Teaching With Technology in APS

Let me start with a quick disclaimer. I am proud of Aurora Public Schools and absolutely love what I do.  At the same time, I am also one of those people that truly believes there is always room for improvement.

I am amazed by how many times the kids are told that they can’t do this or that these days when it comes to technology in our schools. It seems like they can’t do anything anymore. I don’t know about you, but no becomes frustrating to me after a while. What exactly is the reason behind all of these nos?  It is simply “because I said so”, “because those are the rules”, or “because that’s the way it’s always been done?” Are the nos there because there just isn’t that surface level understanding of how powerful all this technology can be? Just a thought.

There is one particular school in our district that demonstrates this point pretty well.  On one visit, all I hear is security monitors yelling at kids to take the iPods out of their ears. No iPods in school. No.

During another visit, I learn more about the cell phone policy. First offense, parents need to come get the phone. Second offense, Saturday school. Third offense is a suspension. How does the punishment fit the crime? What’s the connection? And why no?

The visit that sticks in my mind the most is my afternoon in this particular school’s media center. The first thing I see is laminated pieces of paper on every single computer in the room with a big red stop sign on them. Kids aren’t allowed to use the computers until they turn in their student IDs. Not paticularly inviting or welcoming to start with. And I’m also positive there are plenty of other rules and regulations that limit the students in what they can do when they eventually get onto the computers as well. Every student that walks in to the media center the day I’m there is told “no” to every question they ask. “Can I get on the internet?” No. “Can I get my student ID so I can get on the internet?” No. Not for at least a few more days. The equipment is not working. I guess the staff is also “getting the lab ready” too, but I see nobody hard at work at any of the many computers there. Who’s owning the learning, access, and information here? School has been in session for a couple of weeks already and the kids can still do pretty much nothing. There’s not one student in the lab that is set up specifically for student access. When there’s no kids around it definitely doesn’t feel like a school, it’s just a bunch of computers sitting there.

What if yes? What if kids could come in a create their own spaces on MySpace (no, I can’t make a link to that page because our district blocks it), Second Life (blocked again…no. Isn’t that kind of ironic!?), a blog, or a wiki? Alan November said, “We need to get over the fear in this country.” Every student that walks into that media center is viewed as a potential hacker, inappropriate page searcher, settings changer, and the list goes on and on. Sure there are some kids that will choose to do that, but it’s our job to monitor that and have appropriate consequences for the kids that make these types of choices. But it seems like after all, it’s just easier to say no in the first place.

What if every kid was seen as a powerful resource? What if every student was seen for their positive technological and academic potential? What if that kid on their cell phone was calling and/or text messaging a teacher or a classmate to make sure they did the right assignment for class today? What if kids are listening to their teacher’s lecture from yesterday on their iPod so they are more prepared for today’s class? What if they were listening to a podcast they found on iTunes that they knew would support them in their upcoming class, exam, or standardized test? What if that was the type of environment you helped to create in your school?

We are 100% positive with the results we’ll get when we say no. That’s what makes no so comfortable sometimes. But what might the results look like if we simply said yes? I’m not talking about just blindly saying yes to everything, that wouldn’t make sense. But just think about it from the perspective of your students. Get to know more about their world. Think of the potential that’s available with the knowledge and tools that are simply second nature to them in their reality.

Enough already with the nos; why not yes? Or, at the very least, reevaluate why you’re saying no. Perhaps we could change some of those nos to maybes. That would be a step in the right direction. You might be surprised at what you might find out about your students and how passionate they can be about school and learning. They might even show you a thing or two. Who would own the learning then?

Alan November presented at NECC on June 27th.  I really wish I could condense what he said, but there were so many great points that it’s tough to try to simplify it all.  I’ll just try and keep it as short as I can.

“You can add technology in the classroom without shifting the ownership of learning.”  November is a huge advocate for students owning the learning.  The days of the teacher having, managing, and sharing the knowledge they’d like to share, when they’d like to share it are, and should be,  things of the past.

“Being told what to do (in the classroom) will no longer support you in surviving in a/our global economy.”  Have the student manage their learning while the educator facilitates it within the learning environment.

By the time our students graduate, they should be completely interdependent to survive in our economy.

“Every child should feel the power, in a responsible and ethical way, of having their voice heard on a global scale.”  I’m not and haven’t been much of a blogger in the past, but between this page and my MySpace page, I have created things that are “mine.”  I love to share them with people that I think would be interested and passionate about the same things I am.  Why should our kids not feel this way too?

Students should be “organized, self-directed, and working together in a high performance, collaborative” learning environment.

We, as educators, spend “too much time on the hows of technology and not near enough time on the whens and the whats” of it.

Bring two students to every technology training so they can help other students learn about the tools being presented as well.

Mr. November brought up a name I’ve heard many times over the past few years, Marco Torres.  He teaches in San Fernando, California and supports his students in video production.  They put together an annual film festival to showcase the work of his students.  Check out the site to see the videos themselves  There are some great examples  of what kids can create when they are self-directed and allowed to be passionate about what they do in school.  Cool stuff.

Have students present at conferences rather than teacher after teacher.  Who is actually owning the learning then?

Use AltaVista.com, rather than or in addition to Google.  Other perspectives never hurt.  More depth on that point below.

To build on that point, assign your students to find other versions, perspectives, and interpretations of the history topics they study.  This will provide a more global view of “famous” American historical events.  The example he shared was use the internet to study the Japanese perspective of Hiroshima and then compare it to the American version.  Using the internet to gather information from around the world can be a pretty powerful experience.

“Create global content made by students, for future students.”  Use blogs and wikis to support this point.  He shared a story of a college class he taught.  The blog for that particular class grew to include former students of November’s that had studied the same information in the past.  Three months after the class was over the blog was still going strong with discussion by the students.  He created a classroom that went beyond the boundaries of time and space.  That’s one thing technology can do for you if you use it in a certain way.

Finally, one point he made totally made sense to me and I believed it before he even said it.  It was just really nice hearing it from someone with the influence and visibility he has, “You can implement technology and not increase teaching.”  So true.  It’s the teacher that makes the technology so powerful, not the other way around.  Anyone who follows (or makes a living in) instructional technology lives by this belief.

If you get a chance to read November’s books or have a chance to hear him speak you will be amazed at what he has to say.  He’s truly is an IT hero.

Every once in a while I run into something that motivates me as an educator and the way I approach what I do. I ran across this article in The Denver Post this Sunday and thought it would be a great addition to the blog. It’s linked here.  Rather than giving you all of my insights and revelations, I’ll just let you read and enjoy.  The rest is up to you.

You might recognize this guy from the YouTube video I posted earlier this school year. He’s David Warlick and is a huge advocate for instructional technology and school 2.0. More information about School 2.0 can be on this particular page of his blog, “2 Cents Worth.” If you haven’t visited his blog, do yourself a favor and check it out. He is full of awesome information and is someone who I admire when it comes to what I do in my job.

In my judgement, what he says makes sense and is something every teacher should take to heart. The challenges all teachers face today is something new to education. We are preparing kids for a future in a world we don’t know that much about. The job they’ll most likely have is one that doesn’t exist yet. We are teaching them to solve problems that we don’t even know are problems yet. And we are preparing them to use technologies that haven’t been invented yet. If that doesn’t change your focus as an educator I don’t know what will. It’s a huge challenge, but with heroes like David Warlick and Alan November (more to come on him) leading the way, we are definitely headed in a positive direction.

On June 27th my first session was presented by Lisa Dubenhard and Jimmy Bostock. Lisa is a name I’ve seen around a lot in Promethean circles. She creates many flips that make it onto Promethean Planet. Jimmy Bostock has created an extremely useful web page full of links to sites that are great for technological interaction. I’ve referred to it a lot and have passed it onto many teachers who are always looking for effective uses of the board without necessarily using the software all of the time. Visit his page here. There are some great resources there for any teacher that values using technology in their classroom.

This presentation was taped and was going to be used for some kind of study or something. I guess I should have gotten some more details before I signed the waiver. Oh well…

The overall focus of the presentation was to emphasize the use of the boards as assessment and learning tools, rather than simply presentation tools. That has been my challenge in Aurora as well. The boards can so easily be used to present information in a one-way manner, but what are some options when an educator want to use it as a tool to facilitate learning? One of the thoughts that came up was, “What will the kids be doing while you are using the board?” That helps to put things into perspective. I can very easily get their attention with the technology, but how can I take that energy and make them part of the action?

The votes were also used in a powerful way. The information a teachers gets from a class vote can be powerful in so many ways; even without necessarily giving out the “right or wrong” answer. We can gather that information, discuss the results, re-vote, and then come to some kind of conclusion as a group. I had heard of this idea before, but hearing about it over and over really adds to the value of that particular option.

Some great ideas during this presentation. I hope they can help you as well.

The link to the overview of their presentation is here, just in case you’d like to check it out.

Promethean, netTrekker, and Atomic Learning hosted a dinner at the Georgia Aquarium on the night of June 26th. What a great party. It started with a few minutes of checking out the aquarium itself. It’s an amazing place. Then we went into the main ballroom to eat some dinner. Ron Clark was kind enough to join us there. Eating dinner and hanging out with educational inspirations seems to never get old! Also, the ballroom is surrounded by its three main tanks. So as we eat we can watch Beluga Whales, Whale Sharks, and any other fish you can imagine swim by. Check out their site, you’ll see what I’m talking about.

After dinner they gave out some great prizes and then it was outside for the private party in Olympic Centennial Park. They had a great band and we had a great time. Yet another highlight to an awesome conference.

I finally get a few minutes to be able to add more about NECC. The start of the year has been crazy, but it still feels like our influence is growing throughout the district, so it’s definitely all worth it. Here is more information about NECC:

Promethean demonstrated some of its newest hardware at the show. One piece of that hardware is called ACTIVarena. This allows two pens to be used on the board at the same time. Pretty cool stuff that will change the uses of the board in the classroom. That is one of the few times where I’m forced to say “no” when it comes to questions about the board. Now I don’t have to let teachers down anymore!

Promethean also announced that a new student response system will be out in early 2008. It’s called ACTIVexpression. They allowed to use the demo versions of these devices and they are sweet. It’s more like a cell phone than anything. The kids not only can relay a simple response (A, B, C, etc.), they’ll also be able to transmit text, numbers, and multiple answers at the same time as well. Yet another way to add depth to the learning using Promethean’s products.

I can’t wait to get these new products here in Aurora. Hopefully they’ll be here sooner than later.

Sonny Magana is the National Manager for Strategic Initiatives for Promethean. I have seen his presentations before and enjoy what he has to say every time I see him. He’s a great guy and someone I’ve gotten to know pretty well throughout the last few years. I attended his presentation, “A Road Map for Digital Natives.” Here are some of the points he made during his session:

1. Our students today are “digital natives.” They don’t know a time without all of the technology tools we have available today. The teachers are, for the most part, “digital immigrants.” We remember cassette and 8 track players and reel to reel and filmstrip projectors. The reality of our kids and oir reality growing up are pretty different. It’s important to plan your instruction with this in mind.

2. Sonny’s presentations are always full of great pedagogical information. I love that his sessions are always well supported by scientific findings.

3. Sonny always demonstrates navigation tricks with the Promethean software as well. This time he filled in words with white as he created his flipcharts, and then used the fill tool to make them appear again during the presentation. A cool trick I never thought of before and something I’ll keep in mind in the future.

4. He also used Skype to call Alan November during the session. They discussed some instructional technology issues in front of everyone. What a great idea and an awesome addition when you want to engage your audience even further. I guess that having a good friend like Alan November never hurts either.

Sonny is an awesome resource and is always so willing to share information with me. Him sharing his presentation with me helped to make my new teachers presentation more powerful. He has indirectly been a big part of what I do here in the district. He has even offered to visit us in the near future. I’m looking forward to seeing him here soon and can’t wait to hear what he has to say to our teachers and leadership here in Aurora.

Anyone that’s an Oprah fan has probably heard about Ron Clark. He was national teacher of the year a few years ago and had a movie made about his life in teaching that starred Matthew Perry. His book, The Essential 55, is a great resource for any teacher.

Promethean has formed a partnership with Ron Clark and his new school that he’s opening. There will be a board in every classroom in his school. Here’s a link to the school’s site if you want to learn more.

http://www.ronclarkacademy.com/ron_clark_academy/

Promethean set up a presentation with Ron Clark as the speaker. What a great experience to hear him speak. He even signed a copy of the book for me. He’s an educational hero and a true inspiration. It made me miss the classroom, that’s for sure. We also got to share dinner with him later in the week at the Atomic Learning, netTrekker, and Promethean party. It was great to meet and talk with him. His school is going to include all kinds of powerful tools and some amazing teachers as well. Definitely some forward thinking that will prepare the students there for the “real world.” I’m excited for the kids.

Here’s a picture of us right after he signed my book.

I’m going to post of the great things I was able to experience at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) as I get time. The conference was in Atlanta during June 24th-27th. I went to some awesome presentations and want to document and share some of the great things I came away with. I’m not sure if the conference keeps getting better or what we’re looking for gets more specific, but we had a lot of fun there this year. I think it’s a combination of the two. This year was totally different than last year. I’m sure that had to do with the year of technology coaching experience I was able to bring with me this year.

So here’s the first presentation I wanted to post, “Creating a Community of Learners.” We had some great conversations and were able to see, first hand, how technology can be used to create powerful learning communities. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Using doodle.ch to get quick polling results from your audience (as long as they have an internet connection.)

2. We had some great conversations regarding how the definition of “interaction” is changing in this new age of technology. Interesting thing to think about.

3. A wiki was set up and updated as the presentation was happening. That’s a great example of how technology has changed and enhanced what we do and how we do it. There’s no need to wait to update electronic formats, do it as the meeting is happening. Then everyone can visit and edit it when they want to. This basically creates a meeting that can be “timeless.” Pretty cool stuff.

Here’s a link to the NECC information page about this presentation.

Here’s a link to the wiki we created during the presentation.  There are a lot of valuable resources within the wiki so go navigate in there for a while.