the free university

I remember reading about this a couple years ago, and wondering if it would make an impact. It has: colleges all over the country are offering course materials, lectures, notes, and other information online. For free.

MIT's pioneering "OpenCourseWare" program, which was launched in 2003, posts the syllabus and class notes for more than 1,500 courses online for anyone who wants them. By this November, it aims to publish materials from virtually all 1,800 of its courses across all its schools.

Starting last fall, the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, began offering eight courses, from Introduction to Philosophy to African American History, and including everything from class plans, links to required readings, lecture notes and homework assignments. The school aims to increase the number of classes offered online to 30 courses over the next two years.

Yale University, meanwhile, has announced it will produce digital videos of undergraduate lecture classes and make them available free to the public. This academic year, it is taping seven classes--from Introduction to the Old Testament to Fundamentals of Physics--to be posted online this fall.

Some smaller liberal-arts schools are following suit. Bryn Mawr College, a women's school in Pennsylvania, is in the process of selecting course materials to post online, free to the public, beginning this summer. It plans to include classes ranging from psychology and physics to one on the history of Philadelphia.

You won't get the one-on-one interaction, and, more important, the prestigious piece of paper just from your electronic autodidacticism. But still, this form of open-source education is too, too cool.

an easy way for students to practice speaking to the class

Fun get-'em-speaking activity: hand each student two slips of paper, on which they're to write an open-ended question, any question (within the bounds of reason and school appropriateness). Collect the questions, shuffle, and redistribute, checking quickly to make sure each is good before handing out. (By originally giving two per student, you guarantee you'll be able to weed out a few with no real loss.) Sample questions, compliments of my freshfolks:

Why is the sky blue?
Why can't humans fly?
Is fate real?
Gorillas or bears?
If you were robot, would you take over the world?
What's your favorite pet, and why?
Which sport requires the most athleticism?

Then, have students write an answer to someone else's question. Collect the questions again.

Divide students into two teams. Say: "Team One, your question is..." and read a question. Team One sends up a student to answer the question, earning up to six points for speaking fluently (on topic) for sixty seconds.

In later rounds, you can have three students go up at once and use the "three-headed expert" technique, either where each is allowed to give one word as all three combine to answer, or where all have to say the same thing at the same time, watching each others' mouths and listening and struggling to get their minds together, for maximum hilarity.

Even students who are reluctant to speak in front of a whole class will go up in the later rounds, with their peers in tow. Use as practice for a larger, more intense preparation.

Terry Bergeson defends the WASL

Thoughtful critics of the WASL would do well to examine Bergeson's apologia in yesterday's P-I.

The notion of completely abandoning the WASL graduation requirement for math -- let alone reading and writing and eventually science -- is unconscionable. It would dishonor the hard work and trust that students, teachers, administrators and parents have put into meeting our education standards. Worse, it would put Washington children at an enormous educational and economic disadvantage....

We have made progress.

Washington fourth-graders' math scores in the National Assessment of Educational Progress have climbed from 17th in the nation in 1996 to ninth in the nation in 2005. At the same time, fourth-grade African American students have improved from 13th to first in the nation in their NAEP scores.

Eighth-graders have boosted their NAEP math scores ranking from 14th in the nation to seventh, while African American eighth-graders have gone from 19th place to second.

These improvements reflect the progress on WASL-measured math knowledge. The percentage of students meeting the fourth-grade math standard has almost tripled since 1997.

Despite this progress, we've not gone far enough fast enough. And it's not the kids' fault. We realize many students haven't had the opportunity to learn what they need in order to meet the math standards.

There are several reasons. There is a nationwide shortage of highly qualified math teachers. Teachers are offered inadequate preparation and professional development. Too many schools are still using math curriculum that isn't aligned with our standards and our test. Many students -- often the students most in need of intensive instruction to accelerate their learning -- are instead tracked into remedial, dead-end courses. And we simply lack the funding to provide the teacher training, smaller class sizes and individual help that students need....

As they say, read the whole thing.

a study to study the plan of the study

Is this proposal to go in-depth and compute what it'd take to fully fund education just another legislative "punt," or progress?

The group would also explore ways to provide stable and adequate financing to fully pay for basic education and report back to lawmakers with options by the beginning of next year.

The bill passed 43-5, with one senator excused. It now heads to the House, and Gov. Chris Gregoire has indicated she would sign it into law.

"It is not a study, it is a plan of action," said the bill's sponsor, Sen. Rosemary McAuliffe, D-Bothell, chairwoman of the Senate's Early Learning and K-12 Education Committee.

But some Republican senators argued that developing a way to better pay for schools was the job of the 18-month-long Washington Learns study, which was co-chaired by Gregoire.

"Here we go again," said Sen. Mark Schoesler, R-Ritzville, as he held up a series of studies that the state has done on school financing through the years, including the Washington Learns final report.

"If you gave people two years, the power of the governor's office, what would you give them for a grade when they came back incomplete?" Schoesler said. "Why would you do this again?"

Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Maple Valley, said the task force was "clearly just another study" and that the Legislature was "just punting again."

"It's a step, I'm not sure if it's forward or not," Pflug said. "Frankly, I think we've been going around in circles for quite a long while."

I'm not so certain things would be any different--or any better--with Republicans in charge. For every Cheryl Pflug there's a Val Stevens.

television so stupid even a caveman would watch it

Pundits worldwide have claimed that with the therapy spot, the Geico caveman ads jumped the shark. Apparently, so has civilization:

ABC said Friday it had ordered a pilot for a comedy, tentatively titled "Cavemen," that features the characters used in a series of ads by the insurance company.

In the ads, cavemen appear insulted by a Geico pitchman's claim that the company's Web site is so easy to use that "even a caveman can do it."

The potential series, one of 14 pilots that will be produced by Touchstone Television this spring, features the cavemen as they "struggle with prejudice on a daily basis as they strive to live the lives of normal thirty-somethings in 2007 Atlanta."

It's just a pilot. Let us pray it never makes syndication.

the evilest philosophers

Andrew Selby, responding to the Beeb's listener poll selecting the greatest philosophizers:

Well, BBC listeners chose, surprisingly, Karl Marx by an overwhelming majority. The next three in the runnings also exercised great influence for what most would call evil: David Hume, Ludwig Wittgenstein, and Frederich Nietzche. Finally, Plato gets in there, but his 6% pales in comparison to the 28% garnered for Marx.

I’m interested in what Mere-O readers think of this poll and its results (Is Marx even a proper philosopher?). Also, who would you name as the greatest philosopher and why? Take a look at the BBC shortlist to give yourself an idea of the criteria for a “philosopher” - you know it is broad when the likes of Kierkegaard and Marx are on there.

First off, if Kierkegaard doesn't count, no one does. Second, I'm as surprised as Andrew that Marx beats Plato--somewhere in hell, Karl Popper is weeping at a double loss--but I'm more surprised by the claim that Hume and Wittgenstein are listed as "evil" influences by "most." Most who? Berkeleyan idealists?

Third, reader polls are all about fraud. Don't despair: philosophy marches on.

Adam Morrison and J.J. Redick Watch: liveblogging the homecoming

For Adam Morrison, that is--although the fact doesn't even merit a mention in the Times preview. (Redick's squad's race to the bottom continues.) No fear, Adam: I'm right here, ready to liveblog your gangly return to the Evergreen State.

5:45 Prediction: Morrison, glad to be playing in front of a friendly crowd, scores 30. Ray Allen's surprise reentry to the lineup, though, means the Sonics win in a romp. Or a blowout. Or a walk. Or a snoozefest. You choose.

5:51 "The pride of Mead High School" says his rookie year has been "good so far" as the camera spotlights the "Welcome Back Adam" sign and shows live-action Adam schmoozing with fans. Morrison, while chatting, chews cud like a sleepy steer. Lesson, kids: when on camera, talk with your mouth empty.

I hope that Morrison's excuse for hirsuteness is that he's donating his hair and mustache to Locks of Love.

5:57 Morrison, so long ago, was a clean-shaven lad.

5:59 Bob Hill says Morrison is talented, but needs to work on his game. Bob Hill is talented, but needs to work on his coaching.

6:20 Bickerstaff leaves Morrison on the bench to start the contest. This will be an epic decision--and brilliant. The Sonics, lulled into complacency by the move, will be shocked by Morrison's entrance and fall to the court weeping when the Big Sky Big Boy takes it to the hole. 9-6 'Cats.

6:23 Morrison misses his first shot. False sense of security. Promise.

6:25 Morrison defends either Lewis or Collison, and looks overmatched against both. So far, turnovers are the Bobcats' worst nemesis. Three bad passes and a travel. 11-11.

6:27 His first basket is ungainly, off a rough dribble, just like the old days. He looks more comfortable shooting when he's uncomfortable in the offensive set. Go figure. 17-13 'Cats.

6:30 His second basket is the same ungainly affair from the left side. Step back, nail it, call the foul. 19-13.

6:39 At the end of the quarter, Morrison leads the 'Cats with 7 points. The Sonics are behind 27-23. All my predictions will still come true. Just wait.

6:45 Gerald Wallace of the Bobcats crashes into a little kid wearing an Adam Morrison jersey, making him (the kid) cry. The Sonics' lackadaisical defense makes me cry.

6:54 The Sonics have regained the lead. Morrison, coincidentally, hasn't seen the ball in a few minutes. Everyone else on the 'Cats is stone cold--and they'd be in a bigger hole if the Sonics weren't cold as well.

6:56 Morrison gets the ball, cans a three. 32-32.

6:56 And then gives up a rainbow to Ray Allen. Mismatch of all mismatches. Allen again for three, and it's 37-32 Sonics.

7:00 Trading baskets. Ray Allen is a man afire. 7-10 so far. Wallace cleans up a Morrison mess. 39-36 Sonics.

7:02 A couple fast breaks and a power stuff by Lewis take the Sonics to 43-36. I'm going to leave off here while my prediction is still sound--the wife is home. I'll come back for analysis in a little while.

7:49 Quick check-in. Allen cooled down (he was bound to) and Lewis stepped up, but so did Gerald Wallace, and the Cats have tied it with 3:00 in the 3rd, 65-65. Morrison has ten.

7:52 When I counted on the Sonics to win it in a romp, I didn't factor in Fabio.

10:12 I skipped the rest of the second half to watch Pulse, the Japanese borer film. In the meantime, Ray Allen ruled, the Sonics won, Morrison sort of disappointed, and the world did not self-destruct as the Internet made us all become suicidal disappearing zombies.

WIAA to ban booing?

A ban on booing is a bad idea. Granted, some high school fans can be pretty obnoxious--just like college fans. And professional sports fans. (They, unlike other professionals, pay for the privilege. Uniforms and benefits vary.)

This should be handled at a school or league level, though. I'll defer to the expert on this one, but I'm pretty sure refs already have the authority to call a technical foul or call off a contest when the crowd becomes too disruptive or unruly.

Interesting is the reasoning provided by the WIAA director:

The association director Mike Colbrese blames rude fans for the dwindling number of people who want to be coaches and officials.

Hmm... again, I'll ask the expert for comment, but I'd guess that labyrinthine regulations, pressure from high-powered parents, hyperlitigiousness, crappy pay, administrative tangles, and sore knees are bigger factors than fan follies.

Update: Steve Kelley is anti-ban.

what's right with Public Forum debate

Yesterday I lamented the state of Public Forum, calling it "intellectually bankrupt." Today, the teacher/ref/poet approaches it with qualified optimism, noting that it both encourages communication with a lay audience (which rules me out) and minimizes the rich/poor divide (since topics change every month.) Points taken. I might also add that I use Public Forum in my non-debate classes, since it's an easily learned, non-jargony format. I also use it to give debate-phobic rookies an introduction to argument, but encourage them to move into LD if they really want an intellectual challenge.

I'm most interested, though, in his suggestions:

#1: RUN IT WITH IEs. The IE judge who says "Gosh, I'm too intimidated to judge a debate round, I'm not qualified?" That's Mom. That's our Public Forum judge! Double flight the sucker so that it lasts an hour, and we're set. We've recovered what makes the event special.

Some tournaments already do this, and also try as hard as possible to exclude coaches from judging. Hosts should specifically require lay judges for Public Forum, offering a discount to any team that brings more than the minimum number.

#2: BAN ACTIVE COLLEGE DEBATERS FROM JUDGING IT. The issues I have with CX and LD are that, due to the incestuous judging community, the inmates wind up running the asylum. The giant feedback loop is enhanced from camps, and ultimately, a student can succeed without learning what forms of communciation are effective with NON-debaters.

One hundred percent agreement here.

#3: Dare I suggest it? BAN NOTE TAKING DURING THE ROUND BY THE JUDGE. That's right...no flowing. The judge sits back and watches. This means that the judge sits back, times, and listens. This means that the debaters have to be CRYSTAL CLEAR in both organization and delivery. It also means they'll be superior speakers to LD-ers and policy debaters (of course, orangutans are superior speakers to policy debaters in action).

During the round I saw Friday night, I refused to flow, for the exact same reason.

I have a couple suggestions of my own.

First, automatically deduct speaker points for anyone who says "that argument is abusive," "topicality," or "paradigm" in a PuFo round. (I would support the latter for LD as well.)

Second, allow judge interaction: an optional two-minute question time preceding the "parting shot." The judge may ask a question to both sides, allowing both a chance to respond. So what if pure, objective distance is lost. Students will better learn what their judges want to see in the debate, and judges will be encouraged to listen carefully. (This would preclude any sort of oral critique, which should have no place in PuFo.)

Having enjoyed a good night's sleep, I'm not quite as cranky about PuFo as I was yesterday. However, to keep it from remaining a joke event, coaches need to serious up their PuFo instruction, setting expectations for evidence and communication. I hope that if PuFo sticks around, it doesn't turn into mini-policy or dueling extemps, but that all involved work to make it relevant, engaging, and maybe even fun--for judges.

the root of the WASL problem

http://www.fedwaymirror.com/portals-code/list.cgi?paper=91&cat=23&id=844823&more=

When Ricky Newton, a teacher at Totem Middle School, asked a cafeteria full of students how many of them had seen a peer use testing time as an opportunity to practice tic-tac-toe, more than half raised their hands.

Clearly, some students aren’t taking tests seriously.

The average Washington Assessment of Student Learning (WASL) scores in math at Totem dropped more than 15 percent last year, Newton said. Some students dropped as many as 68 points in their score from one year to the next.

“We know that our instructional preparation is pretty consistent,” he said. “How can a student lose 20, 30, 40 points?”

Newton’s theory is that the students weren’t motivated. Or they were busy playing tic-tac-toe.

With WASL tests right around the corner, now is not the time to play games, Newton told the crowd.

“You’re blowing your own future,” Newton said. “You can do better than you did last year.”

Thursday was the first Leadership Speakers Conference for the Totem Middle School Boys Leadership Program.

The program includes 90 boys in seventh and eighth grades who have shown behavior problems or a need for added academic support.

The conference included a panel of Thomas Jefferson High School students who talked to the boys about the upcoming spring WASL.

Hopefully, Newton said, the high school boys could motivate the younger students in a way teachers could not.

“We needed to hear from our immediate peers because our immediate peers are sometimes more important,” Newton said.

The panel of high school students stressed the importance of passing the WASL to the attentive crowd.

“Just try,” said Josh Kane, a junior. “You’ve got to pass it eventually, so you might as well get it out of the way.”

Asking for help from teachers is the best way to succeed, Kane told the crowd.

“If you act like a punk and you think your teacher doesn’t like you, you can still go up to your teacher and they’ll help you,” he added.

Marcus Buren Jr., a junior, told the middle school students that he wished he’d passed the math portion of the WASL on his first try. Now he has to take three WASL courses each Tuesday, when he’d rather spend that time taking electives.

Kane agreed.

“It can be the difference between having to take a WASL class or pottery or P.E.,” he said.

The high school kids also spoke to the students about getting plenty of sleep and bringing snacks to school during testing week.

They offered testing strategies, such as narrowing multiple choice questions down to the two best answers, then choosing one.

“Just pick one,” said senior Tanuj Soni. “Don’t leave it blank.”

After the presentation, Newton said he was pleased to see how attentive the crowd was.

“I think those high school kids made a big impact,” he said. “I thought it was pretty successful.”

mail-to-blogger test via Windows Live mail

This is another test.  Another link test, too.

Thus endeth the test.

---

Get news, entertainment and everything you care about at Live.com. Check it out!

Update: It works. Forgot to add the tag that removes the silly ad at the end, though. Also, you still have to manually add a label, but at least it's functional way to publish while Google Documents works out the kinks.

mail-to-blogger test

This is a test of mail-to-blogger. This is a <a
href="http://fiveoneseven.blogspot.com">link test.</a> Go, pixels, go.

Update: So, links don't work the way I thought they did, but the server is back up. (A few days ago I sent several tests that never went through.) Good to know.

face the music

I spent the past three days at a national qualifying forensics tournament, hearing sad stories about how regional speech and debate programs are suffering as schools drop classes to fit in more WASL prep.

Thankfully, the Olympia School District still values electives, with robust art, technology, debate, business, and manufacturing programs--and now ranks as a top district for its outstanding music education.

That is, among the top 100 in the country.

The eighth annual survey is sponsored by the NAMM Foundation, a nonprofit association working on behalf of the musical instruments and products industry....

The survey also asked districts about how many students continue in music after high school graduation.

That's another area where Olympia shines, said Dan Lundberg, the district's music coordinator and Capital High School's band director.

"We do have a lot of kids who are adults now that are music teachers or that are playing on the side," he said. "They continue with it at some point in their life again."

Lundberg attended Olympia schools and learned to play the trumpet. He has taught in the Olympia School District since 1978 and last year was named Outstanding Music Educator by the Washington Music Educators Association.

Congratulations to Lundberg and the other unheralded music teachers in our district--the work you do changes lives.

Oh, and legislators, while you're staying in Olympia, come and check out Oly or Capital's music offerings, and then see if you can justify pillaging the arts in the name of standards.

the chaos in Ken Jacobsen's brain

State Senator Ken Jacobsen on chaos theory:

"I'm into the theory of chaos. And in the theory of chaos, if this particle exists and this one comes into existence and this one doesn't know that one exists? It still affects the behavior of that one," he said, moving his hands around as if they were giant particles.

Fawning Seattle Times translation:

Jacobsen believes his legislation puts new ideas on the table and creates discussion that can affect the outcome of an issue, even if it takes years for the Legislature to finally act.

Actual translation: Ken Jacobsen needs to study up on chaos theory. Oh, and I suggest a new nickname for the senior Democrat from Seattle: Particle Man.

Olympia Tony Roma's closes

Olympia's longstanding local joint is no more.

Tony Roma, a fixture in Olympia cuisine since 1962, has abandoned his operation for a life of margaritas and mai tais on a cruise ship somewhere in the Caribbean. Roma established his eponymous restaurant when barbecue was a backwater boondoggle, and through award-winning slow cooking and secret sauces steadily built up a reputation for excellence in all things pork, beef, and sometimes chicken.

What led to the decline of that one-of-a-kind blend of Italian flair and country vittles? I blame Best Buy and Claire's Boutique for slowly corrupting the mall, over the past two decades replacing homegrown stores and eateries with an accretion of soulless corporate crap. I blame Olympians for forgetting their roots. And, mostly, I blame myself.

So long, Tony Roma's. We'll sure miss your rib-sticking ribs.

I learned it at Nat Quals

As I mentally prepare for another day of judging speech and debate, I consider what I have learned so far:

• The average home costs only $40,000. I can finally afford a home. (Later on, I decided you could say the median home costs $10,000--and when someone asks how that's possible, say you're talking about homes built in the median.) (Guess rising problem of foreclosure is a myth.) (Three parentheses in a row.)
• Religion is important in America, because many Americans listen to Michal Savage.
• This is not a test case for the consumer credit PuFo resolution: "I don't think it's gonna happen--some guy's not going to blow all his cash on a trip to Europe, then come back home and screw his kids."
• The Economist is bimonthly, or maybe monthly, as are Time and Newsweek. (It's time to abolish "sources" in extemp. Without any accountability, they are total B.S.) (Be sure to tell your story, Josh.)
• Public Forum debate is intellectually and morally bankrupt. Also, it hurts.
  

seeing red means envisioning failure

And here I was, dressing up to teach in a devil costume with red tights and a sweeping red cape. No wonder my students' standardized test scores are in the crapper.

Rep. Rodne: don't amend HB 1307

Jeff Nusser sends word of an amendment that would exempt high schools from respecting full speech rights for high school journalists. At a time when student expression of all kinds is increasingly under attack, HB 1307 is all the more important. If you have the time, encourage Rodne to keep it relevant and drop the amendment excluding high school journalists.

as good as it gets

This is the least tacky tie I own.

I wore it while...

1. Teaching colons, dashes, and parentheses.
2. Correcting misspellings of "carnivore."
3. De-angsting students frazzled by IB requirements.
4. Driving past DuPont, City of Branding.
5. Judging speech rounds at Nat Quals.
6. Writing up a debate budget between rounds.
7. Surviving dramatic interps about eating, not eating, and hating those who eat without guilt.
8. Blogging.


[cross-posted where it matters]

Adam Morrison and J.J. Redick Watch: non-Leap-Day

Morrison chilled in the worst way, going 0-5 from beyond the arc and 2-11 overall, ending with six points as the injury-riddled 'Cats choked in Sacramento.

Redick chilled in the next worst way, watching from the bench as his team lost to the Nuggets. (No matter how good the Nuggets are, you're still losing to a euphemism, always mortifying.)