The Value of Relevant Learning

Our school's professional development focus for this year is on assessment. As we have been talking about what good assessment looks like I have been thinking about my own life and what assessment looked like as well. This week:

• There was a focus on looking at the data analytics when using the LMS Canvas.
• There was a focus on the value of formative assessment for both students and teachers.
• There was a focus on "Purposeful Work" that supports our Graduate Profile.

I think it is fair to say that assessment can be relevant for teacher feedback in a myriad of ways. A well-written multiple choice test can give a teacher an immediate snapshot of the learning happening in their classroom. This week I shared with our teachers that I believe we are in a period of time that assessing is easier than ever before. Due to technology, we can now know before our students even leave the door for the day what they learned from the day's lesson. Creating quick digital assessments not only lets teachers know how to prepare the course for the next day but with a little training it can also let students know what they need to focus on for the next day as well. I hear a lot of pushback about differentiating and personalization on social media but quite honestly research shows that the use of formative assessments can truly have a transformable impact for students. Teachers have been doing the "show me a thumb up/thumb down- did you get this?" assessment for a long time. With the technology available many classrooms have today, digital formative assessments are both easy to create and accomplish for your students. I'm a big proponent of knowing if your students are grasping the concepts along the way instead of learning they didn't when they take a summative assessment at the end of a unit.

But today we see a big push towards relevant learning or what we now call "purposeful work" at CCS. This can look like many things. For instance, community-based projects, project-based learning/problem-based learning, authentic learning are all things that make students engaged in the learning process. The fear for many educators is that they don't know for sure if their students are truly learning the concepts expected of them. While rubrics and inquiry-based learning feels purposeful, many of our teachers can't help but think "But I know they are going to be tested at the end of the year. What if learning gains aren't achieved with this type of assessment?" 

I personally feel that's where the beauty of digital formative assessment can play a game-changing role. You have objectives you are trying to reach. You also are guiding your students through the process of purposeful work. Knowing daily what they have gained in this process and who you need to have chats with during the process can be attained through this type of assessing. 

I turn 50 next month and I am at that place where I don't remember a lot of the details of my k12 education. I remember people, shocking events, or big happy things but the process of learning...not so much. I will always remember one thing that has stuck with me for all these years that was relevant to my life at that time. I was in a dual-enrollment English class and was asked to write a persuasive open letter to anyone of my choice. There was a newsletter that went out to parents that had really rubbed me the wrong way so my open letter was to our school principal. I saw it as an assignment but my teacher chose to highlight in class because it impacted everyone in the class and because he felt it was well written. That letter changed how I saw myself as a writer. I knew if I felt passionate about something I had the ability to write it in a way that could have a positive impact. 

Relevant learning has the ability to inspire learners for their future. After a rollercoaster ride of various careers, I sit here today being someone that blogs about education on a regular basis. Not only do I share helpful tips about tech integration but I try to focus on the "why." I feel certain that moment back in 12th grade at Hixson High School has a lot to do with it. I was empowered by that moment. I remember being mortified when I realized the teacher was actually reading my letter. You see, I was a fairly quiet student so when he was done, no one could guess who had written it. The letter led to a great classroom discussion and gave me the feeling of educational respect from my peers that I had not experienced before. I was definitely not the smartest student in that class but on that topic, I was the most passionate. Relevant learning has the ability to stick with us, to mold us, and to empower us for something later on. 

So I guess I am writing this post to ask you to not give up on teaching differently. It doesn't mean you can't still assess your students in ways that feel more beneficial to you as a teacher- use formative assessment to know if students "get it" but look for ways that they can also "take it."

Food for thought: Do you remember the details of any multiple choice test you ever took? 

Educators as Learning Catalyst Analysts

Analyst- Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving their learning goals. Educators:

• Provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate competency and reflect on their learning using technology.
• Use technology to design and implement a variety of formative and summative assessments that accommodate learner needs, provide timely feedback to students and inform instruction. 
• Use assessment data to guide progress and communicate with students, parents and education stakeholders to build student self-direction. (ISTE Standards for Educators, 2016)

As a parent of two daughters that really struggle with test anxiety, I am thankful that technology can often create opportunities for alternative ways to assess. Having students create presentations of their learning allows for alternatives to the traditional formative and summative assessments of "test day." Creating rubrics can both guide students in understanding what they will be responsible for learning as well as creating an upfront knowledge of what will be assessed and how. As a sometimes Type A personality I have a daughter that truly does better on any paper or project if the parameters for expectations and evaluation are laid out clearly. Technology can aid in that.

One of the major efficiencies for technology in the classroom is in relation to digital assessments. Technology used for grading assessment gives faster feedback than ever before. Self-grading assessments, speed graders like in the Canvas LMS, and the ability to see all answers in one place allows educators the opportunity to truly use assessment data to guide their instruction not just to evaluate learning of the instruction.

Digital assessments create a series of data points that can readily be evaluated for individualized purposes. This can mean anything from competency based mastery path individualized learning plans to adjusting whole classroom instruction to best meet the classroom needs for the next day due to assessment results. Digital assessments allow for quick responses to all stakeholders- students, teachers, and parents. If it is in the form of formative assessments, it can show gaps or weaknesses that need more attention before a summative assessment takes place.

In today's world of adaptive software that adjusts to student learning, algorithms can serve the role of analyst for the educator while the educator spends more time in collaborator, designer, and facilitator  roles as learning catalysts described in the ISTE Standards for Educators.

The Future of Education...and the role edtech will play

Sometimes I feel like I know things other people just don't get. I know that sounds vain, but this has nothing to do with my intelligence and more to do with what I do for a living. I'm an instructional technologist and anyone in my position worth a grain of salt has to be aware of what is down the pike...and I know, or at least I have an inkling. And I'll admit it both excites me and scares me.

Yesterday morning before heading to the Tennessee STEM Innovation Summit that I am currently attending, I sat in on a meeting where we announced to our middle school that we were going to pilot the LMS Canvas for next year. Let me just say that they are a great group of educators that have a strong sense of adaptability that is amazing. I believe it has a lot to do with the fact they are teaching middle schoolers that want to be treated like children one minute and adults the next!

One of the questions that was asked was "Why not Google Classroom?" and quite honestly for some of our teachers I do believe it would be the best solution for what they are currently doing. But here is the part where I feel like I am "in the know." Education is not going to remain in it's current state. The digital revolution is happening. Integrating technology will no longer look like presenting with a visual that might even be locked down on all the 1:1 devices. Digital revolution means meeting individual student needs with more feedback.

The last few years of tech integration have been messy. That is definitely no lie. The tool has been there and edtech company's have raced to create platforms to meet classroom needs. Some have done it well and some resoundingly have not. School's have adopted, adapted, trashed, and rethought the process of education over and over again. At our school we have looked in the framework of what is antiquated, what is classic and should be kept, and what contemporary way can we do education better?

I believe we are going to see major changes in formative assessments and I believe that schools will have to adapt to them because they will be game changers. This morning I saw this:

- Zoomi, a performance optimization data analytics company, and Canvas by Instructure today announced a partnership that integrates Zoomi's powerful predictive and prescriptive analytic tools with Instructure's innovative and award-winning learning platform. This new relationship will empower educators to greatly enhance learning and increase student achievement and proficiency.

Central to the partnership is the analysis of behavior patterns, based on Zoomi's existing algorithms and analytics, that can predict learning outcomes with greater accuracy and adapt pathways.  These insights paired with Canvas, an adaptable and customizable state-of-the-art LMS for K-12 schools and higher education institutions, will provide students with personalized learning programs that can immediately impact achievement gaps. Zoomi's analysis of cognitive, motivational and behavioral data allows real-time, automated, AI-based personalization of content for a truly individualized learning experience.

"Learning institutions choose Canvas for its flexibility and ease of use. And now with the addition of Zoomi analytics, content developers and educators will be able to tailor learning to the preferences of each student," said Caroline Brant, Director of Client Success at Zoomi.  "By providing content based on the specific strengths and needs of individual students, educators are able to maximize student comprehension and engagement."

"The partnership with Zoomi allows us to provide our customers with deeper, actionable insights into student performance," said Melissa Loble, Vice President of Partnerships and Platform at Instructure. "This enhancement to Canvas will provide the online learning community with new ways to improve teaching and learning."

As schools, we must decide what disciplines this will impact in our classrooms. We must decide how far will we allow AI (artificial intelligence) into the educational setting and more importantly into our world. Boundaries need to be placed by our culture to make sure it is morally and ethically used but that being said, the next step in logic branching questions is an exciting time. 

I love that education is working towards personalization so that we can meet all students' needs. This is the future of education. To what extent remains to be seen. Technology will always be a tool but it also has the ability to be a medium of learning itself. How are educational institutions going to leverage this in a way that benefits the relational aspect of education that is key to creating lifelong learners? 

What Should First Year Teachers Know About Tech Integration?

I recently participated in a #TnTechChat Twitter chat moderated by @TeachTnTech regarding Technology skills needed in preservice teachers. For many of us in the chat we felt that new teachers are not necessarily entering the workforce equipped for a tech-rich classroom. There were a few higher education professors in the discussion that gave a bit of insight into how slowly changes in curriculum often happen in higher Ed courses.

At the end of the chat I shared the following tweet: "I know I'm biased but I think teacher prep students should be aware of blended learning, value of PLN and recent buzzwords to explore." Apparently this tweet resonated with many educators on Twitter because it got an over abundance of love. As this week has progressed I find myself thinking on the subject a lot, and this blog post is a more thought out list of technology knowledge I think preservice teachers should be aware of before entering the workforce:

Blended learning. Technology allows for teachers to have more small group and one on one instruction, something all teachers find value in. Understanding the dynamics, classroom management and benefits of blended learning needs to be on the new teacher's radar.

Technology-based formative assessment options. For centuries teachers have learned the value of formative assessment. Whether it be on the slate or white board or just casual questioning, all teachers love the ability to have feedback after a lesson. There are many different ways teachers can now easily ascertain in real time the learning happening in the classroom. Apps and websites like Kahoot, Socrative, Go Formative, or using school-based LMS quiz solutions allows for more knowledge based on individualized students. I believe this is a game changer for education and can't be ignored.

The value of professional learning networks (PLNs). The collaborative value that Twitter, Google plus, CoffeeEDUs and various other educational online communities bring is invaluable. It should be part of the curriculum for a preservice teacher to learn how to leverage these PLNs for their future learning when they are out of the classroom as a student. PLN's are a great way for teachers to remain lifelong learners.

Buzzwords. I'll be honest this is the one that I have mixed reviews on. I don't believe that every buzzword should be adopted or even considered in every school, I also realize buzzwords don't necessarily have any proof of their effectiveness. I do believe pedagogy trumps technology every day of the week and that technology should never lead instruction. That being said, I also think there is great value in new educators at least being aware of recent buzzword initiatives in education. This hit me at an Edcamp last year when topics of discussion were listed on the board and hands went up all over the room asking things like "what's a makerspace?", "what's augmented reality?", "what does PBL stand for?" While any school they go to may not implement any of those buzzwords, they need to know they exist; and maybe even the pros and cons of these different  teaching methods and tools.

Classroom management skills for a tech-rich environment. I believe a new teacher should enter the work place with lots of ideas to keep students on task, engaged, and learning when technology is present. I think teachers also should have a plan of what to do for off-task students- knowing that individual schools might have their own set of standards of expectation.

How to read website and app data retrieved from student learning and how to value that timely information. So many teachers grade papers for hours on end. As a rule we know this has been a major component of a teacher's day. Technology can change this. If students are using technology such as adaptive learning software options, teachers now will spend less time grading papers but must spend their evenings looking at the results in the technology-based learning. This is a change in teacher culture. If teachers aren't careful, technology stations in a classroom just becomes a thing to do. If we aren't looking at results for assessment purposes, the chances of it being valuable use of instruction time is small.

Experience with someone modeling good technology integration in the classroom. Many times teacher placements happen where preservice teachers never have the opportunity to work in a classroom with much technology or with a mentor teacher that values it. This may be my most aggressive point but I believe every preservice teacher should have one placement that allows them to see what good technology integration looks like. I believe it must be an expectation of the mentor teacher as well.

Technology in the classroom is not going away, in fact companies like Google and Apple are creating opportunities directly for education. As time goes on more and more ways to meet student needs via technology shows positive learning results are happening. Ignoring this side of prepping teachers is not a future ready mindset. We must grow forward to best equipped these future educational technology leaders.

10 Keys to Success in Blended Learning

This blog post originally appeared in the www.ditchthattextbook.com blog. After meeting Matt Miller at ISTE 2015 and interacting with him on Twitter, it was an honor and a privilege to say yes to his guest blogging opportunity.

The original post cane be accessed at this link: http://ditchthattextbook.com/2015/12/28/10-keys-to-success-in-blended-learning/#more-3735