1 to 1 Schools

One-to-One professional learning

I often find myself writing and talking about how technology has greatly enhanced my personal learning network.  My online social networks have allowed me to connect with other educators from around the world on a regular basis.  Keeping that in mind, I can't say enough about the face-to-face interactions that I have with educators.  The Great Lakes 1-1 Computing Conference provided many amazing opportunities for me to do just that. This was the second year of this conference and I have been fortunate to be able to attend both years. Resources from the conference can be found on their wiki and you can see the twitter conversation at their #gl2010 hashtag.   

The conversations that I had at the conference are a bit more difficult to replicate online.  These conversations took place during conference sessions, breaks, lunch hours,and even at the more "informal" meet-ups outside of the conference hours. Participants  were a mixture of veteran one -to-one educators and those considering making the transition to one to one. Those new to or considering one-to-one talked about their fears, concerns, and hopes  associated with making this kind of move.  The veteran one-to-one educators really centered their conversations around how they can keep moving their schools forward.  Both groups really honed in on how one-to-one needs to be a teaching and learning initiative rather than a technology initiative.  Everyone benefited greatly from these conversations!

I realize how difficult it is for a teacher or administrator to leave their school for these PD opportunities.  I didn't always do a good job myself taking advantage of professional learning outside my school.  Unfortunately, that also limits the opportunities to improve and grow as a professional.  As a member of the one-to-one community, you may be even more limited on the conferences that are available to you.  I have started this google doc as a place to compile one-to-one professional learning opportunities around the country.  Please feel free to add aditional learning opportunities to the document and consider taking advantage of those that are of interest to you.

Nick Sauers

CASTLE isn't just a fortified structure built in the Middle Ages!

For the past year and a half, I have been posting on this blog with the help of some other amazing educators.  My purpose for writing today actually isn't this blog, but rather the organization that helped kick-off this blog. 

Since leaving my job as a principal, my time has been devoted to working for the Center for the Advanced Study of Technology Leadership in Education (CASTLE).  CASTLE is a University Council for Education Administration (UCEA) center (Sorry for all of the acronyms-SFAOFA).  UCEA centers are a group of research engines and clearing houses hosted by UCEA member universities, that support knowledge production, professional seminars, institutes, conferences and research and development projects.

Enough with the technical jargon......CASTLE is the nation’s only center dedicated to the technology needs of school administrators.  This post aims to inform you about some of the other CASTLE blogs for you to view.

• Connected Principals (technology leadership group blog)
• Dangerously Irrelevant (technology, leadership, and school reform)
• The Edjurist (education law group blog)
• Educational Games Research (educational gaming)
• Leadership for Social Justice (social justice group blog) COMING SOON!
• Leadertalk (school leadership group blog)
• Quality Leadership Matters (leadership news from UCEA)
• School Finance 101 (school finance and policy)
• Virtual School Meanderings (P-12 online learning)

Hopefully, these blogs help you get your RSS reader full of great resources!

Nick Sauers

Free K-12 Online Conference

It may be worth your time to check out the free K-12 Online Conference that will begin the week of October 11.  Their site states that it provides free, collaborative, accessible, professional learning for educators around the globe.  The conference will encompass the following things:

• Leading the Change
• Student Voices
• Week in the Classroom
• Kicking It Up a Notch

For more information on the conference, check out Andy Crozier's blog or their conference site.  Andy makes a great point about the conference and how the conference is more than a one-time event.

"Lastly, the beautiful thing about this conference is that it is always alive. Presentations don’t die after the timer goes off. Discussion starts online and sometimes carries over into face to face discussions in PLCs. Regardless of when the presentation was delivered (2006-2010) it will be archived for all educators to view at any time."

Student...and educator blogging

Photo credit: langwitches http://bit.ly/9Im6w4

I frequently encourage teachers and administrators to blog on a regular basis, and to also have their students' blogging.  Many don't see the relevance of a blog, and question the need since they already have a building, district, or classroom website.  While reading a post from Langwitches blog, The Magic of Learning, I found the image at the top of this post.  That image does an excellent job of highlighting some of the benefits that a blog can offer.  Of course, many of those benefits can't be attained unless some time and effort is put into your blog.  With that in mind, I would encourage administrators to use teachers, students, parents, board members, and other guest bloggers to keep your blog filled with meaningful content on a regular basis.  Classroom teachers can do the same with a heavy reliance on student bloggers.  Without meaningful content on a regular basis, your blog will not exhibit the features in the right hand column from above, and instead it will resemble a static web page.  The comment below from Langwitches post really emphasizes this point!

"It is the reflective nature and the timeline of a blog, as well as the growing connections with readers that will reveal growth as a writer, the benefits of being a member of a network and a contributor to a global community. I fear that teachers might give up too early on classroom or student blogs before the initial learning curve for teachers AND students has been overcome.  I worry that teachers might get stuck at the stage when the blog platform is merely a static website."

 

Nick Sauers

Panel discussion with one-to-one administrators

This Thursday I will be facilitating a discussion with three Iowa one-to-one administrators at the School Administrators of Iowa (SAI) Annual Conference. Two of the panelists are superintendents, and the third is a high school principal.  Each of these administrators bring unique experiences to our discussion.  I have developed a wiki for the session and encouraged those attending to place their questions there.  Twitter was another great resource for me when gathering questions. 

I'm also going to attempt to broadcast the presentation live from USTREAM at 9:15 a.m. central time on Thursday.  You can watch it from this link, but I will also attempt to embed the video on my blog.  Do note that I used the word attempt twice.  This convention center has failed me before, and it makes me a bit nervous.  Feel free to add questions to the wiki , or post them on USTREAM chat.

Nick Sauers

Back to school - time to check your AUP message!

Back to School time! How did this happen so quickly…

One thing that parents are faced with every Fall is the giant packet. Everything you need to know, sign, and send back with checks attached as school starts. In the giant packet is the schools Acceptable Use Policy, known as the AUP to most techie educators. To parents, of course, it’s known as paper 23 of 42, likely to be ignored. To make sure that even diligent parents ignore it, schools create AUPs full of dense legalese, hoping that if anything bad happens, they are “covered.” Whatever that means.

When you see a principal on the news explaining why his school is suspected to be the center of a huge student porn network, does he ever hold up the AUP and say, “but we’re covered!” No, of course not. So why do schools believe that the AUP really does any good at all? And why, oh why do we send this out without a shred of explanation about the GOOD that we expect from students using technology?

I’m not saying there shouldn’t be policy in place, and that these policies shouldn’t be communicated. Of course they should. But why send something home guaranteed to intimidate, or worse, bore parents?

I’ve written about this before (What message does your AUP send home?)

I truly believe that EVERYTHING we do sends a message. It’s important to take a step back and try to put yourself in parent’s shoes for a moment and read the AUP from that perspective. In most AUPs, there is not a shred of positive vision for what “Use” means. They should be called UUPs, or Unacceptable Use & Punishments. And of course, while you are at it - check to see if it's up to date. Was it written before Facebook and Twitter? Have expectations changed?

Where is your vision shared? Have you shared it lately? When laptop programs get started, there is often a lot of purposeful communication with parents to include them as stakeholders. How's that going these days?

You have to send out the AUP anyway, why not rewrite it so it reads like a vision instead of a promise of punishment? At least add a cover letter to it!

Sure, parents will flip through the packet and might not read it. But then again, it’s your one chance – why not take it?

Sylvia

Thinking about revising your AUP? Visit David Warlick’s wiki School AUP 2.0 for links and an RSS feed to many schools with visionary AUPs.

One-to-One professional development

While in Memphis for the Lausanne Laptop Institute, I led a session focused on professional development for one to one schools.  My objectives for the session, which may have been a bit too cumbersome, included the following four items.

• Vision for the district-I stressed that it is extremely important for schools to identify why they are going one-to-one before they plan professional development.  One-to-one can't be the goal in and of itself, but it can be a great tool to help a school reach its goals.
• Effective components of professional development-This objective focused on a bit of the research behind professional development.  I highlighted the fact that in order to help sustain any initiative in the classroom there must be demonstration, practice, feedback,and ongoing coaching.  Quite frequently professional development ends at the demonstration phase.
• Professional development resources-Resources that CASTLE uses with administrators were shared.
• Examples-For each of the objectives examples were shared throughout the presentation.  Those examples can also be found on the wiki.

Take a look at the wiki from the presentation for more details, and feel free to contact me at nck0208@gmail.com with any other questions.

Nick Sauers

One-to-One Resources

While at the Lausanne Laptop Institute, I met with various providers of one-to-one resources.  Although these resources and services may not be what every school needs, they do provide options that many schools may be looking for with their program.

DyKnow

DyKnow provides two major products that are applicable to one-to-one schools.  DyKnow Vision is the software that I was most excited about.  It allows for easy communication between teacher and student and between students within a classroom.  It can potentially increase engagement by providing better feedback and better instruction.  DyKnow Monitor is a monitoring tool that is also relevant to many schools.  It allows the teacher to monitor all of the screens in the classroom.  I realize that some of you may object to this type of supervision.  That is fine.  I also speak with enough board members, community members, and educators to know that this may be the one tool that can put them a bit at ease.  If this is the tool that allows public opinion to support one-to-one, it is well worth it in my mind.

Educational Collaborators

The Educational Collaborators are a group of over 60 educators who jointly provide a wide variety of services.  Their team is made up of mainly full time educators.  They are a very powerful resource for schools considering the move to one-to-one or current one-to-one schools.  For each project they work with a school, they develop a team with members who are experts in the areas each particular school needs most.  My disclaimer is that I am now a member of the Educational Collaborators.  Although I have yet to work with them, I am eager to do so and learn with some great one-to-one experts.  Their model of assigning a group of experts in the field to work collaboratively to help a school really excites me.  Their model reminds me of various exerts from the book Wikinomics which stresses how a group of people can work to produce much more powerful results than any one person or even one company working in isolation.

WatchKnow

I should sing the praises of WatchKnow whether I like them or not simply because they gave me a free Kodak Pocket Video Camera for attending their session!  Actually, I'm very interested to see what happens with their site.  They are attempting to develop a place where educators can post videos and find any educational video.  My first thought was how their site would be better than YouTube, but I did find some benefits.  Videos are screened more closely before being placed on their site, and they are also much more organized.  Educators can search by topic and also by age level.  My concern with the site is that they may not be able to collect enough videos to be a reliable resource for educators.  Only time will tell!

Nick Sauers

Improving your school's web presence

This post topic comes to mind for me because I feel awful about how poorly I have done posting in the past couple of weeks.  I've been traveling and attended ISTE in Denver and the Lausanne Laptop Institute in Memphis along with some leisure travel as well  (I have to brag that I caught a home-run ball in Milwaukee!). 

My lapse in posting highlight what I consider to be the biggest weakness in blogs and school websites.  When I work with administrators, they often question whether or not people will actually read their blog or look at their school website. They frequently doubt that it will be worth their time to post material online.  My response is simply that they are correct if they don't post current, relevant information on their site.  Readers are not going to continue to visit a site that has the same information posted for one month, or in many cases years.

So what can educators do to improve their web presence?

1)  Make your sites meaningful!

• Post frequently
• Post short videos that readers want to see.  A flip camera can serve as a great tool to capture students in action.

2)  Don't think you have to do everything!  Believe me, I realize how busy educators are.  Invite others to contribute to the site.  A teacher who just completed an amazing project or an extracurricular activity sponsor would add value to the site.  Deron Durflinger had a student write a post about one-to-one schools on his blog, and she did an excellent job.

3)  Publicize your blog or site.  Refer to it at PTA meetings, board meetings, and anywhere you get the opportunity to speak to the public.  List it on district publications that are sent out.

4)  Don't entirely recreate the wheel.  Take many of the things that you already do and post them on your site.  Newsletter articles, mass emails to parents, and newspaper articles are some examples of items that you can also post on your site.  The benefit of posting them on your site is that you can do more than you can with just print.  You can add video or audio to the article you have posted.  That will certainly add value for readers!

I realize that many educators don't view their web presence as a real priority.  It takes back seat to many of the other issues that they face on a day to day basis.  That should change!  Keeping a site updated doesn't have to be difficult.  The positive public relations that can come from your site will be worth the effort.  Often schools don't do a very good job highlighting all of the great things they are doing.  Communication with the public will also increase if you use your site effectively.  Both of these benefits will be extremely beneficial any time your district faces a challenging issue.

.........I'll also try to get back on track and take some of my own advice! 

Nick Sauers

Project Red research is released

While I was in Denver for ISTE, I was fortunate to be invited to attend Project Red's session where results from their research were presented.  Their research included feedback from nearly 1,000 school principals and technology coordinators.  Tom Greaves and Jeanne Hayes shared the 7 major findings at the session, which are listed below.  Each of their findings have substantial implications for current and future one to one schools.

7 findings

1)  1:1 works when properly implemented (There were gains in all one to one schools, but it was much more substantial for schools that properly implemented one to one.)

•     1:1 student computer ratio
•     Formative assessments
•     Collaboration for teachers in PD

2)  A technology implementation crisis is facing schools.

3)  Technology is an investment, not an expense.

•     Economic cost of dropouts is well known.  1:1 is reducing the dropout rate.
•     Copy budgets are being cut in half.  On a national level, that would equate to $400 million a year.

4)  Leadership and vision are essential components

5)  Technology-assisted intervention classes rank number 1-They are the top model predictor for many of the success measures.  (Check out the report for more details about this finding.)

6)  Collaboration and social media are important to success.

•      Disciplinary action reductions
•      Drop-out rate reductions
•      Teacher attendance improved

7)  Frequency of technology use is important.
    Daily use of technology in core classes correlates highly to desireable education success measures.

For more information  view my notes, the online notes from the presenters, or the Project Red site.

1-to-1 Laptop Program Success Stories

The three short videos below were recorded in Denver at an ISTE session entitled "1-to-1 Laptop Program Success Stories: Common Themes from Diverse Implementations."  It was a panel discussion with three presenters with extensive 1:1 experience. Mike Muir, Cyndi Danner-Kuhn, and Sam Farsaii. 

Mike Muir talks about some of his experiences with 1:1 programs.

We wish we could call it a "learning initiative" instead of a technology initiative.

What expectations do teachers need to come with?  How do you support teachers going into 1:1? 

• Get rid of network Nazi's who don't have any business making curriculum decisions for teachers.  (This comment received lots of applause!)
  
• Invest in staff development.  That includes instructional and technical support.
• "Just in time training" available for teachers.
• Do not center professional development around software or hardware.  The research is clear that teachers who are taught technology integrated with something else are more likely to use it that way with their students.
• Teacher prep programs need to forget doing a separate course and embed the training in all courses.  
• Educators should have an openness to try something new and a willingness to fail.
  

What leadership strategies are necessary for 1 :1?

• Administrators need to understand what the possibilities of 1:1 are. 
  
• They also need to model 1:1 for their teachers.
• Everything should not be top down.
• Leadership is everything!
• Four things we saw effective leaders do.  

1.     Build common vision together with the staff.
2.     Apply positive pressure and support.....set expectations.
3.     Provide opportunities for professional development.
4.     Celebrate successes!

ISTE Notes

I have included a link to my notes from some of the ISTE sessions that I was able to attend.  The titles and main presenters from each session are listed below. 

• 1-to-1 Laptop Program Success Stories: Common Themes from Diverse Implementations- Mike Muir, Cyndi Danner-Kuhn, and ?(Didn't catch the name of the third presenter.)
  
• Leadership Planning with the School 2.0 e-Toolkit-Chris O'Neal
• 20 Lessons form 20 Years of 1 to 1 Teaching-Gary Stager
• Change from the Radical Center of Education-Doug Johnson
  

I will also be adding some videos from the session about 1-to-1 success stories in the very near future.

EduBloggerCon Resources

I've been trying to take notes and gather resources today as I sat through the sessions at EduBloggerCon.  Hopefully, I can find additional resources to add to this post.  If you have something you would like to add, please send me a link through Twitter (njsauers).

Be warned.......these notes are certainly not complete!

• My notes from the day.
• Resources to support the networked student.
• Howard Rhiengold-Resources from Angela Maiers
• Michael Walker blog post on the session (Crap detection and Student Research)
• School AUP 2.0 --> http://bit.ly/88OiaU
• Notes from 1 to 1 session
• Trends and Tools post by Betty Ray on Edutopia

I've got to think of a new job title

 

I cringe a bit when I try to explain to people what I do.  I usually end up explaining that I am involved with educating others about technology in education. The reason I am uneasy with that description is because I don’t believe using technology just for the sake of using it changes anything.  It feels like some people look at me as “that guy” who thinks schools need to rush out and purchase the newest fad in technology.  I also cringe when I hear educators speak as if they have finally “made it” and become successful once they have purchased a piece of technology.  Some people act as if schools will magically change simply because technology is thrown into classrooms.

With that being said, I believe that the technology available today can allow schools to operate in ways that have been very difficult in the past.  Students can collaborate more easily with one another and others throughout the world.  Students can create things in ways that are nearly impossible with old technologies.  Students can assess infinite information, which can allow them  to view events from multiple perspectives.  Students can better synthesize and evaluate information because of that wealth of information.

 

A post by Jeff Utecht suggested four questions to use when evaluating technology use in the classroom.  Each question is very straightforward.  They are worth looking at if schools truly want to assess how technology is being used.

1. Is the technology being used “Just because it’s there”?
2. Is the technology allowing the teacher/students to do Old things in Old ways?
3. Is the technology allowing the teacher/students to do Old things in New ways?
4. Is the technology creating new and different learning experiences for the students?

Many educators like to say that students are using technology in their classroom.  Just using technology isn't enough.  I question the use of that technology if the answer to question four isn’t “yes”. 

 

Nick Sauers

21st Century tools for educators

Some of my work with CASTLE involves teaching technology boot camps for administrators.  Last week we held one of those boot camps for 30 administrators. Teaching technology tools is only part of the work I do, but I have to say I enjoy watching the excitement as these eager learners blog, tweet, and Skype for the first time.   Hopefully, the tools that we empower them with will help they move their schools forward.

 

Because of that work, and my own curiosity, I am constantly scanning my Reader and the web for new tools.  I recently came across an online book by Michael Zimmer that covers many of the basic tools that we teach in our initial boot camps.  His books are free and can be shared with others.  His book, Tools for the 21st Century Teacher, covers a lot of what I would consider the basic technology tools for educators.  (I should mention his book is short, 17 pages, and very easy to read.)  This would be a great book to pass onto educators for a short summer read.

 

Tech :-) Happy also recently posted 50 Summer Sites for Kids and Teachers.  Although you may not find all of the sites helpful, it is certainly worth giving them a quick scan.

 

Enjoy.....and happy summer reading!

Nick Sauers

1 to 1 sites worth visiting

I frequently get asked what websites and blogs educators interested in one to one should read.  Pamela Livingston and Blair Peterson have helped me compile this list of 15 sites of interest for one to one educators (Sites are listed in no particular order.).  These sites are not all specifically one to one sites, but they all have relevance for one to one educators.  What are some other sites that you recommend?  Please respond to this post with other sites.....even if it is your own blog!  Like many of you, I'm always searching for additional resources!

1. Moving at the Speed of Creativity
2. Anytime Anywhere Learning
3. One-To-One Institute
4. Tech :-) Happy  
5. EduTech-
6. Dangerously Irrelevant
7. One-to-One Learning
8. Shambles Guru on 1-to-1
9. HotChalk 1-to-1 columns
10. Mike Muir's Maine Center for Meaningful Engaged Learning
11. Alberta's One-to-One Wireless Learning Community of Practice
12. SAI One to One Initiative
13. Generation Yes Blog by Sylvia Martinez
14. The Friday Institute for Educational Innovation - NC 1:1 Learning Collaborative 
15. Digital Education
16. One to One Schools

Nick Sauers

How not to roll out one to one...

I recently read a post by Michael Trucano in EduTech that is definitely worth sharing with others.  He developed a list of the ten worst practices in information and communication technologies (ICT).  This list could also be used as a list of "what not to do" for one to one schools.  Those one to one schools that have failed have many practices that seem to align closely with Michael's list of worst practices.  You can read the list of the ten worst practices below, along with some of my own commentary under each item.

1.

1

Dump hardware in schools, hope for magic to happen
Some districts have focused so much on hardware needs that they have neglected all of the other important components of one to one.  Budgets have been developed with hardware in mind, and professional development was only an afterthought.  This is a huge mistake!  (see point 3 and 9)

2. Design for OECD learning environments, implement elsewhere
OECD is the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and development, and this obviously may not apply directly to one to one schools in the states.  However, this concept can and should be applied to U.S. schools.  When we design our one to one programs, we have to realize the unique needs of the school and community where one to one will be implemented.  That includes professional development, infrastructure, and policy needs.

3. Think about educational content only after you have rolled out your hardware
Professional development IS the most important component of one to one.  If one to one is adopted in an effort to change teaching and learning, which I believe it should be, we then need to treat it as an education initiative and not a technology initiative.  Handing teachers and students laptops and hoping that teaching and learning mysteriously change is a big mistake. 

4. Assume you can just import content from somewhere else
Very often in education, we import content that then drives our instruction.  Schools purchase textbooks that oftentimes serve as a road map for instruction.  One to one schools are exploring unchartered territory, and they don't always have a precise road map.  If you ask me, this is fine!  Innovation, by definition, is "new stuff made useful".  One to one educators have the opportunity to create lessons, or "new stuff", in a way that is meaningful and "useful" to today's learners.  

5. Don't monitor, don't evaluate
Schools are currently mandated to assess students in certain ways.  That doesn't mean there aren't other ways to assess a school.  Once the goals for your one to one program are identified, find or develop tools that will best evaluate those goals.  The Instructional Practices Inventory (IPI) is one example of an evaluation tool that really focuses on what is actually happening in each classroom. 

6.

1

Make a big bet on an unproven technology (especially one based on a  closed/proprietary standard) or single vendor, don't plan for how to avoid 'lock-in
 Schools that adopt the most recent technology also face a greater risk of uncertainty.  It is beneficial for schools to explore with these new technologies on a smaller scale prior to making large scale decisions for the district, but I would caution against large scale implementation of an unproven educational technology. 

7.

1

Don't think about (or acknowledge) total cost of ownership/operation issues or calculations
A big mistake for schools to make is to not plan for ongoing expenses.  The problem with taking the bake sale, or one time approach, is that it doesn't provide for the ongoing expenses of the initiative.  These expenses include professional development, infrastructure.....and of course new computers within 5 years.

8. Assume away equity issues
One to one is seen by some as a way to level the playing field for all students.  This certainly can be true, but it is worth acknowledging and addressing.  Are there ways the district can help empower those students from families with lower incomes?  Can connectivity and insurance costs be minimized?

9. Don't train your teachers (nor your school headmasters, for that matter)
Have I mentioned professional development yet (points 1, 2, 3, & 7)?  This is something that I can't say enough!  In order for teaching and learning to change, the most important component of successful one to one programs is professional development.  I was also glad to see that this list included school leaders, or headmasters.  Much of my work at CASTLE focuses on the leadership component of technology in education.  If we truly expect our schools to change, we need leaders who understand these issues!

10. ___

Michael left number 10 blank with the following comment.....
    I thought I would leave #10 blank as an acknowledgment that there are many additional worst             practices that merit mention, but I have run out of space. 

Please leave a comment about one of the points above, or if there is an additional item that deserves merit, as this list certainly isn't comprehensive.

Nick Sauers

Additional technology resources

As I was reading my Google Reader today, I came across another great source to help educators develop their technology skills.  21 Things for the 21st Century Educator is a site dedicated to providing online assistance and training based on ISTE's National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for teachers.  The site is also dedicated to helping teachers assist their students in meeting the NETS for students.  In addition to the 21 strands of resources on the site, there are also virtual sessions educators can view on Adobe Connect.  I've only had a chance to view two of the strands, and I found both helpful.  They were short enough that they kept even my attention.

This site has much more guidance than the resources that I posted Wednesday.  For those of you who are designing professional development for teachers, this may be a great tool.  Educators could work through the 21 strands in small teams throughout the year.  This site also offers lots of guidance for those of you who are willing to explore on your own.  Good luck!

Nick Sauers

Some must have technology conversations.....

Last week I spent three days working with various groups of educators as part of the training CASTLE provides.   Superintendents, principals, teachers and technology directors attended our workshops.   Acceptable use policies and online safety were two topics we addressed. As most of you probably realize, many educators have very strong feelings when it comes to these subjects.

The differing viewpoints and diversity of the group resulted in some interesting conversations. Unfortunately, there is not just one simple solution or answer to these issues that I can offer school districts.  I attempted instead to present attendees with some facts and questions to get conversations started.  Hopefully these prompts can help educational leaders have meaningful conversations related to these topics. 

Who is responsible for the current systems in our schools?  Who is responsible for developing policies and procedures that teach empowering use of technology?  As educational leaders, we must take responsibility for the system.  We are the system!

What are the real facts about online safety?  In order to make informed decisions about any topic, facts need to be gathered.  Many times policies relating to online safety have been developed as reactionary or addressing an overblown concern.

When we lock down and filter the internet aggressively, what things do we lose?  Anytime that a government or organization restricts freedoms, it comes at a cost.  Districts must address this question!  If students and teachers are blocked from numerous resources, we have to realize that there are costs to students’ educations. 

Do we really need to develop specific technology policies, or are many issues around technology already addressed in another policy.  (i.e.  A school in Mississippi prohibits teachers from communicating with students on Facebook.  Is Facebook really the issue, or is inappropriate communication or behavior with students the issue?  If the latter is the issue, there should already be policies that address that this.)  Will we need to continually develop new policies as new technologies are released?

Do we treat technology discipline issues differently than other issues?  Do we take the prohibition approach to technology?  Because some students may use YouTube or other resources inappropriately, should we block all students from using them?

What message does your AUP send home?  Does it focus on all of the positive benefits afforded by technology, or does it only address fears and punishment of inappropriate behavior?
 
How can we trust our teachers with our students, but not the internet?

Licensed under a Creative Commons attribution-share alike license.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

For additional resources, check out our wiki from the day.

Nick Sauers

Resources from the Iowa One to One Institute

The Iowa One to One Institute was a great day to connect and learn from others despite the internet problems that we had.  Over 550 educators had the chance to collaborate with one another about how technology can transform education.  There were over 70 different sessions that participants could attend covering a wide range of topics.  Participants and presenters have posted resources from the day in various locations.  Here are some of those resources for you to explore.

Many of the presenters have posted their materials on the Iowa 1-to-1 Network group blog.  You will find lots of great resources  there!

You can also check out the ongoing conversations around the Iowa One to One Institute by viewing the Twitter conversation at #i11i. 

Here are some blog posts from the day that are worth taking a look at:

• Deron Durflinger reflects on his day.
• Evan Abbey's blog post.
• Russ Goerend's video reflection of his day.
• Patrick Larkin's blog post

Additional Resources

• Notes from Angela Maier's presentation
• Notes from Russ Goerend's presentation
• Notes from Shannon Miller's presentation
• Notes from Jen Sigrist's presentation

Posted by Nick Sauers

One to one can work....

In February I had the opportunity to visit the American School of Bombay (ASB) in Mumbai, India.  ASB is an international one to one school with students and educators from around the globe.  From my observations while touring ASB, I can say that they are a school using one to one to truly transform education.  If you would like more information about ASB, you can check-out my February post.   Andrew Hoover, MS Principal at the American School of Bombay, has provided his insight into the questions that I have posed for this series.  Read and enjoy!

I’d approach this conversation from the other side – the plus side, if you will. If a community (geographical or interest-based) wants to have a discussion about whether to go to a 1:1 program, I’m not sure starting with an assumption like “One to One Can’t Work” makes sense. To keep my comments brief, I would engage the following positive propositions regarding laptops in an educational setting:

One to one is just too expensive!

 Laptops are expensive and like anything else that costs, we would want to a laptop program that delivers tangible and relevant results that make the expense “worth it.”

There is no research that supports one to one.

The laptop is the most powerful tool kit available to educators and students. Students work habits will  get focused and expanded through the use of this tool kit.

If students have computers, they will constantly be off task.

Schools need to build cultures of responsibility around their laptop programs that will help assure great results. This represents an profound opportunity – give students responsibility and they will respond and become leaders.

What happens if kids get on inappropriate sites while they are at home with the school computers?

Citizenship (and its digital avatar, if you will) is one of the most important skill sets we can be teaching kids today. Laptops are central to the process of learning about and engaging this process.

Parents will not allow us to let students access the internet.

When a community engages a laptop program, there is an opportunity to become collaborators with the parents as well. Parents will need to be educated and their knowledge and skills will need to be tapped to help with this process.

Posted by Nick Sauers

Free one to one webinar today

There will be a free one to one webinar today hosted by edweek.org.  The event will run from 2-3 PM Eastern time.  You can register in just a few minutes using this link.  The description of the webinar along with information on presenters are included at the bottom of this post.  Hopefully many of you will be able to take advantage of this opportunity.  It is worth noting that you can submit questions when you register. 

Efforts to put laptops, netbooks, or other mobile computing devices in the hands of every student are gaining traction. The goal of such 1-to-1 computing initiatives is to customize students’ learning, and to enable anytime, anywhere access to Web resources. Despite budget shortfalls, Maine has been moving forward to expand its 1-to-1 computing initiative, and school districts around the country are following suit, saying the programs are having a positive impact on student learning in the digital age. Join three experts for an in-depth discussion of 1-to-1 computing. Presenters: Matt Federoff, chief information officer, Vail School District, Vail, Ariz. Steve Garton, coordinator of educational technology, Maine Department of Education Brion Deitsch, superintendent, Fairview Park City Schools, Fairview Park, Ohio Education Week Moderator: Michelle R. Davis, senior writer, Education Week Digital Directions

Nick Sauers-Leadership Training Coordinator, CASTLE

Mumbai TED X ASB

Last night I attended a TED X ASB event in Mumbai.  The speakers included Scott McLeod, Doug Johnson, Scott Klososky, Hellen Bieret, Bruce Dixon, and a video from Pranav Mistery's TED presentation.  I have included notes and various links from the presentations.  Hopefully, the presentations will be posted on the TED site very soon.  The speakers were excellent!

Nick Sauers

Barriers to learning with technology

As schools attempt to enhance learning through technology use, there are some barriers that quickly get in the way.  I witnessed two of those barriers yesterday while at a workshop with other educators.  The first barrier was the lack of a strong infrastructure to support the technology needs of our group.  The second was the lack of internet access because of blocks setup on computers.

When schools move to one to one, these two concerns must be addressed!  I have witnessed the frustrations that developed when this hasn’t happened.  Unfortunately, these barriers become reasons for some individuals to not change their practices.  As educational leaders, you must destroy these barriers!

Although the issues with infrastructure may not be your expertise, you are responsible for ensuring that your system works.  If it doesn’t, everything else becomes trivial. 

The second barrier that I encountered yesterday was the blocking of sites.  This is a massive issue with many schools.  I routinely talk to administrators and other educators who are extremely frustrated by the blocks that their schools have in place.  My challenge to them and to you is to confront this issue.  If you can’t get these blocks removed, then who can? 

These two barriers may seem evident to many of you, but they may be the largest initial roadblocks schools face.  Making the move to one to one and truly transforming education is a huge and complex challenge.   These barriers may be some of the easiest things to remove, but if they aren’t removed it will be extremely difficult to move one to one forward.  One to one needs to be about enhancing learning through the use of technology.  Unfortunately, too often technology is not used to its fullest potential because of some of these concerns that can occur.

Nick Sauers

A description of digital natives

In Wednesday's post I highlighted some findings from the Kaiser Family Foundation about todays students and their use of media.  Information from that report are included in Digital Nation's website and TV series.  Their website takes a look at the effects of technology on our digital natives.  This site is extremely user friendly and you can point on a particular body part to view impacts technology has had on each part.  Here are some of the interesting pieces of information from the site.

• Searching online activates more brain regions than reading printed words
• Video gaming in moderation can help develop improved pattern recognition, more systematic thinking and better executive skills
• Digital Natives aged 13 to 17 average 1,742 text messages a month
• The more abbreviations pre-teens use in their text messages, the higher they score on tests of vocabulary and reading
• Playing action video games one hour a day for just 10 days improves and widens visual attention
• 19 percent of Digital Natives 13 to 19 say they've sent nude or semi-nude photos of themselves via text or e-mail -- this is called "sexting"

More information about digital nation.....

"Digital Nation is a new, open source PBS project that explores what it means to be human in an entirely new world -- a digital world."  It consists of this site as well as a major FRONTLINE documentary which aired on Feb. 2, 2010.

You'll want to take 10-15 minutes to visit their site and view their series from PBS.  This is a great way to start a conversation about what todays learners look like. 

Take a look at the short trailer from the video.

Students spend HOW much time using entertainment media?

A recent national survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation revealed some very interesting statistics about the amount of time children spend with entertainment media.  These statistics help us understand how todays students are different from past generations.

• 8-18 year-olds devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes using entertainment media across a typical day (That is more than 53 hours a week!).
• Because much of that time is spent "media multitasking" (using more than one medium at a time), they actually manage to pack a total of 10 hours and 45 minutes worth of media content into those 7½ hours.

These numbers are an increase from the 2004 report.  This table highlights the changes in the various types of media useage.

 

The report also has some interesting findings about the relationship between grades and media use.  The students who used media the most also received the worst grades.  Anyone who has taken the most basic research course realizes that this relationship doesn't necessarily indicate that one thing causes the other.  I would be interested to know if these statistics would be the same in one to one schools.  Is it possible that the heavy media users didn't perform as well at school because they weren't comfortable with the medium that most schools use to teach?

The Kaiser Family Foundation Report is work taking a look at.  It is fairly easy to read and there are several graphs that highlight their major findings.

So what is important for students to learn?

My post from February 4 focused on the big picture perspective of learning at schools.  I prefaced my post by saying that I didn't have an answer to the title.  Today I read an article from eSchool News that does help give some more guidance about what students should learn.  The article written by Dennis Pierce and based on a presentation by Alan November focused on four things all students should learn.  I have listed those four areas along with some excerpts from the article.

1)  Global empathy.

"It’s not hard to find people who are smart, the executive said. What is hard to find are employees who have to ability to empathize with, and be sensitive to the needs of, people from other countries."

2)  Social and ethical responsibility on the web.

"By blocking access to social tools in the classroom, and not teaching students what constitutes socially and ethically responsible behavior online, schools are shirking a key responsibility, he said, adding: 'Facebook might be blocked in your schools, but kids are still going to go home and use it.""

3)  The permanence of information posted online.

"Students are often careless about what they post on the web, November said, because they mistakenly believe that once they delete the information, it no longer can be found online."

4)  Critical information about the information found online.

"Today’s students too often accept the validity of information on web sites that appear within the first few search results, November said, without thinking critically about these sources. If you’re going to teach anything in the Information Age, he said, shouldn’t it be how to find, evaluate, and use online information critically?"

Unfortunately, many schools do a very poor job at addressing these skills.  Instead, students are left to figure these things out on their own.  All schools, including one to one schools, need to make these things part of the curriculum.  Students today need to master these skills in order to be successful!

Free 1 to 1 Institute

On April 7 of this year, CASTLE will be hosting the first ever Iowa 1:1 Institute in Des Moines.  Here are my top three reasons the institute will be an amazing day!

1. Current 1:1 schools and schools considering the move to 1:1 will have the opportunity to collaboratively learn together.
2. Top 1:1 educators will have the opportunity to share their insight and resources with other educators.
3. The day is FREE!

The purposes of the Iowa 1 to 1 Institute are to:

• help Iowa's 1:1 districts learn about innovative teaching, learning, and administrative practices that are occurring in each other's districts;
• build excitement and 'buzz' around 1:1 laptop computing initiatives in the state; and
• help others who are interested in 1:1 computing learn more about how to get started and be successful.

If you would like to attend, please register soon!  We are also looking for additional presenters for the day. Please contact me at njsauers@iastate.edu if you would like to present.

The Power of Collaboration

This week CASTLE launched the Iowa 1:1 Network.  CASTLE's guidelines for the blog are described as follows:

"You can post anything that you think would be helpful to the community. Random thoughts, questions for the community, planning documents, funding models, lesson plans, photos, videos, links to outside resources, podcasts, research reports, exciting things happening in your classrooms, nifty technologies, upcoming events - literally anything that you think would be of interest is welcome. Contributors can be administrators, teachers, other educators, parents, students, etc."

Although I realize that many of you may not be from Iowa, CASTLE's new blog can serve as a model of collaboration for other states and regions.  By creating a forum where anyone with a shared interest can collaborate with ease, CASTLE will help strengthen the one to one network of schools in Iowa.  Like most states, Iowa has very few one to one schools, and it may be easy for those schools to feel isolated and not maximize the potential of one to one.  Hopefully this blog will serve as a tool for educators to share resources and answer questions so that all schools benefit.  

Teaching should be ENHANCED with technology!

After I posted yesterday, I was able to continue the conversation about how technology can enhance learning and teaching.  My colleague Jamie Fath and I actually discussed this topic for much of our long ride home from Cedar Falls.  One model that Jamie brought up was also echoed by educator Matt Townsley in his response to the post. 

Both individuals recommended that I take a look at the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model.

This model does an excellent job of illustrating what needs to happen in order for enhanced learning to take place.  Many teachers seem to get caught up in one or two aspects of this model, but fail to connect all three. 

One article that Matt suggested does a nice job explaining TPACK.  Another resource that you may also want to take a look at is the  TPACK website.   

What Happens When Knowledge is Free?

I have previously posted about online education, and the possible future for our current schools.  Indicators point to a drastic change in how high school courses will be taught in years to come.  Another interesting phenomenon with online education has been happening in higher education, and it could have an impact on teachers and students.  That phenomenon is universities are posting entire courses online for anyone to take free of charge.

One course that I took a look at was a computer programming course.  This online course included all of the lectures, assignments, and the exams with solutions.  Education-Portal.com ranked the top ten universities with the best online courses and MIT was at the top of that list.  It becomes apparent after looking at the list that there are a huge variety of classes being offered from the universities.

So are the courses of high quality?

My review focused mainly on MIT which offers 1,800 free online courses.  The course that I viewed was taught by two professors with a combined 55 years of teaching experience at the college level.  Obviously, you would not have all of the benefits of actually being enrolled in the course at the university, but the courses are free!  Students who take the courses do not receive credit, and don't receive the support from the university that students who were enrolled would receive.  Even with these limitations, these free courses provide a pretty amazing opportunity for those who decide to take them.

Could this impact our K-12 schools?

I see two major impacts that this could have on our schools.  Professional development for teachers is one of the ways these courses could impact education.  These online courses may be an excellent, not to mention cheap, way for professional development to really become individualized for teachers.  Administrators could work with individual teachers or small teams to determine how to best use these online resources.

The second area that these free courses could benefit K-12 education is in increasing opportunities for students.  I'm not saying that students would just jump in and take an entire online course in place of one of their courses, although I do believe this possibility needs to be considered.  These courses could open doors to students that were otherwise unavailable.  MIT offers courses in Chinese, German, French, and Spanish.  How many schools currently offer those courses to their students?  Unfortunately, many schools feel handcuffed by state policies that dictate what courses can be taught and what actually constitutes a course.  A little less drastic step may be to use bits and pieces of lectures to enhance a course in which students are enrolled.  

In reading this, some people may be a bit concerned what this could mean for education.  There is a fear that students or educators will have decreased interactions with one another and not be engaged.  Hmmm....doesn't sound much different from many schools today.  It is also important to realize that teachers and students all have different learning styles.  If online courses can enhance a students education or give them opportunities they would otherwise be unable to have, shouldn't we try to give them those opportunities?

Connecting the Dots

I recently wrote about a workshop I attended with Will Richardson.  During that workshop, Will challenged us to stretch our thinking.  One thing he compelled us to think about was how well we were connecting our dots, where our dots were located, and how many dots we had connected.  (Hopefully, I didn't lose you yet!)  Will was referring to how well we were connected to one another and how well we shared our resources.

Wikinomics by Tapscott and Williams and Here Comes Everbody by Clay Shirky are two books that absolutely reinforce the message Will delivered.  Both books have great examples of how technology and the power of collaboration can help improve organizations, products, and processes.  As I read through those books and participated in the day long workshop with Will, I wondered how well one to one schools are doing at connecting the dots.

My observation is that one to one schools do a better job collaborating than most schools, but they still have a long way to go.  Nationally, fewer than 10% of schools are one to one.  This throws up a roadblock to collaboration because there aren't many one to one schools.  This will require schools to aggressively seek out and develop partnerships with other schools, even if they may not be geographically close to one another.

Leaders need to provide ways for teachers to collaborate with other one to one teachers.  If a Spanish teacher in town A has a great lesson, why should a Spanish teacher in town B not have access to that lesson?  My dream would be for a site, similar to Wikipedia, where one to one teachers could post their best lessons so other teachers didn't have to develop each lesson on their own.  It could also be a place where educators could collaborate with other educators in specific content areas.

Of course, another huge piece of the collaboration needs to occur between educational leaders.  Most of the work that I do with CASTLE is focused on this. CASTLE has developed a wiki where leaders are welcome to use and add resources that may be helpful for other one to one schools.  We will also continue to develop other tools that may help build and strengthen collaborative networks.  When that happens, I'll be sure to let all of you know.Visit our wiki and start connecting the dots today!

Students - your best allies and evangelists for your 1:1 program

In most schools, laptop initiatives start with a vision of improving student achievement, supporting 21st century education, and providing new opportunities for student-centered learning. Stakeholder meetings are held with a wide array of community leaders, business people, educators, parents, and others to gain community buy-in. However in many cases, the largest stakeholder group in a district is left out - students.

In most schools, students are over 92% of the people in the system, and they are certainly the ones most affected by any change. Yet we often overlook them when we plan and implement visionary efforts like going 1:1. This does not have to be - students, if allowed to participate, can be powerful allies and evangelists for your laptop revolution.

Any school-related change, be it technological or otherwise, needs people to feel that they have a sense of control and choice in the efforts. However, students are rarely asked to participate in these changes, and worse, are often seen simply as the objects of change. Including students in the rollout of your laptop program will provide them with a sense of mission and purpose. By allowing them to participate and voice their opinions about changes taking place in their school, their passion and attitude toward the laptops will have a profound effect on their peers, parents, and community at large. Reinforcing the belief that their voice and their actions are important, necessary, and valued creates students who will become empowered, global citizens of the 21st century. Yet this can't happen by itself. As anyone who works with youth knows, the process of learning to become a valuable team member and responsible citizen takes time. It also requires caring adults who supervise, teach, and mentor youth.

In our most recent Generation YES whitepaper, I discuss how students can be partners, allies, and powerful evangelists in any laptop initiative, and outline ways this can be achieved. I've collected many case studies from real schools where this is happening, from elementary, middle, and high schools. I invite you to download this PDF and share this free resource with your laptop team. Student Support of Laptop Programs (PDF)

Other free resources from Generation YES relating to youth empowerment via modern technologies can be found on our website.

For this post, I'll share a selection of these practical tips on including students in every aspect of your laptop initiative.

There are two basic ways students can participate and contribute to the planning and implementation of a laptop program:

1. Committees: Students can participate in technology planning committees, school site councils, technology security committees, or peer review committees. Adults often claim that including students in planning is risky, citing privacy concerns, lack of maturity, or difficult logistics. However, adults often forget that accommodations are made for them when they are included in such planning committees. Adults may or may not know anything about technology, they also have schedules to work around, and may not have been in an actual classroom for years if not decades. 

Having students participate in committee work is not only a wonderful learning opportunity for a student but creates a direct path for student feedback and point of view that is extremely beneficial to teachers and other adults. Adult guidance is key to making this student participation successful, since otherwise students may find the meetings long and the process tedious. A great way to prepare students for collaboration with adults is through role-play. Meet with students regularly prior to and after meetings to discuss progress and get their feedback.

2. Day-to-Day activities related to laptop support: Include students in various roles supporting laptop use. This can include basic technology support, teacher support, building classroom resources for teachers, or helping new users learn about their laptops. Student help can make the logistics of implementing your program run more smoothly and may also ease new users' anxieties. Assemble a student tech team before you begin your program in order to train them on the hardware and software, as well as to familiarize them with new policies. Once the laptop initiative becomes a reality, you will have an enthusiastic, trustworthy student team raring to go.

Tips for students participating in day-to-day laptop support

• Start with a smaller group and give them limited, well-defined tasks. Take the time to get to know the students and establish two-way trust.
• Reward their hard work with recognition, of course, but also more responsibility and trust. Find ways to challenge students intellectually and creatively.
• Anticipate strong student opinions. Encourage students to share their ideas. Students who are ardent users of technology will often have very strong opinions about certain  hardware, software, or operating systems. Include these students in discussions and decision-making when possible. While their strong opinions may be annoying at first, once won over, they can truly be your strongest allies!
• Create a student-centered team. As students show capability, allow them to take on leadership tasks including mentoring new students and planning. This will discourage hacking by creating ownership and understanding of rules and policies.

For more tips, ideas, and case studies of real schools where students support laptops, see the full Generation YES whitepaper, Student Support of Laptop Programs.

By Sylvia Martinez
President, Generation YES

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Using technology in the Classroom

A recent article in eSchool News highlighted a teaching model for using technology in education.  Although the article targeted higher education, it may also be a very simple guide for K-12 educators.  The article began with an interesting statement describing how educators view technology.  "Many view technology as simultaneously a transformative tool for teaching and learning and one that should be avoided where possible."  The Read, Reflect, Display, and Do (R2D2) model from the article is a tool that was designed to help educators faced with the dilemma of deciding how to use technology in the classroom.

The article goes into more details about each phase, but I have included brief excerpts from each of them.

Phase One: Read

The web contains countless resources for reading, researching, and listening. You can have your students discover and read online articles from open-access journals, expert web sites, or online portals.

Phase Two: Reflect

A natural next step is for students to blog about the concepts or ideas that they learned from their reading or listening activities. Such blogging might be done individually or in teams. Critical friends within the class or experts outside it might provide feedback on their blog posts. Your students might also read or track the blog posts of experts that relate to the topic of a class or program of studies.

Phase Three: Display

The third phase involves pictures, timelines, flow charts, diagrams, and films. Such resources can now be found online in nearly any discipline.

Phase Four: Do

The internet provides many paths to try out course content in a safe harbor.  Beyond simple reports or term papers, they might also compose their own books in Wikibooks or create class projects such as a glossary in a wiki (e.g., PBworks or Wikispaces). Students might also produce their own podcasts or podcast series or YouTube-like videos related to course content. They can also solve problems or simulations online.

When I look at education today, most educational systems seem to do a very good job at phase one.  We do have our students read, although I question the quality of many of the things that they read.  Technology gives us the opportunity to find resources that are much more rich than almost any textbook can offer. 

We don't do quite as well with the other three phases of this model.  If students are asked to reflect, many times it is not very meaningful, deep, or rich.  They may write a reflection in order to fulfill a course requirement, and they may receive a couple of comments back from the teacher, but they don't engage deeply with the topic.  This isn't true reflection for most students.

The article noted that in ten years visual content may represent the bulk of course resources.  The internet has amazing visual resources that could help students learn.  Educators could really make their classes more exciting and powerful for students by doing some work on this phase. 

The final phase in this process is the "doing" stage.  This may be where education struggles the most.  Nearly 85% of the tasks that students do in their classes are at the lowest end of Bloom's Taxonomy.  We need to change that number drastically, and eventually we need to have students completing more tasks toward the top of the pyramid.  Technology is an extremely powerful tool that can do just that by allowing students to create in hundreds of different ways.

You may want to take a look at the full article on this process for using technology in education.  It is fairly simple, and may provide schools with  a way to use a common vocabulary to use.

R2D2: A model for using technology in education 'Read, Reflect, Display, and Do' can help instructors leverage the internet's potential to help students learn
By Curtis J. Bonk  

Online Safety for Students

I post this with some apprehension because of all of the fear mongers involved with education and society.  Many people I speak with caution against bringing more technology into schools because of all of the "horrible" things that could happen.  Sexting, cyber-bullying, and online predators are just a few of the fears that exist with technology.  Although these fears are relevant, they should not get in the way of using technologies in schools.

We know that students spend a great deal of time outside of class connected to technology.  This is just another reason that, as schools, we need to take responsibility teaching our students about online safety.  If we fail to do that, we will be doing our students a big disservice.  Can we truly expect students to behave appropriately on the most powerful tool in the world without any guidance or training?

Like any sound initiative in education, we need to involve parents and teachers in this effort.  By developing that relationship, we may be better able to communicate and work with families on this tough topic.

A new booklet released by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with other government agencies, helps parents and teachers steer students safely through the online and mobile-phone worlds.  This booklet may be one resource to help both teachers and parents, and enable schools to develop a common language and curriculum on the topic.

Schools cannot ignore this topic any longer.  Curriculum and resources must be developed so that, as educators, we can take a systematic approach to teaching online safety.  We can't hope that it happens by chance in classrooms or at home by families without any guidance from schools.

Free Online Conference

K12 Online has offered a free on-line conference since 2006.  I discovered this conference through Wesley Fryer while attending his presentation at the Great Lakes Computing Conference.  The great thing about this conference is that it is FREE, and you can attend from anywhere.  The pre-conference keynote will be posted next Monday, and it will be followed by a live chat on December 4.  The presenter is Kim Cofino, and the session is entitled Going Global:  Culture Shock, Convergence, and the Future of Eduction.

I think it will be worth your time to take a look at the schedule for 2009.  There are various topics that could be very helpful for administrators and teachers who are continuously trying to grow professionally in this area.

Great Lakes 1:1 Computing Conference

I spent the last couple of days at the Great Lakes 1:1 Computing Conference in Chicago.  This was the first year of the conference, and it was fairly small.  I would imagine it will grow larger next year because of the quality of the conference.  The conference was designed for three separate tracks which allowed participants to focus on their area of interest.  Those areas were:

• Leadership
• Classroom Practice
• Infrastructure and Management

Because of the different strands, this would be an appropriate professional growth opportunity for an entire team from a school to attend.  Administrators, teachers, and technology staff would all have sessions of interest to them.

On my way out of the conference, I pulled out my flip camera and shot this short video as a reflection.

Evaluating Websites

With more information easily accessible to adults and students than anytime in history, information literacy has become an even more important skill.  The challenge of research today is generally not locating information.  Most students are able to easily navigate through the web to find lots and lots of information.  Today's challenge is evaluating the information once students have found it.

The Free Technology for Teachers blog has a list of nine sites that may be helpful for educators.  Information literacy skills should now be a prerequisite for any student who is conducting research.

While writing this article, I wondered what "informative" sites I could find out there that might not quite be up to par.  The Flat Earth Society is a great example of a site that looks great and has lots of scientific "evidence".  I'll leave you today with a statement from that site for your own evaluation.

"After spending over sixteen million dollars and using over 48 thousand yards of industrial strength strapping tape, we of the Flat Earth Society were able to construct an enormously powerful neurotransmitter that can implant suggestions directly into the brains of the nearby non-Flat Earthers. Having set it up just outside of the Russian Antarctic exploration post (Vostok), we are awaiting word that all three scientists and 174 penguins have been shown the light."

Survey Reveals Dissatisfaction with Current System

Project Tomorrow® recently released its Speak Up 2008 Selected National Findings.  The survey included responses from over 21,000 parents, 280,000 students, 29,00 teachers, and 3,000 administrators in all 50 states.  The results are very interesting, and indicate that parents and students don't believe that schools are doing a good job preparing students for the 21st century.  These results do not align very closely with the views of teachers and principals who had a much more positive view. 

Principals had the most positive view of schools, but still just over 50% believed schools were adequately preparing students for the 21st century.  Other interesting statistics are listed below:

    -1/3 of parents believed schools were doing a good job preparing students for the 21st century.

    -40% of 6th-8th grade students believed their schools were preparing them adequately for the challenges ahead.

 
I find the results of this survey powerful for a couple of different reasons.  First, even the group with the most positive views didn't have much confidence in the current system.  The other groups clearly don't believe that our schools are adequately preparing students.  Second, there is a wide gap between the perceptions of our school leaders and the other groups.  The people who will have to lead change in schools are most comfortable with the current status of the school.  It may be hard for them to truly be movers and shakers if they don't perceive that there is a problem.

The survey is full of information, and I would recommend that you take a look for yourself. 

Kotter Recap

Throughout the past week and a half, I have used Kotter's eight stage change process as a model framework for schools to consider if they decide to become a one to one school.  While taking a class with other administrators on leading change in schools, Kotter's book stood out to us as an excellent model to follow. Hopefully, you have found this series as a helpful guide as you navigate through the major issues related to a change as large as giving every student a laptop! 

Here are links to each of the posts.

    -Rock the Boat and Reform Education!

    -1 to 1 Schools Define Change in Education

    -Establish a Sense of Urgency

    -Create a Guiding Coalition

    -Develop a Vision and Strategy

    -Communicating the Change Vision

    -Empowering Broad-Based Action

    -Generate Short-Term Wins

    -Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change

    -Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture

    -Vision for the Future of Schools

  

  

Generate Short-Term Wins

Generating short-term wins is a pretty straight forward part of Kotter's eight stage process, but yet it is often overlooked.  I can say that as a principal, teacher, and coach, this step is something that I often overlooked.  As a big picture thinker, I failed to recognize all of the short-term wins that were all around me.  Unfortunately, failing to recognize short term wins can have dreadful results on your long term goal. 

Kotter lists three characteristics of short-term wins.

1)  It's visible; large numbers of people can see for themselves whether the result is real or just hype.

2)  It's unambiguous; there can be little argument over the call.

3)  It's clearly related to the change effort.

Communicate these wins to educational stakeholders so that everyone can see that there is progress being made.  By communicating and recognizing those wins, you will be much more likely to keep everyone on board for the long haul.

Empowering Broad-Based Action

In chapter one of Leading Change in Your School, Douglas Reeves writes about obstacles that at times get in the way of change.  The chapter is appropriately titled, "Pull the Weeds Before You Plant the Flowers."  Reeves talks about removing some of the barriers that may get in the way of change.  One way to go about removing those barriers is to take a close look at all of the initiatives that a school has implemented.  Reeves encourages schools to list all of the initiatives and programs that have started in the past five years.  He then tells schools to make another list of all of the initiatives and programs that have been discontinued in the past five years.  I'm sure all of you can guess which list is longer for most schools! 

Reeves-"Educators are drowning under the weight of initiative fatigue-attempting to use the same amount of time, money, and emotional energy to accomplish more and more objectives."

In Leading Change, Kotter also focuses on the obstacles that get in the way of change.  Those obstacles are structures, skills, systems, and supervisors.  All of us at one time or another have encountered those obstacles.  Some of us have probably even been one of those obstacles to change!

So how do we empower people to effect change? 

Kotter lists 5 key components

    -Communicate a sensible vision to employees

    -Make structures compatible with the vision

    -Provide the training employees need

    -Align information and personnel systems to the vision

    -Confront supervisors who undercut needed change

From conversations that I have had with one to one leaders, one of those components jumps out to me as being extremely important.  Providing the training that employees need has been a huge investment that has paid enormous dividends in the roll out of the one to one initiative.  It has eased stress, but more importantly it has given teachers the basic tools they need to be an effective educator in an educational landscape that looks much different.

In order to have sustained broad-based change, removing barriers is a very important starting point!

Develop a Vision and Strategy

Kotter defines vision as "a picture of the future with some implicit or explicit commentary on why people should strive to create that future."  In education, it is quite common to throw around mission and/or vision statements.  Those statements can be found posted all over most buildings, but yet they are somewhat meaningless to many.  Because most vision statements for schools are nearly identical, they become pretty meaningless.  A vision statement of "do good" would be just as effective as many current vision statements.

Jim Collins lists three basic elements that make up an organization's vision.

1) An organization’s fundamental reason for existence (often called its mission or purpose).

(2) Its timeless unchanging core values.

(3) Huge and audacious—but ultimately achievable—aspirations for its own future.

Kotters says that "If you cannot describe your vision to someone in five minutes and get their interest, you have more work to do in this phase of a transformation process."  That statement resonates strongly with me because your guiding coalition will be responsible for communicating the vision to stakeholders.  Without a strong vision statement, it will make the communication process very difficult.

I absolutely love that vision statement that the state of Maine has made.  It reads that "Maine students will be the most technologically literate in the world."  This statement is crystal clear, and it truly communicates one of the purposes of education in Maine.  In 2002 Maine put out an informational letter to schools stating the things that were required on each school's technology plan.  One of the criteria was a vision statement.  The expectations for the vision statement is listed here. 

Vision  - Establish a vision statement linking the tools of technology with areas such as curriculum content, instructional practices, professional development strategies, and enhanced services.

Maine's requirement is a good guide for schools.  The guide is very appealing to me because it ties the tools of technology to learning.  It doesn't just focus on technology for the sake of technology.

I must warn you that as you craft your vision statement, there are lots and lots of poor models out there.  Don't be one of the schools that create a boring blanket statement with no meaning! 

 

Create a Guiding Coalition

Creating a guiding coalition to work with throughout the development and then implementation of the one to one plan is critical in sustaining long term success as a school.  One of the most important parts of developing that coalition centers around the selection of the group.  Like any committee in education, it is important to decide who the stakeholders are that you need on board.  With a move as big as putting laptops in the hands of every student, all stakeholder groups should be represented on the guiding coalition.  That includes teachers, administrators, parents, students, board members, and business representatives.

One comment that I have heard from one to one administrators is that they wish they would have involved students more in the entire process.  These administrators shared that because they didn't involve students in the entire process, and students hadn't gone out and toured a one to one school, students were somewhat apprehensive about the move to one to one.  They were a little unsure what the move would mean for them.  If you can get students deeply involved in the process, they will promote the initiative with parents, grandparents, friends, and other community members.

In addition to finding the right people, creating trust and developing a common goal are the two additional components Kotter lists for developing a successful guiding coalition.  There is no single recipe for creating trust with a guiding coalition, but being transparent is a key to building that trust.  Another way to build trust is to be certain that committees truly are decision making bodies that contribute to the process.

The final component of creating guiding coalitions is developing a common goal.  The development of a goal that will stay with the school throughout the entire change process is very important.  When things get tough, having established a common goal will help your organization focus on what is important.  

1 to 1 Schools Define Change in Education

On my last post, I wrote briefly about change in education and Kotter's eight stage process of creating major change.  Kotter writes that successful change of any magnitude goes through all eight stages, usually in sequence although one normally operates in multiple phases at once.  He goes on to say that "skipping even a single step or getting too far ahead without a solid base almost always creates problems." 

I will focus my next posts on that eight stage process.  From conversations with readers, I realize that there are mainly two types of readers who follow this blog.  The first group is educators who currently are part of a one to one school, and the second group is made of educators who are considering being part of a one to one school.

Much of my knowledge on one to one schools comes from conversations that I have had with those individuals who have been deeply involved with that process.  My hope is that this next series on my blog focusing on change can become a blueprint for schools that are considering becoming a one to one school.  Don't be shy!  Please become part of the conversation by posting a comment. 

Rock the Boat and Reform Education!

Although there have been many changes in education in the past 40 years, the system as a whole looks very similar to the way it did 40 years ago.  Class schedules, assignments, teaching, and student engagement are very similar to the way they looked in the past.  Some will argue that education has changed, and I would agree to a point.  There has been a great deal of research, but much of that research has centered around traditional approaches to education.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard a veteran educator comment about how the new "fad" is the same thing that he did twenty years ago.  These fads seem to go out of style quickly when they are exposed to poor implementation or poor teaching.  Compared to business, industry, or medicine, the changes that have occurred in education are minuscule.

So how do schools change?

Not long ago, I was in a class with other administrators that focused on change in an organization.  One excellent book that we read for that class was Leading Change by John Kotter.  We joked that everything anyone needed to know about change was stated on page 21 of that book.  If you are serious about making change happen in your school, Kotter developed the best blueprint for the change process that I have ever found.  He breaks the change process into eight steps.

1)  Establish a sense of urgency.

2)  Create the guiding coalition.

3)  Develop a vision and strategy.

4)  Communicate the change vision.

5)  Empower employees for broad-based action.

6)  Generate short-term wins.

7)  Consolidate gains and produce more change.

8)  Anchor new approaches in the culture.

Following these eight steps could help schools ease the transition from schools of the past to modern schools that embrace technology.

Iowa 1 to 1 Schools Conference

On October 6, all of the one to one schools in Iowa met at the Iowa State campus to discuss various aspects of being a one to one school.  There were nearly 60 participants there including representation from the Iowa Department of Education, Electronic Crime Institute, Iowa State University, Area Education Agencies, Apple Computers, and numerous school districts.  It was extremely exciting to hear the schools talk about all of the successes that they have had already in the early stages of the implementation of the move to a one to one school.  Much of the day was spent collaborating with others and sharing ideas to make these one to one schools the best schools in the nation.  The CASTLE organization has committed to hosting resources for the schools as they move forward. 

Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation

If you haven't yet checked out the Anytime Anywhere Learning Foundation (AALF), I would strongly recommend that you take a look at their website.  The site is loaded with resources for 1 to 1 schools and prospective 1 to 1 schools.  One upcoming on-line course is entitled, "We've got laptops-Now What."  That course will be led by Karen Ward, and it will focus on best practices of highly effective 1-to-1 classrooms.

10 Tips for Technology in the Classroom

This YouTube video has 10 tips for using technology in the classroom.  Although the list doesn't encompass everything, there are some great recommendations.

PowerPoint to Death

As I was recently browsing Teacher Tube, I found a very humorous and insightful presentation by Don McMillan about PowerPoint presentations.  Many presenters and teachers assume that simply because they use PowerPoint their presentations will improve.  As all of us can attest, that simply isn't true.  Everyone has sat through countless presentations in which PowerPoint actually hurts the presentation.  I have recently read  PresentationZen, and I would strongly recommend that read to anyone who would like to improve their presentations.