Open Source/ Crowd Source for Education

     

 Read more about Open Source Initiative on Wikipedia.  This image was copied from OSI article.

        If we chose to crowd source our textbooks and yearly tests, the last article demonstrated  ways these products would be drastically improved. If you have not gotten to read the article from last week yet this link will take you back to it.  If you right click you can open it in a new tab and get back here easily.  Here is the link for last weeks article on Open Source Education. http://teachersandcompany.blogspot.com/2015/03/open-source-education-better-products.html

       Open Source in Tennessee, here after called Crowd Sourcing, could improve teacher retention.  Teacher retention will be a huge problem in just a little while.  Our state is currently 1000 teachers short.  We have a shortage of young people choosing a major in Education in college as well.  Add to these numbers, the dozen or so teachers in my circle I know of who are ready to quit and you have the perfect storm.  We can still abate the damage.

        We need to rebuild teacher status in Tennessee to help people understand that teachers serve the community in a significant way.  One of the ways we can elevate the status of teachers in our state is by creating a crowd sourcing core of teachers.  Top teachers from around the state would leave the classroom for a year.  This  core group will work together to write our textbooks, update curriculum, and the annual tests.  It would be ideal for this group of teacher to interact with the legislators at least bi-monthly.  Teachers rarely get to interact with legislators.  This would open some needed lines of communication.  Teaching and learning conditions have changed rapidly in the last five years.  Teachers have insider information about changes in school and classroom culture.  These professional may have solutions others might not think of because of this insider information.  There would probably need to be protections so teachers could share knowledge without fear of reprisal.

         People who have invested their time and money into building their pedagogical skills should be selected for the crowd source core.  They need to have a minimum of 10 years in the public school classroom with some classroom time occurring in the last two years.  This postion should require teachers with advanced degrees, publications, published studies, significant awards and or grants.  Other evidences demonstrating creativity and drive should also be given weight in the selection process. At the end of the year their tenure in this program ends and they rotate back to the classroom and a new core group of teachers is selected.  Instituting this plan can help Tennessee develop a repository of some of the best educational lessons and knowledge.  Currently this knowledge leaves when the teachers leave but it does not have to be this way.

         Make this into a well known program which teachers aspire and desire to be a part of.  Pay full salary plus a handsome bonus.  Plan carefully methods for quality control so only the best of the best are selected and diversity matches the teaching force from which the core is drawn. 

        This planning/crowdsource core should only be composed of teachers.  Text book companies representatives, chamber of commerce reps, charter school representatives, Pierson or other test making company reps are not  teachers.  Make this core elite and exclusive with no exception to the only teachers as member rule. Elevate the status of teachers to retain them and maintain our amazing public schools.

       

Open Source Education- better products, lower costs, greater transparency

In 1998 Netscape released their source code and made it available to everyone. People in the Open Source community realized this was a great time to teach others about all of the ways a community working together to improve software is better than a company with limited talent and resources building software for sale. If you know about the open source community of Linux users/builders you probably wonder why the same ideas aren't used in Public Education. I have spent several hours thinking about that myself.
In 1999 the Open Source Community sent a petition to the Federal government to encourage the use of Open Source software. Now much of our Public Sector is run with Open Source software. Since the federal government knows about Open Source we should consider applying these principles in Public Education Policy. 
An Open Source approach is currently being used on a limited basis in Tullahoma, Tennessee city schools. Tullahoma was alarmed at the rising cost of textbooks and perhaps disappointed by the errors, misspelling and how quickly these products became dated. This small town decided they could do a better job than the commercial textbook companies and custom tailored their texts to local curriculum. Now instead of having to follow textbooks designed for larger states they have a textbook which can be modified in real time to keep up with real world happenings. Their texts are online and searchable for their students. Tullahoma City Schools brochure states: "TCS is unique in that our teachers create the content taught in their classes. An Open Source initiative is well under way in Tullahoma City Schools offering digital textbooks as the tool of choice." TCS is also a one to one district for 3 through 12. Students are welcomed to bring their own device.  Their approach is unorthodox and inventive. They are forging their own path and sharing resources in their district. Although not available to all this is certainly a step in the right direction. 
This is not Tennessee's first foray into Open Source principles in Education though. Twenty years ago Metro Nashville Public Schools selected educators to collaborate on creating a series of tests to help teachers insure their students were up to speed with the grade level skills. The Math Instruction Program, MIP, was well thought out and extrememly well organized. This was the best testing initiative I have ever seen. it was not created by professional test makers or textbook writers. It was created by a group of TEACHERS the Nashville district brought together 20 years ago.

            At the same time the district pulled together a group of Reading/Language Arts teachers. The program they created was not on par with the Mathematics program. MNPS conducted focus groups and one of the teachers, Julia McConnell, suggested the district organize the Reading tests into a notebook with a table of contents and dates to administer. It was a nice improvement but she was not credited with her suggestion.  
  So if we used an Open Source approach to education in Tennessee what might that look like? First people who contributed beneficial ideas to education in our state would be recognized and remembered. The resources created for education would be available to all. Teachers who are strongly invested in education such as people who have taught 15 years in a public school and have advanced degrees in pedagogy could apply to be part of the states Open Source Core. This core of teachers could write our textbooks and testing materials for a year and then rotate back into the classroom. Then the cohort for the following year could add to our library. The textbooks could be available on line or printed by some of our local textbook companies such as Ingram or Harper Collins which now owns Thomas Nelson.
There is no reason to pay millions in tax money to companies who prevent teachers from discussing the tests after testing. Relationships with companies who prevent parents from knowing about the questions and sections the children are asked to read should be ended. Secrecy enforced by contracts the testing companies have with our governments not only prevent improvement to the tests but also may be a violation of the sunshine laws. There is also no reason to continue to fund inferior text books and tests with typos and incorrect information.  Open Source is a solution.
  If we switch to an Open Source model. The tests could be released at the end of the testing cycle and new ones could be generated. Errors on the tests could be identified and questioned. Faith would be somewhat restored in the veracity of annual tests. Typos in the texts we are using to teach could be identified and corrected if the texts were editable by our school system or by the Open Source Core. The millions of dollars we could save could go into one to one initiatives, wrap around services, and even after school enrichment programs.
Not only would students benefit by getting a better more closely vetted product They would also enjoy better use of education funding. If well qualified professional teachers created the test we might get some usable data. We are not getting much from the current tests. [For more information on what the current tests measure check: Map Comparison: Level of Poverty to Level of Performance] The students are extremely stressed during testing and a month of instruction time is lost attempting to help students navigate the test itself. We could hire several dozen teachers for a year to create these materials and the cost savings even after funding their salaries would be significant. The students would experience less stress because the tests would be worded for better understanding and would be aligned to the textbooks and curriculum taught. The students would regain a large portion of the test prep month because it would not be as needed as it is right now. Currently our test makers have no oversight by parents and no accountability to anyone. Let's change that.
         Special thanks to Jared Polis for Congress for supporting Open Source in Education through legislation. http://www.polisforcongress.com/issuespage. 
Also thanks to Becky Mostello for bringing this to our attention.

         If we do not make changes we may be facing a revolt.  You can read about it at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1608463923/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=211189&creative=373489&creativeASIN=1608463923&link_code=as3&tag=teachersandco-20&linkId=W3TUQ2D4KZQCP4VB#reader_1608463923

Informal Learning

       My daughter attended a young coders conference to get her first class on programming in Python. She was worried and asked me if there would be tests during the class. I told her she would not be tested. All she had to do was to pay attention and learn as much as she can. She was relieved and excited about class.

      It made me think about how much I wish other kids could have access to this type of learning. There is less and less space for informal learning in school due to the test driven curriculum. Informal learning is some of the most memorable. 

     Time is being wasted for short term temporary gains. Test prep and all of this testing is a waste of time. Not just of the teachers time but more significantly the students time. At the time when youngsters are able to grow the most dendrites they are being subjected to substandard teaching because it's measurable. Measurable is not the same as memorable. In this case measurable and memorable may be opposites.

Ownership of Books Eases Poverty?

        Having books in the home is said to offset the affects of poverty.  I have seen several 'studies' that say just having books can make the difference. Salon said that having five hundred books in your home can be a greater indicator of success for a child than if that child's father had a professional level job.  I suspect there may be some missing data here.

        I have also read that poor families do not have books because books cost money.  I was thinking about the library in my home and in my friends' homes.  All of us buy books.  We don't buy them because we like stacks of thinly sliced dead tree lying around our homes.     Gee, that sound kind of gruesome. No, I do not buy books due to a pathological hatred of trees.

      Books are not laying around on the floor of my space as a totem to ward away the evil specters of my children not getting an education.  I don't even buy books because I enjoy the physical act of reading.  I read because I enjoy learning about whatever new thing I am interested in at that time. When I have excess funds, I am likely to buy something new to read.  I can't imagine how much poorer my life would be if I couldn't afford a new book every month of two.

      Going back to the studies they seem to indicate that just having books in the house could make the difference.  If that were the case I suppose these people would be raising the next Tesla.

*Not my actual den.

      Of course, we know this is likely not the case.  I remember several years ago stumbling on a studies that if children see their mother reading they will grow up to be literate.  I can provide anecdotal evidence to corroborate the study but I also worked with my children to help them gain literacy skills. SO what is the secret connection to books and literacy? These studies lead to the question.

       Is it just a matter of having books in the home or do the books need to be used?

       If possession were the issue, would a nice picture of a bookcase be a workable substitute?  I, of course, do not believe it is as simple as owning books.  I believe there are behaviors that accompany book ownership which skew the findings.

       It seems evident that people who love and collect books over time collect them to be read and enjoyed. They spend money on books because they value the education they receive from reading. People collect books on subjects they love and want to learn more about.  This type of literature is what professional teachers call high interest reading. Children learn to love books and get to read books they want to read.  Children need access to high interest books and Dolly Parton stepped up to help.

       Dolly Parton has become a personal hero for many because of her Imagination Library.  She provides beautiful free books that come in the mail for children from birth to age 5.  These books are available to anyone who has a child in this age range in Tennessee.  With the help of partnering organization she is helping community champions set up this program for the local youngsters in other areas. If you would like to register for books or champion an Imagination Library in your area here is a link to her site: https://usa.imaginationlibrary.com/program_replication.php#.VOotK_nF_AR  I would love to see her program replicated all over the globe.

       Her books make a difference to the children who receive them.  Every month a book comes in the mail addressed to the child.  The books are new and have that wonderful new book smell.  The kids are so excited I imagine the majority of them find an adult to read it to them in short order.  Then they have the book to keep.  They learn the basics of handling a book. Which way is right side up, which direction the pages turn. They might learn the words contain the meaning or they might even come to recognize some words.  Exposure to this learning activity can make a profound difference for these children.  It puts them ahead of the children who have never seen or held a book. It also teaches them that receiving a new book is an event to be celebrated! The change in attitude toward books from neutral to gift is a great by-product of her work.

       A study, which will be published later this year in the Journal of Reading Psychology, indicates providing poor children with as few as 12 books at the beginning of Summer break can prevent Summer slide.  The caveat is the books must be chosen by the children not assigned by the authority, which brings us back around to high interest literature. The emotional connection, the wanting to read because you choose to, seem to be the unifying theme.

      So what if you want to expose your children to high interest literature but cannot read well.  There are free recorded books available on https://librivox.org/.  These books have aged into the public domain and are recorded by volunteers.  It's a free service but the youngest book dates back to the 1930s.  What if you need something more current.  Audible.com is offering 2 free audio books at their website.  Here is a link:
http://www.amazon.com/Audible-Free-Trial-Digital-Membership/dp/B00NB86OYE/?ref_=assoc_tag_ph_1422899139880&_encoding=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=pf4&tag=teachersandco-20&linkId=E36DRQBEXRAXLTXL The Pubic Library also has audio books to loan and they can get you any book you want to read.

       I love recorded books because I can listen while I drive.  Last Summer we listened to an old radio recording of the Adventures of Superman and A Wrinkle in Time.  My kids enjoyed both and we would talk about the stories when we took breaks.  It's a very nice way to pass time on the road.

       Because of these studies people may recommend that you give old books to soup kitchens and poverty schools.  I think that is a nice first step. If you are a book hoarder you should definately thin your supply this way.  It would be even better if we helped impoverished young people get access to books that would interest them.  It would also be helpful to raise the wage so less people were in poverty in America and they could then buy more books.

      If you know of other free resources to help people get access to free literature please sent us a note and don't forget to follow our blog so you can be sure to stay up to date with our weekly posts.

Quality Education Defined by Jill Speering- Former Reading Recovery Teacher Leader and Current Board Member

At last week's meeting, an MNPS Board member suggested that there are 3500 seats in Metro Schools that lack "quality" so I've been thinking about this language and what this term means. What do we mean by student "success"? What do we mean by "quality" seats?

Is "quality" defined by a number on an achievement test?

Is "quality" defined by students in charter schools who chant answers to questions for a big part of the day?

Is "quality" the extension of a school day for TCAP preparation yet little -if any- opportunity remains for art, music & recess?

Are "quality" seats those that hold an authoritarian style of teaching which values obedience, a belief in the need to restrict a child's autonomy? Is "quality" defined as a culture where no verbal give and take is allowed?
Is "quality" defined as high-control, low-nurturance seats?

Or rather than a simplistic definition, is "quality" much broader, much deeper, much more meaningful and much more difficult to measure than the previously stated questions?

I believe student success is measured by a joy in learning that results from a culture of respect and expression . When children's passion for learning is ignited, they begin to lead their own learning. Good teachers and parents know how to stimulate students' innate strengths. Good teachers know how to encourage self-expression through reading, writing, speaking, thinking, art and music! Pedagogy is more about how to reach each and every child through learning intimate details about the child's background, knowledge and interests so that learning becomes personalized--rather than following a script or meaningless assessments that only serve to burden students and squelch curiosity.

Rather than authoritarian leadership, isn't "quality" communicated more significantly through authoritative leadership where a healthy combination of love and limits are communicated? Where the culture is encouraging and nurturing? When constant pressure is expected for mature, obedient behavior while providing verbal reasoning and rationales for requests and expectations?

"Quality" results when students learn the relevance and inter-relationships of each and every subject. "Quality" results when students work together cooperatively rather than competitively. Working together in teams more closely resembles real world experiences and helps prepare our children for the expectations of an unknown future.

Quality Education

How I fell in love with my trade association and dumped my union

        I have been a member of a teacher union for 20 years.  This year I had a friend who needed the assistance of the union.  I told her they would advocate for her and stand in the gap.  That did not happen.  I watched as our union representatives failed my friend after I had told her in good faith our union would back her.
       Being a member of the union has been part of the normal cost of teaching as long as I can remember.  My aunt, mother and cousins were all members. Union membership is traditional and expected.  In return, we expect our leaders to represent us as a group and personally if we run into difficulty.
      This fall I ran into a little trouble and I needed help.  When I contacted my union I was told the people managing the union were too busy to help me.  Fortunately, through attending the  un-conference on tech in our district this summer, I had the chance to have lunch with Samantha Bates and others from Professional Educators of Tennessee. I had a great time discussing educational tech with them.  I remembered them when my union failed me.  They stood in the gap and helped with a very difficult time.
      In honor of Valentine's Day I want to talk about why I love being a member of my trade association. With the trade association in Tennessee our dues are state only.  We do not have to pay extra to support a national organization.  This lack of overhead keeps our costs low.  The dues are only $16 per month.  Before my experience I might have said something like,"You get what you pay for"  but I would have been wrong.  Professional Educators of Tennessee provides exceptional value and service.  They are rapidly becoming a favorite among Tennessee Educators.
      I love being a member of my trade association because they are non-partisan.  The funds I pay into Profession Educators of TN do not go into political campaign coffers or to support social causes that are not related to education.  The focus of this group is all education all of the time which to me allows them to work smarter. The funds to support this trade association come from members and not from political action committees or slush funds.  This funding model helps the organization stay grounded and focused on their soul purpose.
      I love working with the people in my association.  I have found them to be responsive, open, and compassionate.  They operate similar to a grass roots organization.  The members of the organization own the organization and govern it.  The Board of Directors is made up of members of the organization. We have input through our board, our annual convention, and by contacting the organization.
        If you complete any research on the history of unions they sometimes fail because they forget their purpose.  Sometimes they last longer than they should because they silence dissent.  You may have noticed that although I named my trade association multiple times in this article I did not mention any union by name.  There are two reasons for this.  First I do not want to give them any press or ad copy. The second reason I cannot mention in this blog but if you would like further reading on that topic I recommend Blackboard Blackmail  by Suzanne Clark.  This teacher bravely told her story to the world.  Please put it on your summer reading list. I am including a link for your convenience. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1877818003?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creativeASIN=1877818003&linkCode=xm2&tag=teachersandco-20
     If you would like to have more direction and responsiveness from your professional organization I recommend you join Professional Educators of Tennessee. Membership is also open to support personnel, former teachers, parents, and anyone who wants to support great education in our state.  If you would like to contact them their phone number is 615-778-0803  and the website is proedtn.org.  Or you could just send an email to Samantha.Bates@proedtn.org.

*I want you to know: I do not work for my association nor am I being paid to say any of this.  I am sharing this information because they have been great to work with. I wanted you to know about them. I love Professional Educators of Tennessee. They have a great model, great people, great mission and laser focus on completing that mission.

PyTennessee 2015: Teacher meets Python

        Today's blog post is going to be short and sweet because it's Sunday afternoon and I still have two fantastic hours of Python learning left in PyTennessee.  Python is a programming language which is making inroads into science, big data, animation, language processing, and education.  It has strong community support and it's open source. Whenever you see open source relating to software it means FREE. Open Source is a labor of love by the people who built it.  In the spirit of this fabulous community I will share with you many of the resources which I have learned about during my involvement with this community.

Young Coders Conference
        The Young Coders Conferences were my introduction to the Python community.  There were five young coders conferences last year in Middle Tennessee.  The generosity of the Python Foundation and others made is possible for students to attend these conferences for free. All students received a free computer loaded with Python, Scratch and others to take home. Most of the conferences last year occurred in schools that had a Python champion teacher.  This teacher was willing to jump through all of the administrative hoops to make it happen. I was allowed to 'ghost' the conference last February and learn along with other students.  After the conference I became a champion for the students at my school.  I held a Young Coders Conference at my own school during the school day. I also lead the Young Coders Conference for the Sunday session in PyOhio.
         I wish I new the other teacher champions.  I do know the school that also held a YC conference. Those schools are: Manchester Central High School in Coffee County, Seigal High School in Murfreesboro and Winchester High School in Franklin county.  Props to all of these teachers who made this happen for their students.  If you would like for your child to attend young coders follow PyTennessee so you can grab tickets to one of these free slots.  Seats are limited and disappear fast. If you want to host a Young coders conference at your school contact us and we'll connect you to the right people.

I don't live in Nashville. Whom should I contact?
       There are many ways to connect to the Python community.  First try Meetup.  In our area there are over 50 different Meetup groups related to technology. These groups cover everything from Arduino to Linux to Python and everything in between. If you are really lucky you will find a Pyladies chapter in your area.  These women are very supportive of newbies trying to learn the python programming language. We do not have an active PyLadies chapter in Nashville.  We do however have an active women's group called Nashville Women Programmers which is headed up by Lisa French.

I've checked Meetup and Googled Pyladies but nothing is going on in our area.
        Before this conference I would have said you were out of luck but I would have been wrong.  There are many excellent resources to help you learn Python at home and they are OPEN SOURCE.
There are videos from previous conferences you can check out through Pyvideo.org.  When you go there search for 'Hands on python for beginning programmers'.  You can split this course into bite size sections to work on at home.  There are several other talks available for free. This site has an easy to use search bar.
       Another fantastic resource to check out are the ipython notebooks. You can find these at ipython.org/notebook/html.  The python community has amassed multiple notebooks to teach you about python, scientific python, python for apps, python and website and many other topics.  This free education is available to you through these open source notebooks. An ipython notebook is available for the hands on class I referenced in the prior paragraph.
        If you prefer to learn through twitter follow @geekgurldiaries.  She has many resources and videos related to Python and the Raspberrypi which you can link to via her twitter account.  If you don't know what a RaspberryPi is you can check out this link http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LPESRUK/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00LPESRUK&linkCode=as2&tag=teachersandco-20&linkId=WIGSB2VULYFCDT3O. @Geekgurldiaries even has a link to the school age curriculum for using Rapberry Pis to teach Python while exploring sound. If you aren't on Twitter you can find this curriculum by Googling SonicPy.  Again this curriculum is open source which means it's completely free and very valuable which makes it a gift.  Thank you Cambridge and the engineers who built this curriculum.

I would just rather have a quiet space with a book and a Python shell to figure this out
        Okay, I can point you towards a good resource.  This isn't free but I understand the comfort of holding a book in your hand as you follow the curriculum at your own pace.  O'Reilly publishes books on Python and other languages.  I have several of their works on my shelf at home.  If you are a modern reader with a nook or whatever O'Reilly also has their books available in print.  When you are programming for the first time I would suggest starting with a children's text to learn coding.  O'Reilly has two or three of those book titles available.

I want to say a quick thank you to the sponsors of PyTennessee and the organizers.  If you had not organized this I wouldn't have met Carol Williams who introduced me to many of the resources listed in the above article.  I also want to thank Brian and Lyndsy from the Center for Open Science.  You all inspire me to reach for things I might not try otherwise.  COS.io will link you to the Center for Open Science if you want to check out the great work they are doing or just say, "Hi."