A Little About A Lot

Here’s a little about a lot –

According to a news post in last week’s EdWeek, celebrities like Hugh Grant, Oprah Winfrey, and Texas Senator Ted Cruz have all come out against educational technology in schools.

In addition,

“More than half of educators who work for public school district – 61% – say that most parents and caregivers feel there’s too much technology in schools, compared with 37% who say families feel the amount of technology in schools is ‘just right,’ according to a survey of 596 district and school leaders and teachers, conducted by the EdWeek Research Center….”

EdWeek’s reporters claim there are three reasons for the ed tech pushback.

First, nearly all schools have started or dramatically expanded 1-to-1 computing programs that put a school-issued device in the hands of nearly every student.

Second, the 2020 pandemic fueled the push for virtual learning all across America.

And third, billions of dollars were available over the past five years to pay for device purchases.

But there’s a fourth reason ed tech has started to be a dirty phrase around public schools – adult learning leaders – our teachers – don’t know how to use technology effectively. There’s still too much “sage of the stage” behavior in our classrooms and not enough “guide on the side.” And that makes conditions difficult to demonstrate the power of technology toward personalized learning.

We know how important teaching “soft skills” like effective communication and critical thinking are to producing a well-trained scholar. The difficulty has always been how do you measure improvement in these “soft skill” areas.

But now, according to The 74,

“Several companies and non-profits are taking these skills that have been fuzzy concepts and working on giving them shape and definition. They’re gathering teachers, developers of tests, business leaders and other experts to break down these skills into smaller skills and then into even smaller subskills and nuances that can serve as steps toward mastery. Communications, for instance, could include negotiating and public speaking as subskills.”

“’There’s not system of capturing (these skills) and measuring them, because, frankly, we haven’t valued them at the same level as we have academic skills,’ said Laura Slover, managing director of Skills for the Future, a leader in trying to define and test soft skills.”

Not many schools take the time to work with young learners on “soft skills,” but those that do (mostly charters) reap big benefits once academic training begins. Young learners are equipped with a more robust tool belt after receiving soft skill training, so that they can become smarter and stronger at important skills like reading, writing, and problem-solving.

The generation most adapted to the artificial intelligence world is struggling. According to EdWeek,

“Roughly half the people in Gen Z use artificial intelligence at least weekly, but anger and anxiety over the technology is growing, according to a new Gallup survey.”

“Gen Z’s relationship with AI is stabilizing but not deepening as adoption is plateauing, enthusiasm is declining, and skepticism is rising,’ concludes the ‘The AI Paradox’ report. ‘The data paint a picture of a generation that is neither wholly rejecting AI nor fully embracing it – including those who use it every day.”

AI is in its early adoption phase when it’s applied to our public education world. Let’s see where we are in the next five years in terms of AI learning assistance.

Finally, a story that suggests the need for a new model of learning, and a headscratcher.

The Atlantic released a story today that the New York public school system can provide a mediocre education for your child for just $40,000 a pupil. The average per pupil expenditure in the U.S. is around $17,000.

New York’s per pupil spending is nearly 50 percent higher that Los Angeles and Chicago, and 150 percent higher than Miami.

Why such a high spending amount in the Big Apple? It’s due to the fact that the NY Department of Education has experienced declining student enrollment over the past several years, yet the district has not cut enough teachers from their payroll to achieve a balanced budget.

This is a recipe for disaster, but one that many, many more districts suffer from beyond New York.

Here’s the headscratcher:

ABPTL reported some time ago on a state legislature-mandated Center for Intellectual Freedom the University of Iowa was forced to launch this academic year.

According to conservatives, the Center would “reorient the university to the highest good” and put an end “to left-wing ideological domination.”

According to the Des Moines Register,

“Three months after the high-profile launch, Iowa’s Center for Intellectual Freedom is off to a slow start. The initial two classes began in March, but have had low enrollment – only 21 of 64 available seats were filled.”

Iowa President Barbara Wilson, while declining to be interviewed, shared this statement:

“The role of a public university is to encourage free inquiry, to be a place where students, faculty and staff can exercise their voices and engage with opinions different than their own.”

This Center is an example of a state legislature overstepping their boundaries.

The University of Iowa would be wise to shut it down and move forward.

I’ll be away traveling the world until May 19^th. Til then. SVB