Archive | 2013

The 02/09/13 Joy Jar

8 Feb

Hard to believe but, the first day of Spring is March 20 and Daylight Savings Time starts in March as well. The news reports are about a blizzard in New York and New England. Fall means that one begins to think about colder weather and the need for sweaters. In many parts of the country where there are clearly defined seasons, people store their sweaters. In Seattle, one keeps their sweaters handy until at least August. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is a warm sweater.

 

Sweater, n.: garment worn by child when its mother is feeling chilly.
Ambrose Bierce

“When the bold branches Bid farewell to rainbow leaves – Welcome wool sweaters.”                                                                                                             B. Cybrill

I’ve about decided that’s the main thing that separates happy people from the other people: the feeling that you’re a practical item, with a use, like a sweater or a socket wrench.

Barbara Kingsolver

 

I’m a super hero, too, underneath my sweater.

Rusted Root

 

Dramatic art in her opinion is knowing how to fill a sweater.

Bette Davis

 

If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater suggest that he wear a tail.
Fran Lebowitz

 

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The 02/08/13 Joy Jar

7 Feb

Do you ever think what one welcomes after a long tiring week? A pillow and a good night’s rest. A time when one doesn’t have to turn on the trusty alarm clock and one can sleep until you wake-up. The pillow becomes an ally and friend. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is the pillow.

 

Fatigue is the best pillow.
Benjamin Franklin

No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.
Lin Yutang

“What pillow can one have like a good conscience?”
John Steinbeck, Tortilla Flat

 

Comfy jammies, cozy bed, big soft pillow for your head. Worry not, the world can wait take your time and recuperate.

Unknown

 

I put a piece of paper under my pillow, and when I could not sleep I wrote in the dark.
Henry David Thoreau

 

Let gratitude be the pillow upon which you kneel to say your nightly prayer. And let faith be the bridge you build to overcome evil and welcome good.

Maya Angelou

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ohio study: Academics and high school sports may mix

7 Feb

It is a story about the dreams, realistic or unrealistic, of many young people who try to achieve the brass ring of a super star career. The NCAA offers some sobering statistics about how many young people actually achieve super stardom. The NCAA has compiled a probability chart. that estimates the probability of high school athletes competing in college athletics. So, count moi among the skeptics about the value placed in many high schools on athletics and athletic programs. A study of Ohio high schools find that many schools combine a strong athletic program and strong academics.

Jay P. Greene writes in the Education Next article, Does Athletic Success Come at the Expense of Academic Success?

We found that high schools that devote more energy to athletic success also tend to produce more academic success. In particular, we looked at whether high schools with a higher winning percentage in sports also had higher test scores as well as higher rates of educational attainment. We also looked at whether high schools that offered more sports and had a larger share of their student body participating in sports also tended to have higher test scores and higher attainment.

Using several different specifications, we find that higher rates of athletic success and participation were associated with schools having higher overall test scores and higher educational attainment, controlling for observed school inputs. For example, we found:

With regard to attainment, a 10 percentage point increase in a school’s overall winning percentages associated with a 1.3 percentage point improvement in its CPI, which is an estimate of its high school graduation rate.We also looked at whether schools that offered more opportunities to participate in sports had different rates of attainment:

When we only examine winter sports, an increase of one sport improves CPI by 0.01, which would be a 1 percentage point increase in the high school graduation rate. For the winter, the addition of 10 students directly participating in sports is associated with a 0.015 improvement in CPI, or a 1.5% increase in high school graduation rate.In addition to attainment, we also looked at achievement on state tests:

We observe similar positive and statistically significant relationships between the success and participation in high school sports and student achievement as measured by the Ohio standardized test results. A 10 percentage point increase in overall winning percentage is associated with a 0.25 percentage point increase in the number of students at or above academic proficiency. (See Table 4) When we examine the effect of winning percentage in each sport separately, once again winning in football has the largest effect. Girls’ basketball also remains positive and statistically significant (at p < 0.10), but boys’ basketball is not statistically distinguishable from a null effect.Lastly, we looked at the effect of participation rates in Ohio high schools on overall student achievement:

As for participation and achievement, the addition of one sport increases the number of students at or above academic proficiency by 0.2 of a percentage point. The addition of 10 students directly participating in a sports team improves the proportion of students at or above proficient by 0.4 of a percentage point. Both of these results are statistically significant at p < 0.01. (See Table 5) When examining just the winter season, adding one winter sport increases the percentage of students performing proficiently by 0.4 of a percentage point, while an additional 10 student able to directly participate in sports during the winter season relates to a 0.6 percentage point increase in students at or above proficiency (see Table 5)It is a common refrain among advocates for education reform that athletics ”have assumed an unhealthy priority in our high schools.” But these advocates rarely offer data to support their view. Instead, they rely on stereotypes about dumb jocks, anecdotes, and painful personal memories as their proof.

Our data suggest that this claim that high school athletic success comes at the expense of academic success is mistaken. Of course, we cannot make causal claims based on our analyses about the relationship between sports and achievement. It’s possible that schools that are more effective at winning in sports and expanding participation are also the kinds of schools that can produce academic success. But the evidence we have gathered at least suggests that any trade-offs between sports and achievement would have to be subtle and small, if they exist at all. Descriptively, it is clear that high schools that devote more energy to sports also produce higher test scores and higher graduation rates. http://educationnext.org/does-athletic-success-come-at-the-expense-of-academic-success/

Citation:

Does Athletic Success Come at the Expense of Academic Success?

Daniel H. Bowen*

Jay P. Greene

University of Arkansas

Abstract

Claims are often made about the impact of high school athletics on academic achievement without reference to empirical research on the issue. In this paper we empirically examine the relationship between the extent to which high schools have winning sports teams, offer a variety of sports options, and facilitate student participation in athletics on schools’ overall student achievement and attainment. We find that high school athletics do not appear to detract from academic success. In fact, based on the data we examined from Ohio high schools, an emphasis on athletic success and participation is associated with higher scores on standardized tests and higher graduation rates.      http://www.eeraonline.org/journal/files/v22/JRE_v22n2_Article_1_Bowen.pdf

Still, most kids need to prepare for a life outside of athletics and for parents who are living out their dreams and hopes through their children, to tell them differently is reckless.

Kids health has some thoughts about What Makes A Good Coach?

 Winning Isn’t Everything

….Most of you respect coaches who put winning in perspective and teach players it’s just one part of the game. Naturally, you want to win – but you also want the enjoyment of playing well, learning, and working as a team. Kim, 13, told us, “A good coach isn’t obsessed with winning but will motivate you and your team to want to win.” l

You Want to Improve Your Skills

So what should your coach care about most? Giving everyone a chance to play received the most votes from girls. Guys voted for teaching new skills. But when girls’ and guys’ votes were combined, it was pretty much a coin toss: 45% of you think your coach should teach new skills and 46% said giving everyone a chance to play should be most important….

 Coaches Who Understand and Motivate Their Players

A coach has to understand a player’s weaknesses and strengths. “They need to know the sport and the athletes well enough to make good choices for the athlete,” said Shannon, 14….

Coaches Who Are Tough but Fair

Coaches who are realistic and honest about what a person can achieve – even when it’s hard – are the kinds of coaches you look up to. Stephanie, 13, told us a good coach has “the ability to tell you the straight truth or facts without making you feel bad….”

Coaches Who Teach Life Skills Along With Sports Skills

“Besides just coaching, they share wisdom and insight on life based on personal experience,” said Alex, 15, who told us about his high school wrestling coach. “It helps having someone besides a parent that’s an adult that you can talk to in some situations….”

Coaches Who Make It a Team Effort

Working toward a goal as a team is a priority for you (even if the team’s just you and your coach). And coaches who treat players with respect, as equals, win your praise. “A good coach will listen to the team’s ideas,” said Kelsey, 14.

“A good coach understands that respect is to be earned and understands that they do not control the team, they are part of the team,” said Rebecca, 13….

Coaches have a great impact on players, but parents have a great influence as well. Too many players have pressure put on them to succeed in athletics because they are living out a parent’s failed dream or the parent feels the child is a lottery ticket out of miserable circumstances. The outcome of these failed dreams is often devastating.

Most kids will never appear at the Final Four or Superbowl. For kids who possess extraordinary talent and desire to achieve at the top level of sports, of course nurture their talent and their desire. But, society and their families owe it to these kids to be honest about their chances and the fact that they need to prepare for a variety of outcomes. The best outcome for any school setting is to produce well-rounded kids.

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The 02/07/13 Joy Jar

6 Feb

Urban areas have a varied and rich street life populated by cubicle dwellers, money people, tourists, and the life of the streets. Street dwellers are young, old, all races, all philosophies, and all conditions. Some sing or perform for their supper, some ply their trade or peddle the wares. Many have a favorite corner and regular folk who are not engaged in street life that they look to for sustenance. If one lives in a city, one lives with the street whether you are part of street life of not. The street life makes one happy for whatever one has and definitely ensures that on the street, each day will be different. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is street life.

I met in the street a very poor young man who was in love. His hat was old, his coat worn, his cloak was out at the elbows, the water passed through his shoes, – and the stars through his soul.
Victor Hugo

All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning. Great works are often born on a street corner or in a restaurant’s revolving door.
Albert Camus

At any street corner the feeling of absurdity can strike any man in the face.
Albert Camus

A court is an assembly of noble and distinguished beggars.
Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

“The beggar is the only person in the universe not obliged to study appearance.” Charles Lamb

“We are all beggars, each in his own way.”                                                                     Mark Twain

 

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Study: There is lack of information about principal evaluation

6 Feb

Moi wrote in Wallace Foundation study: Leadership matters in student achievement:

In New research: School principal effectiveness, moi said:

The number one reason why teachers leave the profession has to do with working conditions. A key influencer of the environment of a school and the working conditions is the school principal.

Gregory Branch, Eric Hanushek, and Steven Rivkin are reporting in the National Center for Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Educational Research report, Estimating Principal Effectiveness:

VI. Conclusion

An important facet of many school policy discussions is the role of strong leadership, particularly of principals. Leadership is viewed as especially important in revitalizing failing schools. This discussion is, however, largely uninformed by systematic analysis of principals and their impact on student outcomes….

The initial results suggest that principal movements parallel teacher movements. Specifically, principals are affected by the racial and achievement distribution of students in schools, and this enters into mobility patterns. Yet the common view that the best leave the most needy schools is not supported.

An important element of the role of principals is how they interact with teachers. Our on-going analysis links principals to measures of teacher effectiveness to understand how principals affect teacher outcomes. http://www.caldercenter.org/upload/CALDER-Working-Paper-32_FINAL.pdf

See, Principals Matter: School Leaders Can Drive Student Learning http://www.huffingtonpost.com/Karin%20Chenoweth/principals-matter-school-_b_1252598.html?ref=email_share

In lay person speak, what they are saying is that a strong principal is a strong leader for his or her particular school. A strong principal is particularly important in schools which face challenges. Now, we get into the manner in which strong principals interact with their staff – is it an art or is it a science? What makes a good principal can be discussed and probably depends upon the perspective of those giving an opinion, but Gary Hopkins of Education World summarizes the thoughts of some educators. http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin190.shtml

These traits can be summarized that a strong principal is a leader with a vision for his or her school and who has the drive and the people skills to take his or her teachers and students to that vision. https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/new-research-school-principal-effectiveness/

https://drwilda.com/2012/07/29/wallace-foundation-study-leadership-matters-in-student-achievement/

Sarah D. Sparks writes in the Education Week article, States Lack Data on Principals, Study Says:

The Dallas-based George W. Bush Institute was expected to release an analysis of all 50 states’ principal policies and related data collectionsRequires Adobe Acrobat Reader in Washington this week. It finds that even states with otherwise comprehensive longitudinal-data systems collect limited information about principals, particularly on their preparation.

“Despite the growing body of research, most states are not requiring the use of evidence on principal quality in policy,” said Kerry Ann Moll, a co-author of the report and the program director for the Bush Institute’s Alliance to Reform Education Leadership.

“Seven states couldn’t even tell us how many licenses they give each year,” Ms. Moll said. “That’s a big basic-data problem.”

State Oversight of Principals

Many states have few policies and collect little information on how school principals are prepared, licensed, supported, or evaluated, according to the Bush Institute survey.

For some states, she said, collecting data on principals “was not even on their radar,” but others, like Rhode IslandRequires Adobe Acrobat Reader, are creating comprehensive systems to follow principals from their training programs through licensing, placement, and school leadership.

According to an analysis by the Washington-based Data Quality Campaign, a majority of states now collect data on teacher preparation and effectiveness, but, “you can’t just pull information on teachers and principals and assume the data needed is going to be the same for both,” Ms. Moll said. “There are nuances there.”

The study, based on a survey of state education leaders in the 50 states and the District of Columbia, identifies five key responsibilities of an effective school leader:

• Recruiting and selecting teachers;

• Developing and supporting teachers;

• Assessing and rewarding teachers;

• Using data to drive instruction; and

• Developing a positive school culture.

“I do think we are asking more of principals than we’ve ever asked before,” said Benjamin Fenton, the chief strategy officer and a co-founder of the New York City-based principal-preparation program New Leaders. These include making principals lead academics, manage personnel, and keep tabs on the finances of their campuses.

State Oversight of Principals

Many states have few policies and collect little information on how school principals are prepared, licensed, supported, or evaluated, according to the Bush Institute survey.

SOURCE: George W. Bush Institute

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/02/06/20principals.h32.html?tkn=YPWFUWftE8lJvXPWZ1Gykb7ZFWgPdwBkQKW0&cmp=clp-edweek&intc=es

Here is a portion of the introduction to the report, “Operating in the Dark: What Outdated State Policies and Data Gaps Mean for Effective School Leadership,” looks at principal preparation and licensing policies in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Policy Recommendations

In conducting this survey, we did find that states recognize many of these shortfalls and are committed to building systems that support effective principals. Many states are already embarking on efforts to strengthen their policies and practices impacting school leaders. To assist states undertaking this important work, we offer policy recommendations, including:

Principal Preparation Program Approval

• States need to understand the growing body of research highlighting the wide range of skills and behaviors that principals need to succeed in the highly complex and demanding job of school leader. This research should be incorporated into state requirements for principal preparation programs to ensure that programs produce high-quality candidates. Effective preparation programs include a number of key elements, including: being expressly designed to produce and place principals who improve student learning; having clearly defined principal competencies; strategically recruiting high-potential candidates into the program; using a rigorous candidate selection process; providing relevant coursework taught by faculty with practitioner experience; incorporating authentic learning experiences in real school settings; and ensuring that graduates demonstrate mastery of competencies.

• States should allow organizations other than higher education institutions to be approved to provide principal preparation, as long as those programs meet the same rigorous standards.

• States should monitor principal preparation program outcome data and hold programs accountable for producing effective principals.

Principal Licensure

• States should move away from input-based principal licensing requirements such as years of teaching and degrees, which are not accurate proxies or predictors of principal effectiveness. For licensure to signal proof of competence, states should seek out a new form of performance based assessment that measures the more complex skills research shows effective schooleaders need to succeed. of competencies that correlate with principal effectiveness measures, including impact on student achievement. Leaders repeatedly receiving poor ratings should not have their licenses renewed.

Principal Outcome Data

States need to do more to ensure that their statewide longitudinal data systems can track principals as they move from principal preparation to licensure to school leadership positions. States need to be able to measure principals’ ability to secure jobs, retain jobs, demonstrate an impact on student achievement, and receive effective evaluation ratings. With this information, states can make strategic decisions and investments that result in a more highly qualified principal pool.

The research is clear that principals are a critical force in school improvement in that they are responsible for attracting and retaining teacher talent and driving the improvement of student learning.

It is our hope that this set of baseline data from the Principal Policy State Survey will promote further conversations and state-led efforts to ensure that every school in the nation is led by a highly prepared school leader who can produce student gains.                                                                                          http://bushcenter.org/alliance-reform-education-leadership/arel-state-policy-project

Strong leadership is essential for struggling schools. Strong leadership requires not only accountability, but authority.

Related:

New research: School principal effectiveness     https://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/02/07/new-research-school-principal-effectiveness/

Are rules which limit choice hampering principal effectiveness? https://drwilda.com/2012/04/08/are-rules-which-limit-choice-hampering-principal-effectiveness/

Where information leads to Hope. ©                 Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©                            http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda Reviews ©                                              http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

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The 02/06/13 Joy Jar

5 Feb

Moi is a member of the Seattle Free Lances which is a writer’s group based in Seattle. She works on membership for the group. One of her duties was to oversee a directory for the group. That task is finished and the directory has been published and ready to be distributed. Looking at the directory, one can trace the printed word from Gutenberg to those high tech laser printers which produce all sorts of materials. The printed word allows people to share information, knowledge, silliness or whatever. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is the printed word.

 

Before printing was discovered, a century was equal to a thousand years.
Henry David Thoreau

 

The printing press is the greatest weapon in the armoury of the modern commander.
T. E. Lawrence

 

We are the children of a technological age. We have found streamlined ways of doing much of our routine work. Printing is no longer the only way of reproducing books. Reading them, however, has not changed.
Lawrence Clark Powell

 

“Writing or printing is like shooting with a rifle; you may hit your reader’s mind, or miss it – but talking is like playing at a mark with the pipe of an engine; if it is within reach, and you have time enough, you can’t help hitting it”

Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

“The greatest inventions were produced in the times of ignorance, as the use of the compass, gunpowder, and printing”

Jonathan Swift

 

“What these critics forget is that printing presses in themselves provide no guarantee of an enlightened outcome. People, not machines, made the Renaissance. The printing that takes place in North Korea today, for instance, is nothing more than propaganda for a personality cult. What is important about printing presses is not the mechanism, but the authors.”
Jaron Lanier, You are Not a Gadget

 

“What gunpowder did for war the printing press has done for the mind.”

Wendell Phillips

 

 

 

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Study: D.C. voucher program ‘Opportunity Scholarship Program’ shows economic benefit

5 Feb

The D.C. “Opportunity Scholarship Program” lives despite efforts to kill it:

Who We Are

The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) provides scholarships to low-income families residing in the District of Columbia with expanded educational opportunities for their children.

The OSP was created with the belief that when it comes to choosing a great school for their children, parents should have the freedom to decide the best learning option. Specifically, the OSP is geared towards providing the District’s children access to a quality education.

The program began in 2004 as part of a city-wide effort to improve all of the District’s educational sectors – public, public charter and non-public – to expand quality educational experiences for District families. It is the first federally-funded program of its kind and is the product of a bi-partisan collaborative effort involving former D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams, D.C. City Council members, school leaders, the White House, the U.S. Congress, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Read all about our beginnings and our program.

Our Program

The D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) awards need-based annual scholarships to eligible District children to attend a participating private D.C. elementary, middle, or high school of their parent’s choice.

For school year 2012-13, individual scholarship awards are up to $12,205 for high school and up to $8,136 for elementary and middle school. Opportunity scholarships may only be used at schools participating in the program and may be able to pay for tuition, school-related fees, and public transportation expenses (up to the annual maximum scholarship award).

Our team is with you at every step of the way – whether it is helping you complete your child’s scholarship application, understanding the requirements for the program, or assisting you to find a great school for your child – we are here to help! http://www.dcscholarships.org/

See, Much-Debated Scholarship Program for D.C. Students Is Renewed http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/18/much-debated-scholarship-program-for-d-c-students-is-renewed/

Patrick Wolf and Michael Q. McShane write in the National Review article, School Choice Pays Off, Literally:

The District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) produced $2.62 in benefits for every dollar spent on it. In other words, the return on public investment for the private-school voucher program during its early years was 162 percent.

That is the major finding from a follow-up study we completed, based on the results of the official U.S. Department of Education evaluation of the program. Our study has just been published in the peer-reviewed journal Education Finance and Policy.

The OSP was the nation’s first federally funded private-school choice program. It was launched in 2004 as part of a three-sector strategy for urban education reform that also included increased funding for public charter-school facilities and added funds for educational improvements in District of Columbia public schools.

The District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP) produced $2.62 in benefits for every dollar spent on it. In other words, the return on public investment for the private-school voucher program during its early years was 162 percent.

That is the major finding from a follow-up study we completed, based on the results of the official U.S. Department of Education evaluation of the program. Our study has just been published in the peer-reviewed journal Education Finance and Policy.

The OSP was the nation’s first federally funded private-school choice program. It was launched in 2004 as part of a three-sector strategy for urban education reform that also included increased funding for public charter-school facilities and added funds for educational improvements in District of Columbia public schools. http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/339457/school-choice-pays-literally-patrick-wolf

Citation:

Winter 2013, Vol. 8, No. 1, Pages 74-99

Posted Online January 17, 2013.

(doi:10.1162/EDFP_a_00083)

© 2013 Association for Education Finance and Policy

Is the Juice Worth the Squeeze? A Benefit/Cost Analysis of the District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program

Patrick J. Wolf

(corresponding author) Department of Education Reform University of Arkansas Fayetteville, AR 72701 pwolf@uark.edu

Michael McShane

Research Fellow in Education Policy American Enterprise Institute Washington, DC 20036 michaelgmcshane@gmail.com

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Abstract

School voucher programs have become a prominent aspect of the education policy landscape in the United States. The DC Opportunity Scholarship Program is the only federally funded voucher program in the United States. Since 2004 it has offered publicly funded private school vouchers to nearly four thousand students to attend any of seventy-three different private schools in Washington, DC. An official experimental evaluation of the program, sponsored by the federal government’s Institute of Education Sciences, found that the students who were awarded Opportunity Scholarships graduated from high school at a rate 12 percentage points higher than the students in the randomized control group. This article estimates the benefit/cost ratio of the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program, primarily by considering the increased graduation rate that it induced and the estimated positive economic returns to increased educational attainment. We find a benefit to cost ratio of 2.62, or $2.62 in benefits for every dollar spent on the program.

There is no magic bullet or “Holy Grail” in education. There is only what works to produce academic achievement in each population of children. That is why school choice is so important. Moi does not have the dread of a well-defined voucher program targeted at at-risk children. A tax credit program is entirely a horse of a different color and should be discouraged.

Related:

University of Arkansas study finds Milwaukee voucher students go to college at higher rate                                                           https://drwilda.com/2012/03/05/university-of-arkansas-study-finds-milwaukee-voucher-students-go-to-college-at-higher-rate/

What is the Indiana voucher program?                                    https://drwilda.com/2012/08/26/what-is-the-indiana-voucher-program/

Are tax credits disguised vouchers?                                  https://drwilda.com/2012/06/17/are-tax-credits-disguised-vouchers/

Where information leads to Hope. ©                 Dr. Wilda.com

Dr. Wilda says this about that ©

Blogs by Dr. Wilda:

COMMENTS FROM AN OLD FART©                          http://drwildaoldfart.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda Reviews ©                                             http://drwildareviews.wordpress.com/

Dr. Wilda ©                                                                                  https://drwilda.com/

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The 02/05/13 Joy Jar Jar

4 Feb

Moi goes to the Seattle Public Library several times a week. The library is one of the few places in society where all types and classes of people occupy the same space. The Seattle Public Library is an urban library and has as regulars a fair share of the homeless, mentally ill, and those who may have had too much of that as patrons. The librarians treat all as valued patrons, the library is a welcoming place. It occurred to moi when she went to the public restroom that quite often those who use the restroom have all of their belongings with them. It occurred to moi that it is difficult to live if you don’t have access to bathroom facilities. Most people in America don’t think about not having a bathroom, but many have that worry. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is a private bathroom.

 

“Today, the degradation of the inner life is symbolized by the fact that the only place sacred from interruption is the private toilet.”

Lewis Mumford

 

 

“Like when I’m in the bathroom looking at my toilet paper, I’m like ‘Wow! That’s toilet paper?’ I don’t know if we appreciate how much we have.”

Peter Nivio Zarlenga

 

 

“The flush toilet, more than any single invention, has ‘civilized’ us in a way that religion and law could never accomplish.”
Thomas Lynch, The Undertaking: Life Studies from the Dismal Trade

 

 

The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water.
John W. Gardner

 

 

“When you’ve finished your own toilet in the morning, then it is time to attend to the toilet of your planet, just so, with the greatest care”

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

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A textbook ain’t what it used to be

4 Feb

Moi has posted about textbooks, but the posts dealt primarily with cost. In The changing world of textbooks:

As the cost of a college education rises, everyone is looking at ways to reduce cost so that more students are not priced out of a college education. Allen Grove has a good article at About.Com which gives some reasons for Why College Books Cost So Much?There are ways to cut down the cost associated with college text books. If possible, one can buy used texts. Another way to cut costs is to rent texts. Rhiana Jones’ article Top Three Online Sites to Rent College Texts At a Discount compares three text rental sites. Paul Michael has some tips for going online to find discounted texts at How to Find the Cheapest College Textbooks https://drwilda.com/2011/11/24/the-changing-world-of-textbooks/

Jeffrey R. Davis writes in The Chronicle of Higher Education article, The Object Formerly Known as the Textbook:

Textbook publishers argue that their newest digital products shouldn’t even be called “textbooks.” They’re really software programs built to deliver a mix of text, videos, and homework assignments. But delivering them is just the beginning. No old-school textbook was able to be customized for each student in the classroom. The books never graded the homework. And while they contain sample exam questions, they couldn’t administer the test themselves.

One publisher calls its products “personalized learning experiences,” another “courseware,” and one insists on using its own brand name, “MindTap.” For now, this new product could be called “the object formerly known as the textbook….”

Major publishers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in the past few years buying up software companies and building new digital divisions, betting that the future will bring an expanded role for publishers in higher education.

So far publishers produce only a limited number of titles in these born-digital formats, and the number of professors assigning them is relatively small. Only about 2 percent of textbooks sold at college bookstores are fully digital titles, according to a survey of 940 bookstores run by Follett Higher Education Group.

But if these new kinds of textbooks catch on, they raise questions about how much control publishers have over curriculum and the teaching process, as online education expands.

“It’s not a textbook, it is an entire course,” says Jean Wisuri, director of distance education at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, describing a product called Course360, from Cengage Learning. “It has activities built right into the textbook itself.”

A professor could essentially rely on a Course360 title as the full curriculum in an online course, letting students loose in the system and having them teach themselves. The Course360 titles connect to the university’s learning-management system, linking them directly into an institution’s existing virtual classroom.

Amid all this change, the lines separating publisher, professor, university, and software company are blurring: The blockbuster textbooks of tomorrow could be produced not by publishers but directly by universities, maybe with the help of MOOC companies like Coursera or Udacity. http://chronicle.com/article/Dont-Call-Them-Textbooks/136835/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Similar:

Students Get Savvier About Textbook Buying                http://chronicle.com/article/Students-Get-Savvier-About/136827/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

For Many Students, Print Is Still King                              http://chronicle.com/article/For-Many-Students-Print-Is/136829/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Pay Nothing? Easier Said Than Done                               http://chronicle.com/article/Can-Textbooks-Ever-Really-Be/136833/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Paula J. Hane wrote about one of the products in the Online Video.net article, Cengage Learning Introduces New ‘MindTap’ Personal Learning Experience:

The customizable, cloud-based system is a web portal students log into to navigate via a dashboard. MindTap assembles all of students’ course materials in one spot for easy access—their etextbook, homework solutions, quizzes, multimedia content, assets from Gale’s research tools and library databases, and more. And, it is device agnostic—it can be accessed from their desktops, laptops, tablets, or mobile phones. It also works with any LMS, such as Blackboard.

Instructors can track students’ use, activities, and comprehension in real-time, which provides opportunities for early intervention. Grades are visible and archived so students and instructors always have access to current standings in the class. Instructors can also customize the curriculum —with modifiable learning paths, their own content elements, configurable assignment activities, and MindTap apps to drive other activities….

At the core of MindTap is MindTap Reader, which is a new interactive browser-based platform that adds significant reading and learning functionality embedded within the context of text and other elements including video/audio, annotations, activities, applications, and instructor source materials. http://newsbreaks.infotoday.com/NewsBreaks/Cengage-Learning-Introduces-New-MindTap-Personal-Learning-Experience-74352.asp

College textbooks are pricey. See, Average Cost of College Textbooks [Infographic]. Yikes. http://blog.flatworldknowledge.com/2012/09/14/average-cost-of-college-textbooks-yikes-infographic/

All one can say is that the question is not what will happen to the textbook, but where is information delivery to students going and what will be the format or formats.

Related:

Are open-source textbooks becoming a viable alternative to traditional texts?                                                                   https://drwilda.com/2012/08/12/are-open-source-textbooks-becoming-a-viable-alternative-to-traditional-texts/

Could ‘open source’ textbooks be cheaper than traditional textbooks?                                                           https://drwilda.com/2012/01/17/could-open-source-textbooks-be-cheaper-than-traditional-textbooks/

Where information leads to Hope. ©                 Dr. Wilda.com

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The 02/04/13 Joy Jar

3 Feb

There was about a thirty-five minute delay in the 2013 Superbowl when a power surge caused the lights to go out in the Superdome. Players waited anxiously on the field for the lights to come on. The lights came on and play resumed where it had been halted. Sometimes, not often, in dress rehearsals something doesn’t go according to plan and the production has to be halted to make a fix. Then, on cue the actors and artists usually proceed without missing a beat. There is a lesson for all. Often, grace under pressure allows the game, the play, and life to go on. Today’s deposit into the ‘Joy Jar’ is grace under pressure.

 

Courage is grace under pressure.
Ernest Hemingway

 

When we long for life without difficulties, remind us that oaks grow strong in contrary winds and diamonds are made under pressure.
Peter Marshall

The pressure of adversity does not affect the mind of the brave man… It is more powerful than external circumstances.
Lucius Annaeus Seneca

He who is of calm and happy nature will hardly feel the pressure of age, but to him who is of an opposite disposition youth and age are equally a burden.
Plato

No pressure, no diamonds.
Thomas Carlyle

 

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