Future of Education » technology

Toby Fischer — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:34:02 +0000

Earlier today I was listening to an Episode of Shift Our Schools podcast. In the 35-minute episode they were discussing the topics of self-direction, technology, project based learning and much more. I strongly recommend all educators who want to get a better idea of why we are teaching ‘21^st century skills’ give this a listen.

One item in the episode that caught my attention was when they mentioned this IB chemistry Blog. It is quite impressive. The post are very content rich(and over my head). What is most impressive are the comments students are making back to each other. Many are more detailed than the original post.

For teachers, the about page has a great listing of what students can blog about. If you are ready to dive into student blogging, or just want to expand what you are already doing, this is a great resource.

Self-Directed Professional Development

Toby Fischer — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 18:58:39 +0000

I recently collected resources to help educators guide their own professional development. I would like to thank @web20classroom and @simplek12 on Twitter for sharing. Here is the list. Fell free to share and add to it. (Some of these are local opportunities here in central Ohio)

Conferences and Professional Development Opportunities 2009-2010
Educon 2.2 http://educon22.wikispaces.com/ January 29-31, 2010 Philadelphia, PA	What is EduCon 2.2? EduCon 2.2 is both a conversation and a conference. And it is not a technology conference. It is an education conference. It is, hopefully, an innovation conference where we can come together, both in person and virtually, to discuss the future of schools. Every session will be an opportunity to discuss and debate ideas — from the very practical to the big dreams.
eTech Ohio Conference http://www.etech.ohio.gov/conference/ February 1-3 Columbus, Oh	It is a dedicated time when Ohio educators, (teachers, faculty, librarians, instructional designers, administrators, students, technicians) network, listen and explore — then roll up our sleeves and learn! It is a dedicated time where we rub elbows with people like us; hear from international experts; recognize teaching excellence, scholarship, student accomplishments, and tech innovations. It is a dedicated time where all of us (from pre-school, elementary and secondary education, career centers, colleges, universities, and adult education) can tap into the best educational currents across the state and re-energize!
K-12 Online Conference http://k12onlineconference.org/ New sessions start Nov 30th Online	The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2009 conference theme is “Bridging the Divide.”
Ohio Free Tech Conference 2010 http://www.ohiofreetech.org/index.html	Attain success; learn to seamlessly integrate technology into your curriculum. Explore best practice solutions from leaders in educational technology and experience the most valuable educational innovations. Save time and engage students. Gain need-to-know knowledge on how effective use of technology translates into more meaningful teaching time. Impact student achievement through strategic implementation. Discover how technology integration helps you go green.
Classroom 2.0 Webinars http://www.classroom20.com/	Classroom20.com, the social network for those interested in Web 2.0 and collaborative technologies in education. We encourage you to sign up to participate in the great discussions here, to receive event notifications, and to find and connect with colleagues. Classroom 2.0 is a free, community-supported network. We especially hope that those who are “beginners” will find this a supportive community and a comfortable place to start being part of the digital dialog. If you feel that you are a beginner and want some extra help, please click here to join the Beginner Group as soon as you’ve registered.
Atomic Learning www.AtomicLearning.com	Technology training that moves you from “How do I do that?” to “How do I apply that?”
PBS Teacher line http://www.pbs.org/teacherline/	PBS TeacherLine’s high quality, standards-based graduate-level courses offer teachers the professional development opportunities they need in an accessible online format that makes learning fun, flexible and collaborative. You can earn graduate credit, PDPs, or CEUs while gaining strategies and resources to bring directly to your classroom.
Simple K-12 http://www.simplek12.com/free-offers-your-school	Here at SimpleK12, we know how important technology education is, and we also know that there isn’t always enough edtech funding to get the training and assessments your students, teachers, and staff need. That’s why we have FREE curriculum offers for your students, and professional development solutions for teachers and staff. See below for our simple solutions. We offer every district a free simple solution for their student technology education and a free simple solution for teacher professional development.
North Carolina’s EBistro http://ebistro.org/	eBistro is a professional development tool for educators in North Carolina that will help teachers feel more comfortable integrating technology into the curriculum. Participants are able to create a login, complete individual learning modules, and save their work in their own digital portfolio. Other areas of eBistro provide resources for grant writing and other items deemed important for teachers.
23 Things Project http://the23thingsproject.pbworks.com/	Teachers, Administrators, School Leaders and others with a vested interest in education are quickly realizing that the face of education is changing. Students, begining in the lowest grade levels are coming to school as digital citizens, yet the system has been slow to adapt. The 23 Things Web 2.0 Project is designed to introduce you to the tools that can transform your classroom, school or district. Activities can be completed independently, as a small learning community or as a large staff.
Discovery http://cdwg.discoveryeducation.com/web2.0/video.cfm	See for yourself what the Web 2.0 buzz is all about. Aside from being highly interactive, accessible and collaborative-it’s a fun use of technology! Our experts will guide you through six different ways to incorporate Web 2.0 into your classroom. Prepare yourself to learn a lot and be entertained along the way. GO EXPLORE!
WVIZ http://www.wviz.org/	Online learning is a convenient way to gain valuable technology-based and content-based skills that is flexible and works with your schedule. It’s a great way to obtain graduate credit in an engaging multimedia environment. Intimidated? Don’t be – we’re user-friendly! We have supportive and patient facilitators that work with you to ensure your success!
ITSCO www.itsco.org	Face-to-Face Fridays (F2F) – These hands-on sessions are offered at North, Central and Southern locations from 10-3 and are limited to a maximum of ten participants. Interactive Video Conferencing (IVC) Tuesdays – These one hour presentations are offered via video on Tuesdays from 3:30-4:30. Each site may have as many participants as desired. Online Classes (OLC) – Take an online course in your PJs! Courses are composed of four to five modules with lessons typically posted each Monday and due the following Sunday. You work at your own pace with guided instruction and assistance provided online by an ITSCO consultant. It’s that simple. All you need is a computer and Internet access!

Exemplary Answers

Toby Fischer — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:58:22 +0000

On October 19th I ran a professional development session showing exemplars of 21st Century Learning. Most exemplars of 21st century lessons are going to have a technology component to them. In order to field questions about the lessons and technologies, I had participants text me questions using poll everywhere. Here are the questions I didn’t get to answer during the session and my answers to them:

What would b easier 2 manage – a wiki or moodle?

It depends on your goal. Moodle is a course management system. It does a lot more then a wiki can. A wiki is a website that is easily edited by many users. My suggestion is to discuss this question with an Integration Coach.

Could we see rubrics from teachers in the district?

We will be working on gathering and creating rubrics this year. The goal is to share them out with staff once they are gathered.

How time consuming is having a moodle with ur students? How do u manage?

If you manage it effectively, it will take you no more time that you are currently spending assessing your students. Anytime you do something new to accomplish a curricular goal, you should let something go. When you start using Moodle begin small. Ex. Replace a traditional formative open ended short answer writing with a forum in Moodle. You now have a rich discussion instead of an individual writing what they think the teacher wants to hear.

Have you seen teachers use this in class?

I have used every one of these items in class myself and endorse them all as powerful tools for student learning.

do u need to download voice thread? Could u share how to add it to Moodle?

Voicethread is a web based tool, No download is needed. I do not have a quick tutorial on how to embed Voicethread in Moodle. I will look for one.

do u think having the kids maintain a wiki with newsletter info would work?

That is a great idea for how to use a wiki!

pros / cons of using a wiki within moodle?

Pro: Inside moodle with all of your other course assignments, easy to manage groups of students and permissions.

Cons: Not as graphically pleasing as pbworks or wikispaces, only visable to students in your class (this could be a pro depending on the purpose)

can you use moodle for peer editing?

You sure can, here is an example of how one teacher used it for peer evaluation. Contact a coach and we can show you how to use it for peer editing.

can you show me how to have my students text me questions?

The website is polleverywhere.com. I would be more than happy to give a quick overview of how to use it.

My question to leave this post, based upon this event, do cell phones have a place in school?

Can this Video get Teachers Started?

Toby Fischer — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 02:52:12 +0000

I always start professional development sessions with a video clip if I can find a good one that fits. I just saw this one and am wondering how teachers would react to it. What do you think?

Should Schools be Equal?

Toby Fischer — Thu, 07 May 2009 19:38:50 +0000

I have a question. Should all students have the option of getting an equal education? (Equal does not mean the same). Does anyone really need to think about this? If so, what is there to think about?
The 6th largest district in the state of Ohio, nearly 21,000 K-12 students, failed another levy this week. Attached to that failure is the loss of teachers, athletics, high school busing, band, theater, all after school activities. For some students they lost the reason they come to school in the first place. Some can claim the failure was due to the economy. I don’t because two-thirds of the levies in central Ohio passed the same day. I put part of the blame on sections of the community not putting a value on a quality education for the students who live in the neighboring homes. The big question is, do those people have the right to choose the quality of education our children will receive?
I put the majority of the blame on a broken system. A system that give individuals who feel little or no tie to the local schools the ability to choose the fate of its students. All students deserve a quality education. Not just the ones coming from a community that backs it schools because they know the value of a quality education. While a high school teacher in Southwestern City teaches 155 students a day, teachers in neighboring districts will teach 120, 100 and even some as low as 80.
So, what is the solution? We need to stop relying on property taxes to fund schools. There needs to be a solution in which a set dollar amount is guaranteed to be spent on every student in the state. This amount needs to figure in reasonable loads for teachers based upon university research on class sizes. It needs to include technology. In the 21st century, technology should be ubiquitous in our schools. In Southwestern it is just old and dusty (Some labs have 10 year old computers). This money should include choices for our students. High schools should look more like colleges because of the vast experiences that are offered.
I know life is not fair, but should we be teaching that lesson to our youth through an unfair education system? Only a voice as loud as thousands can make a change to this reality.

I Don’t have Time for That

Toby Fischer — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 20:03:33 +0000

About a week ago I asked my PLN on Twitter, “When a teacher says ‘I don’t have time for that’ do they mean, I don’t know how & I’m not willing to take the time to learn.” I will start by saying this is not my opinion, I was trying to start a discussion.

There was a great amount of wisdom in the responses.

@futureofedu It might just mean “I’m scared to try that!” from @kellyhines

I agree, many want to jump in, they are just scared of the water. In my district, there is me and the others in our educational technology department there to be their life jackets. Still, not all people are jumpping in.

@futureofedu means teacher doesn’t know how said thing fits w/curriculum therefore said thing is perceived as added on to curriculum. from @nancydevine

We must stress that it isn’t one more thing. When we talk about embedding technology and 21st century skills, it happens with the teaching of content, not separately.

@futureofedu Probably more like: “I’m being pulled in too many directions with stuff I already know to take on something else.” from @nlowell

@futureofedu Yes and no-My current workload exceeds my contractual liability.Should I feel pressured into even more with no allowance – no? from @sdisbury

@zemote @futureofedu re: teachers/time – I don’t even have time to do the things I know how to do and I desperately want to do. from @teacherc

Dear adminstrtors, please make time in your teachers schedule for them to learn and grow. Hire people in your district that can support this professional learning.

Dear Politician, Find a way for the above statement to be financially feasible for ALL schools.

Teachers need to shift their practices to embed 21st century skills and technology. This should not be an option. The problem is the lack of understanding and funding for this shift to happen at the speed it should be. The question I am left to ponder, what do we do to change this?

We Need More Admins Like This

Toby Fischer — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:22:01 +0000

I just came across this interview with David Sherman, the principal of South Park Elementary School in Deerfield, Illinois. I’m sure he gets plenty of cracks about “South Park”. One statement he made stood out to me;

…I believe that I must model the use of Web 2.0 tools for the staff and parents. I feel that it is my responsibility to keep learning about these tools, which I do mostly through RSS feeds. I am confident that the teachers now know enough about Web 2.0 tools to start using them, so I am starting to “push” a little harder at the individual teacher level whenever the time is right. I spend a lot of time talking with teachers about ways to incorporate these tools into their teaching. Often, these discussion come from my classroom visits and teacher observations.

I don’t expect all administrators to as tech savvy as David Sherman, or others such as Chris Lehmann. What I would like to see is all administrators to have a basic understanding of technology, specifically web 2.0. I want them to understand the role technology plays in an effective 21st century school. I want them to be able to employ these technologies to increase student achievement in their district/building . When I say administrators, I mean superintendents, principals, directors and any other personnel in a position of leadership.

Once the administrators take on this role as a technology user, then more teachers in their district will take steps to do the same. At that point we will be able to push the way David Sherman is. Getting his teachers to a new level. If the teachers are moving to a new level, just think about the places they must be taking their students. I hope I can play a role in helping my district reach these new levels.

Thank you PLN

Toby Fischer — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 02:45:23 +0000

As I prepare for my presentations over the next week (school board tomorrow and Ohio eTech Conference next week) I want to use this space to thank my personal learning network (PLN). In my preparations, the responses I have gotten from my twitter friends, Diigo Groups, co-workers, and my wife (she is my co-presenter at eTech) have been an amazing resource. I would suggest to all teachers to create an online PLN to be an add on to your face-to-face contacts. You will become a better teacher in no time because of the ideas and resources that will come your way. So thank you PLN.

Look at what I made with my iPhone

Toby Fischer — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:10:45 +0000

I love Animoto. It is a fun and easy way to create a short slide show video and share it with the world. It is now available on the iphone (and I assume the iPod touch). I created this video while waiting in the drive through line at Wendy’s (No I didn’t add eat healthier to my news years resolution list). It was that easy. By the time I finished eating, I opened the link and watched it. I give the app. 5 stars. It gave me a reason to take even more pictures with my iPhone. My first Animoto iPhone Video

Anyone have any great ideas on how to use this is a classroom?

I’m becoming one of Them

Toby Fischer — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 15:57:35 +0000

I’ve watched kids listen to their Ipods, work on their computers with multiple windows open and IM all at the same time. I’ve watched this and wondered; how productive can this be?

A few minutes ago I looked at my desk and realized they can be very productive because “I am becoming one of them.” Right now I have my Iphone syncing, I’m following my twitter “friends” on my desktop using twitterific, I’m listening to some cool tunes using Pandora (Eye of the Tiger is currently playing. I feel like getting up and running some stairs), I have a spreadsheet and a word doc open, I have 6 tabs open in my browser (one being e-mail of course) and I have my ical up, all at the same time. With all this open, I’m getting a lot of work done. On top of getting work done, I’m learning because my twitter network is filled with great minds. Best of all, I’m enjoying myself. My foot taping to the beat tells me that. Now if I just force myself to create the 30 new Moodle courses for the teachers I trained yesterday.

What does this mean? I’m not sure, but it was one of those self awareness moments that we all need to have.