WaylandeNews Forums

WaylandeNews Forums http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/ This is a discussion forum for Wayland, Massachusetts en Fri, 18 May 2012 05:39:44 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/images/misc/rss.png WaylandeNews Forums http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/ <![CDATA["What my 11 year old's Stanford course taught me about online education"]]> http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?480-quot-What-my-11-year-old-s-Stanford-course-taught-me-about-online-education-quot&goto=newpost Tue, 15 May 2012 16:21:29 GMT Here's a thoughtful critique of an instance of online education. Chunking existing lectures into video may be straightforward, but falls short of the impact Khan achieves with 10-minute-or-less snippets whose concepts the student must demonstrably master before proceeding. The chapter on attention in Medina's Brain Rules substantiates this point.

On the other hand, the notion that middle schoolers can learn - and profit from - Game Theory is intriguing. As an undergraduate, I took a course (6.802) entitled Problem Solving. It's a rare day that I don't apply something learned in that course; I wonder what might have happened had I been armed with its content at age 11. ]]> General Discussion Forum DHBernstein http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?480-quot-What-my-11-year-old-s-Stanford-course-taught-me-about-online-education-quot using wifi at the TB http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?479-using-wifi-at-the-TB&goto=newpost Thu, 10 May 2012 16:51:26 GMT I cannot make the wifi work at the TB. For example, last night my macbookpro registered a strong signal, and the network was selected, but I could... I cannot make the wifi work at the TB. For example, last night my macbookpro registered a strong signal, and the network was selected, but I could not get any response from the internet. Is there some permission page that is supposed to come up? I'd like to have access in case I have forgotten things that I need from email or attachments or web sites. Comments?

Thanks,
Fred ]]> General Discussion Forum fred knight http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?479-using-wifi-at-the-TB The Next Digital Revolution in Education? Grading http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?478-The-Next-Digital-Revolution-in-Education-Grading&goto=newpost Thu, 10 May 2012 01:32:10 GMT This article (http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/05/grading_the_next_digital_revol.html) in the Harvard Business Review describes CoursePeer... This article in the Harvard Business Review describes CoursePeer, a platform for professors to

interact with students while they take a course
rate the interactions in a manner akin to liking or not liking a student's contributions

The article points out that CoursePeer has made these ratings exportable so they can be communicated directly to employers, providing a more accurate, multi-dimensional assessment of each student than is provided by class grades and grade point averages. From experience, I know that companies would pay handsomely for access to these ratings, and ultimately for access to top students. What's not clear is how to divert a significant share of this revenue stream to K-12 for its role in preparing top students. ]]> General Discussion Forum DHBernstein http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?478-The-Next-Digital-Revolution-in-Education-Grading Thank you for your support of article 4 and 5 http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?476-Thank-you-for-your-support-of-article-4-and-5&goto=newpost Sat, 28 Apr 2012 09:40:01 GMT The petitioners’ of article 4 and 5 would like to thank all citizens for thoughtful consideration of the articles. We were encouraged by the informed... The petitioners’ of article 4 and 5 would like to thank all citizens for thoughtful consideration of the articles. We were encouraged by the informed and respectful debate on the issues and appreciative of everyone’s participation in that process.

Over the past months, we have seen cooperation on behalf of our town government, working with concerned citizens that have resulted in positive changes for our citizens, positive changes for our schools, and for the greater good of the town.

We are heartened by these developments and would like to see them continue.

On March 28 a group of concerned citizens sent a request to our town’s finance committee asking them to reconsider many items in the FY 2013 budget as presented in the Warrant.

As a result of this request and many additional individual requests for information and discussions, the Fincom was able to adjust the final budget that was approved at Annual Town Meeting.

Further Adjustments were debated at Town Meeting and Residents voted their conscience. The art of true democracy.

As a result taxpayers were able to see over $3.5 M in savings on the operating budget and a reduction in taxes of approximately $7M.

The warrant as printed, represented a projected 5.6% tax INCREASE and a tax rate of $20.27 per thousand of evaluation. At the close of town meeting we ended with a 6.9% tax DECREASE and a tax rate projected to be in the $17.70 per thousand range. This represents a savings of $1,500 per average household versus the FY13 budget originally presented in the Warrant.

In addition, working with our school committee and Dr. Stein, we were able to find a reasonable solution on how to return over $500,000 of excess reserves to our residents.

Working with the Board of Public Works, we found a solution on how to return over $1.5M of excess water surplus back to our rate payers through reduction in water rates.

Finally, we were able to extend the transparency and accountability with the passing of Article 28 and the audit of the school fiduciary bank accounts.

As expressed by members of the Finance Committee, these current savings are temporary and it will be critical that we continue to work on refinements to our budgeting process to mitigate future tax increases.

There is more work to be done and we will offer to help create a budget process that is based upon actual expenses instead of on prior year budgets, to find ways to fund services without increases... We look forward to continued work with town officials, elected and appointed to drive these substantive changes."

Thank you to all the citizen’s that participated in the process.

Finally, we are deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. Steve Allen and our condolences are extended to his family.

Donna Bouchard, Andrea Wagner, Kent George, Tony Boschetto, Lead Petitioners on Articles 4 and 5 and on behalf of a growing network of residents who seek positive change and sustainable financial solutions. ]]> General Discussion Forum Tony Boschetto http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?476-Thank-you-for-your-support-of-article-4-and-5 Is Electronic Voting not working properly, or is something else the matter? http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?475-Is-Electronic-Voting-not-working-properly-or-is-something-else-the-matter&goto=newpost Tue, 10 Apr 2012 13:01:45 GMT 36 people voted last night against passing over an article to Pay Previous Fiscal Year Unpaid Bills when there were no previous fiscal year bills.... 36 people voted last night against passing over an article to Pay Previous Fiscal Year Unpaid Bills when there were no previous fiscal year bills. Does this suggest the electronic voting isn't working properly, that there are 36 people who will just vote against anything, or that people get confused and misvote?

That vote was 247-36, so records show that 13% of voters wanted to NOT pass over that article. If these were mistakes (either voter misunderstanding or electronic voting not working), that's a very high rate of error, higher than sometimes decides a vote.

What is the issue here?

If you had to distribute them, how would you guess the 36 votes allocate?

(1) Voter error (voter hit the wrong button by accident)
(2) Voter misunderstanding (voter did not understand what they were voting on)
(3) Electronic Voting error (voter hit "1" for "Pass Over", but system logged a "2" for "Do not pass over")
(4) Voter willfulness (voter will vote against anything without valid cause)
(5) Something else (please suggest what)

I considered asking for a teller audit after this vote. Do you think we should have one if there are more votes like this in the future? ]]> General Discussion Forum Kim Reichelt http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?475-Is-Electronic-Voting-not-working-properly-or-is-something-else-the-matter FANTASTIC first night of Annual Town Meeting http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?474-FANTASTIC-first-night-of-Annual-Town-Meeting&goto=newpost Tue, 10 Apr 2012 12:37:00 GMT Of course, I'm referring to Kim Reichelt, whose poetic observation was captured thusly by Wayland Patch's Brooklyn Lowery in her live blog (8:51) of the meeting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brooklyn Lowery

Reichelt: FinCom is right now a "hot topic" in town, so many people might apply. Long-term that may not prove true. "May not be the hot sexy job" in the future. [emphasis added]

Ms. Lowery then went on to issue what might be the understatement of the year in describing Ms. Reichelt's oration as "might be the quote of the night" (8:52). If finer words have been spoken publicly in Wayland during my 18 years living here, I had the bad fortune to miss them.

And as for the board in question, clearly, my timing was off. Back when I was on the Finance Committee from 1995 through 2000, the nonetheless important work was distinctly of the pedestrian variety. ]]> General Discussion Forum Jeff Dieffenbach http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?474-FANTASTIC-first-night-of-Annual-Town-Meeting Vote NO on 2012 ATM Article 9: study of teacher compensation http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?473-Vote-NO-on-2012-ATM-Article-9-study-of-teacher-compensation&goto=newpost Mon, 09 Apr 2012 15:01:01 GMT Article 9 is a waste of taxpayer money, and a potentially damaging waste at that if the proposed work becomes public. The article proposes to spend... Article 9 is a waste of taxpayer money, and a potentially damaging waste at that if the proposed work becomes public. The article proposes to spend $16,000 to perform a woefully vague analysis and deliver an unnecessary and limited report that is redundant with work the School Committee already does more broadly and at no cost to the town.

Here's the full language of the article (from the http://www.wayland.ma.us/Pages/Wayla...rant2012.pdf):

Quote:

Originally Posted by Article 9

To determine whether the Town will vote to authorize $16,000 for an analysis of the Wayland Public School’s labor contracts and compensation policies and for assistance in the next round of contract negotiations, and to determine whether such appropriation shall be provided by taxation, by transfer from unappropriated funds, by transfer of funds already appropriated for another purpose, by grants received from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts or Federal Government, by borrowing, or otherwise.

The report will compare the Wayland Public School district’s employee contracts and compensation with those in the following districts: Belmont, Harvard, Lexington, Sharon, Weston and Dover-Sherborn. The report shall recommend steps that will align the Wayland Public Schools with the compensation plans of other high-performing school districts and quantify the costs or savings if such steps are implemented. The assistance in negotiations will improve Wayland’s competitive standing in educational compensation. The report should be completed prior to September 30th, 2012. The contract(s) shall be awarded by the Wayland School Committee.

Here are my concerns about this article:

1. What does "analysis of the Wayland Public School’s labor contracts and compensation policies" mean?

2. What does "assistance in the next round of contract negotiations" mean? The School Committee is not obligated to include any outside entity (beyond a representative of the Board of Selectmen) in its negotiation strategy sessions, and it is not obligated to include any outside entity in the negotiations themselves.

3. Why this particular group of 6 towns for comparison purposes? The School Committee's list of peer towns is on the order of twice this size.

4. The compensation that Wayland offers its teachers as reflected in per pupil expenditure is ALREADY aligned with its peer towns; what is the point of recommendations to accomplish that already accomplished end?

5. The actions that would change the cost of the compensation that the Wayland Public Schools offer are already quite obvious: raise/lower pay and/or add/subtract non-pay benefits. What does the proposed analysis add?

6. The proposed report cannot become a public document--to do so would be to undermine the School Committee's negotiating position.

7. The School Committee already performs this analysis--at no cost to the town--on a much larger set of peer towns. What value does this article add?

The Wayland Voters Network chimes in with this:

Quote:

Originally Posted by WVN

Article 9 would authorize $16,000 to study teacher compensation. Petitioners say that "a smart compensation plan is key to a superior educational program." Another argument is that the "steady climb of the average Wayland teacher's salary has exceeded those of its peer districts without sufficient explanation."

First, the Petitioners misunderstand education if they believe that "a smart compensation plan is key to a superior educational program." It's a factor, to be sure, but it's not "key." Second, the argument that WVN makes to is not born out by the facts: Wayland's average teacher salary and per pupil expenditure have tracked with (and not exceeded) its peer districts over at least the last few 3-year negotiation cycle. ]]> General Discussion Forum Jeff Dieffenbach http://www.waylandenews.com/forum/showthread.php?473-Vote-NO-on-2012-ATM-Article-9-study-of-teacher-compensation