Exception to the Rule

February 28th, 2010 by James Scoolis

How does technology get adopted in the classroom?  Typically, of course, it doesn’t.

What usually occurs is  some early adopters take on the newest ideas while the bulk of teachers continue to do what they mostly have always done.  It took many years for simple email even to become a common daily tool for educators.

Yet, I am here to tell you I’ve seen this pattern broken; document cameras are an exception to the rule.

In a focused two-year effort, we provided every upper grade classroom at my school with a document camera, ceiling-mounted LCD projector, and a networked computer.  With the document camera leading the charge, this techno-trinity instantly transformed teaching in just about every subject area.

Every teacher has  integrated these tools into daily teaching.  I have seen a cow’s heart dissected on screen, student writing edited interactively by large and small groups, interactive read aloud made easy with text posted for all to see, highlighting to model thinking out loud, note taking modeled in content areas, whole group brainstorming, predictive thinking with graphic organizers, and real-time completion of a cloze reading passage with students working in cooperative groups.

Basically, all of this came about with the addition of three new tools and a forty minute in-service for teachers on how to use their new cameras and projectors.

Why has this happened?  Primarily, I think it’s because the combination of the document camera and projector simply represents a big improvement on what has been a mainstay in our classrooms for five decades—the stalwart overhead projector.   In that sense, these tools represent what Tom Carroll has called “transitional” technology; they afford teachers a way to do the “same thing” in a different and better way.

Money came from three basic sources: our parent teacher association, the federal EETT grant and our own school budget.  The installation took place in waves.  Finally, like the U.S. Army who introduced them to us, we’ve retired our World War II projectors.  And there are cost savings as well.  We’ve seen a reduction in the sheer number of paper copies being made and, perhaps best of all, no more calling the photocopy repair person to extract yet another mangled transparency from the bowels of the copy machine!

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Posted in Integration | No Comments »

Taxonomy Blooms Anew

February 26th, 2010 by Lisa Marie Gonzales

“Technology is fluff; real learning takes place away from the computer.”

That perception persists in some quarters.  As our curriculum and instruction team at the Santa Clara County Office of Education has been working on professional development training, we’ve been talking about ways to intertwine technology and higher level learning.  I have to admit, some of the latest and greatest in technology has left us questioning just how much rigor is involved.

Image created by Mike Fisher; used by permission.

Image created by Mike Fisher; used by permission.

That got me to thinking about good old Bloom’s Taxonomy and how it might help us ensure rigor and relevance in our work in classrooms with students and by teachers.  Pursuing those thoughts led me to the discovery of this picture—a visual representation of Bloom’s Taxonomy created by Mike Fisher that collects and categorizes the various internet resources that have become second nature to many of us in the world of Web2.0.

In our department, we utilize Bloom’s Taxonomy to focus our professional development workshop outcomes and to direct the activities that teachers work on with their students. The further up the taxonomy, the stronger the learning that should be taking place.  We focus on analysis and evaluation, particularly around performance tasks, test questions, and even discussion points with classroom activities.

What is important about this diagram is the identification of internet tools that can drive both teacher and student users into higher order thinking. The categorization gives us a strong framework to plan instruction that takes advantage of new tools such as blogs, wikis, and VoiceThread that allow students to take their discussions and interactions to higher levels.

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Posted in Integration, Pondering, Professional development | 1 Comment »

My Magic Pen

January 20th, 2010 by Phoebe Bailey

I remember the first time I heard Bill Daggett speak.  It was probably ten years ago when I was beginning my job at an education service center in Arkansas.  One of the upcoming innovations he discussed was a “magic pen.”  He described this as a computer in a pen.  My first thought was that if such a pen were already invented, I’d buy one!  I was about to return to school for an administration certification and thought how much easier such a pen would make my life.

Fast forward seven years.  The magic pen was a reality and I had my first experience with one.  It was not favorable.  I was on an audit team that was piloting the use of a digital pen to upload observation data.  The pen doubled our work!  First, we took classroom observation and interview notes on regular paper; then, we had to rewrite everything on special paper provided with the digital pen.  The problem was aggravated by kinks in the software.

Given that negative experience, I was in no hurry to try out later versions of the magic pen.  My attitude changed, however, at the NECC 09 conference.  I was trying to recall something the keynote speaker had said when a friend of mine whipped out his digital pen, touched it to paper, and out came the speaker’s voice!  This magic pen had not only captured the text but also the audio of the presentation.

Now that is a computer in a pen.  I bought one and love it.  It helps me never miss a word and records everything I hear, say and write, as well as providing links between my audio recordings and my notes.  It has become a life saver in our board meetings.  It is very helpful for clarifing motions and makes taking minutes simple.  Our content specialists use it in demonstration lessons with teachers to model student interviews.

And new functions keep coming.  Recently launched apps help you with such tasks as translating phrases into other languages, checking facts on all sorts of subjects, listening to classical music, and even playing a guitar.  I look forward to continuing to learn more uses for my “magic pen!”  (Oh, in case you were wondering, mine is a “Pulse” pen by Livescribe; view it and other brands here.)

Posted in Productivity | 4 Comments »

Creativity and Innovation: Voices Waiting In The Wings?

January 4th, 2010 by Thom Dunks
Original photocollage by Thom Dunks

Original photocollage by Thom Dunks

Over the span of thirty years in school administration I have watched with great interest the tides of educational reform flow and then ebb.

During this first decade of the new century, we’ve heard a loud and persistent clamber for accountability from policy makers and the media alike.  Consistently, they prescribe more and more collection and analysis of linear data with the focus on mathematics and literacy skills.

Yet among the myriad of voices advocating change, there are some who share a different vision, who offer very persuasive notions about the crucial need for a new and welcome emphasis on creativity and innovation.

The research of Christopher Dede of Harvard University is receiving global attention in the quest for designing reform that will adequately prepare the next generation for the 21st Century.  The opening sentence of his profile on the university’s web page states the following:  “Chris Dede’s fundamental interest is the expanded human capabilities for knowledge creation, sharing, and mastery that emerging technologies enable.”  To paraphrase Dr. Dede,  If we were to start new schools from the ground up, would we replicate the current model of the industrial age?

Sir Ken Robinson speaks to audiences throughout the world on the changing needs of business, education, and organizations in the new global economies.  He continues to build a foundation in the promotion of creativity and innovation in teaching and learning.  His findings and perspective on the topic have been published in his two most recent books, Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative (2001) and The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything (2009).

The ideas and works of Daniel Pink address the needs of our future economy and society.  He sees the future belonging to a different kind of person with a different kind of mind—creative, empathic “right brain” thinkers.  In the extraordinary book, A Whole New Mind: Why Right Brainers Will Rule The Future (2005) his publisher footnotes that “Drawing upon research from around the advanced world, Daniel Pink outlines the six fundamentally human abilities that are essential for professional success and personal fulfillment—and reveals how to master them.”

Author and columnist Thomas Friedman writes extensively about Education, the Economy, the Environment, and Technology in these modern times.  I found a recent editorial entitled, The New Untouchables to be a very relevant compass in this search for new directions and expanded strategies.

This period in modern American Education is at its most significant crossroad.   For the past two decades, educational leaders and futurists had predicted that the 21st Century would mark a significant paradigm shift in the landscape of teaching and learning.  We are now 10 years into that new century, awaiting signs of tangible reform and innovation.  I would advocate that the time is now to pay close attention to those voices in the wings.  The urgency to innovate and create new models is very present.

Posted in Uncategorized | 3 Comments »

To Share or Not to Share
Using Social Networking for Work

November 16th, 2009 by Kay Tepera
Image by Scott Maxwell

Image by Scott Maxwell.

Do you remember your first day in the classroom?  I remembered mine as I read a recent article about a new teacher, just out of college, who was struggling with the huge task of understanding her new job.  Her experience sounded so familiar.  Walk into the school.  Get handed a key to the classroom.  Find your mailbox.  Get a stack of textbooks.   Yikes! What next?

That was the dilemma of the teacher in the article: what next? After feeling totally overwhelmed, this teacher turned to the Internet and used a social networking tool to seek help.  She posted the simple question, “I’m new, what do I do now?”  In a matter of hours she received sixty responses to this plea for help.  She even had experts come to her aid.

Talk about curriculum building!  Teachers today seem more willing to assist and collaborate with their peers than ever before.  Social networking sites seem to offer a non-threatening forum where teachers can share and exchange their ideas.

As I remember that exciting yet scary feeling as I walked into my classroom for the first time, I wonder why, if social networking tools are so easily accessible to us, we aren’t sharing more? Why do so many teachers still struggle alone with more and more paperwork? More and more papers to grade? More and more expectations?  Couldn’t social networking sites provide the avenue for educators to share how they have solved problems? Organized the mountain of assignments to grade?  Managed high expectations?  Dealt with thorny questions on curriculum?

So I now ask you:  “To share or not to share?”  What’s your experience with social networking to assist you with your work?

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Posted in Productivity, Professional development | 5 Comments »

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