Just let them do their job

Posted by Bill in Educational Tech ,  Leadership on Tuesday, August 24, 2010 Permalink

I came in this morning to discover our core switch was down, perhaps related to the air conditioning failing in our server room.  The room was quite hot (over 80 degrees). 

In every other role I’ve had, I’ve been the “go-to” guy. No matter what the problem was, no mater where on the osi chain, I knew enough to isolate the problem and find a solution.  As a director of technology, I have a team of incredibly competent technicians and network guys.

I’m finding it difficult to just stay out of their way. They know this network better than I (I’ve only been on the job for 24 days), they most likely have better skills than I do, and they are absolutely committed to our uptime.

I’ve several meetings today where I’ll be talking about how to better organize our data flow, how to better organize our services, and how to help our IT provide better services to our constituencies. I’m advocating for the needs of my department, and understanding the needs of other departments. I’m budgeting, clarifying, leading, managing, and evangelizing.

...but I’m not really fixing stuff anymore.

understanding your network

Posted by Bill in Educational Tech ,  Design ,  Leadership on Sunday, August 22, 2010 Permalink

I’m off to a great start as a director of technology at the American School of Warsaw.

My first goal: getting organized. I’ve been monitoring everything I can get my hands on. I’m using Xirrus management tools to monitor our internal wireless network (love the tool, need some more training).

I’m using Nagios to monitor every freaking piece of equipment we have; and IPCOP to keep track of our outgoing / incoming traffic.

I’d like to set up a few big-ass monitors in the tech office, so all this information is available to the techs at a glance. I think the more information they have, the better.

We have still to install our printers on our nagios system, but that is in the pipeline.

I’m already looking at trends and asking questions. I’m also starting to dig deeper into traffic patterns. Information is power.

Lazy Credibility?

Posted by Bill in Educational Tech ,  Design on Monday, July 26, 2010 Permalink

Neat article from the International Journal of Education about how young adults evaluate credibility of a website. Article is here, and the full pdf is here.

My read on this article is users click on the top of the search results when they are looking for something, and consider that search result to be the best.

This fits with what I’ve seen in the classroom and schools. Search for History of Warsaw, and we see these top 4 results:

http://en.wiki.org/wiki/Warsaw
http://en.wiki.org/wiki/History_of_Warsaw
http://www.e-wa.pl
http://www.e-wa.pl/

Students will click on the top few links and assume this is the best and most reliable information. When we teach students about evaluating websites, I feel like an adult voice in Charlie Brown “wa wa wa wa wa wa wa wa”. The students like my lesson, and I have evidence they are learning the content, but they do not apply what I teach them. I see them using the top two or three search results - usually wikipedia.

My students choose the top search results because they want the information quickly, and the information is usually “correct enough”. I can’t help but think of Pavlov’s dogs. These students have clicked the top search result, and that search result is “good enough”, they have developed this habit, “top of the list is the best”. The only time I’ve seen this behavior change is when a teacher (or ed tech person, or librarian) is conducting a class on other search strategies, or using search databases.

One teacher made sure in every assignment there was a clear expectation that students would use a 1:3 ratio for wikipedia. For every 1 wikipedia reference, there had to be at least 3 non-wikipedia references.

In the interest of full disclosure, I usually use wikipedia for my day-to-day information needs. I usually glance at the discussion page for any hot areas of discussion. If I’m researching something important, then I usually turn to something like ERIC, or another source for peer-reviewed, journaled research.

I’m finished at Hunter

Posted by Bill in Educational Tech ,  Teaching Diary on Wednesday, June 30, 2010 Permalink

As of 4:00pm today, I've finished my tenure at Hunter College Campus Schools (the high school and the elementary school).

I worked there for four years as an instructional designer, helping to integrate technology into the curriculum. If you'd like to see a normal day for me, take a peek here.

I loved this job. The kids are amazing. Like, genuinely amazing. I will never forget the conversation I had with a 7th grade student (13 years old) about advanced cross-side scripting and brute force attacks. This was no script kiddie, but a well developed hacker. I met several others like him, who were profoundly gifted. One of my favorites is a student who zapped from one idea to the next - he wants to compile code on anything he can find, I think. He was dealing with very high level code concepts in 10th grade (16 years old) - so much so, he had to take classes at Hunter College because we couldn't feed him anymore. The students were the intellectual cream of the crop in New York City. It was such an honor to work with them, and support the fine teachers who guide them everyday.

I ended up working more on the technical side of things than the integration side of things (a common occurrence, I think), but I saw the implementation of interactive whiteboards in every room, robust wireless network implementation, laptops for the teachers, transition to a fully OS X platform for the elementary school, and so many other things...

I loved the faculty there. I really did. I recount the daily struggles and triumphs at our school. We had a chemistry teacher who is the nicest person, and he was delighted to learn how to incorporate pictures into his powerpoint presentations - he did wonderfully, and the students are able to see copper in different states because of his hard work. We have teachers who still don't even turn on their computers, and others who can't get enough.

I worked with an active administration team, who was supportive, and engaged in the success of the students.

It was a little frustrating working within the CUNY bureaucracy, but I learned quite a bit from my time at Hunter. I am left with a specific sadness as I leave; these kids and teachers deserve the very best (really) - it is my genuine hope they get everything they need.

Google apps in three states

Posted by Bill in Educational Tech on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Permalink

More google juice.

I’ve been busy, so I missed this:

We recently announced that Oregon is the first state to begin offering Google Apps to public schools. Today, Colorado and Iowa are joining the movement. Google Apps for Education will now be available to more than 3,000 schools across the two states.

These state-wide agreements enable schools and districts to benefit from centralized resources such as deployment support and training materials, paving the way for an easy transition to Google Apps—including Gmail, Docs, Sites, Calendar, Video, and Groups—in their classrooms, immediately

Poland, here we come

Posted by Bill in Personal on Tuesday, June 29, 2010 Permalink

Our entire home was packed up and shipped off yesterday! We are staying at a neighbors house and then we are off! I expect to be in Poland around July 11th.

Look forward to blogging again, especially from the perspective of a director of technology!

YES!!!!!!!

Posted by Bill in Personal ,  Teaching Diary on Thursday, June 10, 2010 Permalink

Yes!

I did it! I passed the New York State Certification tests for School Building Leader and School District Leader (SBL and SDL, respectively). PDF here.

Soon, I’ll be a certified New York State Principal and Superintendent. I am very happy; this was a ton of work (2 years) and many more years preparing. My goal is to be a director of technology (which I’ll be realizing soon at the American School of Warsaw in Poland).  But I suspect I’ll soon be a principal.

I’m enjoying a glass of Jameson Whiskey in celebration.

Important Online Safety Technology Working Group report

Posted by Bill in Educational Tech ,  Security on Monday, June 07, 2010 Permalink

Please click here for PDF of the Online Safety Technology Working Group internet safety report. Really good stuff.

Should Instructional technology specialists be geeks?

Posted by Bill in Educational Tech on Thursday, June 03, 2010 Permalink

I have a confession.

For a long time I have believed instructional technology specialists should be geeks. I thought if you teach computers, or you are involved with integrating technology, you should also be a geek. If you are advocating for the use of technology in the classroom, you should be prepared to setup, fix, configure, diagnose, and understand highly technical issues. This has been a bias of mine for at least ten years. I always feel weird when an instructional technologist is advocating for technology but then doesn't know what to do when a computer doesn't work.

A geek, (imho), is someone who has deep understanding of programming, networking, servers, operating systems, hardware, plugs, ports, cables, switches, printers, d&d, math, science, and star trek.

However, as I leave my school, I realize my belief may be a bit misinformed. When you have people who are solely responsible to integrate technology, I think there is better and deeper integration. To do technology correctly, you need integrators AND technicians (sort of raises the old ROI on technology and education, huh?). This may seem like an "uh duh" sort of observation, but in schools, we usually have severely limited technical support, and very little dedicated instructional integration specialists. I think this might be different in the business world - you have your tech department, and then you have your training guys. In education, your computer teacher is usually your tech support, tech integrator, and network administrator. Your technology strategy must include integrators and technicians working in harmony if you want to do technology right. Your technology vision must be clear and focused on the how of technology rather than the what.

In my current school, where I work as an instructional designer, we have an instructional technologist in the elementary school. I see the work a dedicated instructional technology specialist has done; it's exemplary. Really a shining example of how great technology can be in education. This person isn't a geek; they have decent technical skills, are quick to apply common quick-fixes, and certainly not a luddite by any definition. When they bring a technical problem to my attention, I know it's probably a good problem - not something trivial or silly. They can re-image machines, send machines out for support, and order parts for replacement.

To answer my own question, no. I don't think instructional technology specialists need to be geeks. But schools need to understand this distinction. I do not believe technology can be "done right" alone - it requires harmony between "people people" and geeks.

Schools need both.

What the hell?!?

Posted by Bill in News on Monday, May 24, 2010 Permalink

The UK is closing BECTA?! REALLY?!?!?

Becta has to be one of the best resources for ed tech I’ve ever seen. This is a great loss, and I hope whoever the hell is in charge over there, reconsiders this choice.

from the horses mouth:

Announcement on the future of Becta

The Government have announced a package of public sector savings which includes the planned closure of Becta.

Graham Badman, Chairman and Stephen Crowne, Chief Executive of Becta responded: 

“Naturally we are very disappointed at the Government’s decision. Becta is a very effective organisation with an international reputation, delivering valuable services to schools, colleges and children. Our procurement arrangements save the schools and colleges many times more than Becta costs to run. Our Home Access programme will give laptops and broadband to over 200,000 of the poorest children.

Our top priorities now are to make sure we have an orderly and fair process for staff, and that as far as possible schools, colleges and children continue to benefit from the savings and support that Becta has provided. We will be talking to Government Departments and our other stakeholders including the industry about this.”

Expression Engine and Drupal

Posted by Bill in Blogging ,  Personal ,  Teaching Diary on Saturday, May 22, 2010 Permalink

I recently had a wonderful meeting with a fellow ed tech geek here in NYC. He was helping me with some issues relating to blackbaud. The conversation was wonderful, he was insanely helpful, and we discussed all sorts of interesting things. He is a Drupal guy. I'm an Expression engine guy. After his enthusiastic recommendation, I started to review Drupal (it's been a while since I've used it). I did a fairly standard google search and was pleasantly surprised to find a thoughtful, well-considered discussion about the relative merits and shortcomings of both systems - very few flame-fests.

I personally find EE's templating much more intuitive and powerful. I also like the way I have very fine control over my individual pages than Drupal. Contrary to some comments, I find EE's support amazing (you are paying for it, after all). I've had to avail myself of their help many times! I'm going to stick with EE. This may be due to the fact that I know EE really well.

I like EE more - with one big reservation. I think I would more participative in the EE community if it wasn't a for-profit company. I know Ellis lab through emails and over 4 years of community interactions. I love what they've done with Code Igniter (open-source). But at the end of the day, if I am investing my free-time into a community, I'd like it to be about something more than helping (a really nice) group of people make money. Is EE a best-of-class product? Yes. Are Ellis labs intentions top-notch? I think so. But the one thing Drupal has over EE is it is open source in the truest form of the idea. I have recently begun digging back into Hspace - a text-based space simulator. As my three faithful readers know, I'm a text-based game aficionado - this is an open source project I would love to commit my (increasingly limited) free time to.

I know (not personally) several people who made careers of supporting the Ellis lab ecosystem. I plan on using EE / CI to be the system that drives my school web-based communication company. I will continue to encourage people to use expression engine, and I will encourage people to take a long look at EE as an excellent choice for web publishing.

I hope this post has added something to the discussion about EE and Drupal. I look forward to your comments.

I’m off facebook

Posted by Bill in Blogging ,  News ,  Personal ,  Teaching Diary on Friday, May 14, 2010 Permalink

I’ve deleted my facebook account. It wasn’t one single event, but several which came together.

1. The intention of facebook went from “connecting” to “profit”. Not sure when this happened, but icky.
2. I hate like - I dont want facebook to know everything (see #1)
3. Funny thing - facebook controls your privacy from everyone except facebook. They are selling gorgeous demographic-based advertising. (see #1 and #2)
4. Facebook says they own my data. So if I write a wall post - it’s theirs. icky.
5. How hard it is to keep my student / personal information walled off. There’ some things I don’t want to know about my kids.

I also already have a pretty well-established web presence, I’m building a bigger web-presence, and I never had trouble with people getting in touch with me.

I’ll miss remembering people’s birthdays, I suppose.

Facebook and privacy

Posted by Bill in Blogging on Tuesday, May 11, 2010 Permalink

http://mattmckeon.com/facebook-privacy/

I’m becoming more concerned about privacy on facebook. I like this fact sheet from BECTA which discusses online risks (and includes discussion about commercial influences).

I’ve always blogged and been fairly open on the web, but I guess I don’t like someone selling “about me” online.

Hm.

repost: worst practices in IT

Posted by Bill in Educational Tech ,  Design ,  Leadership on Monday, May 03, 2010 Permalink

This is worth reading.

This blog post absolutely fits into my mental framework for how IT doesn’t work well in schools. The antidote? Careful planning and clear learning goals. So before we adopt a new technology in an organization, one of our first questions should be what are we learning? As I am want to say, it’s not about what, it’s about how. I really believe that this is truly innovative in education - that technology is carefully and wisely linked to actual learning goals.

I think this is the challenge in edtech.

Thank you Baruch

Posted by Bill in Games in education ,  Practical Advice on Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Permalink

Thanks to all the great students at Baruch today - we had a great presentation about games and learning. Here’s some links for you:

1. the presentation: http://docs.google.com/present/view?id=dmdjfrf_227c9w2rqz8 (also embedded below)
2. Rules of Play
3. Marc Prensky
4. James Gee
5. David Williamson-Shaffer
6. Bartle Test
7. Nick Yee

What I learned today

Posted by Bill in Teaching Diary on Monday, April 26, 2010 Permalink

I’m filing this one under teaching diary  category.

Today I asked one of my student-geeks to explain to me what a mutex is.  45 minutes later, he left my office, I have a headache, and I understand what a mutex does. He’s 15 years old.

I love my job.

edit later in the evening, this student sent me the following email:

Wow I just realized I did an awful job of explaining mutexes, but instead actually gave u the model i prefer, which is essentially designed to avoid them.  whoops.  Anyway, the mutex itself is the lock (or rather what a lock is called in unix systems—MUTualExclusion (lock)).  Basically think of it as an atomic pthread * (way to impl. specific, sorry) where when you need a resource associated with a lock, you do some system call (or something) to make the mutex point to the current thread (which is *acquiring* the lock) as long as it is null.  If it is not null, it has been acquired by a different thread, and you need to not use whatevers associated with that lock until it is released by whatever other thread is using it—which would set it to null.  some common actions would be to implement a ‘spin’ lock, which basically is

while(lock!=thisthread);

or canceling the action.  Note that resources associated with a lock are entirely programmer defined, meaning that you can do whatever you want with them, and you wont be stopped even if you dont have a lock, but the idea is to acquire the lock before using the resource (this is obvi way simple in object oriented code, where accessors can just acquire a lock thats an ivar of the object before actually changing the ivar).  Many things which are ‘thread safe’ actually just use mutexes internally on all state variables.  Second note - the impl. i described is prbly not at all the way unix does it, and syscalls are probably not involved—gcc has builtin atomic operations which just show that this doesn’t need to involve semaphores, although it sometimes does (beyond this is farther than I have plunged into OS kernel level stuff), but basically the main things to know are that with a mutex you acquire and release it.  Oh, and mutexes make poor performance code, being that you’re literally just intentionally wasting cycles waiting for something while you spin.

I think thats it

(I _really_ love my job)