How Do We Get From Smart to Smarter

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How Do We Get From Smart to Smarter?

• Kenneth L. Decroo
• Consultant - Virtual Teacher
• decrkl_at_charter.net
• 909.266.1073

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A Little About Me.

• Educated at UCR, CSUSB, National and Capella
  University
• Mission Seamlessly infuse technology into
  standards-based curriculum..
• Residence Running Springs, playa de estero
  bahia de los angeles
• Married Tammy Special ED teacher
• Educational Consultant Chronic Absences
  Drop-out Recovery and Transformational Change -
  RIM
• WASC Team Member Belmont HS is next
• Retired from FUSD Teacher, AP, Principal and
  Director
• Retired as ACSA State Delegate for Educational
  Options (Alternative ED)
• Teacher Bilingual Elementary, Middle School
  Technology and Science, HS CSDR
• Programs Tapped-In,Teach the Teachers, Camp
  Internet, Classroom Connect, Jason Project,
  Discovery United Streaming Video, Promethean
  Keynote in England
• Hollywood Movies Owned the WATC, Stunts and
  Trainer
• Faculty Community Colleges, UC and CSU
• Linguistic Research Scientist Washoe Project
  University of Nevada, Reno

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Overview Where Have All the Students Gone?
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A School District Near You!

• 44,000 students
• Shift in Demographics
• Drop-outs
• Chronic Absences
• Truancy
• Under Performing Schools
• Traditional Interventions

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Traditional Interventions

• Independent Study Programs Long- and Short- Term
• Adult Education
• AOD
• Expulsion
• Continuation High Schools
• Teacher and site based Avid, PLCs, etc.

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Citrus High School

• Low test scores API/AYP
• SAIT State managed/Underperforming
• Little technology
• Talent Underused AP, Tech Teacher
• Several Programs not Part of the Mission- Adult
  Special Needs Program and ATI.
• READ 180

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Citrus High School.

• Restructure Existing Programs Rm. 10, Panel,
  etc.
• New Talent Strong in Curriculum and Tech
• Remove Programs Not Part of the Mission
• Define Mission
• Productivity Software Easy Gradebook Pro
• Redefine Communication Email Webpage Online
  Bulletin
• United Streaming Video Discovery
• Promethean Boards
• Social Networks

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New Interventions

• Restructuring of Continuation High School SARB,
  Spanish, Panels, Leadership Team,
  Departments,etc.
• CBI Credit Recovery
• Twilight Program After School Program
• GED After School

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Transformational Change the Ant Way!

• Community Research
• Social Linguistic Research Animal Communication
• Animal Behavior
• Swarm Theory
• Bit Torrent Application
• Change at Citrus High School

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Community Networks of Interaction - Anthropology
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Community Networks of Interaction Animal
Behavior
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Community Networks of interaction

• Early definition Geographically defined
• Urban Anthropology and Socio-linguistics
  Networks of interaction
• Ethnography of a Deaf Community - 1978

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Internet

• Community based on a network of interaction
• Knowledge is held both collectively and
  individually
• No centralized control
• Access is open and free
• Open Sources Tapped-In, Facebook, WISE, Camp
  Internet, Classroom Connect, Bit Torrent..

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Communication vs. Language

• Non-verbal vs. Verbal
• Gestures
• American Sign Language (ASL)
• Washoe Project

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Language

• Phonemes Distinct building blocks of language
• Sign Language Cheremes
• Inter-specific Communication Teaching sign
  language to Chimpanzees

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Washoe Project - 1978
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Swarm TheoryIts rather perplexing to watch how
the individual, local activities of an agent
(ants for example) can produce, when aggregated,
surprisingly effective outcomes for an entire
group. Swarm Theory is a great introduction to
the benefits of aggregated individual
effortsShared Governance.
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Swarm TheoryBased on the activities of ants and
bees, a discipline/theory/science has emerged
which is capable of providing best options
information in very complex environments.
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Swarm TheoryIt would appear that functioning in
truly complex spaces moves us beyond centralized
vs. decentralized debates, and puts us instead in
a philosophy of simple rules, local activity, and
high levels of connections/contactSocial
Networks.
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Swarm TheoryThe most overwhelming problems can
be attended to with this simple model. The
solution is not something we work on
directlyinstead it emerges when we attend to the
individual elementsClear Mission.
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Ants in the Pants!An Overview

• Real world insect examples
• Theory of Swarm Intelligence
• From Insects to Transformational Change
• Real World Application Citrus High School

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Real World Insect Examples
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Ants
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Ants

• Organizing highways to and from their foraging
  sites by leaving pheromone trails
• Form chains from their own bodies to create a
  bridge to pull and hold leafs together with silk
• Division of labor between major and minor ants

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Bees
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Bees

• Colony cooperation
• Regulate hive temperature
• Efficiency via Specialization division of labor
  in the colony
• Communication Food sources are exploited
  according to quality and distance from the hive

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Social Insects

• Problem solving benefits include
• Flexible
• Robust
• Decentralized
• Self-Organized

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Summary of Insects

• The complexity and sophistication of
  Self-Organization is carried out with no clear
  leaderShared Governance Facilitator.
• What we learn about social insects can be applied
  to the field of Intelligent System Design
  Transformational Change.
• The modeling of social insects by means of
  Self-Organization can help design artificial
  distributed problem solving devices. This is
  also known as Swarm Intelligent Systems.

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Swarm Intelligence in Theory
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An In-depth Look at Real Ant Behavior
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Interrupt The Flow
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The Path Thickens!
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The New Shortest Path
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Adapting to Environment Changes
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Adapting to Environment Changes
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Problems Regarding Swarm Intelligent Systems

• Swarm Intelligent Systems are hard to program
  since the problems are usually difficult to
  defineIdentify and Articulate..
• Solutions are emergent in the systems Observing
  best Practices.
• Solutions result from behaviors and interactions
  among and between individual agents
  Practitioners.

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Four Ingredients of Self Organization

• Positive Feedback
• Negative Feedback
• Amplification of Fluctuations - randomness
• Reliance on multiple interactions

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Types of Interactions For Social Insects

• Direct Interactions
• Food/liquid exchange, visual contact, chemical
  contact (pheromones)
• Indirect Interactions (Stigmergy)
• Individual behavior modifies the environment,
  which in turn modifies the behavior of other
  individuals Teacher Leaders

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Communication Networks

• Routing packets to destination in shortest time
• Similar to Shortest Route
• Statistics kept from prior routing (learning from
  experience)

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• Shortest Route
• Congestion
• Adaptability
• Flexibility

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Bit torrent
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Bit Torrent Transformational Change

• Bit Torrent Protocol Mission/Rules of
  Engagement
• Tracker - Principal
• Seed Teacher-Leader
• Peer - Teacher
• Swarm Transformational Change
• Clog/Obstruction Centralized Control

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Welcome to the Real WorldCitrus Continuation
High School
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Where Have All the Students Gone?
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Where Have All the Students Gone?.....

• The best teaching and interventions will not work
  if students are not present to take advantage of
  them
• The Interventions can not be measured if students
  are not present to take part in the assessments!
• Chronic Absences (10 Absences or more in a school
  year)

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Mission of School

• Facilitate students in recovering credits and
  graduate
• Improve student attendance
• Help students foster a positive connection to
  school

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Attendance
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Virtual Programs

• Twilight Program Credit recovery
• During the school day and after school
• A platform
• Align with essential standards Marzano Power
  Standards
• Make rigorous
• Signed off by departments

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Virtual Learning

• At Citrus we use technology to help the needs of
  our students.
• During the day we offer computer based
  instruction in every content area. This allows
  greater fluidity in our schedule and gives the
  students the opportunity to work at an
  accelerated rate.
• We also have developed a virtual after school
  program called Twilight School. This program
  services students that are 18 years old but still
  need to complete come graduation requirements. We
  give them the opportunity to finish their
  diploma, work towards their GED, or study for the
  CAHSEE, all within a flexible distance learning
  environment.

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Twilight Program

• Twilight school is an alternative program that
  allows students to complete high school
  requirements in a flexible distance learning
  environment. Students who qualify to enroll with
  us have the opportunity to complete their high
  school diploma, earn their GED, or pass the
  CAHSEE
• http//www.citrusjaguars.com/virtualLearning/twili
  ght/

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Twilight Criteria

• Twilight Criteria

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Twilight Success

• Best teachers Curriculum and Technology
• Departments developed the curriculum molding A
  to the essential standards
• Department chairs certify completion of a course
• Assessments consisted of A tests and the
  district benchmarks
• All staff and faculty accept that the program is
  rigorous

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Citrus High API Growth
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Citrus High Graduates
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AYP
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Closing Arguments

• Still very theoretical
• No clear boundaries
• Details about inner workings of insect swarms
• The future???

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Dumb parts, properly connected into a swarm,
yield smart results. Kevin Kelly
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Smart parts, properly connected into a swarm,
yield smarter results-- Transformational Change.

• Ken Decroo

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The Future?
Educational Change
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References
Ant Algorithms for Discrete Optimization
Artificial Life M. Dorigo, G. Di Caro L. M.
Gambardella (1999). addrhttp//iridia.ulb.ac.be/
mdorigo/ Swarm Intelligence, From Natural to
Artificial Systems M. Dorigo, E. Bonabeau, G.
Theraulaz The Yellowjackets of the Northwestern
United States, Matthew Kweskin addrhttp//www.eve
rgreen.edu/user/serv_res/research/arthropod/TESCBi
ota/Vespidae/Kweskin97/main.htm Entomology
Plant Pathology, Dr. Michael R. Williams
addrhttp//www.msstate.edu/Entomology/GLOWORM/GLO
W1PAGE.html Urban Entomology Program, Dr.
Timothy G. Myles addrhttp//www.utoronto.ca/fores
t/termite/termite.htm
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References Page 2
Gakkens Photo Encyclopedia Ants, Gakushu
Kenkyusha addrhttp//ant.edb.miyakyo-u.ac.jp/INT
RODUCTION/Gakken79E/Intro.html The Ants A
Community of Microrobots at the MIT Artificial
Intelligence Lab addr http//www.ai.mit.edu/proje
cts/ants/ Scientific American March 2000 - Swarm
Smarts Pages 73-79 Pink Panther Image
Archive addrhttp//www.high-tech.com/panther/sour
ce/graphics.html C. Ronald Kube, PhD Collective
Robotic Intelligence Project (CRIP). addr
www.cs.ualberta.ca/kube