Nine Shift

The Answer to Testing

Here's the answer to Testing in the 21st Century.

This is what NineShift has been advocating for several years now. But now the U.K. is starting to move in that direction. That's exciting.  From the BBC Story:

"Instead of preparing pupils for the high stakes tests at the end of each key stage, teachers' focus would be on assessing when a child is able to move up one level in the national curriculum grades.

When they think a child is ready they can put them in for a test that will be set and marked outside the school. They will not have to wait, as now, until pupils reach the end of a key stage at seven, 11 or 14.

This will mean 'several shorter, more focused, and more appropriate tests' for each child, rather than one big test at the end of the key stage."   Yep, that's the Answer.  What do you think?   (photo promoting our online conference June 20-21 on testing online)

Putting the squeeze on America

America needs the world more than the world needs America.
That's a phrase that has populated many of the news stories this last month.

If you noticed some of the major headlines in the last month, the rest of the world is starting to put an economic squeeze on the U.S. The problem of course is that the U.S. domination of the world is very "last century," and very dysfunctional for this century.  The process of demoting America from #1 will take decades, and even longer for Americans to realize it.  But the process has started. Witness:
* The tug over the resignation of Paul Wolfowitz at the World Bank is really Europe's disapproval of the U.S. mis-dominance of the world's banking approach.
* Hugo Chavez of Venezuela has kicked the U.S. out of Latin America. More precisely, World Bank loans to, and thus influence in, Latin America has been totally replaced. Venezuela has taken over the loans.
* Europe's dissatisfaction over the stance of American and China (now we're partnering with the communists) about the environment is growing.  Look for economic sanctions against the U.S. at some point.
* Even Al Qaeda is joining in the economic pinch. According to a PBS documentary, Robert MacNeil says that the long term strategy of Bin Laden is to financially sap the U.S. by engaging us in fruitless wars abroad.
* Alan Greenspan has said the Euro has replaced the U.S. dollar as the world's benchmark currency.
We could go on.   The point is: the world has just started to put the squeeze on the U.S.  How do you view this?

Top NineShift News Stories of the Month

Best of the rest. We've covered some big stories this month. But here's some of the rest of the top NineShift News stories for May 2007:

1. Even U.K. steps back.
Even the Brits, who are creating the new education system for this century, occasional go backwards to the 20th century. You'll see this in every issue: somebody goes back, others go forward. Eventually we all go forward.
  Here a school tries to teach classroom behaviour, the last-century side in the Behaviour vs. Learning struggle going on right now.

2. Another Brit warns Americans of decline. 
"It’s coming. Your (America’s) turn is next.We (Brits) used to be cocky and over confident.We ruled the world once. Now it’s your turn (to go into decline)."  –John Oliver, British correspondent on the Daily Show, speaking to Jon Stewart

3.Linux now on mobile phones.
   In the continuing struggle over intellectual property, the open source software Linux is now being adapted for cell phones. See the story.  Linux and open source, of course, are the good guys.

4. Young women biggest net users.
  Kinda interesting. Women ages 18-34 are the biggest users of the web, some 18% of all users. Then come men over 50.  Here's the story. Women's top use of the web is for child rearing, then fashion, then online shopping.

Need a salt shaker? Print one out!

Need a salt shaker? Print one out!

Now you can use your computer and a printer to "print" out objects. The new printer layers plastic into whatever shape or design you want on your computer.  I read about it this month in the New York Times. Then this week I was visiting Mesa State in Grand Junction, Colorado, and saw it in action.  They "printed" me out a salt shaker.  Just another fascinating twist in the 21st century. What do you think the implications are? What would you "print" out?

School buildings obsolete

You and I know it, but here's a study that proves it!
School buildings are obsolete.
The study, done by the British Educational Suppliers Association and the British Council for School Environments, calls for better designs.

And it said pupils should be actively involved in the planning process.

The study said schools in the future would need to have radically different designs.

This included more spaces where children could learn through computer technology and more "social spaces" in schools where pupils could follow independent study in a less formal environment.

Here's a line from the report that hurts: "We will be left with school buildings which are not fit for purpose and may be obsolete even before they are occupied."  Got any ideas on how to fix this mess?

Teaching kids to play

Play is important work.
That was the poster I saw this week for the Minnesota Children's Museum. Adults do not value play, nor the learning value of play.

So it was refreshing to see this school in England start to teach kids how to use hand-held games consoles like a Playstation. Here's the story. 

Here's another key point in the story, "Teachers say the machines will be used to tailor-make lessons for pupils."   Tailor-made - customized education for each student. Say goodbye to the factory  school.

Head teacher Martin Bayliss says the scheme has potential. "It's not about using the console for games, but it does have a lot of exciting potential for learning opportunities," he said.

America asleep on the job

America is asleep on the job.
The job is moving into the 21st century. According to an international study called the Networked Readiness Index, the U.S. has fallen from first place to seventh. Here's the story.

My first reaction was, That's bogus. Americans invent most all the software and technology. Then I studied the criteria for the Networked Readiness Index.  The Index is about a nation's technological infrastructure. That is, how wired the society and all the people are, not a select elite.  Oh oh.  M.I.T. and Silicon Valley may be ahead, but American society is falling further behind. The U.S. is asleep on the job.

Should drugs be patented?

Should drugs be patented?  What do you think?
Here's the latest battle to open up drugs to people in low income countries.

The gaovernment of Thailand has decided to break the patents on two Aids drugs and one heart drug, so it can offer them to all Thai citizens. The BBC calls it "A bold move, which has put the country on a collision course with the big pharmaceutical firms."  Click here for the full story.

Drug companies currently have patents on drugs. The drug companies can charge high prices. They can also not make a drug and prohibit anyone else from making the drug. Ok, what do you think, should drugs be patented?

Chaos in the Classroom

Co-author Julie Coates has discovered another innovative Gen Y teacher.  Sara Schneeberg of St. Joseph, Minnesota, teaches elementary school kids. She allows - no encourages - them to move around the classroom, talking, laughing, and learning together.  Sara says, "I'm Gen Y and I'm teaching Gen Y kids, so I'm just doing what comes natural to me." 
   But for Sara's superisor, it's chaos in the classroom. And disapproved of by millions of other teachers who focus on behavior and punishment, called "classroom management."
   With a not-very-loud voice command, Sara can get her students quiet and seated pretty quickly. But it's still totally foreign, and 21st century, to the obsolete factory way of teaching.
   It won't always be called chaos in the classroom. It will soon be known as interactive, hands-on, collaborative, personalized learning with choice.  Just not soon enough.
  Got any other 21st century teaching techniques to share with us?

Do telecommuters need an office?

Do telecommuters need an office?
Perry Phillips is a farmer and works from home. From an office.

One issue us early telecommuting pioneers have not quite conquered yet is trying to separate, especially mentally, work from leisure/family/personal time.

Phillips is a rural Alberta (Canada) farmer, consultant and instructor. He drives 3 miles from his farm to a village where he has rented a one-room office.  The "commute" takes only 5 minutes, and gives him a way to separate work from home life. 

What's your experience?  Can you work at home, or would you prefer another location close by?