpacks.pbwiki.com/New-Media%2C-Social-Media#CommunityManagerPack
More lists of best practices than I could explain in a day: http://www.interactiveinsightsgroup.com/blog1/social-media-examples-superlist-17-lists-and-tons-of-examples/
We can dominate the market pretty easily. Why? There’s no much competition at the top:http://www.conversationalmediamarketing.com/2008/12/taking-advantage-of-participation-inequality-in-social-media.html
We MUST be real: http://www.blogs.orange-business.com/live/2008/12/wells-fargo-soc.html
We should be taking advantage of this. Clients could interact DIRECTLY from our OWN site: http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/07/23/what-facebook-connect-means-for-corporations/
Why standard corporate blogs don’t really work: http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/12/09/consumers-say-your-corporate-blog-is-not-trusted/
Intel is WAY ahead of the game here: http://www.intel.com/sites/sitewide/en_US/social-media.htm
We could TEACH educators how to do this. We’d be side by side them the entire time. It could even be a new product!http://www.thebettyfactor.com/2008/12/08/how-to-revolutionize-education-forever-social-media-tools-and-strategies-equal-education-2-point-0/
There’s just a blogs already on there. I bet we’re not monitoring them like we should: http://education.alltop.com/
This is a potential client. We could have sold him on Pearson just by being first to answer: http://twitter.com/dsawyer33/statuses/1051570193
PR damage control. Sold out? I don’t like the sound of that: http://www.edugeek.net/forums/virtual-learning-platforms/27849-fronter-pearson.html
We could do this better than others: http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/the_social_media_classroom_a_new_platform_for_education.php
We should be at LEAST attending this and listening. This is both our competition and our clientele: http://edufire.com/classes/114-the-future-of-education-an-edu-blogger-meetup
We could be here too, interacting directly with teachers. We should hold our own, too: http://www.edsocialmedia.com/2008/11/edsocialmedia-bootcamp-montclair-new-jersey/
I know there are plenty of links here, but they are all extremely relevant.
How do we fix education?
I didn’t go to school during Title 1 days. I missed NCLB. One of my classmates was allowed to walk in graduation ceremonies, but she didn’t graduate. Never mind she missed more school than I did (hey, I was a senior and I skipped a bunch, but I still turned in everything on time) because not letting her walk would cause irreparable harm.
Way to cheapen everyone else’s accomplishments!
Educational questions…
Does your school use Pearson products?
What isn’t being done to solve kid’s needs?
What could be done better?
How has software, versus textbook/digital packages, enhanced education?
How do teachers collaborate?
Are their forums/wikis that teachers and parents can discuss issues on?
What sort of feedback would you have for publishers/developers of educational programs?
How could corporations such as Pearson better facilitate your student’s needs in a classroom setting?
Who I am.
My name is Tyler Hurst and I currently work for Pearson in a sales support position. I’m not a marketer, I don’t set policy (yet) and I’m not trying to sell anyone anything. My goal is to create a Social Media Strategist position at Pearson that LISTENS to highly-involved students, teachers and parents.
A little over a month ago, after reading Seth Godin’s Tribes, I had an epiphany. I hate my job, loved the company and believe in the power of passionate groups. I wrote a series of emails to our International CEO, our North American CEO and a few Executive VPs I heard mentioned in an all-company meeting.
After three tries, they responded and agreed to meet. My unsolicited emails are not the norm, but this isn’t the time for normal. There is so much information and great minds out there that need to be heard.
That’s where I need your help. Ask questions, post answers and discuss concerns. Please don’t hold back, and don’t worry, I won’t use your name. I’m not here to get anyone in trouble, save me.
I’m here to help students, teachers and parents discuss better options in education. Please link to your own blog and add your twitter name!
