Blog Posting (weekly)

• Digital Wish - Virtual Volunteers

  tags: expert videoconferencing webconferencing

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Heart of Tech Integration

Last week was eye opening, enlightening, and thought provoking for me. It all started at a district level technology committee meeting. Our Superintendent came to speak to the committee about his vision for technology usage in our district. There were things that I could not believe I was hearing...in a good way. To hear the words "game based learning" come from the number one in your district was shocking...again in a good way. Game based learning seems like a forward thinking concept and not something that is mainstream. But to me, this was something minor. It was everything that followed that got my attention.

He then talked about BYOD and all the possibilities it represented. Again, this was great to hear district leaders talk about this but it was not the highlight for me. I became excited when all these buzz words and hot topics came together to talk about student learning. When talking about devices, game based learning, connectedness, etc., he showed that he understood our students and the world in which they live. This world of information at your fingertips and the possibilities of unlimited connections is where our students thrive and where we need to take instruction.

So in the tech committee meeting where we could just strictly talk about the technology, the discussion was brought right back to student learning. That is the heart of technology integration. All of the technology components are important but none are more important than the product of student learning. Student learning should always be the focus with technology just being a component.

I am excited to see where this will go in my district. You beat the drum and keep pushing for change but it takes buy in from the top. It looks like it could be there and I hope we are all ready for some positive change.

I think this video that was shown at the meeting sums things up pretty well.

Blog Posting (weekly)

• Catch.com

  tags: notes notetaking evernote bookmarking

• English vocabulary | LearnEnglish | British Council | Wordshake

  tags: games language

• The Miniature Earth Project ::: Official Version

  tags: social studies socialstudies

  • Shows us how we compare to the rest of the world. - post by Clayton Theleman
  • This was an interesting video! It really surprised me what percentages of the world are poor, illiterate and malnourished. - post by Greta
  • This shows the distribution of people on earth and the shocking econmonical gap. - post by Anthony Doouglas
  • I think that this is an interesting video, and it appeals really well to everyones emotions with the pictures, and the music - post by Kelsey
  • A great video that goes over many of the Principles Dr. Wesch has talked about in class. A good source of inspiration as we create our own miniature earth. - post by Nick Timmons
  • A breakdown of what the earth would look like if the population were reduced to 100 people, all while keeping the relative proportions the same as they would be as reported at the start of this century. - post by Matt Warren
  • This video puts life in the US in perspective. - post by Will Richardson
  • Shows what the world would be like if its population was reduced to 100 people. - post by Doug Belshaw
  • miscellaneous source 2 - post by Alisa
  • This website shows a video that demonstrates what the Earth's population would be like if it were reduced to a hundred people, keeping statistical proportions correct.
    While some statistics are purely demographic, others depict the state of literacy, poverty, health and living conditions. For instance, it is shocking that "If you sleep on a bed, keep your clothes in a closet, have electric light, and have a roof over your head, you are richer than 75 of the other people."  Also, just over a dozen people would own a computer and only two or three would have internet. Incredible, but true, the statistics are enhanced with striking images. 
    While this website has a lot of emotional appeal, there facts of it are credible and have an even more profound effect on viewers like myself.  The emotional sympathy for poverty-stricken populations generates income in donations to the site and purchases of the downloadable video, and the money is used to fund the site and small public projects. For me, however, watching the video graphically demonstrated the need to improve living conditions in many paces around the world, as well as the previously assumed, but now obvious, relationship between lack of housing, lack of education, poor health, and financial need.
    
    
    - post by Alisa
  • nice avp, like the concept, but a litte weak - post by bvalshaiv
  • Nice way to start a conversation with kids, though. I think it makes a good springboard for introducing globalization. - post by Beth Cullinan

• ScootPad :: Practice. Learn. Succeed.

  tags: common core assessment ipad

• Free Texts, Calls + Number. Text students & parents online or by cellphone

  tags: text

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Let's Get Real About Assessment...and Technology

Before we begin, let me first say that I am not an assessment expert. There are many people who could talk circles around me when it comes to assessment. But I have witnessed many different assessment practices, have been involved in many assessment conversations, and have been through my share of assessment for learning training. These experiences and my own teaching experiences have shaped my opinions on assessment.

For the past two days, I was involved in vendor presentations for assessment systems. These companies, which will remain nameless, all showcased systems that did essentially the same thing. Each system gave us way to test students and get data back on a variety of standards. Some of the technology that was on display was simply awesome! From the easy to use interfaces, to the types of multimedia questions that could be used, to the tracking abilities, and to the types of input devices that could be used, these systems showcased some great assessment technology! As a tech guy, you would think this would be all great but it was not. 

Seeing all the technology and what it could do, just made me reflect on where we are now in terms of assessment. If a system like these are going to succeed, there are going to be changes that have to occur in our everyday practices.

1. Standards replacing letter grades - With assessment systems, the greatest strength is the ability to tie questions to standards. From this, teachers can get the data to see if students are meeting the standards. From this data, teachers can adjust their instruction and truly differentiate to meet the needs of their students. Notice that I have not talked about a percentage or a letter grade. Unfortunately, we still need grades for that grade book so a letter grade can be given at the end of the quarter. Are we ready to make the jump to standards based learning and reporting or will we not take advantage of a new assessment system and just use it to grade tests for us?

2. Teachers as data analysts - When I started teaching, the only data I remember having is the yearly standardized test data. I had my grades from my grade book and my observations, but I did not have the capability to easily collect target data on my students. Now with an assessment system, teachers have assess to tons of reports. To make the most of this system, teachers will need to learn how to pick the best report and interpret the data. These are new roles and we know that change does not come easy. It is a change in practice and an additional responsibility. How are we going to make this work?

3. Teachers as assessment experts - It made me smile during these meetings when I heard some other teachers talking about assessment practices after seeing the presentations. By seeing the possibilities, it caused the participants to reflect on their current assessment practices. I was hearing discussions on formative and summative assessments, what types of assessments were best to be used with an assessment system, etc. With greater assessment and data analysis tools, we as teachers need to become assessment experts to take advantage of the system to get the right data. It is now not good enough to be instructional experts, we need to be assessment experts too.

When it comes down to it, any system we choose is only going to be as good as our assessment practices allow it to be. Are we willing to change and step out of our comfort zone? 

Just like anything else, the technology can be great but it is all in the application. I am excited by the possibilities!

Thoughts???

Class Dojo for Report Card Data

I have been hearing more and more about Class Dojo so I figured it was time to take a deeper look at this program. As a classroom management tool, it does a good job of keeping track of positive and negative behaviors. With the accompanying app, you don't have to be tethered to your laptop or interactive whiteboard to track behavior. I can remember many times where I was working with a small group and I had to correct behaviors of other students working independently. With the app, I can quickly record the positive and negative behaviors and get back to teaching my small group.

I have seen teachers apply several strategies when using Class Dojo. Some teachers only give points for positive behaviors and do not record the negative behaviors. They want to focus on the positive. Others give only negative because that is the data they are tracking. Some teachers reset the points after a week so everyone gets a fresh start. Most teachers I have seen do not take advantage of the student and parent connections that are offered through the program. They simply want the data to be their own. No matter how it is used, Class Dojo is a great data collection tool for behavior.

So let's go back to the title of this post...How can Class Dojo be used for report card data?

Here is a sample of a 4th grade report card:

I always struggled with filling in this portion of the report card. With every other section, I had grades as my proof or justification of the grade.For behavior, I usually had to go with my overall thought without any data to back it up. With Class Dojo, I can customize the behaviors to match my report card. This strategy allows me to track data that I can use when filling out the report card.

Here are some screenshots that show how this would look in the Class Dojo web version (left) and the Class Dojo app (right).

Notice that when you are using the app, it does not display long titles. This is something to consider if you are going to use your smartphone to track behavior with Class Dojo. I would recommend using keywords that will display no matter which version you use.

The other strategy I would use is to make the positive and negative behavior titles the same. So in my example, I would input the report card behavior indicators in for both positive and negative behaviors. In this way, my data is aligned to what is reported at the end of the quarter.

I definitely recommend that you check out Class Dojo. Besides the ability to track behavior, Class Dojo is easy to use, has a great interface, and enough reporting features to make it worthwhile.

It is technology that actually works!

Reflections on this week's #edchat

This week was one of those weeks...one of those weeks that I carved time out of my schedule to participate in #edchat. I kick myself for not doing this every week because when I do, I always come away energized with great ideas. But the question is...how can I take that energy and channel it into real change and progress in my job. As an Instructional Technology Specialist in my district, I have the ability to touch many classrooms.

So how am I going to take the great ideas from this week's #edchat and bring it to my schools.

1. Encourage my teachers to allow their students to be active goal setters.

By allowing students to set and monitor their own goals, the students become more invested in their learning. You are giving them a say and transferring some ownership to them. Goals can be tracked on paper or on a spreadsheet. I like the spreadsheet because progress can be graphed in an easier to see format for the students.

2. Encourage and demonstrate to my teachers how to integrate students' passions into their curriculum.

Students are passionate about things that may or may not fit into the curriculum. When students are passionate about something, they are going to put more effort into that area. Why not tap into those passions? When students are doing writing assignments, allow them to write on a subject matter that is of interest to them...not a topic that is assigned to them. When students are reading independently, allow them greater choice in books. Even when focusing on a specific genre, students can find subject matter that is more interesting to them.

One item I am working on with a 5th grade teacher this year is to build in "passion time" into each week. During their centers, one of the choices is going to be an independent project that will be ongoing and on the subject matter of their choice. The teacher will embed some 21st century skill mini lessons into this time to help the students be more successful and work on these important skill too. I am excited to see how this goes this year.

3. Encourage my teachers to share their passions with their students.

Opening up to your students about your outside interests helps build connections and community. Students feel more at ease and makes the teacher seem more like them. Students will make connections to you and feel more invested into the classroom. Student investment = greater engagement!

I am going to carry the momentum of #edchat forward this week.

How are you going to do the same?

Do We Need Teachers?

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