Course Descriptions

Image created by Morgan Lendway, class of 2010

Each semester students and alumni help carve out new paths for these courses. The revisions here are often a product of our class discussions, emerging trends, technologies and curiosities. Here's the current course descriptions below.

My thanks to all those folks, current students and alumni, who continually participate in these revisions. It's inspiring to work with you and a privilege to have your input. AP

TECH RESEARCH LAB
1 credit Level 2

How many times have you said, “I’d like to try that?” Ever wanted to explore a topic but not dedicate a full semester to it? What if you had the opportunity to propose your own topic and bring that interest to fruition either working in a group with your friends or on and individual project? What if you could study alternative energy, technology in “green” buildings, hydroponics, how skis are made, or even something like how technology is shaping the future of education? That's the trick here: You choose the topic. You also choose the duration of your project. Take on up to three different projects in one semester, devote an entire semester or year to a project, take multiple sections of this course simultaneously, or extend topic tracks into successive years by repeating sections of this flexible course. With up to twenty different projects underway in the room at the same time it's a pretty dynamic atmosphere. Along the way, we explore how technology is changing the news, education, business, the cell phone landscape, the Internet, e-commerce, collaboration, computer gaming and entertainment, and even the future of medicine and aging. We incorporate modern web apps like Facebook, Flickr, Picasa, Twitter, blogs, and aggregators like iGoogle. On top of it all we seek to polish up your project management, research skill, public speaking and collaboration skills. It's a chance to explore your own diverse interests, or even get a jump start on a career or major all while you work in an alternative learning environment. Traditional course offerings not spark your interest or something you read here make you curious? If so, Tech Research is the course for you.


PREREQUISITE: Sophomore, Juniors and Seniors or permission of instructor.


SOCIAL NETWORKING: A SENIOR SEMINAR

1 credit Level 2

Seniors (available to Juniors if there is space available)

Ever get worried about life after high school? Need advice on finances? Credit cards? Bills? Online banking? Health? College? How to deal with roommates? How about nutrition? Cooking? Cars? Aging? Retirement? What practical knowledge do you need to help you into the future? We'll frame up questions as a class, and we'll find answers. We'll invite guest speakers in to share their expertise with the class on themes we design and also to discuss their personal transition from high school and into life. Along the way, we'll explore and uncover a deeper layer of using social media. We'll help you sculpt your thoughts on how you appear online, what you should know about these tools, and help you learn to leverage them to help you in the future. You'll learn more about how to learn, and how to communicate in this hyper-fast world. You'll gain deeper technology and social media skill, and gain a wealth of practical knowledge for your future. It's a course designed by your peers and explores your new questions each semester.


eDESIGN: DIGITAL ART, VIDEO, AUDIO, AND WEB PUBLISHING

1 credit Level 2

Rekindle your creative and experimental spark in this course and dive into the creative world of digital design and build your skill at the same time. Our project themes here range from the dark and mysterious to fun and whimsical. Rekindling your creative spark may prove more fun than you think. Students also design their own themes here with the intent of sharing their work with friends and family and publishing their work to the web. In the first half of this course students will explore and develop skills in digital design by experimenting with programs in the Adobe Suite like Photoshop, and various open-source programs like GIMP. In the second half of the course, students will learn basic and modern techniques of web publishing using a variety of tools including various blogs, wikis, through feature-rich applications like Dreamweaver and even on to mobile devices. 

2nd Semester Presentations Begin... Today!

Three presentations kick off today in D block. We'll post some updates as we go. Engage.

Acceptable Use Policy Advice... and a Good Dose of Common Sense

A friend called me recently for advice. He works in a school district and they have been hammering out a revised Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). He described that the discussions on this new AUP been going on for over a year, meetings were now bi-monthly, in complete gridlock and the current draft they were working on had expanded to 11 pages.

I told him a quote from Phillip K. Howard's TED speech: "The constitution is only 16 pages long."

As you might imagine, the AUP draft he sent was loaded with restrictions on web access, programs, hardware, personal devices, restrictions on the use of social media and a long list of resulting penalties.

I told him I felt the document would lead to paralysis and that it was educationally irresponsible for the needs of modern students and educators. The perspective of out of sight, out of mind won't help. Denial of service on such issues is not educational... it's avoidance.

I encouraged him to pass on a series of drafts from other districts to the committee to help them gain some perspective on where neighboring schools were headed educationally. I also recommended that the AUP should be no more than 3 pages, preferably 1. The final that they decide on should be discussed with teachers across the school, and with parents. It should be made part of professional development initiatives to help folks understand the potential pitfalls and strengths. It should not lead to business as usual.

I also offered up that it would be a healthy shift to discuss what they wanted to do educationally rather than simply what they will prevent people from doing.

In sent him the link to Howard's speech below to watch and to pass on to the committee. Howard's speech speaks volumes about refining general principles and goals.

What do you think?

Evolution

I've had many discussions on the role of technology in schools, society and our lives over the years.

I like this video. A lot.

The Fringe Benefits of Failure

I was prowling the web recently and stumbled on this Harvard Commencement speech by JK Rowling on the subject of failure. I spent the rest of the day mulling it over after watching, thinking about where I've been and how I've done things along the way.

When we do fail... we have to learn to pick ourselves up. I've failed many times in my life. There are times when I've picked myself up quickly and moved on and some others where it has taken me some time to regroup and get moving again.

Rowling touches on another theme that hit home for me. When it does take some time to get moving again I often think of something my father told me many moons ago: 'Surround yourself with good people and good things happen." Years later he added some more wisdom: "There are a lot of fair weather friends out there. Spend more time with the people who truly look to help you when the chips are down."

Rowling's speech conjures up a good deal of other thoughts too. What thoughts will it conjure up for you?

J.K. Rowling Speaks at Harvard Commencement from Harvard Magazine on Vimeo.

Under the Weather

Rule # 1: Don't post messages on Facebook to the like of how it's been ages since you've been sick.

Managed to get myself a sinus/respiratory infection/flu... thing... over the last week. Rather than getting better over the course of the week though I've steadily got worse. Currently I'm just about unable to speak. This may please some co-workers (kidding, I think)... but I can tell you it's no fun at all. Sore throat, fever... blah.

The bad news though is that I'm missing a unique day at school. The schedule has us closing out 1st semester classes in the first half of the day and opening up the second semester in the second half. Interesting idea. The chance to meet with folks after exams is a great idea... something not readily practiced in education.

So... to all my first semester e-design and RLab students, my thanks for your work. My sincere hope is that you learned to see more threads in the world, more opportunities and more things to keep a careful eye on. Drop in and say hi anytime.

To all those folks coming into new semester classes: The courses you are enrolled in change all the time. Your predecessors in the first semester provided valuable feedback that will help shape the course of your journey here this second semester... and possibly many more days in your future.

Here's a quote I like:

"All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger, but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer. - Niccolo Machiavelli

I'll stick with sloth today though...

Back to bed!

The Decade Ahead

There's no end of avenues to write about that happened over the last ten years. World events, nature, the economy, education... It'd be a long entry. So, I decided to try and summarize it all... succinctly... and here's what I came up with:

WHOO!

That about sums it up I think.

There are tons of summaries anyway out there already.

What's ahead in the next decade? Thats where my thoughts usually land. Here's a few thoughts on the technology front:

We're entering a new era of visual data summaries and search on the web, an era where we won't just talk about data being king... it will be. Searching the 'real-time web,' seeing trends develop as they happen is on the front burner of every major search engine, and hoards of businesses.

Social networking will continue to expand exponentially. Smart phones, laptops, netbooks, tablets and e-paper... the affordability of these tools will bring billions of users and volumes of information into the web. These tools will also continue to bring incredible opportunities for folks to learn and enrich their lives. It will be increasingly easy to use but it will take refined skills to take advantage of it all. There will be new social challenges with this development too. Discussions have evolved from the dangers of reading newspapers to texting while driving. It's no different from every era in education... another 'new' era in information, education and connectivity. It's my hope that "The Tipping Point,' a phenomenon summarized by Malcom Gladwell, will at last hit education in the main regarding technology. We're close I think. 'Out of sight, out of mind' won't get us anywhere we need to be. We'll gain far more ground by focusing on building skills rather than business as usual. Shifting to smart boards is not the answer. The tools themselves are not the answer... but we've started down a path to meet these challenges, to engage these discussions... a start toward increasing skills and building fluency. It takes access. Getting folks involved is the key.

How will education shift in this next decade? We'll see. Hopefully online courses, alternative schedules, internship opportunities, revised school lunch programs and the inclusion of technology will offer great potential for education. There are some encouraging developments out there. The Virtual Florida program (and this one too... there are two) and the Science and Leadership Academy in Philadelphia are two innovators that come to mind.

The Human Genome Project will continue lead to new advancements in medicine in both proactive and reactive care. The advancements will push on research around the expansion of regenerative medicine, organ replacement and extension of the human life span (see The Methuselah Project). Were in for some incredible debates in the coming decades.

Discussions on conserving energy, alternative fuels, propulsion, new materials like Aerogel... we're headed for some interesting times. $4 a gallon for gas two summers ago while oil companies made record profits... still doesn't sit well with me. Solar energy, wind power, alternative fuels, short range autos and cycles... inspiring design and new innovation is on the horizon.

I can't help but wonder what 'phones' will look like 10 years from now. Skype, Grand Central/Google Voice, the Blackberry, iPhone... they've all changed the face of how... we stepped into the mobile access era. Something more than just a phone. Will conventional household phones exist 10 years from now? I'm guessing no.

There's far more to write about but we'll get onto that later this year.

What were we doing 10 years ago? Giving a look at what's available today will help. What will we be discussing 10 years from now? Students entering 1st grade will be halfway through their high school career 10 years from now. What will their education look like? What will the collegiate realm look like? Global / online commerce and business? What tools will be in folks hands? What will we be driving? Stay tuned.

On a personal front... what a trip it's been. I've had the fortune to work with some great folks along the way and we've done a good share of innovating and development. The thought of building on that work...

Let's get to it.