The Benefits of Going All In On a 1:1
This month we had the pleasure to write a guest post for Naomi Harm's newsletter, Tech Bytes, for her company, Innovative Educator Consulting. The post focuses on the decision our district made to move entire buildings into a 1:1 implementation, instead of doing it in much smaller segments by classroom, grade level, or department.
Read the full post in the newsletter. For those considering a 1:1 implementation in your district, it provides a perspective of another way that 1:1 can be rolled out and the benefits we are seeing as a result of that decision.
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!
Educators...Choose Amazon
As a Twitter junkie I was reading some tweets on a Sunday morning while drinking coffee, when I stumbled across the following tweet from my friends in the Waukesha Technology Department:
— SDW Tech Department (@sdwtech) March 16, 2014
The article entitled iPads in the Classroom: the Promise and the Problems is a fantastic look the why iPads should be used in the classroom, the potential pitfalls, and measures of success. In particular there was one paragraph that caught my eye:
Indeed, integrating new technologies isn’t easy. Consider two non-education related examples:
Amazon and Blockbuster. Amazon built itself from the ground up in response to technical innovation and — because it was willing to let go of the old retail model — transformed the way people shop. Blockbuster attempted, too late and without much commitment, to staple some technology onto its old business model. Today, of course, that company no longer exists.
Often I engage in discussions about technology and its use in the classroom. Many times people are trying to make traditional learning happen within the context of the iPad. While this may be ok for some lessons, for the most part teachers need to rethink what their classrooms, education, and learning could and should look like when every student has an iPad/device.
Technology can allow educators to do wonderful things in the classroom, but two critical things must be present:
1. A highly motivated teacher willing to question the status quo on education
2. The belief that challenging the status quo of education is the moral imperative for our students
If educators choose the Blockbuster model, and try to make a square peg fit a round hole we are missing the opportunity of a generation. We sit in the drivers seat of education at time in which we can keep up with business, industry, and the rest of the world by innovating and utilizing the great leverage of technology.
Let's face it, technology integration done well allows all of the great things we want to see happening in schools today:
*Want to have students collaborate--don't need tech, but boy do Google Docs help and enhance and change the experience.
*Want to have students explain their thinking--don't need tech, but Screen casting and Apps help and enhance the experience.
*Want to have students use creativity to produce evidence of their own learning--don't need tech, but creating presentations, movies, and communicating with the world can enhance the experience.
Schools and teachers that go with the Amazon model, the ones that see education as an evolving new world, will develop learning situations in which technology can augment and enhance student learning. These teachers will be able to create authentic learning experiences that emphasize skill development and ready students for whatever they wish to do after high school. Teachers are able to focus on relationships, student learning, and quality assessment because technology allows them to be more efficient. Teachers are able to ask students to create, because technology tools makes creativity available any time, any where.
The Blockbuster way may work in education....for a while. But, much like Blockbuster it will not be sustainable. It is our moral duty to evolve and grow as educators to provide a world class experience, with world class instruction, with world class technology.
So, strive to be Amazon, not Blockbuster.
"IPads in the Classroom: The Promise and the Problems."GreatSchools. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. /www.greatschools.org/technology/7910-ipad-technology-in-the-classroom.gs?cpn=homeflash_tablets>.
Why Can't High School be More Like Kindergarten?
Last week I had the opportunity to visit some of the elementary schools in my district. These schools are all Waukesha One schools(1:1 iPad) and the Instructional Technology Coordinator team wanted to get a feel for what is happening across the four schools that were part of the first wave of student’s having iPads.
Admittedly, I am not in elementary classrooms very often. My focus has been improving teaching and learning at the high school level. So, when I was given the opportunity to learn more about what elementary teachers and students do in a day I jumped at the opportunity.
I had a lot of great ah ha moments. Elementary kids are so polite, they all seem to adore their teachers, and the pace of the building is much different than in a high school. But, here was my major takeaway from a great day of learning, why can’t high school be more like kindergarten?
It is a question I find very interesting. Think about the learners at the elementary as they compare to their high school counterparts...now strip away the obvious developmental differences. Are these two learners all that different? Next, think about the elementary classroom/school vs. the high school classroom/school and you see major differences in how the schools, are run, staffed, and what they look like from a design perspective.
Have you ever heard the saying, or seen the poster, that boldly states, “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten”? Well, I modify it somewhat and proclaim “ The way I want to see all classrooms I saw in Kindergarten”.
Here is what I saw in Kindergarten classrooms at two great schools:
1. Students were focused on learning. It seemed to me that they were excellently trained in the "art of routine". There was a certain buzz to the classroom that made me feel like learning was the top priority in class.
2. Stations rule. For most of the time that I visited Kindergarten students were working in learning stations. They had a specific task and were working with purpose, but were also given a choice on which and where tasks were to be completed.
3. Physical space was used to enhance learning. These classrooms were not rows, but they were designed in a way that learning in smaller, more personalized groups could happen naturally.
4. Relationships were key between students and adults. I had to ask one of my colleagues who the teacher was in the classroom. There were at least three adults in all of the classrooms I visited. Who were these adults? Aids and volunteers that were critical to learning.
5. The teachers and students were not phased by our presence. I felt almost invisible in a Kindergarten classroom.
6. Manners ruled supreme. Treat others how you want to be treated is called the golden rule for a reason, and it was on display in Kindergarten.
7. Kids wanted to learn. There was a deep curiosity attached to learning in Kindergarten.
The question I keep coming back to is how can we see more of this in the high school classroom? Certainly, we do see some of these things at varying levels at high school, but I was so impressed that ALL of these things were in all of the Kindergarten classes I visited.
I am sure many of my high school colleagues will quickly come back and say things about content, rigor, and seriousness of the high school classroom that simply are not a part of Kindergarten. To them I would say this: Look at the list. Tell me why we can’t adopt ALL of these things in the high school?
Moving Beyond Substitution: Innovative Use of Book Creator Climbs SAMR Ladder
If somebody promises gains in student achievement as a result of the purchase of 1:1 computing devices or of introducing an app in your district/classroom, it's fair to say they may be feeding you a line. However, when a teacher shares an educationally relevant, SAMR climbing use of that same tool or app, pay attention. Student achievement is likely to follow!
Recently a teacher in my district, Emily Hernandez, shared one way she uses the Book Creator app for iOS that pointed to an educationally relevant, instructionally appropriate use of the app. If you are not familiar with Book Creator, it is a way to develop interactive, multimedia-incorporating ebooks/iBooks on the iPad. It is a simple, easy-to-use app that could very easily be overestimated due to its apparent simplicity.
Ms. Hernandez, though, saw the potential in the tool because she dared to think differently about how her students would utilize the app to demonstate knowledge in her foreign language classroom.
Foreign language students need to demonstrate a wide variety of language acquisition skills, measured primarily through their ability to write and speak the language. This is traditionally assessed via written works and through the use of conversation and oral presentation with classmates and instructors.
In Ms. Hernandez's application of the Book Creator app, she was able to utilize these two assessment techniques to demonstrate the students' knowledge to date. Through the use of written text in the eBooks students created, as well as through the ability to record audio and place audio files into the eBook (a feature built into Book Creator), Ms. Hernandez achieved Substitution by having students do something they had always done, only now using technology to do it.
She climbed the SAMR ladder another rung, though, through the meaningful incorporation of audio, images, and written text into a singular demonstration of learning. Using the medium of a "published" eBook as their palette, students were being asked to provide written text, were asked to record and supplement that written text with an audio version of that text, and were able to incorporate meaningful images that supported the key themes and messages of their eBook. Here the teacher was taking advantage of the benefits of the technology built into the Book Creator app, as well as the student's pre-conceived notion of a more professional level of communication in a published book, to gain efficiency and to add authenticity to the demonstration of learning. This is clear evidence that Ms. Hernandez had now achieved Augmentation on the SAMR ladder in her use of Book Creator.
As we move into Modification, it is important to understand that the key focus must be on how the teacher changes the lesson design or demonstration of learning to take advantage of the functionality and efficiency the technology provides. Ms. Hernandez decided to make student reflection a key component of this project, allowing students to continually reflect on their "performance" based upon teacher feedback to inform their future learning. In her lesson design, she allowed students to return to the eBook to make changes prior to final publication.
The stroke of genius that Ms. Hernandez conjured was in using AirDrop and/or Google Drive (both export functions are natively available in the Book Creator app), functions that allowed the student to share the "draft" of their eBook with the teacher, as well as the audio recording function of the Book Creator app, to provide that feedback. As students shared the draft of their eBook with the teacher, the teacher reviewed it on her iPad in the Book Creator app, added a page for audio feedback in which she spoke her feedback to students, shared it back with students using the same AirDrop/Google Drive method the student selected, and then allowed them to continue working. While that feedback could have just as easily been spoken to the students in class, the ability to use Google Drive and audio record provided four key advantages.
- The students could work on the rough draft of the eBook at any time and "turn in" that draft as soon as they were finished. Ms. Hernandez could do the same with the feedback. This creates an ability to provide just-in-time feedback to students as they meet natural finish points, not just on a once-size-fits-all, pre-determined collection date.
- The feedback was recorded, meaning that both the students and Ms. Hernandez had a record of the feedback provided. This becomes valuable to the students as they make suggested changes and alter their final product, and it becomes valuable to the teacher as a way of measuring growth from previous iterations of a similar work product.
- Through the drafting process, Ms. Hernandez reinforces the concept that language acquisition is about a process of learning and growing, not a unit of study that is explored and then completed or forgotten.
- Students create a lasting product that demonstrates their understanding at a given point in time. This can be posted to an electronic portfolio, shared at conferences, or later revisited and revised as the students grow in their language acquisition.
Ms. Hernandez's work should be applauded, as it is an incredible reminder that the simplest of tools, used in meaningful, thoughtful, and creative ways, can really transform the way that our students perceive and experience the journey of learning.