Edtech Weekend Report 4/1/13 - Happy Spring Break! No Foolin'

Links of the week

Working with "at-risk" students for years has led me to one clear conclusion when it comes to grading; Zeroes are one of the worst grading policies for supporting learners. There's a blog post in that sentiment for sure, but lately my twitter and blog reader have been filling up with post like these.

• The Value of Zero
• Here's what really happens when you give a zero
• Grade Change: Moving a School Culture Forward

My former principal and all around great guy, Pete Spencer, wrote a nice post asking Why so few career connections in classrooms? He makes some important points about relevancy and real world connections to careers in schools. 

And if you haven't heard about http://www.edcanvas.com yet then now's the time. This site is getting lot's of buzz lately as a way to curate content on the web for your blended classroom or as an alternative to traditional presentation tools for students. Here's an example of an edcanvas put together by another fantastic ed techie, Kristin Day, on using QR codes in the classroom. 

Upcoming events

If you are over on Michigan's southwest side you might want to check out the Southwest Michigan iPad Conference on June 20, 2013 at Barrien RESA.

Here's another opportunity to attend an Edcamp. Edcamp Novi is May 18th hosted by Novi schools.

And finally, Todd Bloch, a Michigan educator you should be following, has suggested that #miched start compiling a list of PD and conference opportunities around the state. I totally agree. Especially since my little attempt here to cover these myself is sure to be falling short. If you have an event you would like to promote be sure to share it out on Twitter using the #miched hashtag.

New apps to check out

CK-12 has just released a new app to showcase their open source e-textbooks and learning resources. The app features a digital library for searching and downloading their books. I'm not entirely sure if the app is a better alternative to reading the e-textbooks in iBooks or online at the moment, but it's encouraging to to see how the platform continues to evolve. 

 Roll your own PD

So this week I didn't create any new resources myself, but that doesn't mean that there aren't tons of awesome ways to keep on learning. The REMC Connected Educator Series features a variety of topics in short digestible chunks presented by educators from around Michigan. The latest in this series is from Gary Abud showing how he has made a Bring Your Own Device policy an integral part of his classroom. 

College ready vs. Innovation ready

The future is hard to predict. Perhaps that's why it's easier to set goals that target specific and measurable outcomes - like college graduation for instance. Successfully completing a post-secondary program has long been one of the surest guarantees of economic success. But is this model sustainable? A Masters degree is becoming the de facto qualification and that the costs of a university education continue to sky rocket. I'm not saying that there is no value in having the skills necessary to successfully complete college, but I also believe this landscape is shifting rapidly. Traditional brick-and-mortar college classes are becoming increasingly blended or are moving entirely online. Knowledge based courses that essentially "cover" content are competing against the Internet and losing. Meanwhile fewer careers are going to be available based solely on what you know, instead demanding entrepreneurs who can work with existing sets of knowledge to create solutions to problems and needs that don't exist yet. As this New York Times op-ed says, a base set of knowledge is still important, but more and more it is the ability to synthesize this knowledge into new ideas, new solutions, and new products that will be valued by employers and society. The good news is that these are the careers of passionate, empowered, creative people. It's a move toward a society of intrinsic productivity and voluntary interdependence. I think it's exciting.

Edtechkit Weekend Report 3/24/13 - Ch...Ch...Ch...Changes

Links of the week

I took a few weeks off from my Weekend Report series to prepare for and embrace new changes in my career (see below). Now I have so many amazing resources I've bookmarked and favorited I hardly no where to start. So I'll begin with this Prezi that tells the tale of Mission Hill public school in Boston, MA through beautifully documented video and exploratory tasks for the viewer. I've only skimmed through this brilliant edustory but figure this is a must view since it inspired me to fire this post up.

I know I mention the #miched hashtag and twitter community quite often. That's because it's an amazing group of educators that are committed to sharing and growing as professionals. Last week Brad Wilson (@dreambition) put the final touches on the second #miched podcast focussed on designing learning spaces. This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart because my dad was an architect who spent most of his career designing schools in rural Wyoming. He loved talking to teachers and students about how the design of a building and the learning environment influence learning and the challenge of transforming these conversations into physical spaces he designed. I was honored to skype with Brad to discuss my dad's passion and my own experiences with designing learning spaces. You can hear part of our conversation as well as some other amazing educators from Michigan who are looking deeply at this topic.

Like I said, a month off from sharing great links can lead to quite a back log but here are a few more that you may want to check out.

• Teacher remixed: 5 ways to change our profession
• Free Courses On Copyright and Creative Commons for Educators
• What Does ‘Design Thinking’ Look Like in School?
• What Happens When Kids Craft Their Own BYOD Policy?

Upcoming events in Michigan

April 20, 2013 Jackson ISD will be hosting an innovative conference that plans to be half edcamp half brain trust (bringing in the REMC Connected Educators from around the state). It's sure to be a can't miss.

How about attending Michigan's unconference jugernaut, EdCamp Detroit, on March 4, 2013. An unconference empowers educators to facilitate and/or participate in spontaneous participant driven professional development. It's the kind of event that leads to quotes like "This was the best PD EVER!"

In January I was fortunate to have attended the Educon 2.5 conference at the Science and Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. It was an amazing "conversation" conference and quite different from any conference format I had ever participated in. Great news! NovaNow promises to bring this innovative conference format to Michigan September 27-28 in Grand Rapids. It will be hosted by Kent ISD at Kent Innovation High. 

Roll your own professional development

For this year's MACUL conference I put together a series of videos and slide deck on using the iPad as a tool for Universal Design for Learning. I enjoyed sharing the UDL framework with participants and showing them how the accessibility features of the iPad and a variety of apps can be used to support all learners in the classroom. 

Ch...ch...ch...changes

I love working alongside teachers and with students to design and implement dynamic and meaningful opportunities for learning. I like seeing what works, what doesn't work, and iterating over and over again until a workable model emerges. I love building relationships and having the opportunity to see the impact of conversations and in-class support coming together successfully in a lesson. I'm passionate about making our schools a great place for students and educators. And I've been fortunate to be doing this my entire educational career. 

Starting this week, I'll continue to do this in my new role as the Education Technology Specialist for Marysville Public Schools. Leaving my position with our local RESA was not easy. Working with eight different school districts was amazing and helped me to grow in so many ways. Now, by focusing on one school district that is already working very hard to innovate and evolve, I look forward to growing even more. This is an exciting time in education. One also fraught with challenges. Here's to new horizons and new opportunities. It's all about the journey.

Edtechkit Weekend Report - 2/23/13 "Design is a form of activism"

Links of the week

Pixabay.com is a great place for teachers and students to find beautiful, high impact images that are available under the Public Domain license. This means they are free to use in just about every way. Of course giving credit with proper citation is still highly recommended.

Speaking of pictures. I'd also like to suggest taking a moment to view this TED-x video entitled Teaching Without Words. It hits on many important Universal Design for Learning principles and the importance of using visual feedback to support learners.

If you aren't participating in the #miched chats every Wednesday at 8pm then you should be. This Wednesday was no exception with teachers sharing some of their favorite web tools and how they are using them in the classroom. I'm most excited about infuselearning.com which I learned about in the chat last week.

Here are a few more of my Twitter favorites from the week.

Favorites

1. 
   

   30 minsScott Newcomb ‏@SNewco

   Everything BYOD! http://bit.ly/Tl4zQb  #edcampMadWI #edcampOKC#edcampFWD #edcampphx #EdCampOAISD

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2. 
   

   Feb 19Brad Wilson ‏@dreambition

   Map Your PD Pathway from #ADE http://bit.ly/Vu2jde  Looks useful!@runfardvs @powell4thgrade h/t @mrlosik 

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3. 
   

   Feb 19Ira Socol ‏@irasocol

   Lots of shushing at IDEO school design event. Can we design that out?

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4. 
   

   Feb 19Theresa Shafer ‏@TheresaShafer

   What does an Ed Tech Coordinator Do? http://goo.gl/4l6QH  ( a cartoon) via the Innovative Educator

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5. 
   

   Feb 19Mike ‏@mikekaechele

   The resources on @djakes educon page are the euqivalent of taking a class on design thinking http://jakes.editme.com/educon25 

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6. 
   

   Feb 19Eric Sheninger ‏@NMHS_Principal

   RT @McLane_Ryan: What Is a Grade? http://bit.ly/15qEIhE 

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7. 
   

   Feb 18Clif Mims ‏@clifmims

   Just Block EVERYTHING - Texas Principal http://ow.ly/hPxt0  #edtech#cpchat

News and Upcoming Events in Michigan

MASSP iPad Summit March 26 (MSU Henry Center) - Only 35 seats left for the Michigan Association of Secondary Schools Prinicipals iPad Summit conference. If your district is implementing or planning to implement iPads at the Secondary level then you won't want to miss this opportunity to learn how schools  in Michigan are transforming student learning using iPads. I'm honored to have been asked to keynote this exciting event and look forward to setting the stage for the day with what I think will be a very fun theme: "iPad Magic - How to Wrangle the Unicorns"

It's Official! Save the date. April 20, 2013 Jackson ISD will be hosting an innovative conference that plans to be half edcamp half brain trust (bringing in the REMC Connected Educators from around the state). It's sure to be a can't miss. Details to follow.

How about attending Michigan's unconference jugernaut, EdCamp Detroit, on March 4, 2013. An unconference empowers educators to facilitate and/or participate in spontaneous participant driven professional development. It's the kind of event that leads to quotes like "This was the best PD EVER!"

New Apps to check out

This one's not exactly new and it's not directly educational but the Public Radio Player app recently received a major overhaul that updated the user interface and added the ability to download episodes of featured Public Radio programs like This American Life and Car Talk. Unlimited access to most music genres, news from around the country, and great programming shouldn't be overlooked as a resource for the classroom.

This week I'm also recommending that teachers take a look at the updated version of the Puppet Pals App. Like the Public Radio Player this is a major refresh of the original app. So much so in fact that it has actually been released as a new app entirely - Puppet Pals 2. With better animations and new characters and backgrounds this is a must have app for any classroom. 

Roll your own professional development

I use Weebly websites for both my edtechkit.com and ilearnipad.weebly.com sites. In my mind it is the fastest, most intuitive way to get a website up an running. While there are more advanced tools out there that teachers can and perhaps should use to represent their classrooms online I feel that Weebly is an important first step for many teachers needing to make the leap to making digital content available to their students.

My Weebly training resources are available here for individuals looking to learn a bit more about Weebly. It's also part of my flipped-training model that helps me maximize my face-to-face training time.

Thought for the week

On Tuesday I participated in a professional development day with one of our local school districts. The morning session was intended to expose the teachers in this district to the Future of Learning design process introduced to our county by Dr. Bryan Setzer of  2Revolutions. One big idea that I keep coming back to is a quote from their introductory video that states, "Design is a form of activism". This idea, that the design process is proactive, empowering, and Revolutionary is important at a time when education is not only under fire but also undergoing sweeping changes. And I'm equally drawn to a quote from the IDEO design website that describes design as "solving problems with elegance and beauty". Put these together and we have the opportunity to radically redefine education on our terms but in a manner that is unmistakably attractive. Attractive in the sense that it appeals of our aesthetic sensabilities as well as our common sense and thus lays to rest the notion that we are failing our children.

Week 01 IDEO from Design Thinking for Educators on Vimeo.

Edtechkit Weekend Report - 2/10/13 "Punchin' the time clock" #scc21c

Links of the week

I come across all kinds of great articles and resources every week. These are a few that I've bookmarked or shared on Twitter that warrant a second look for myself and perhaps a first look for you.

I'm a fan of Yong Zhao and value his insights regarding the big picture of our educational system in the U.S. It's no secret that he is not a fan of high stakes testing or the nationwide push toward standardization. Whether or not you agree with his opinions, I recommend reading this recent interview.

I was privileged to meet two extraordinary teachers, Shawn Wheeler and Ken Kozzar from Cleveland, Ohio a few weeks back at Educon 2.5. They blog under the moniker Teaching Humans about their journey creating a "school within a school" founded on cross-curricular, mastery based, project based learning (PHEW!). A current project they are running is called the Wikiseat Project that incorporates design thinking principals, Emersonian philosophy and a whole lot more. Check out one student's blog reflection about this project to see an example of the type of reflection and engagement schools should really try to achieve.

And a just few more for the fun of it:

1. age will appear as a link
2. 15hStephanie Dulmage ‏@stephe1234

   What would you do as the Director of Blended Learning? - My learning network is invisible. At least it is to everyon... http://ow.ly/2uMCyI 

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3. 16hSue Gorman  ‏@sjgorman

   iPads in Primary Education: Enhancing Topic Work (World War 2) Across the Curr... http://mrandrewsonline.blogspot.com/2013/02/enhancing-topic-work-using-ipods-ipads.html?spref=tw …#edtech #mlearning

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4. 16hSue Gorman  ‏@sjgorman

   iPad Collaboration TimelineJS http://edtechteacher.org/blog/2013/02/ipad-collaboration/ …#edtech #mlearning

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News and Upcoming Events in Michigan

Save the date. April 20, 2013 Jackson ISD will be hosting an innovative conference that plans to be half edcamp half brain trust (bringing in the REMC Connected Educators from around the state). It's sure to be a can't miss. Details to follow.

Another interesting conference you may want to check out is the Visual Thinking and Literacy conference April, 13, 2013 at Seaholm High School in Birmingham, MI. This won't necessarily be your typical education conference since it is open to business leaders, community leaders and educators. Design thinking and effective communication across all fields will be explored.

And don't forget! MACUL - Michigan's premier education technology conference is just around the corner March 20-22. This statewide event is an awesome opportunity to learn and network with some of the most innovative educators in our state. This year's MACUL conference is hosted in Detroit at the Cobo center. I'm facilitating two sessions this year - The Appcessible iPad (UDL strategies for the iPad) and co-presenting with Laura Chambless - Cooperative Learning and the iPad.

New Apps to check out

File this one under the category of "Makes math teachers cringe". MyScript Calculator is a handwriting recognition calculator that can perform most basic math functions by interpreting handwritten numbers and symbols. It's amazingly accurate and really quite fascinating. I also feel that a tool like this has the potential to benefit students who struggle using traditional keypad based calculators. I've worked with many students who make simple input mistakes that effect the accuracy of their answers. Drawing the number 3 is less prone to mistakes than accidentally pressing the key next to the three. It might also benefit students who have difficulty with fine motor skills.

And here's a fun one. Lego Super Heroes Movie Maker is a Free stop motion movie creator. You can easily substitute Lego figures out for any objects you choose. Possible ideas for the classroom are student generated "In Plain English" style explanations of concepts and ideas, storytelling, and classroom news (ok that one might be a stretch but I have some thoughts on how I'd do it)

Roll your own Professional Development

I had a very productive Friday. More about that below. I've made three more Google Drive tutorials for my Google Apps for Education series. You can view all of these resources and the accompanying written instructions on my website. Or take a look at these three latest screencasts.

Thought for the week

As I mentioned above I had a very productive Friday. Without going into all the details lest someone enamored with time clocks and seat time become upset, I will share that I was not at my desk during any of this burst of output. Blended learning is generating big buzz these days but I firmly believe that blended work environments that honor adult autonomy, comfort and schedules needs a closer look especially in education. I know. I know. - "We can't just have everyone running around making their own schedules and working in coffee houses whenever they like!" Not to mention that fact that teachers cannot "watch" our children if they are not in their classrooms. But I do believe that there are ways in which flexing our schedules and work spaces can work to the benefit of all. It involves partnerships and collaboration, utilizing technology to bridge space and time, and a commitment to innovation. And yes, integrity too but if that's not a given then we have a larger problem. Don't we?

Edtechkit Weekend Report - 2/1/13 #scc21c

Latest News

This week Google announced a big update to its Forms tool in Google Drive. The biggest change is the look of the Forms editor which now more closely aligns with the editing tools in documents and spreadsheets by adding a tool bar to the top that organizes all of the editing features. Some of the other important changes are the ability to collaborate on editing a form with others, the ability to open the chat side bar when others are viewing simultaneously, and the ability to copy and paste lists into the answer key area to quickly generate choices. I'm looking forward to trying out the new editor and hope these changes bode well for future updates like adding images!

Upcoming Events in Michigan

Digital Learning Day is Wednesday, February 6 nationwide, and many educators across Michigan are planning to participate. St. Clair County RESA is hosting a Town Hall viewing and collecting examples of Digital Learning Day projects from across St. Clair County. How are you planning to participate?

MACUL - Michigan's premier education technology conference is just around the corner March 20-22. This statewide event is an awesome opportunity learn and network with some of the most innovative educators in our state. This year's MACUL conference is hosted in Detroit at the Cobo center. I'm facilitating two sessions this year - The Appcessible iPad (UDL strategies for the iPad) and co-presenting with Laura Chambless Cooperative Learning and the iPad.

New Apps to check out

This week my colleague, Kristin Day, did a great job demonstrating the app Videolicious to a group of teachers currently working on developing Project Based Learning (PBL) units for their classroom. This simple 3 step movie making app lets you quickly stitch together images and video with simple transitions, voice narration and a music soundtrack to create a polished multimedia project perfect for PBL presentation trailers. 

Roll your own Professional Development

As part of my efforts to support a local 1:1 iPad initiative I've been creating a series of resources for using Google Drive with the iPad. My latest screencast focuses on how to use the Google Drive app and Chrome app to access as many features as possible on this device. It is directed toward students new to this process but should be useful for teachers getting started with Google Drive as well.

Thought for the week

Process vs. Product - This dichotomy came up a lot this week in conversations with colleagues and in my online networks. What do we value most in education? Is it the habits of mind and the actions of learning, the critical thinking and collaboration that is necessary to solve real world problems? Or is it the result of that work - the final, finished product we create and the proof that we what we have learned was mastered? It seems much easier to quantify products, especially products rooted in factual recall or in the performance of distilled skills. But process, especially a process rooted in inquiry and contextual application, is where real learning seems to reside. I think I agree most with Dr. William R. Hite, Superintendent of Philadelphia public schools, who said during his opening keynote at Educon last week, "It is not enough for our students to master content. They must master context."