EduHub@GA

So what is Ada Lovelace Day?
Ada Lovelace Day is an international day of blogging to celebrate the achievements of women in technology and science.  The first Ada Lovelace Day was held on March 24th last year and was a pretty big success. According to published reports, it a attracted nearly 2000 signers to the pledge and 2000 more people who signed up on Facebook. Over 1200 people added their post URL to the Ada Lovelace Day 2009 mash-up.

And who is Ada Lovelace?
Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace was born on 10th December 1815, the only child of Lord Byron and his wife, Annabella. Born Augusta Ada Byron, but now known simply as Ada Lovelace, she wrote the world’s first computer programs for the Analytical Engine, a general-purpose machine that Charles Babbage had invented.

A Woman in Technology That I Admire
In honor of Ada Lovelace day we have been asked to blog about a woman in technology or science that we admire.  I’m going to tell you a little bit about a most amazing person who has devoted her life’s work to improving student learning all over the planet through transformational uses of technology. 

My life first intersected with Bernajean Porter (www.digitales.us) about eight years ago when I began a quest to find resources that would help me evaluate how technology was being used in the classroom.  I stumbled across some of her work on the web and quickly adopted her rubric for our use in Forsyth County Schools.  Even without knowing her or knowing of her work, I was drawn to the carefully crafted language of the rubric and the insightful descriptions of each performance level. 

And so just a few years later, I was at NSBA’s T+L conference and found in the program a session led by Bernajean.  I was so excited to finally have the chance to hear her in person.  As she shared ideas about digital storytelling, I tried to soak up each and every pearl of wisdom.  Bernajean’s choice of language was so right on target and sparkled with possibility. 

More recently, we’ve been fortunate to have Bernajean work extensively in our school system and I’ve had the pleasure to get to know her on a personal level.  She has become my mentor, muse, friend, cooking partner and chief teacher.

I appreciate most that she has an unwavering eye on high expectations even in the face of unbelievable obstacles.  She constantly lifts us up when reality is trying to pull us down.  The amount of energy and good will that it takes to be hopeful in today’s crises is unfathomable and her strength is enviable. Her personal motto “Da Um Jetiniho” means there is always a way.

Within Bernajean’s tutelage, my understanding of what makes effective use of classroom technology has been solidified.  I am clear now on what will improve student learning and no amount of“gadget pixie dust” is going to change that.  I have Bernajean to thank for that.

What is my vision for content over the next five years and how that content can be delivered?

Year 1 vision:  Content publishers immediately begin spending most of their production dollars in re-inventing the content to be delivered from factual level texts to interactive, online collaborative tools.  Current products are sold not in packages but in an 'a la carte' style so that LEAs can purchase only those items needed – such as the electronic version of a textbook plus the test generation tool.

Year 2 vision: Content publishers debut common cartridges for all textbook series and the push is towards moving all content to digital format.  Major publishing houses band together to support a public service campaign educating parents on the move to digital content.  The PSA tag line is “this isn't  your granddaddy's school any more!”

Year 3 vision: The adoption cycle begins, publishing houses are offering digital content packaged with an alignment not just to state standards but also to state pacing guides/frameworks.  With this debut, the idea of starting on page 1 in the textbook and working to the end of the book is gone forever.

Year 4 vision:  Publishers produce inquiry-based digital learning units requiring students to create, produce, and explore using interactive digital content from primary sources. 

Year 5 vision: Content publishers provide tools and technologies to support online collaboration on a global scale thus revolutionizing their role in education.

What barriers do you see that could hinder that vision from becoming reality?

Leaders at the major publishers have to start changing RIGHT NOW or else these ideas cannot become a reality. 

The publishing cycle is tool long and too much money is invested for publishers to just let something in current development “die on the vine” so it is important to begin the change process.

The entire educational community must engage in an education campaign to help parents, taxpayers, business community members and all stakeholders understand the reasons for change.

I'm very excited by what I see happening from McGraw-Hill's Center for Digital Innovation.   Their product, Cinch Mathematics, is the closest thing I've seen to achieving the migration beyond PDF copies of textbooks.

What's your vision?  What path would you recommend publishers take to get out of the paper textbook business?  What will be serve the needs of your students?