(2 weeks late) NECC - Wed 7/2, part 2

Yes, it's two weeks since I returned from San Antonio. It's been crazy busy here and I felt a little guilty taking time to blog. However, today is the day I make my triumphant return. That was completely anti-climactic. But seriously, the reason I wanted to be sure to finish up about NECC was that I needed to reflect on my favorite session ...

A Disruption in Absolutely Coming: Computers Disguised as Cellphones
Elliot Soloway and Cathleen Norris

Summary of Problem:
1 to 1 laptop programs are proving ineffective for 3 primary reasons:

1. Education software - not utilized, not available on student machines
2. Professional Development - programs not developed well, teachers don't know what to do
3. Sustainability - initial purchase is great but when they're obsolete, who will buy more?

Solution:
Use smart phone technologies as the classroom computers

1. Education software - being developed by U of Mich (hey that's Elliot the presenter's school), uses push technologies to burst applications and files of assignments to the student units. Can also differentiate instruction easily for various learners and styles.
2. Professional Development - we need to apply educational research to professional development. TREAT THE TEACHERS AS STUDENTS in those sessions. Scaffold content and skills to maximize understanding.
3. Sustainability - teacher recently polled classes and found 91% of student already had a phone. They're becoming ubiqitous to the point that we CAN require them for school.

I loved this session. It represented a shift in thinking about the current classroom. We are arriving at a point in education (that doesn't mean we're there yet) when we can require cell phones as a part of "school supplies." Almost every kid already has one. But can they do the work? Let's see... every phone, even the most basic, currently has:

• communication tool - audio, text, images (some even video)
• calculator
• camera - still and some video
• data storage
  

We want students to collaborate, they can text. We want them to record information - do you want audio, images or video? The price point is also much more feasible - even the high end smart phones are going for less than $200. The cheapest laptop you can find is around $400 for something like the solid-state (Flash-based) HP, Classmate, or Acer.

We are hampered currently by school policies. The most lax, at best, allows you to have it in your pocket but not out in class. These, say the presenters are going to be the new tool for school and if we can require pencil and paper today, we can require cell phones soon.

The technology that they are developing is pretty fascinating - especially the push tech. That's key to the teacher. They need a way to get teh info between users not just from teacher to student but also back to the teacher and between students. We've know for a long time that collaborative, project-based learning works.

Fun workshop, great to go to on the last day when I was already exhausted.



The last session, I was too pooped to really care that much. I left early to try to win projectors from Epson and inFocus and a students response system from Turning Technologies. What I did get:

The ISTE Classroom Observation Tool

Check it out here. Useful tool for anyone who need to observe or evaluate tech use in the classroom.

Thanks for reading (if there are any of you out there...)!

NECC - Wed 7/2, part 1

The Real World of Math: Delivering Authentic, Integrated Math Instruction
Scott Loomis

I went to this lecture because we are putting on content seminars at TIES and I am in charge of the one for math. If you've been a loyal reader (I still don't think I have any of those)you will remember that I was a social studies guy in my previous life in Massiveurban Publicschool System, so math instruction is not my forte but I'll be doing so that day.

Moving on. I think Scott Loomis has some terrific ideas for instruction. He employed true integration - the use of technology where the focus is on the lesson, not the technology.

• I had never known about using Text Box Objects but I like that for creating an interactive classroom worksheet if you don't have an interactive whiteboard. Only problem - not available on the Macintosh version (not even 2008).
• I like the idea of using PowerPoint for virtual manipulatives - very creative.
• Create worksheet activities (drill & practice) in Excel that employ the "If" function to aid in self-checking.
• Using the charting feature to have students analyze data sets. They learn graphing in Kindergarten so why to we still make them create their own charts on paper when tha's not the lesson. The lesson is to analyze data, let the technology do the tedious pwrk so you can get the the more advanced thinking. This is exactly to what I was referring in the last post with my "hand axe" example. We can take the learning further because we have access to technology that speeds up learning and enhances what we do.

This was a practical session with good ideas that can go directly into the classroom. THUMBS UP!


Using Real World Problems to Scaffold Decision-Making Skills
AKA – Kids as Deciders

Ahhh Bernie Dodge. King of the WebQuest, master of QuestGarden, ed tech guru from San Diego State U. If my co-worker wasn't married, she'd probably try to have an affair with him. Maybe that was sharing too much.

Let me summarize first: The process of investigating and then deciding holds an ocean of higher-order thinking. We typically do not develop this well in students. We need to teach to tests and regiment our classrooms to manage discipline which, in turn, strips decision-making from the students. He lays out some very tangible steps for what to teach. TWO SNAPS OF APPROVAL (you may notice I have roving rating systems)

I don't want to say that information is plagiarized because it's not. It reorganized. you may remember my rant about why I hate educational theory - it reorganizes old ideas with new jargon. Bernie doesn't quite do this - I don't think of him as ripping anyone off because he is creating a new perspective from previous research. Maybe I'm rationalizing because I think he is a terrific educator and theoran and feel bad criticizing him. I met him and like him, too.

The similarities noted between his presentation and other theories I've absorbed over the years:

• Problem-based learning (PBL) and Wiggins/McTighe's Understanding by Design (UBD) - His decision-making process focuses on the end product - the decision made to solve a problem. This is PBL - start with a problem and find a solution. The quest to the solution is the learning process. UBD reverse-engineers classroom lessons based on a pre-determined final product.
• Fred Newmann's Authentic Assessment - real world connection between the students and their own environments. This is also the same in PBL. Students are taught to look at an issue that they are familiar with, it generates interest and ownership because they see the problem and consequences in their own lives. This isn't a fault of Dr. Dodge's presentation, it's just good teaching practice.
• He also referenced an idea by Richard DeCharms called Pawns vs. Origins. The main idea is that students see themselves as pawns with the world happening to and around them rather than themselves as interacting with and influencing the world, or originators of ideas. This reminded me of he workshop Tuesday about Seven Habits and Seven Deadly Sins. One of Covey's chapters is "Be Proactive". Essentially, "don't let the world happen to you, plan for it and make changes happen."

As I write, I find this to be less of a criticism of Bernie Dodge and more of a diatribe of my irritation with educational theory. He is doing exactly what all researchers do - taking previous research and building upon it to find another understanding. I'm just glad that isn't a part of my chosen path. I like the application of the theories, that's the fun of education. Keep up the good work, theorans, and thank the maker for people like you so it doesn't have to be me.

NECC - Tuesday 7/1

Seven Highly Effective Habits of Technology Administrators and The Seven Deadly Sins

Let's keep this quick and dirty.
What I liked: He gave me my simple guidelines that I do so appreciate. He translated Steven Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People into tech director speak. He applied how to make mistakes and how to avoid them. Great experience - the staff to machine ratio in his department is 1750:1. He knows how to manage scarce resources.

He encouraged preparation for the unknown, automation of problem "tickets," communicating - holy cow what a concept. I'm not really being sarcastic toward him, I find it encouraging that we are still making certain that we all TALK between departments. It helps your image and, as we all know, image is everything. Truthfully, it's not, but if you have a crappy image in your district, see what happens when you come begging for more funds.

I also liked that he encourages his people to exercise creativity on Friday afternoons (Free Fridays). He lets the staff work on whatever pet projects they want. It's like a super0dork pressure valve and what gets let off is sweet techno-rific productivity.


Report from the Front: What’s in Store for Ed Tech in 2008

This session was a forecast for educational technology in the coming years. Underscore this point - GET INVOLVED. It was presented by the same people who ran the advocacy training on Sunday. I like them. One point that I, of course, remember because of my former life as a social studies teacher but bears repeating. 435 members of the House Representative and 35 memeber od the Senate are up for re-election this year (not to mention president, which, I guess I did just mention. Why do we say that?). That means influence if we can get to them. There were over 2,200 letters sent to Congress from NECC at the time of that workshop and it was still growing. I need to sharpen my advocacy tools and get to work.


Strategic Thinking About Technology in Education

You might see a pattern in my sessions... lots about where educational technology is going. I'm outwardly trying to increase my understanding of the subject on a national scale. This was really a discussion that we witnessed as the gallery from tech ed heavy hitters from ISTE, corporate world (Apple, Microsoft), higher ed, primary/secondary ed and others.

The first question thrown out was something like, "if you get a legislator cornered in the elevator, what will you say is the role of technology in education?" I have to consider my answer.... (elevator music...Jeopardy music... a little Social Distortion... ahhhhhhhh) As I see it, the role of technology in education is to elevate student understanding beyond where it was possible before. We have a massive opportunity to revolutionize education to reach more students, to engage more students and to develop higher thinking.

If we look at education from early times, a major achievement was the development of the hand axe. We don't teach students how to make a hand axe anymore because we have advanced beyond that. We teach the importance of the hand axe in developmental history of the world. We are at another significant point in the development of collaborative technologies that can impact more students a greater amount of time and transform teaching 3-dimensionally.

Problem is, we need help to do it and the government is the one to help at every level. If you're listening, don't make us beg.

NECC - Monday 6/30, part 4

Game and Simulation Developers K-12 and the Future of Learning

I forgot to mention the gaming Birds-of-a-Feather session I attended Monday afternoon. These are sessions that are supposed to be more of a discussion than lecture. They're moderated by an expert and people just bring up topics in a discussion format. I was in a different situation than others, many of them were teaching gaming in their own courses or extra-curriculars. I am teaching Scratch with game design as a minor subset of programming. I found some interesting ideas for programs and systems for game design, a few resources from other teachers.

Two things annoyed me about it.

1. The fact that they put it in the main hallway of the conference center as everyone, their mothers and second cousins walked by. Kinda tough to ask the crowd of three hundred to keep it down.
2. The smug jackass from the University of North Texas. I found him condescending, always referring to inside jokes between he and the moderator that others wouldn't have known. His response to a question of mine was more belittling than helpful. Fantastic pedagogy, that's why you're in higher ed, not K-12.
   

In Today's Class...

... we played with free collaborative web-based tools that educators can use. This is one of my favorite classes because the people are relatively tech inclined, very willing to try new things in the classroom, and CHEAP! We love the fact that all of these tools are free. Those that regularly use the web may not be impressed, those that are not tech-savvy may also not be impressed. That is not my point. With limited readership to my blog I thought that I would just share what we do over here.

Web 2.0 - This is an overused term for collaborative web sites. The tools we are using are considered Web 2.0.

Wiki - a web site where the content is created by the people who visit the site. To use this in the classroom, a teacher must be willing to release control over the course content. This constitutes a paradigm shift for many teachers - especially those like I was that had behavior ratcheted so far down the students could hardly breathe. Ideas for educational use:

• Online "Reference Book" of course material
• Student notes repository
• Book analysis - interconnect titles by subject and themes
• Character analysis in a story
• Student intro pages - Icebreaker activity

These are the ones I use:

GoogleDocs - Sweet merciful lord, how can you not love GOOGLE? They are putting together fantastic apps free of charge. Here's the skinny - free, web-based word processor, spreadsheet and presentation software ... wait for it ... wait for it ... FULLY COMPATIBLE WITH MS OFFICE (v. 2003-4)!

OK, I understand that some of you do not share my joy. Ask this: how many students in a class do not have Office at home or have an outdated version of MS Works? More than most of you outside of education would care to consider. Also, the documents can be shared with unlimited people for editing and even have 10 people editing at once. Students could work at home on a group project without physically proximity. Teachers could collaborate on meeting agendas or various other crap from a distance. Imagine it ... committee meetings in the comfort of your own underwear in your living room.

Del.icio.us - Online bookmarks. Fabulous resource. Don't save bookmarks on the browser on your computer, save them online so you can access them anytime, anywhere and share with anyone. Any questions?

You bookmarks are sorted by tags - little keywords specific to del.icio.us, each bookmark can have multiple tags. So when you want to get someone to just your bookmarks about a certain topic, like, ummm, web 2.0 tools and resources ... (click here), you go to del.icio.us/(account name)/(tag).

I can keep some links private - like I wouldn't want students going to my link for Sarah Silverman's confession to Jimmy Kimmel or a recipe for my Grandmother's cannoli.

Like I said, I love this course. I love free stuff. I love making the lives of teachers easier. Most of all, I love being a gigantic geek.

A Dork in Second Life

TIES is getting a presence in Second Life. We have purchased a plot of land through ISTE on ISTE Island 2. Here I am hovering over it.

That's me, TC Kungfu, you can see the meditation treehouse on the left and behind the tree on the right is a bench swing that, for some reason, puts two people on top of each other when they both try to sit there. Kinda inappropriate, especially for an educational venue but those aren't actually on our property, just next to it.

So Dork, you might ask, what are you going to do with the space. Awesome stuff only, I say. We expect awesome meeting places, presentations, demonstrations, musical performances, dazzling technological displays, light shows, fireworks, hookers, fire trucks ... well maybe not all that. We'll probably keep it educationally oriented.

We expect to begin construction sometime in the near future. Til then, enjoy watching my awesome Kung Fu skills. Did I overuse the awesome word "awesome"?

Aren't we grown-ups?

Today I was helping set up classrooms for some contract teachers we are using while some of my colleagues are not available. In our 3 month-old iMac lab there was a mouse missing.

Seriously? Someone stole a @#$%^& mouse!?

I taught middle school for five years, high school for two, and I knew that when we went to the computer lab you need to make sure that all the mouse balls (before IR mice) were in the mice before leaving. When using the portable laptop lab, twice (at two different schools) students tried to steal a laptop - luckily I found them both times. The general assumption in the classroom was that, to quote the CC's previous neighbor, "if it ain't tied down, them @#$%^&s will take it." This was in reference to any items left on their porch.

After today, insert grown-up educational professionals in the aforementioned "them @#$%^&s" part of that quote.

Do we really need to remind adults not to steal things when they go to another place of business? I am grasping for a handle on my emotional state. I shouldn't need to count equipment when I'm done teaching. I shouldn't need to keep that extra lookout for people trying to take things from our labs. I realize I'm back teaching middle school. Let's please grow up a bit.

images:
Watterson, Bill. The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes. Andrews. 1992.

Jing

I can't get enough Jing. Let me nutshell what it does:
1. Take screenshot - video (swf) or still (png)
2. Instantly uploads the image or video
to website.
3. Copies the URL to the new upload to your clipboard so you can immediately share it in an email or message.

Here's what I love about it (click the link to see me using it)... it's ridiculously simple, flash video format, F'IN FREE. Check it out, it taps the mic in the computer to record myself talking. OMG! What am I gonna do with this...?

Other than pure sweetness, why is it useful? From the perspective of an educator, the idea of making short recordings of instructions is pretty sweet. I already made a How-To video for logging into the TIES Moodle server. Easy as pie. I like the collaborative nature of it,
that it's designed for people to be working on their systems at the same time and communicating and can demo what's on one screen and send it to another quick as a snap.

Think of applying classic Bloom's taxonomy, the second highest level of understanding is evaluate, the highest is creation. Having students create demonstrations as a class project and evaluating each other's instructional technique is a fantastic way of learning. They learn the content as well as how to best communicate the message to others.

Yes, it's a project that could be done in a multitude of ways. Technology integration in education is the application of technology not to learn the technology, but to make the lesson/learning easier, faster, or more comprehensive. Jing can make the content the focus, not trying to figure out how to record, how to save, where to send, how do I get it to my teacher... all the garbage that makes integrating technology difficult for teachers. Jing fits this definition perfectly.

Jing me.