Background:
Your superintendent has learned that you wrote a Wikibook, and he asks you for your reactions to the Wikibook process and how you think writing Wikibooks (or something like it) might have a place in school. He is so intrigued by your response that he asks you to summarize your ideas on one-page and submit it to him.
Topic:
Write a one-page document (three to five paragraphs) that he can use to share your ideas with his cabinet and school board. In it relate your experience (positive and/or negative) in writing a Wikibook. Explain where such a creative (constructivist) activity might fit in a school. You may also explain where it might not be a good fit. Explain the problems you might expect the project to encounter, and how the problems could be minimized. Wikibooks are only for non-fiction textbooks. Don't let that restriction limit your response because other wiki sites could be used for fiction or non-textbooks
Response
Overview:
The world of wikibooks is closely related but not the same thing as wikipedia. Wikipedia is much more well known currently, and serves as an open content online encyclopedia. Wikibooks on the other hand are intended to be textbooks, meaning they are supposed to facilitate teaching in an area of knowledge and include a unifying theme, and chapters. It is not a forum to display original research but instead copyright approved, referenced, and neutral instructional narrative.
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Main_Page
Wikibook Reflection:
The use of wikibooks as an instructional or learning tool is quite innovative. Wikibooks are a relatively new thing and one that many are evaluating based on its prowess for use in the educational setting. In my opinion wikibooks may serve a purpose with education in two ways, one in creating wikibooks as class projects and two for using current wikibooks as educational resources (textbooks). I personally feel that the use of wikibooks as educational texts is not appropriate currently but I feel that developing wikibooks for class projects could be applicable to our school in the near future.
In my personal experience I found using a wikibook to be a quite interesting way to learn information. I feel the largest support for using wikibooks is based in research showing that students retain large amounts of knowledge when they teach others a concept or topic. Using wikibooks allows the students to manipulate information and present in to someone else. Does it far surpass rehearsing information for a presentation or for a research paper? To this question I am not quite sure but I did feel that in creating the wikibook I did spend much more time rehearsing and developing the information for the perspective of teaching someone else. Another positive was in the fact that it fostered a constructivist-learning environment outside of the classroom bounds. Wikibooks allow for collaboration, discussion and peer review. Although using the tool for project based learning was interesting I do feel that once the novelty of using this new tool wore off I was left with some negative reflection. First I spend significant amount of time learning how to use the tool and the sandbox language. I spent hours just developing a simple table and learning how to import graphics. I spent a substantial amount of time just being frustrated with the tool and working to get the pages to look the way I wanted them too.
I hold some reservations with using the tool in a k-12 setting and feel that it may best be used in a higher education for the simple fact that it is difficult to develop, write and organize the project. This holds true both for the learners and the teacher. I also think that because wikibooks are solely meant to be non-fiction it block it for use in many of the k-12 subject areas. In doing a little bit of research I found that wikibooks dose have a subsidiary called wikijunior that could be used for non-fiction writing for students k-7 grades.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
TP #12 Ethical Issues
Background:
Read the three web pages for class 12 in Course Documents. Select one of these or one of your own that presents a serious ethical problem for the technology director. A serious ethical problem usually has consequences no matter how you decide to act. In three to five paragraphs, discuss as honestly as you can the ethical problem and the possible consequences.
Selection:
Web pages reviewed:
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878-1054489.html
http://www.nsba.org/site/doc_micro.asp?TRACKID=&CID=1431&DID=34887
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/ethics/ethics_f.html
I selected to discuss the article posted on the techrepublic site, related to an actual tech director’s ethical dilemma. Although this particular article is not the longest or most wrapped in content (like some of the other sites) it does pose a very interesting dilemma and I found that the overall forum for discussion very innovative.
Response:
Ethical Problems & Possible Consequences
The scenario discussed in the forum is honestly frightening from the perspectives of a possible community member, technology director and/or member of the staff. The overall situation and the response from the administration is abominable and chances are this will turn even more so into a very ugly and dirty situation. I applauded the young technology director for sticking to his/her moral bounds and feel deeply that they must continue to pursue this matter further. The scenario addresses a variety of ethical issues that seem to be spawned from an overall school system lacking some degree of moral clarity.
With this particular situation and the way that it has unraveled I really feel that the technology director is obligated to continue to peruse the case both on the ethical and legal nature of what are truly boil down to being crimes. Unfortunately this technology director is being placed in a sticky situation partly because of the administration but also because the technology director is now questioning/second guessing what policies and rights do users of the districts network and email system possess. Even further questioning if in fact the tech director violated any of those rights. At this point the director unfortunately has no other option but to purse the matter to people outside of the district, document everything, and deal with any disciplinary action if it is determined that he/she violated the rights of the users. If in fact the technology director did violate someone’s rights the evidence may be inadmissible so the tech director must work with law enforcement to find acceptable ways of gathering information. There is not other option and this must happen for the greater good and protection of the students.
Reflection on the situation and how it has manifested thus far brings up a very important issue in the world of technology direction. It reinforces the fact that polices must be put into place early to protect all users of the of the computer and network systems. Although in this situation a firm policy may not have saved the technology director the scrutiny that he/she received from the building principal it would have laid firmly the rights all have using the network. Including the technology directors rights that may induce: (because it is the schools network) the right to (protecting confidentiality expect in the cases of misuse) view/investigate anything traveling over the school network including questionable use, materials, or things that may affect the operation of the network. This may be done best by developing an approved Internet use license or terms and conditions of use policy.
Read the three web pages for class 12 in Course Documents. Select one of these or one of your own that presents a serious ethical problem for the technology director. A serious ethical problem usually has consequences no matter how you decide to act. In three to five paragraphs, discuss as honestly as you can the ethical problem and the possible consequences.
Selection:
Web pages reviewed:
http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878-1054489.html
http://www.nsba.org/site/doc_micro.asp?TRACKID=&CID=1431&DID=34887
http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/ethics/ethics_f.html
I selected to discuss the article posted on the techrepublic site, related to an actual tech director’s ethical dilemma. Although this particular article is not the longest or most wrapped in content (like some of the other sites) it does pose a very interesting dilemma and I found that the overall forum for discussion very innovative.
Response:
Ethical Problems & Possible Consequences
The scenario discussed in the forum is honestly frightening from the perspectives of a possible community member, technology director and/or member of the staff. The overall situation and the response from the administration is abominable and chances are this will turn even more so into a very ugly and dirty situation. I applauded the young technology director for sticking to his/her moral bounds and feel deeply that they must continue to pursue this matter further. The scenario addresses a variety of ethical issues that seem to be spawned from an overall school system lacking some degree of moral clarity.
With this particular situation and the way that it has unraveled I really feel that the technology director is obligated to continue to peruse the case both on the ethical and legal nature of what are truly boil down to being crimes. Unfortunately this technology director is being placed in a sticky situation partly because of the administration but also because the technology director is now questioning/second guessing what policies and rights do users of the districts network and email system possess. Even further questioning if in fact the tech director violated any of those rights. At this point the director unfortunately has no other option but to purse the matter to people outside of the district, document everything, and deal with any disciplinary action if it is determined that he/she violated the rights of the users. If in fact the technology director did violate someone’s rights the evidence may be inadmissible so the tech director must work with law enforcement to find acceptable ways of gathering information. There is not other option and this must happen for the greater good and protection of the students.
Reflection on the situation and how it has manifested thus far brings up a very important issue in the world of technology direction. It reinforces the fact that polices must be put into place early to protect all users of the of the computer and network systems. Although in this situation a firm policy may not have saved the technology director the scrutiny that he/she received from the building principal it would have laid firmly the rights all have using the network. Including the technology directors rights that may induce: (because it is the schools network) the right to (protecting confidentiality expect in the cases of misuse) view/investigate anything traveling over the school network including questionable use, materials, or things that may affect the operation of the network. This may be done best by developing an approved Internet use license or terms and conditions of use policy.
Wikibook Update (11/21)
My group presented last week and now we are waiting for comments and suggestions from classmates on the chapter. We are working of formulating out the last section of the chapter on grants. Not realizing but when it really came down to it we were lacking some informational resources that we wanted to include in the final chapter layout. From the beginning we wanted to include an actual grant sample but it has been harder to get our hands on one then we thought. Michale even asked if we could post one from his school district but was turned down. To remedy we dug deeper and found some more useful sites/resources and we hope to formulate a alternative. Hopefully that section will be finished soon and modifications will be made based on the classes input.
Monday, November 19, 2007
TP #11 Report Summary
Background:
Busy administrators and lay people (non-technically trained) usually prefer to read a 1-page summary of a technology report. If they have a special reason or interest, they may read the entire document. Your goal is to get them to read at least the 1-page summary. Our Thoughtful Problems have been designed to train you in the preparation of a logically-organized 1-page statement or explanation.
Topic:
Choose a technology topic that interests you. Imagine that your superintendent has requested a report from you on this topic. In 3-5 paragraphs write a clear explanatory report. The report may concern a proposal for a new project, a progress report on a problem like poor network bandwidth, or a status report on a project like a one-to-one computer implementation or technology staff development program. The emphasis in this Thoughtful Problem is the clarity, explanation and persuasion that may be necessary for the report to be effective. Keep in mind that the report may be given to each school board director or to newspaper and television reporters.
Response:
Sample (factious) Report Topic:
Technical Staff Request For Salary Increases
The superintendent of the district has been confronted by members of the technology staff (non-technology staff administrators) related to an increase of salary. To support their proposal the technology staff notes specific grievances and reasons for an increase in salary. Reasons for the salary increase range from the increase of complexity and number of technological items they support to local increases in cost of living.
The superintendent requests that members of the technology department submit well-researched formal requests noting grievances and data to support the increase in salary. The superintendent is clear to YOU (the technology director) that he/she does not have the time or knowledge to research the topic so he/she requests that you prepare a brief and impartial one-page fact-checking summary. The superintendent requests that you review the submitted reports and develop a researched based summary document (weeding out fact from fiction) before he gives any further review, comment or thought to the request.
Summary:
Staffing, staff responsibilities and the number of staff needed to support a technological infrastructure varies greatly between each individual company and organization. This idea is rightly so because all organizations has different needs, sizes, assets, levels of technology and over arching goals. What can be deduced from reviewing the overall trends in technological staffing as well as other organizations that are operate similarly to our school districts are generalizations of comparison.
As outlined by the technology staff request they feel that a raise in salary is best supported by 4 categories: 1) cost of living and history of raises 2) increased number of individual equipment supported 3) industry comparable salaries (business and other school districts) 4) increase of technological advancement to supported technologies (knowledge and skill).
Cost of living increases and history of raises
The cost of living in our local area has shown stead increase over the last 10 years. The local and federal government has increased their personnel’s salaries based on the cost of living increases by 1% each of the past 10 years. Last month the local teachers union successfully negotiated a 4% salary increase for teachers based on cost of living increases. The technology staff is non-unionized and has not received a documented cost of living salary increase since its development in 2000. The technology department did receive an increased hourly salary of 2 dollars and hour in 2002. A request was made for salary increases for technology staff during the 2004-05 school year; the request was voted on by the school board but was not passes with a vote of 3 in favor and 7 not.
Increased in the number of individual pieces of equipment supported
Since the last salary increase (2002) the number of pieces of equipment the technology staff is responsible for supporting has increased district wide. Accompanying the increase in technology there as been school board approval for the hiring of 6 new technology positions. For comparison in 2002 our school districts technology department supported 1,000 pieces of technology equipment including computers (desktop) and printers only. During the 2002 school year we employed 6 positions, responsible for supporting that infrastructure (166 pieces of equipment for each position) In 2007 we are currently supporting 2,500 computers (laptops and desktops) and printers by 12 positions (208 to 1).
Industry comparable salaries (business and other school districts)
As stated in the opening paragraph of this document all organizations are different. Further more there is no complete science to developing a salary scale or job responsibilities across the board. Comparing business industry salary standards to local school districts is ineffective. The best comparable baseline for our needs is other local school districts pay scales based on similar responsibilities. After review of 6 different local school districts structure, similar job responsibilities, and size the overall trend is that there is no comparable discrepancy between our school and others related to salary. Many of these schools support different needs and number of equipment pieces.
Increase of technological advancement to supported technologies (knowledge and skill).
As the number of pieces of technology has increased over the last 5 years so has the sophistication and the diversity of equipment. The skills and knowledge base a support technologist must employ has also diversified. On the other hand technology and the tools to support technology has also become more user and tech friendly. The technology staff is provided each year an average of 12 hours of technology training as well as the opportunity to take 6 credit hours of community college level classes each year (paid for by the school district). Note: The school does not award members of the technology department increased salary steps based on the completion of degree, credits achieved, or certifications as they due with the teaching staff.
Busy administrators and lay people (non-technically trained) usually prefer to read a 1-page summary of a technology report. If they have a special reason or interest, they may read the entire document. Your goal is to get them to read at least the 1-page summary. Our Thoughtful Problems have been designed to train you in the preparation of a logically-organized 1-page statement or explanation.
Topic:
Choose a technology topic that interests you. Imagine that your superintendent has requested a report from you on this topic. In 3-5 paragraphs write a clear explanatory report. The report may concern a proposal for a new project, a progress report on a problem like poor network bandwidth, or a status report on a project like a one-to-one computer implementation or technology staff development program. The emphasis in this Thoughtful Problem is the clarity, explanation and persuasion that may be necessary for the report to be effective. Keep in mind that the report may be given to each school board director or to newspaper and television reporters.
Response:
Sample (factious) Report Topic:
Technical Staff Request For Salary Increases
The superintendent of the district has been confronted by members of the technology staff (non-technology staff administrators) related to an increase of salary. To support their proposal the technology staff notes specific grievances and reasons for an increase in salary. Reasons for the salary increase range from the increase of complexity and number of technological items they support to local increases in cost of living.
The superintendent requests that members of the technology department submit well-researched formal requests noting grievances and data to support the increase in salary. The superintendent is clear to YOU (the technology director) that he/she does not have the time or knowledge to research the topic so he/she requests that you prepare a brief and impartial one-page fact-checking summary. The superintendent requests that you review the submitted reports and develop a researched based summary document (weeding out fact from fiction) before he gives any further review, comment or thought to the request.
Summary:
Staffing, staff responsibilities and the number of staff needed to support a technological infrastructure varies greatly between each individual company and organization. This idea is rightly so because all organizations has different needs, sizes, assets, levels of technology and over arching goals. What can be deduced from reviewing the overall trends in technological staffing as well as other organizations that are operate similarly to our school districts are generalizations of comparison.
As outlined by the technology staff request they feel that a raise in salary is best supported by 4 categories: 1) cost of living and history of raises 2) increased number of individual equipment supported 3) industry comparable salaries (business and other school districts) 4) increase of technological advancement to supported technologies (knowledge and skill).
Cost of living increases and history of raises
The cost of living in our local area has shown stead increase over the last 10 years. The local and federal government has increased their personnel’s salaries based on the cost of living increases by 1% each of the past 10 years. Last month the local teachers union successfully negotiated a 4% salary increase for teachers based on cost of living increases. The technology staff is non-unionized and has not received a documented cost of living salary increase since its development in 2000. The technology department did receive an increased hourly salary of 2 dollars and hour in 2002. A request was made for salary increases for technology staff during the 2004-05 school year; the request was voted on by the school board but was not passes with a vote of 3 in favor and 7 not.
Increased in the number of individual pieces of equipment supported
Since the last salary increase (2002) the number of pieces of equipment the technology staff is responsible for supporting has increased district wide. Accompanying the increase in technology there as been school board approval for the hiring of 6 new technology positions. For comparison in 2002 our school districts technology department supported 1,000 pieces of technology equipment including computers (desktop) and printers only. During the 2002 school year we employed 6 positions, responsible for supporting that infrastructure (166 pieces of equipment for each position) In 2007 we are currently supporting 2,500 computers (laptops and desktops) and printers by 12 positions (208 to 1).
Industry comparable salaries (business and other school districts)
As stated in the opening paragraph of this document all organizations are different. Further more there is no complete science to developing a salary scale or job responsibilities across the board. Comparing business industry salary standards to local school districts is ineffective. The best comparable baseline for our needs is other local school districts pay scales based on similar responsibilities. After review of 6 different local school districts structure, similar job responsibilities, and size the overall trend is that there is no comparable discrepancy between our school and others related to salary. Many of these schools support different needs and number of equipment pieces.
Increase of technological advancement to supported technologies (knowledge and skill).
As the number of pieces of technology has increased over the last 5 years so has the sophistication and the diversity of equipment. The skills and knowledge base a support technologist must employ has also diversified. On the other hand technology and the tools to support technology has also become more user and tech friendly. The technology staff is provided each year an average of 12 hours of technology training as well as the opportunity to take 6 credit hours of community college level classes each year (paid for by the school district). Note: The school does not award members of the technology department increased salary steps based on the completion of degree, credits achieved, or certifications as they due with the teaching staff.
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Wiki Book Update (11/8)
I am really proud of my group, we have been individually and collectively plugging away at our wikibook chapter. At this point we have some great work done and it should soon be posted to the page. I have been working on a section devoted to the E-rate program. I have some good stuff collected from a number of resources including a flowchart that has been manipulated from a PA organization that helps school districts with E-rate. After an email to the director they were nice enough to grant me free usage (copyright) of the flowchart for manipulation and posting to our page. The flowchart turned out great and I added some extra information documenting the dates and process steps. Before I post the working draft to the wiki site I want to nail down a bit more wikibook conventions, like citations and hyperlinks. I have also been working on converting some charts and graphs from an excel document into the pages so that they will be nicely organized. The process is unfortunately not as easy as a novice may hope but I am figuring it out. I plan on sending my group members a tutorial email so that we can all have high quality charts/tables on our page.
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