Teacher Tips for Canvas

As our upper school has started to robustly use the learning management system Canvas, I have a few tricks and tips that might be helpful on the educator side of things:

• Things to be aware of when creating digital quizzes (here is a video explanation of information below): 

• Options for shuffling answers. If you create multiple choice or true/false questions in a Canvas quiz, the correct answer will always default to the top answer (a) unless you do one of the following:
• When creating a question you can manually pull the arrow that points to the correct answer down in the question so that you are randomizing the answers yourself. OR....
• When setting up the quiz, choose the "shuffle answers" box so that the quiz itself with automatically shuffle the answers for you. The downside of this is that you can't use answers like "all the above" or "both B and C" because it may look different for your students. 
• Allowing for extended time on tests. If you are a teacher that sets an amount of time for a quiz or a time availability (a close time) when you assign a quiz that quiz will automatically be submitted when that time is up. If you want to allow students extended time for tests, don't use the availability but require an access code. This way once the class is over, the students can access the quiz afterwards as well. For this option I would suggest changing the access code after each class for integrity purposes.

• Using Calendar Events for non-graded assignments for students (here is a video explanation of information below). There is one way to add things to the students's calendars that does not impact grade book. (You can also create an assignment that is labeled "no submission" and it will allow you to put a grade in for it and will show up on your grade book. This might be a good choice for dressing out in P.E., or journal checks):
• Create an event. Choose to click on the calendar link on your blue vertical navigation toolbar. 
• In the top right corner of the calendar view click on the + to add an event.
• Title your event that lets your students know what the expectation will be. You can add more details by clicking on "more options."
• The event will default to being added to your personal calendar, so make sure you use the drop down box to choose the class you want to share the event to.
• Click submit. (The event will now show up on the students's calendar and "upcoming" list). 

• Deleting the MISSING label after something is turned it late (here is a video explanation of the information below). I feel like this is something Canvas should fix automatically but if a student turns in an assignment late and you put the grade in, you will need to:
• Click on the across arrow inside the assignment box for the student in question.
• When the sidebar pops up change the assignment to either "None" or "Late (blue)" based on your needs. This will remove the missing label in your grade book, the students view and the parent view. 
• It is helpful to look over your grade book occasionally to see if their are any pink boxes and whether they need to be fixed. 

• Moderating a quiz. There are times when students might need an additional attempt at a quiz (here is a video explanation of the information below). As a teacher, you can click on a quiz a student needs to access and then in the upper right corner clicking on "Moderate this quiz," then click on the pencil next to the student you want to moderate the quiz for. This allows you to:
• Give individual students multiple attempts at a quiz
• Give immediate access to individual students take a quiz without having to go through the process of reassigning the quiz to the student.

• Communicating with students inside of Canvas. Students are getting use to receiving information about their courses through Canvas. If you are in a situation where you need to communicate important information to your students quickly you have two options (here is a video explanation of the information below):
• You can create Announcements for your course that you can assign to all your classes or to individual classes. It could be useful if you were absent one day because you could actually delay when it is posted after creating it and allow your students to see it as they enter the classroom. You can also allow them to reply to an announcement if you need feedback before the next class meeting or ask them to "like" it to show that it has been read. To use announcements:
• Go to Settings in your class and move Announcements up for students to view.
• Click on Announcements
• Create the announcement and assign it to the class based on your needs.
• Using the inbox inside of Canvas allows you to send messages to whole classes, individuals or groups. This is a very quick way to get students use to going to one location to receive information from you instead of going outside of Canvas to check their emails. To send messages to your students:
• Click on the INBOX on your blue vertical navigational toolbar.
• In the middle top of the next page, click on the paper with the pencil icon.
• Create the message you want to send (you can even attach files or videos that you might want your students to be able to access) 
• Make sure you choose the correct course or people you desire to communicate with via Canvas email.
• Press send. 

ASCD #Empower18 TAKEAWAYS

I had the marvelous opportunity of attending the ASCD Empower18 Conference in Boston, Massachusetts this week. It was my first time to attend an ASCD conference and I found it to be the bougie of large educational conferences. With keynotes like Jill Biden, Manny Scott, and
Col. Colin Powell- the level of importance placed on the attendee feels superb.Walking around and see the the expertise level of those sharing in the breakout sessions was amazing and made it very hard to choose where to attend! I brought back a ton of good stuff and it was nice to get out of my edtech conference silo as well. What I enjoyed the most about this conference is that it didn't just focus on best practice, the students, and change but there were lots of sessions that focused on you as an educator. One day I had a really neat conversation with a "teacher of the year" from Montana that was suffering from burnout and said she was ready to go back empowered. That's huge and I have been there. It was good to see that focus being fleshed out in a really stressful profession.


So here are my key takeaways from ASCD #Empower18:

•  My role changes at my school next year, I will be the Director of Instructional Technology and Innovation. One of the immediate realizations I had during the first conversation at my school about the role of Innovation is that it felt soft. I worried about that because to me the innovation side of the job is what I am most excited about. I've been praying about how to best move forward with that part of my role and BOOM! my first session was with Dave Faulkner, "Unleashing Teacher-Led Innovation in Schools: Practical Tools That Have Real Impact." I walked out of the room inspired and with his book co-written by Aaron Tait called Edupreneur: Unleashing Teacher-Led Innovation In Schools. Get ready to dream CCS, I've got a plan once I have some funding! 
• I really enjoyed hearing Jill Biden speak. Did you know that even as Second Lady of the USA she continued to be an English professor at a community college full time? She said, "Being a teacher is not what I do, it's who I am." That resonated deeply with me as I try to balance between my different roles in life. I am thankful for her modeling of staying true to her calling while wearing many hats. She empowered me as a woman. 
• My next session was TECH-DOK: An In-Depth Look At Technology Through the Depth of Knowledge Lens. I walked away with this wonderful graphic below. If you know me, you know I'm not a big fan of the SAMR model. This has the potential to help teachers think deeper: 
  
• I also had the opportunity to think about myself a bit by attending a session for potential writers. I am hoping sitting in this session will spur me on to keep writing my book idea. I will say that I have already come back home and started fleshing out potential opportunities in regards to this.
• When I realized Heidi Hayes Jacobs was speaking in a breakout session I had to attend! She spoke at Covenant College a couple of years back and the conversations that were spurred from that brief conference led to good changes and framework for our school. This time she spoke with Marie Alcock on the topic of "A New Job Description: The Capacities of a Contemporary Teacher and Professional Learner." I found the conversation fascinating as we looked at how the role and definition of a teacher has shifted out from under the profession as years have gone by. No wonder the change is hard for so many teachers, the expectations have changed before their eyes and it wasn't what many of them signed up for! My favorite quote of the day that lays a framework for the ever changing landscape of education was by Marie Alcock, "70 years ago less than 20% of students went on to higher ed, today 60-70% go on. We've moved from a system of sorting students to being responsible to teach all students and meet their needs. The role of the teacher has shifted." In every decade we can see how that has changed. Perhaps it is time to admit this, ruminate on it, give teachers some moaning minutes and then empower them to adapt and adopt. What does this look like is my question moving forward. 
• The segway from the above session to "Accelerating the Curve for Young School Leaders" by 2016 ASCD Emerging Leaders: Kyle Hamstra, Kerry Gallagher, Natalie Franzi, and Amy MacCrindle was an easy one as I had already been focused on how do I support teachers better.
  These young leaders shared good stuff in how to move into leadership as well as how do leaders support upcoming leaders? I loved the format of their session with give and take, embedded movement and time for feedback that might have actually been an introduction to a new tech tool for some of the attendees (Flipgrid).
• As always, it's not a good session if I don't walk away with things to immediately look at that have the potential for implementation. My "I need to look deeper at" list includes:

1. Open-Up Resources https://im.openupresources.org/ (FREE)
2. Stay in contact with South Carolina educator, Donna Teuber @dteuber as I grow into my new role next year.
3. Geographic Information Systems for Schools http://www.esri.com/industries/education - includes GeoInquiries and resources for multiple subject areas (FREE) 
4. Look deeper at Go Guardian Teacher Training so that our teachers can use this tool in effective ways in their classroom. https://training.goguardian.com/p/goguardian-teacher-training

I am still kind of shocked that I was chosen to present a poster session at ASCD Empower18 but I will say the connections I made through that experience would have made the trip worth it all on their own. AND, I always love the opportunity to share about the great things happening with technology at our school! 

Educators as Empowered Citizens (Unpacking the ISTE Standards for Educators)

Empowered Professional
3. Citizen- Educators inspire students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world.
   
Educators:

• Create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and exhibit empathetic behavior online that build relationships and community.
• Establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and critical examination of online resources and fosters digital literacy and media fluency.
• Mentor students in safe, legal, and ethical practices with digital tools ad the protection of intellectual rights and property.
• Model and promote management of personal data and digital identity and protect student data privacy. (ISTE Standards for Educators 2017)

Part of using technology in the classroom is both modeling and creating opportunities for ourselves and our students to be a productive part of the digital landscape. For me, this means talking about digital citizenship on a regular basis with students and holding them accountable for appropriate actions as well. It means using myself as an example. The following bold titles are the subcomponents found under this section of Empowered Citizens in the ISTE Standards for educators. The explanations below are ways I model being an empowered professional digital citizen as an educator:

1. Make positive, socially responsible contributions. I am an avid edtech blogger. As much as it helps me gather my thoughts and think through things, I also see it as a way to model and show positive professional digital behavior. While the free online community of the internet gives us rights to so much information, also contributing to the digital landscape should be a responsibility of an educator. 
2. Exhibit empathetic behavior. As an active member of various Twitter chats, sharing my views on different topics is part of that community. While my views may vary from others, being respectful and open to the views of others online is an important part of being a productive digital citizen. For me, I often friend or follow people that have different views than myself to grow my mindset.
3. Building relationships and community.  Through the use of the Google Suites apps I am able to collaborate online with fellow educators both in my system and outside. Google Hangouts, Google Docs, and my Google Calendars are used on a regular basis to stay connected to my community. Becoming a moderator of #TNEdChat twitter chat on Tuesday nights at 8pm ET has also help me grow my community and build relationships with other educators both near and far. Modeling this active use of technology to grow myself is important to me. Twitter has become my "go to" whenever I find myself stuck with an educational issue. I can tweet a question out and because I have an educational learning relationship with many of my followers, I often get immediate suggestions and ideas to move forward. 
4. Establish a learning culture. Our school has recently created a "philosophy of technology" to guide our learning. After creating that, we then created a graduate profile in terms of technology skills we want our students to have when they graduate from our school. We are currently in the process of breaking that graduate profile into true technology standards by grade level that we want to make sure our students are reaching. As an educator, I think it is important for parents and students to see that we are diligently working towards a framework that shows both value in using technology for education and the limitations we think that are needed in regards to good stewardship of technology. 
5. Curiosity. Access to technology allows myself and my students to see a myriad of viewpoints on any topic of interest. For myself, when questions come up in class that have pricked someone's curiosity, we use digital tools to learn more about subjects. I do the same every day. Creating a culture of lifelong learning with digital tools helps students to see the importance of how quickly they can learn with the right keyword search. I also model this for other teachers when they ask me how to do  something digitally and I find a resource online through Youtube or a blogpost and share it with them. We are in a world where the smartest person in the room might actually be the computer. To access the information and turn it into knowledge is contingent on our own curiosity.
6. Critical examination of online resources. Learning how to critically look for resources on the internet is a valuable tool. It is important for teachers to learn how to discern good resources for our students. Learning where to look for the owner of a website and doing comparisons with multiple websites helps us to share and learn non-biased information with our community. Teaching our students how to do the same is also important. Many years ago I would create fake websites that made no sense to what my students were studying about and send them to the web address. Teaching students how to critically look at online information is a definite skill for all of us.
7. Digital literacy. As a digital citizen I have a responsibility to learn how to use technological tools effectively. One of my pet peeves is when classrooms just digitize what could be done with paper and pencil. While there is a time and place for all levels of tech usage, using technology in 21st century ways helps our students for their futures.
8. Media fluency. Whether I am curating or creating information it is important to have a technology toolbox that gives me varied resources. Whether I find my information using Google Scholar, Twitter, or Edutopia I should look for multiple places for information. Just like I want my students to have multiple sources for papers, I should be creating a digital toolbox for myself. Because we have already talked about the importance of contributing to the digital world, we also should be looking for various digital formats to communicate and share our knowledge.
9. Mentor. I am thankful for mentoring people in my own life that have grown me as an educator. I too try to help others (if they want help) through various digital outlets. I share my own failures and successes on my blog for anyone to see. I use the hashtag #CHAedu to share thoughts with local Chattanoogan educators. I offer help in my community through edcamps and technology conferences. Please hear me say I don't think I am a master teacher but I do try to help others as they navigate edtech because I have been doing it for a while.
10. Safe practices. I model safety by only accepting people I know to view my personal life online. I also make sure I don't share too much personal information when talking with others. I often will block Twitter users that don't seem to have a legitimate reason to be following me. I try to keep my social media accounts clean from spammers and questionable followers.
11. Legal practices. I try to give credit when I quote other people or articles online. If I share graphics, I either make them myself or get them from somewhere like www.photosforclass.com  so that they are creative commons cited.
12. Ethical practices. When I see rude or inappropriate comments on the internet I do not participate in the conversations. I have been known to contact people directly when I see cyberbullying taking place. 
13. Protection of intellectual rights and property. As mentioned in 11 above, using creative commons and making sure to cite the works of others when I blog, tweet, or share shows the importance I place on the works of others. This helps students to see what non-plagiarism looks like.
14. Model and promote. I'm probably annoying about this. I remind and show teachers the value of a positive online digital footprint often. I promote the importance of doing that for our students. So many teachers don't want to participate in social media but I think it is important for us to show it positively to our students. I also feel it is important for me to model using social media for educational purposes for my fellow teachers to see. 
15. Management of personal data. By modeling personal contact through direct messaging and showing the importance of private versus public accounts, I show others how to manage their own personal data. 
16. Management of digital identity. By being mindful of my digital footprint and the persona I want others to see regarding me, I am careful about what photos I upload, who can tag me in photos, and how others might see me. 
17. Protect student data privacy. It is important to not use names of my students online and if my students' parents don't want their identity represented online I adhere to their wishes. I am also careful about asking or creating accounts for students for learning purposes. I often will choose software that works with Google because I know my students can sign in through their accounts. This allows me to protect the privacy of my students. 

We often talk of the importance of digital citizenship for our students but we are lackadaisical about teacher expectations on the same topic. Many teachers feel that their digital identity is their own business and shouldn't be judged or have expectations on it but we live in a society that values social media and its connections. Our digital identifies are the only way some people know anything about us (and our students). We need to start teaching into this aspect of our students lives by modeling empowered digital citizenship behavior. 

Comparison of Teachers vs. Students

         

Oftentimes I hear teachers complain that they don't have time to learn a new software platform, research new techniques, create lesson plans to meet the needs of a wider variety of students. I hear it and I respect it but I started thinking about the differences between a teacher's school year and a student's. Are we as educators respecting our students concerns? Bear with me.

Every year a student starts the school year not knowing what their teachers will be like, not knowing their learning styles will match the way the teacher teaches, not knowing what technology abilities the teacher will expect, not knowing how the dynamics of their classmates will affect their learning.

Every year teachers wonder what this group of kids will be like, how much time they will have to spend on classroom procedures before the students understand their expectations, how to freshen up certain lesson plans, wondering if students will test well and progress well in the curriculum.

Teachers and students each have stressful expectations placed on them. It's no wonder the night before school starts each year teachers and students alike often have a sleepless night due to excitement and worries. I look at the list for teachers and I think of how technology can aid some of the burden through efficiencies (because that's what I do). But I'll be honest, as an educator, when I look at the following bullets I see the conformity needed for students to varied teacher whims being much harder than the teacher's expectations. I also look at this list and see more and more reason why personalization of education, voice and choice, and freedom to critically think are so valued by today's students. Take a look and see what you think:

MIDDLE AND HIGH  SCHOOL TEACHERS

           

• Spend the day teaching in the subject area that they chose as something that is interesting to them
• Teach 1-3 different preps in a day usually within the same overarching curriculum
• Are confident about the things they teach because they are “degreed” in the subject matter
• Set the tone and expectations of their classroom based on their likes and dislikes
• Decide how they will teach the curriculum (for the most part)
• Usually have 1-2 periods off in a day
• Have family and/or coaching expectations after a full days work
• Have grading of the work of many to accomplish in a timely manner
• Are reviewed by their administration 1-8 times a school year.

• Have various meetings that pull them out of the classroom teaching time or take away from their planning periods

• Have a responsibility to students, administrators, parents, and constituency

MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

• Spend the day in 30 min to 1 hour 20 min segments of time (depending on bell schedule)  in varied topics of interest to them
• Have 4-7 preps in a day within varied subject matter curriculums and homework coming at them daily from any of those subjects
• In a constant state of learning and acquiring skills in those subject matters with varied levels of confidence
• Restricted to rules and regulations from each instructor they visit each day that may vary tremendously based on the instructor and/or subject matter.
• Must learn in each subject area based on the way the instructor teaches them.
• May or may not have a study hall or break throughout the day
• Have sports/arts/job/family expectations after a full day of school
• Have homework to accomplish in a timely manner (often with one day’s notice of being due)
• Are reviewed through formative and summative assessments on a regular basis throughout the school year
• Have consistent expectations of a day except for a few special days/activities throughout the school year
• Have a responsibility to students, administrators, parents, and constituency

The Ethics of Technology

 
According to Forbes, "Wearable Tech Market To Be Worth $34 Billion By 2020" (http://www.forbes.com/sites/paullamkin/2016/02/17/wearable-tech-market-to-be-worth-34-billion-by-2020/#c4ddfbc3fe38). Wrist-based devices can be found in schools everywhere. In fact, a friend of mine said she has twins in first grade at her school that have iWatches. 

Educational technology LMS platforms are spending much money and man hours on creating safeguards against plagiarism. Add-ons like Turnitin.com and question banks for testing that changes the variable numbers, order of answers and questions, and the actual questions themselves help teachers better monitor cheating.

Teachers are fearing websites like the free iOS app, PhotoMath that automatically solves equations and shows you the steps. Or how about the website https://www.writemypaper.net that for a small fee will write your paper for you? Where should technology start and students end? Where is the line between "technology is an aid to the learning process" and "technology did this by itself" for the ever needed good grade?

We are at a place where today's students have to learn that information is not knowledge. The easy access to information due to their smartphone in their back pocket does not make them truly knowledgable...just able to regurgitate facts....or fake it. I've done it, I've been asked questions regarding certain educational topics, I've quickly googled it and was able to sound knowledgable but in honesty, my level of comfortability wasn't there. As my mom would say, "I knew enough to be dangerous."

Recently being recognized as a Common Sense Media Certified Digital Citizenship Educator and dealing with some realities of access to Google images for elementary students has caused me to reflect on the ethics of technology usage. This is the fourth year I have been a certified digital citizenship educator because I find it incomprehensible to ask family's to allow their children to use technology in our school without also doing my part to prepare their hearts and minds for this fire hose tool of information and engagement.

Most parents received no training on the ethics of technology use and therefore they don't know how best to guide their children either. Parents often aren't making choices to be proactive in protecting their children on the internet. Often they are reactive after something they wish hadn't happened happens.

Educators, all of us that use technology in the classroom, have a responsibility to teach digital citizenship. If you want to reap the benefits of technology you must also teach responsible use. Including it based on current day events such as media literacy that is been in the news so much lately, and real world situations that occur at your school often, give you authentic learning experiences for both you and your students. You would be surprised how often students are surprised by being held accountable for things they do on social media at home. Anything that harms the school culture has to addressed. Technology changes the span of the classroom by breaking down walls and growing the timeframe of the classroom. We must be proactive about preparing our students to influence the world positively with their digital footprint.

Professional Development Excitement...is it possible?

As an instructional technologist I see many different personalities of educators when I’m introducing new technology ideas. With a broad generalizing paintbrush, I find personalities fall in one of 4 categories:

• “I’m In!”
• “Show Me what you mean?”
• “I’m not convinced!”
• “Not in My Classroom!”

It’s not always easy to meet the needs of all these types at the same time, so the way I introduce to large groups of teachers during professional development is often varied. It is my goal to meet a teacher where their comfort level is and take them to the next step. Recently, we have tried a few new approaches to professional development opportunities. When I know whole school PD days are on the horizon I start asking my teachers what they want to learn more about regarding educational technology. Our curriculum director and myself then sit down and map out a hybrid “edcamp” experience for our teachers that includes not only technology options but a variety of helpful authentic “take this back and make it work” ideas. Teachers are offered 3-4 choices of learning topics every 30 minutes. This format allows the teachers to quickly digest something they might want to learn more about but it also allows them some choice in their learning path. Let’s be honest, these are educated individuals, shouldn’t they know where they could use some help? When we set up the day, we often utilize teachers that are exceptional in different areas for sharing purposes as well. This makes them feel affirmed and it grows teacher leaders as resources as well. Our goal is to ask individual teachers to share only once during the day so that they can also benefit from the sessions as well. I’ve found that teachers are much more receptive to learning from each other than from me telling them how great an idea is and I don’t even have a classroom. I often enlist my early adopters to lead sessions so that teachers see it from their real world perspective. Also, anytime they can take an app/website/idea for a “test drive” it is less scary. Setting up those opportunities during professional development days is a plus. While this is a brief introduction time, it allows me to ascertain who sees value in the concepts and to follow up for more one to one with the teachers.

This year we also introduced some new required curriculum changes to the teachers and unfortunately it was during the back to school rush. In this situation I try to make these experiences as hands on as possible and with the goal of each teacher leaving a session with a lesson plan in hand. I often will introduce the concept with a hook that they can use in there classrooms as well. For instance, to introduce a day of project-based learning curriculum writing we used a breakoutEDU game to encourage rapid learning of the basic concepts. Not only did our teachers learn about PBLs but they also found out I had a breakoutEDU toolbox available that they could utilize for critical thinking opportunities. I am a firm believer that if you want teachers to try new things and teach using different methods, you have to model that in professional development opportunities! Look for ways to create small group, station rotation, flipped learning, inquiry-based, hands on, connecting concepts to tasks type things that aid teachers in thinking outside their norm. The words "professional development" often incites moans of despair, it doesn't have to. Find the pulse of your teachers, engage them, and then ask for reflection to grow these days forward!

    

Did we win?

Today as the elementary school ended its  field day with the ever famous grade level four way tug-of-war, like always I played my obligatory role of chief encourager of a team. This year it was team green... As each grade stepped up to the four-way rope and pulled their hardest I yelled "let's go green machines!" "You can do it!" "Dig in" etc. and inevitably my team didn't win and I sent team green back to their seats with high fives, "great jobs" and "it was so close!"...And then the fifth grade came. They pulled with all their might and they are actually experts at this because they have been doing it for years now. They came with gloves on, a plan of attack, and a thirst for victory. At one point it was so close to a victory for my beloved green team but alas when the whistle blew there was a pile of green on top of each other and two kids looked up at me and said "did we win?" I said, "No, I'm not sure who won but it wasn't us." To which one girl replied "WOW, IT REALLY FELT LIKE WE WON. I REALLY THOUGHT WE HAD."

I've been thinking on that all day. She was trying so hard, was so caught up in the moment it felt like she had won. And truthfully I was so caught up in the moment of encouraging those green machine kids I wasn't sure who had won.  Isn't this what learning should look like all the time? Students so caught up in the process that they may not even realize the end result when it happens? And teachers so caught up in their students that the end results are really superfluous to the path itself? 

I find myself being more and more challenged to create learning environments like that. As I study the value of formative assessments over summative assessments, competency based learning, personalization, and student voice and choice I imagine students so caught up in the learning all else fades away. I imagine driven behaviors because students are excited about what's before them. Is this a bunny dream world? Maybe a little, but I believe schools are not around for grown ups to have jobs but for kids to learn and succeed. If that's our first priority, what might happen?

What if Blobla DID look at us based on an algorithm?

So have you been on Facebook and seen the "Bill the Stickman" app by en.blobla.com? It keeps appearing over and over on my newsfeed. Occasionally I also see a little parody of it or frustration with it as well. BUT, I had to try it. Mainly because the edtech educator in me needed to see if it was algorithm driven. Was it really looking at my posts, friends, etc and deciding what to say about me? Obviously with the post on the right, I immediately thought it was a data driven algorithm. I found myself running it again, again, and again and finally realized it was just a random assigner of silliness. BUT, what if it actually ran on an algorithm? Before I realized it wasn't algorithm based, I would click and find myself looking hard at myself about the results. "I don't click like on friends photos just because they don't have many likes, do I?" "I don't just hate everyone, do I?" Forgive me as I chase this bunny down a trail but algorithms are so wonderfully interesting to me. In this case, what if it allowed me to take off the rose colored glasses in the way I see myself and truly see myself as others see me based on data? Would that be a good thing? Could I grow from that? Would it make me feel like sitting in a corner and sucking my thumb because I realize I am much more fake than I really want to admit? AND WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH AN EDTECH BLOG POST?

Ahhh...I'm getting there, I promise. "Big data" gets a bad rep at times. The educational industry is so enamored with data points from testing- and yes, I agree we are in an over testing culture right now, but what if these algorithms could lead us to personalize learning? I think it's the future of education. We are already seeing it happen within some software/app options, for instance Dreambox Learning and Mangahigh both have created intuitive environments that adjust to student learning. If a student gets one question right, he keeps being challenged with a progression of harder questions. If a student gets a question wrong, the student gets an easier question so as not to overwhelm the learner with a sense of failure but to keep them active and progressing just the same. At our school we are using a LMS called Edify and it has the ability to suggest to a student relevant learning aids (videos, etc) after taking an assessment. This is based on what that student is still struggling with. These examples are the beginning threshold of algorithms that help us with personalized learning.

See if you can wrap your head around this... 25 students in a class taking assessments that tell them and their teacher what their best learning styles are, what they still struggle with, who they best learn with (collaboration efforts), what days are harder for them to learn on, if they need to be challenged by a new modality, if the lesson will be a struggle or a challenge. The options could go on and on. The next day the teacher has looked at the data from the day before and knows where 8th grader Annika should sit, what modality she should be taught with, etc. Algorithms could do that. Could they replace the teacher? Not well. But what if it helped the teacher affirm they are doing everything in their power to meet the needs of that student? That's student-driven. Big data and the way we are seeing it being used to pour kids into boxes that place them into categories are scary but what if big data meant meeting an individual kid's needs better than ever before. I believe this is the not so distant future of edtech.

The question becomes how do we harness the power? How do we, as educators, use the ability without losing the relational aspects of school? As I look at our school's blended learning prototype this year I see so much potential. I see technology allowing teachers the ability to have more 1 on 1 and small group instruction time to build relationships with their students. I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt we are on the cusp of innovational educational change. Is it scary? Yes! Even for someone like me that is excited about it. I fear it being used wrongly, I fear it being depended on too deeply, I fear administrators thinking that relationships aren't that important and instead of it becoming a change agent for engagement between teachers/students it becomes another step towards "mill-based everyone looks the same, come in and get it done and graduate education." But I don't think educators will let that happen. I leave you with this Twitter post I saw today that makes me believe that teachers will choose to empower their students for lifelong learning as they begin to see the options and opportunities open up before their eyes.

The Unsettling Stomach Lurch of Teacher Branding

Recently eduawesome Refranz Davis shared this recent post she wrote on her thoughts of the need to be "visually appealing" as an female edtech speaker. Refranz has been a champion for the underdog and I admire her for it. She posted the above post on Facebook and a few of us edtech women jumped on it and ran with the idea of "branding." Refranz quickly said that wasn't the direction she was going with the post, which we understood, but I find it interesting how quickly the three of us found the connection to branding.

I just googled "teacher branding" and in .36 seconds 13.8 million results came back...no lie. What is teacher branding? To put it succinctly it is marketing yourself, your skills, your knowledge as an educator in a way that establishes a positive presence in the minds of others.

The idea of needing to brand oneself as an educator makes me feel uneasy. During Christmas break I shared that fact in a Twitter chat with a tweet something like this: "I struggle with the fact that edus feel they must brand themselves to be heard. We all have value." I was amazed at the number of people that this resonated with. I am realizing this statement rings true to a many in the educational community.

I then found myself digging deeper into the thought of branding. What bothers me about it? What good things come from it? And I will be honest, my t-account of debits and credits felt fairly equal. The pros: It allows an educator that's doing great things to have a larger and louder voice. It potentially opens up another form of income for these educators in leading professional development opportunities or having the ability to be an edtech speaker. Branding makes the school system these people come from look like an innovative thinking school. Branding actually leads to giving credit where credit is due in a world of easy Internet searches.

So why does it cause an unsettling lurch in my stomach? Truthfully, I struggle with the vanity of it. I struggle with the need to put myself out there to receive accolades before I am seen as a valuable educator. I struggle with the way some educators are doing this. I struggle with the idea of becoming an "ambassador" of any app/group/ website because I worry it dilutes my appearance of being unbiased in the field of education.  Over Christmas break I was on the phone with Ditch That Textbook author Matt Miller (@jmattmiller) and I shared my concerns. I appreciate Matt's humble heart and what he said resonated with me. In my words, not his...he basically said he agreed. He said he finds it important to focus on the things he wants to share in his branding approach, not on himself. I get that. Hence the hashtag #ditchbook not #jmattmiller.  I also understand that if an educator is going to put forth the time, effort, and expense to write a book, create a website, start a learning curriculum, speak at conferences that it comes at a price. We give up something in order to do this. It might be family time, coaching opportunities, vacations, etc but everything we choose comes at a price.

I find it interesting that before I was added to the 2015 list of top 50 k-12 I.T. blogs by Edtech Magazine, I was just Julie- tech coach/coordinator in a private school in Chattanooga, Tennessee doing her best day by day. I'm not saying I am a different person but I am amazed by the validation that simple list seems to have given me in some circles. I'll be honest, it was one of my most amazing honors since becoming an educator. But I leave you with this... I don't think there is a correlation between Twitter followers and great educators. I don't think there is much of a correlation between a dynamic public speaker and an Edtech guru. I don't think that just because someone is published they are a better educator from those that are working day in and day out in their classroom to do what is best for their students.

I'm not saying don't value and follow these great Edtech names on social media, all I am saying is make sure you are also listening to the quiet guy, the twitterer with 100 followers, the voices that ask the questions that make the rest of us ponder. Do not be pulled into the power of branding because someone is selling themselves well. A rude educator is a rude educator with or without their own website. There is value in all of us. I strive to remind myself of this everyday.

#AlmostFamous - Guest Blog by Tina Faust

Tina Faust (@tntechgal) is a passionate educator, motivator and technology implementer all wrapped up in a lively, vivacious personality! Currently, Tina is an Instructional Technology Specialist for the Hawkins County School District in Tennessee. In this capacity, she provides professional development opportunities to assist educators with technology integration in classroom. She has presented at multiple regional and state conferences, and will be presenting at FETC. 

Words can't describe the happiness that Tina Faust has brought to my life since meeting her. She is not only an instructional technologist but an encouraging, exciting person. Most recently she climbed the ladder of respect for me when she led a 1 1/2 hour session at TETC and the internet wasn't cooperating. She continued to own the room like a pro! I'm fairly certain I would have been sucking my thumb in the corner of the room doing the ugly cry in fetal position.  While at TETC we had a really great impromptu discussion about her topic below with another wonderful instructional technologist, Chris Tenbarge. We all left the discussion feeling thankful for that brief hour of interaction and I asked Tina to be a guest blogger for me. The following post is a Tina Faust creation...Enjoy!

It was December and the TETC conference was around the corner...my excitement grew because two of my favorite EdTech tweeps (Twitter PLN) were the keynote speakers. My excitement quickly turned to glee when I arrived and met Adam Bellow and Kathy Schrock face to face. At this point, I was star struck and more excited than a child on Christmas morning! In the EdTech arena, both of these people are considered prominent and I felt privileged to meet two “famous” people. My star struck impression quickly faded and I became thoroughly impressed because neither of them gave the persona of being EdTech Rock Stars...they were REAL people. Not real in the physical sense but REAL because they were humble and never displayed a pretentious persona. Both of them took time to pose for selfies, took time to converse with everyone that approached them, took time to attend sessions that were being taught by educators just like me, took time to encourage conversation, and took time to make all of us feel #almost famous.

Have you ever wondered what famous really means? Every one of us could be #almostfamous to someone. Take teachers for example...I love seeing students spot a teacher in a grocery store because they run up to say hello and immediately flush when the teacher speaks. Many times, I’ve overheard excited kids return to parents saying I saw Mr./Mrs. (insert teacher’s name) and they said hello to me! You know a teacher is #almostfamous when they have the ability to impact a child simply by recognizing them and when they can make a child feel special by stopping to say hello. As I pondered exactly what it means to be famous, it occurred to me that famous is relevant based on the setting, the people that you are with, and the impact the person leaves on you.

When I ask my 11 year old what it meant to be famous. He replied, “mom, it depends on who you ask but it’s someone that the majority of people know.” So, who is the majority? As we discussed #almostfamous people, it appeared that famous depended on who you ask. So, why did I feel elated to meet two strangers at a conference? It was because they added value to my professional learning experience. If famous is based on added value, in education, all teachers are #almostfamous. Every teacher is prominent to every student they teach and/or influence. As teachers, we are famous to every student we come in contact with because we have the ability to make each one of them feel important. We can add positive value to every life we touch by having a positive impact on each student as we shape their future. We have the golden opportunity to add value to the future of our society as we encourage students to grow. As teachers, every generation is our legacy and we are prominent contributors to our society. If you need reassurance, ask a student...like my son, every one of his teachers are #almostfamous and like you, they are shaping the future.

She's More Than a Filled Seat in Your Seating Chart

That student sitting in row 2 seat 7 was up all night worrying that she might have a diabetic low in her sleep and slip into a coma. She's there in your classroom after a sleepless night with a disease that makes her feel like she's on a rollercoaster this week. She's drained, her concentration ability is lacking but she fears missing school for getting behind and doesn't want to be alone at home and not have someone to notice if her blood sugar drops unexpectedly like it has been for the last 3 days. She's coping.

That student sitting in row 5 seat 2 is hungry. Maybe it's her own fault because she waited until the last minute to get out of bed so she didn't eat before school, maybe she has an eating disorder and won't eat like she should. Or maybe there just isn't much food at the house. Whatever the reason, her hunger makes it hard for her to concentrate and her growling tummy makes everyone else giggle. She fake laughs along with everyone else about the growling but the truth is just under the surface- she's hungry when she comes to school on a very regular basis.

That student in row 7 seat 7 heard her parents arguing with her big brother way after everyone should be in bed. She felt the tension in the family. She felt the animosity of her sibling. She just wants everything to be ok in the family but she laid in bed last night realizing things just weren't right in her world. She wonders what the future looks like within her family dynamics. She fears. She comes to class insecure and quiet.

That student in row 1 seat 3 forgot to take her ADHD medication this morning. She's trying so very hard to follow along in the lesson but the bottom line is that it is super hard. She really is trying to use her skills she has learned to stay focused but today, it just doesn't seem enough. School seems exceptionally hard. Life seems exceptionally unfair. She has to spend a large portion of her day sitting at a desk being still when everything inside of her needs movement. She thinks school isn't for her. She can't wait to get out so she can do the things she is good at.

That student in row 4 seat 6 is excited about going to the jump park with her friends after school. It's her birthday and she's been waiting on this Friday for 3 weeks. It's going to be such an amazingly fun time to be with her friends. Every chance she gets, she and her friends are discussing and planning the evening- she's even secretly messaging them on her device instead of paying attention to you when she should. She just wants this school day to end! She tells herself she'll do better on Monday at being engaged in the classroom but today all she can think about is her birthday party.

That student in row 3 seat 1 has a Grandpa that has cancer. He's at home, down the street and she sees him on a regular basis but everyday she wonders when will be the last day he is around. He is an important part of her life. Losing him will be hard, even though she knows death eventually happens to everyone. It makes her think about life, living, death, and the beyond. She gets a little morose and feels disconnected to those around her because "caring" hurts sometimes. To you, she seems hard and bullyish, really she's just trying to make sense of her world.

That student in row 6 seat 4 has a secret. Last night her mom got taken to jail. It was bound to happen, the mom will do anything to support her drug and alcohol addiction. Your student doesn't want anyone to know- she feels ashamed that this is her family. She doesn't understand that sharing with someone might help her deal with things better. She is slipping into a state of depression. She asks, "why was I born into THIS family?" Things that once mattered don't matter anymore. She's not sure why things have changed and how to make it any different. She's just existing yet she always feels anxious.

In the above scenario, in each row there is one child struggling with significant life events- some good, some bad, some "normal" but all have the ability to change the dynamics of their learning opportunities. In the above cases, every one of the thoughts came from someone in my immediate or extended family. The "real life" of our students touches us all.

Every day our students come into our school buildings living a life beyond your classroom walls. While school is a large portion of a student's day (school learning/events, etc takes up anywhere between 50- 60% of the average students daily "awake" time), their out of classroom experiences have a magnified effect on their learning potential for any given day. Let us be mindful to see our students as individuals each day. Let us show grace, forgiveness, even some tough love, and help students find a path to success- not just academically but also emotionally and personally. Let us teach the whole child by knowing the whole child. Let being an educator never just become a "job" for us. Let us strive to be difference makers in spite of and because of all the extra issues.

The Problem with Checklists

I'm guilty. I just opened up my iPad case and 5 different lists of "things to do" fell out of it. We all need a source for organization and for me, writing it on a note ingrains it in my head, but that isn't the type of checklist I am talking about in this blog. I am talking about "integration checklists." IF we say "you have to use this, this, and this in your classroom" we are doing two things:

1. Stiffling the creativity of teachers that look beyond the things they have been taught.
2. Placing criteria for tech use into a checklist of "done this" which never leads to "tech inteGREATion." 

My views on this have changed over the years. In year one of having 3 iPad carts in the elementary school, the "requirements" were two projects based on current units of study with the technology coach. I'll be honest, I think the idea had massive value in that first year to push some teachers out of their comfort zone with a bit of handholding or to support teachers excited about the thought of technology but nervous about implementing alone. Year 2- the same "requirements" were there but I also saw an influx of teachers wanting to implement technology in their "centers"- blended learning began! We are at year 3 now and we started the year with the same "projects" requirement but for a few grades mandatory implementation of tech-based math instruction has also been added. Now that there is a comfortability for most of the teachers the struggle is "we want more iPad time and more iPads." I find myself researching for them more than ever before because they are thinking outside the box at "what if" ideas. I rarely have to twist arms or remind them of the "requirements."

Where am I now in what things should look like in the future? I think we are ready to move to expectations based on standards. Currently I see myself perusing the ISTE standards for teachers and students. I see next year perhaps looking differently with what can be seen as a bit more freedom for creativity. Next year, perhaps, we will base requirements on standards with concrete examples from the tech coach on ways to meet those standards. 

It has been exciting to see teachers wanting more iPads and iPad time for their classroom. It's been exciting to see the revelation of what technology can accomplish in the elementary classroom as well. Not everyone is "all in" and that is alright but some of our teachers are all up in the R of SAMR. 

I'm thankful for transformational classrooms that I have gotten to be a part of the planning of implementation. I'm thankful for teachers that are owning implementation. And I am thankful for the hesitant ones that make me dig deep and force me to prove the worth- it's always good to be reminded why you do what you do and what you believe in. I believe in technology coaching collaboration, using technology to support learning, and seeing technology used for consumption, curation, connection, and creation on a regular basis that makes some students super excited about learning.