As teachers we are constantly encouraged to incorporate more and more technology into our classrooms and lessons. This push is not without some footing. In the 21st century it is essential that we introduce new technology to our students in a positive way. Once you accept this as the new reality of our job you can begin to use the technology to your advantage. As teachers you have access to Learning Management Software, Free Websites, Web 2.0 tools, device operating systems and a host of other enhancements that all can play a role in your classroom. As a classroom teacher myself I was initially overwhelmed and wanted to expose my students to everything that was available to them, but my plan backfired and in the end my students mastered none of the technologies... so how do you decide which technology tools to use? St. John Vianney High School is a Google Apps environment a partnership with google to have access to the suite of Google Apps for Education that are available for free (if you meet certain criteria). This includes email service, google drive online storage, sites, and access to any other features that Google provides. I personally love this set up because I believe that Google has the right approach when developing technology. Their philosophy is to develop simple tools and give their customers the flexibility to use them in whatever situation they see fit. Now, Google may not be for you or your district but it is important to select a set of technology tools to use in your classroom or school. When I decide on technology I follow three simple rules: RULE 1: Always do what is best for your STUDENTS Many of these educational technology tools LOOK great and seem to serve the individual needs of all teachers, however when you really ask yourself if the technology will benefit the students you may find that more self-reflection is necessary. Using a certain tool in your class may look cool from the outside and teachers may walk by and say “wow! You are SOOO innovative!” But is to impress our co-workers really our mission as educators? Are the students benefiting from technology or is it for the benefit of the teacher? Always pick technology that benefits your student population... RULE 2: The technology must ENHANCE LEARNING not just replace it In the edtech world a new set of criteria has emerged to help guide teachers in how best to select technology and develop lessons around it. The SAMR Model provides a framework to evaluate your technology decisions and make changes when necessary. The four levels are: The lowest level of technology integration is SUBSTITUTION in which you are keeping the same lesson that you did on paper yet transferring it to a digital space. Example: instead of students taking in class written notes the students are now typing them. Besides allowing some students who may type faster than they write to feel more comfortable the technology did not improve the lesson at all. Where we want to get teachers and classrooms to is the MODIFICATION and REDEFINITION levels. At these levels students are learning new things because of the technology which they would not have been able to do without it. Example: Creating an online blog about a community problem that is shared with the world. These blogs are then shared with other classes throughout the city for comment, feedback, and possible implementation. Where previously a simple research paper on a community problem and solution would have worked has been ENHANCED to the REDEFINITION level through technology, learning that could not have been done without the tool. I always use the SAMR evaluation strategy when planning lessons and if I am not striving for the MODIFICATION level than I feel I am doing a disservice to my students. RULE 3: Become the master of some Tech tools NOT an amatuer of Many With so many tools available it may seem like you need to become familiar with as many as possible and implement them all. I would venture to say that is the wrong approach. As a teacher I do try out as many technology tools as I can and see if they follow the above two rules but when it comes to implementation in my class only a couple make the cut. As teachers if the number of technology tools is overwhelming to us...how do you think our students feel? Besides our class (which we all know is the most important!) they must also travel to 3-7 other classroom each day and deal with another teacher who is throwing 5-10 other technology tools at them. The whole process of school can be overwhelming. In my class I trained all my students in the effective use of “Google Drive” for writing assignments and research as well as weebly.com where my students maintain a class blog. These two tools have been drilled into them so many times that they are beginning to become the master of technology that I want them to be. I have also incorporated services like piktochart.com (infographic creation) and Lucidcharts.com (flow chart creation) but only on specific projects and in small amounts. In the end as part of the skills development aspect of my class I wanted my students to become masters of a couple of tools, not an amateur at dozens. The host of different technology tools that are available to use as teachers can be overwhelming that is why it is important to have a set of “firewalls” built in to our pedagogy to prevent “tech overload” for me those include:
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One of the greatest questions among educators is how to create lifelong learners of our students. These life-long learners are known as “intrinsically motivated learners” and like other intrinsically motivated people they want to learn more because they LIKE TO LEARN. Everyone is intrinsically motivated to do something with their life, for instance I enjoy riding my bike. While others might feel bored sitting on a metal contraption for 40 miles I enjoy the quiet, constant motion, and time to myself. I do not ride my bike to get anywhere or train for a cross country tour (although that would be cool!) I do it simply for the love of riding. Whether is be reading, playing video games, or competing in sports everyone is intrinsically motivated by their hobbies and interests. One of the goals of education is to harness that motivation for learning. With all this talk about convincing kids that they should ENJOY learning what are really doing to help them get their? Are we really providing the right environment to entice them to want to learn or are we just hoping they will want to while sitting quietly in rows? This brings up another type of motivation that sometimes has a bad reputation, extrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivation is an outside force that moves you to complete a task. We are far more familiar with extrinsic motivation than intrinsic because it is much more abundant in the world and in our field of education. Extrinsic motivation is when to provide a reward or consequence in order to entice the appropriate reaction out of the student. A prevalent example of this would be the use of a set of standardized grading criteria in your classroom. Part of the reason (please do not hate me teachers) students want to do well in your classroom or school is because they WANT to earn that “A+” in your class. That grade leads to a higher Grade Point Average which could lead to more college enrollment choices and for many students more merit based scholarship money. When students enter the workforce in jobs they hopefully love doing they will also be working to earn money, an extrinsic motivator. From rewards programs provided by retail stores to deadlines for properly filing your taxes extrinsic motivation plays just as much of a key role in the lives of our students as intrinsic motivation. New educational philosophy and practice are starting to accept that extrinsic motivation may have a positive role in education. These newer ideas are starting to include this crucial aspect of our adult lives in education. These new ideas, such as gamification, are combining extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in the classroom in the hopes that students will find what interests them (in a classroom setting) and molding content learning around those interests. A perfect example of this marriage of motivations is the concept of Genius Hour. The idea that students use 20% of their class time to design their own projects based on what they are interested in. These projects are published, shared, and collaborated on showing the power of intrinsic motivation in the classroom. If you want to see some excellent examples of genius hour see Jillian Hoge’s Genius Hour blog post and what her students were able to create in just eight short classroom sessions. Another example is Gamification in which video game aspects such as progress tracking and reward systems help motivate students to dive deeper into content. As we move deeper into the digitally driven 21st century let us remember the power of BOTH intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. True educators know that no student learns in only one way. It is our job as educators to find what interests our students and use that information to create the connections between those ideas and the ideas we want them to master. Through the marriage of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation this is truly possible.
During the 21st century technology revolution schools have a very difficult decision to make. They must decide what role technology will play in their school as well as what course of adaptation they will take. It is easy to say from an outsiders perspective that giving each student a device will give students the ability to use technology in education, but is that the right strategy? A few strategies have come to prominence during these turbulent times that need to be discussed. Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) BYOD is based on the idea that in the United States each student has access to a basic computing device and that some school systems do not have the resources to supply each student with a device as well as the technology support for hundreds of those devices. In the United States 55% of citizens own a smartphone and 42% own a tablet device (Pew Research). This adoption technique asks that each student purchase and bring their own device to school. These devices have to meet certain requirements and may even be from a list of brands that has been school approved. The role of the school is to provide technical support while on campus as well as Wireless access and security to the students who are part of the BYOD program. There are some strengths and weaknesses to the BYOD system including: Strengths:
1:1 Device Adoption The 1:1 system is a much more involved system of adoption. In this system the school district is seen to go “ALL-IN” and adopt a single device for each student in the school system. The school system then purchases the devices and loans the device to the student for the year (1 student: 1 device). These devices are pre-loaded with applications that the student will need for the year as well as software for security. These devices are serviced by the school system most likely by a dedicated technology specialist in the building. The devices are owned by the school system who has a contract with the device manufacturer for regular maintenance and updates on a regular basis. This system also has its costs and benefits: Strengths:
Teacher Deployed System The teacher deployed system is the combination of the two previous systems that does not require a school system to adopt a single device or rely on students to properly maintain their own devices. The teacher deployed system has a school system build mobile computer carts that can be “signed out” by teachers for periods of time. These computer carts might be multiple carts of the same device or may be multiple types of devices each with its own cart. There will not be enough computers for each student to be working at the same time but enough for a large percentage of teachers to be connected at the same time. This may 1 device for every 2-5 students. In addition each department within the school system makes a recommendation as to which device works best for their subject area. Much like the other systems this strategy has its own strengths and weaknesses: Strengths:
Each system has its own strengths and weaknesses and it is the job of an effective school administrator as well as a trusted technology committee to come up with the system that is right for their situation. Only through the successful integration of technology into our 21st century classrooms will our students be prepared for their tech driven lives outside of the classroom.
In the past decade the revolution in education has produced some amazing change in our classrooms. It seems that although for decades schools were behind in technology integration and effective implementation in the last five years a critical mass of technology minded educators has been reached, and CHANGE IS HAPPENING. New “millennial” teachers combined with a growing group of veteran teachers who are changing their practice is shifting the educational landscape towards acceptance of new technologies and the idea that it is okay to try new things in our profession. Personally I think one of the most dangerous mindsets in education is, “...because that is how we have always done it.” Luckily for our students and their families we are seeing the retirement of that mentality for a more adventurous and growth based mentality. These changes in ideas and practices are spreading throughout our profession but what can we do to share this growth and change with the outside world? How can we effectively share that growth and change are happening in a responsible way? With all of these schools doing amazing things it is important for them to develop a method to effectively share their version of success. This process known as “Brand Development” allows schools to establish a sharable identity with the world. A school’s brand is much the same as a private company’s brand, think of the distinguishing characteristics of Coca-Cola, Apple, or Google. When you read those words very specific images, phrases, and concepts instantly pop into your head. Having your brand instantly recognized and associated with key positive ideas can be a powerful tool in a school’s arsenal. Now before you go out and design your school’s first functional website and require all teachers to have a instagram or twitter account it is important to develop an effective branding strategy across all platforms. According to Richard Hanna (2011) in the article “We’re all connected: The Power of the Social Media Ecosystem” an effective branding effort consists of a two step process of developing a unique message and then improving your owned, paid, and earned media presence around the message. the first aspect asks the school to identify the key characteristic or idea that distinguishes your school from your competitors. Once you identify that idea then you must be consistent in promoting that idea through your already existing media presence as well as expanding your presence into new fields. As a private school educator in a highly competitive market this idea of effective branding is especially important. St. John Vianney High School is a Catholic school in a city (Saint Louis) that is known for its large Catholic population and MANY options for Catholic education. In this market five major high schools compete for the male population of Saint Louis. In this market even the smallest edge could result in huge returns over the course of a student’s four year career. In the conference no school has as aggressively approached branding as Vianney. The branding effort started with identifying the key characteristics of the school and then relentlessly promoting those characteristics. Our new branding campaign (released August 2014) touts that Vianney educates “Men of Character & Accomplishment.” With this new brand a new website was designed, print media was modified and distributed on a regular basis, and the teachers were engaged in promoting this idea via their own media tools. The teachers of Vianney have latched onto social media as a key tool for their classrooms and the professional development. This gave the school the ability to share this message with more people than they would be able to do just by itself. The effective implementation of a school’s branding effort requires that it be based on a unique and sharable message. This message needs to be shared using all available media from owned media, to paid media, and earned media. As long as the media is consistent with the school’s overall mission and brand then a school can share all the great things they are doing for the 21st century students.
On a cold morning in early December 41 sophomore students gathered around a table of light breakfast before the journey ahead. They had all been prepped for this day for a few weeks now and after the long wait it was finally here. A few weeks before I had talked about this amazing museum not to far from their homes in Saint Louis Missouri. Only four hours away was the World War I museum at Liberty Memorial in Kansas City. The Liberty Memorial is a large park and memorial to the Veterans and fallen of WW1 from the Kansas City area that was finished in 1926. Since its opening the museum has become more and more of a National symbol of the "The Great War". In 2004 a museum opened underneath the memorial in a subterranean space. This museum houses thousands of artifacts from The Great War including exhibits about specific topics and a research wing. The expansive museum is staffed by volunteers who give guided tours of the facility and can answer any questions about the museum or the war itself. As a student of the University of Missouri-Kansas City I had visited the museum several times and spent hours looking at all the small pieces that made up The Great War. I remember being shocked and amazed at the expansive collection and the personal stories that were being told. I vowed that one day I would take my classes to experience those same feelings. In the fall of 2014 I had an opportunity to do just that. I called up the museum and was amazed at how easy it was to set up a group tour for my class. After I had everything set up I sold it to my classes. As any teacher will tell you students are always willing to get out of the traditional classroom environment for a whole day regardless of what it entails. I knew this, but still I was overwhelmed with the enthusiastic response from my students. Due to limited funds I could only take a maximum of 45 students and I told them I would take first come/ first serve. This challenge led to a mad rush to see who could turn it in first (I had students run out to their parents cars after school to have it signed and returned it before I left the same day!) This unexpected response made me very excited about the trip. Over the course of two weeks I received 41 permission slips to go on the trip. The trip itself would be an exhausting endeavor, leaving at 7:30am to take a four hour bus ride to Kansas City, spend four hours touring, and ending with another four hour trip back to Saint Louis, expected arrival time -- 8:30pm! The pictures below show much of the museum and the experiences by my students that day but for the most part the day can be characterized by smiles and hurried gestures for me to come see or explain some artifact that my students had found. In order to help organize and archive the event the trip embraced technology instead of rejected it. Students were encouraged to use smart phones to help research any questions they had, as well as social media such as "twitter" to compose tweets and take pictures of the day. The collection of photographs and experiences (see below) are something that would not be possible without technology and buy-in from many people. Technology helped the students review the large amount of information they were exposed to over the course of the day. A VERY long day for the students and the four faculty members who accompanied me but definitely a day that these students will remember forever, and as teachers is that not what we are supposed to do? Create experience that make a life-long impression? Do you really think that students are going to remember sitting in their desk and say to themselves, "gee wiz I am so happy we are sitting quietly today! WOO-HOO!" The days I remember from school were days of laughter, excitement, and innovation. So if you want to help your students connect with your content and create some excitement for those topics that you love so dearly explore the concept of letting your students explore and even maybe taking them on a trip. The WW1 Museum and Liberty memorial are very welcoming to class and school groups. Click here for more information - Educators & Students Page
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Brandon LewisMy name is Brandon Lewis and I am a high school history teacher in St. Louis Missouri. I practice the art of teaching at St. John Vianney High School. Archives
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