Applying Decision Models to Schools
September 18, 2008
This was posted on my old education policy blog, EdPol, on May 22, 2006.
As I was sitting in my decision models class last week, I realized that there is an excellent opportunity to apply optimization models to K-12 educational institutions. The basic idea of a decision model is to optimize a function. For example, in business, we would design a model that maximizes our profit function. This is known as the “objective function.” Next, we need to choose a series of “decision variables” that we can vary. In a business, this could typically be the individual department’s budgets. Finally, the model relies upon a series of “constraints.” In business, this could be fixed proportions of certain units to build a product. For example, if we were a construction company, we might need to buy Y nails for each X pieces of plywood.
In an educational setting, I imagine that the objective function could be maximizing student achievement. The decision variables could be various budget allocations. For example, the decision variables could be class size, teacher quality, curriculums, supplies, textbooks, IT systems, janitors, etc. Finally, the constraints on the system could be the amounts that are budgeted for certain types of activities. The constraints could also include costs of certain curriculums, or restrictions due to union contracts. Another constraint could be if we do not want our class size rising above a certain amount. But the decision model would ultimately optimize all the decision variables to create the best solution given the constraints.
Some businesses use decision models with millions of decision variables and thousands of constraints. I believe that decision models could be applied to making decisions in an educational setting. The textbook that our professor recommended for this class is: The Art of Modeling with Spreadsheets.
I did not even know that decision models existed until a few weeks ago. Yet, I imagine that I have been exposed to more business concepts than the average principal or school administrator. Therefore, I believe that there is a huge opportunity to implement optimization models across all levels of education.
Teacher Leadership to Effect Change in Education
July 28, 2008
Leadership is a major theme on most educator’s minds.
A typical example of school leadership usually involves an enlightened principal, or great superintendent - but rarely involves a great teacher affecting the school beyond their classroom.
Teacher leadership should move to the next level to include the question: how can a teacher effect change in their district?
I believe that institutional change will be driven by teachers who are committed to changing the culture of their districts.
It is no longer tenable for enlightened educators to act as silos of innovation. Teachers should target educational leaders, curriculum directors, superintendents, and boards to help educate them on the importance of 21st century skills and the role of technology in teaching these skills.
The ed tech blogosphere would benefit from more discussions about implementing change management programs and less talk about the latest gadgets or web sites.
An ideal school culture would award risk-taking and innovation in instruction. An investment in technology is often a tough, risky decision that requires genuine leadership and buy-in.
But leadership does not need to happen solely at the principal, or administration level. Leadership can function at the teacher level as well.
Educators are great leaders and experts in consensus building, aligning students around a vision, gaining political capital, managing conflict, and driving change. But, educators are typically not trained in applying these skills to effecting enterprise-level change. In essence, teachers should apply their classroom leadership skills to their entire districts.
The education sector can borrow from change management, turnaround management, and leadership classes from traditional business schools to learn how to apply these skills to district-level change.
Genuine leadership at the teacher level is the key ingredient to institute systemic, sustainable change in school districts.
Ohio Education Technology Network
June 17, 2008
I am proud to announce the official launch of the Ohio Education Technology Network (OETN).
One of the greatest strengths of Web 2.0 technologies is its ability to empower individuals. In 2000, with the launch of Blogger, individuals were empowered to easily publish content online. Later in the decade, Podcasting empowered individuals to easily distribute audio content. Wikis empower individuals to contribute content to a central body of knowledge.
The latest transformational online technology that is empowering individuals is a free product called Ning. Ning allows an individuals to create an entire social network through a simple click of a button.
A few weeks ago, Abby Kelton, our manager of professional development, used Ning to create a social network called the Ohio Education Technology Network.
Over the course of a few weeks, the network has grown to include over 40 educators across the entire region! We have professors, teachers, education technologists, principals, and superintendents from all over Ohio collaborating on a free online space. They are sharing videos, discussing professional development, posting events, and making friends.
The launch of OETN represents the amazing power of the digital age that we live in. An individual educator can connect a community together through a click of a button.
Thin clients vs. desktops in an education environment
May 26, 2008
(This is one of my most popular blog posts. Please contact me at njulka@smartsolutionsonline.com if you would like to learn more about this topic.)
A question that repeatedly comes up with our clients is: should districts move towards a thin client environment?
Thin clients, for non-technical people, are pieces of computer equipment in which the bulk of the processing is done on the server. The thin client has no hard drive, no processor, and no moving parts. Therefore, thin clients have a much longer life span than standard desktops, and also use significantly less power.
Other advantages of thin clients include lower maintenance costs because changes can be executed server-side and break-fix simply requires replacing the client. There are also lower deployment costs because thin clients do not need to be individually set up.
Smart Solutions has been the vendor for some of the largest thin client deployments at school districts in the State of Ohio.
With all the advantages of thin clients, some would argue that they are a no-brainer for cash-strapped districts. Not so fast.
The biggest problem with thin clients, in our experience, is that they are not yet able to handle the wide range of applications that some districts use. For example, we had one client who tried pushing streaming media through their thin client environment, and it simply did not function properly.
Our advice would be to not go thin client unless the district robustly tests the clients with its set of applications. Thin clients are great for basic web browsing and word processing, but not great for video and other media.
Ultimately, hardware decisions rely upon the curricular goals of the district. The best solution for districts typically falls somewhere in between. It may include thin clients throughout the district, fat client labs, and lap tops/desktops for teachers and administrators.
How to Build a Social Mesh in Education
May 3, 2008
Many people in the education world are fascinated with the idea of online virtual learning communities to share best practices and increase collaboration. This is the main focus of great thinkers such as Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and Will Richardson.
Marc Canter (my new favorite blogger) takes the idea of social networks, and abstracts it to a significantly improved conceptual framework. In a nutshell, Canter believes that open networks, open IDs, open standards, structured content, and open APIs are the best way to tie all of the networks and data together in a meaningful way.
He recently posted 10 blog posts describing his entire philosophy. Canter’s writing style is concise, opinionated, and visionary. I believe that any designer of social networks - particularly in the field of education - should use Canter’s advice when creating their networks.
The 10 sections of Canter’s posts are:
[1] - ID, Personas, Social Graphs and Groups
[2] - Persistent Ubiquitous Content
[3] - Structured Content (and shared servers filled with that stuff)
Canter even specifically mentions educational content in a social mesh:
Educational objects are also a way for intelligent folks to make money. Imagine encapsulating some course, tutorial, advice, guidelines, how-to-guide in an object which can get you PAID for your work and intellectual property! Educational objects would fit seamlessly into the open mesh and be compatible with many DIFFERENT People’s Marketplaces.
This comes at a particularly relevant time for a company such as SchoolNet, which is in the preliminary stages of creating an education “niche social network.”
Our digital age is moving in the direction of better organized content, open standards, and social networks. It is of paramount important that 21st century businesses, media, government, and education become plugged into these trends to maximize their relevance in the future.
Personal Productivity in the Education Sector
April 19, 2008
The topic of personal productivity is something that I am passionate about.
I have developed my own personal productivity style after extensively reading the following sources:
For those of you who are not aware, GTD (Getting Things Done) is the “bible” in productivity circles. The GTD tag on del.icio.us is a good place to start learning about the topic. I was also happy to catch this post on GTD in Education.
Believe it or not, personal productivity can be broken down into a core set of principles:
- Keep things simple
- Do one thing at a time
- Outsource everything possible
- Remove distractions from your life
- Work in terms of action steps
- Follow the Inbox Zero principle for your e-mail
- Have a weekly review to go over your projects, and clear your inbox, action steps, and follow ups
What is Web 2.0?
April 12, 2008
Last week, I met with a Columbia Business School professor to discuss the broad issue: what is web 2.0?
My standard answer: Web 2.0 is a marketing buzzword used to describe a large class of next-generation web applications.
I categorize Web 2.0 into the following sections:
- Personal productivity
- Syndication
- Tagging / Organization
- Online Collaboration
I also believe that Web 2.0 generally emphasizes the following themes:
- Creating and Consuming Information
- Global conversation
- Empowering the individual
- Knowledge sharing / discover
Web 2.0 is intimately tied to the concept of 21st Century Learning.
This PDF briefly describes the framework from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills.
- Creativity and innovation
- Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
- Communication and Collaboration
- Information Literacy
- Communication Literacy
- Technology Literacy
- Flexibility and Adaptability
- Initiative and Self-Direction
- Social and Cross-Cultural Skills
- Productivity and Accountability
- Leadership and Responsibility
It is amazing how fluency in Web 2.0 collaborative tools correlates with the same skill sets required to achieve success in 21st century learning environments.
Using twitter is engaging in a global conversation. Teaching oneself to use ning is the same “initiative and self direction” discussed in 21st century skills. Tools such as Google Docs or Sharepoint are primary platforms for online collaboration. (FYI - A division of Smart Solutions, Collaborative Technology Solutions, specializes in integrating online collaborative tools in the professional services arena.)
At Smart Solutions K-12, we are excited to bring practical solutions to integrating collaborative technologies into the classroom. Technology cannot exist in a vacuum. It must be accompanied by professional development, change management plans, technical leadership, and curricular support.
Our approach posits that educational institutions need a strong technology partner to help usher schools into the 21st Century.
Cleveland Technology Town Hall Meeting with Senator Sherrod Brown
April 1, 2008
I had the pleasure of attending a Technology Town Hall Meeting with Senator Sherrod Brown a few days ago.
There were at least 20 individuals from the technology sector in Cleveland, Ohio including leaders from Nortech, WVIZ Ideastream, and OneCommunity.
The round table started with a discussion of stimulus packages that could help revitalize the region.
We also talked about technocratic topics such as tax credits and rent subsidization. Another theme of the round table was the region’s hunger for talent. This is similar to an interesting observation in a Plain Dealer article:
Despite an unemployment rate hovering above the national aver age, Ohio still has thousands of jobs in manufacturing, information technology and other fields that go unfilled for lack of skilled workers, officials say.
While the meeting went fairly well, Cleveland’s weak economic conditions is not something to celebrate.
Cleveland business leaders seem open to discussing ways to transform the region’s economy. Unfortunately, slim operating margins makes it challenging for businesses to invest in forward-looking initiatives that could bring about that kind of economic revival.
Many business leaders probably feel caught between wanting to invest in long-term workforce training and fearing that making those kinds of investments in a tough economic climate could force them into bankruptcy before those investments paid off.
Cleveland has the homegrown talent to succeed. But it is up to Cleveland business leaders to balance the short term interests of their companies with long-term investments in coaching, on the job training, and developing their existing employees.