10 ways technology transforms student learning:

1). Technology elevates the depth and scope of learning that can occur in the classroom.

2). Technology brings relevance and a certain level of ‘freshness’ to the content.

3). Technology shifts the role of the educator and empowers students to take control of their learning.

4). Technology provides opportunities to amplify student voices and expand overall reach.

5). Technology connects experts and those ‘in the know’ to students and their learning. 

6). Technology increases the speed and accuracy of students getting feedback to further guide their learning.

7). Technology provides opportunities for students to get a more personalized learning experience.

8). Technology builds independence and capacity to be a self-learner.

9). Technology creates a platform for students to raise awareness about a cause and/or initiate change toward a cause.

10). Technology becomes a bridge between what kids hope for and what is currently possible.

6 ways to ensure technology enhances learning

The six questions below come from Alan November's work on technology rich vs. innovation poor. 

So, the next time you are planning an activity or a lesson that involves technology, ask yourself these six questions. If you aren't able to answer 'yes' to them, then you may want to reconsider the structure and/or format of the activity you are doing.

Also, if you ever get the opportunity to hear Alan speak, please do so. Alan is engaging and will surely get you thinking and calling into question what you've always believed to be true about student learning.

Is technology the silver bullet to all of our problems in #education...?

If you know me or follow me on Twitter, you know I am a big advocate of increasing technology in schools. I have said numerous times that we not only need more technology in schools, but also we need more training for educators on how to effectively and appropriately integrate technology into the learning environment. Here is something you probably have not heard me say, technology is not the answer and technology will not solve all of our problems in education...

In my opinion, there are plenty of bright spots in education all across the globe. Is our education system completely broken and in need of replacement, some would say so, but I say no, at least not yet... I think we have a solid foundation in education, albeit with several false premises, but a solid foundation nevertheless.

Think of a house... the foundation is the first part of the construction process. The foundation ultimately ends up supporting and holding everything else together. A weak and damaged foundation will spell certain doom for any structure that relies upon a strong and supporting foundation. In education we have a cracked foundation. We have a few leaks in our foundation, and we are noticing that our foundation is getting close to no longer being able to fully support the weight of the house...

As I previously mentioned, I believe we have a lot of positive in education. At this time, will our education house crumble and completely collapse, absolutely not. I do however think the cracks and leaks we have in our education foundation will continue to grow, and in no certain time this damage may just become irreversible. Irreversible to the point that we will no longer be able to repair the damage, and when taking about a foundation that can't be repaired, we are left with only one option... tear it down and start over.

Though technology is amazing and can do wonders in the classroom (when used properly), we must first tend to our cracking and leaking foundation if we really want to see the added benefits. Throw every piece of technology in the world into every classroom in the world and we will still have a damaged and leaky foundation. It would make no sense to make lots of repairs to a house that is being supported by a cracked and leaking foundation without first making plans to address the damaged foundation itself. Unfortunately, in education I think we are focusing on the house more than the foundation...

I love technology and I love how it can be used, but let's focus more on the instructional side of things. Let's focus more on the teaching side of things. Let's focus more on the student learning side of things. If we continue to use our cracked and leaking foundation to support new initiatives and approaches, we might just be sorely disappointed. Maybe we should consider getting back to the basics and strengthen our core beliefs in regard to student learning before adding more weight to our already damaged foundation...

10 tips to avoid technology integration frustration

You’ve heard it before, you’ve seen it before, and you’ve most likely experienced it yourself before: technology integration frustration. Change is not easy. When we talk about change, especially technology changes that take us into the wide world of the unknown, things can quickly become even more complicated.

Technology integration in schools is particularly important because kids are really branching out and utilizing technology at a much higher rate than ever before. Part of teaching and helping students to safely and appropriately use technology is recognizing that it’s happening all around us. 

Here are 10 tips to help you and your colleagues avoid technology integration frustration.

1. Establish a focus and a purpose. One of the biggest issues plaguing education is the overabundance of initiatives in which participants don’t see a clear and obvious connection. Before moving ahead with a technology integration plan, help paint the full picture by presenting teachers with the purpose and the overall justification of the movement.

2. Bring the goods. There is nothing more frustrating than discussing the need for increased, integrated technology if there’s no technology available. Despite ever-shrinking budgets and more and more financial demands, ensure that technology is available for educators and students to use before you begin the discussion. To account for limited budgets, many districts are utilizing a hybrid model which provides a limited number of devices while also encouraging students to bring their own personal devices (BYOD). If you are encouraging students to bring their own devices, be sure to set some ground rules and guidelines for students, staff and parents.

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3. Make sure your infrastructure is in place and has demonstrated, sustained reliability. It’s absolutely critical that schools have the proper networking capabilities and infrastructure in place prior to moving ahead with any kind of major technology integration initiative. When educators and students are looking to access the Internet, they need a reliable and robust system that makes access second-nature and easy.

4. Have a serious conversation about Internet filtering and technology access. Teaching digital citizenship and proper internet safety are crucial pieces when it comes to the technology access conversation. Too often though, districts and schools have a divide between those who safeguard the network and overall system and those who are most often using the network and system. Collaboratively with colleagues, students, and community members, establish a set of guidelines and expectations that involve integrating digital literacy and  citizenship into your curricula. Involve your technology department in this process, ensuring alignment between the overall integrity of the network while also allowing for trust, openness, and effective utilization of the network by educators and students.

5. Differentiate, customize, and personalize the process for staff. In order for this technology revolution to start and be effective, you must have an idea of your staff members’ technology knowledge and background. Take time to both formally and informally ask questions. This will help you when it comes to knowing where to start, as well as what information could be skipped over and/or re-emphasized.  

6. Help make technology and social media applicable to content. When someone asks, “How does this work for me in my class?,” you need to have an answer. Put yourself in the educator’s shoes and consider how these new tools can have a positive effect on the classroom. Provide your colleagues with lists of other people both in and out of the district who may be teaching the same or similar classes. Your fellow educators will only take part in the revolution if they see how technology and social media integration can help them or their students.

7. Do not drown your staff members with too much, too quickly. Don’t forget that our colleagues are learning, just as our students are. You can’t, and shouldn’t, give them too much to bite off at one time. Take it slowly by presenting one or two concepts at a time, allowing your fellow educators a better chance to fully grasp the topics before moving on to new ones. Make sure you don’t create a room full of brains that have shut down due to stress and confusion.

8. Support and encourage your shining stars. As the year progresses, a few “shining stars” will begin to emerge. These educators need to be encouraged and supported, because they are taking a risk by trying something new. Allow them to discover and explore, but also keep them in close contact. Be there to help if they start to struggle and want help. It is essential that they have your support and guidance.

9. Don’t make it just about the technology. This point needs to be made clear from the very beginning:  Technology is just another tool in the educator’s tool belt. Technology is a means to provide additional opportunities to enhance the overall impact of the lesson and/or activity. Using the SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition) model is an excellent strategy to get the point across that technology can redefine and completely change the types of activities you can do with students.

10. Prepare and acknowledge the implementation dip. Growth will be fast at first, but then there will be a collapse. There will be disappointment that something didn’t work out as planned, and there will be frustration when the students don’t respond how we thought they would. This is all a natural part of the change process. Be sure to remind folks frequently that there will be bumps and setbacks. However, a strategic approach to technology integration will enable us to better prepare students for success in the future, and that’s what it’s all about.  

5 tips for starting BYOD in your district

In my district we embarked upon a journey at the beginning of the 2012/2013 school year. Our goal was to enhance our current instructional practices by finding new ways of infusing technology into the educational setting with the hope of preparing our students for the ever-changing world. Additionally, we wanted our graduates to have the skills necessary to compete on a global scale while providing them a relevant, purposeful, and meaningful K-12 learning environment.

About 11 months later we have decided that Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) was going to be a big part of our journey. Here are 5 tips if you are interested or considering a BYOD environment in your school or district:

1) - Focus on what your main goal and objectives are with this type of initiative. There is nothing more important than determining the end result or main goal. We spent a significant amount of time with our technology committee (teachers), with our technology department, members of our community, and our administrative team discussing the purpose of a possible BYOD initiative. Once we determined that BYOD would be an integral part of us accomplishing our learning goals for our students, we felt comfortable moving forward.

2) - Spend time doing your homework and learning as much as you can from those who are already doing BYOD. This was probably the best part of the entire process. We sent teams of teachers to neighboring districts who had already implemented BYOD programs in their schools. This not only gave our teachers and administrators the opportunity to see what other schools and districts were experiencing, but we were able to learn about their roll-out and the logistics of the implementation process.

3) - Ensure you have the necessary technology infrastructure in place in advance. Our technology department deserves major kudos for ensuring we have the necessary bandwidth and the appropriate structures in place to fully implement a BYOD plan. This required a lot of foresight on the side of our technology department, and fortunately it has paid huge dividends considering where we are now. More technology in schools won't be of any value if the system can't handle it.

4) - Realize that not all will agree or fully understand the value of more technology in schools. This was not exactly something we were surprised about, but nevertheless it's important to share and help make sure everyone is aware of what BYOD really means. Of course this is officially opening up things for personal devices in our schools, but let's face it, our kids and teachers are already using their personal devices anyway. With a BYOD program we can structure our curriculum and instruction to help students AND staff develop a better understanding of digital citizenship and proper technology usage.

5) - Support, encouragement, and more support. We are quite fortunate to have recently hired a district technology specialist to help with training and assisting teachers with technology integration. Many districts already have this type of position in place, but many others don't. Also, we are planning to host several informal learning sessions for those who are interested in embracing technology integration. At this time we aren't planning on forcing anyone to use BYOD in their classroom. We are hoping that through informal learning and by having conversations with those who are experiencing success, more and more will jump on board.

Below is the presentation I gave to our Board of Education once we finalized adjustments and changes to both our policies and instructional practices. Please also note that we used our legal counsel in helping to refine our policies and minimize district liability.

Disruptive Innovation in Education...

For the last two days I had the opportunity to attend a Pearson's conference in Baltimore. Regardless of your opinion of Pearson and the role they play in education, they put on a pretty nice conference. Though I was not in the market to purchase any of their products, they did offer several sessions with great speakers and presentations. In particular, I had the opportunity to hear Lee Crockett's presentation on "Disruptive Innovation." This is the second time I have had the opportunity to hear Lee speak, and he most definitely did not disappoint. Lee also has a great blog you should follow called, "The Committed Sardine."

The following 10 images are of tweets I sent out during Lee's presentation. I am confident these tweets will surely get you and any educator thinking and reflecting... enjoy!

 

Thoughts... comments... concerns?