Everything here is half-price with the exchange rate–The great mystery is how the dollar can be so strong–but the Internet is never free anywhere. Not even in hotel lobbies. Terrible.

I’ve been reading some discussions on education–or on how education sucks–and what should be done about it.

Doug Nelson sent a link to a VC on hacking education.

Matt Nathan emailed the full hacking education discussion.

He also emailed School of Everything. I’ve seen it in my web wanderings. A great concept. I figure that school of any kind–calling anyone a teacher or a learner–is a problem. We’re all learning in this world all of the time. That is what has changed.

Okay. Someone has to teach the math and physics. And I do want children to go to school.

But the old institutional words–instruction, curriculum, education–represent topdown control.  Imagine that the quality or type of instruction–or better said–source is rated and determined by the learners. Then we are set free.

Have you seen this?

David Merrill on siftables

Wow.

Power to the people. And then respect for the few have really put in the effort to make it good, who can reach us all, who show up on TED and emerge from the masses to show us the way. Who can tell a very good story. Who can make the journey from 2+2 to quantum physics the magical mystery tour that it is.

I want to email, blog comment, and twitter everyone. But back to the RV and a hike through Victoria Park.

But I’ll be presenting icanology at the Maui Enterprise Forum on Wednesday, 10:30 am - 1:30 pm. It’s $30, lunch included, at the MACC.  Also presenting will be John Bower of uBoost.

If you are in business, this is an excellent place for you to network with innovators, investors, and all the people who can help you grow your business.

If you are in education, this experience will take your mind in a completely different direction.

The official announcement is here.

Registration is here.

ican.  A learning benchmark.  Ex: I can count to 100.  I can demo the sales process in a retail store.

icanology. The study of, the knowledge of icans.

icanologist.  Developer of icanology.

icanist, icanista, icanner, icanographer. Creator and/or user of icans.

icanography. The maps of icans.

icanogram. An announcement of achievement of an ican

icanism.  ican belief or saying. Ex:  Education is something done to you. Learning is what you do.

icanocracy.  What forms up when people use icans.

icanary.  A listing of icans.

icanograph.  A graph of related icans.

icandoxy.   ican philosophy or thinking.

icanic. ican style.

icanory/icannery. the ican creative office.

My friend, Marilyn Vierra, who is working on an “online Master’s program (in education) with the objective of teaching Social Studies in a secondary setting,” suggested that I articulate a scenario.

Good idea. I’ll have to do it graphically some day.

Here are three student scenarios and one adult scenario:

1) I learned my times tables from my grandmother in two weeks one summer while staying at her house. Say, that a year from now, Jane learns multiplication facts from her grandmother. She finds the merit point description for single-digit multiplication on her laptop, on a youth center’s or library’s computer, or on a print copy at the library. To show her mastery of multiplication and earn a merit point, she has to describe three ways that multiplication used in the community and teach a multiplication fact or group of facts to someone who doesn’t yet know them.

Jane comments about the tricks her grandmother showed her on the merit point page and links the merit point to a game on the Internet that helped her memorize the facts. She chats with a friend who is struggling with math and another friend who is doing well and wants a homework buddy to work on the phone to get the assignments right. Jane finds a librarian, youth center worker, or business owner and a witness to test and approve her accomplishment. A merit point is automatically added to her personally decorated and linked eportfolio/social networking page.

2) In social studies, Keoki is fascinated with the Obama campaign and presidency designs a merit point for getting involved with government. Keoki links the merit point page to http://whitehouse.gov. Earning the merit point requires knowledge of the presidency and the cabinet; activities like emailing, blogging comments, and taking community action; and an experience of how people in the community are involved with the president’s initiatives. Keoki’s social studies teacher and a local politician are both willing to approve his merit point.

3) Paul, an eighth grader, develops an interest in chess. The chess club teaches the game and holds tournaments for people at different levels. The club develops three merit points, one for each level of play. Paul sees how everyone starts at the lower level and sees what must be learned to get to the next level.  Paul learns the basics of the game, plays in a tournament, and shows his friend Jake how to play. The chess club president approves and a chess player witnesses the approval of the merit point. Paul, who has been struggling in algebra, gains confidence. He begins to look more carefully at the merit points for algebra and sees many possible ways to learn it. Jake, who is doing well in Algebra, asks Paul if he can teach him the algebra concepts. Jake earns credit toward his merit point.

4)  Jim is an adult with ten years of experience in computer web development. He is good at what he does but he sees that too many people are claiming to be web developers who don’t know the conventions. He’s cleaning up expensive messes for his new clients. He designs a series of merit points that lead to the expertise required for php programming of complex business sites. He tries them out on a potential new subcontractor and adjusts them. He links them to his blog and programmers rate and comment on his merit point pages. He is seen as an expert and is now able to charge more and gets better clients. He also has a means of assessing potential subcontractors.

This week I’ve been deep into outlining the proposal on Omnioutliner, researching learning management systems, learning content management systems, elearning 2.0, eportfolios,open source social networks and wikis, widgets, pageflakes, and more.

My laptop is my learning system and my learning portfolio. I have hundreds of teachers.

Last night at a Christmas Eve party I told a few people about the Big Idea. My goal: Tell it fast and see the response.

As usual, I learned in the telling.

We all agree the educational system is archaic. I say that it’s maxed. When teachers, parents, and students are all not good enough, then the problem isn’t the people. It’s the system.

When I tell people about my big idea, they not only totally get it. It strikes their imaginations.

In the telling, I saw again, that, for we who have access, the Internet is our educational system. The haves have laptops and our children have laptops.

The digital divide is deepening and the Big Idea is a solution.

Mitch Bradley, the designer of the laptop for the One Laptop Per Child project, lives up the road right here in Makawao. A few years ago he showed us the prototype, an amazing, tough little thing. The project targets third world countries and has released it on Amazon this Christmas as a 2 for 1:  $399 buys 2 laptops. One for you and one for a child in the Third World.

I always protest. We need One Laptop per Person right here in Makawao! Everyone needs broadband! Access is everything!

The Big Idea’s contribution and funding process will give us a vehicle for assuring that access. Then no child, and no adult, will be left behind.

There are all kinds of problems with the system.

• The report cards aren’t detailed enough. They don’t show exactly what the standards are. They look like the same old report cards that I got in elementary school 50 (gulp) years ago.
• The report card doesn’t report exactly what a child has missed. Parents still don’t know what their children need help with. They can still only help with homework and homework doesn’t address individual needs.
• The report card doesn’t show the whole picture. Report cards start each year at a new level with new standards. When a child falls behind in a subject the year before, parents and teachers can’t tell exactly what hasn’t been learned.
• Often the standards are written in educationese. I don’t know what many of them mean.

Here’s an example of an overall standard:

Standard 1: Reading: CONVENTIONS AND SKILLS: Use knowledge of the conventions of language and texts to construct meaning for a range of literary and informational texts for a variety of purposes

This is the “progression for the standard” for kindergarten.

Kindergarten is not all that difficult,* but interpreting the Standards can be. Imagine if parents and children had checklists with titles like, “I Know My Alphabet Sounds!”  “I Can Read Words” and “I Can Follow While We Read.”  Then imagine that parents, children, and teachers everywhere can link their tricks and methods for mastering and achieving each award.

Teachers and children would finally get the kind of help that they need.

*For parents anyway. It’s a lot more difficult than my half-day kindergarten with Mrs. Perry 52 years ago. We ate cookies and drank milk, played, put our toys away, and napped on our rugs from our cubbies.

• Write them in first person. Make them into personal statements of accomplishment.  See below.
• For under 18, two people verify an award: another child, friend or family member and a non-family adult. It would solve the problem of child protection and safety and also include more people in the process.
• Put a “not yet” feature for reviewers so that when a person doesn’t make the award on the first try, the response is still positive. It could go on the future awardee’s site to remind him/her to finish it. We could also have an auto feature from the reviewer if the future awardee hasn’t come back to finish.
• Awards include a small deposit into a scholarship account. Auto send award to parents, grandparents, friends, like in facebook. Give them a chance to honor the event by donating to the scholarship system.
• Get an icon for achieving an award, an icon with silver lining for teaching/awarding one, and an icon with a gold lining for designing one.

For a rough, off-the-top-of-my-head example, a page for single-digit addition:

Adding Single Digits (better title needed, maybe “I Can Add!”)

____ I have mastered single-digit addition on paper and out loud.  I can add from 1 + 1, 1 +2, …..9 + 9   without mistakes.

____ I don’t count on my fingers.  I do it “in my head.”

____ I  helped my friend or younger brother or sister learn addition facts.

How I’ve used addition facts in the last two weeks:

How and where I’ve seen addition used in my home and neighborhood:

Verification:

____ Not yet!  You almost got it!  Come back soon.

____ You did it!  You have accomplished an important award.

Verifiers sign in and link this award to their sites.

Comments and links to other pages/awardees:

How I use addition facts.

Great ways to learn addition facts.

• the company name (Mohala Media LLC)
• the company tasks/kuleana
• The product (Lynn’s Big Idea): the portal and its list of functions
• The R&D team:  the positions to be filled
• Links to educational researchers in Hawaii

Yesterday I spoke with Janice Kato, the SBIR (federal grants/contracts for Small Biz Investment Research) specialist at HTDC, Hawaii Technology Development Corp, in Mano’a. She sent a great worksheet. I woke up with the business structure.

I’m putting the project under my LLC:  Mohala Media.

mohala vs. Unfolded, as flower petals; blossoming, opening up; spread, as a turkey’s tail; blooming, as youth just past adolescence; shining forth, as a light; appearing clear, as a thought; evolved, developed; freed or recovered, as from fear, worry, illness. From Pukui, M. K. and S. Ebert, Hawaiian Dictionary. University of Hawaii Press, 1986.

I’m the CEO/president. Mohala Media LLC has a product that needs a name. Meanwhile we’ll call it Lynn’s Big Idea, or LBI.

The company

• envisions the overall design of the product:  LBI
• constructs the business plan; strategic and work plans
• acquires investment and research partners
• sets up the R&D team and funding; researches and writes grant proposals
• develops the branding, marketing, and commercialization of the product.
• interacts with community groups and schools.
• develops the scholarship funding system.
• develops budgeting and accounting
• oversees and coordinates the educational R&D project

The educational R&D project will develop the LBI technology. LBI consists of a portal that has multiple interacting functions:

• a wiki-type system for the awards, with links and tags
• a portfolio/social networking system for users
• a rating system for the awards
• a scholarship fund system for users
• a community networking system for organizers/users
• a database of all activities
• a search function
• a help section
• a video graphic for how to use the system (a marketing, not R&D project)

Research and development of the product under SBIR requires at least:

• a Principal Investigator (PI) (preferably experienced and a phd, though not required)
• a educational research methodologist (definitely a phd)
• a school
• a team of programmers.
• an SBIR grant/contract budget and accounting specialist

Ed Metz, the Department of Education SBIR research scientist contact, suggested describing LBI as a “social and behavioral intervention.” Actually, it is much more, but that will work in a grant proposal.

University of Hawaii’s Curriculum Research & Development Group and Kamehameha Schools have grants with PIs. Also there’s a Hawaii organization, the Hawaii Educational Research Association. It’s time to contact them.

A worksheet with questions seems to be the best way to go.  Here’s a rough start:

Later there will be an Initial search: What are the key words of your project?  Have you searched to see if there are similar or overlapping awards?

Title: What is the title of your project?   Keep it short. Eliminate extra words.

Description and context:  Provide a brief description of what your project is, who uses it, where and how.

Activities:  What are the activities leading to the development of skills and knowledge?  What activities will demonstrate the award requirements?  List at least three. Start each activity with an action verb.

Community/life experience:  What are some ways that these skills and this knowledge is demonstrated in your community? Is there an interesting person you can talk to? Is there a relevant “field trip”?

References:  Add links to information about this skill.

Tags:  Tag the key words you used.

Images: Add images to make your award page more interesting.

Icons: Your award will need an icon. Find an image or take a photo, insert it into the award image template.

It was helpful to try to design an award myself, so I started to work on “Designing Awards.” Here’s a very rough, not very fun beginning for an award for designing awards:

Designing Awards

Do you do something very well? Do you want to share your talent and knowledge with others?

An award acknowledges and honors skill or accomplishment. Anyone can design, edit, teach, rate, earn, link, and tag an award.  Awards are posted in a wiki system where they are categorized with tags in a network of awards. You can develop and post a portfolio of awards on your facebook-type page.

1. Complete at least three awards before trying to design your own.
2. Do each of the following:
   • Identify the key words of your award. Search to see if there are similar or overlapping awards.
   • Give your award a name. Keep it short. Eliminate extra words.
   • etc.