There is a great deal of talk lately about the need for mobility in the education world. What does that mean for teachers though? What does it mean to the administrative support teams (and especially technology specialists like myself)?
I was reading a great blog about this today and thought it answered these questions fairly well:
Whatever the answer turns out to be in your neck of the woods one thing is for certain: It means change. I am a huge fan of the Flip Your Classroom model. I have watched it grow from its infancy ad seen the research to back it up. If I were in a classroom I would be the teacher to try it out all on my own, spend countless hours in a sound booth, and fight the battles with administration to make it work. Unfortunately I am not and I cannot force teachers to give up any semblance of a social life for the next 18 months to give it a shot.
Salman Khan has great ideas on the subject as well.
Here is what I would recommend in a perfect world, perhaps one with a one-to-one laptop initiative... Create a 3 year plan to migrate from the traditional classroom setting to the Flipped model. The first year said teacher would record common activities and lecture while presenting to the class in a normal fashion. Resources for the lesson would be organized in a digital format and posted to a shared location. Ideas for this location range from internal share points to Google Drive. As long as the area is relatively secure and functional, it should work fine. If the first year is too stressful to capture the entire course, try focusing on one class or section.
Once successfully captured, it is just a matter of transitioning into the "workshop" model of class time with lecture and individualized instruction at home. Without internet access this could be a bit of a challenge ate home, so be sure to provide multiple means of interacting with the teacher's content.
Year two is a time to practice the methodology of Flipped classrooms and streamline procedures... not to mention evangelize for the cause! By year three the teacher is a pro (fingers crossed) and the students are familiar enough with the process to make it work. Participation at home will be a key, of course but it is definitely a real possibility. For more information about tools that can help you streamline the Flipped transition click here. Contact The Chariot Group in Anchorage, AK for more details.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Social Media
This is a board report I prepared for a meeting this week. I thought I would share it for informational purposes to LYSD employees and anyone else interested...
in the Lower
Yukon School District
Who
- Technology Dept maintains the content currently
What
- Currently there is a YouTube channel, Google Plus account, Facebook Page.
When
- All content is posted and managed within the LYSD filtering protocols between 8am and 5pm.
Why
- Social media is not a fad or a waste of time. If students (and everyone else for that matter) are engaged by it’s use, then we should capitalize on it!
·
NETS (National Educational Technology Standards)
·
CIPA (Child Internet Protection Act)
·
District Technology Plan must include it
Where
“Elevator Speech”
·
External – Not to be confused with the SMT; After hours
·
Meaningful - Not “just for fun”; community related events, photos, etc…
·
Educational – Not yet…
Playlists include various topics:
o Teacher
Testimonials
o Information
about the district
o Old
recruiting videos
o Training
videos
YouTube EDU is content filtered and
automatically rerouted
User account is controlled by Google user: Anica Azachorok
What are other organizations doing with social media?
Anchorage:
Kenai:
BSSD:
ANTHC:
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Smart Notebook 11
Smart Notebook 11 Adds Browser Embedding, Adaptive Toolbar
Smart Technologies has released version 11 of its collaborative learning tool, Smart Notebook. The company has also released an update to Smart Response and 3D Tools for Mac OS X.Smart Notebook is a standards-aligned collaborative learning tool that operates in conjunction with Smart interactive whiteboards. It provides access to curricular resources--Flash objects, videos, images, and other elements--and tools like an object animator, shape recognizer, and recorder.
The new version, Smart Notebook 11, gains a new browser that allows users to embed live Web pages directly within a Smart Notebook page. It also includes tools that let users annotate over those embedded pages and open the embedded page from within a lesson.
In addition, the new version includes a contextual toolbar that changes with each tool that's selected. And it adds a new activity builder that allows objects to "react to actions by accepting or rejecting other objects or by triggering animations or sound."
Other new features include:
- A crayon-like drawing tool;
- Customizable, image-based pens;
- Audio recording directly into a Smart Notebook lesson;
- Revert page;
- Improved text formatting; and
- Support for a new gesture that allows users to shake objects to create or release groups.
Other new features include support for Mac OS X Lion, support for multiple receivers to connect more devices in a single class, and the ability to manage multiple device types.
Smart has also made 3D Tools for Smart Notebook available for Mac OS X.
Additional details and links to update information can be found on Smart Technologies' support site. Smart Notebook toolbar widgets can be downloaded from the Smart Exchange site.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Retro Charger
This weekend I was tinkering around with an old Apple 2E computer which, by the way, was released when I was two years old (1982/83). I attended the ASTE Conference this passed February and the Bering Straights team did something like this at their booth. I loved it and wanted to try it out, too!
Basically a 64gb iPad 2 was mounted in the shell of a 2e.
I ran the cord through the back of the box and cut out for the sync/charge cord.
With all the extra room, I could also mount small speakers inside the casing.
The result is "The Retro Charger" iPad charging/docking station...
What else was I going to do on a Saturday afternoon, watch TV?
Friday, May 11, 2012
Google Apps in Education
What is all this talk about "the cloud?"
Why do I need to set up "Home Sharing" for my iTunes?
How can I keep up with files over the course of jobs, years, and computers in the coming years?
There has been a recent revolution to share files to the web over the last 10 years or so... These questions and many others are answered by a simple fact: the way we communicate has changed. Just like the telephone changed the way we share information across the country and globe, the internet has changed the way we share electronic files. It is no longer a necessity to possess a piece of information, only to have reliable, efficient access to it.
The days of a computer or smartphone crashing and loosing data are over. With the ability to access information from a single repository through multiple devices we are free to become truly mobile. Okay, okay, let's slow down a bit... Let's begin with Google.
Google has a long history as a giant among the titans of the internet. It is third in terms of web mail (though it hosts many domains outside of the "@gmail.com" domain that may not be counted), supports all platforms as the Chrome browser, and is synonymous with the words "internet search" (Google-it!). But what you may not know is that Google also links you to Blogspot, YouTube, and Picassa just to name a few. Google hosts everything from source code editors to websites, word processors to presentation tools, and computer aided design programs to free books online!
Lets get started with few basic Google features. All require a GMail account to interact, so why don't you go ahead and make one: CLICK
If you already have one, watch the videos on the following:
Mail
Calendaring
Contacts
Websites
Documents
YouTube
Maps
Books
Why do I need to set up "Home Sharing" for my iTunes?
How can I keep up with files over the course of jobs, years, and computers in the coming years?
There has been a recent revolution to share files to the web over the last 10 years or so... These questions and many others are answered by a simple fact: the way we communicate has changed. Just like the telephone changed the way we share information across the country and globe, the internet has changed the way we share electronic files. It is no longer a necessity to possess a piece of information, only to have reliable, efficient access to it.
The days of a computer or smartphone crashing and loosing data are over. With the ability to access information from a single repository through multiple devices we are free to become truly mobile. Okay, okay, let's slow down a bit... Let's begin with Google.
Google has a long history as a giant among the titans of the internet. It is third in terms of web mail (though it hosts many domains outside of the "@gmail.com" domain that may not be counted), supports all platforms as the Chrome browser, and is synonymous with the words "internet search" (Google-it!). But what you may not know is that Google also links you to Blogspot, YouTube, and Picassa just to name a few. Google hosts everything from source code editors to websites, word processors to presentation tools, and computer aided design programs to free books online!
Lets get started with few basic Google features. All require a GMail account to interact, so why don't you go ahead and make one: CLICK
If you already have one, watch the videos on the following:
Calendaring
Contacts
Websites
Documents
YouTube
Maps
Books
Defining "Educational Technology"
I was thinking about the following questions recently and I thought it would be nice to share my thoughts and ask for feedback from any readers...
What is your working
definition of technology?
What is your working definition of assessment?
How
are you currently facilitating the use of technology in the classroom?
My definition of technology
is fairly loose. I would say it is the application of new science or concepts
for the purpose of making a task more efficient or effective. In this
discussion I often share a funny story from my experience consulting. While visiting
a school to offer professional development I was told by a veteran teacher that
she couldn’t do “the SMART Board thing” because it was “too high tech.” I told
her it was basically just a really fancy mouse pad. That night I looked up some
interesting quotes and found one from Horace Mann himself (which I could not
find to share here). He said something like ‘this board will revolutionize
education and change every classroom…’ He was talking about the chalkboard, of
course, around the turn of the century. I put the quote on the title page of
the second day’s workshop and asked everyone what the thought. They all said
“Yes, SMART Boards will change everything, but it’s tough to figure out how to
integrate it into lesson we already teach and strategies we already use.” I let
them talk about and get a little fired up, then I clicked to reveal the author,
date, and subject.
It seems to me that teachers
(and businesses) feel the same way I described in a great many circumstances.
Just like hand held slate boards were once revolutionary teaching and
assessment tools, dare I say “high tech,” so now are web 2.0 and other
resources. It is all relative. To facilitate eh use of technology in the
classrooms within my district I prefer slow and methodical implementation. I
try to give teachers a dozen reasons to use a particular tool and let them want
to learn and use it. If you get stakeholder buy in anything is possible. Once
interest builds I develop user specific training to teach basic features and functions
to enable exploration. The next phase is professional development. This PD
should be hands-on, relevant to the content areas of those involved, and
ongoing. I do my best to reproduce everything produced in presentation format
and post it online. This way it can be revisited when needed.
One of my favorite ideas
sweeping the education community right now is the move toward mobility. I am
doing my best to win grants for my teachers to use iPads, iPods, and other
tablets in the classrooms. By enabling the learners to succeed in so many
facets, I open up numerous opportunities to tap into web response systems.
Some of my favorite online
tools at the moment are www.questionpress.com and www.polleverywhere.com . These tools allow teachers to use a browser and any texting
cell phone as a student responder. With the first item, I suggest to teachers
that they import standards based assessments required by the state into the
online database. Then they can align standards to questions and deliver the
practice test numerous times a year to gauge student retention and progress. In
short it is a brilliant tool to find where on the learning continuum a student
lies through this summative assessment. In the context of the second tool, I
suggest teachers use instant polling features to create dynamic formative
assessments. Instant polls are wonderful for anticipatory sets, anonymous
polling, and simple understanding checks.
Friday, April 6, 2012
iPad, iPhone, Touch Apps for Education
I posted a list of my apps a while back but on a different blog. It was internal to the Lower Yukon School District and inaccessible from the outside world. I apologize for the oversight and am posting them here now. I have to thank Bering Straits School's for their list (which overlaps or accounts for a large part of my list) as well as the Apple Professional Development team. While attending ASTE, for example, I mingled with techies from all over our great state and learned what works, what doesn't, and what is just plain fun!
Okay, here goes... First BSSD's list (thanks again Josh):
Okay, here goes... First BSSD's list (thanks again Josh):
Kindergarten
Dragon Dictation (free)
ShowMe (free)
Draw Free (free)
ABC Song ($0.99)
ABC Phonics (free)
ABC Alphabet Phonics Matching ($0.99)
Learn ABC; It's Munch Time ($1.99)
ABC-eater ($0.99)
Toddler Flashcards ($1.99)
Montessori Counting Board ($0.99)
ABC Expedition ($2.99)
Websites with Multiple App Listings
Now here are mine (I know I am lazy, but I didn't want to type them out):
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