Updates from December, 2013 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

  • Andrew T Schwab 10:34 pm on December 18, 2013 Permalink | Reply  

    Wanted – Director of Technology Services 

    In a few weeks I will start a new chapter in my career as Chief Technology Officer for Union School District. My last official day with Berryessa Union School District will be January 3rd.

    Berryessa and I have come a long way together in a short amount of time. Things started out bumpy with major Virtual Desktop issues and regular Server room AC and power outages but we’ve made significant changes and I am happy to say, now have a stable platform on which to build moving forward.

    All major systems are, or soon will be, cloud based; including messaging and collaboration (Google Apps for Education), Wireless (Meraki), Mobile Device Management (Meraki) and VoIP (JIVE cutover is set for Jan 3rd!). Firewall and Web Filtering services are in the process of migrating to hosted solutions at the County Office as well.

    The Virtual Desktop system has been relegated to providing legacy student desktop computer access. Staff were upgraded to Windows 7 desktops at the beginning of the calendar year and over summer we pushed out iPad carts, ubermix netbook carts and chromebook carts so that there are significantly more student devices available in schools now than there were just a year ago. If that were not enough, we just wrapped up a district wide MacBook deployment for teachers.

    There is 5 year technology budget roadmap, an updated technology plan and a likely upcoming Bond measure with classroom technology as a top priority.

    The IT team is solid and dedicated and have performed miracles given what we’ve bee able to accomplish with the resources we’ve had.

    While at Berryessa, I’ve had the opportunity to work with great administrators, amazing educators and passionate parents who all care deeply about students and learning. Throughout it all, I felt very lucky to get to go to work everyday, knowing that we were on the path to making classrooms places of endless possibility and wonder. I am sad to be leaving Berryessa and yet very excited to be joining Union.

    Union is right now in the process of defining what their 21st Century Classrooms will look like in the next 1-5 years. I’m looking forward to bringing my background in building 1:1 learning environments, my experience with emerging education technology trends and my amazing Personal Learning Network of #eduawesome educators to that discussion.

    With my departure imminent, Berryessa has posted my position. If you’re awesome, believe in the power of technology to transform teaching and learning and really, really like helping empower administrators, teachers and students with technology, please apply.

     

    • Julie Judd 12:33 am on December 19, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      Congratulations Andrew! On your successes in Berryessa and your new position. Happy Holidays!

      • Andrew T Schwab 3:09 pm on December 19, 2013 Permalink | Reply

        Thanks! Wait, what, you read this thing… yikes!

        Happy Holidays to you too.

  • Andrew T Schwab 10:56 am on December 10, 2013 Permalink | Reply  

    If At First You Don’t Succeed 

    Well, I goofed the last rebootED episode post big time. First, the initial YouTube upload cut off the last 7 minutes of the interview. Second, I posted our guests name as Ewan McGregor (you know, that actor guy) when in fact we talked with the ever so more interesting Ewan McIntosh. so here is my attempt to get it right. Ewan McIntosh talking with Mike and I about bringing startup and design thinking to education. It’s the most compact and informative episode yet.

     

    • Kern 12:15 pm on December 10, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      Wonderful! I love everything Ewan does!

    • Mike 12:27 pm on December 10, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      I never heard of Ewan McGregor – but I sure as hell know who Ewan McIntosh is!

  • Andrew T Schwab 8:30 am on December 9, 2013 Permalink | Reply  

    Instruction vs. Teaching 

    Last week I had the opportunity to interview Ewan McIntosh from NoTosh on rebootED and he got me thinking about Instruction versus Learning. He said that here in the states we tend to substitute the word teaching with instruction. Think of all those Curriculum & Instruction departments out there. The word instruction carries with it significant meaning for us as educators, particularly at a sub conscious level. It implies, as Ewan points out, that learning requires instruction. Instruction also implies that there will actually be “instructions” and that to be successful at learning, one must complete the instructions as provided. The word instruction carries with it a very 19th century factory model connotation of what we do in the classroom. Instruction is certainly one aspect of education but it is not the only one.

    Contrast this to the word teaching. Teaching carries it’s own sub conscious baggage but I’d argue it’s more in line with student centered learning and where we need to go in 21st Century information rich, knowledge based classrooms. Teaching is the work of a teacher. It includes instruction of course but so much more. It implies “education” which includes academics but also encompasses moral and social aspects of a child’s development. Teachers teach, we don’t instruct. While the two words may be synonyms, the meanings can be very different.

    So if I were building up a new culture and shared vocabulary at a district, I would choose to use Teaching over Instruction but really I’d prefer Learning over both. Learning is an action word centered on the student. If we replace instruction with learning, magical things happen. Instructional rounds become Learning rounds and the focus shifts from what the teacher is doing to what the students are doing (and then how a teacher’s design and application of the craft, the pedagogy, is influencing student action). We get Learning objectives instead of Instructional objectives and Learning strategies instead of Instructional strategies. Teaching becomes about much more than just instruction, it becomes about learning. And building up self sufficient, intrinsically motivate life long learners is what it’s all about, isn’t it?

     

    • Ariel 10:41 am on December 9, 2013 Permalink | Reply

      Great Post! I totally agree that “Learning” is the strongest word and encapsulates what we are striving for – that we are all learners on a journey. When I first started teaching… I was instructing by giving tons of information and having kids digest it and prove they could memorize. Now, I have moved to a mastery/flipped/personalized-individualized learning format… basically organized chaos. But, it’s a ton of fun! Student centered, authentic projects, collaboration, engagement, reflection… there is learning going on and it’s real!

    • Irene 10:45 pm on December 10, 2015 Permalink | Reply

      Great post :) I really enjoy your post about the difference about Teaching and Instruction. I learned a lot from your post, Thanks.

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