Removing barriers to MEANINGFUL technology use!
Who Cares About the Device??
Sometimes I think I am too connected...
I am a part of several list serves (yes those are still used), Twitter, Google+, etc. The one thing that annoys me more than anything is when I have to read things like the following:
1. Device X is so much better than device Y.
2. I would never purchase Device X for
students.
3. Device Y is terrible because it lacks this
feature.
You get the idea...I call it Device Wars
In a 1:1 environment there are 2 critical things:
1. An engaging teacher with rigorous lessons.
2. A device. Any device. Who really cares?
Tech Directors, Tech Coaches, teachers arguing over which device is "better"........iPad, Chromebook, LearnPad...who cares?
Certainly, each device has its positives and negatives. Battery life, selection of Apps, and life of device cost are all factors to take into consideration.
Students need access to information. Students need the ability to create.
Teachers need to adapt and be ready to prepare students for an information rich world. Devices open up a whole new type of teaching and learning.
So, teachers/leaders, stop arguing about which device is better, and focus on improving learning and teaching. The kids are waiting.
Need an Assistant for Grading? Try Flubaroo!
I know that many teachers have uncovered the power of Google Docs and are using the tools in your classroom (or intend to in fall). However, the one certainty about Google tools is that there is always something new to learn.
Now before you freak out and say I'm getting too geeky for you, let me entice you just a bit. If you are interested in assessing your students' knowledge using an online/electronic format (that DOES work on iPads), Google has a tool for that. If you wish to take it one step further and get almost immediate feedback on that assessment (so you can actually plan next steps for your classroom using real time data), there is an easy to use tool for that. It's kind of like having the perfect Teaching Assistant there and available to grade student quizzes for you, and provide a detailed breakdown for each student that will help you to determine what the students truly know.
The first part really is quite easy. It's called Google Forms. This is a powerful tool that has gotten even more powerful in the past few months with a recent update. Google Forms allows you to collect information, to survey people, to assess student knowledge in an easy to build, easy to distribute electronic form. Many teachers have found this tool and swear by it. You may wish to learn to use it for simple tasks, like collecting student information in the first few days of school, collecting parent information so you can have an email list that is actually up-to-date, etc. With just a few simple uses, you'll see the power and find more educationally relevant uses for Google Forms. We have a resource on our Instructional Technology Resources site that will help you to get started with Google Forms: https://sites.google.com/a/waukesha.k12.wi.us/google-apps-in-education/forms
However, the second part, the part that is REALLY enticing, is having something that actually grades your assessments for you in almost no time at all. That is where some of you may get freaked out initially. It really isn't difficult, and you don't need a scripting degree to understand how to use it. However, the terminology does sound scary. I promise -- it really isn't.
As you may already know, the responses that are collected in a Google Form are placed into a spreadsheet. That's how they stay organized and can easily be sorted. However, within Google Spreadsheets is the power to run powerful formulas and scripts. Left to our own devices, most of us would never be able to do this -- we don't have the knowledge. However, some really nice, really teacher-friendly people with scripting knowledge have come to our rescue. They've pre-made scripts that we can simply click on and use without having to understand the coding behind them.
That's where Flubaroo comes in. It is a grading script that teachers can use to quickly assess student mastery of concepts gathered through the use of Google Forms.
I'll start with a video to help you see the general concept behind Flubaroo.
So, you are excited now, but thinking, "There is NO WAY I could that." Guess again. I told you, this is super easy. Flubaroo provides a great series of instructions to help you get started. After doing it a few times, you likely won't need the instructions any more.
To get to the step-by-step instructions, just follow this link: http://www.flubaroo.com/flubaroo-user-guide.
In a few short steps, you'll have your own TA just waiting to help you streamline the process of assessing student learning. Then you can get back to the business of planning meaningful instruction based upon the data you have in front of you.
Remember, you don't need to have students to learn to use this tool. Now would be a great time to quiz your family and friends. Send them a Google Form to find out what they know about you, and then use the Flubaroo script to grade their responses. It may help you to quickly determine who you really want to spend time with this summer!
Ed Tech...its Not About the Tech
I am a tech geek. There is no way around it. I enjoy gadgets, websites, creating, connecting, just about anything that has to do with technology. I have an inherent interest that has allowed me to educate myself. I have no formal training (you might be surprised I would admit that I am self trained, but I am proud of it) ...but I have, much like many of our students today, found a passion. Educational Technology is my passion and I want to give a little insight on how I think that fits into the greater world of education.
As a classroom teacher I always tried to make sure that technology was a part of what I did in the classroom. From using Blackboard to Google Apps and other Web 2.0 tools, I was a staple in the computer lab (much to the dismay of my colleagues who also wanted lab time). To me technology was just a part of the way that I operated in the classroom. It was what I did and wanted for my students, not something extra for me to do in my classroom. But more importantly, before all of that, I felt it was important to have high quality engaging lessons with rock solid relationships with my students that allowed them to become "thinkers" and "creators".
You may or may not be surprised to hear me say this then...Technology is not the answer.
You read that right, in education technology is not the silver bullet we are all waiting for. Its not Khan Academy, its not iPads, its not flipping the classroom, and it is not (insert fad technology here).
The most important part of education reform and increasing student achievement is....drum roll...high quality teachers and lessons that are relevant and ENGAGE students. Sure, there are extenuating factors in a students life, I get that, but high quality lessons that demand that students (spoiler here) think and use real world application skills is the most important thing you do as a teacher. It is not our content, but what student can create with our content.
What does this look like? Well I was inspired by an article I read that talks about promoting deep learning in in students. You can read it here.
So what is the role of technology and education then Mr. I Have a Passion for Educational Technology. Well let me tell you what I think..........
I will use a medicine analogy here. Thirty years ago there were terrific doctors in the world. They were able to diagnose and treat patients with the technology that was available to them at the time. If you took the best doctor from 30 years ago and magically transplanted them to today they would quickly learn the tools they had 30 years ago would not be sufficient today. If the doctor tried to use the same tools as 30 years ago...he would have no patients. His patients would demand the latest technology and current research and theory. However, the great doctors of 30 years ago would adjust to today's world. They would demand and implement current theory, practice, and technology. Not for technologies sake, but because it made them a better doctor.
Don't the students of today deserve to have the most up to date technology and current educational practice?
Technology should just be the way we do things. It should not be an extra thing that teachers have to "fit into" their day. Utilizing the latest technology should become the way that we operate. Example: Blackboard. Our students today demand that they have access to their learning outside of the 60 minutes that you may see them in a day. Colleges, universities, and technical schools use Learning Management System's like Blackboard so that students can have their education outside the walls of the classroom. In fact, many corporate training happens within an LMS. Exposing students to this type of environment is crucial as we prepare them for whatever lies ahead for them after they leave K-12 education.
At first, yes, it might seem like something extra, but we have to meet the needs of today's students. Once you start using an LMS, an online gradebook, or having students create the hope is that it will become part of how you operate as a teacher, not something extra. The goal is communication and access, and the technology allows that to happen.
While technology is not the silver bullet, it is the way things are done in our world today. To ignore it would be a diservice to our students. Embrace technology and its role in the classroom and world today. When you do, you will increase student engagement and help prepare your students for life after high school.
I am sure you have seen the Sir Ken Robinson videos...but if you have not here they are again. Enjoy, they really speak to the urgency of the shift that must happen in education. The first is a follow up to his initial talk. The second has 8 million YouTube views.
Here is the full Changing Paradigm video. No political commentary from me...I just focused on the education part of the video.