Future of Education Interview with Alan Michel from Home, Inc. Tonight

Date: 7 Jan 2010
Time: 5pm Pacific (US) / 8pm Eastern (US) / 1am (Next Day) GMT (International link)
Elluminate Session URL: http://tr.im/futureofed or here
Event Page:  at LearnCentral.org

Tonight I interview Alan Michel, the Director, Co-Founder, and Board President of HOME, Inc., a media arts and education non–profit in Boston. Alan is currently running a media education program that reaches over 1,500 students in eleven schools in the Boston and Somerville Massachusetts school systems.

HOME, Inc. ("Here-in Our Motives Evolve") is a 30-year old, non-profit organization.  Their mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of young people. They teach video production and media analysis to educators and youth to foster confident, creative, individuals with the ability to think for themselves.  Their programs help students develop creative media projects that foster teamwork and communication skills. HOME's media projects and programs focus on teacher and student collaboration and the ability to effectively evaluate media messages, in order to enhance critical thinking skills.  For HOME, the arts are a vital means of self-expression and a fundamental tool for stimulating lifelong learning.

Alan’s work in media and education includes the Get the Facts About AIDS campaign and prevention program in the Boston public Schools and other media projects.  As the Principal Investigator for the Media and Health Project with the Boston Public Schools funded by the U.S. Department of Education and the National Endowment for the Arts, Alan develop the curriculum for media literacy professional development and project based learning at 5 Boston Public Schools, spearheaded partner relations with community groups, government, arts, education and scientific institutions and organizations and developed access to local and national media and telecommunications opportunities regionally. Alan is currently running a media education program that reaches over 1,500 students in eleven schools in the Boston and Somerville Massachusetts school systems.

The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early. To make sure that your computer is configured for Elluminate, please visit http://www.elluminate.com/support.

Recordings of the session will be posted within a day of the event.

The Truth about 1:1 Laptop Programs

During a rousing FutureofEducation.com session lnight astwith Jeff Mao from Maine as the guest, the overall sentiment I took away about the Maine learning Technology Initiative (often known as their 1:1 laptop program) was captured in a chat messages stating that "educators have put off retirement due to this change - and a huge majority will now tell you they cannot teach without 1 to 1."  I heard similar things in Indiana with the "ubiquitous computing" efforts there (not laptops, but Linux thin clients), so I was definitely drinking the Kool-Aid.

Later in the evening, however, I read Larry Cuban's latest cogent missive.

A “Naked Truth” about Technologies in Schools? « Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

In “The End of Techno-Critique: The Naked Truth about 1:1 Laptop Initiatives and Educational Change,” Mark Weston and Alan Bain summarize the evidence and arguments of those who have questioned 1:1 laptops. Weston and Bain profile my writings as representative of the “Techno-Critique.” Except for a few critical points, I found their summary of my articles and books fair. Furthermore, their review of the evidence of laptop use and effects in Maine and Texas is far more damning than anything I have written.  [Emphasis mine]

It's worth reading the whole post, but let's just say it wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as the hour with Jeff had been.  I'm intrigued that there can be such a difference in perspectives.

This morning Sylvia Martinez announced the new 1:1 Schools group blog being organized by Scott McLeod.  With Sylvia being involved, I feel certain it will provide balanced perspectives.  I'll definitely be paying attention to this debate.