Leadership Matters December 2013

Technology in the classroom

What is your district’s posiƟon on ‘online’ classes?   Alabama, Florida, Michigan,

Virginia and Idaho require high school students to take an online course for high school graduation. Minnesota highly encourages students to take an online course. Florida has multiple choices for high school students to take online courses from the state virtual school, local district virtual course offerings and charter opportunities. In Illinois, an educational technology company attempted

Dr. Richard Voltz,   Associate Director/ 

Professional     Development 

to start a virtual school in the Chicago suburban area that led to protests from many local public school districts. Do you think this is the end to private challenges to public education in Illinois? What is your district’s plan to stay ahead of these challenges? Do you learn the same way you did even five years ago? What about 25 years ago? What will your schools look like in five years? In 25 years? What if public education experiences more violent actions in schools such as what happened at Sandy Hook? Who will even send their child to public schools if we cannot adequately protect the students? High school online or virtual courses have been around for some time in Illinois. Many rural students have enrolled in these courses because the local district’s curriculum did not offer the course. Some students enroll in virtual courses to fill in for required courses needed for graduation or because of school expulsions or suspensions that limit students’ enrollment in the public schools. During this time of limited financial resources in Illinois, school districts may have to offer virtual courses because of budget cuts and subsequent course and program eliminations. Progressive school districts may seize the opportunity to generate revenue by offering online courses that either individual students or other school districts pay for students to attend. What is your district’s plan? The advances in educational software, wireless Internet access, devices in all shapes, sizes and price points, familiarity with operating systems, the popularity of “flipped classroom” methodologies, and the desire to meet the needs of all students might be reasons for your district to consider this important topic in your next strategic plan. There is no doubt that the classroom of tomorrow

is changing. The new Illinois performance-based teacher evaluation system based on the Danielson Frameworks for Teaching demands student engagement. The days of students sitting in rows and columns listening to a teacher lecture will be a learning environment of the past. No longer would Abraham Lincoln be able to recognize the same type of classroom in which his generation was taught. The classroom of tomorrow will include individualized instruction based on the student’s needs with technology directing the learning based on successful completion of specific education standards. Students will work in teams to solve problems. Classroom furniture will be flexible. Walls will be made of material on which students and teachers can write ideas and concepts as they work in small groups. Students will blog and communicate 24/7 about what they are learning in school and how they are applying these concepts in their “real” world. Grading of writing, assignments, performances and the like will be handled by technology. Students will be in control of their own learning. They will determine their own learning goals with help and guidance from educators. Technology will replace books, copiers, and paper. What is your school district doing to get ready for this paradigm change?

11