As the sky darkens during early February 2012,  two bright planets dominate  the sky.  Venus shines brightly in the western sky, standing above the horizon and Jupiter gleams from the southern skies.  Early in the month, the moon is east of the planets and outside the view shown above.

At night only the moon outshines Venus in brilliance. In turn Venus easily outshines Jupiter, appearing about 6 times brighter than the solar system’s largest planet.  Venus is our planet’s nearest neighbor and its clouds are highly reflective as they return over 70% of the sunlight that reaches them.

Jupiter takes nearly 12 years to orbit the sun once.  As we revolve around the sun each year, stars appear in the morning sky just before sunrise.  Each day they rise earlier than the previous day.  Each week they appear farther toward the west at the same time.  This westward movement of the stars reflects our revolution to the east in our planet’s orbit.  Because Jupiter revolves so slowly, its location in the sky reflects the westward movement of the stars in general, with some differences.

Several weeks after appearing in the morning sky, the stars and Jupiter appear in the east around sunset.  Looking each week at the same time, we notice that the stars are higher in the east.  Several weeks later, the stars are in the south at sunset, continuing to appear farther west at the same time.  As Earth revolves, the stars appear in the west as the sky darkens, and then reappear in the eastern sky just before sunrise, repeating this annual cycle. 

As this westward match continues, watch Jupiter during February approach Venus.  Late in the month, the moon passes in the region of Venus and Jupiter as indicated on the chart above, February 24-27.

As an extra, with binoculars or at low power in small telescope, look for the planet Uranus near Venus on February 9.  With optical aid, Uranus will display a bluish-green disk while the stars will appear as points.  The chart above shows a magnified view of the area around Venus.  Uranus is just at the limit of human eyesight in a dark sky, so some magnification through a binocular or small telescope will be needed.

With binoculars on February 22, look for Mercury and the moon low in the west at 5:45 p.m.  Locate a view spotting with a good view of the natural horizon, away from houses and trees.

Mars shines brightly from the eastern evening skies during the month near Denebola, the star that represents Leo’s tail, although it is one-third the brightness of Jupiter and only about one-tenth the brightness of Venus.  During the month Mars will increase in brightness as our planet approaches and passes the Red Planet.  On the evening of February 9, the moon appears nearby.

A few nights later, the Moon appears near the star Spica and Saturn with constellation Corvus nearby.  The chart above shows the view at 1 a.m.  As the night progresses, the moon and other objects will appear to rise, appearing in the southern skies around sunrise.

The chart above shows the positions of the planets in the solar system at mid-month.  With the planets moving in a counter clockwise motion, Earth is catching up and readying to pass Mars.  Venus moves faster than Earth and it is slowly catching up with our planet.

Take a look at the sky this month!

Taurus the Bull is visible high in southern skies during January

January opens with a sky full of stars and planets in the evening sky.  Taurus the Bull appears high in the southern skies during January’s evening hours.  Two bright star clusters, known as the Hyades and the Pleiades, help construct the constellation.  The “V” shaped cluster forms the bull’s head and face, although the bright reddish star Aldebaran that forms the bull’s eye is not part of the cluster.  Aldebaran is one of the largest stars in our part of the galaxy.  If placed in our solar system, it would extend beyond the orbit of Mars.  The Pleiades ride on the bull’s back.  The Taurus region of the sky is best explored with the low power of binoculars.  The stars in the clusters are so widely spread that they are best viewed with at low power.

Moon Phases

First Quarter:          January 1 & January 31
Full Moon:                January 9
Last Quarter:           January 16
New Moon                January 23

The moon passes Jupiter early in January 2012.The moon makes a return pass by Jupiter later in the month.

The moon passes Jupiter a second time in late January 2012.

Mercury opens 2012 low in the southeastern sky before dawn.  The planet is difficult to locate without a good horizon and binoculars.  Antares and Sabik are nearby.  Mercury disappears into the bright sun’s glare during the second week of the month and is invisible until it appears in the evening sky in late February.

Mars rises in the eastern sky around midnight this month, appearing near Denebola — Leo’s tail.  On January 13, its identification is easier when the moon is nearby.

A few days later, the moon is near Saturn.  At 5:30 a.m. on January 16, the moon appears near the planet and Spica.

On the morning of January 19, the moon makes a nice configuration with Antares and the stars of Scorpius around 5:30 a.m.

The chart above shows the positions of the visible planets at mid January 2012.  Mercury is headed for superior conjunction (behind the sun) and Mars for opposition (Earth is between Mars and the sun.)  Saturn and Jupiter are nearly on opposite sides of the their planetary orbits from each other.

With online learning, shouldn’t we do better?  Shouldn’t we have higher expectations?  Shouldn’t we stop telling partial truths?  Partial truths don’t help online learning initiatives.  All learning through technology is not all powerful.

When I was in elementary school, the teachers used controlled reading projectors.  These contraptions used modified film strip projectors to display the text of stories.  The projectors fed the story’s text through the film gate while a single line was revealed from left to right.  The speed of the text was regulated from 15 lines per minute to 120 lines per minute.  Supposedly, the projector was used to help us develop horizontal movement of our eyes to read and to increase our reading speed.  Didn’t work for me.  My eyes sometimes do not track across the page and it helped make me a non-reader for most of my youth.  Technology “solutions” do not always work.

When I was in junior high, my oldest brother was in the U.S. Navy.  While he spent most of his time stateside, he was involved with the Navy’s target drones.  The Navy had small unmanned airplanes that they launched in the desert near Twenty Nine Palms, CA.  His crew prepared and launched the target and then another group attempted to hit it with it with a missiles.  But I digress.

After Basic Training, he prepared for his work with targets in Memphis, TN.  He learned about them through programmed instruction.  He left his instructional materials at home when he went to his next duty station.

During those youthful days, I was fascinated with any vehicle propelled by propeller, jet or rocket engine.  Through the programmed instruction books he left at home, I learned about radial reciprocating engines and aircraft marshalling.  It was self-paced and interesting for me.  No teacher demanding that I put away the books so they could move on to the next subject.

My point is that programmed instruction has been used for many years.  It allows students to progress at their own rates. From theory developed by B.F. Skinner, it evolved into an instructional method.  With computers, it has been called mediated instruction or computer aided instruction.  We know that this is a highly effective methodology, but it has largely fallen from favor.  It is based on mastery learning, yet is not a favored instructional strategy.

There are readers who will claim that this time it’s different.  Yes, first there needs to be a sense of urgency. (See the national number about physics teachers below.)  Financially, the current educational system cannot sustain itself.  Yes, technology gives us a new dimension of student tracking not available before.  Technology allows us to add many different forms of exciting media.  However, the learning system is not new — programmed instruction, CAI, mediated instruction, yet it is rebranded as digital, blended or online.  There is no new methodology, and it is limited; it does not accent or support other skills students need to be successful in their world.

So I ask the question, “Are the blended learning models proposed in many circles a rebirth of programmed instruction?”  Earlier this week I attended a presentation by Bob Wise that was sponsored by the Illinois Policy Institute and the Peoria (IL) Chamber of Commerce.  Gov. Wise gave his standard presentation about the need for digital learning.  (I’ve heard this in other venues.  The video of the presentation will be added here when it is available from IPI.)  His reasons for favoring digital learning are around shrinking state budgets,  loss of experienced teachers and the need for an educated workforce.  He proposes that digital learning allows for comprehensive data systems that can track student learning, converting bubbles to clicks – as I have written about before.  The essence of Gov Wise’s thesis is that for our country to compete in a global market we need a highly educated workforce.  We need more high school graduates that move into higher education, he postulates.  Yet, where do we teach the skills that industry tells us students need: problem solving skills, ability to collaborate, communication skills, etc.?  These can’t be measured with a bubble or a click.

The online learning proponents must set the bar high as naysayers will continue to cite the latest alleged deficiencies quoted in the popular press (NY Times, AZ Republic).  We need to maintain and professionally enforce quality standards.

Here are three examples in Gov Wise’s presentation that need sharpened:

• We need digital learning for students who don’t have qualified teachers, for example, the state of Georgia only has 80 some physics teachers.  I have heard this before.  There’s never been a reference provided when I’ve heard this number cited by various sources.  Here’s some more powerful, documented information:  In 2007, 66.5% of the nation’s students were taught physics by a teacher without certification in the subject (reference).  In 2007, the Georgia’s higher education system produced only 3 physics teachers (reference).  The national number is frightening and a strong reason to provide high quality digital learning for these underserved students.
• Carpe Diem, a blended learning school in Yuma, Arizona, is cited as having excellent results with low costs, lower than average Arizona costs and lower than national costs.  However, it is average in Yuma County, AZ (reference).  It’s ok to get great results with average expenses.  This should be celebrated, not selectively removed from the presentation.
• Working with some of the district’s most economically challenged students, Valley High School has dramatically improved its test scores during 5 years.  While Gov Wise praises “longitudinal data systems,” AYP is not longitudinal.  Further the principal did not do this alone.  During five years, many of the students came from a middle/junior high school and that school had to be raising their test scores as well.  This was a multidimensional effort — not just that of one school.  It is a longitudinal effort not an AYP effort that focuses on results on single grades or levels.

I hope that he reads this to strengthen his presentation about the need for high quality learning opportunities for all kids.

The Sun reaches its southern-most point in its yearly travels at 11:30 p.m. CST on December 21, signalling the beginning of winter in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of summer for southern latitudes.  This is the Winter (December) Solstice.

The Moon  is in total lunar eclipse on December 10, but the best parts of the eclipse are not visible from the Chicago area.  The eclipse begins at 5:33 a.m. CST, when the moon enters Earth’s penumbra.  The lunar darkening is largely unnoticed by most observers.  At 6:45 a.m. CST, the moon enters the darker shadow where the partial eclipse begins.  The moon is very low in the western sky, setting only 25 minutes later.  The sky is brightening as the moon sets with sunrise.  Farther west in the U.S. more of the eclipse is visible, although the full eclipse is visible from the Pacific, Australia and Asia.

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon crosses into the earth’s shadow.  The moon’s orbit is tilted slightly compared to the earth’s orbit.  The moon does not cross into the shadow each month.  The next total lunar eclipse visible from the Chicago region is April 15, 2014.  Parts of a partial lunar eclispse are visible  June 4, 2012.

Moon Phases

First Quarter — 12/2
Full Moon — 12/10
Last Quarter — 12/18
New Moon — 12/24

Mercury moves rapidly past Earth (inferior conjunction) on December 4 and into the morning sky.  During the last half of the month it makes an appearance low in the eastern sky somewhat near the star Antares.  The chart above shows Mercury, the moon, and Antares at 6:30 a.m. on December 22.  Find a place with a clear view of the horizon to see the widely spaced trio.  Binoculars will help locate Mercury and Antares.

Venus is the bright “star” in the southwest, just after sunset.  Its brilliance can be easily confused for an airplane.  Late in the month, the moon appears near Venus as displayed on the chart above.

Mars is a reddish “star” that rises around 10:30 p.m. during this month.  It is near the stars of Leo (Denebola and Regulus).  On December 16 and 17, the moon is nearby and is identified on the chart above in the southern skies at 5 a.m.

As the sky darkens each evening with Venus in the west, bright Jupiter is in the eastern sky.  Jupiter rises during the daytime and is high in the southeast by 8 p.m.  The chart above shows Jupiter and the moon for December 5 and 6.  Jupiter appears to move westward as  our planet rotates, setting in the western sky around 3 a.m.

Saturn rises during the predawn hours and is visible low in the southeast around 5 a.m.  It is near the star Spica.  The constellation Corvus is nearby.  One December 19 and 20, the moon helps with the identification of Saturn and Spica.

Viewing the morning sky, three planets (Mercury, Saturn, and Mars) line up across the sky in late December.  At 6:40 a.m., Mercury is low in the east, Saturn is in the south, and Mars is higher in the southwest.  The chart above shows the three planets at this time.

Viewing the solar system from above, the trio described above are on the same side of the sun as Earth, appearing in the morning sky.  Venus and Jupiter are in the other side appearing in the evening sky.

As the daylight continues to shrink, the bright winter sky appears earlier and stays longer, giving observers an opportunity for some skywatching.

The Closing Student Panel from VSS 2011

Over 1,900 conferees assembled in Indianapolis for the Virtual  School Symposium November 9-11, 2011.  My notes from the day follow.  A wiki is available for the event.

On Wednesday, I participated in a day long workshop for participants starting online programs.  Holly Brzycki, John Canuel, David Glick, and Phil Lacey presented about their specialties:  curriculum, leadership, technology, policy, and professional development.

The program started with a panel of teachers from across the country.

 Fostering Quality in Digital Learning.  I wrote a separate review of the session here.  The essence of the presentation was policy development so that market forces can produce new learning platforms.  My thoughts are that the presenters are missing an important factor in their calculations — teacher-student relationships.

Presenters were no-shows at two of the sessions I attended, although audience members rose to lead discussions that were similar to the titles in the program.  This speaks to the interest of the participants, but the program committee, of which I am a member, needs to do a better job ensuring that speakers are in attendance.

In the lunchtime presentation by Steve Midgley (US Dept of Education), he reviewed technology advances with Google, Youtube, and others.  Not much new here.

Mickey Revenaugh from Connections Academy lead a panel discussion about course quality.  This was a different discussion from the policy issues discussed earlier in the day.  While vendors were on the panel, the discussion was about how to develop quality courses.  The participants did not feel “sold.”  The design process includes visual literacy concepts and prototyping new courses sections with students.  Teachers’ loads are determine by the amount of grading effort by the teacher and teacher-student interaction.  Assessments, standards, and such were discussed.  Some measures of quality include end of course exams, mastery learning, and growth models.  Interestingly, one vendor collects student feedback on each lesson with a 5 star rating system and a text box for specific comments.  Ratings and comments are used to make changes in content.

On the evening of the first day of VSS, the planners  provided an exceptional evening of  food and entertainment at the Indiana Roof Ballroom.  Vendors had evening receptions, making it a parade of events for the evening.

On Friday morning, Michael Horn and Paul Peterson had a panel discussion about a world class education.  Peterson quoted PISA scores showing the apparent dismal scores of American students, yet later he stated that he was not an assessment expert.  If you’re unfamiliar with the possible problems with PISA, start here.  Peterson described the idea of co-production — how unpaid labor increases productivity.  They include:

• Big box stores where customers troll the aisles with carts, moving goods from the stores to their cars.
• Banks were ATMs serve customers and banks use online statements.

In schools, Peterson stated, students are the most important part of unpaid labor.  We must look for student engagement in courses to get them to learn what they should know.

Like others, including Horn, Peterson stated that we are at the beginning of digital learning and much possible as technology improves, such fully interactive and 3D.

He stated that competition between blended learning and online learning will improve options for students.

Peterson closed with three areas to observe success:

1. The system must be transparent with standards, curricula.
2. Student accountability is essential.  The learning must be verified.
3. The system must be flexible.
4. There must be a policy framework for competition.

Next I attended a panel discussion led by former West Virgina Governor Bob Wise.  Participants gave specific information about success in their programs.  Some general ideas from the presenters:

1. Blended learning ensures success for many types of students.
2. Success in blended learning depends on quality teachers
3. Professional development is important.
4. Social networking will become important.

Next I attended a session where Robyn Bagley described the process how Utah Senate Bill 65 was passed to encourage digital learning in that state.  She described a new model for Utah:

• Funding follows the student.
• Funding based on successful completion of the course.
• Students customize their education with blended learning
• Students provide courses and provider
• Subject matter mastery replaces seat time
• Student have access to the best courses and best teachers.

She outlined how she was able to shepard the bill through the Utah legislature.  Robyn was passionate and articulate about the topic.  She has a winning attitude.

My final breakout presentation was about how Hall County, GA is implementing digital learning in its schools.  The program includes curriculum development and sharing, infrastructure design, assessments, and professional development.

The day and conference concluded with a student panel presentation.  Students explained how and why they were in online and blended learning programs.  They talked about their challenges — some of the content is hard to learn — to their triumphs — I can take my school with me when I travel.

It was a great closing to this conference.

The next VSS is  October 21-24, 2012 in New Orleans.

Image Source

In 1937, F. Dean McClusky was asked to study why there had been a failure of commercial film makers to make successful educational films.  In McClusky’s report:  “Commercial interests have failed to grasp or to study the nature of instruction and the complexity of educational organizations.”  (Paul Saettler, 1990, p. 106).  It appears history will repeat with digital learning.

The “free marketeers” in digital learning must consider student-teacher interaction in their quality learning calculations.  Digital learning is not learning alone or “being taught by a computer,” the traditionalists view of new possibilities.

Recently, I attended a session, “ Fostering Quality in Digital Learning,” at the Virtual Schools Symposium.  The presenters were Bryan Hassel (Public Impact) and Seth Reynolds (Parthenon Group).  The premise of the presentation is that new delivery systems are possible in education.  Entrepreneurs are needed in education to organize resources for these new delivery systems that can be scaled to schools.  Further policies will be needed to bring these new systems into education.  However, it seems as though all the designs from the marketeers are based on price, price, and price.

In an earlier posting, I wrote about how the “ed reformers” are attempting to make education a marketplace through the “Common Core.”  Further I noted the entrenchment of the “traditionalists,” stating that we need pragmatic leadership to bring education into today’s realities and opportunities.

When I listen to presenters at meetings, I note their vocabulary.  Words define us, categorize us, show our limitless capacities, yet limit our imagination. Whenever the marketeers speak it seems to be with the language of the market, like “education space” or “product.”

The markeeteers’ most celebrated  example of this is Carpe Diem– a blended learning school with a professional entourage model in Yuma, Arizona.  Its costs are about 10% less than high schools in Yuma County and about equal to the average cost of all K12 education in the county (reference).  Comparison to national averages do not seem appropriate as its costs are not greatly dissimilar from its local peers.  Stop comparing Carpe Diem’s costs to the national average.  It does not help this digital learning movement.

Here are some items from my notes about the presentation:

• Quality:  quality teachers  + technology. 
• A teacher only gets 1 year of learning gain. 
• There’s a limit to the  maximum number of quality teachers.  The number used in their conversation was 25%.  Twenty-five percent of all teachers are quality – outstanding teachers – and we will never be able to get more than that percentage. 
• Because the number of quality teachers is limited we must find ways for them to interact with more teachers, perhaps up to 4-6 times more students than they now have.
• Students have a “civil right” to good teachers.

During the session, the presenters appeared to discount the student-teacher relationship.  In my notes, I wrote, “they think the student-teacher relationship is a commodity.”  Later during the question period, a session attendee stated that her experience with online education was that the student-teacher relationship breaks down at a ratio of about 125:1.  The presenters were speechless, as if they have never thought about the teacher-student relationship.

After the session, I asked one of the presenters  whether some of the models they were exploring was like the physician who has several assistants, like a physician’s assistant, nurse practitioner, physical therapist, and such.  My thought was confirmed.  I added that I only contact my physician when I need him or at some long term cycle.  He and his crew neither monitor my status daily or weekly nor initiate a conversation or merely send me an email that my daily and weekly stats look good and to “keep up the good work.”  Is the physician’s model of “on demand” service the model these folks are seeking?

This thought is supported by principles they presented:

• Teacher candidates should be selected from the best high school students.
• Teachers will be held accountable for students’ successes.
• Teachers should have the authority to make change in student delivery.
• There should be rewards.
• Teacher can be responsible for more students.  (The language here suggests a professional entourage as outlined above with the “teacher” only seeing the most difficult cases and the “paraprofessionals” helping others.)

This is contrary to reports of success and what students are requesting.  In the online program where I previously worked, students gave us feedback that they wanted more contact with their online teachers.  At the closing student panel at VSS, the participants echoed the same:  they want more contact with their teachers.  Students want their teachers to get to know them.  The presenters need to understand the student-teacher relationship is essential to student success.  When relationships are commodities, they have no value.  Hassel and Reynolds don’t appear to factor that the student-teacher relationship is essential for student motivation; to appeal to a student’s better side; and to intervene when necessary.  They were speechless when the relationship statement was made by the session participant noted above.

The vocabulary used in the presentation suggests to me that the main ingredients of quality from these presenters are “productivity” and “lower costs.”  Quality = productivity; Quality = “lower costs.”

This is not to write that technology can’t be used to provide closer tracking of student progress.  At what expense?

Instead of criticizing the language used by the marketeers, let’s use their language to demonstrate how they are missing an important element of education:

• In Tom Peters’ book In Search of Excellence, the author writes about a successful car dealer.  “He [the car dealer] doesn’t think statistically, but emphasizes that he has sold ‘one at a time, face-to-face, belly-to-belly’” (p. 158).
• In former Southwest Airlines CEO’s book, Nuts, Herb Kelleher has a book section entitled, “The Commitment to Service Must Be Personal.”
• Jack Welch writes, “A huge part of making your customers [loyal] . . . is meeting or exceeding their expectations, . . .” (Winning, p. 247).
• Michael Dell, in Dell on Dell, writes, “We put a great deal of emphasis on what drove customer satisfaction, . . .” (p. 32).
• In his book How to Become a Rainmaker, Jeffrey Fox states, “The first commandment of getting and keeping customers is to treat each customer as you would treat yourself” (p. 10).
• In the recent book EntreLeadership, one of the most famous entrepreneurs of this age – Dave Ramsey, states that there are four steps at making a sale – qualification, rapport, education/information, close (p 167).  Working with students goes through similar steps – a relationship must be established.  Teachers work to “sell” students the importance of learning through their relationships.

Dell further states, “Our best customers are those we learn the most from, who teach us ways to add value beyond our existing products or services, and who challenge us to come up with solutions that ultimately benefit a range of other customers” (p. 158). 

The quotes could go on.  When your quality measures are “productivity” and “lower cost,” then you’ll sacrifice the customers and their views of your “product” in the “education space.” Students have told us what they want – teacher interaction.

It appears that the markeeters are forgetting about the student (customer) experience.  Required weekly, purposeful interaction between teacher or the teacher’s entourage and students won’t lower the costs to the degree they are seeking.  If the marketeers don’t pay attention then we will be back to 1937 — “Commercial interests have failed to grasp or to study the nature of instruction and the complexity of educational organizations.” 

The immense Andromeda galaxy, also known as Messier 31 or simply M31, is captured in full in this new image from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE. The mosaic covers an area equivalent to more than 100 full moons, or five degrees across the sky. WISE used all four of its infrared detectors to capture this picture (3.4- and 4.6-micron light is colored blue; 12-micron light is green; and 22-micron light is red). Blue highlights mature stars, while yellow and red show dust heated by newborn, massive stars.  More details.

NASA Photo

November evening skies are a transition between the bright stars that dominate summer and winter skies.  Our summer view of the Milky Way is shifted towards the west and the winter section appears in the eastern sky later in the night.  This permits views of celestial wonders beyond the bounds of our home galaxy.  The magnificent Andromeda Galaxy,also known as M31, is nearly overhead throughout the month.  Binoculars will reveal a fuzzy patch of light.  The photo above shows a satellite view of the galaxy revealing stars of varying ages.

As for the planets visible this month from the Chicago area and across the globe at northern mid-latitudes,  Mercury and Venus are low in the southwest during evening twilight.  The accompanying video shows their positions each evening for the month.  The video repeats twice.  To locate this pair, find a location with a clear horizon.  With binoculars locate them in the southwest sky.  Mercury moves very quickly.  It is visible near Venus for most of the month then disappears into the sun’s glare.

 At month’s end Venus appears near a crescent moon on November 26.

Daylight Saving Time ends 2 a.m. Central Time for the time zone on November 6.  During the month we lose another hour of daylight as the sun appears farther to the south.

A solar eclipse occurs on November 25, but it is visible from the southern hemisphere (South Africa, Antarctica, Tasmania, and New Zealand).

Mars is a morning planet that is visible high in the southeast before sunrise.

Early in the month, Mars appears to pass Regulus.  Watch Mars’ rapid eastward motion compared to Regulus by looking each clear morning.  They appear closest on the morning of November 10.

 About a week later, the moon appears near Mars and Regulus.  In the diagrams above, notice how far Mars has moved past Regulus, since their closest appearance.

Jupiter appears in the east at sunset.  It is brighter than all celestial objects in its vicinity, except when the moon appears nearby on the evenings of November 8 and 9.  The planet is in the south around midnight and in the west during morning twilight.

Saturn rises in the east before sunrise, appearing near Spica.  The moon is nearby on November 22.

The planets’ positions in their orbits are shown for mid-November 2011.

Share your observations in the comments section.

On October 18, 2011, 35 individuals representing 27 organizations attending a start-up meeting at the DuPage County (Illinois) Regional Office of Education to discuss an online learning initiative in the region.  The presentation is included below.   Participants identified several areas for further discussion:

• Standards, Practices, Policy
• Technology for online learning, LMS, teacher technologies, student technologies
• Professional Development for Teachers
• Online Curriculum, OER, digital content
• Reasons for Online, promotion, faculty buy-in
• Summer School, Curriculum extensions
• Visit online programs

Subgroups will be forming in early 2012 to explore these issues.

To be included in informational communications, express your interest to idupageonline (at symbol) gmail.com

In addition an administrator academy course is being developed  by the ROE about online learning.  This will be available later in the year.
 

Image Credit

Help me with this thought.  Recently, I listened to other technology leaders talk about virtualizing iPads so the schools could run Windows applications and Flash content on those devices.  This seems counterintuitive to the idea of portable technologies as well as vastly increases the costs of putting mobile technologies in schools.

Several years ago, I worked on a desktop virtualization project with a popular product.  It worked well with putting current applications on older computers, but when it didn’t work, it raised havoc on computer labs.  It gave me more chest pains than it was worth.  And over about five years, its cost was nearly that of replacing the computer labs with new computers.

Help me understand why we want to buy tablets and then pay the expense to virtualize them to run Windows 7 and Flash.

Look for the Big Dipper low in the northwest sky during early evenings in early autumn

As the weather changes into the cooler evenings of autumn, the stars slowly transition toward the bright winter stars.  One familiar group, known as the Big Dipper in North America, lies low in the northwestern sky during the early evening hours of October.  More, formally known as the Great Bear (Ursa Major), the stars can be found in the northern sky throughout the year.  In autumn they start the evening low in the northern sky; they are likely blocked by the trees or the neighbor’s house.

An interesting pair of stars, Mizar and Alcor, is at the bend of the dipper’s handle.  Mizar is the brighter star with dimmer Alcor nearby.  If you cannot see the close pair, use binocular.  While not physically connected in a binary star system, their close proximity makes them appear together.  Mizar is about 100 light years away with Alcor perhaps another light year away from its brighter neighbor.

The positions of the visible planets on October 15, 2011

 This chart shows the positions for the visible planets as seen from north of the solar system.  Notice that Earth is between Jupiter and the sun.  Venus, Mercury, and Saturn appear near the sun.  Earth is slowly moving up to catch Mars.

The moon, Mars, and Regulus appear in the morning sky late in the month.

Mars is a morning star rising after 1 a.m. throughout the month.  Early in the month, it appears near the Beehive Cluster.  (See the separate article about this event.)  The moon serves as a good guide to Mars on October 21 and 22 as displayed in the chart above.  The star Regulus serves as a marker of the sun’s annual path and the plane of the solar system.  Look for Mars each morning and note how its orbital motion is carrying it closer to Regulus.  Of course, the two are not close;  Regulus is much farther away than Mars.  Mars will appear to pass Regulus next month.

Jupiter and the moon appear near each other at mid-month.