I am trying something new today. The hyperlink below should get us to YouTube and an item called the ISchool Initiative. Try to cut and paste the link below to your browser and access the site. Then watch the short video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68KgAcx_9jU
Now that you viewed the clip, what do you think?
The reason for sharing this with all of you is obvious(as per the video). As an educational institution, public schools in America are changing ever so slowly in order to adopt to the emerging new technologies driving today's society. Too slowly, perhaps. With state budgets shrinking dramatically public schools are pressed to extract additional savings from existing budgets. With technology accelerating the rate of information that our youth will need to absorb and learn schools face a huge dilemma. How can we meet the new demands of a global learning community with ever-shrinking resources?
The solution: There appears to be untapped potential when we explore the proliferation of cell phones and handheld devices regarding access to the internet and computing capacity of such devices for educational purposes.
The video was very clear on the power of eductional applications embedded in these handheld "computing devices". Let's face it, cell phones have evolved into very powerful devices that rival laptops and netbooks in their ability to run multiple platforms and operating systems such as Windows. The audio and video, texting, interactive applications and internet capacity of today's cell phones make them attractive alternatives to traditional school pc's and laptops. Cell phones are far more powerful than the last generation of cell phones and light years away from the original ones released in the mid 1990's.
Cell phones may just be viable alternatives and true computer options for schools. The facts bear out the notion that mobile technologies demonstrate enormous untapped educational potential for schools and for teaching today's generation of youth brought up on these technologies. The development of modern applications have allowed more hands on engagement replacing what was traditionally accomplished with pen and pencil with animation and color, audio and video, in more depth and complexity than ever before. If school teachers and educational professionals are able to capitalize on the quantity and quality of applications that have made it into the learning environment then the students of today's schools may experience interactive education that is much more relevant to their learning styles.
There perhaps is no device more prevalent that plays a more active role in the lives of youth than cell phones. When we develop the capability and capacity to utilize mobile solutions, students will be able to download assignments, research related documents, explore teacher-created podcasts and galleries, contribute to an expansive knowledge base, retreive feedback and evaluative (formative) data from teachers, and collaborate in a real-time learning environment 24/7. Now we just need to get America's teachers to do the same.
This is in my opinion the new curve and cutting edge of teaching and learning for the 21st century and our schools must explore the revolution that emerging technologies are creating for young learners. If we fail to embrace cost effective and efficient ways to deliver enhanced curriculum and participative educational engagement to our youth then we may just fail ourselves in this new technological century of global possibilities.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Reflections on the Challenges Ahead for Our Public Schools
The state of New Jersey and all of the associated municipalities are experiencing unprecedented budget reductions due to declining revenue streams. There is a relatively uncertain picture of how these budget shortfalls will affect school districts in the second half of the 2009-2010 school year. In fact, rumors are circulating that the state may not fully fund the financial obligations it committed to the current school budget-this is not good news. This uncertainty causes us to take action at this time to curtail spending at each of our schools, in the district, and at the operational level as well. As superintendent, I accept the responsibility to lead our small district through a period of uncertainty and instability due primarily to the financial squeeze all of us are facing these days.
Due to severe budgetary constraints and depleting funding sources we are curtailing spending wherever possible. All of our cost centers at each of our schools have been instructed to hold back on purchases and to exercise extreme restraint at this time. Most travel and staff development activities outside of the district have been reduced. Certain travel relating to grants or awards will be carefully reviewed and considered at the discretion of the administration in future months. We are doing everything possible to do as much as possible with less spending.
One area we cannot cut back on is to supply heat, electricity, water, and the necessary services to maintain clean and safe school buildings. We have an aggressive energy management plan that allows us to maximize energy efficiency at each of our aging buildings and permits us to set back the heat after school hours and at night. We also purchase our fuel oil on bid and lock in preferred pricing for several months. These measures have allowed us to stretch our dollars considerably this winter. Of course, we are in a reactive position when it comes to snow plowing and ice removal and will continue to do whatever it takes to keep ahead of the harsh weather that has come our way.
These difficult economic times will test our ability to continuously deliver a high level of educational services to our children and community. We ask that all of our parents and school personnel consider and understand the scope and magnitude of the challenges we face as we move into the next school year. It is our desire to work with all stakeholders in the community to preserve quality educational programs including student activities, arts and athletics for all of our district students.
Our staff continues to do an outstanding job of instruction in order to meet the needs of the children we serve and I am extremely proud of them. Your children are receiving the attention they deserve from our teachers during these challenging economic times and our public schools are one place that children can depend upon for stability and consistency in their young lives.
As we learn more from the state and federal government about the status of public school funding we will attempt to keep the lines of communication open in order for you to be informed. Thank you for your understanding to the above.
Due to severe budgetary constraints and depleting funding sources we are curtailing spending wherever possible. All of our cost centers at each of our schools have been instructed to hold back on purchases and to exercise extreme restraint at this time. Most travel and staff development activities outside of the district have been reduced. Certain travel relating to grants or awards will be carefully reviewed and considered at the discretion of the administration in future months. We are doing everything possible to do as much as possible with less spending.
One area we cannot cut back on is to supply heat, electricity, water, and the necessary services to maintain clean and safe school buildings. We have an aggressive energy management plan that allows us to maximize energy efficiency at each of our aging buildings and permits us to set back the heat after school hours and at night. We also purchase our fuel oil on bid and lock in preferred pricing for several months. These measures have allowed us to stretch our dollars considerably this winter. Of course, we are in a reactive position when it comes to snow plowing and ice removal and will continue to do whatever it takes to keep ahead of the harsh weather that has come our way.
These difficult economic times will test our ability to continuously deliver a high level of educational services to our children and community. We ask that all of our parents and school personnel consider and understand the scope and magnitude of the challenges we face as we move into the next school year. It is our desire to work with all stakeholders in the community to preserve quality educational programs including student activities, arts and athletics for all of our district students.
Our staff continues to do an outstanding job of instruction in order to meet the needs of the children we serve and I am extremely proud of them. Your children are receiving the attention they deserve from our teachers during these challenging economic times and our public schools are one place that children can depend upon for stability and consistency in their young lives.
As we learn more from the state and federal government about the status of public school funding we will attempt to keep the lines of communication open in order for you to be informed. Thank you for your understanding to the above.
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