The world is changing, kids are changing, schools are inevitably changing too. Technological innovations are commonplace, one after the other. So much learning is available online and through learning systems created by billion dollar corporations. Through all this change, we still have the teacher in the classroom helping students reach their potential. There seems to be a fear that technology will displace teachers for the classroom as budgets shrink. With all this change, is the teacher still needed? After an experience today, I am happy to say YES!
Today I was facilitating a web conferenced math class with 5th grade students connecting to a middle school pre algrebra class. The students could see and hear the teacher through a web camera, see the writing on the SMARTBoard, and could participate through an IM chat and by talking through their microphone. The middle school students could see their 5th grade classmates on the SMARTBoard. So in essense, we had created a real classroom environment for these 5th graders.
All the technology made this experience possible but it would be nothing without the dedication of the teacher. Mr. Kennedy did a great job engaging his distance learners the best that he could without them being physically there and I think this will improve as both parties become more comfortable with the format.
But I still have this lingering question...would these students be better off with a teacher in their location? Every day when I walk into classrooms, I see teachers having those personal conversations that emotionally connect with students. I see the one on one help they provide when a student is struggling. The human connection just cannot be replaced by technology.
So for all my teacher friends who already started school, started school today, or will be starting in the future, THANK YOU for all that you do for our students. No matter what technological advances come in the future, nothing can replace the human connection you provide to our students.
Thank you and have a great school year!
Bob
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Bringing Ignite Home
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As I followed ISTE 12 from home on Twitter (San Diego seemed so much nicer than 100 degree heat in Missouri), one of the items that got my attention was the Ignite presentations. This was something I had not seen before so when I was reading the tweets about how awesome these sessions were, I wanted to learn more. I like the idea of a fast paced 5 minute presentation with slides changing every 15 seconds. See the example below and go to the 20 minute mark to see an example Ignite presentation by Josh Stumpenhorst (@stumpteacher on twitter).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y74DRhQqN6s
Want to see some more snippets from Ignite sessions and participant reaction, check out this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJBTpBxzbpM
Of all the things I was learning from ISTE 12 via Twitter, the Ignite presentations were front and center in my mind. I wondered how this concept could be brought back home to the staff and students I work with, as well as other educators in my area.
Could this format be a good way to start a professional development session? - Doing a quick Ignite presentation could setup the learning for today, get my participants excited for the session, and could spark some conversation before we get started.
Could this format be used to get all my teachers that I work with interested in the possibilities of technology in their classroom? - Every year I send out an email to all five of my schools detailing how I could be a resource to them, what technology resources they have access to, etc. Maybe I can do a five minute presentation in the building or I could do the same thing with a video and picture-in-picture so I could do slides and show myself. A video is never as good as in person, but it would be an alternative if I could not get 5 minutes at an early year staff meeting.
Could this format be used by students? - If students were presenting individually or in groups, this format could give them structure and keep their presentations from being stagnant. Students would also have to think critically about what images they need and how it will correspond to their speaking parts.
I like the possibilities but I would to hear what you think. Do you have any other ideas for how the Ignite style presentations could be used? Please leave a comment or contact me on twitter @itechbob
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Friday, June 15, 2012
PLN Video Series: Twitter Hashtags
For this upcoming school year, the Instructional Technology department in my district will be offering the first official training session/workshop on personal learning networks. I am super excited that we are doing this and I look forward to teaching this workshop in the fall. In preparation for this, I am working on creating a set of videos that could be used before, during, and/or after our session. The first video I created was on using Twitter hashtags. Check it out below and give me your feedback so I can improve it before the fall.
I have to thank the members of my PLN for giving me the knowledge to bring PLNs to my district. Everything we are sharing (Twitter, Google Reader, Pinterest, Classroom 2.0, and Educator's PLN) and teaching others is possible because of the learning I receive from my PLN.
This is technology that actually works!
I would your feedback, so please leave a comment or contact me on twitter @itechbob .
I have to thank the members of my PLN for giving me the knowledge to bring PLNs to my district. Everything we are sharing (Twitter, Google Reader, Pinterest, Classroom 2.0, and Educator's PLN) and teaching others is possible because of the learning I receive from my PLN.
This is technology that actually works!
I would your feedback, so please leave a comment or contact me on twitter @itechbob .
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
PBL: Tech Tools for Survey Data Collection
This summer, I will be teaching a district workshop titled "Designing Technology Infused Project-Based Learning Experience in the Classroom". In this workshop, we put our focus on project based learning and supplement this with technology tools that can help the PBL experience for teachers and students. When looking at the technology tools, one classification of tools is "Survey Tools". Surveys are great for collecting data that can provide real world feedback in a PBL lesson/unit. These are several tools that we intend to highlight.
Survey Tools
1. Microsoft SharePoint - If your district uses Microsoft SharePoint, you may have the ability to use the survey tool. The great asset to using an in-house resource is that you have all the data stored internally. This is great from a security standpoint. The downside is that people outside your active directory cannot take the survey.
2. Google Docs - I think this is the best survey tool that you can use. Anyone can access the survey (using a Google Form) and the results are put into a spreadsheet for you. The creation of a Google form is so simple too.
Just open up http://docs.google.com and click the create button (You must be signed into your Google Account). Choose "Form" from the drop down menu.
Develop your questions and type them in. You can use a variety of question types such as multiple choice, open response, short text answers, etc. Initially, you have space for two questions. To add more, click the "Add Item" button in the upper left corner. When you are finished, the link at the bottom of the form can be added as a link to a website, to post on a social media site, or email. There is the ability to embed on a web page too.
Survey Tools
1. Microsoft SharePoint - If your district uses Microsoft SharePoint, you may have the ability to use the survey tool. The great asset to using an in-house resource is that you have all the data stored internally. This is great from a security standpoint. The downside is that people outside your active directory cannot take the survey.
2. Google Docs - I think this is the best survey tool that you can use. Anyone can access the survey (using a Google Form) and the results are put into a spreadsheet for you. The creation of a Google form is so simple too.
Just open up http://docs.google.com and click the create button (You must be signed into your Google Account). Choose "Form" from the drop down menu.
Develop your questions and type them in. You can use a variety of question types such as multiple choice, open response, short text answers, etc. Initially, you have space for two questions. To add more, click the "Add Item" button in the upper left corner. When you are finished, the link at the bottom of the form can be added as a link to a website, to post on a social media site, or email. There is the ability to embed on a web page too.
Information collected from the form feeds directly into a spreadsheet in your Google Doc.
3. There are also several free survey tools that we will be showing. Both are very similar and give you limited features and survey participants for free. They are free and easy to setup but they do come with some limitations, but will probably be good enough for most applications.
I am looking forward to teaching this workshop and exploring more tools that can infused in Project-based learning. This is technology that actually works!
If you have additional resources to share or have questions, leave a comment or contact me on twitter @itechbob
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