I Am Tech Fluent. Are You?

In his last post on Getting Tech Into Ed, Dale asked readers when we can stop treating technology like it is an add-on to our work as educators.  The point is well made and has caused me to reflect on why this "tech first" mindset dominates the conversation when we talk about innovation and new instructional practices.

My experience as a student learning Spanish fits well here.  I took four years of Spanish in high school. I even spent two weeks in Mexico surrounded by native Spanish speakers.  Yet, when I arrived to college and realized I had to take Spanish to earn my teaching degree, I freaked out.  I knew very well that I could not understand, speak, read, or write Spanish.  I bombed my introductory Spanish class and narrowly escaped my summer re-take of the exact same course.  (This, by the way, is NOT reflective of my academic story in any other coursework I completed.)

How is it that I could have invested that much time into learning a language and yet walked away with nothing more than a dwarfed vocabulary of random words and a few notable catch phrases that I probably am not using in the appropriate context?

The reality is I was not striving to become fluent in Spanish. My goal was simply to pass; to jump through the hoops to get to my goal of going on a trip, graduating, and earning a degree.  The Spanish coursework was simply a stepping stone to where I wanted to be, not an opportunity to learn a second language, grow culturally, and open an avenue for communicating with a whole world of people who speak a language other than English.

Something in the answer to this question ties closely to my thoughts on why so many educators struggle to move beyond the view of technology as an add-on to educating students.  

Learning to utilize technology for any purpose, including for instructional use, can be a lot like that learning a foreign langague.  In our district we spend a significant amount of time sharing the SAMR Framework with our teachers.  We celebrate movement and growth as it relates to the use of technology to push innovative instructional practice in the classroom.  However, the use of technology for the sake of using technology (categorized as Substitution in SAMR) is not a practice or mindset we encourage teachers to commit to long-term.  Using technology to do things you could very well do without technology is a necessary first step, a place where the journey to more meaningful uses of technology begins. (Kind of like learning to say things to friends in Spanish that I could just as easily say to them in our native language wasn't the real purpose for learning the language.)

It is in the Substitution and early Augmentation phases where users become increasingly "tech fluent."  They start building basic vocabulary, exploring the structure of software and apps, developing confidence, finding some minor successes, and asking questions about what is possible.  They begin to learn lessons of what works and what to avoid when it comes to using technology.  They begin to experience the early advantages of their commitment to become fluent in the language.

This stage of learning a new language or skill set is delicate.  This is where patience, support, and guidance become so important.  It is in these early stages where technology users can gain momentum or lose a sense of purpose entirely.  This is the point where we can help people to see that once they become proficient in their use of technology (as well as their willingness to take risks and try new practices), the possibilities are boundless for them and their students.  It is also the point where we can allow them to flounder, lose focus, and begin to view the use of technology as just another way to do what they have always done.

In this light, I acknowledge that my acquisition of a second language has been stunted in Substitution for well over a decade.  By this point in my journey I should be fluently conversing with parents and students in my district who are English Language Learners.  I should be confidently planning trips to Spanish speaking nations with little concern about a language barrier.  I am not doing this today, though, because I did not commit to meaningfully learning the basics so that I could access the full advantages of being fluent.

In a world where technology has impacted every facet of life, where opportunity and possibility have few limits for those who are fluent in the use of technology, and where the use of technology is flooding academic institutions and experiences across the world, what will your story of "tech fluency" be in just a few years?  If you invest the time to learn to meaningfully use the technology today, what possibilities will exist for you and your students once you have "learned the language?"  It is worth the investment of time and energy today, but not for the purpose of jumping through hoops or fulfilling PD requirements.  Instead, make the investment because you and your students deserve to have all of the amazing educational opportunities that exist (both with and without the use of technology).

In making this commitment, find supportive people who will aid you in your journey.  If you do, I guarantee that  in relatively short order you will become "tech fluent" and you will be able to see well beyond the technology.  You will instead start focusing entirely on what matters and what we all care most about: student learning!

When Can We Stop Talking About Technology?

When will technology stop being something extra?

Technology integration has been a big part of my life both personally and professionally.  In my personal life I use Google and Apple products to make a crazy life with three kids more manageable.  These innovations in family management certainly make life just a little easier and are just a part of how our family operates.

Google Apps, Blackboard, and Apple all are great tools for schools and improving teaching and learning.  Having used both Google and Blackboard in the classroom I can say that these “technology” tools made learning better in my classroom.

If we see technology being used seamlessly in society, and people adopt technologies as a part of how they live, then why is technology seen as something extra in education?

Let’s look at the medical industry.  Technology and innovation are not seen as an extra part of practice, but rather it becomes the standard in how the industry operates.  There is no choice, rather people in the medical field must advance WITH the technology, and not BECAUSE of the technology.  Doctors, nurses, and hospitals must stay on the cutting edge of innovation, because if they do not, they will lose patients.  Innovation is commonplace, and the medical industry has advanced as a result.  Would you rather see a doctor with the knowledge and technology of 2014 or 1994?

Look at one more, and ver important, aspect of the medical analogy.  Even with all the innovation and technology advancement the most important part of the medical industry is………people.  Doctors, nurses, and other support personnel are still the most important part of patient care.

The same can be said of teachers.  Even with technology and innovation in the classroom, it takes a teacher that values relationships with their students as one of their core values.  When this happens it is possible for technology to disappear and become just a part of “the way we do business”.

At times teachers might look at technology as an event, or something to do. Here are only a few of the important roles of technology in schools: 

1.  Allows teachers to become more efficient.

2.  Allows students to demonstrate learning.

3.  Allows schools, parents, students, and teachers to communicate in multiple ways.

When will schools get to the point where technology is not an add on?  When will teaching and learning with technology just become the way that we do business?  Can we ever stop using the word technology?  

Let’s try this exercise—let’s substitute the word innovation for technology in the following “examples”: 

—Google Drive/Docs is a new innovation (technology) that allows students to work efficiently together.

—iPads are an (a) innovation (technology) that allows students to create and demonstrate their learning.

—Innovation (Technology) allows students to create, communicate, and collaborate easier.

—Innovation (Technology) allows students and teachers to be more efficient in their work.

Technology can be a polarizing word.  It is a great equalizer and enabler for some, while a source of fear and distrust for others.  Not all technology moves learning forward, but if educators start to look at technology not as an add on, but a way to push their craft forward, teaching and learning will improve.

Creating Something of Which to Be Proud is a Key to Engagement

A former student emailed me recently to find out if I had a copy of a video project they did during their junior year as a part of a project based lesson I had students do. They were talking about the project with some friends from high school and wondered if by chance I still had a copy as they had lost theirs in a move to college. They were proud of the work that they had done from nearly nine years ago and hoped they could take a look again.Sadly, I did not have the requested copy, but it definitely got my wheels turning.

This morning I put my mind to creating a wooden piece for my boat. By NO MEANS would I call myself a wood worker, but I used all of the patience and know-how I could muster and turned out a pretty nice replica of a broken plastic piece that I can no longer buy. I sent pictures to my wife and dad immediately, and I was just sitting here thinking about some other wood working projects I could do around the house. Needless to say, I'm pretty proud of that work.

It's a long lead in, but hopefully both examples remind us all of that feeling we get when we do something we are TRULY proud of. Often that feeling comes from doing our best on something that we found challenging, maybe even overwhelming at times; something that proved we could do a task we weren't completely confident we could handle.

Thinking back to high school, there are only a few academic experiences that I'm truly proud of. That seems a shame to me. Plenty of extra-curriculars come to mind, but few academic encounters hold that same weight in my memory. Now that I work with teachers, I hope I can inspire some of my colleagues to change that for our students today. The beauty is, it probably isn't a difficult as we might make it out to be.

Content is the Kindling

Teachers who love their content are infectious if they can sell that passion to kids. Even kids who don't love the same content (or any content) are amused by teachers who do. By their very nature, teachers are constantly delving into new topics, ideas, and subjects that can be used as a springboard for a project. As long as the content provides an opportunity to explore, to break out of a mold of everybody doing the same thing, and as long as it (and the teacher) allows students dig into elements of the topic that others may not venture into, the content will suffice. This gives a wide variety of students the space they need to expand and find a niche in topic that others haven't already filled. This matters when you are a teenager and making this consideration for kids will be enough to get the fire started.

Set Forth a Challenge They Can Engage In

Inspiration can come at any time, but the greatest inspirations seem to come as we attempt to resolve an issue we face. When we find a problem or issue that we deem challenging, most people set about the work of solving it both consciously and sub-consciously. We become engaged in the task of resolving that issue. If engagement is what our students lack, perhaps it stems from the idea that they do not see school as a worthy or meaningful challenge. Yes, content can be challenging. So can playing bridge, painting, or learning to dance. It doesn't mean that we all find those endeavors engaging or motivating. Here is where teachers have to use a little bit of their teaching sense!

What are your kids talking about? What do they crave? What might motivate them to stand up and get involved? Is there a local issue they can take on? Is there a way they can have their voices heard? Is there a local group that will rock your students world if they can engage with them (even if the kids aren't aware this group could do so)? The hard part about project based teaching is that teachers have to be flexible and aware of how to engage their students in the project. This means the set up from year to year, or the project, or the audience all has to be flexible. However, the end result has to be the same -- the students have to feel authentically challenged so that they can engage in the problem solving process.

Create Conditions You Can Live With and They Can Overlook

Great teachers understand that they don't necessarily help students to learn; great teachers create the perfect conditions for their students to learn in! This definitely becomes the role of a teacher in a project based unit or classroom. The reality is that teachers have content to cover and need to ensure that students are learning the identified targets. For that reason, teachers have to lay ground rules, create assessments, and determine checkpoints that allow them to do their job. However, teachers also have the responsibility of getting those things out of the way as much as possible. Rubrics and checkpoints wreak of "school" and "grades" and "assignments." They detract from the authenticity of a project and they serve to kill student motivation. Although it is a delicate balance, create conditions in which you get what you need, students get what they need, and the project is still engaging and authentic for students!

Have Students Make Something of Which They Can Be Proud

As I mentioned in the intro, to have students talking about a high school project six or seven years after college suggests that they were truly proud of that work. That depth of pride is powerful, and it tends to spur on even more engagement and passion in future projects.

For many teachers the trouble is the time these products take to complete. Often the end product is itself outside of the focus of the course or content. That trade-off, though, is likely worthwhile if students can commit more deeply to the work they're doing. I struggle to recall a single worksheet, test, or even paper that I wasn't deeply tied to. That is not true of the few projects I was able to complete during my schooling. I remember them well and I remember the content they were tied to. While that is just one perspective, the ongoing adult conversation I have with my friends about school reveals a similar truth for them. Often these projects were self-selected, determined by choices we made as students or a group of students, and had to fit within certain parameters. The investment of time and energy, along with the feeling of pride when being finished, is largely what makes them so memorable.

The more opportunities we can give the students to create something, to get hands on and see a project from start to finish, the more likely they are to be invested in this project, in future projects, and in the whole concept of learning.  That's an important trade-off when you consider what data suggests about our students nationally related to school engagement.

Find an Audience Students Care About

Think back to being a kid, specifically a teenager. What were the things that most motivated you? What were the things that drove you crazy? These are hooks that we can use to encourage kids to engage more meaningfully in school related projects.

One driving force that most teens can relate to is the issue of voice. They want to have a say and how things go and they want to be heard. They want an audience that they care about (unfortunately, this USUALLY does not include teachers)

This should be an essential part of the work we doing a project-based classroom. It is a natural way for students to meet a raised expectation (they are presenting to an audience after all), and it needs a central need that most students have of wishing to be heard.

The challenge for teacher in a project-based classroom is finding that audience. That is the beauty of technology used appropriately in our classrooms. It breaks those walls down and makes anybody in the world a potential audience member. Start dreaming about potential audience members.  Chances are likely if you can dream it, you can probably find it!

This may seem like a tall order, but remember, the work for teachers is generally done in the planning stages.  Then the students take center stage and do the heavy lifting (as they should -- the workers should always be doing the majority of the work).  The dividends this project based approach to learning will pay far outweigh the time and "risk" put into trying something new in your classroom.  Trust me from experience on this one -- nothing feels as good as knowing your students were so deeply engaged in learning that they are still talking about it years later.  That's the experience every child should be able to have while at school!