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Great Recession
The Great Recession slowly suffocates antiquated thoughts regarding teaching and learning. The emerging vitality is based on innnovation in the context of increasing digital consumerism. -
Education Finance Reform
Jerry Brown intoriduces LCFF model in 2014 FY Budget release. ACSA and CTA widely support new reform effort. -
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USC Dissertation - 1:1 device program in a K-12 public school: the influence of technology on teaching and learning
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Socrates Moment for School Administrators
In the immortal words of Socrates - "I drank what??" School administrators discover the new avalanch of money for public schools is the same money repackaged with new restrictions (only to be discovered after significant "dicsussion" at the district level). -
Hmm...the ALCU is watching moment..and we just got a letter.
While some districts just got the ACLU letter outlining concerns of how LCAP money was being spent, some district are also gettting subpeonas for documents supportinging these expenditures from the Office of Civil Rights. -
The Who Moment: The new boss is NOT the same as the old boss.....
After significant soul searching and water cooler huddling, schools and district adminsitrators realize that accountability still exists, but in a new for and for new reasons. Primary question: we have all this money and we need to fix up our classrooms after years of systemic neglect caused by the Great Recession....and apparently we CAN'T just spend the money on what we want.....maybe there's a better way to help kids learn using technology that might be cheaper, and more efficient..... -
Mystery Meat - Is the new Boss the same as the Old Boss
New POTUS to be elected - with a commensurate vision on the political "football" quality of education. Jaded by wild pendulum swings, the educational community will likely gear up towards a mindset of, "we will survice." -
Get while the getting is good....
Jerry Brown will commit to the May Revise in the face of the widely chronicled and antipated resession that historically trends after the election of a new president. Was it coincidental that this will be joined tio the last year of Gap Funding for LCFF??? -
The point where some excel and some don't....
With the coming decline in school funding at our proverbial door step, joined to the last year of "increased edcuational spedning in California (wink-wink)," innovators will crystalize their belief that digital lerning environments will proivde the flexibility to both increase learning and do so in an efficient manner. -
A long, hard winter....
With the coming fiscal crisis is full bloom, educaotrs will ecomically commit to learning strategies that seem to have the endurance to weather a funding down turn. I would expect major investments in digital curricula and supporting infrastructure during this fall. -
Out with old......
Once the Great Buying Spree of 2017 is completed (and the District purchasing agents have been seen by mental health professionals), schools will start cleanign out the rooms and plan PD for all the new equipment and technology that is coming their way. The reality of new furniture will start hititng home... -
....and in with the new......
School administrators will realize that the current cemetary arrangement of furniture (rows) in classrooms is NOT conducive to learning. The district purchasing agents, newly medicated, will go under water with the spring time volley of pruchasing reqs for new furniture for classrooms to faclitate group oriented leanring joined to new technology. -
Ready...set.....learn quickly...school is about to start.....
With all the new "stuff," Districts will engage on a PD campaign to support this new digital learning concepts. Unfortunately, some districts/schools will suffer from poor planning and think that a "one-hit wonder" in the fall before school starts will suffice..... -
Peace.....I'm Out.
A notable population of teachers, who have been circling the retirement drain, will attend one day of training on "the new way of learning" and summarily pull the retirement rip cord.
This underscores the importance of releting on the digital native/immigrant dicussion while designing a thoughtful roll out of PD. -
The meeting of the Minds....
After the turbulent opeing of the fall semster, joined to hardware and software implementation problems and successes, I anticipate local and regional interest in sharing best pratices. Educators want to learn from thier mistakes and prior to writing the next LCAP, which should anticipate the "bottom" of the recession (a year and some change into a new presidencey), we will want to get better at supporting digitally mediated learning. Outcome: we need more enw furniture!! -
So...we need to negotiate with the union a few things....
After a tough start of school, a decline in the economy and the apparent reality of no raises for teachers who have old classrooms full of new furniture and new computers....negotiations will start off with a bang!!!!! The district will likely see the need for a major restrucutre in master schedules, work day arrangements as well as other items. Teachers will want to negotiate class size and open the door to negotiating instructional practice. This will be interetsting. -
Let's change things around....
After a year of realizing how much you didn't know what you didn't know, despite numerous planning sessions, educators will have the itch to tear classroooms down to the proverbial studs and rebuild the basics of a standard learning environment. -
So....we need new furniture????
After more conversation, time will confer more clarity on what is needed to facilitate digitally enhanced learning in a classroom. The inital KoolAid consumption will reveal a truth we all knew: the teachers make the REAL difference; not the technology. Regardless, new cogent realizations about the physical layout of a classroom will drive more aquisition. This time, the purchasing will be more measured and calulated in qulaity and quantity. -
Ok...we made it...I think we can do this...
I believe a new classroom will drive the re-organization of how a school and district supports instruction. Sir Ken Robinison's notion of a facotry ging way to asynchronous education will bew reflected in a drive back to asynchronous school management. This will be dangerous territory reflected in disjointed growth highlighted by unimaginable innovation.
