The Access Obligation

I’m taking a class right now that is NOT using a learning management system or LMS. During my undergrad, I only had a few courses using an LMS and my masters was mostly online, thus we relied heavily on our LMS for making the course happen. However, this is the first semester since I started my masters (I’m working towards an Ed.D. now) that I haven’t had an LMS for a course. While I generally don’t like the idea of college controlled LMS, I have grown to expect them to be used if at the very least to provide access to the syllabus and other general course information.

It may sound like I’m complaining, which is good, because I am. I don’t typically like to complain, or at least not in a public manner such as this, but I expect that course information is going to be available online, anytime, and every time I enroll in a course. The impetus of my complaint is that I’m stuck at work without my readings schedule. I have the time to read since class doesn’t start until 6pm, and have been, but now that I’ve finished my chapter I don’t know what other readings I have to do.

Now I could call my wife and have her tell my what I need to read next, or I could have been more organized and brought my folder with my paper copy of the readings with me to work…but I didn’t and that misses the point. I’m a paying customer and I have certain expectations when I spend a large amount of money. As far as my education goes, I expect to have access to my course materials regardless of where I am and when I’m accessing them. This is a base level expectation I have for my courses and is something I have become very accustomed to over the last four years.

The best part is that making these items available is something that could be done for the instructor if requested. At the very least, someone in the department or within the instructional design services on campus could help walk the instructor through the process of uploading the syllabus, readings and assignment schedule, as well as any other general course information. I’m not asking for my courses to be taught online in any fashion as much as I am asking for access. And higher education has an obligation to provide me that access, because even though I’m not likely to switch institutions, others may and others may not choose to attend a school that doesn’t provide this basic type of service.  Millennials have and will continue to enter higher education and are coming with very specific expectations for their courses. Much higher expectations than uploading a syllabus and readings schedule to BlackBoard. Are you ready higher ed? For some reason, I doubt it…

Take Aways from Class

The semester is in full swing and this has been my first week back in the Ed.D. program.  Here are some take aways I came up with while sitting in class.

• Students come to school (K12/College) expecting to be engaged, however, when they come to school they aren’t engaged, at least not in the way they want to be engaged. It’s no wonder students drift off to Facebook, Twitter, texting, or even sleep. Sitting in lecture/discussion is not engaging and as the size of the class increases, motivation and accountability to be engaged decreases.
• Just because students stray from lecture/discussion does not mean they have short attention spans. Rather they have better things to do than participate. How engaged would you be if someone talked to you for an hour or more and didn’t interact with you in any way. Saying they have short attention spans and that technology is to blame is a copout for the traditional teacher. See how attentive they are when you engage with them in meaningful ways, perhaps using technology. You might be surprised.

Image Credit: http://flic.kr/p/5y2Uqm

Missing in Action

I’ve been missing for the last few months, at least in terms of blogging and Twitter. My last post here was in May at the end of my first semester of my Ed.D. program, which needless to say was a hectic time in my life. However, since then I’ve found it hard to open the computer and do some non-academic writing.  Not sure what has been blocking me. Perhaps it has been the massive rush of taking a summer course while still being a little worn down from the spring semester. Or perhaps I was too exhausted from playing and having fun with my kids at home this summer. Regardless of why I’ve been absent, I’m back now and will slowly start getting back into the swing of things, which includes more blogging and more tweeting. I’m looking forward to the school year ahead. There should be plenty of fun and interesting things to keep me busy. Here are some things I’ve got coming up that I’ll probably be writing about:

• TPACK and how to develop it in educators: I’m reading the Handbook of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge for Educators and am really looking at how we can make teachers more effective educators by developing their knowledge of technology, content, and pedagogy.
• Instructional design work: I’ll be doing more instructional design work this year at work with both faculty at UNI and our partner school districts. As we create and implement different lessons, I’ll be sure to share those experiences with everyone here.
• Interesting technologies: I’m a geek at heart and love finding and using new technologies, so count on more of that here, along with possible ideas for using them.  One I’m looking at now is Aurasma, which is an augmented reality app. Still trying to figure out the workflow, but from what I’ve experience so far I can’t wait until it is ready for the classroom!
• Advocating for change: And as always, I’ll keep advocating for change that matters. The world is changing but our practice in the classroom tends to remain static and this needs to change if we truly are going to make a difference in the world. I feel I can make a difference, even if it is only with one teacher in one school.

I’m looking forward to the upcoming school year with anticipation and excitement. I hope you are too and I wish you the best of luck and success this school year.

Technology as an assignment vs using technology to support classroom activities

This is cross posted at http://tqpplc.blogspot.com.

I think there are two ways you can look at technology in education.  The first, and most often way people look at it, is through the assignments students complete using technology.  This could include basically any assignment students are required to do through the use of technology.  I’m thinking digital storytelling projects that require students to use cameras, software, and the like.  But there’s also another aspect that is overlooked, which I’m going to term lesson-based technology use.

Technology use doesn’t need to be an assignment to be used effectively.  Rather, technology can be leveraged in the classroom to enhance the teaching that is already taking place, not to mention the opportunity for something new to happen.  In this regard, I’m thinking of lesson-based things you could do with technology such as: setting up a back channel during a lecture, bringing in an expert through a video conference, or something as easy as having access to the Internet to bring in outside resources and opinions.

But it isn’t always as easy as…which is why many teachers resist. Often teachers don’t have faith in the technology working or that they won’t get the intended outcomes they wanted from the technology.  The locus of control is beyond their grasp and when it comes down to it, we don’t have the required trust in other people, the system, or simply that the technology will work.  Usually this is due to past experience.

That doesn’t mean we have to like it, and I often don’t, which is why I try to eliminate barriers that prevent teachers from doing something really amazing with technology in their classrooms.  Will things go right the first time you try it in the classroom, probably not.  But that doesn’t mean we need to stop trying to make it work.  Innovation doesn’t happen overnight and it often takes a considerable amount of time.  I understand that teaching time is sacred, but only to the extent that we fail to be relevant.

So my question to you is, are there ways you want to use technology in your classrooms?  If so, are there any barriers that I can help remove or reduce to make this happen?

The key to innovations: No barriers

Image from: http://nancymorris.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Brick_Wall.jpg

I once again come back to the topic of barriers and innovations.  This issue came to the forefront on Friday when I was leading a training session on how to use an innovation.  I had been planning for days to ensure there weren’t any issues that would prevent us from getting through the training, but as it were, when I arrived on Friday, there were immediate problems related to the main part of the innovation.  I won’t bore you with details, but it suffices to say that I prepared a back up plan that would have achieved nearly the same results.  However, after soon running into another barrier I quickly needed a back up for my back up.  Needless to say, the day was pretty much shot before it started.

Why am I bothering to tell you this?  It’s plain and simple.  If we expect innovation to take place in our schools, whether at the elementary, secondary, or post-secondary levels, we must meet the basic needs of people to allow the minimum conditions required for innovation to occur.  If we can’t do this, then we shouldn’t expect an innovation to diffuse across a population.  It just isn’t going to happen.  If you think otherwise, you’re naive and need to really consider the system you are working within.

I understand that innovation by design pushes the limits of the system.  Failure is to be expected and should be welcomed.  But it’s what we do after the failure that is the metric of our commitment to innovations.  If we do nothing, NOTHING, then we shouldn’t expect anything to change.  No new innovations, no new plans, no new learning.  Just business as usual.

Are there innovations taking place in your school?  Are you supporting them by removing barriers?  If not, why?

My comment on: To Control Technology or Unleash It

I just commented on Dr. Daniel Frazier‘s post “To Control technology or Unleash It” and thought I’d post it here as well. You can read his full post here: http://teched4reform.blogspot.com/2012/01/to-control-technology-or-unleash-it.html?showComment=1328109569678#c3631164630713592491

My comment:
Dr. Frazier,

I agree with you, that if schools are going to remain relevant, we need to begin embracing technology in all forms, especially having devices for all students to use. However, I’m going to play devils advocate here for a minute, even though I whole heartedly feel the same as you.

How does the district change and establish a culture that encourages the type of learning environment that is relevant for our young people? How does the leadership approach issues like allowing cell phone use in the classroom when there are over 600 students in the middle school? Essentially, how do they create a plan that doesn’t create a culture of chaos and backlash from the teachers? While there may be some leadership issues that should be addressed, I think we also need to look at the context of the school. They are a larger middle school, at least by Iowa standards, and we are quickly approaching the end of the school year, albiet there is still a few months left.

From the non administrator standpoint, I would probably impose the same type of ban on cell phones at this point in the school year. This would only be a temporary ban until the end of the school year, because I’m guessing that the teachers aren’t knocking on the principal’s door to start using these devices. Then for the rest of the school year I’d start building a movement amongst the teachers and a number of student representatives to begin creating the type of learning environment that is supportive of cell phones, computers, etc. This process is going to take more than the summer, but I think great strides could be made to begin making real change in classrooms by the end of summer, where any ban on cell phones can be lifted.

I think the key with situations like the Pottstown Middle School is to have a plan and a lot of patience. The decision to allow any new innovation shouldn’t be a top down decision. It also can’t be a bottom up one either. There has to be discussion and there has to be a plan in place that makes full use of them in the classroom. If not, then it’s almost better off not allowing them at all.

Sorry for the long comment, but you are touching on something many people overlook when it comes to “new” innovations. It’s the process we go through as we adopt the innovation that is going to be the indicator of our success. If we don’t do it just right, the results might not be what we want.

Great post!

 

Thoughts?

Barriers

I’ve been thinking about barriers a lot lately.  It seems like whenever a new innovation rises to the top, there are a number of barriers we need to overcome before we can take advantage of the innovation.  I’m not sure who said this, but someone once said that “Roadblocks are there to make you show how badly you want something.” I think I agree with this statement mostly, and often find myself trying to overcome barriers.  As a person who typically pushes change, regardless of the form it takes, I’ve had some experiences overcoming barriers and thought I’d share my experiences.

• The first thing I typically do is explain clearly the innovation.  Most people don’t like change because it’s easier to keep doing what they’re already doing, even if there are potential benefits in changing.
• Next I listen to my audience.  People being targeted for change need to have time to process the innovation and they will naturally have questions.  This also gives me the opportunity to address any misconceptions the audience may have about the innovation.
• As questions come up, I try to find examples of the innovation.  If I can’t find an example, I do my best to create an example of my own.  Allowing the audience to see the innovation can help them develop a better conceptual understanding of the innovation and will remove some barriers.
• At about this time, I usually take time to find the people in the school who might be most interested in the innovation and target them for early adoption.  This again expands the opportunity for others to see the innovation while allowing some to actually try the innovation.  This is a crucial time in the adoption process since the early adopters are going to develop a favorable or unfavorable opinion about the innovation.  Therefore I do my best to make sure these early adopters are supported in whatever way they need.
• At this point, I usually am limited to supporting those adopting the innovation and trying to persuade other would be adopters.  The best path to success here is by word of mouth of those who are the pulse or opinion leaders of the school.

This certainly isn’t an exhaustive list of things you can do to overcome barriers to implement change, but these are the common steps I take.  Frustration is often the biggest barrier to change and I find that if there is a process to follow, frustration and other barriers can be minimized.  If you’d like to learn more about change and how to make it happen, check out Diffusions of Innovations.  It’s a bit of a read, but it does give a good perspective on how to approach change.  If you’re the Wikipedia type, here’s the Diffusions of Innovations page.

#LeadershipDay11 – Don’t allow technology to be added on to current instructional practices

Image from: http://scottmcleod.org/leadershipday2011.png

Today is Leadership Day 2011, an event created by Scott McLeod about effective school technology leadership.  I heard of Leadership Day last year, but for some reason I didn’t get around to blogging or even reading many of the posts from that day.  This year is going to be different.  Not only will I read other posts, I’m going to pen my own.  For my post, I wanted to focus on an area of school technology leadership that often is poorly implemented and a problem that happens all too often.  I’m talking about when new technologies are integrated into the classroom, but the instruction remains, for the most part, the same.

To me, technology integration is the delicate balance of pedagogy, content, and technology knowledge, otherwise know as TPACK.  In order to have meaningful change as a result of technology, the teacher must have knowledge of all three of these items and how they are going to interact with each other.  Only then will the learning that takes place truly be different, and hopefully lead to greater learning achievements.

However, too often, these three components aren’t thought about when technology is integrated into the curriculum.  Instead, technology is purchased, whether it be a projector, an interactive whiteboard, or even a laptop, and merely added to the current instructional practices.  While there may be some changes to the instruction, like showing lecture notes via PowerPoint rather than writing on the board, the overall learning that takes place in the classroom remains the same.  Daniel Pink (2006) refers to this as automation.  The technology is added to a current practice to make the practice better, faster, and/or cheaper.  The problem with automation is that the outcome doesn’t necessarily change all that much.  Yes, we can get more done, it may be a little bit better, and maybe even a little cheaper, but when it comes down to it, we are still doing the same relative task.

Taking that an putting it in an educational context, if we continue to add technology onto current educational practices, we aren’t transforming the instruction all that much.  We may make it a bit more fancy, a bit easier to interact with, or even quicker to complete, but in the end the teachers are teaching the same and the students are learning the same.  If we are going to transform education to meet the needs of the 21st century, then we cannot keep adding the latest tools onto our current practices.  We need to have a deeper and more fundamental discussion that involves concepts like TPACK, and really focus on the type of learning we want to see happening in our classrooms.  Only then will we be able to align the learning with the tools that will make a difference.

So administrators and other school leaders, I urge you to think about the type of learning you want to see in your schools and think about how that aligns with the needs of the 21st century.  Then, and only then, find the technology that will assist in making that type of learning a reality.  But here comes the tricky part.  Once the technology is “integrated” in the classroom, make sure the teaching and learning is different than what it was before the technology was implemented.  If it wasn’t then YOU need to do something.  It is YOUR responsibility to support teachers as they do their part and struggle to figure out what to do with this new piece of technology.  If we are really talking about transforming education, then it’s going to be an uncomfortable process for everyone.  Teacher assumptions and beliefs ARE going to be challenged if schools are adopting instructional practices and technology that truly transform education.

So make sure all the time, money, and other investments are worth it.  Don’t let technology be added on, because it not only wastes resources, it also hurts our students and their futures.  Challenge your teachers to try different things, but also be willing to let them fail when things don’t work out.  Each of us have to be willing to fail, because if we think we can transform education without failing, then we further to grow than we believe.  Good Luck!

References:

Pink, D. H. (2006). A whole new mind: Why right-brainers will rule the future (pp. 40-47). New York, NY: Riverhead Books.

Ethical uses of technology: Final thoughts

This week I have written about unblocking social networking sites so we can empower our students to learn using those sites, helping our students create and manage an online presence, and helping our students become more information literate.  These are three of many of ethical issues related to technology.  It would be impractical to provide an exhaustive list of ethical guidelines for using technology in the 21st century, simply because there are too many variables at this point in the game, and because it would be so long no one would read it.  For my purposes here, I choose three of what I consider to be hinderances for our students.  I feel if students aren’t adequately prepared in these three areas, they will be at a disadvantage once they enter the marketplace.  It will be harder for them to compete, succeed, and be successful in whatever they choose.  Hopefully this week I have sparked some thought with each of you as you look at your teaching and how others in your school are currently teaching.  What happens next is up to you and I hope you take it to the next level by having a conversation with other teachers, educators, administrators, community members, and most important, your students.  Only through this conversation will you start to make change happen and help your students become better learners and members of society.

Ethical uses of technology: Information literacy

This is the third of a series of three posts on Internet safety and ethical uses of technology in schools in the 21st century.

Image from: http://librarynext.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/litchart.gif

I’m completing a M.Ed. program through Iowa State University and I have been creating a portfolio based on five competencies.  These competencies really sum up all the work we’ve done over the last three years and has given me time to think about some of the work I’ve done, both as part of the program and during my tenure as a technology director for a K12 school.  However, one of the competencies is based around ethical use of technology and it was this standard that challenged me to think of an artifact that would meet this truly important standard.  I have done a number of things over the last few years related to Internet Safety and ethical uses of technology in education, but nothing really stood out to me as being the best I could put forward to represent my thoughts on the topic.  Where I struggled was that most of what I’ve done hasn’t had much of a 21^st century perspective.  As I searched the Internet looking for some guidance, I still came up short, therefore, I’ve decided to come up with my own ethical guidelines for technology use in schools for the 21^st century.  These are purely my beliefs, but I think they are important enough to share with the rest of the world.

This week I have talked about empowering our students and making sure they understand the consequences of their actions online as a way to help them create and manage their online presence. Today I am going to finish up my thoughts on the ethical uses of technology in the 21st century by briefly talking about information literacy.  Looking forward to where I think the world is going, knowing how to find and synthesize reliable information is crucial.  When I was in school, books were the standard bearer for having a reliable source.  However, times have changed and so have our students.  No longer are books or other written text the only reliable information sources and I believe we need to reflect that in how we teach and prepare our students.

Information literacy and how to tell if a site is reliable

We live in the world of Wikipedia and any number of other sites that publish information, many with questionable intentions.  Not surprisingly, most of the information on these sites is questionable and in a world and marketplace where finding and disseminating information is key, teaching our students how to find reliable and valid information is key to their success.  I know I ‘ve seen a number of “research” papers from students that use Wikipedia as their primary source of information.  While I advocate for the use of Wikipedia for general knowledge, much like I would a paper-based encyclopedia, we need to help students take their searches deeper to reach experts and primary sources.  With many schools having access to EBSCO, SIRS and other online databases, it only makes sense to teach our students how to wield the power of these sites to find the best information possible to make an informed decision.

What’s more, the level of interconnectedness we have through the use of social networking sites allows us to contact subject matter experts.  Many subject matter experts will provide a portion of their time for free, allowing teachers the opportunity to bring in an authentic source for their students.  If you’re looking for a way to motivate your class about your content, or a student finds conflicting resources about a topic, find a person who is an expert in that field.  It could be an environmental biologist, an engineer, a politician, or any number of others that are willing to come and talk to your classes, if not face to face, over the Internet through technologies like Skype or even email.  We have become a society that seems afraid of asking for assistance or input from outside entities.  Knowing to ask for help is half the battle, so part of making student more information literate is helping them get to a point when they know they need to consult with another source.

My point here is that we need to create the opportunities for our students to interact with information and research.  Students have to learn how to make informed decisions and to an extent, they need to make a few mistakes before they can truly sift through all the information the world has to offer to find what they are really researching.  Teachers who fail to make use of the Internet, or do not allow the use of Internet resources in their assignments are truly doing a diservice to their students as this will be the medium for information dissemination in the future.  No longer are we able to allow our students to learn these important skills serendipitously, if at all.

There are a number of ways you can begin to increase your students’ information literacy.  Here are just a few.:

• Find a way to use the Internet in your classrooms to bring in authentic sources of information.  Bring authenticity to your content.  Just because you think it is important doesn’t mean your students do.
• Let your students become researchers so they have the opportunity to have hands-on experience trying to find authentic information about the content.  Don’t accept anything you deem less than acceptable.
• Explain why certain sites are unreliable or questionable and have that discussion with your students throughout the course of the semester or year.
• Show students how to find the organization of a Web site by taking a URL and deleting parts of the path until all that remains is the domain name.  You will sometimes be amazed with what you find.
• Use sites like EBSCO, SIRS, etc., with your students and model what being information literate means.
• Teach your students how to use boolean search techniques.  These techniques work for most databases and Internet search engines.