Comments for TBLOGICAL http://www.portical.org/blog Mostly pertinent thoughts about technology and education by school and district leaders Mon, 13 May 2013 14:04:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Comment on Say hello to the Free Agent Learner—that is, a typical middle school student! by Alan Stange http://www.portical.org/blog/say-hello-to-the-free-agent-learner-that-is-a-typical-middle-school-student/2164.htm/comment-page-1#comment-8745 Alan Stange Mon, 13 May 2013 14:04:47 +0000 http://www.portical.org/blog/?p=2164#comment-8745 Thank for sharing. Over the last four years my classroom has been open to student devices. I have been teaching fourth to sixth grade. I have witnessed all of the uses you listed above, but sadly not with great frequency. Personal devices, principally iPods, are in the children’s hands at a very young age. The message from home and school is emphatic, “These expensive toys should stay home.” I’ve worked to change those views among my colleagues, but I notice phones are still essentially banned on the school yard, hallways, and classrooms. Ironically, they seem ever present in the hands and workflow of the staff.

]]> Comment on Blips not to overlook by Jack Jarvis http://www.portical.org/blog/blips-not-to-overlook/2025.htm/comment-page-1#comment-8744 Jack Jarvis Mon, 13 May 2013 03:11:16 +0000 http://www.portical.org/blog/?p=2025#comment-8744 Hi Butch!

Part of the research for my MA was ILS Systems and Josten’s was in the forefront. Back then, they were a great way to fleece school districts of hundreds of thousands of dollars. In the studies I reviewed, 99 out of 100 ILS systems did not work; vendors claimed they failed because they were not being USED correctly. Kind of like blaming a plane that crashed 99 out of a hundred flights on pilot error. I hope these are not being resurrected. Great info and great source for a lot of action. Many thanks!

]]> Comment on A Tablet Isn’t a Silver Bullet by Jack Jarvis http://www.portical.org/blog/a-tablet-isnt-a-silver-bullet/2074.htm/comment-page-1#comment-8743 Jack Jarvis Mon, 13 May 2013 03:03:00 +0000 http://www.portical.org/blog/?p=2074#comment-8743 You nailed it and until we get tech literate people in instructional control positions, this will continue. The dispersement of any technology is a common practice in our profession, sadly. The term I use for it , which I cannot take credit for, is “ready, FIRE, aim”.

]]> Comment on Principals in the Cross Hairs by Jack Jarvis http://www.portical.org/blog/principals-in-the-cross-hairs/2093.htm/comment-page-1#comment-8742 Jack Jarvis Mon, 13 May 2013 02:56:42 +0000 http://www.portical.org/blog/?p=2093#comment-8742 What a great article. I have experienced the same. The changes we made came not from what I dictated, but what WE as a group of educators agreed was best. Not surprisingly, the technology compononents allowing the sharing of work drove those changes.

]]> Comment on Same Song, Second Verse by Jack Jarvis http://www.portical.org/blog/same-song-second-verse/2151.htm/comment-page-1#comment-8741 Jack Jarvis Mon, 13 May 2013 02:50:02 +0000 http://www.portical.org/blog/?p=2151#comment-8741 Beautiful.
When I submitted the above as a comment, I got a message saying my comment was too short. Let me try again: Beautiful.

]]> Comment on Say hello to the Free Agent Learner—that is, a typical middle school student! by Jack Jarvis http://www.portical.org/blog/say-hello-to-the-free-agent-learner-that-is-a-typical-middle-school-student/2164.htm/comment-page-1#comment-8740 Jack Jarvis Mon, 13 May 2013 02:47:18 +0000 http://www.portical.org/blog/?p=2164#comment-8740 Oh, I forgot, the picture you included is worth the proverbial “thousand words”.

]]> Comment on Say hello to the Free Agent Learner—that is, a typical middle school student! by Jack Jarvis http://www.portical.org/blog/say-hello-to-the-free-agent-learner-that-is-a-typical-middle-school-student/2164.htm/comment-page-1#comment-8739 Jack Jarvis Mon, 13 May 2013 02:46:11 +0000 http://www.portical.org/blog/?p=2164#comment-8739 Great piece and right on target. Teaching fourth grade this year confirms everything you said, and these are fourth graders!
I have students in my class who do all the above. Now we have to get to the rest of them. Thanks for writing!,,

]]> Comment on Say hello to the Free Agent Learner—that is, a typical middle school student! by Susan Brooks-Young http://www.portical.org/blog/say-hello-to-the-free-agent-learner-that-is-a-typical-middle-school-student/2164.htm/comment-page-1#comment-8738 Susan Brooks-Young Sat, 11 May 2013 21:41:57 +0000 http://www.portical.org/blog/?p=2164#comment-8738 I have seen the phenomenon you describe, Sandy. The middle school students I’ve worked with at several BYOT schools truly are using their own technology for a variety of purposes, many of which are very imaginative. Interestingly, I’ve also noticed that their choice of personal technology seems to vary with age. The 5th and 6th graders are most likely to have some kind of tablet (Android or iOS). The 7th graders had more of a mix of smart phones and tablets, but then by 8th grade it was smart phones for all but one student. We can’t begin to be as nimble with the technology we provide. BYOT can be a workable way to allow students to shift from one type of technology to another as their learning needs and styles change.

]]> Comment on Say hello to the Free Agent Learner—that is, a typical middle school student! by Michael Simkins http://www.portical.org/blog/say-hello-to-the-free-agent-learner-that-is-a-typical-middle-school-student/2164.htm/comment-page-1#comment-8737 Michael Simkins Sat, 11 May 2013 20:01:09 +0000 http://www.portical.org/blog/?p=2164#comment-8737 It’s interesting to think of high school students being “traditional” in their use of technology–and so different from kids just a few years younger.

Sandy, you definitely issue a call for action. Administrators that want to answer your call might like to start with TICAL’s new Mobile Technology for Learning mind map.

]]> Comment on A Tablet Isn’t a Silver Bullet by Christine Jones http://www.portical.org/blog/a-tablet-isnt-a-silver-bullet/2074.htm/comment-page-1#comment-8733 Christine Jones Fri, 03 May 2013 05:22:57 +0000 http://www.portical.org/blog/?p=2074#comment-8733 It really doesn’t matter if it’s a tablet, a laptop computer, or an interactive whiteboard, if the classroom instruction is not solid to begin with then no amount of technology will change it. The real problem is in the implementation. Most districts think a “one size fits all” strategy is the best when it comes to disseminating technology, but teachers use different strategies and have different styles in the classroom. Maybe teachers should have some buy-in and be allowed to choose the tools they think they need instead of a top down approach. And as far as equitable access goes, I don’t agree that just because all teachers have the same tools means that all students have access to the same great instruction using those tools. Your motto is a good one. Professional development has to be consistent and sustained for a real change to occur, and it should be at least 25% of your total technology budget.

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