Poet Ponders the Digital

Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley June 7, 2010 Deadline July Issue Personal Reflections on Education and Technology Technology has a way of becoming invisible in our lives, something we take for granted. The initial “Wow!” factor fades and we start to assume everyone has access. Yet, not every student has easy access to the Internet. Not every student has access to computers or typewriters to prepare papers for classes. My previous assumptions about technology in our schools have been proved incorrect, and that troubles me. A student with no word processing skills, who is unfamiliar with spreadsheets, and struggles with basic Internet research faces serious challenges in this labor market. For the last four years, I have been fortunate enough to visit states from coast to coast, meeting educational experts and civic leaders who are attempting to address many of the same problems we face in the Central Valley. My travels have taken me to places nationwide that are closing schools...

Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley March 2010 Issue January 23, 2010 Will Textbooks Go Digital… and Free? California schools spend nearly $500 million each year on textbooks, according to state reports. That is up $250 million over the last decade. As any parent or teacher knows, a significant portion of this expense goes to replacing lost or damaged books. We also have a growing student population. In many schools, there aren’t enough books for complete class sets. Students end up sharing books or working in small groups. Every few years, the California State Board of Education adopts new standards, known as frameworks, for our public schools (http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/st/ss/). When standards undergo major revisions, textbooks need to be updated and replaced. The adoption of a new standard is a lengthy and expensive process, with textbook publishers eager to pitch their books to the state for approval. School districts must adopted texts that meet state criteria. California, T...

Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley September 2007 Issue August 11, 2007 Schools Going Online Maybe you remember “forgetting” to give a report card to your parents or you might have tried to change a minus to a plus. In a few short years, paper report cards are likely to be as unknown to students as rotary phones. Colleges have already moved grades and course schedules online. The College of the Sequoias posts grades and transcripts online, where a student can view and print his or her records at any time. The CSU and UC systems also allow students to check their progress online. Some school districts are putting records and schedules online, too. These systems allow parents to check current class work, attendance, and overall grades. Imagine the ability to see what your son our daughter is doing and compare that to the “old days” before computerized grades. You can’t change a grade or lose a report card if it is online for your parents to see. While most Central Valley schools...