Michael STiTT

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

[michaelstitt]

A Product Manager from Google explaining how Chromebooks can be used to enrich the learning experience for students.

Jump to 23:10 to hear about how Chromebooks are being used to improve education within the classroom.

[michaelstitt]

I like seeing Hsieh take a sense of ownership in the city he's living in and investing in the infrastructure of it: 

"This is the plan (modest it's not): $100 million will go to the purchase of land (not including the new Zappos headquarters) and building acquisition. An additional $100 million will go to residential development including the building of high-rise apartments. Fifty million dollars will go to tech startups Hsieh plans to recruit to the area with seed investments of $100,000 or so apiece. Another $50 million will go toward drawing local small businesses like bakeries, yoga studios, restaurants, coffee shops and other requisite creative-class amenities. And because Hsieh wants people to move here and that requires having decent education for their children, another $50 million will go toward education and the building of -- what else? -- a school system."

Witnessing Hsieh's visionary qualities, along with his renowned importance on happiness in the workplace, it'd be fun to collaborate with him on a vision for a school system steeped in the 21st century necessities of creativity and technology.  I wish him the best of luck.

[michaelstitt]

This is the epitome of fostering an environment for learning. 

"I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn." ~ Albert Einstein

It's time to move beyond the 'assembly-line' approach to learning from the 20th century and embrace a new, more encouraging, attitude towards helping students find their interests and passions.

[michaelstitt]

With regards to my previous post -- this author argues that we should be teaching all of our students how to code.  I totally agree.

[michaelstitt]

It's about time Computer Programming is taught in the public school systems.  This could be the most important thing a student learns in the 21st Century.  Computers are going to be around for as long as I can see, and the sooner you start learning about them the better equipped you'll be. 

[michaelstitt]

I had the idea of inserting an RFID chip into a Student Card, and then you could record when a student enters the school campus and whether he/she is present in class.  Currently, teachers in public high schools record on paper who's absent, someone comes and picks it up, scans it into a computer, and then stores into a database.  If students had an RFID chip present on their uniform, you could know in real-time where they are on campus and whether they were present for their 4th period Algebra class. 

There are definitely efficiencies to be had by embracing RFID chips on a school campus but there should be a discussion on privacy issues before embracing such a change.  Personally, I think if the RFID chips are used only on campus, and solely for the purpose of alleviating Administrative redundancies, it would be a worthwhile initiative.

[michaelstitt]

[michaelstitt]

Harald Haas: Wireless data from every light bulb

[michaelstitt]

Learn American History in this video game from Florida Virtual School -- an accredited, public, online e-learning school serving students all around the world

[michaelstitt]

Here is an excellent example of a school embracing technology in the classroom to keep kids stimulated and excited to learn

[michaelstitt]

[michaelstitt]

Piotr Wozniak came up with the SuperMemo program to help increase the amount of information he could remember.  Based on years of personal experience he has come up with a checklist of actions needed to become a genius: "You must clarify your goals, gain knowledge through spaced repetition, preserve health, work steadily, minimize stress, refuse interruption, and never resist sleep when tired. This should lead to radically improved intelligence and creativity. The only cost: turning your back on every convention of social life."

Although it is a severe prescription, taking just a few key points from his philosophy and employing his software I'm sure we could help improve the memory/retention of students much more effectively.  It's only a matter of time until we begin embracing technology in our school systems.

[michaelstitt]

"Education experts have long argued that a basic inequity in American schooling is that students in poor neighborhoods are frequently taught by low-paid rookie teachers who move on as they gain experience and rise up the salary scale."

"Tens of thousands of schools serving low-income students are being shortchanged because districts spend fewer state and local dollars on teacher salaries in those schools than on salaries in schools serving higher-income students."

[michaelstitt]

This is an excellent example of why we need to group kids in education based on talent, as opposed to age.  Deborah Ruf explains why so many gifted and bright students begin to harbor thoughts of inadequacy when it comes to math:  1. Their route through Math is entirely too slow for the first 8 or 9 year.  2. They don't get nearly enough practice with 'story problems.'   Once they reach High School they're slammed with stuff that is actually challenging and for which they aren't prepared. 

[michaelstitt]

This is the future of education!  The sooner we can overcome the obstacles (see the post below) holding us back from getting technology into the hands of our children, the better.

[michaelstitt]

Just tonight I sat in on a 'Restructuring' meeting at my hometown High School.  I was disturbed by the lack of meaningful change we were discussing.  To the best of my knowledge, Bremerton High School is a recipient of Title One funding.  Along with the funding comes some guidelines or benchmarks that need to be met.  These benchmarks were referred to as AYP - which stand for Adequate Yearly Progress.

Now, this was the first meeting I've attended and I'm unfamiliar with the details of the No Child Left Behind Act but I deduced from the talk that the administration was attempting to modify the curriculum in order to satisfy certain requirements in order to maintain funding.  However, I feel these changes will be minimally effective, at best, when it comes to America keeping pace with the rest of the world in terms of Education standards.

America ranked 14th among other OECD countries (http://bit.ly/uT9Enh).  Meanwhile, other countries are making profound investments in their own education systems (http://bit.ly/uOc4gS) and American schools are jumping through hoops just to maintain funding.  All the while getting stuck in the weeds of the bureaucracy and forgetting to see the big picture.

It's the 21st Century, kids don't excel in passive learning formats.  They want to be stimulated, challenged.  Put an iPad in their hands and turn learning into a video game.  We need to start thinking outside of the box, not only for education but renewable energy, infrastructure, etc., and address issues that are going to have huge consequences in a world that is growing more and more sophisticated, connected, and technology-infused.  It's time to embrace the future but before we can do that we need to understand what's preventing us from making the necessary changes.  That's what I plan on putting my time and energy into.

[michaelstitt]

I can't stop listening to this song...

Tinariwen - "TENERE TAQQIM TOSSAM"

album: Tassil

w/ Kyp Malone & Tunde Adebimpe