In Search of Authentic Tech Integration Examples

I’m in the process of designing professional development opportunities for faculty and students in the College of Education at UNI. This past semester we did a number of short, informal professional development sessions that targeted areas where faculty and students felt they needed additional development. I’m following a similar process for this coming year, but I’m wanting to introduce more authentic examples of lessons, projects, etc., that use technology so we can analyze how the technology is being used and to simply show what some of the possibilities are. I’m not an expert in all content areas, so it does get difficult when we try to find ways to use technology in a subject, say world languages, because I don’t really understand the subject matter or how it is taught. We can get there, but it takes time, which is precious. 

So what I’m endeavoring to do over the summer and even moving forward, is to work with practicing educators to find examples of technology use in their courses. These could be things like a lesson plan, project, assignment sheet, blog post, or even just a general note about how technology is being used to teach a concept. I’m not looking for anything profound. Just how are you using technology and is there a way we can capture it so I can share it with others.

I’m also looking for examples of when technology hasn’t really worked out as expected or if it was just a poor use of technology. There’s this assumption that many have with any technology improving the learning when often that’s not the case. I feel there’s a benefit from looking at these kinds of examples, because we can identify why it’s ineffective and how we can make it better or do things differently.

So I’m asking for your help. PLEASE send me links, attachments, copies, etc. of how you are using technology in the classroom to teach. They can be good, bad, or somewhere in between. It’s important to see what you are doing, because that is the context we are preparing future teachers to go into. Here is the list of topics I am looking at right now. It is a very rough draft of what I collected from a survey, but it’s where I’m starting from. And yes, I know it is very technocentric, but that’s not how it will end up. 

1. iPads in all subject areas
2. Digital Storytelling in Elementary Education and Literacy Education
3. Social Media in Secondary Science, Elementary Education, Social Studies, and Mathematics
4. Google Drive/Apps in all subject areas
5. Interactive Whiteboards in Elementary and Literacy Education and Level 2 Field Experiences
6. Streaming Video (Podcasting/Panopto) in PE, Secondary Science, and Elementary Education
7. Web 2.0 (Blogs/Wikis) in Elementary Education and Special Education
8. Clickers (Poll Everywhere/Handhelds) in Elementary Education and Special Education

#iPad App of the Week: CloudOn

Image: http://www.razorianfly.com/wp-content/uploads/cloudon-razorianfly-icon.png

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, but I came across a useful app so I thought I’d share. The app is called CloudOn and it is an office app. It opens most files and for most people we really are only talking about Microsoft Office files. The app connects with Google Drive, Dropbox, SkyDrive, and Box, which means for most people it is going to integrate into a service you are already using. I found that feature to be the most beneficial since I don’t want to sync my content manually, which really is the biggest downfall for things like Pages or Keynote. That is unless you are using iCloud, but I don’t want another service either.

As far as the app features, the feel when you’re in an app is really like you are using Word or PowerPoint on a computer. For me that’s both good and bad, but in general I like it. The resolution seems a little low and words on the screen are a little pixelated, but it’s still acceptable. The navigation on the app is logical and flows easily. There’s also a decent tutorial at the beginning to help with learning the navigation within the app.

All in all, if you are looking for a free office app for the iPad, this one might be your ticket.  If you’re a Google Drive user, I’d probably still recommend the Drive app, but this one is probably a close second, especially if you are editing actual Word files and want some of the more Word features. It really depends on how you are going to use it on your iPad. For most of us, we likely aren’t doing a ton of document editing on the iPad, but this at least provides a nice option if we need to make some changes when we’re away from the computer.

The app is free.

It’s the Total PACKage that matters

I’ve started to realize that as I work with more and more teachers to use technology in their courses that they really are only interested in developing one of two types of knowledge. The first is Technological Knowledge. They just want to know how to use the technology. What steps to do I need to go through to make this work. The second is Technological Content Knowledge. An example of this would be the teacher wanting to know what the good math apps are.

There’s an implicit problem with both of these approaches to integrating technology…they don’t address teaching. If our goal for any professional development is to help teachers become better teachers, then we need to make sure we are talking about teaching. But here’s the problem, there are a lot of teachers who don’t want to talk about teaching. They’d rather just keep on keep’n on. I think this is the biggest challenge I, and I assume others, face. We need teachers to talk about their teaching. Oh, and it needs to happen more than once a month.

 

Image: https://store.usps.com/media/images/products/store/RRBC-01-main-746×746.jpg

When things don’t go as planned…

Using technology in the classroom can be high stakes. There are a number of things that can go wrong, from technical issues like the WiFi going down to the lesson not going as you expected due to an unforeseen issue. There certainly are things that can go wrong, and sometimes, it just doesn’t work out. I think teachers who want to use technology in the classroom, but have a tough time doing so because of the potential for failure, need to remember that teaching is a complex activity regardless if technology is used or not. Things go wrong. The power goes out, the wrong instructions for a project are handed out, there’s an interruption in the hallway, or worse in the classroom that stops everything. Technology is no different. Things go wrong here too, but the difference is, with non-technology things, we pick up the pieces and move on. With technology, however, it seems like we give up. We can’t go on, or even think about how we could go on if something went awry. Why?

I was leading an in-service for secondary teachers at a school last week and we ran into issues with the Internet. We were exploring iPads and how they could be used in a very low stakes way. Not looking at going one-to-one but as a way to enhance the current learning taking place in their courses.  As luck would have it, the Internet went down and wasn’t available for the rest of the day. I adapted. We relied on the tools available at the time to finish the in-service, and from what I heard from a few of the teachers afterwards, it was a pretty decent afternoon. Certainly not life changing, but valuable.

I’m not telling my story here for my ego. I’m talking about it because it underscores a key area I feel we need to develop as educators. I’m talking about teacher technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge, or TPACK. I was able to adapt to my situation when the Internet went down, because I knew what I wanted to do, how it could be done, and what I could use to get there. I acted much like teachers do in classrooms every day.  However, I think we grossly underestimate the role technology knowledge and its interactions with just content and just pedagogy have in the teaching process. While many effective teachers can handle curve balls in the non-technology classroom, many of those same teachers would be overwhelmed if they were in a similar situation like I was last week.

I feel we are still in technology as an isolated knowledge mode, rather than as an equal player mode. There is a dynamic relationship in TPACK. Any change in one is going to result in a corresponding change in the other two (Mishra & Koehler, 2006). For me, teacher TPACK is on a continuum. It isn’t something a teacher achieves, even though there may be varying degrees of TPACK. A teacher’s TPACK just keeps enhancing and adapting do new or different contexts. Teachers aren’t able to come to PD sessions, learn about or even experience technology and expect to attain TPACK. There’s more to it than that. Teachers have to learn about the technology, pedagogy, and content, and their interactions with each other as a whole and as individual entities, in a variety of contexts.

I think the main focus of developing teacher TPACK is on the confluence of each knowledge domain and rightly so. But that overlooks all the other areas (TK, PK, CK, TPK, TCK, PCK). These are all just as crucial to develop as TPACK, even though TPACK is the variable we’re trying to enhance. TPACK may be what teachers use as they demonstrate their effectiveness with technology in the classroom, but in order to demonstrate that effectiveness through TPACK, teachers must first have a firm grasp on each knowledge domain. If not, I’m not sure that teachers, regardless of how effective they may be, can handle problems with the technology when they arrise in the classroom.

There has to be a better way to helping teachers use technology. We know it’s not focusing on the technology, and I’m not sure focusing just on TPACK is the next logical step. To me, it seems like we need to think about TPK, TCK, and PCK and how they fit in the overall picture. Without them, I’m not sure we can develop teacher TPACK.

Your thoughts?

Image credit: http://mkoehler.educ.msu.edu/tpack/files/2011/05/tpack-1014×1024.jpg

Open letter to those providing tech support in educational settings

Dear Technical Support Professional,

Today I helped a faculty member I work with setup her iPads to use in her classroom. She had technical support in her college come help her set them up but they ran into problems and couldn’t come back for two weeks. This is a problem.

While I fully understand the constraints that tech support professionals operate under, especially having been one myself in a school district, it is completely unacceptable to allow faculty to struggle with a technology problem for two weeks, when in reality a day is too long.

There appears to be a misperception in the hierarchy within the organization. You see, faculty, teachers, and students, are near the top of the hierarchy, with support staff such as technical support, near the bottom. However, it appears that we have inverted this hierarchy and now support staff, in particularly technical support, believe they are able to dictate when problems will be addressed, when equipment will be setup, and which policies will be in place. I’m writing to say, enough is enough. It’s time to find your place.

Plain and simple, technical support professionals don’t get to make the rules, they don’t get to dictate policy. They get to support the people in the organization that need help with technology. Sure there will be give and take, especially as budgets continue to shrink. But you work for the faculty, teachers, and students. You are there to make their lives easier. You are there to make their teaching better. You are there to make it possible for their students to learn better. You don’t make unrealistic demands that effect teaching and learning. You aren’t qualified to make such decisions. You are there to make things possible.

I respect the knowledge, work, and commitment to your profession. I have been there. I have been technical support. I know what it’s like. It’s tough and stressful and unappreciated. You are the person people come to when they are unhappy and rarely are you thanked for your contributions. I’m not writing to be a pain. I’m writing because even though you are frustrated, stressed, unappreciated, and any number of other adjetives, you have a role. A crucial role. A role that is perhaps one of the most important in the school. Your role is to support faculty, teachers, and students in whatever they want to do in the teaching and learning process regardless of how outrageous it may sound. Innovation is outrageous by design and we need to embrace that if we are going to make a difference.

I want to thank you for all that you do and encourage you to help make things happen. We need you.

Respectfully,

Daniel Mourlam

Leadership Day 2012: Don’t Adopt Technology on a Whim!

Image from: http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/LeadershipDay2012.png

My message for this year’s leadership day is going to be simple: Stop making decisions to adopt technology on a whim! You are damaging your school every time you decide to adopt a new technology initiative, because your faculty, staff, and students cannot be expected to change every time you attend a conference and come back with the latest flyer from the vendor hall. Gather a team that represents all stakeholders in the school and work together to create a vision that has student needs at heart.*  Once you have that vision, bring every resource the school has into making it happen, including technology.

I may seem a little harsh, but I have become frustrated with both administrators and teachers, who lack the common vision for where they need to be and how they are going to get there. When this happens, numerous initiatives are started and the disconnect is so great that it is difficult from an organizational standpoint to support everything everyone is doing. The cliché, a mile wide and an inch deep, is very reflective of where many schools find themselves. Everyone has their vision for what needs to happen, but since many of these visions compete against each other, no one can do them well, not to mention enact meaningful change.

If you find yourself in any leadership position, I urge you to stop and take a step back. Gather key stakeholders that represent your school community and take a deep breath and consider where you want to go. What’s important? What skills do your students need to leave with as they enter college or the workforce? What is the light at the end of the tunnel that each student needs to reach when they leave? Define what that is, and then begin talking about how you can get there. How will you use every resource the school can leverage, including technology resources and funding, to make that vision happen? Most important, how are you going to  build capacity within those around you? Figure out what it is that you need do and do it extremely well. This isn’t going to be easy, but it has to be done.

I want to conclude by saying that once you have made your plans and it comes time for implementation, be sure to encourage a culture where change is embraced. Any meaningful change you implement is likely going to be different from what has been done in the past. Teachers are going to need support and lots of it. If a major technology initiative is being implemented to support the vision, be sure to support a culture where teachers and administrators are willing to work with each other and willing to fail together. Perfection isn’t achieved on the first run, so be willing to re-invent your plans, your techniques, and most important, yourself. The road is going to be bumpy and mistakes are going to be made. Lead by example and take risks that could end in failure,  learning from your mistakes. Be willing to move on to find the right solution.  And above all, be true to your vision and stick it out. Don’t let the static of vendor halls and technological novelties interfere with your vision. Don’t adopt a technological innovation on a whim.

 

*Yes I know schools have these teams, but I often question their effectiveness. How much is what these teams accomplish for show and how much is for real change? Is the culture present within these teams to allow for failure without blame? Is this team really helping your school move forward? If not, maybe it’s time for a change? Certainly not all schools are like this, but I’m sure too many are.

It’s all about options

I’ve worked with teachers for a while now and one thing has remained constant. They like options. I’m not a big fan of generalizations, but in general, most of the teachers and faculty I have worked with have enjoyed having a few options when it comes to helping them integrate technology into their teaching. Usually just a couple is all I like to offer, since too many options can overwhelm the most willing participant. The key is to listen to what the teacher really wants to do and then pick a couple of technologies that will do it well.

So the next time you work with another teacher on integrating technology, or probably anything, try listening to what they really want to do and then give him or her a couple options. Don’t force them to use X technology. Let them choose. This way technology integration isn’t being “done” to them, they are choosing to do so.

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21460573@N08/6490155575/

Developing Teacher TPACK

I was reading over at drzreflects.com about his post on TPACK and it triggered a thought I have been thinking about a lot lately.  I often think about how poor much of the professional development we have in schools is, but I’ve often struggled to define what would make it better. I’ve been searching for a construct that would help me conceptualize what would constitute really good professional development. After reading more about TPACK lately and coming across Leigh’s post this morning, I thought I’d share my idea about developing a teacher’s TPACK. Here’s my comment:

Leigh,

When you mention how we implement TPACK in our teaching, you touched on a topic that has been in the front of my mind for some time now. I think as we consider about how TPACK can be implemented in practice, we have to think also about how teacher TPACK can be developed. I think there are at least two levels of TPACK implementation we can consider with regards to level of technology use in the classroom: integration and innovation. We have been integrating technology for a long time using TPACK whether or not we really knew we were. I view integration as happening once we make a decision to use technology and include it in instruction. We make a decision about a technology, which then makes a change in how we teach the content, the P and C. However, if we think of TPACK as a knowledge to be developed in teachers, I think we can reach technology innovation which is the creation of new types of learning experiences that wouldn’t have been possible without the technology. I believe there is a continuum between these two lenses if you will that teachers move along as they develop an awareness of TPACK. As the they develop each domain of knowledge: T, P, C, T, TP, TC, PCK, and TPACK, they can begin to see stronger connections between each domain and how each can be leveraged in the classroom to create new learning experiences.

As I think about how this type of knowledge development can be created, I go back to how Mishra and Koehler (2006) explain how they implemented it in masters courses. They called it learning by design, which reminds me of problem based learning. They had students work together in groups that were responsible for defining, designing and refining a solution to a problem over the course of a semester. As I look at how this can be applied to practicing teachers in PK-12 schools, I see great potential. But it requires professional development practices to change.

Not sure what I was hoping to accomplish with this comment, but your post spurred my thought process, so I wanted to share. Happy summer break!

Dan

PBL, TPACK, and the Doctoral Class

Yesterday I “presented” on Shulman’s Pedagogical Content Knowledge, or PCK (1986), and Mishra and Koehler’s Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge, or TPACK (2006), in my doctoral class.  Every student in the course picks a scholar and does a 75 minute presentation on that scholar’s work.  My scholar was Lee Shulman and my focus was on PCK, which by proxy allows me to focus on TPACK which is where my interests really lie.  Many of the presentations thus far have been very teacher-centric where one of my peers does a nice PowerPoint on their scholar and we ask them questions.  However, that is the opposite of what I believe good teaching should be so I went with a different approach.  I opted for project based learning, or PBL.

It’s important for me that everyone is engaged during a lesson, which is what I view these presentations.  We are teaching each other about our scholar.  So doing a PowerPoint just wasn’t in the cards for my presentation.  I had the license to do whatever I wanted so I went down the PBL route.  I used the Buck Institute’s Project Planning Form to complete the lesson plan for my presentation and here’s what I’ve learned after going through this for the first time in a higher education setting.

First, preparation is no less important given the higher education setting.  One thing I know I could have done better was to prepare more for my lesson.  I had my peers creating a professional development plan for schools that I work with to improve the quality of their teaching with technology.  PCK and TPACK were to serve as the foundation of the PD plan.  Beyond that, I gave them free license to do whatever they wanted.  This is where my mistake was.  I should have provided them with key areas they needed to address or the basic structure of a PD plan.  I’m working with both full time educators and full time grad students who aren’t necessarily focusing on K12 education.  Initially, there was confusion of what they needed to do and how they should do it.

Autonomy is a good thing, if you have the time to do it.  I forgot this concept and it ate up a lot of the time I had planned for my peers to work on their project.  However, what I did learn is that giving students autonomy does require them to think and engage.  There were times last night when it was so quiet that it hurt.  I resisted talking to the point that I was beginning to worry my performance was suffering and then self preservation kicked in.  But once they got brainstorming ideas and getting the main components of the framework out on the table, there was a clear enough path to start moving forward.

I also learned that when doc students are asked to do group work, you might have to walk around the room and pick their jaws up from the floor!  I had a feeling that they wouldn’t be prepared to do something this intense, but I wanted to push them to think differently about what constitutes effective teaching.  Too often we are stuck listening to the professor for three hours, and only occasionally do we as the individual get the chance to talk.  I think to an extent that is the case in both of the courses I’m in right now, but the great part is that if we want to say something, we simply speak up.  While I like this about my classes, and to an extent I’m glad they are that way, I am usually left craving more interaction with my peers.  What does the superintendent in my class think about this, or what about the non-K12 educators in the room?  I want to hear their perspectives and how they see what we are learning about in their contexts.

But I also learned that as doc students, we rise to the occasion!  I was happy with how well the conversations played out in my presentation.  I wish I could have been a larger player in those conversations, but I recognize that isn’t my role when I’m the teacher.  Every group was having rich discussion and I tried to guide them best I could to where I wanted to end up.  I’m not sure if I got there last night, at least maybe not completely, but I think I made great strides as an instructor in letting my “students” take control of their own learning.  Then at the end of the class when we came together to discuss their ideas, I was able to add my own two cents.

Finally, I learned that PBL is a great way to have your students help you tackle a problem.  My problem is bad teaching with technology.  Last night I was able to use the collective knowledge of everyone in the room to create the beginning of a PD plan that I can use.  At a more practical level, they essentially gave me the outline for writing my final paper for the course, which will likely take another spin as I look to publishing in the future.  This is the beauty of PBL.  It’s authentic.  That one simple feature is what makes the difference.  There is something tangible that is achieved through PBL.  My example is at the highest level of education, but that doesn’t mean PBL doesn’t work at the lower ends as well.  It all depends on your context.

I’ll close with one final reflection.  As I was walking out of the building, I was thinking to myself, that probably could have gone better.  I wasn’t sure if I really accomplished what I wanted to, but then as I was making my way to my car, one of my classmates stopped me and said that he really enjoyed what we did tonight.  His school will be providing every student an iPad next year and figuring out how they are going to handle the presence of this new technology in the classroom is something they’ve been struggling with.  He said that creating a PD plan was precisely the kind of thing that his school needed to do to really get a handle on the issues of TPACK that will be facing them in the coming years.  This left me feeling a sense of vindication.  It gave me a new outlook on my performance, and even though there were things I would certainly change for next time, I believe I was still effective.  I failed, but it is through that failure that I succeed.  This is why being a reflective educator is so important.  We need to think about the actions we’ve taken and be critical or ourselves.  Sometimes this will be painful, but that’s a good thing, because then we can improve.

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?