Class of 2016 iWizards Well Prepared for their Futures

Four iWizard seniors (and a senior citizen!)

As I recently posted, some of my iWizards have grown up! As originally formed three years ago, all members were ninth graders.  While still skewed toward younger members, the iWizards will now be represented by students from four grade levels, among them the seniors pictured above.

Three of my seniors have been vitally involved with the program since its inception. We have shared many wonderful experiences and I have promised them that for all of their efforts I will write them absolutely superb college recommendations. I am presently in the process of drafting these letters. In those recommendations I will be remarking upon how the iWizard experience has helped these young women develop the following qualities:

Leadership

The iWizards do not have fixed leadership positions. For each project, leaders are self-selected or selected by project teammates. Senior iWizards have been leading projects for four years now and have been continually identified as take-charge individuals with exceptional leadership skills.

Responsibility

The iWizards are accountable to each other rather than an adult leader and the team bond is the most effective system of accountability. Students who do not follow through don't remain iWizards very long.

Self Direction

iWizards are given free reign to develop their curriculum and instructional plans for projects like the new student iPad orientation and iCreate! — an arts workshop for middle school students. They do not need “approval” from a teacher though they select mentors who critique their work. The mentor's participation is more collegial than hierarchical.

Problem Solving

The iWizards become good at problem-solving. These problems could be technical, logistical or inter-personal.  

Presentation Skills 

All iWizards are involved in making presentations at student-to-student workshops.  This includes developing slide presentations or designing ice-breaker activities. The students whose letters of recommendations I am writing also presented last spring at the largest teacher technology convention in our state. They were invited by Apple to present on “ iWizards-- Empowering Students as Leaders“.

Collaboration

Outside of developing our collection of iPad Tips and Tricks, all of our projects have been completed as teams that have required continual communication through digital means such as Google Apps.

Stretching Technical Skills

It is not uncommon for the iWizards to join a particular project team so that they can learn more about a technology. Perhaps the best example of this would be a project team which intended to introduce the Schoology LMS to new students. They were required to learn how to use and develop tutorials before the school actually adopted it. Consequently, they became proficient long before the great majority of teachers did.

Service

Finally, after mentioning all of these intangible benefits the iWizards gain from their participation in the group, it should be noted that all of their projects perform a service to the school or greater community. The benefits of this program flow in both directions.

The 2015 iWizard Tech Orientation (aka "My Babies Have Grown Up")

This was Izzy's third year leading an iPad orientation session

Three years ago Mercy adopted the iPad as its 1:1 device for the class of 2016. Shortly afterwards we formed a club of ninth grade iPad enthusiasts who named themselves the "iWizards". Those ninth graders set upon an ambitious project: They would conduct the two and a half hour tech orientation for the next group of ninth graders.  While the iWizards now pursue additional projects, they still produce the new student tech orientation before school officially starts. This year every Mercy student will have an iPad, and some of the iWizards who originally formed the club are now seniors. Learning with them over the past three years has been a fabulous experience.

Last Friday (August 14), twenty-four current iWizards provided an orientation for the new students four separate sessions. This actually meant that eight teams of iWizards independently taught sessions with a teacher of their choosing in the room for support.

The process of choosing the subjects, creating the curriculum and presenting the material is a great experience for these young women. They acquire presentation and technical skills but also they gain self-confidence and leadership skills. They hold each other accountable and each year we have been delighted to find that none of the iWizards bail out on the project over the summer.

By all accounts the iWizards did a splendid job on Friday. I have shared a small slice of the experience in the following video:

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Top photo by Gary Morris

Highlighting New Tech Developments at MHS

As noted here recently, we are updating iMercy, the Multi Touch book that describes Mercy technology.  We published it to iTunes in 2013 where it remains a free download.

I am working with 12 other wonderful people* on an updated edition which we will submit for review to Apple this summer. Last week we were formally invited to apply for a renewal of our Apple Distinguished School status. The updated book will serve as evidence that we continue to be a leading edge school with Apple 1:1 technology.

Our committees have now reviewed each section of the book and are already collecting resources and data highlighting new developments in each area. Here is a sampling:

Visionary Leadership
An entirely new section on the iWizards will be written acknowledging new projects such as their iPad Tips & Tricks course and their iCreate workshop

Gerry Meloche's students use iPhones to identify paramecia

Innovative Learning and Teaching
We have so many new developments which could go here. The new technology in courses like Broadcasting, Photo, Film and Animation, Graphic Design, etc. could fill a chapter.

Ongoing Professional Learning
This section will feature our successes with peer to peer training as well as our Tech Talk Conference.

Compelling Evidence of Success
As I recently posted, we are surveying staff, all juniors, and all freshmen to gather comparative data to the the study we completed two years ago.

Flexible Learning Environment
Since our book was published we have adopted a new learning management system. A section on how we leverage technology through Schoology will be a key addition to this section.

We have much work ahead but I am very proud to have the opportunity to share with the world all the exciting ed tech innovations that are happening at Mercy!

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*Committee Members include Larry Baker, Christopher Blitz, Cheryl Corte, Julie Earle, Angela Harris-Schultheis, Tom James, Alison Kline-Kator, Dr. Cheryl Kreger, Ann Lusch, Carol Shea, Cindy Richter, Lisa Schrimscher, Susan Smith

iWizards = Leadership

Katie, center; Principal Carolyn Witte, right

It was my pleasure introduce Katie Birecki for her 2015 Optimist Leadership Award in Farmington, MI. Each of the four local high schools had one 11th grade recipient. Katie is a charter member of the Mercy iWizards, a group which was formed when Mercy adopted the iPad for all freshmen in 2012.  Consequently I had the benefit of  observing Katie in authentic leadership roles her entire time at Mercy High School. Here is a shortened version of what I said about her:

During her ninth grade she helped plan and execute a three hour iPad orientation for our new students.  She was vitally involved in this project and took and even higher profile last year when, again, we planned the new student orientation.  Last year, after we were named an Apple Distinguished School, we were visited by many school leaders and members of the media.  Invariably I asked Katie to participate in these sessions as an iWizard representative. . . . She was a team leader for our iCreate workshop for Middle School students. 

Recently she and I were among five co-editors who published a collection to iTunes called iPad Tips and Tricks by MHS iWizards. If you visit http://tinyurl.com/mcmcard you will see her picture gracing the cover.  Furthermore, she was one of three iWizards who accompanied me to Cobo Center to deliver a break-out session about iWizards at MACUL, the state’s largest educational technology conference. 

Katie is intelligent, sincere and utterly responsible.  She is incredibly generous with her time and sets the very best example for other students when she serves as an iWizard leader. She is entirely deserving of this award from the Optimists.

Spring Break!

I’ve had some fun with educational technology over spring break.  No heavy lifting . . . . straight fun!

For instance, some of the students and staff at Mercy have been exploring the iWizards’ iPad Tips and Tricks on Schoology. Consequently they have been earning our animated GIF badges which I have been more than happy to award.  Some like Mrs. Kline-Kator have earned all thirteen so they have home pages that light up like Christmas trees:

Over the past couple of months I have been scouting talent for 2016 Tech Talk. I keep a stockpile of interesting potential presenters in Evernote.  Over the break, I have been rating them on a set of criteria such as interest to Mercy staff, topic variety, expertise, proximity.  I have LAO been looking up contact info and following on Twitter when possible.  Folks like Jillian Johnson who rated an A+, don't know yet I'm "stalking" them.  But I hope that they will come to Tech Talk when I contact them next school year!

For Wednesday's webcast of Preview ISTE 2015 I had the good fortune of being teamed up with Kristen Swanson for the hour segment on professional development. She was a hard act to follow. Kristen is edcamp co-founder and delivered a terrific 20 minute presentation on the movement.  For those who don't know, here are the general features of these "unconferences":

*free

*non-commercial and conducted with a vendor-free presence

*made up of sessions that are determined on the day of the event by the participants

*events where anyone who attends can facilitate a session

*reliant on the “law of two feet” that encourages participants to find a session that meets their needs

Typical of ISTE events, I took away more than I contributed.

Oh yes, there was one other ed techie thing that I did over break.  As you can see, I blogged!

Scenes from the iWizard Workshop

Sarah and Anna create media in the Mac Lab.

Twenty iWizards spent the day, Thursday, March 26, designing and creating the New Student iPad Orientation on August 14. Below are some scenes from the day's activities.

iWizards' Preso at MACUL: Intercepted Tweets

 Larry, Izzy, Taylor, Katie

It was really fun presenting with my student co-presenters on March 19 at MACUL15

Paul Sandy @Mr_SandyTeach

Great presentation by @labcbaker and his students! Here with @mrdixon_edu

Kelli O'Connell @oconnell1128

@labcbaker Thank you MHS iWizards for presenting today. Great example of student leaders teaching their peers. #macul15

Craig McMichael favorited

#macul15 Presenting at 8:30am in room 355 with Students at MACUL15: "iWizards: Empowering Students as Leaders . . . ."

Andrea McKay @McKay_Vikings

HS students teaching younger students how to be creative with their tech -- iCreate workshops with focus on creativity! So cool! @labcbaker

Andrea McKay @McKay_Vikings

Love how Mercy High School @mhsit uses student iWizards to help staff/students with tech! @labcbaker #MACUL15 Great community of learners!

Presenting with Students at MACUL15: "iWizards: Empowering Students as Leaders . . . ."

Today is a new and exciting experience for me.  Apple Education invited me to bring some iWizards to MACUL15 to explain our program.  I'm so confident that Taylor, Izzy, and Katie will kill it!

PDF Version of Presentation Slides

iMercy (iBook)

Tech Talk

Lucy Gray Video

iPad Tips and Tricks by MHS iWizards at iTunes U

iCreate Workshop Video

Outside of the Box Peer to Peer Tech Training Strategies / MACUL Conference Presentation

Here are the resources for my March 19, MACUL 2015 Conference Presentation on Outside of the Box Peer to Peer Tech Training Strategies

PDF Version of Presentation Slides

Tech Talk

Becoming a Digital School Administrator at iTunes U

iPad Tips and Tricks by MHS iWizards at iTunes U

Mercy Drop-in Lab (Video by Ann Lusch)

Alison's Video

A Culture of Peer to Peer PD (video)

Student to Student Training (video)

iWizard Take-away (video)

Students Teaching Students-- the Benefits Work Both Ways!

For my upcoming presentations at MACUL and ISTE on Peer-to-Peer technology training I have interviewed two iWizards. Their experiences come from teaching new students at the Mercy iPad Orientation and 7th/8th graders at iCreate. Here are some sound bites that I found very perceptive and interesting.

Taylor's remarks on the effectiveness peer-to-peer instructions

Katie and Taylor reflect on the benefits they have received as trainers from Peer-to-Peer training.

Update on Tech Talk -- SOLD OUT

There are less than three weeks until our second annual Mercy Tech Talk!  We had a huge influx of registrants at the early-discount deadline.  Our goal was 300 attendees and we surged past that number. In order to deliver a quality program we have closed registration.

My fellow conference coordinator, Ann Lusch, and I are looking forward to the following new wrinkles:

*Attendance will be 30% greater than last year's conference.

*We have the full faculties registered from five schools.

*We tripled our sponsorship this year.

*Professors from four universities will be leading break-out sessions

*This year we will offer a school administrator program strand.

*We offer 36 break-out sessions this year.

* 60% of the presenters are new to the conference and nearly all of the topics are new.

*The SCECH credit (continuing ed.) process will be streamlined in 2015.

*Several Mercy iWizards will be providing logistical and technical assistance.

We look forward to the challenge of giving all attendees a great experience. Follow the conversation on Twitter at #mhtalk

Snow Day Capers with Post-it Plus

tehchix0r via Compfight cc

Michigan was hit with a major blizzard this week.  I took advantage of some unexpected time at home to create a 55 second iPad "Tip" for an iTunes U collection that the iWizards are creating.

The idea for this tip was inspired by Apple DE, Gabriella Meyers who recently toured each of her Apple Distinguished Schools.  While waiting to visit a Mercy science class she showed me Post-it Plus, and I have been enamored by it since.

With Post-it Plus, you can photograph any arrangement of notes and add them digitally to a Board. Several boards can be stored at the app, and your note collections can be combined and reorganized. A new feature of the app allows notes to be created and added within the app as well.

This is handy for planning storyboards and presentations. It facilitates any kind of planning by sticky-note users, because you can take your notes with you on your iPad wherever you go.

Using screenshots, my iPhone voice memo, and iMovie; I cranked out this 55 second video. I have already added it to my Becoming a Digital School Administrator iTunes U collection. Fun (and useful?) stuff.

Students Teaching Students iPad Technology at the MHS iCreate Workshop

Art Rage/ Animator HD Group in Foreground / Photo by M. Weiss

The MHS iWizards conducted a free* iCreate Workshop for seventh and eighth graders on Saturday, January 17.  The iWizards consist of 9th-11th grade students who share an enthusiasm for the iPad.  Through a collaboration with the MHS Art Department**, they designed two one-hour sessions for the participants:

1) Students took photos, and became acquainted with how to employ some of Photogene's many editing effects. They then dropped them into iMovie, learning how to quickly add sound and add features.

2) Students created drawings with ArtRage. They then they discovered how to animate the sketches with Animation Creator HD.

Both groups experienced using AirDrop* and enjoyed each other's productions on LED projectors via Apple TVs.

The sessions were entirely taught by the iWizards who turned out in force in order to give lots of 1:1 help to our guests.  The iWizards created their curriculum through several weeks of before-school meetings.  The following sequence of extremely short videos outlines a portion of the animation group's instruction.

The session began with an iWizard demonstration of what could be achieved with ArtRage/Animation Creator HD

After the projects were completed the iWizards worked hard to collect the files through AirDrop and then mirror them onto the projector.

The Animation group gave a Mercy souvenir to projects that stood out. Below I have videoed one winner's creation.  Pretty impressive considering the kids only had an hour to learn two apps and create their masterpieces!

This final brief video shows photographs from the day's fun.

Photos by L. Baker and M. Weiss

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*Mr. James and Mr. Bank from Mercy I.T. set up 20 loaner iPads for girls who did not bring their own. They also created a special wifi for our guests and prepped the projectors (with Ms. Corte's assistance).

**Thank you, Ms. Smith, Ms. Rife, Mr. Poris (Art teachers) and Maureen Weiss, Jen Stark (Admissions) for all of your help.

An iWizard Writ Large

One of our charter member iWizards has become a monthly guest columnist for our local newspaper.  She will write on technology topics that may interest a general reader. Please check out her first piece!

http://tinyurl.com/kfrbyyf

A Week of iWizards

We had lots of iWizard Activity this week which I have captured in iPhone photos.

Wednesday morning the iCreate team gathered to work on the two project sessions that they will offer to 7th and 8th graders.  At one end of the table the drawing/animation team is working and at the other the photo/video team is planning their lesson.

On Thursday morning before school we held a formal reception welcoming new iWizards into the group.  We had seventeen 9th graders apply!. Below is a photo of veteran and new members who were still in the Baggot Street Conference Room at the end of the the Reception.

Each year since we Mercy adopted the iPad, the iWizards have demonstrated how we use it for instruction at the Mercy Open House.  Here they are today, mesmerizing visitors with apps such as iAnnotate PDF and ArtRage.

iCreate Workshop

The Mercy iWizards have begun registration for iCreate -- an iPad workshop of 7th and 8th graders on January 17, 2015.  The two sessions will revolve around the following creative apps:

ArtRage

Animation Creator HD

Photogene

iMovie

iCreate - An iWizard Workshop for Middle School Students

iWizards creating iPad resources for new students

The iWizards are going to host an iPad Workshop for middle school students on January 17, 2015 from 9:30am - noon.*  It will be named iCreate. This was decided at the initial meeting about the project where the iWizards brainstormed with one of Mercy’s admissions officers.  At their next meeting the students will collaborate with the school's Fine Arts teachers.

Here are some of the initial ideas and remarks that came from the first meeting:

- The workshop will consist of 3-4 sessions that each middle school student will attend.

- The sessions should be long enough to allow attendees to create products.

- The sessions will focus on creating multimedia through apps like iMovie, Animation Creator HD, maybe Keynote.

- We might include a light breakfast.  We will not charge but will expect paid-for apps like iMovie to be loaded on students' iPads.

- We can use I.T. Department loaners for students who may not have iPads.

- We should promote the event at the November Fall Open House.

- New iWizards can be recruited help staff the event.  The event itself will be a good recruiting tool for iWizards.

- We will invite the Fine Arts Department faculty to our next meeting for input.  We also would be pleased to have them involved at any level they might wish to be.  We would be happy to promote the Art Curriculum through the event.

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*The idea for hosting a middle school workshop actually came from a member of our Board of Trustees.

August Tech Activities at MHS

At Mercy, tech serves instruction.  But for everyone to be able to leverage extraordinary tools like the iPad and Schoology, some "summer school" is necessary.  For the past two weeks we have been busy serving our teachers and new students with some tech support before school officially begins.

For ten consecutive days. Tom James (Director of I.T.) and Mr. Gary Bank (Systems Administrator)  deployed iPads to new students through an hour's set-up session where students . . . . 1) set-up their iPads   2) established passwords for the iPads and our computer labs  3) set-up Google Accounts and mail app  4) created their Apple I.D.s  5) installed their apps  6) signed into Schoology

New students become acquainted with their iPad Airs.

Schoology is the new learning management system for Mercy.  Most of our assignments and resources are pushed to the students online through this system.  Since it is new, many teachers dropped in for work sessions on Schoology and 1:1 help offered by colleagues  Angela Harris, Eleasha Tarplin, Lauren Marquard, Joe Gerardi, Larry Baker, Tom James, Lisa Robinet, Susan Smith, Alison Kline-Kator, and Jan Wampuszyc.

Several iWizards assisted with the iPad deployment, but twenty-five of them will be leading the two and a half hour iPad orientation on Friday, August 15. The sessions will include....

Schoology / Dropbox

Pages / Printing

iAnnotate PDF

iMovie + Keynote

Digital Citizenship (done by Ms. Brown, guidance counselor) 

The iWizards chose the topics, designed the instruction, and created the materials for this session.  They are eager for Friday to come!

All of these activities exhibit the generosity of spirit one finds each day at Mercy High.

Three helpful iWizards wait in the wings at iPad deployment.

Fostering Leadership and Collaboration through Technology

Two educational technology passions of mine converge this week.  On Wednesday I will be making a presentation on Challenge Based Learning to the Michigan Association of School Administrators.  My presentation description notes that I will describe the paradigm shift of "teacher-learner to "co-learners".

On Thursday, I will be back at Mercy for an all-day workshop with the iWizards. The various projects of the iWizards very much follow the principles of CBL. The students form groups to determine how to meet various challenges.

The main purpose of Thursday's workshop will be preparation of media and resources for the new-student iPad orientation that the iWizards will lead in August.  The teams are entirely composed of ninth and tenth graders.  The girls have determined the topics and have great lee-way in developing their products.  Each team is led by a student project manager selected by the team.

Beyond this, the iWizards have some other major projects on the horizon. Different iWizards have taken the lead on these projects:

1) A Google Hangout with the Tech Sherpas of Central Maine, for the purpose of exchanging information.

2) The construction of an iWizard Web Site available to the school community and general public.

3) The development of an iWizard App allowing for easy access to tutorials and iPad tips.

4) The creation of an IT internship program that will allow students to assist the IT Department and possibly get paid of work over the summer.

In this way the iWizard program is giving its members rich experiences in leadership and collaboration.  I love being a "co-learner" in these endeavors.

Tech Orientation Dress Rehearsal

I enjoyed one of my most gratifying experiences at Mercy High School two weeks, ago.  After school following the last exam on the last day of school the iWizards had their "dress rehearsal" for the August 16, new student tech orientation.  For half a day, the new students will rotate through six 25 minute sessions which will expose them to some of the basic skills and workhorse apps that the iWizards have deemed most important for getting started at Mercy.

The girls rehearsed for two hours, using their Apple TVs, iPads, and projectors.

While they worked out the kinks in their presentations (both delivery and media), they were coached by staff members they had personally invited to join their teams.  

The entire operation involved almost forty students and staff.  Guess what?  We had 100% attendance, even though their peers were fleeing the school after dismissal like a sinking ship!  I knew these folks were devoted to the project, but I was impressed by the commitment to the rehearsal.

This would be a good time to give a shout out to the staff who are being so generous with their time and efforts:

Coaches Angela Harris --  English/Social Studies
Carol Rife-- Fine Arts
Cathy Riley-- Science
Jim Skellett-- Religious Studies
Lauren Bennett-- World Languages/Social Studies
Sara McGavin-- Science
Ann Lusch-- Religious Studies
Christopher Blitz-- Advancement
Susan Smith-- Fine Arts
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Support
Colleen Rozman - administration
Tom James -- IT
Gary Bank -- IT

This entire endeavor has been challenging to organize, but the level of dedication by the participants insures that our new students will have a very rich and beneficial experience.