high school career and technical education for the 21st century

http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JVER/v25n2/lynch.html

Not sure if anyone is interested in this, but the article "High School career and Technical Education for the First Decade of the 21st Century" by R.L. Lynch is quite interesting. I've used it quite a bit in the paste and it fits in nicely here. It talks about students not only being able to use technology, but to be able to use in contexts (problem solving, analyzing data, interpreting info) in the workplace. The need is there for us to be "teaching" this in our programs. Don't get lost, vocational education is now called technical education ( my pharmacy technician program). The article talks about four forces underlying the need for reform. Watch out, it's an American Article, but it sure worked well for me. It talked about how nearly all highschool students planned to attend post-secondary programs, but that few did and of these,2/3's dropped out. A real disconnect as JoAnne would say. The times for change is hear and passing us by, so the need to recognize what technology can do is major. Like the Disrupting Class review said, we need to use and teach our students how to use technology to it's fullest and most effective extent. For me, baby steps arn't so bad though. darcy

alberta's blueprint for change for post-secondary edn

Howdy, just thought that I'd share a little (emphasis on little) something that I found. At the end of last class, there was some talk about how Alberta leads Canada in testing results. We talked a bit about why this is so and is it even an important thing? It was interesting, so I went and looked for this document that the Alberta goverment published. Alberta's Post-secondary Education System: Developing the Blueprint for Change.
PS if intereseted, I just googled the publication to find it.

There is quite a bit in there, but what struck me was a connection between it and the idea of information 1/2 life that we talked about in the last block. When I found that document I thought it was quite good but that the stuff they were talking about wasn't anything really new. The college is talking about alot of the same concepts and has recognizes similar problems. I then looked at the publication date the paper and was amazed to see that it was 2002. The paper was published 5 years ago. Man, there's a little vision for you. I'm not sure that I want to go into the whole testing issue thing, but I think they had some forward thinking people around in 2002. Not that we need help, but maybe there's hope for all of us?? darcy

A Moment for Reflection

I actually talked about this is my weekly review of Clarence Fisher's Remote Access Blog, because there was a connection between the two. I do agree with some of the criticism of the current use of technology within the classroom. I think that it's underusage speaks to courage to try new things and being able to see the benefits that it might bring. Change is often a real daunting process and if there's not anything in it for us, they why do it?? This appplies to technology too. It's just kind of sad in a way becuase I don't think that students see technology with the fear that I usually do. Technology is so embeded in their lives that it's just common place. For my project for this class I've proposed ( with Brent's help) creating a web page for my students to use while they are on their practicums. Marnie seemed ok with the idea but wanted to know what type of media I would include in the site, other then contact info, resources and a q and a resource. When she asked me that I had no idea what she was talking about. What types of media is there?? Well, I read some of the Web 2.0 stuff and boy there's alot of social networking. I'm going to try (with emphasis on try) to set up a facebook account. I'll keep you posted on how it goes. For me anyway, this would be a small and obviously underused technology, but it would be a HUGH step in my incoroporating technology into my life/teaching. Last week Clarence Fisher talked about news on line and gave some sites. Boy, that alone was a a big step for me. I think that as Dewey's quote refered to at the start of this block 5, it's just important that as teachers we recogninze when/if/and how we need to change what we're doing. I remember Steve talking about a Bio teacher friend of his that has a binder with overheads that he keeps on using year after year. I saw the connection to me, becuase as a new teacher (and I use that word lightly in my case) I did the exact same thing. I was really worried about missing information that doing the exact same thing was #1 for me. Now, with experience and some more reading from this class and Clarence's blog, I can see that maybe now I have enough confidence to branch out a bit and see what I can do. I do have to admit that I did see the limitations of my "binders" and tried right from the start to personallize what I was teaching with examples from my practice. Now maybe I might learn some new technology (for me anyway, but not others I suspect) that could help me be an even better teacher becuase it delivers my info in formats that students are familiar with and really like. For me, that meant power point and I was too scared to even try that. I have mastered a bit now as a result of the presentations that I had to do for this class. I guess at the end of the day, from my point of view, it's important to recognize that you need help and then be brave enough to go look for it in effective ways.

Clarence Fishers Remote Access Blog Review

Howdy one and all again for this weeks review. Today's entry is really about connections. At start of the blog Clarence lists an email address that allows for free downloads of astronomy ( vs using paying sites). For this block 5 we started with Dewey's quote of teaching today as we taught yesterday, then we rob our children of tomorrow. This is a really good example of how having a little courage to try something new can improve what we're doing now. How using the internet to make lessons/plans can improve the quality of what we're teaching. I also read a quote (Bob Gates) about how technology is just a tool, but it's the teacher that makes connections with students. I guess that I have to be more willing to come out of my comfort zones and try new things. I then went some of the web2.0 tools and looked at Disruptive Class: How Disruptive Innovation Will Change How The World Learns Chrisatensen et. al., What I took from there was something about how often powerful stoftware and hardware are still being used in limited ways to simply maintain rather then transform instructional practices. Clarence's blog is a perfect example of how change should be embraced (and for less cost too). It just really got me thinking about how things always change, but that the change is constant. Dewey wrote in the early 1900's and here we are in the 21th century facing different hallanges, but new challanges just the same. Change is really constant. I do think that there is some value in at least being brave and trying new things, even if you're not using them to the fullest value. For me, technology is so overwhelming at times, that baby steps are definately the way to go for me. Maybe this kind of means that some teachers may need more support/instruction on how to use technology more effectively. This certainly has been stressed in the 21st century skill literature that I have read so far. thanks again Clarence for a basic reminder of how to hang in there and keep on fighting for something better or more effective. What a good lesson for this class too. I'm going to try to set up a facebook account. We'll see how it goes and I'll keep you posted on the blog. darcy