ISTE - Hall Davidson

Deep, Deep Dive into Digital: Much More than PDFs!
(Description) Making classroom practice digital supports differentiation, extended learning, and remediation. Beyond text-bound PDFs, digital curriculum dynamically links media, mobile, data-gathering, and Web tools. Education does change!

Hall Davidson is one of the best presenters I have ever seen. He works Discovery United Streaming and shows how to use their services but also covers much more. He is an advocate for change in education and this presentation was all about change in regards to the

Hall showed how we are "entering a epic time:

• Bad economy
• Effective technology
• Engagement for 21st Century learners

 and discussed how in history war is often a spur towards new innovations, well this economy can do the same in regards to innovations in 21st Century Learning. Just in my district I am seeing this as well. Here in RUSD, we are taking steps towards implementing the Google Apps for Education and one of the biggest motivating factors for this is cost. If we switch over to Google we can save money!

This signal for change is now. Hall showed quotes and stats like the one below which are affirming the idea that the time for change is now.

Now the change he focused on in this presentation was the textbook. No longer is this the gatekeeper of information. He showed the how the Indiana State board saw textbooks as:
“…taken as a group textbooks do not provide content that is interesting, engaging, and supportive of effective and interested student learning.”
and that
“…internet resources, interactive, magnetic and other media and other ‘systematically organized material."

February 6, 2009

And this can save money...

On average the cost per student is

Digital Resources vs Print Resources

         $19            vs          $79

But what does this look like?
First off. It is simply NOT just getting a PDF of the book and printing it yourself or having the kids print it out.

It is creating "Effective Technologies" which allow us to assess our students better, track their progress better and even differentiate lessons.

lastly, he gave us a http://www.polleverywhere.com/ poll and asked what we thought  is the biggest obstacle to becoming fully 21st Century classrooms?
The choices were staff – time  – money – fear – equity – or lack of shared vision
And overwhelmingly this (and other surveys taken as well) show that the
Lack of a Shared Vision is the biggest hold up.

So my hope is that here in my district in Rocklin CA, we can come up with a shared vision and begin this move away from a textbook driven curriculum

Hall has his entire PPT presentation available online if you go to this page and click on "The PowerPoint"
http://www.wallwisher.com/wall/istedeepdive

ISTE - SMART Boarding in the Classroom: Document, Develop, Deliver!

(Description) So you know the SMARTboard, but you're looking for the next level? Come see advanced concepts, tips/tricks, & how to create content using SMART Notebook! Working SMARTer not Harder!

This past spring I had a Smartboard set up in my classroom by a local company called Saxton Bradley. This was on loan so that I could practice with the device in hopes that my district move towards purchasing some of these. With the end of the year rush and my push towards prepping my students for their AP test I wasn't able to test out the board and Notebook software too much. So, I was hoping to find some useful tips on using Smartboards in the classroom while at ISTE. The first one I attended was on "Games and the Smartboard" was right up my alley, but it was a complete waste of time - too much of a intro level presentation. But then, the final session of the conference was with Bret Gensburg, University of Akron and this guys really knows Smartboards.  He is a Smartboard guru and really motivated me to want to try and re-design my lessons.

I have listed below the notes I took for myself, some may be a bit vague, but the overall message was that the content should drive the lesson, not technology and that we should use tech as a tool. So, like any tool we must become comfortable with it. Technology is often viewed by some as gadgets that wow our audience. Others often find technology too difficult of tool to master and want to keep with the status quo. I think we must use technology not as simply toys, but we must become skilled with it so as to best reach the end goal. This comes with training and continued support from your fellow teachers to find ways on how to reach our students. And boy, was this guy comfortable with the technology. So much that the more skilled you are the less you notice the gadget but focus on the problem or task at hand.



NOTES:

1. He showed how by using the CLONE TOOL and asking (at what cost) you can quickly clone pages to show order of progression.
      a) . Clone is COPY and PASTE at the same time

2. He believes in the power of the wireless keyboard and mouse to facilitate this

3. He loves SMART but emphasizes the fact that the teacher needs to get “off the stage”

4. Also discussed the power of the undo and redo button. This can get around the problem of using the Save As feature.

5. CTRL + 1 is a tool for grabbing objects

6. Never use the Creative Pen to deliver the content. Kids like the looks of it but it is too distracting

7. If while using the same colored pen you may want each thing written to be its own object. If you put your hand in the tray and then out will automatically make each thing written a new object. Also, if you use the Pen Up and Pen Down tool when drawing objects will switch to the mouse instead of Object tool

8. Use the Order tool and a rectangle to then during a multiple choice type of question to have only the correct answer to be on top of the colored rectangle when dragged on top

9. He have a "made up statistic"… '98% of the time ANIMATE is the wrong choice!' Because the Content is ALWAYS more important than the technology.

10. A neutral impact (like sound effect) does NOTHING to the learning. So don’t waste our time and their time in creating these.

11. By just clicking from slide to slide means that ANYONE can do my job and I am more than someone who can just move a slideshow along.
      a) Used “teach them to fish” analogy – many teachers use this as a crutch and only look for what is there instead of making their own

12. He thinks that 80% of the gallery objects in SMART is not useful. And if used only as auxiliary to the lesson
     a) Showed a lesson on US States and not just having them identify the state but to go beyond

13. Showed the capture tool – make iamges as big as possible before you capture it to make sure the resolution is as good as possible

14. Shows the Wizard icon
     a) Showed how to make a multiple choice question and then as you clone them it changes the number for each question for each page
     b)  He then copy and pasted the captured image file from a state standard practice test

15. Smart Recorder tool
     a) Add your own audio (i.e. your own words) to your presentation. Then this creates more of a comprehensive “movie” that is available for those who were absent or need to remediation

ISTE - Engage, Enrich, and Enhance Professional Development with Online Learning

(Description) "Learn how Jefferson County School District (Jeffco) has used online professional development to improve student achievement, enhance teacher collaboration, and support a guaranteed and viable curriculum."
http://blackboard.jeffco.k12.co.us/

This session focused on the possibilities that online professional development can provide. The presenters were local from Jefferson County here in Colorado and they shared their journey of moving towards online PD. They saw the potential that using these tools provided in moving towards their PLC model but all the while realizing that there are hangups with this. The following are some of the frustrations with traditional PD models:

• time out of class
• sustained skill development - follow up 
• teachers not wanting to learn 
• budget issues
• workload for teachers

So, they shared their approach of finding a balance with INNOVATIVE MODELS:

• making resources accessible
• have them not time sensitive
• keep it ongoing and sustainable

Teaching can be a "professionally lonely" profession. It often lacks collegial experices besides lunch room talk. So this change to an online model can really facilitate these connections.

In the past, the "Fire Hose"  model of training method was what most used for PD.
A one time shot that hopes to cover everything









So, the solutions is to create PLC's and Dynamic Learning Spaces (circle flow chart)

• Digitally rich
• dynamic
• fluid
• accessible
• sustainable

These PLCS allow

• Communication
• Collaboration
• Meeting extensions
• Book study goroups
• overcoming geographc challenges
• extending our PD

So lets Lead the Horse. This is what they recommend for creating the PD's

• Set up an Academic Portal (they use blackboard)
• Curriculum Resources
• Access to our tools
• collaboration opportunities

I found this session useful for what my school district is trying to do with incorporating the Google Apps for Education. I think we can use the Google tools to really facilitate our PD. I would like to see not the just the tech people, but the administrators to look at new ways to expand the learning of our teachers, provide them with continual and sustainable learning where they can engage in those conversations with their colleagues who are at different school and lastly to give them opportunities to apply the lessons learned and allow for reflection.

In  Jefferson County they charge teachers to take online PD classes $50 for 3 credits and then they partner with a university so as to get grad credit. (still have to pay the college for the credits though). they then pay teachers who want to be the trainers/facilitators.