Reflection

Over the past weeks, I have been delving into technology integration topics that are pertinent to the survival of any 1:1 initiative. There are several "take away" ideas that i wish to further develop for myself and my corporation:

1) Focus on the stakeholders as much as you do the implementation of technology. The Stakeholders can be the backbone of the initiative. The more they know and understand, the more you will grow as a corporation. Support is everything!!!!

2) Set Goals... Start with the end in mind. Running into battle without a battle plan is quite insane. Understanding your personal philosophy, teaching goals and corporation integration goals will guide everyone to a common understanding. Not being on the same page is dangerous!

3) Classroom Management training is just as important as device/app/tool training. Most importantly, Classroom Management is not device specific! Provide basic classroom management skills in tandem with technology. Not all teachers are proficient in the realm of classroom management. Fill those gaps and push on!

4) As a corporation, I am considering the creation of a Digital Tools/Apps Menu for each semester. I think throwing a list of 50 apps at teachers is overwhelming!!! Adopting a menu, focusing on in 1 app per month seems to be the best approach right now. I want to then tie those digital tools into Differentiated Instruction. Providing purpose for digital tools is the key!

5) Not all teachers/subjects fit the mold in terms of curriculum and teaching methods. Assessing each subject and teacher will determine what is appropriate. Flipped Learning is not right for all students or subjects. The same goes for Project Based Learning. All or nothing is not always the answer either.

While there are many other thoughts, these are the core changes I would like to see in the next year. It is important to remember that it is not about the device! Rather, it is about providing a quality learning experience that challenges students!

Success in Learning: Is It All About The Device?

So, you are moving to a student-centered classroom! Congratulations! This is an enormous step of which I took my last year in the music classroom. For a week or two, I was so afraid of every corner turned as I had no idea what would transpire. I quickly discovered a few things that needed to be taught without the devices in hand:

1) How to answer a question without asking the teacher to do it for you
2) How to research using a book
3) How to write search statements based upon questions given to them
4) Make students comfortable with finding a different answer than their neighbor

Hands down, technology is a help tool. It is NOT the answer to all of our problems. Technology offers a new way for students to grow! The technology tool cannot be successful if students do not know how to research given a question about a topic they have never studied.

As a class we found success, once I stopped to teach them how to develop a search statement for the web browser. Additionally, we discovered that not all individuals will find similar answers. Creativity and ingenuity come into play here. It is "OK" for students to write information in their own personal style.

When I was in school, projects were in the hallways only if they met the standard. This led to 20 projects looking exactly the same. Once students realized that their projects did not have to be exactly the same, they soared!

To develop thinkers and technology users we must encourage:

1) Individuality
2) Creativity
3) Good Research and Writing Skills

Just remember, though, that technology does not create these skills!
We as teachers must introduce and develop these skills with or without technology.

The Classroom Hub is Changing

          As students change, schools change and technology advances finding its way into the classroom, the central hub of the classroom is evolving. I remember my teacher sitting at her desk while we stood in line waiting to talk to her. Truth be told, I often got in trouble for sitting at my desk and not asking for help. Why did I stay at my desk? Because I could work at my desk! I could not work while standing in line! While I held no expertise or influence on the set up of the classroom, I always wanted that routine to be gone! Why couldn't my teacher come to me? Maybe I was a devious or challenging child? Maybe I had no clue? Regardless, there was a perfect opportunity for potential and successful change!

          Classroom Management is a common complain for teachers right now. I have had teachers from everywhere ask me, "how can I get students to pay attention and stay on task with their iPads?" That is an incredible challenge! Through observation and discussion, I have found that there are several solutions that need to be applied in tandem.

1. The teacher desk should NEVER be the central hub of the classroom. Grand Central Station is not a feasible solution anymore. Teachers, while it is challenging and tiring, should be walking about and teaching from various points in the classroom. Apple TVs, Projectors, Mobis and other devices now make this possible. I am not suggesting that the teacher rid of the desk nor has anyone else. (I won't lie and deny that I considered removing my desk a few times!)

2. Procedures and Consequences! Many teachers state that once students realize that the procedures and consequences apply with and without technology the chaos subsides.

3. Most importantly, talk WITH students about their behaviors rather than talk AT them. Students needs to be a part of the learning process, the solution and the growth.

         
          Hands down - the classroom has changing and will continue to change. Teachers have huge hurdles to jump and challenges to overcome. A wise teacher told me, "Teachers at any age and level of experience need to decide if they are going to swim with the tide or be drowned by it!"

New Technology in the Neighborhood?

School is about to start and parents are going to register for books and classes. As a parent begins to pay book fees they notice something new.. iPad fee! Most parents would stop and ask questions immediately. This can lead to frustration, delay of payment and unrest in the corporation. How can a corporation prevent such an occurrence?

Initially, parents and community members along with teachers and school board members should be involved in the decision making process. A Tech Device committee ought to be in place prior to purchasing any devices. This committee should then initiate a pilot experiment with a class. This class can then present projects and findings. Already the community is involved in the process and thus will have ownership.

As a decision is made, the committee should then offer informative sessions along with training/demonstration sessions for all parents, students and community members.  A minimum of 5-6 sessions should be offered at different times throughout the day. At this point, no one is in the dark unless they choose to be.

An eLearning, edTech or Technology Integration specialist should also be brought on board to offer summer training for the teachers who will be expected to integrate the new devices. The more comfortable the teachers become, the more likely the devices will be used properly. Comfort and easy of use is a huge component for success!! Teacher buy in is critical and necessary!

Constant training for teachers is a must! A monthly newsletter, authored by the Tech Integration individual, for parents concerning digital citizenship and project happenings will keep everyone informed. Getting students presenting at school board meetings is also essential!

The biggest struggle but the most important part is - keep everyone informed!

Technology - You Can Run But You Can't Hide

I am surrounded by technology all day and all evening. In fact, it is a great task to spend an evening without technology! My personal technology use includes blogging, researching, website development, social media and email. My professional technology use involved research, blogging, research, website development, email, chat, document production and sharing of media.

As a teacher, I will admit that technology has allowed me to search a large expanse of material. I have been able to implement ideas that I would have never dreamed of 10 years ago. I feel that students and teachers can be provided with the latest and greatest tools and techniques in minutes. Quite honestly, it is incredible!

I am not sure I would make any extreme changes personally or professionally. If I could change anything, I might consider limiting my computer time in the evening. I tend to fixate on topics or problems from work and bring them home with me. It is so easy to continue working when it is all in cyberspace or within my computer, iPad or Phone. Although, I appreciate the easy accessibility that technology provides.

Through the Eyes of a Student: A Day in the Life of Technology Integration

Recently, I had the opportunity to Job Shadow Mrs. Sellers who allowed me to observe her for part of a day to see if If I would be interested in her career field of technology, a growing career field. I job Shadowed on October 9th in the afternoon and shadowed at the middle school. I found the opportunity very beneficial for myself to see if I wanted to go into the career field of business. Organizing the job shadowing went easily as I was able to organize it a decent time ahead of the scheduled job shadow day. I delivered the request personally to Mrs. Sellars and figured out last minute planning by email.

I started off my day with attending morning classes though some students went to morning job shadows. Mrs. Sellers spent her morning working with a 6th Grade History teacher, meeting with an Art Teacher, contacting My Big Campus and watching a webinar. After I had finished my morning and lunch, I went with Brandon Hendricks to the middle school to meet up with Mrs. Sellers. When we found her, she was in the band room discussing digital communications with the band director.  Shortly after arriving, I was informed I would be participating in a meeting to help find ways to use technology for physical education and health classes for the teachers, Mrs. Pickle and Mr. Delph. During the meeting I was able to contribute to the meeting by giving ideas and giving input on suggested ideas. We spent about an hour on the meeting and found a way the teachers could use technology in the ways of using their iPads including project ideas. After the meeting we headed to Mrs. Smith's 6th grade geography class, I spent the rest of the day helping 6th grades with their current project as Mrs. Sellers was helping other students with their projects. Their project consisted of creating a keynote on their appointed country but required help on several aspects of using Keynote. During the time I also helped here and there with answering geography questions alongside technology questions.  In the time I was in Mrs. Smith's Class, I helped two periods.

I found the whole experience to be quite beneficial and insightful into if I wanted to go into the field of technology. I learned that some attributes that someone going into her career field are patience, an outgoing personality, being a risk taker, innovative, and be a life long learner. Though her job has a hectic schedule, split between meetings, classroom interactions, and researching, she still finds joy in her job and says she enjoys her job even when the technology does not work on occasion. In all, our technology staff works hard to allow our school to be able to use the technology we have effectively in the classroom and are innovative on progress of the technology in our school. During the job shadowing I was not able to job shadow Mrs. Fossi and Mr. Myers as they were running cable for our new wifi system. I learned quite a bit about the field alone with just Mrs. Sellers which has made an impression concerning what I wish to study in the future. Even if I do not major in Technology, I found my job shadow to be useful for practical use on using technology and how to help others with technology problems.  

Written By J. Young (South Vermillion Community Schools Senior)

Philosophy of Education - Technology Infused

An exemplary education should aim to equip students with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in a digital and progressive world. I believe that an eclectic array of learning environments, both traditional and digital, along with a balanced variety of teaching models can and will provide students with the modern, essential skills needed to succeed. As an educator, it is my responsibility to survey the needs of each class as well as each individual child to ensure the logical implementation of pedagogical approaches and environments.

I believe in providing a blended learning environment for all children. Not all students thrive in a digital world just as not all students thrive in a traditional classroom setting. An ideal balance of both not only provides exposure but allows students to determine which environment works best for them as well as allows them to develop the ability to function in their lesser preferred environment.

Additionally, I believe it is critical that students be afforded the opportunity to utilize Choice Theory, developed by William Glasser, in tandem with Project Based Learning. I have discovered that students find relevancy with content when they are given the opportunity to research and present it individually or in a group. Forcing students to learn content in a homogeneous manner limits their ability to dig deeper and discover answers to their questions. Therefore, it is imperative that we as educators offer choices and variety.

Children are not created in a mold and thus no child is exactly like another. It is critical that we use technology, learning environments and pedagogy to guide students rather than prescribe to students. In doing so, we create students who can seek information, solve problems and become life-long learners.