Director of Innovation and Strategy
In a recent Schoology blog post, I outline how to start with a template “worksheet” using Numbers (my example is a lab report that will collect and graph data) on the Mac, have students access that file on iPad, and how to transfer it back for grading using Schoology. Included is a short video and PDF workflow.
In the first of several blog posts, I want to highlight some of our “history” with technology by looking back at old podcasts, newsletters, and examples of artifacts and tie these back to the current day. From 26 March, 2009, is a podcast episode (#128) about Learning Hacks.
The county-wide PD session focused on some of the idea from the book, Brain Rules. I think they are as valid then as they are now, and certainly more research is growing now about the connections with neuroscience and learning. How do the these ideas resonate with you, today, with our mission of maximizing the potential of every learner?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Some of the things I do from day to day are intentional, meaning, I guess, that I go out of my way to do them for a purpose beyond the act itself. One example is using the pseudo-word automagic instead of automatic. There’s a certain cache to the word that commands especial attention, but beyond that, it signifies something special about the experience. I don’t just slip when I say automagical, but instead I purposefully choose it.
I also have recently gotten into the habit of summarizing thoughts and ideas. The practice of summarization was one of Robert Marzano’s techniques for learning that he found was effective across classrooms. In essence, students know material when they can summarize it. Whether it is for me, or for the benefit of students, I believe the practice of summarization is generally a good thing to do.
So, I’ve been thinking, what is the ultimate summary? It’s a single or even a series of hashtags. Hashtags are words or phrases used in online social spaces to label a concept in a simple way. They first came to light in social bookmarking sites like del.icio.us. Socially creating hashtags or keywords is actually called folksonomy and there is some study around this and its benefits for organizing information.
So here’s my big idea for a Friday: Consider a movement towards hashtagging with students. Show them first, then ask them to follow. You can even camp it up by creating the hashtag symbol/movement with two sets of fingers. It will feel silly. The students will certainly roll some eyes. But in the end, you’re pushing them to think about concepts through summary.
#howeasyisthat
And by the way, for our Tweeting teachers. If you think something you’re doing in school is well-aligned with our strategic plan, consider adding our hashtag to your tweet: #inspire2020
I will be presenting at the 30th Annual VSTE Conference in Roanoke, Virginia. My presentation title is On the Road to Deeper Learning, and it will focus upon the vision behind our 1:1 program.
You may watch the recorded version of the presentation, here.
Deeper Learning through Projects, Personalization, and Play
I will be presenting at 12:45 PM on Thursday, December 3 in Williamsburg. The theme of this presentation came from the article that Dr. Gretz and I had accepted into Virginia Educational Leadership this past spring.
I’m proud to announce that our 1:1 program with iPads has been recognized as an Apple Distinguished Program for 2015-2017. Roughly 300 schools and districts have been recognized around the world; beyond the U.S. in places as diverse as Singapore, Mexico, Canada, Great Britain, Malaysia, Thailand, and Brazil.
Goochland’s program began in 2013-14 as a pilot program in grades 3-5 at Goochland Elementary School before expanding to additional schools. This school year the program provides iPads for students to take home across the division in grades 4-7, in addition to the third grade at GES. Next year, the division plans on expanding the iPad program to grades 3-8. Creativity, personalization, individualization, and student passion are at the heart of Goochland’s approach to learning with individual technology. With iPad, teachers and students are working together to redefine learning, as it supports achieving the division’s mission of maximizing the potential of every learner.
The Apple Distinguished Program designation is reserved for programs that meet criteria for innovation, leadership, and educational excellence, and demonstrate a clear vision of exemplary learning environments.
This designation will place us in contact with other schools implementing 1:1 programs so that we may continue to grow and learn in this evolving process. It also opens up the opportunity to host other educators from across the region to visit Goochland and see our environment and work towards deeper learning.
At the start of November, we will publishing an interactive ebook in iBooks format that communicates our vision for the program and highlights the components that we believe make a strong 1:1 program. Stay tuned to our homepage for the publication of this book.
Thanks go to our teachers, school board, and technology staff for making the dream of a 1:1 possible!
For examples of other superlative programs, visit Apple’s iTunes portal for other iBooks-compatible resources that share stories from other schools and programs.
Recently, at one of our parent nights for our iPad 1:1 program, a mom approached me about my thoughts on screentime, and specifically, what did the research say about it? Were kids possibly being put at jeopardy with too much time in front of an iPad?
I have a couple thoughts on this, that I have shared with a number of parents. Some of these thoughts were also echoed by our teachers in the program.
On the side of research, this study recently came out specifically looking at younger children from the American Academy of Pediatrics. They seem to echo my sentiment about choosing brain-active activities.
This 2008 report details how families used technology in the home, and more recently, this 2015 report details how teens are relying upon technology for romance. Both articles do not make a case whether or not technology as a whole is good or bad, but its presence in our lives is changing the way we spend our time.
There are two difficulties I see in proving or disproving whether or not technology use by younger students is appropriate or not. The first is that looking online will reveal a range of opinions. For instance, this blog post is in support of technology being a part of an early childhood education program. And research studies, like this dissertation, don’t exactly answer the question, and may be difficult for everyone to understand. The second issue is that because technology use is so ubiquitous today in many American households, it would be hard to conduct a true comparison study to look at child development with the absence of technology.
In the end, our 1:1 program is being developed to stand on a foundation with a few core beliefs. Among those is that the use of technology in a classroom should aim higher than simply replacing a the types of tasks that were undertaken by students without technology being present. Using the SAMR model, our aim is to provide, invent, and design new types of tasks that take advantage of ways of learning that would not have been possible without the technology being present. Another belief that does not parallel the first, is that technology can be used to make learning more efficient–both for the instructor and the student. We do not emphasize this, but tend to think of it in more student-centered ways. For instance, if assessment of student needs and strengths can be streamlined using technology, it can equip our teachers with more time and ability to individualize learning and based on a student’s needs.
Our final iPad Night for parents is tonight, Monday, October 5, 2015. We have loved the opportunity to engage with parents and love all the questions.