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The emergence of learning via online tools is nothing new, but I wonder how many educators are leveraging it in valuable ways.  I have long been an advocate of students not only being consumers, where they get information from “out there,” but they become producers of new knowledge. That means that students engage in technology in a fundamentally different way than “googling.”

My argument here is to think about more meaningful interactions – students learning from students.  I think that is really where some of the power of a Learning Management System.  If learning that takes place online doesn’t include opportunities for interaction with others, then it is most likely taking on the role of a textbook, only online.

Tools that make it work?
forums, blogs, wikis, discussion boards, microblogging

These tools primarily focus on writing skills; the students must be able to communicate in an asynchronous method.

What I am more curious about recently are more synchronous methods for communication.  Chats do this, but again, they are text-based.  I think the next great improvement for an LMS is an integrated video communication method.  One to one is great (ala Skype).  But how about a video conference?  These technologies exist, but they are not integrated components of the LMS that I currently use.  I am curious to know if there are systems that can do this.   From a teaching perspective, it needs to be as easy as it can be.  We can’t have SYSTEMS that make it hard to integrate the powers of technology.

In 2006-2007, I completed my dissertation examining problem finding behaviors in highly productive science fair students. This week I had a chance to meet with my colleague and former advisor Marcy Delcourt to put some finishing touches on our major publication on the research.

Although I defended in 2008, this work never got published in a journal. I’ve presented it at numerous research and science teaching conferences and have incorporated the results in my teaching.

I am excited to finally be able to present to an international audience.

We’ll see how the reviews come!

I haven’t spent much time writing recently, but really want to start doing this more aggressively.  I’ve just turned 4o and have decided that I need to have a published book this year.  It will probably be self-published, but that’s just fine.

Part of envisioning yourself as a writer requires you to do it.  I need to write every day.  I plan to once again use the blog as a form of reflexivity.  That is what it was originally developed for as I wrote my dissertation.

So my plans are:

• write and publish the book
• complete and publish a research report with my colleague and supervisor Marcy Delcourt (my draft is to her, she needs to review and comment)
• complete and publish a white paper on “blended learning” with my colleague Matthew
• conceptualize, write and publish a paper on higher order thinking, 21st century skills, and creative thinking with my colleagues Jason and Chris

Writing, to me, is a very important professional responsibility.  We need to be able to share ideas, best practices, and evidence-based strategies.

We’ve just completed our TEDxLitchfieldED videos and they are now available on YouTube.  Check my talk out if you have a chance!

Other TEDxLitchfieldED talks:

• Albert Schneider: http://youtu.be/y9I-K3audf0
• Christine Puglisi: http://youtu.be/AgBIZih0B5o
• Frank LaBanca: http://youtu.be/FKkA3mfa798
• Jonathan Costa: http://youtu.be/wwhaWRMEGcw
• Matthew Worwood: http://youtu.be/1qFQ6qYpP3U
• Yvonne Calo: http://youtu.be/iIMtyO7hAQQ

Click HERE

Check out:

STEM Initiatives: Sparking Interest in Schools by the Rogers Corporation

I was asked to provide a quote:

“When students have the opportunity to showcase their work to professional audiences that go beyond the four walls of the classroom, it increases the quality.  There is no question that student achievement and engagement increase with these phenomenal events.”  Frank LaBanca, Director, Center for 21^st Century Skills Education Connection

I am curating and will be speaking at the TEDxLitchfieldED event on June 28 at the IBM Conference Center in Southbury.  (Seats still available, click HERE).  I was just asked to provide my title and brief description, so here it is!

The Problem Finding – Problem Solving Conundrum

Problem solving has long been valued in education. Students are often challenged to use a variety of inquiry strategies to identify problems and their implications, develop action plans, utilize a variety of relevant sources, information, and data to address problems, and formulate solutions. Problem solving is typically a logical, analytical process. This, however, leads to a critical question:  Where do the ideas for problems come from?  In education, we rarely talk about the process of problem finding: the development of a unique and engaging idea for study.  Problem finding is the ability to define or identify a problem and involves the consideration of alternative views or definitions of a problem that are generated.  Problem finding requires setting objectives, defining purposes, deciding what is interesting, and ultimately deciding what to study.  Therefore, problem finding is an inherently creative process that complements the logical/analytical aspects of problem solving.

I’ve recently been hooked on some science fiction series from my earlier years via Netflix.  It is quite amazing to be able to watch an entire series from start to finish over a much shorter period of time.  The streaming feature is really great.  I started my sci-fi adventure with Star Trek Voyager and then moved on to Battlestar Galactica (original series).  Both have a common theme – they are far, far away searching for earth.  In the case of Galactica, they are somewhere else in the universe searching for the elusive 13th colony – Earth, while Voyager is stranded a bit closer, somewhere across the galaxy, and they know how to get back to Earth – it’s just going to take a while.

So I’ve been thinking about which series I thought was better, and just come to the conclusion that Voyager works better for me on so many levels.  Some might think, well the tech from the 70s really isn’t good enough – but I can get by that pretty easily – the constant repeat footage of the vipers and Cylon three passenger vehicles, tube-TV monitors – static when there’s nothing there (instead of the blue screen), keyboards that remind me of Radioshack TRS-80, wired headsets, and all the other “felgercarb.”

What really bothers me in this series is the concept of

• SCALE

They just do such a horrible job in presenting a realistic depiction of distance and time.  For example: Earth is presented as “galaxies” away.

Now if galaxies have huge distances between them – the majority of time would be spend traveling between galaxies.  However, a transition between galaxies seems to happen almost instantaneously in the show.  And don’t forget – these ships all travel at sublight speeds – unlike Voyager that travels at Warp (superlight) speeds.  Voyager (located in the same galaxy as Earth) needs to travel 70,000 light years to get home.  How far do you have to travel at sublight “flank speed” to make it?

In the final Galactica episode, “The Hand of God,” summarized:

Receiving a mysterious radio signal possibly from Earth, Adama and the crew are wary of a Cylon trap, and decide to turn the tables by attacking the Cylons with a stolen Cylon Raider. Apollo and Starbuck, in the series finale’s last scene, narrowly miss receiving Apollo-11 moon-landing transmissions from Earth.

The Cylon trap is a single ship in the current galaxy, positioned within a single solar system that for some reason the Galactica fleet HAS to traverse.  “There’s no way around it.”  How can that possibly be that a single ship, hidden behind a single planet of a single solar system in a single galaxy is the ONLY route to go.  It just gets too unreasonable for me.  The design and thinking is too two-dimensional

• CYLONS vs THE BORG

This to me is a more interesting comparison.  Cylons are

. . . a cybernetic civilization at war with humanity.  The Cylons of the 1978/1980 series are not the mechanical foils seen throughout the series, but an advanced reptilian race who created the robots (who were referred to as Cylons within the show) to serve them, maintain their vast empire and to man their military forces in the face of a sudden population drop that eventually led to the Cylons’ extinction — seemingly overnight. (wikipedia)

While the Borg are

. . . a fictional pseudo-race of cybernetic organisms depicted in the Star Trek universe.  The Borg manifest as cybernetically-enhanced humanoid drones of multiple species, organized as an interconnected collective, the decisions of which are made by a hive mind, linked by subspace radio frequencies.

The Cylons are certainly a reflection of 70s technology. Each unit is independent and there is a hierarchy of unit type.  The silver Centurion is the lowest level and has a seriously computer-processed voice.  For a race of “robots,” they are seriously unsophisticated and seem to have pretty poor processors and data nodes.  Likely because the technology didn’t exist (in real-time, 1978), it is surprising to see that these cyborgs have no networking capability – there is no data sharing between units, unless communicated orally.  The Cylons are unlike the Borg which are all interconnected and simultaneously processing all knowledge and data between units – now that’s sophisticated technology.  The Borg are composed of both organic and computer components.

In a battle, who wins? I think the Borg have it hands down – just in ship alone, the Borg cubes have electronic field generating shields – the Cylon Basestars don’t have any shielding.

So thanks for enjoying my SciFi rants.  Resistance is futile!

Tuesday, March 13, marked my 12th year participating in the Connecticut Science Fair.  Although my first 10 years brought me the joy of my own students presenting their work, the past two have found me in a new role – judging projects.  Since my leave from the classroom, this is probably the one time of year when I most miss not having high school students.  Their and my collaboration to create meaningful projects, get them done, and present them on posters was a highlight of the year for me.

However this year brought me a new highlight. I was asked to head up a new category: the Urban School Challenge.  As part of my responsibilites, I had to recruit judges and I wound up inviting some that have real significance to me.

First, was Ann – Ann was my high school biology teacher.  She was the woman who inspired me to pursue a vocation in science.  I still look fondly back to my 11th grade year when she mentored me in a year-long independent science project.

Second, was Steve – Steve is a regular commenter here, so I am guessing he will probably read this post at some point.  Steve was a student in my graduate class in Methods in Science class.  A “second-careerer,” Steve was perhaps my most thoughtful and forward thinking student in his class.  I think he really understood the value of having students pursue research, and I was so pleased that he got the opportunity to see the process first-hand.

Third, was Tyler – Tyler, now an undergrad at the University of Connecticut majoring in Computer Science was one of my best research students. He participated in these fairs, now works as an intern for me, and most importantly got a chance to see the fair from the “other side.”

For me, it was a somewhat surreal 3-generation reunion.  Most importantly we were there helping to form the future scientists and engineers of the country.

Here’s a summary of my exciting day on February 1, 2012

Frank LaBanca visited Sandy Hook School in Newtown for digital learning day.  There he joined a fourth grade and second grade class.  Using iPod touches and the StoryKit app, Frank, Ted Varga, teacher, and the fourth grade students created riddles that modeled the literary device personification.  Students selected an inanimate object in the room to personify.  Some examples of their work include:

sample | sample | sample | sample | sample

Frank also visited second grade teacher Robin Walker’s class.  Using the same app, students recorded observations of growth patterns of their Wisconsin Fast Plants that they are growing as part of a science unit.  Some examples include:

sample | sample | sample | sample