Monday, December 3, 2012

Same Message, Different Conference

It may just be me, but it has been a while since I have attended a conference and have been wowed by a keynote speaker or presenter at the concurrent sessions. The message seems to be the same every time I attend a conference. "Don't worry about testing or the Common Core Standards. Make sure you are offering your students great authentic problem based learning that is individualized, and the rest will take care of itself." Easier said then done!

I used to attend conferences like these and get all jazzed up by some of the wonderful things that the presenters talked about. Immediately upon return to my classroom, I would want to implement some of these strategies and practices into my own curriculum and classroom practice. It was much easier to just jump in. Since making the move from a teacher to a technology integrator, this jump isn't as easy. Translating what I have seen at a conference, manipulating it to individualize it to the district that I work in, and to the teachers that work in the schools, has proven to be a much more difficult task.

 Of course, I was an early adopter of all things tech myself. Especially if I could see examples of how it helped enhance education and inspire life long learners to dive deeper into the content. As a tech integrator, I'm not always presenting what I have seen to a group of early adopters, which makes my task that much more daunting! How can you take good PD and morph it into a package that fits everyone's teaching style, each district's goals, and yet not make everyone feel like it is one more thing added to their plate?

I truly respect the three keynote speakers that I recently saw at The Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference in Manchester, NH last week. In fact, I follow all three of them (Scott Kinney from DE, Angela Maiers and Richard Byrne) on Twitter, and have seen them all speak at other conferences before. Their messages are clear. I guess that is why I am missing the spark that I used to get when I attended these conferences. Things really aren't new. There are certainly new technologies and Apps that certain companies would love all educators to share as this pushes their revenue up, but I didn't see anything that I would walk away with and change my whole game plan around integration in education.

The one thing that I did walk away from the conference with is to find one thing that you are passionate about and do it well. As a tech integrator I often see many different tools, and ways to deliver content to learners of various abilities and comfort. Sometimes I feel that I can overwhelm people with the variety of ways to attack a lesson or presentation. To me, keeping projects and presentations more open-ended, in which the student(s) decide which tools they use to solve the problem and present their solution is the best use of problem solving and tech integration. However, this can be a cumbersome task for non-early adopters. They want to stick with what they know and continue to do what they do best.

Okay, so I'll try to attack PD a new way. Instead of floating out many different ways to accomplish the same task, maybe I'll work on one or two ways of doing it and do it really well! Offer so much PD that anyone who attends will feel like masters of the tech tools and the strategies for helping students at every step of the way. Take the time to find problems that people may have, or hurdles that will have to be overcome at each step of the project, in order to stride over these issues and make teachers feel more comfortable with these tools and how they can use these as the vehicles to deliver their content. Maybe only then will we gain some ground in pushing tech integration in schools for everyone.

Monday, November 19, 2012

Tis the Season!

Tis the Season!

Holiday music is already playing in stores, flavors and spices of the season can be found at coffee shops, and the lists are already starting to grow! It's official. It's the holiday season.

As in recent years, I have been asked for my opinion on technology related gifts for the holidays. Will the iPad Mini be the best stocking stuffer this year? What about the new iPhone, or Samsung, with the larger retina display screens? Certainly the size and the price of these technologies make it more likely that Santa could load up his sleigh with a lot more of these devices. 

Smaller sized technology with larger displays do seem like the blueprint that most of the tech companies are going with these days, but has the mobile solution truly replaced the computer? I guess it all depends on what you plan on using the tool for. We have to stop and ask ourselves, "What do we want to accomplish before we make decisions on what to purchase?"

The days of buying a computer, and then finding out which software to purchase to get tasks done are behind us now. Instead, software companies, or apps., are making the choices for us. It's the same discussion we are having in education. Instead of discussing which tools to purchase or what to teach before getting to a problem or project, let's review the tools that could make these projects unique and best present student solutions, and offer a variety of ways that students can use the tools to accomplish the task at hand.

For this reason, a move towards more open ended projects are increasing in our public schools. In a true project/problem-based learning environment, background information is given with mini-lessons or tutorials delivered both through online sources and/or face-to-face instruction before a project or problem is presented. Students then form groups, or work individually, and are asked to solve a real world problem and present their solution that best meets the needs and vision of their audience. 

Students therefore are given a list of standards that they must meet in order to accomplish their task. The Common Core Standards have now encouraged integration across the curriculum content strands as well as embedding both research and technology skills. Therefore, students must critically think about how they will match the best tools to the problem at hand in order to collaborate, create and communicate their solutions.

Project/Problem-based learning environments use rubrics as their blueprints to evaluate an end product, however, the blueprint isn't as concrete as it used to be. Student generated presentations and projects no longer look identical, but rather carry their own unique perspective while portraying their outcome. The standards are addressed through the assessment tool which brings some consistency to the learning, even though it may look different at each stage of the learning for each student. Individualized learning at its best!

So before you make out the lists, and have them checked twice, ask yourself and your child(ren), "What is it that you want to create with these tools?" You may just be surprised at what they would like to accomplish. 

It's exciting to see that many technology companies are now developing devices that allow learners to create and be unique rather then just consume or absorb information. Third party companies have also jumped on the band wagon and are offering solutions in the form of apps. to inspire learning that has never existed before. In my mind, 2013 is shaping up to be a great year for life long learners. I hope you all have a happy holiday.

Cheers!

Eric Lawson

Check out the special eNewsletter: Holiday Edition!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

Apple TV: Will it Replace the Interactive White Board?


My teaching career and my philosophy on education did a backflip about 8 years ago when the school that I was teaching in was closed down and the elementary school was relocated to a brand new building. This building was primarily funded by the state, and long over due in my eyes at the time. Along with some “green” spending, such as light sensors in every room, each room was also outfitted with a new mounted SMART board. 

Now personally I do not believe that the tools themselves make teachers better, but I have witnessed first hand that good teachers will use tools effectively to grow and enhance their instruction.

It changed my philosophy as I saw the power of the interactive white board at the front of my room. It was a great tool for presentations and on the spot learning, but the real power was in the way it pulled me away from the front of the room and allowed the students to be the center of attention. I could often find myself roaming around the class asking clarifying questions, and digging for deeper meaning, while students would raise their hands enthusiastically to provide a solution and demonstrate their thinking up on the board for everyone to view.

If you had told me then that the interactive white board would be extinct in 10 years, I would have thought you were crazy! I mean sure, I saw some teachers use this $3,000 piece of equipment as nothing more then a fancy projector, and classroom instruction didn’t change much for them, but how could this tool that could revolutionize the teaching standard have that short of a life? Technically in the technology field 10 years is a pretty good life these days.

So why are people asking the question, “Is the interactive white board dead?” Again, the world of technology is going through an entire flip. Apple has really pushed the computing world into consumer devices and personalized tools to sync, create, collaborate, and share media and all wirelessly with great simplicity. 

The role of the technology department in schools has drastically changed too! No longer are these teams making all of the decisions and managing all of the updates on these devices. The simplicity of these devices no longer makes it necessary to have an engineer in the background managing all of these items. A great deal of thought still has to be put into a deployment of these new devices, however the conversation has moved towards how best to support education and not so much on the technical needs. These devices have become more personal and adaptive.

For instance, an iPad can now wirelessly connect to an Apple TV, a black hockey puck that sits near your HD TV or projector connected via HDMI cable. Wirelessly across the network an iPad, iPod or iPhone running the latest iOS software can mirror the display for the whole class onto the projection. 

Air Server now allows your Mac or Windows computer to mirror an image from these devices as well. Hook your computer into a projector or TV and you have just created a cheap version of an interactive classroom solution. Instead of students going to the front of the room, they are demonstrating from their seats. The teacher can still become a facilitator and walk around the room dropping the iPad down at a desk to give the student a heads up that their demonstration will be shown next.

From a budget stand point, it’s a no brainer. An iPad, projector and an Apple TV is cheaper then interactive white boards. Assuming your teachers already have laptops, purchasing Air Server ($59 per 15 teachers) and a projector for the classroom is a low cost solution for an interactive display.

The interactive white board is not dead, yet. I still love observing a well designed lesson using this tool, but there is a reason why the leaders in this industry are dropping their prices. The greatest advantage to interactive whiteboards are the software packages that come with them. This is why I have always been a fan of SMART and Promethean. Both come with superior software packages to other companies in the field for education, especially at the elementary level.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

iPads as Field Note Devices

The entire 6th grade class from Rye Junior High School recently took a trip up to the Center for Wildlife and Mount Agamenticus in York, Maine as part of an integrated unit centered around science.

Before the trip, students took part in social studies class mapping out their bus routes and the trail system up and around the mountain to calculate the distance they would travel. In math class, they used these measurements to find the total cost for the field trip, including bus mileage and price per gallon of fuel for the trip up-and-back. In language arts class, each student had chosen an animal to research that lives in the transitional forests that hug the the border between Maine and New Hampshire and wrote stories about their animals, and how they have adapted to their habitat and surroundings. Word choice was a focus for these stories, and mini lessons covering antonyms and synonyms were used to express the power of words in painting a true picture in a written piece.

Obviously science class played a major part in this field trip, as students had studied the food web and food chain of different species that live in the transitional forest. Researching and presenting new facts about each others' animals, as well as seeing how they are all connected within the ecosystem was eye opening for some. It was the perfect segway into the field trip to the Center for Wildlife and Mount Agamenticus.

The trip started with an hour presentation at the Center for Wildlife. The students were greeted by a red tailed hawk, a box turtle and a Virginia opossum. All the animals at the Center for Wildlife have been hurt, rescued and helped to either be rereleased into the wild, or in some instances where this is not possible, the animals have found a home right at the Center for Wildlife and can be visited by the public. Before loading the bus again to hike up the Mountain, students had a few minutes to check out the other birds of prey and other Maine animals at the center.

During the climb to the top of Mt. A. students used iPads as field note devices. The brochures for the Center for Wildlife and the Mount Agamenticus Conservation Region were downloaded into iBooks for quick reference. Other apps. such as, Notes, Camera, and Audio Memo were used to record text, speech and video and still images of the hike and the ecosystem. The trail map was also imported into the app Doodle Buddy, so that students could use the drawing tools to trace their routes up the mountain over the trail map image. All of these apps. could be used without a wireless signal.

Upon returning to school, the students (with the help of the 6th grade teachers) uploaded these multi-media files to the local server for editing and selection. A presentation will be created by each group to showcase what they had learned from their trip to York, Maine. Below is a quick clip that I created using Animoto to share the experience.


Thursday, September 13, 2012

Interactive iOS Displays

Here is a great little trick for your classroom. Download a free version of AirServer at http://www.airserverapp.com/ and try it out! You can mirror your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to your laptop. Why would you want to do that you ask? Well, if your laptop is plugged into a projector or a TV, you have just created an interactive tablet within your classroom that can be projected in front of the room. At all of the conferences that I have been to lately, and seeing the trends in technology in education, I am seeing the slow death of the interactive white board. It's a said day for me who absolutely loved when my SMART board was installed in my 3rd grade classroom 8 years ago, but I see a new trend in technology in education.



Imagine, walking around your classroom with an iPad or iPod and setting it down on a student's desk, meanwhile you are still talking to the whole group. This has just given the students a heads-up that they will be demonstrating their understanding of the topic at hand in a few short minutes, and sure enough you turn and ask Johnny at his seat if he could show the rest of the students in the room an example of an obtuse angle. Using the iPad and any drawing app that you choose, Johnny draws the angle with his finger and everyone in the classroom sees "the big picture" (pun intended) up on the drop down screen in front of the classroom. Interaction without the delay of having a student get up from their seat, clomp to the front of the room around his/her peers, and only then to realize the white board was not oriented before the lesson. We've all been there at some point if you have had an IWB in your room before.

The cost is great too! For $60, 15 machines can run the program. Compare that price to outfitting teachers with Apple TV's each ($99) and an HDMI cable ($5). Not to mention the hassle of making sure you password protect the Apple TV's so that Mrs. Smith's class doesn't accidentally take control of your classroom's Apple TV during a lesson. It does mean that the teacher laptop is tethered to the projected image, but in the grand scheme of things, it is a cheap alternative with an excellent picture.

Friday, August 24, 2012

A New Challenge

For those of you that have read my previous posts, or possibly even followed my blog for a while, you know that I have taken on a new position as Admin Curriculum/Technology Integrator for the Rye School District in Rye, NH. It's not a big change in theory from what I had previously done for the past 5 years in York, Maine, however, it does expand my grade span from K-4 to K-8, and the title eludes to a few more dollar signs and a lot more responsibility!

As an administrator, I have already been in the schools (K-5 elementary and 6-8 junior high school) getting things in place, and meeting with other administrators to plan for the upcoming school year. Our official school year starts on Tuesday August 28th for the kids. By far the best way to break into a new school year is with a three day week (followed by a 4 day weekend), a four day week, and then finally a full 5 day week on week three of the new year. Children really seem to transition much better with this format, and who can argue with getting out a little earlier in June?

Between you and me, I could use an easy transition into the school year as well. Ya right! Anyone in the technology field that works in education, knows that this just isn't possible. Putting out fires is among the first call of duty for any education technology savvy person in the first month of the new year. But hey, I'm used to that!

These past two weeks have been just a bit stressful though, getting things in place, and making sure the technology is ready for the teaching staff and students upon their arrival. The biggest challenge is stepping into a new role with very little guidance, as the typical tech staff was given the summer off as well. Now, I'm not complaining, but I did feel like I had to do the job of at least three people over the past two weeks as I touched over 310 computers (just at the elementary school) to get them ready for testing, assigning network logins, and scheduling software updates individually. We also had the server go down at the Junior High School the day before I had planned a full day tech integration workshop with staff from both schools. That was a two day fix. Not to mention, I came from a district that was nearly 90% updated Mac computers (mostly given to us by the state) and iPads, and walked into a school district with 7 year old Dell desktops, laptops and Acer netbooks. "Great Scott! Send me back to the future Doc!"

The great news is, I get to team up with an old colleague of mine from Kennebunk, Jason Saltmarsh the Tech Director of SAU 50. Both his and my position are brand new to the district and SAU. It's great to know, that in challenging situations such as these, there is another brain to bounce ideas off of and work towards a clearer vision to promote tech integration and professional development within our schools for the future.

Another highlight so far has been the teachers and staff at both schools who have been very welcoming as well. I truly look forward to working closely with them, and assisting them in planning out curriculum in the weeks, months, and years to come. I may have felt like I stepped back 10 years when I walked into my first classroom in Rye and saw the technology that was available to the students and teachers, but I know that the future is bright and there is a lot of excitement building amongst the teachers. Which is the most any educator can ask for, because where there is enthusiasm, there is a life long learner ready to try something new!



Professional Development for the Summer 2012

First off, I apologize for not publishing this entry sooner. This was suppose to go live at the end of June, but I must have thought I had done it when I really hadn't.

As a student, I loved the summers in Maine. It meant a break from school and the stress from assessments and grades. It’s also the perfect season to get outdoors and enjoy Maine’s coastline and mountains.

As a teacher, I value these same concepts. I still love summers in Maine, although I do not have as much free time during the summer months as I once did as a student. It still is a mental break from the daily grind and wear-and-tear of planning, administering, assessing, reflecting and re-tweaking lessons. The summer months have never been a break from learning for me though.

I find the summer months to be my best times for learning, reflecting and getting inspired to try something new for when I return to school in the fall. New experiences, books or blogs that I have read, inspirational videos or new web tools that I come across while surfing the Internet, all seem to creep into my daily life during those summer months when I do have a few extra minutes to breathe. It’s because of these moments, that I have extended my professional learning development throughout the year. It is a perfect opportunity for me to dissect these materials and see how I can best bring it to my classroom, school, or learning environment and adapt it to my learners.

It would be great if every educator could build in an hour a week, at the very least, into their work schedule to read or write a blog, create or watch a video, or just share wonderful ideas via social networks with other fantastic educators around the globe. It would make us all just a little bit better!

This summer, I will be taking on a new adventure, as my career’s journey moves in a new direction. I’m very excited about the possibilities and the challenges that this new endeavor will bring. I’m also a bit saddened as it means I will be leaving colleagues and some great friends. The beauty of the world today though, is that we can always stay in touch with those that mean the most to us, and to those that help inspire us every day. Therefore, I don’t feel as though I’m leaving a group behind, as much as I understand that I am meeting new people to add to my Professional Learning Network.

Collaboration is the key, and breaking down the concrete walls of our schools or communities, to expand on our learning and with individuals in which we can learn from, can be the greatest professional development of all. I still look forward to connecting with past colleagues and friends to inspire, learn, collaborate and create great and wonderful things aligned to the curriculum through integrated projects.

My advice for professional development this summer, is to try something new. Read up on a new web 2.0 tool, or observe how an educational social network space works. Take a look at successful project based learning activities and lessons and think of ways that you could implement this style of learning into your own curriculum and classroom. Browse a few blogs of leading innovative thinkers in the world of Education Technology and see what they are doing in their every day lives to inspire life long learners. Watch a YouTube video from a TED talk, like the one above and get inspired to try something new next year. Don’t be afraid to pull your students in to the learning as you learn as well. Students can often be great observers and helpful in problem solving and setting up meaningful learning.

For example, York will be deploying an iPad cart with 30 iPad2 tablets on them in grades K-6 next year. App selection is going to be key. Why not have your students, especially those that already have tablets or iPods at home, help in the selection and evaluation process of apps? There is a great example of iPad app evaluation strategies from Richard Byrne of FreeTech4Teachers.com below. I have also listed three wonderful apps to try out over the summer months to the right to inspire professional development and good teaching strategies. I hope you enjoy the summer, because you all deserve a break. Keep in touch and take care!

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Summer Break


The summer break is a great time for students to get outside and run around. It's a great break from the work that children do every day in school. I always encourage students to get out and get their hands dirty. That's why I have in the past taught technology integrated courses through the York Parks and Recreation Department that brings a mix between using technologies and getting outside and getting some exercise. Geocaching is one of my favorite activities that blends the two together. This summer I will be taking on a new adventure in my career, and therefore I will not be teaching any courses through the Rec. Department, but I still would encourage your children to get out and play!

Of course on those rainy days, or evenings, when your child is asking for some challenges, they can always surf over to my web page and get some extra practice in language arts, math, science and social studies concepts playing some fun games, getting involved in project based learning activities, and even finding new events and outings around York and our community. Practicing over the summer will help them hone their skills and be ready for the upcoming school year as well. There are lots of great web sites and resources on the page, and I am continually adding more and more content to them daily. To visit Mr. Lawson's web page; http://www.yorkschools.org/~elawson

Click on Students and your child's grade level to find great content for all subject areas.

Monday, April 30, 2012

Augmented Reality in Education


According to Wikipedia, augmented reality is “is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are augmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality. By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one.”
Heading to the movie theater these days, kids are immersed into a whole new world with 3D technology. Within the first few minutes of the film, a movie goer is no longer sitting in a seat in the theater, but truly feel they have been transposed into the setting of the film and witness, along side the main characters, the events that unfold in the adventure. This is one example of how technology has enhanced the way we view our digital world. However, this is only virtual reality in it’s simplest form. After all, the movie goer is still just consuming the material. They are not interacting with anything.
Advancements in gaming has certainly changed the way our kids think about entertainment at home. Instead of a single joystick that we were used to, kids are moving, swinging, jumping and throwing virtual objects to interact with an on screen game. This is a step closer to blended interaction, but these kids are still reacting to only a virtual world.
I truly believe a blend between hands-on learning, and virtual learning is the key to molding 21st century life-long learners. In order to accomplish this form of learning, a student must be thrown into an augmented reality scenario.
Chris Dede of Harvard’s Graduate School of Education, has been working with a team to develop these types of scenarios and lessons for kids. With their inspiring EcoMUVE program and EcoMobile, students are fully entrenched into a pond or forest habitat to inspect the environment and surrounding area. Both of these locations appear online virtually, and in and around the Boston suburban area as well. 

(Photo Courtesy of Greg's Head http://www.raizlabs.com/)

Augmented reality allows students to visit the actual habitats and using SMART phones or iPods, students can enhance their learning by using these devices to draw more information from physical locations, or checkpoints. These findings are then recorded and used in the virtual environment to help students dig deeper into meaning and synthesize the possible issues with this habitat over time based on scientific measurement and research.
Students become collaborators in a real life problem solving group in which they must analyze and synthesize (two higher level thinking skills) to communicate possible solutions to the problem that is disrupting the environment. They get real hands-on learning and yet can transform the learning using technology to dive into the pond in a miniature submarine to analyze the particles in the water during different climate changes and over time to analyze changes to the environment.
The future of service and project-based learning will incorporate more augmented reality options as the growth in the mobile technology industry continues to amaze and enhance our own personal world. Just check out the apps of the week to the right for more examples. In other words, it is a perfect blend between real life and the virtual one.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Adapt and Transform


As a technology integration specialist, and a recent masters graduate student, I have heard just about every buzz word that education has to offer. The Flipped Classroom, Response to Intervention (RtI), No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Common Core standards, project-based learning, 21st Century Skills, embedded technology, integrated themes and units, Universal Design for Learning, teaching to all of the modalities, online learning platforms, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs), Professional Learning Networks (PLNs), and service learning to just name a few. 


(Photo courtesy of the Green Market)

It’s no wonder educators are feeling overwhelmed! All of these terms, pedagogies, and mandates feel like extra portions on a teacher’s already filled lunch tray. On top of that, teachers still need to make learning fun and engaging for students and get through a rigorous curriculum. No problem! Teachers are over payed anyhow. Ya right!

So how does one manage all of these things in a given school year with restrictions like bells, start and end times, physical spaces to congregate and organize students by their age or “born on dates”? The simple answer for the doubters, the disbelievers and the ones still stuck on how they learned in school years long ago, is you cannot. Change seems to be a slow going process for many, and in the world of education at times if feels like we are on a treadmill not going anywhere. I mean we are still tossing around the term 21st Century Skills like it’s something new, and yet here we are 13 years into the 21st century. 

These aren’t new skills, and neither are any of the ones listed above. The theories for all of these terms and teaching styles were theorized, developed and even implemented years ago by change agents in the field. These were the pioneers, the outside of the box thinkers, and the people that inspired early adopters to make the leap with them. Many were case studies, thesis papers and grant funded research based projects. In theory, they all work and there is data to prove it, however, nobody says that they can all work at the same time all the time. 


(Photo courtesy of the Russell Revue)

Flexibility, adaptation, multi-tasking, and willingness to support change. These are the skills of the future. They aren’t any different then what they mean today, but in our ever changing world, these are the skills that are becoming more and more necessary to be successful in your career and in life. People that excel in communication, collaboration and creativity and are critical thinkers and problem solvers will find that they can find success in just about any field they choose. A well rounded student will still be a successful citizen in our future.

As educators, we need to provide students with many different forms of learning, and allow them to observe their own strengths and weaknesses. We need to push them as learners and drop them into situations and scenarios that are unfamiliar to them. Give them open ended projects, allow students to make decisions about their learning in the classroom, and break down the walls of the traditional teaching model and school. 


(Photo courtesy of Educational Development Centre Blog)

Students these days are learning off of school clock hours. Whether it be from friends that they see face-to-face or in another part of the world via social networks and the Internet. Why should we as educators limit our teaching to the traditional restrictions of education? It’s time we adapt as teachers, and allow students to help transform education to meet their needs for all of our futures. We all can make a difference by taking small steps towards change and realizing that nothing transforms over night. 

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Back Again

I apologize to my readers for being away from this blog for so long. I recently graduated from Lesley University with my masters in Technology in Education K-12 in February. Since then, I have been pursuing my certificate for teaching online K-12 and going through an internship program to receive my Maine Curriculum Director (district admin.) endorsement and certification. Needless to say, I have been a bit busy, but I haven't forgotten you. I will make sure I get another blog post in before the end of the month and before the new eNewsletter for April comes out. Cheers!


Eric

Monday, February 27, 2012

Virtual Sandbox Time

Give a kid a chance to play, and they may just teach us something!

It still amazes me how young children can pick up new technologies, like Apple’s iPad, and begin to manipulate objects on the screen without too much direction. Children certainly share an excitement for playing around with something new, and learning what they can do with it. They simply have no fear of failure. In fact, I have never heard an elementary student say, “But I’m afraid I might break it.” Where do some adults lose that curiosity? Or gain a fear of failure or feel frustration with trying something new?
Kids are just naturally great at discovering and exploring new things. Whether it was a sandbox or water table from our youth, or a mobile tablet for today’s children, trying something new is exciting and fun! Unfortunately, this play time doesn’t always translate in the educational setting. 
Due to time constraints, program directives, or adults’ comfort levels, activities and lessons using technology can become very programatic. By that I mean children are often asked to perform similar, if not exactly the same, tasks as they just observed an adult doing, otherwise known as listen and mimic (copy/paste method). Although this technique can be useful at times to teach basic tech skills, children really need to feel successful on their own. The only way a student truly learns is when they are asked to problem solve somewhat on their own, or through collaborative groups of their peers. These learned skills will stick with a child much longer, and derive more meaning, than any copy and paste activity provides.
Don’t get me wrong, certain skills such as citizenship, group work behavior and expectations, problem solving strategies, and basic skills and background knowledge of the curriculum content and the technology being used needs to be taught. This is especially true in the early elementary grades as a base knowledge, however, open ended projects, presentations, or exploration in which a student can choose the tool they use can be highly beneficial. Playing around with something new, or finding ways to express their findings in a unique way can build upon 21st century skills and promote life-long adaptable learning. A skill that all students will need to know in order to be successful in their lives.
Technology settings are often focused on a single user. One child sitting at a computer, tablet, or other form of technology working on an individual project. Instead, let children get up browse around to see what their peers are doing, allow them to ask critical questions, and find new and inventive ways to use a tool to present, create, communicate and publish their work for feedback. Give them the opportunity to try something new and to fail without feeling defeated. They need to learn from their mistakes, and find ways to work around them. We need to encourage our children to play and explore in the physical and virtual sandbox, but also to reflect and present their findings to adults and their peers. They will become better problem solvers as they build their toolkit for the future.

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

eNewsletter, Tech Tips, and Trouble Shooting Oh My!

I am swamped with writing blogs, create and publishing video tutorials for Tech Tips, organizing a Trouble Shooting group at both elementary schools in York, all while finishing up my masters and trying to maintain my regular day-to-day duties as a technology integration specialist. I apologize for the brief blog post, but every now and then it's a good idea to update readers on the other projects that are going on as well.

The latest edition of the eNewsletter for February is published. My main article is all about the balancing act educators go through every day in trying to embed enriching technology into their lessons. How much is too much? Balance has always been the key, and I offer some good strategies to keep that moto. There are also some wonderful web sites for teachers and students to check out, and my new iPad app of the month is another great interactive story. I hope you enjoy!

Each week I broadcast a Tech Tip of the Week over our CTV live in the school on a morning during the week before class begins. This way teachers can stay in their classrooms in the morning while they are getting ready for the school day and still learn a quick tip that they can use in class or in the lab using technology. At my web site above, I archive all of the Tech Tips so that teachers can revisit them as the need arises.

I have started a new Trouble Shooting and Problem Solving group in the mornings at both elementary schools as well. This group meets in the lab once a week before the student day begins to analyze a scenario or issue that often comes up with teachers in the computer lab, and finds ways to troubleshoot or work around these issues. I add the scenario and our potential problem solving strategies to a blog so that others can add comments or reply to problems that we cannot work out. It's just a start, but we would love global feedback as well.

Lastly, I have been asked more then ever to publish videos online for teachers to share students' projects, broadcasts, presentations and successes. For this reason, my YouTube Channel has grown immensely in the last year.

Of course I do not expect you to follow all of these resources. It's hard enough for me to keep up with them and I'm the author of each! If, however, you would like reminders of new updates to each of these blogs, posts, uploads, or publishes, you can check out my Mobile App, which will send you reminders for each of these areas as they are updated, and also lets you follow me on Twitter.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Internet Safety in our World

Parents and teachers often say, "Technology is moving so fast, I cannot keep up. My children, or students, know more about them then I do. How can I possibly make sure they are safe online, unless I take some of their access, or privileges away from them?"


I hear this issue all the time. Is it really the technologies, and the accessibility to these technologies that are the problem, or is it a lack of supervision and guidance from educators and adults that are comfortable with what these technologies can provide that is the real issue? We have similar issues in our district. In fact, an art lab at our high school was fully decked out with brand new iMacs and students snuck in and had video chats, and shot pictures of themselves in provocative and even nude poses, however they were "smart" in that they never showed their faces. Since the students could not be identified, the iMac's web cam was taped up and then eventually disabled. I argue that these students will now just find another outlet to explore either within the high school again, or at somebody's house. 

The issue to me isn't that the access to these technologies are there, but rather there was not an educator there to supervise and make sure students were using the technologies to make good choices in their interactions and education. I have to have this same conversation every year at our parent Internet Safety talks in which many of our community parents believe that as long as the web site search starts on a school page, they are filtered at home. I have to always explain that our filters only work within our buildings, and when they are at home they are on their filter, if one exists.

I was at a conference once in which the issue of Internet safety in our schools was brought up and the speaker used this as a metaphor. When we were kids, we would leave our houses and walk down to the neighborhood playground or park. Some of us used the equipment as they were meant to be played with, and others used this area to get into mischief. Now, parents do not trust their children to leave the house by themselves, as the world is too dangerous. They feel that they are much more safe sitting in their room, right within the house. However, that room is equipped with cable TV and a computer or mobile device hooked up to the Internet. As soon as a child decides to enter a chat room, or other forum, they have entered the same park we used to go to in which each user can see this area as something different. The problem with this new picture is that this park could include a million people world wide and it isn't as obvious to distinguish between character and friend or foe as it was in the physical park we used to play in. Is this area really safer unsupervised by their parents then actually leaving the house without adult supervision and walking down to the community park? I would have to disagree.

Unless teachers and parents have ample amount of time, the desire, and guidance to try out all of these technologies, they will never catch up or surpass their children, or students, in technology expertise. That is not really the issue though. Supervision and balance is the key. It's great that students are willing to experiment and try new things, however, the one thing they may lack that adults and teachers can provide, despite their technology abilities or savvy, is how to make good ethical choices when using these technologies. Just because an adult does not fully understand how a webcam, video conferencing software, or chat room operates, does not mean that they could not sit down with their child and provide some guidance on how to act ethically online. In this model, both people become teachers and learners. The child shares their knowledge of the technology tool, while the adult shares ethical reasoning and making good choices. Together they both will learn, and the relationship and trust between the two will become stronger. 

(Photo courtesy of jenliddy.wordpress.com)

It's also important to provide balance. Adults need to carve out some time in their day to share experiences with their children or students. Take the time to see what children are interested in and do online, and provide common family areas in the house where the computer can be located and not behind closed doors. Then take some time to interact offline. Whether it be a family game night, with an old fashioned board game, or a stroll in a physical park, or sharing a meal in a restaurant. Kids need good role models, and their observations and actions generally reflect what they have witnessed both online and off. Sometimes, however, they have to realize that the online world, although filled with virtual meeting places and fake identities, does not mean that human interactions between one another should be any different then that of the real world. After all, a person's true character comes out when they are alone behind closed doors. Some students feel that when they are online in their bedrooms they are in this place, even though the Internet has actually opened up it's doors to the world.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Project 365 and Project 52

For Christmas this year, Santa brought me a new iPhone 4S. I love it! It is so much faster then my older iPhone 3G and the High Definition camera is great. With this new tool, I have decided to commit myself to two year long projects this year as a New Year's resolution to hone my photography and filming skills.

Many of you have heard of Project 365, and I have had the app on my phone pretty much since I had purchased the older 3G, however, I never made it past two pictures on the yearly calendar. Well, with the new camera in the iPhone 4S, and our brand new daughter at home (now 3 months), it seems like a perfect match for this project. My plan is to take a picture of Elsa, our baby girl, next to a window each day for the Project 365. At the end, I would like to create a YouTube video of her growth throughout the year as the seasons change out the window. Hopefully I can share this project with my daughter when she is old enough to appreciate it. It's a long road, but so far I am 5 for 5.

This picture was taken before Project 365 started on January 1st.


My other year long goal is to work on my filming skills. I have always been a fan of the movies, and as a young boy I used my father's old video camera to make small movies using my sister's Barbie dolls, or my Lego sets in a stop motion scene, or reenacted fun scenes with my friends out in our backyard. Well, now that I am equipped with an HD camera in my pocket on the new iPhone 4S, I plan to create mini clips each week to better my skills in filming and play around with some apps for special effects. I think this task would be impossible, unless I quit my day job, to publish each day to YouTube, however, once a week seems manageable to me so I will call it Project 52.

This is a clip I created with a 5th grade student using the app "Action Movie" on the iPhone and a green screen to complete the backdrop.

My intent with these two year long projects is to hone my own skills, but to also use these as models to inspire other educators in and out of my district, as well as students to take learning beyond the classroom. I'm certainly not a professional photographer or filmographer, but it's important to share my trials and tribulations with students to showcase that it takes time and practice to get good at something. It's important that educators and schools allow students to try something and fail once or twice before they are expected to master something. This is something that seems to be escaping us in public education, and I fear that true learning, through real hands-on experimentation, may decrease in our curriculum unless we do something about it.

Reflection on Project 365 and Project 52
My first personal reflections of the project are that this will take a great deal of effort and time, but I believe it is worth it. In my Project 365 theme, I realized that I don't always get home in time to "see" the weather outside the window, and therefore you cannot see what it looks like in Maine at this time of year, however, daylight and time change may be something I will use to reinforce and skirt my problem. (Also, there is no snow on the ground right now to see in Southern Maine anyhow.)

On my clip above for my Project 52 entry, I realize that we need a bigger green screen. I would love to convert one of our double wide trailers "parked" outside of the school as an extended classroom into a production studio and paint the entire inside chroma key green for student projects. That way we wouldn't have to figure out where to hang the old green cloth, or find more green poster paper. I'll keep working though. After all, I have 365 days to better my skills. Cheers!