Thursday, July 30, 2015

A Staff's Self-Measurement of ISTE Standards Revisited


In 2013 we developed a likert scale survey for our teachers at Mercy several of the the ISTE Standards and published the results to iMercy.  We are now nearing the completion of an iMercy second edition.  In order to update the book's section on the "Compelling Evidence of Success" of our iPad program we revisited the staff with the same survey.

We were pleased to discover that a greater number of teachers agreed when applying ISTE standards to themselves than they did in 2013. 

I conclude that this across-standards improvement is due to the faculties' greater experience with Apple technology and our decision to adopt a more user friendly LMS.


For a look at the survey results from our ninth graders, see Strong Evidence of iPad Success with Mercy Students


Sunday, July 26, 2015

Solution for Finding Files You Squirreled away in the Cloud.


I just discovered an app that is hugely helpful to me.  You may be interested too if you use more than one location for cloud storage.  I am particularly guilty of this-- I have files stored in Dropbox, Evernote, Google Drive (two accounts) and Box.  I actually like each of these services and the search functions work very well within each one. But too often I can't remember where I stored a particular file.

ClipCard has been developed for this purpose.  After setting up an account it was easy for me to link all of the aforesaid storage sources to ClipCard.  Now I can run a single search in ClipCard and it will scan all of cloud storage for hits.

The only drawback I have found to date is that the app is only available in OS. I haven't recommended an app in this space for a while, but this one could be quite valuable to others who have spread files throughout the cloud.


Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Strong Evidence of iPad Success with Mercy Students

This spring we completed a survey of nearly all of our ninth graders using a likert scale to measure their perceptions of how intrinsic their iPads were to their learning in school.  We used the the ISTE Standards for Students as the criteria for measuring this.

We has used the identical survey in 2013 when we applied to become an Apple Distinguished School.  In every instance the 2015 students were in greater agreement that they had made the fifteen standards that we had selected.



The above chart is an excellent example. Asked to what extent they agreed that they had fun learning with their iPads, about 57% agreed or strongly agreed in 2013.  In 2015, 60% strongly agreed and the great majority of the rest agreed.

Impressive results were measured with other very important standards, such as "My iPad aids me in exploring solutions":


Why did the 2015 ninth graders a higher percentage of agreement with the survey statements shaped from the ISTE Standards. My own classroom observations lead me to believed that their teachers integrated the iPad more fundamentally into instruction. I also believe that the Mercy's adoption of Schoology as and LMS was a factor. The iPad app for Schoology is closely approximates browser functionality.

Click through the following slide show if you are interested in seeing the other survey results* as well.



------------------------
*Thank you Christopher Blitz for creating this great slide show for our updated version of iMercy.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Visions of the Future of Educational Technology-- Wearable Tech, Hackerspaces, and More

Imagining the Classroom of 2016, Empowered by Wearable Technology
Mr. Brannon is the P.E. teacher at an elementary school. Each student in his class is equipped with a special bracelet that measures heart rate, hydration levels, how many steps they’ve taken, and even breathing rate. From his iPad, Mr. Brannon keeps track of each student’s fitness and knows how far to push them. Students get the physical activity they need, while Mr. Brannon makes sure they stay safe.

Tear Down This Wall! A New Architecture for Blended Learning Success
 The teacher’s desk, if there is one, is pushed to the margins. Consequently, blended-learning “habitats” look nothing like their predecessors. Photographs of these learning spaces tend to be engaging because people are curious about how they work.

Transforming Monticello High’s Library Into the Creative Hub of the School
We gave purpose to many of our spaces. We transformed our markerspace library from a blank canvas to a veritable craft room with art supplies and tools. This makes it a perfect space for all those messy things that teachers want to do in their classrooms but can’t because they’re, well, messy. An area of the library that we dubbed “the hacker space” for its innovative technology usage got a green screen, a gaming system, and glass boards to make it perfect for filming and for group projects.


wilding.andrew via Compfight cc
The Next Experiment in Education
Now several education leaders are exploring how micro-credentials can be used to increase transparency and drive improvement in teacher learning, as well as recognize learning pursued through non-traditional pathways. . . .Digital Promise has also been assisting several school districts across the country this year as they implement micro-credential pilot programs for teacher professional development

Future Ready: Roadmaps to Tech Integration
In all of my research and experiences working with schools, this is the common idea that schools gloss over. Technology integration is not about devices, nor is it about apps. Simply put, it's about challenging our students' thinking and trusting in our classroom teachers to develop and design creative paradigms for instruction.



Thursday, July 16, 2015

Part 2: Pushing back against the Scorn for “Using Tech for Tech’s Sake”

In my last post I pushed back against a common theme I heard at the ISTE 2015 educational technology conference in Philadelphia. The theme was that using technology in schools “for its own sake” was a practice to be avoided at all costs and far too many schools were pursuing it.

In that post I argued that tech “for its own sake” did indeed make if one considered that it is unreasonable to expect the students to leverage technology for innovative projects that call for self-direction creativity,and critical thinking if they have not practiced and played with the tools. Essentially such practice would be “tech for tech’s sake”. I pled guilty to appending technology activities to assignments that did not directly align with outcomes— the purpose being to reinforce the their competency with the technology.

In this post I wish to consider the following poster that was pushed out on Twitter by ISTE shortly after the conference:



Once again I would like to push back on criticizing technology use for its own sake. In this illustration, merely using tech is in every way secondary to higher more dynamic purposes like "learn from anyone (and everyone!)

It is my contention that a technology leader must model competency with tech tools in order to have the credibility to lead. For example I think if a leader did not authentically use technology (left column) his or her feet of clay would be showing as while attempting to change a school culture (right column).  My Becoming a Digital Administrator course is predicated on the importance of leaders walking the talk, which I guess to others would be tech "for its own sake."

I get it that simply being able to use tech tools is not leadership. However I think that some tech for its own sake-- modeling the use of technology oneself to collaborate, create, and discover-- is essential for the desired leadership outcomes I see on this chart. 

@plugusin

Sunday, July 12, 2015

Pushing back against the scorn of “using tech for tech’s sake”


I recently attended the ISTE 2015 Conference in Philadelphia. In several of the educational technology sessions that I attended a theme very prominently emerged: Using technology in schools “for its own sake” was a practice to be avoided at all costs and far too many schools were guilty of pursuing it.

The contention of course is that instead of using tech for its own sake, technology should be subservient to good pedagogy. Ideally, technology would be used to construct creative lessons and achieve experiences for students that would be impossible without it.

This argument on the face of it is entirely persuasive. However, I think it is a bit of a straw man and overlooks some powerful realities about building a culture of innovative educational practice with technology.

I will make two points referencing two presentations by educational thought-leaders who I follow closely and reference frequently at the Drive-thru — Scott McLeod (@mcleod) and George Couros (@gcouros).

Scott and Julie Graber lead a three-hour workshop on “Tech-Infused Lessons for Deeper Thinking”. They introduced a model for determining if technology is being applied to achieve deeper learning in class activities. In groups we deconstructed and discussed case studies especially identifying instances where technology was included in a lesson but was helping to achieve significant learning objectives. We then suggested how the lessons could be redesigned to advance deeper thinking.

I felt our critiques failed to recognize one important consideration: When and where will the students learn the technology tools that make-up their toolbox for self-directed learning and product creation? 

I plead guilty to at times using tech pretty much for its own sake. I’ve done so in order to allow students to familiarize themselves with tools or rehearse using them.  For example, for a simulation in my American Government classes, students needed to be able to collaborate, share, create, and research using various tools.

They did not know how to use these tools when they came to class. While they were exceedingly helpful to each other in gaining competency with these tools, success required time and practice. Consequently, I attached requirements to use tech tools into other activities even though they did not add value beyond tech for its own sake in those particular lessons. I wanted them to have enough experience so that they could leverage the tools to achieve the kind of self-direction and critical thinking that McLeod and Draper urge us to seek. 

In other words if the teacher does not do some tech for its own sake isn’t he or she failing to prepare these students for challenges that leverage these tools? Contrary to what many adults suppose, kids don’t just “pick up” the knowledge of how to use any kind of technology. 

Well, this post has gotten way too long. I will resume next time with my reaction to a George Couros resource that reflects on technology leadership— a subject near and dear to my heart.

Thursday, July 9, 2015

Quotes by Steven W. Anderson, Tom Whitby, Jim Dewiler and more.

“The idea of the 4 walls of a classroom has to go away. Classrooms are wherever we are, learning, sharing, growing and reflecting.”
— Steven W. Anderson

“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you're not part of the steamroller, you're part of the road.” — @DOWspotlight

“Be not only the lead learner - be the school's lead dreamer. Make dreaming a foundation of the school culture.” 
—Dr. Jim Detwiler

“The price of originality is criticism. The value of originality is priceless.”
— via @ValaAfshar

“I. . . often find administrators who claim to be connected on Twitter, but have profiles showing about 100-200 tweets as their lifetime total . . . .that is one of my personal hot buttons.”
—Tom Whitby





Sunday, July 5, 2015

Quotes Ranging from Oliver Wendall Holmes to Will Richardson

“Ever since the first laptop emerged almost 40 years ago technology has been winning the race over pedagogy; that is, technology gets better and better, while instruction doesn’t.”
— Michael Fullan

“We do not quit playing because we grow old, we grow old because we quit playing.”
—Oliver Wendell Holmes

“It’s time for libraries to stop functioning like grocery stores where people simply come to get stuff and start acting more like kitchens where people come to create and tell their own stories.”
—Richard Kong


“Problem finding is the first and possibly the most important process in creating or solving anything” 
—Katrina Schlageter


"We don't do technology initiatives. We do learning initiatives that are supported by technology.”  
via @parent_ocdsb

Thursday, July 2, 2015

Conference Overload, Myth of Innovation, etc.

Myth of Innovation in Education
Most new ideas have more enemies than friends. Education needs new ideas and people who can stand up and lead those ideas over rather perilous roads to completion. . . .Once they have the knowledge, teachers need to be supported in collaboration with others to refine, plan, and implement ideas. 

How to Avoid Conference Overload
2. Keep a 3-dance card
Too often I go to sessions and leave with an ever-growing list of things to try but no time to try them. . . .So now I go with a 3 card - that is, a note with three slots. As I hear about new and exciting things, I write them on my dance card to try when I get home. When I get to a fourth "cool new thing" I need to decide to bump an already penciled in tool or strategy or forgo it. While this was difficult at first, it was so liberating to leave with three big ideas to try out when I got home instead of dozens.

When School Leaders Empower Teachers, Better Ideas Emerge
“Distributed leadership is not ‘I empower you to do exactly what I say,’ ” said Chris Lehmann, principal of Science Leadership Academy in an EduCon session about how to effectively distribute power. Often leaders believe they are distributing power, but they are actually just delegating. For teachers to buy into a system like this, which asks more of their time outside class, they must feel they are professionals trusted by leadership.

Reimagining Genius Hour as Mastery Hour
The goal of the creative, passion-driven work our students are doing should be mastery. Mastering a concept, skill, or ability. It’s silly to believe that one year of Genius Hour will lead to true mastery, but does it help? Does Genius Hour build good learning habits? Do those habits then eventually lead to Mastery?

The (Accidental) Power of MOOCs
Perhaps one of the overlooked values in MOOCs is not in sharing Ivy League wisdom with the masses, but in teaching educators—and, in turn, improving traditional K-12 schools.

Capture blur-free iPhone vids with this tip
Your iPhone is set up as a still camera first and foremost, so it tends to automatically focus and expose your images. This is fantastic when you need a quick snapshot, but when you’re taking video, the constant re-focusing and exposure adjustment just makes everything look blurry and amateur.

Blog Archive