Distance learning, virtual learning or online learning is a relatively innovative way of instructing our students and perhaps, transforming education. Recently the Board of Education discussed where we are on the long path to fully utilizing technology in our district...Unfortunately, it was not the result of a strategic planning initiative, but was a precipitate of a bargaining agreement with labor that eventually resulted in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Madison Teachers, Incorporated (MTI).
I did not vote for the memorandum of understanding that the administration brought forward to us. However, I recognize the good work that our new superintendent, Dan Nerad, put into this MOU with MTI. Both sides negotiated toward the center line and found a somewhat workable solution. It's a fine point that most people may not understand nor care to read about in the paper. But getting this done helped both parties to walk away from the inevitablility of litigating far into the future if we had not worked together. It's difficult to decide where to start when it comes to the demands of a large, urban school district such as ours; but I trust our superintendent can lead us in the right direction.
If you haven’t been following this current board decision, take a look at the recent excerpt from Solidarity, the MTI newsletter, as union leadership interpreted the decision:
“The agreement provides that for both local and distance virtual education Madison teachers will be in control of the education; that the work will be part of the teacher’s class size and teaching load; and enable additive compensation for a teacher who volunteers to work with or correspond with virtual school students after the teachers’ contractual work day.”
Ideally, the main premise for the use of technology should be to extend the learning experience and/or individualize the learning environment for our students. Think - engagement, learning.
In sum total, our practices should be in alignment with our policies. Of concern to me in agreeing to an MOU at this time is that we have unfinished policy changes regarding educational options. One area of concern is whether to grant credit for online courses such as those offered by online providers who are not MTI employees.
This MOU may tie us to a status quo of only using MTI (bargaining unit teachers) for many years to come for any online learning. This is specifically due to the precedent set by our Collective Bargaining Agreement from the ‘70s which speaks to only MTI members providing instruction in the district. I can’t help but remind myself that this was an agreement written before the advent of online teaching technology; it’s an outdated model of where we need to go as a district for the sake of the kids.
There’s a similar take on this from a leader in the field of innovation & technology in an Education Week (June 4, 2008) commentary titled, How 'Disruptive Innovation' Will Change the Way We Learn by Clayton M. Christensen, Michael B. Horn, & Curtis W. Johnson.
If the goal is to educate every student to the highest potential, schools need to move away from this monolithic classroom model and toward a student-centric model with a modular design that enables mass customization.For myself I see this agreement as something we may have to do for the short term - like the cod liver oil of systems management. But we should never take our eyes off the prize when it comes to educating kids. I hope we can have further discussions on this important topic with a focus on the long term.
Computer-based learning is emerging as a disruptive force and a promising opportunity to make this shift. The proper use of technology as a platform for learning offers a chance to modularize the system and thereby customize learning.
But if this is the case, how does one explain the minimal impact computers have had in the classroom? The United States has spent more than $60 billion equipping schools with computers over the last two decades, but as countless studies and any routine observation reveal, they have not transformed the classroom, nor has their use boosted learning as measured by test scores.
That schools have gotten so little back from their investment comes as no surprise. Schools have done what virtually every organization does when implementing an innovation: Its natural instinct is to cram the innovation into its existing operating model to sustain what it already does. This is perfectly predictable, perfectly logical—and perfectly wrong.
For more on Clayton M. Christensen's writing, go to:
Education Week: Online Education Cast as ‘Disruptive Innovation’
For a nice example of an informed discussion on Online Teaching and Learning go here for a recent online forum held by Education Week.
