When Fifth Graders Make Websites For Fun

Today our lower school principal sent me a text that said "Some fifth graders have something they want to show you." I was intrigued but also a little nervous. After I made it to the office I was given a slip of paper with a web address on it: https://sites.google.com/view/lava-studios-comics/la-va. There are times in your life you are just so proud and blown away by students and in this case I had absolutely NOTHING to do with this. Five of our students created a website to host comic strips they have created in their free time. I was so impressed that I interviewed two of the students (Aiden and Brody) this afternoon on what they had done:

Being a preK-12th grade school, we are currently working to create a profile for the technology skills we want a graduate to have. This endeavor that these students took on that wasn't even part of their curriculum is a prime example that we are no longer teaching the same type of students we have in the past! These students used classical art skills and creative writing skills and turned them into a contemporary format. 

When I look at the major headings of technology skills we are wanting a graduate to have I look at the why, how, and what these 5 fifth graders have created and I can't help but want to put a check mark by everything. And lets not loose sight of the fact that this was all because they wanted to! If you listen to their video you see we not only have innovators but also potential entrepreneurs on our hands. To see today's young students using technology creatively as positive digital stewards in a globally reachable world makes my heart happy. I helped them think about some digital safety measures they might want to take and they have already made those changes. Why? Because it's what they WANT to do with their free time. 

Read the following goals we are currently working on for technology integration student standards (that have been adapted from the ISTE Student Standards) and see what you think these students have accomplished:

CCS Technology Integration Standards for Students

1. Empowered Learner

As truth seekers students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning modalities.

2. Digital Stewards

Students recognize the rights, responsibilities and opportunities of living, learning and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal and God honoring.

3. Knowledge Constructor

Students critically curate with responsibility and discernment a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.

4. Innovative Designer

Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions.

5. Computational Thinker

Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions with integrity.

6. Creative Communicator

Students communicate clearly and express themselves creatively for a variety of purposes using the platforms, tools, styles, formats and digital media appropriate to their goals.

7. Global Collaborator

Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively as Christ-centered critical thinkers.

Requiring Edtech

I'm in an edtech conundrum. I've been looking at student and teacher standards posted by the leading educational technology society in the world (ISTE). While my edtechie heart says "Yes, finally!" my realistic teacher heart says "These are too technology centered to become widely accepted." It doesn't surprise me. The balance of what looks like edtech integration and what doesn't is a fine line I have been trying to interpret for years! Add to the fact that it is a fast moving target. Technology changes tend to be fast yet we are in a slow moving industry - education. Technology is always changing and the relevancy of what I should be can easily be outdated from year to year at our school.

Educational technology is a fluid thought- new hardware and software floods the market constantly. Once edtech rolls off the assembly line it is somewhat outdated. It's just the nature of the technology beast. So how does the edtech culture create standards for usage that should last at least 5 and no more than 10 years and it be both relevant and cutting edge at the same time? Better yet, how does my technology department come up with a philosophy of instructional technology integration and integration expectations in this ever changing culture? Should we create expectations that lead to growth or should we set minimum expectations? Should the technology department at my school be making these decisions in an edtech echo chamber or should the curriculum leaders also be a part of these ongoing discussions and decisions? Silo thinking rarely leads to meeting the needs of the vast, just the viewpoints of the few tend to be represented.

The next heavy weighing conundrum in the ever changing world of edtech is how do we decide on what's best for our school in a flood of so many choices? I get hung up on the idea of whatever I choose may be less desirable a month from now. How often is changing and reassessing necessary and needed? And how do you find the balance between status quo to prevent extra work on teachers and moving forward for the greater good? Because regardless, the front end of new technology adoption always leads to more work.

I want to support and lead our school to get the most out of technology but I also want our teachers and staff to know I support their need for consistency as well. The conundrum is ongoing in my head for my school but as I assess and reflect on the changing ISTE standards with others in my PLN, I realize I am not alone. There is both comfort and frustration in that.

Staying Educationally Relevant in Instructional Technology

Five years ago ISTE posted Technology Coach standards on their website with the following description "Technology coaches help bridge the gap from where we are to where we need to be. The ISTE Standards·C describe the skills and knowledge they need to support their peers in becoming digital age educators" (http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-coaches). In the past few days I have been thinking about the future of educational technology at my school and what that support should look like. I have in my mind what I think would look best but I realize I'm often too close to the forest to see the trees. 

It has always been my goal for technology integration to look seamless in a classroom. And to be honest, it has taken a while for me to see that happen. There is a natural learning curve with integration and overcoming newness. I think back to my first year and see so much leading with the technology. I feel like I've grown tremendously through the process of supporting my peers in becoming digital age educators. 

This may sound completely wacky but one of the ways I became a better technology coach was by some soul searching of seeing myself as an innovation coach instead of tech coach. I realized it was my job to help teachers integrate technology but I also feel like it is my job to find the best tool at hand to meet the need, to teach the skill, to support the learning. Sometimes...that is modeling clay or a poster board, or a robot. More often than not, it may be all of the above depending on the student. 

Just like I've learned that innovation doesn't have to be technology, I've learned that technology doesn't have to look cookie cutter- nor should it. Meeting administrators, teachers, and students at their point of need and moving them forward in their technology knowledge is the goal. Like anything in life, everyone won't land in the same place each time. The goal is to keep on moving forward even when it's two steps back and one step forward.

I'm at a place where I look at what has been deemed the needed standards for technology coaching 5 years ago and still see gaps. It is my desire for technology not to be seen as a stand alone entity working in a silo room somewhere on campus. But this becomes a paradigm shift from what has been the norm for so many years. Technologists speaking into pedagogy seems like heresy to some. 

Am I to follow and be held to the ISTE coaching guidelines of best practice that include:

1. Visionary leadership
2. Teaching, learning, and assessments
3. Digital age learning environments
4. Professional development and program evaluation
5. Digital Citizenshp
6. Content knowledge and professional growth

If so, there has to be some changes. We are at a crossroads in education in the way we, as a society, view what technology integration and philosophy should look like (and should it look differently in different schools? Grade levels? Classrooms?)  More precisely we are at a crossroads as to who does what, supports what, controls what, and is seen as an expert at what? Instructional technologist must be valued, respected and admitted into the inner decisions of curriculum in order to not always feel like their job is an "us against them" mentality and putting out the largest fires everyday. 

Bridging the Curriculum and Technology Gap

I'll be honest 5 years ago I had no idea what ISTE or ASCD were. I was a content part-time elementary computer teacher asking kids not to peck during keyboarding and throwing in some Microsoft Office Suite skills for the future. I was plugging along happily allowing my students to have the last ten minutes of class to play "games" like Rockner's Bad Day, Scratch, and Paint. Life was simple if not a wee bit boring.

Even before I started teaching, "Oregon Trail" was a very engaging video game in 1971 for students to learn basics about the east-west emigrant route. It didn't replace the need for a lot more direct instruction for students to learn the ins and outs of the expansion to the west  though. Much like the Oregon Trail scenario most technology-based options were not robust enough to be an integral part of a curriculum in any course we taught. But times they are a changing!

Here we are in 2016 and software is becoming adaptive to student learning, more robust in its offerings, easier to gather data from, and a cost efficient alternative to textbook adoptions or the software/app is completely inline with adopted textbooks. Times are changing. Who looks at what resources drive classroom instruction is changing too. The pool of lookers is growing- both technologists and curriculum specialists bring value to these conversations.

In a recent twitter chat I said "a4b: I also think in the future the lines will become more and more blurred between tech and curriculum #tntechchat." It's something that crosses my mind regularly. As more technology is part of the curriculum of the classroom, more and more curriculum-based questions are asked of me. I've thought long and hard about a doctorate in curriculum to prepare for this shift. Interestingly, the same night I posted the above tweet, I saw a curriculum specialist with the same worries I have- becoming obsolete because of a lack of skills set. For him, his fear was he wasn't tech savvy enough. It was an "aha" moment for me. What does this mean for the future of curriculum leadership? I think more slowly than it should, technology integration classes will be a big part of curriculum education programs. 

Don't even get me started on what the "perfect" librarian, STEM coordinator, or even teacher evaluation criteria should look like. Tech is changing the typical skill sets needed to prepare students for the future- whether we like it or not.

But what about the here and now? How do we who are in the workplace remain relevant and continue to grow into the roles as they progress? I fear being an SMH educator. What's that? "Shaking My Head" educator. You know what I mean. You read a tweet, an email, hear a dissenting remark that just makes you shake your head at the personality. The one so far in the past or so caught up in themselves they can't see value in lifelong learning, acceptance of change or personal/educational growth. 

Do I have fears, sure do. I see technology getting so broad in what it can do that it is becoming harder and harder for me to feel like I can support it. I am an instructional technologist without a computer science background and I have no coding skills. Is this going to be the future of my job? In my world it's important to stay on the cusp of understanding of what's out there. It's almost every day that I get pleasantly surprised by some platform or software that I didn't know existed that can meet a need that I currently see in my school. Staying on the bleeding edge of knowledge is an anxious place to be. Wondering if you are suggesting the best scenarios that will last for at least a few years is a constant thought pattern. Being relevant is huge. 

I am thankful for working with a team of educators both within my district and on social media that helps me flesh out who I am and where I'm going. It's a rollercoaster ride of morphing curriculum and needs constantly!

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Bringing Tidbits Home From #ISTE2015

As I look through all the things I learned about at ISTE 2015, here is my top list of "MUST USE ASAP" options. Some of these are "where have you been all my life" type things, others are "Wow, that answers issues I've had for a while," still others are "now that is filling a need I see on a regular basis!"

www.photosforclass.com

HERE IT IS! A filtered safe place for teachers and students to go search for photos for presentations and the citing information appears at the bottom of the photo at download! No more

excuses-seems safe, effective, and the database seems sufficient. We spend time teaching our students how to cite work proficiently, this helps!  

Math Shake iOs App

Math Shake - Problem Solving Through Word Problems- aimed at 9-11 year olds, but great for any student that struggles with learning how to discern the needed versus extraneous facts in a problem in order to solve. There are six levels to meet 6-14 year olds needs!

1 Second Every Day iOs phone app

This app appeals to me as a teacher that wants to record the awesomeness of my school year and to share with my parents. You take one photo/video a day of your choice and at the end of the year you have a chronicle of your school year to share with others. What parent wouldn't enjoy seeing their child's "second grade journey"? I am definitely going to use this to chronicle my tech coaching opportunities throughout the school year. It will allow me a unique way to show the positive technology integration being done at my school for the stakeholders to see.

TOUCHCAST

Touchcast is a video studio and editor. A Touchcast video is web browsable and alive. It has green screen and teleprompter capabilities. I plan on using it this year to create some instructional "how to" and "look at this!" videos regarding educational technology.

RWT TimeLine App

RWT TimeLine app is a timeline app that "allows you to create a graphical representation of events or processes sequentially along a time line." What I like about this app is that it has a "drag and drop" function if something is added out of order and you can add images as well. I've been in search for a great timeline app for a while- I think this one may be the answer. Free in iTunes store.

www.educanon.com

www.eduCanon.com allows teachers to flip classrooms or share video instruction interactively! At any point, a video can be stopped and assessed for understanding. "Use video to differentiate and engage, promote self-paced learning with pause & rewind."

www.newsela.com

Common core means building reading comprehension with non-fiction reads. Newsela meets that way for your classroom and allows the easiest way to differentiate I have ever seen. Pick the students reading level for a daily news article and go! Current events just got intentional.

Being a Connected Educator at ISTE- What a Difference a Year Can Make!

Last year I came to ISTE and had no personally face to face connections. I didn't really use Twitter chats much, I didn't blog on a regular basis, I wasn't seeking my professional learning network for help often. I sat alone in a big room at the keynote and gleaned loads of really awesome information but I was a silo'd educator lonely in a crowd. I would see faces and names I knew from Twitter but I didn't "know" anyone.

What a difference a year makes! This year, due to regularly participating in Twitter chats like #ChattTechChat, #TnTechChat, #BYOTChat, #GwinChat, #SatChat, etc I have Twitter "friends" that I truly want to connect with face to face while at ISTE this year. By being a constant blogger in the EdTech community, there are people that want to connect with me as well. By being part of the planning committee for #EdCampGigCity in Chattanooga, Tennessee I have another source of connection to many attending ISTE as well.

Last year, I roamed from room to room gathering information and learning but this year I gather and learn with friends! This year, I'm able to backchannel things I've heard around a table at supper with likeminded individuals. This year, I am able to discern which sessions might be most beneficial to me based on the fact that I follow these individuals on Twitter and know what their passions and points of interest are as well. This year, being a more connected educator has made my ISTE experience more interactive and rewarding.

So when I tell you why you should join social media educational communities such as Twitter (or Voxer, or Facebook, or Pinterest, or a myriad of other options that might spark your interest more than one mentioned here) don't "p-shaw" me and cluck at me like I don't understand true learning and pedagogy, just stand back and watch and be awed like I am today. Striving not to be a silo'd teacher has magnified my ability to reach out to others at ISTE to get answers to take back to my school.

Being an ISTE newbie last year was a little overwhelming, http://techhelpful.blogspot.com/2014/07/what-i-learned-at-iste2014-i-am-little.html, yet extremely rewarding. I have no doubt what I will take away from ISTE this year will be even greater do to my desire to connect to more educators in this last year. As educators, we know that connections to our students matter, it shouldn't come as a surprise to us that the same rules apply to ourselves. I challenge you to go out there, meet people, ask questions, curate information, follow and lead so you can go back home ready to set your educational community on fire with enthusiasm and innovation!