"Turning on the Lights' by Marc Prensky

As part of the Week 3 assignment for my Instructional Leadership class, I had to read "Turning on the Lights," and article by Marc Prensky. Unfortunately, the article really set me off. I have decided to share my response here, in a more open forum, in hope that I might get some responses from some others who have read this article. Below you will find my original post.


"Turning On the Lights" by Marc Prensky

Prensky, M. (2008). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45.

"Long before they ever get into school, kids have seen a tremendous amount of the world."

Maybe it is just that this is Monday after a holiday, and we all had to return to work today, or maybe I am just being bitter, but this article really set me off. Prensky sites modern students' "tremendous [knowledge] of the world" as if it is something new, as if students who entered school previous to this technological age came in completely devoid of knowledge. They didn't. They may not have known about global events, but they did have a working knowledge of the world around them. It was then up to the teachers to develop that knowledge and hone it for productive use. Prensky claims that students who have seen lunar landings are learning math and science, and that the math taught in schools is irrelevant because "it's 1,200-year-old algebra and 4,000-year-old Egyptian geometry (2008)." Where does he think technology comes from? That "1,200-year-old algebra and 4,000-year-old Egyptian geometry" was the basis of the learning for the scientists who put the lunar rovers on the moon. He continues by claiming, "a kid who master's the electronic games Caesar III, Age of Kings, Age of Empires, Civilization IV, and Rise of Nations. . .knows a lot about world history. Yes, maybe they know the violence that comes from history, but they hardly know the causes of those character's actions or the results that came from their actions. History is a spiraling continuum of causes and effects that students will not clearly understand without some guidance. Prensky does say that, "Teachers would not longer be the providers of information but instead would be the explainers, the context providers, the meaning makers, and the evaluators of information that kids find on their own (2008)." A good teacher has always been one that can take information that is important to students and make them have a clearer understanding of all of the concepts that go along with that information. In the past, that information might have been the science of raising crops, or the math involved in selling a harvest, but that is what students came to school knowing; it was important to them and their way of life. I will agree, the breadth of knowledge that students can access is greater in this technological age, but to think that just because a student has read Harry Potter, that they understand sentence structure, plot development, archetypes and other fine details in literature is absurd. I believe that the information that students bring into the classroom is a valuable starting point, but there still has to be room to use that knowledge as a framework to teach some of the basic skills that everyone needs to be a successful communicator and productive citizen when they step away from their computer.

STaR Chart Summary: Educator Preparation

Upon study of the STAR chart information from my campus, the area that reflects the greatest weakness on my campus deals with educator preparation and development. The basic goal of this section of the Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 is to provide teachers, new and veteran, with training that will allow them to better prepare students for the technologically based world that our students are currently living in, and more importantly to prepare them to be productive in this technology based society as they leave school to enter the “real world.” The plan outlines preparation and development programs for two different categories of teachers: new teachers, just entering the profession, and veteran teachers with years of experience. The plan for new teachers includes requirements that all teacher preparation programs model the appropriate use of technology and meet the Technology Applications standards. For veteran teachers, a program of ongoing, job-embedded professional development opportunities is suggested, to ensure that veteran teachers too can demonstrate mastery of the SBEC Technology Applications Standards.
Statewide, 74.2% of schools surveyed achieved “developing tech” rating (a 2 out of a possible 4), in the educator preparation section of the STaR Chart. This is also reflected in the local Star Chart for my campus. Characteristics of this rating include the use of technology for administrative tasks and classroom management, and the use of online resources by teachers. This rating also reflects the use of 6%-24% of the technology budget is allotted for professional development. My campus has remained fairly static in the development of this area, over the past three years, but most recently we have seen increases in our rating in the subcategories of “professional development experiences” and “access to professional development.” I believe this is a direct result of the hiring of a new principal and new curriculum specialist on our campus. These administrators have worked together, not only to encourage the use of technology, but to provide useful training on how to incorporate technology into the classroom. They have been very supportive in helping teachers to acquire hardware and software that will be of assistance in the classroom and have modeled their use of technology when administrating faculty meetings and staff development sessions. Their enthusiasm for technology has become contagious, and has started to bring about an increase in the use of technology on our campus.
As our campus starts to become more technologically advanced, we have been given greater access to different forms of technology. We have been given access and training on an evaluation program know as Eduphoria, which has revolutionized the way that we can compare student data and make better informed decisions about student achievement. We have also acquired a number of media carts which include LCD projectors, document cameras, and a laptop computer. Additionally, the school has invested in a number of mobile computer labs and updated the existing computer labs.
I believe that my campus is on the right track for becoming even more efficient in the use of technology to affect student achievement, but we still have a way to go. I believe that one of the greatest strides that we could make is to make the technology more accessible to every student. This could be done through extending the hours that the computer labs are open or, even better, following the lead of many other districts, and issuing every student a personal laptop computer. I also feel we need to expand the accessibility of internet access and the variety of software programs available to teachers and students at school and their homes. Although we have come a long way, the process has to be ongoing, and unfortunately, it is very slow. I am sure that in the future, we will continue to see strides toward a “target tech” rating in the “educator preparation” category of our campus STaR chart.

Web Conference

Well, I just finished my first web conference. I was a little frustrated at first, because I could not get into the conference. When I logged in, it kept telling me that the meeting had not yet started and that I should wait on the host. The meeting was supposed to start at 1:00, and by 1:30 I could still not get in. Finally, about 1:45 I got in. Apparently, there was some confusion on when the meeting was actually supposed to start.

After the meeting started, I was pleased to find it was a pleasant experience. I did not have a web cam or a mic, so I was limited to chatting via the chat window. That was fine with me. It was fun to get to see and hear some of the people that I have been collaborating with for nearly a year now. I did find it a little chaotic with so many people typing, and talking at the same time, but I think I could get used to it. I gained some valuable information about how other shcools are using technology. I have been inspired to invest in a web cam and mic so that I can interact more efficently in the next web conference.

Amarillo High School Technology

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Vision 2020 (Assignment 1, Part 3)

The most relevant information that I learned from review of the Vision 2020 information was the need for technological advances in schools and what the desired outcomes will be. As the world becomes smaller through the use of technology, there will be greater competition in all aspects of life. It is important that the students that we are currently teaching are ready to step into the real world and have the skills they need to be successful. It reminds me of a test that was given to me when I first started my training as a teacher. My professor gave us a test developed by educators in Kansas in the late 1800’s. The test was to determine the proficiency levels of 8th grade students. The test contained questions about the weight of the average bail of hay, and the amount of gun powder that was to be used in a specific type of shotgun shell. All of this information is completely irrelevant to the learners of today, but was of key importance during its day and time. This article reminded me that the world is changing, and as educators, we have to prepare students to be successful in a world that is constantly becoming more reliant on technology.
Technology is becoming more advanced everyday. I remember seeing my first Apple IIe computer 25 years ago when I was in first grade. I saw my first cell phone when I was in 8th grade, and I did not use the internet until I enter college. Now my nephew who is in kindergarten is more computer literate than my father. The world is changing, and technology is the language of the future. For current students to be able to be active citizens of the future, they must learn to be proficient users of technology.
As a campus leader, I must make sure that I am producing “world-worthy” students, and the only way to do this is to make sure they are being taught the ways of the world. Technology is obviously the new way of the world. For students to learn how to be active citizens of this world, they must have teachers who can guide them in their navigation of this world. For teachers to be able to guide these students they must have training, experiences and a chance to become experts with technology themselves. As a principal, I have the opportunity to provide teacher with the staff development, training, and support they will need as they embark on their journey of learning how to incorporate technology into their classroom.

Spiraling and Scaffolding (Assignment 1, Part 4)

The idea behind a spiraling and scaffolding curriculum is that a student has many opportunities to prove mastery of a topic in a variety of ways. In addition, scaffolding ensures that the quality of the product is appropriate for the rigor that should be associated with a specific level of mastery. One example of this comes from the problem-solving TEKS for the high school level Digital Graphics and Animation course. These TEKS ensure that a variety of products can be produced, and the products will be evaluated on specific criteria. As students become more adept at using the software, the quality of the products should increase, as should the rigor of the assignment. In TEKS 7 A-L, a variety of required elements can be chosen to be addressed individually or as a group. Although not all skills may be seen in a single product, the student should have an opportunity to produce additional products to prove master of each of the TEKS.

Pre-K TEKS (Assignment 1, Part 4)

The Pre-K TEKS are divided into five basic skills that will help young learners be more successful as they enter kindergarten and the lower levels of the public education system. These skills include social and emotional development, language and communication skills, emergent literacy: reading and writing, and mathematics. Each of these five skills should be developed in a way that prepares the children for more in-depth learning as they get older. The social and emotional strand is important because it will help to build the child’s self-esteem and help them to build confidence in their ability to learn and be successful. It will also teach them to interact with others and per persistent when they are struggling. Language and communication skills are of key importance for children so that they can clearly express their wants and needs as well as help to define areas of weakness. The reading, writing, and mathematics strands focus more on piquing the child’s natural curiosity about these skills instead of actually producing a product. This can be done by modeling these behaviors and encouraging children to mimic the skill. Each of these skills will prepare children for the rigors of school work when they enter the public school system.

Personal Assessment (Assignment 1, Part 2)

Through the completion of the three suggested technology surveys, I was able to establish my strengths and weaknesses in regard to my personal, professional and speculated use of technology. In the first survey, the Technology Application Survey, I analyzed my personal use of technology. I have always thought of myself as fairly technologically advanced. I tend to stay up to date on the latest technological advances, and tend to be somewhat of a “gadget guy,” wanting to at least try the latest and greatest new products on the market. As I completed the survey, I was not surprised to find that I consider myself very well-versed in producing standard work-related and personal documents with fairly common software. I regularly use a word processor, and spreadsheet programs to compile data and convey information. I also regularly use presentation software as a communication devise in my classroom and for professional development. I found my major weaknesses to be in the area of creating databases and really understanding the more technical aspects of computer networking. I feel that this is probably my greatest weakness because I do not have much experience in working in these areas.
As I approached the second survey, the SETDA Teacher Survey, I focused more on how I use technology in my classroom. I have always thought that I have used technology successfully, to impact the learning of my students, but as I got deeper in to the survey, I began to question the frequency of my use of technology. In the past I have used technology to create presentations for class, and even had students create multimedia presentations for their peers. Additionally I have used technology based assignments such as web-quests and research projects, but most commonly, I have students use the word processor in my classroom because it lends itself easily into incorporation into the English classroom. My technology lessons are usually limited to three to four uses per six weeks period, and this survey made me question ways that I could make more proficient use of the technology that is available at my school.
In the final survey, “Rubrics for Leadership,” I assumed the persona of a technology leader on my campus. Luckily for me, the technology leader on my campus is very proficient at her job, and is able to juggle all of her duties while still being available to train teachers in new technology and assist them in applying it to their classroom setting. As I evaluated my campus and its use of technology, I found that for the most part, we fall within the mastery level of proficiency. We are very technologically advanced campus, with access to a variety of technology. The problem is that many of the teachers on our campus are unwilling to change some of their old ways to incorporate technology into the classroom, so that holds back the campus as a whole. It seems to me that some teachers will only use technology is they are required to do so, such as to take roll, or to post grades. Luckily, we have a principal who is very technologically savvy, and willing to commit resources to expanding our technology horizons. He has ensured that teachers receive any software and hardware that they feel they will use on a regular basis in their classroom. He has also worked with our technology leader to offer a variety of staff development sessions on how to incorporate technology into the classroom. They have even gone so far as to offer different levels of staff development for teachers who are more confident in their abilities, and for novices.
Basically, through the completion of these surveys, I found that although I am doing a good job at incorporating technology into my life and classroom, I could be doing more. There is always a newer, more interesting way that I could make use of technology to make my life easier, and to improve the quality of learning for my students.