7 Golden Rules about Using Technology in schools

1. Technology should not be trapped in a room such as a lab. I could not agree more that technology should be brought into the classroom and harnessed where students are learning and interacting. It should be mobile, assessable, and consistently updated. This week I was talking with one of my students. I asked her how often she uses computers in class. She replied, “once we used them in art class.” My mouth dropped. We are doing our students such a disservice  by not integrate technology into our teaching.

2. Technology is worthless without professional development and administration that supports it. Money and time needs to be spent on not only teaching teachers how to use the new technology, but encouraging creatively to implement technology into an educators’ daily teaching practice. Teachers need to be encouraged to use it and given opportunities to collaborate and enhance their instruction through meaningful professional development.

3. Mobile technology is in our classrooms, why aren’t teacher’s harnessing the power of cell phones? My husband and I went out to dinner this weekend. At the Hibachi table we were surrounded by a room full of 12 year old girls. When the cake came out all the girls (including the birthday girl) took out their cell phones. Out of the 12 girls around the table 7 had smart phones and the rest had basic cell phones. I laughed at the whole experience thinking that these kids probably don’t use them in school, but they are attached to them every single moment of the day. Cell phones can replace reference books, flip cameras, calculators, cameras, instant response devices, and so much more. They can save schools money and enhance instruction if done in an appropriate way.

4. Schools Fear Change. Schools across the country fear change… such as being replaced by the virtual classroom or collaborative web tools that are blocked because of their potential. Schools need to adapt and change to the modern era. Classrooms across the county are the same set up, design, and instruction since the mid 1940’s or earlier. Kids need to be taught how to deal with 21st century social media and taught how to use it appropriately. Blocking is NOT the answer, education is!

5.Technology tools are not just a fad- Everyone is a natural lifelong learning. Technology will change, we need to teach our students the skills to adapt to the changing environment.

6. Money is not the problem. Teachers have access to thousands of free web tools, twitter, and other methods of professional development. Don’t be afriaid to try new technology!

6. INVITE EVERY STAKEHOLDER TO THE CONVERSATION. “Who’s at the table?” Bellow asked. “Mostly administrators, some ask teachers. But here’s a novel idea. Let’s have students come to the table, and parents too!” I could not agree more with this rule. Students and parents need to be included in the conversation about technology in the classroom. Let’s get ALL the stakeholders involved.

 

Citation: Adam S Bellow  7 Golden Rules about Using Technology in Schools.

Image: credit

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Video Conference and Live Stream with the Tuskegee Airmen

This sounds too good to not share with other teachers around the world. In just under 20 days there will be a Video Conference and Live Stream from the Tuskegee Airmen. Your class is invited to participate in what the organizers hope will be an engaging once in a lifetime experience for your students.  Currently there are over 4,300 students that will be participating in this event and over 60 schools nationwide.

We have 11  Tuskegee Airmen who will be sharing their remarkable story of heroism and courage including:

DOTA Lt. Harry Lanauze, M.D. (Pittsburgh, PA)

Mr. Don Elder (Columbus, Ohio)

DOTA Joseph Gomer (Minneapolis, MN)

DOTA William Broadwater (La Plata, MD)

Staff Sergeant Homer Hogues (Dallas, Texas)

DOTA Lt. Calvin Spann (Dallas, Texas)

DOTA Leo Gray (Broward County, Florida)

DOTA Douglass Bembry (Indianapolis, Indiana)

Roscoe Draper (Phoenixville, PA)

DOTA Arthur L. Carter, Sr. (Indianapolis, Indiana)

DOTA Maj. George Boyd (Wichita, KS)

Dr. Linda Lane, Superintendent of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, will be participating via a pre-recorded video message.  Dr. Lane’s Father was a Tuskegee Airmen.  Ms. Susan Morgan, daughter of Col. William Morgan will be participating live from the Osseo Area Schools in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  We also have several Historians participating in the event including Mr. Regis Bobonis, President of the Daniel B. Matthews Historical Society here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Dr. Ruth Jackson, University Librarian at the University of California Riverside.

Several members of the panel served after World War II and were the beneficiaries of the trail blazed by the Tuskegee Airmen.  They include Senior Master Sgt. Timothy McCray and Aaron Watkins, a second generation Tuskegee Airman who served during the Vietnam War.

A detailed agenda can be found by clicking here.

We will begin promptly at 9:00 EST on February 28.  Your school can access the web stream by clicking here.  Your students will have the opportunity to participate in an online chat room.  We will be taking questions from the chat and posing them to the members of the panel.  If your school allows the use of electronic devices, students can also use the Twitter app, including the hashtag #phtuskegee in their tweets.

Tuskegee Airmen and Historians will be appearing live from sites scattered throughout the country including:

Morning Session

1.      Penn Hills High School (Pittsburgh, PA)

2.      Jimmie Tyler Brashear Elementary (Dallas, Texas)

3.      Northview Jr. High (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

4.      Fort Hayes High School (Columbus, Ohio)

5.      Phoenixville High School (Phoenixville, PA)

6.      Meadowdale High School (Dayton, Ohio)

7.      La Plata High School (La Plata, Maryland

Afternoon Session

1.      Penn Hills High School (Pittsburgh, PA)

2.      Jimmie Tyler Brashear Elementary (Dallas, Texas)

3.      Palmer Lake Elementary (Minneapolis, Minnesota)

4.      Champion Middle School (Columbus, Ohio)

5.      Phoenixville High School (Phoenixville, PA)

6.      Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet School (Indianapolis, Indiana)

7.      Brooks Middle Magnet School (Wichita, Kansas)

There will be a one-hour intermission for lunch from 11-12 EST.

Most questions can be answered by visiting our website at http://tuskegee.pennhillswiki.com.  However if you have additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me atbbrown@phsd.k12.pa.us, Skype: brownb82 or 412-793-7000 x5311.  I will be at a conference from Monday, February 13 through Wednesday, February 15, 2012.  The best way to reach me during that time is through email.

Please register on our website at http://tuskegee.pennhillswiki.com/registration

Thank you,

Mr. Brian Brown

21st Century Teaching and Learning Coach

Cyber Academy Liaison

Penn Hills School District

Twitter: @brownb82

Phone: 412-793-7000 x5311

WEB: http://techcoach.pennhillswiki.com

POLYCOM IP: 198.172.153.42

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EdCamp Social Studies the Best Professional Development

I am attending and participating at  EdCamp Social Studies in Philadelphia PA on March 24th. I am excited to learn from innovative social studies teachers and improve my teaching. I agree with Ron Peck in that an “amazing group of educators from  around the country are working together to put on a one of a kind EdCamp for Social Studies Teachers. It doesn’t get any better than that!” I hope to see you there!

 

What is EdCamp Social Studies? 

EdCamp Social Studies is an unconference, inspired by similar events being organized around the country.  Our goal is to bring  together educators to discuss social studies instruction that works.  It’s a day for educators, by educators.  In fact, all of our sessions will be facilitated by our attendees.  So come with an idea for a session that you would like to lead…or a suggestion for one you would like to see.

 

 

Citation: EdCamp Social Studies

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Great Movie Clip on Digital Age and Change

I just found this wonderful video clip from the blog, From Toy to Tool: Cell Phones in Learning. I only wish more schools would change with the times. Too many classrooms around the country resemble classrooms from a century ago! Teachers leading instruction and students dutifully taking notes and absorbing material like sponges. Our schools need to change and realize that students no longer learn the same way they did decades ago. It’s time to get our students interacting, collaborating, and learning skills to be successful in the 21st century.  Employers are looking for creativity, self-confidence, effective communication, collaboration, teamwork, and problem-solving skills. Students should not be treated as sponges anymore!

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How to improve student retention rates?

Thanks to the Motivation Daily newspaper, I learned about increasing retention rates and motivation in school. It is important for schools to monitor student retention rates because it can determine the success of an institution. Student retention rates are the “percentage of students who remain at an educational institution after they begin studying there. High schools, colleges and graduate institutes throughout the country care about improving their retention rates.” A school that has a high retention rate can suggest that a school is friendly, welcoming, supportive, and educationally stimulating. A school that has all of these characteristics can increase student achievement and success.

How can we improve our school? 

1. Collect data at the beginning of the year to determine the number of students enrolled

2. Collect data the following year on the number of students from your sample in Step 1 who are still enrolled at the school.

3. Divide the number calculated in Step 2 by the number of Step 1. For example, 90 (Step 2) ÷ 100 (Step 1) = 0.9 or 90%. The result of this calculation is the student retention rate. 90 percent of students of the incoming class of 2009 remained at the school after one year.

For more information visit: How to Calculate Student Retention Rate | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_7431537_calculate-student-retention-rate.html#ixzz1ijs8xrIy

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Great Ideas: 7 Uses for QR Codes in School

I discovered another great blog post from Vicki Davis author of the  Cool Cat Teacher blog. I could not agree more with Vicki that we should be encourage students to use their cell phones in the classroom. Vicky said “Let’s harness the elephant in the room instead of pretending he isn’t there. Cell phones and mp3 players provide us valuable links to the pockets and minds of the students we teach and qr codes are a great tool to leverage that connection.”   Great ideas Vicki!

Here are some great idea’s from Vicki’s Blog: 7 Uses of QR Codes in the Classroom

1 – CoverPage for Portfolios
I have my students write one summary blog post including hyperlinks to everything they have done for that period of time. For the eighth grade portfolio, we do have printed copies of many items that they save to use as reference during high school. (A sample MLA paper, instructions on creating MLA papers, proofreaders marks, etc. as well as their best of work.)

Their cover page has a QR Code on it. I can snap a picture on whatever device I need and have their summary post up on my screen in less than a second. The summary post includes hyperlinks to everything they have done online.

2 – Anything I have to assess online.
If I have 3-4 online items in a week, I have the students generate QR Codes and put them on ONE piece of paper and turn that in on Friday. Assessment is a snap and I can take pictures and use them.

3- When I want them to use an app
I would like to be 1:1 ipod touch or iPad at some point. But, for now, I share free apps with the students and try to find the Android, Blackberry, and iPod/iPhone equivalent. Put a picture of the QR Code for each of those on the Powerpoint Slide and show it on the board. The students can take a picture of the Code for their device and be taken to the app download screen immediately.

4- Take them to a website from a PowerPoint slide
If I’m using a PowerPoint and want them to go to any website, I always put the QR code on the slide.
(This needs to be standard practice at all conferences.)

5- Take them to a website as we are surfing.
Add Mobile Barcoder to your Firefox web browser. When you go to a website and want your students to follow you there on their mobile devices, you can use this handy add on to generate and show the mobile barcode on the screen. Just make sure that the link you are encoding is near the top of the screen, sometimes if you generate it low on the screen, students cannot get a good photo on their camera.

6 – Encode Homework.
This is a new one I’m testing. I don’t give a lot of homework, however, if I have some things I need them to do, I can encode the text and tape it up onto my assignment grid. They can snap a picture and put it into a text program of their choice. I’m not sure whether I’m going to end up keeping it as an SMS message or text file, but for now, I do it as a text file.

7 – To Hardlink and Remember
Our trophy case is FULL of trophies and state championships this year. We’ve just won state boys and girls track, team tennis for girls, state runner up tennis for boys and are hopeful about baseball. We’ve got movies of the assemblies and things. I’m encoding these and putting QR codes on the bottom of the trophies linking to the YouTube videos — for posterity. Eventually, we might put them in small plastic picture frames in front of the trophies, but most of the adults aren’t quite ready for that yet. (See more on hardlinking.)


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Ten Myths about Teaching

I love finding articles like this article from eSchool News entitled Ten Common Myths about Teaching.  eSchool News recently asked readers: “If you could clear up one misconception about teachers and/or teaching, what would it be?” Our goal was not only to help others understand these misconceptions, but also to learn how teachers feel they are perceived by others. 

Here are 10 misconceptions about teachers and teaching that emerged from readers according to eSchool News:

1. Those who can’t do, teach.

Response: Teachers must be well educated in their field of study, of course, but that is only the beginning. Teachers need much pedagogical preparation on topics including educational psychology, classroom management, assessment, curriculum instruction, communication skills, and budgeting.

2. A teacher’s day ends at 3 p.m.

Response: The good teachers I know work before school starts and long after the students go home, and work all summer, too—taking classes and attending workshops to become a better teacher; working on developing activities, units, and lessons to help students learn better; and learning new skills to integrate technology into their classrooms.

3. Teachers get their summers off

Response: We spend them doing professional development and planning for the coming year—even more so if you are changing grade level or subject for the coming year.

4. If teachers are good at what they do, student grades and test scores will be good, too.

Response: The best teachers among us can never be identified by the performance of their students on tests. We should seek to find those teachers who instill in students a belief that they can and will be successful when they are confronted with challenges

5. Teaching is easy, and anyone can do it.

Response: We teachers must complete professional development and continuing education in order to maintain our licenses. Not only must we master pedagogical theory, but we also must put it into practice daily.

6. Teachers are solely responsible for learning.

Response: Parents need to play an active role [by] following up at home with study skills, health, nutrition, and reducing time spent watching TV and playing games!

7. If you went to school, you know what teaching is.

Response: We have policies and procedures made by people every day without any input from educational professionals, which just don’t make sense

8. Teachers are well-compensated for what they do.

Response: People do not realize that many hours of preparation are required, not only to do our jobs but also to do them well. In fact, those hours take place [on] weekdays, weekends, and even during vacations.

9. Teachers aren’t as good as they used to be.

Response: We still have young teachers eager to work and who will give their all. My great worry is that because of the cutbacks in state and federal budgets, many of these teachers don’t have the opportunity to even begin their careers.

10. Teachers are all the same.

That a statement about one teacher (or a select group of teachers) is a statement about all teachers.”

Check out the article for more information.

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FREE Wonderful Webinars and Resources at the Teacher Learning Community

The Teacher Learning Community made by Simple K12 is a FREE membership available for teachers who would like to learn to integrate the latest educational tips and techniques in the classroom will engage their students and increase academic achievement. When you join, you’ll get immediate access to a global network of educators with whom you can share and collaborate, live and recorded webinars with education leaders, a resource center for sharing classroom documents, as well as a collection of over 500 hours of classroom technology how-to videos available anytime anywhere. It’s all the help and support you’ll ever need from your very own personal learning network (PLN)!  Check it out HERE

What a great resource! I am participating in three Webinars this week that can pertain to my classroom.

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16 Signs your Classroom is Behind the Times

I thought this was cute and an interesting thought. I think a lot of us are behind the times with technology. This idea was taken from Lisa at IheartEdTech

1.)  Your students turn in their homework on printed paper…instead of digitally.

2.)  For poster assignments, your students need glue, construction paper, and scissors… instead of using an online tool like Glogster.

3.)  You still have chalk.  Or a Dry Eraser.

4.)  You try to pull up a web resource on your computer to show the class and you receive a “Thiswebsite has been blocked” message.

5.)  You cross your fingers every time you try to connect to the network to access the internet.

6.)  You don’t get interrupted by a cell phone ring, text message, or tweet alert at some point during the school year.

7.)  You spend most of your class time lecturing students… rather than getting them collaborating and learning from each other.

8.)  You have a set of Encyclopedias.

9.)   You consider using a PowerPoint presentation as satisfying the need to integrate technology in theclassroom.

10.)  You create more content than your students do.

11.)  Your students aren’t teaching you something new (likely about technology) at least once a day.

12.)  You don’t have a classroom website or blog to post class information, homework assignments, and parent information online.

13.)  You don’t have a classroom set of computers, netbooks, ipads or other device for group work.

14.)  You don’t find at least one thing to call the IT department about every week.

15.)  A student has never requested to complete a project using a new digital tool you’ve never heard of.

16.)  You’ve never used or heard of:  Collaborize Classroom, Prezi, Evernote, Glogster, MyFakeWall, Typewith.me, Storybird, JayCut, Wordle, or Tiki-Toci.

 

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Don’t be Afraid to Try New Ideas This Year!

I am very excited for a new school year. I am ready to teach my students to appreciate history and fall in love with technology (more than Facebook). I think it is very important for teachers to implement and reflect on technology usage. Teachers need to take responsibility and collaborate with other teachers about curriculum and new modes of instruction.

During my first year teaching, I was observed by my principal who walked into my room when students were at different stations. Some students were doing research with library books, some students were using their textbook, and some of my students were researching on the computers in collaborative pairs. My administrator walked up to me nicely and said, “I’ll come back when you’re teaching.” I learned very quickly my first year that we as teachers need to be the change within our schools. 

Unfortunately, our schools have been built on the notion that the teacher rules the classroom. I think it is time for our educational system to do a “flip” and put more emphasis on student comprehension and meaningful learning. Students are not only learning in my classroom but gaining valuable skills to become successful lifelong learners.

Teachers need to be creative and bring technology into the classroom. My professional goal this year to to successfully implement new technology into my classroom. How do you plan on implementing technology in the classroom this year? 

 

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Thanks Matt Damon for Defending Teachers

This entire post is taken from Richard Bryne’s Free Technology 4 Teachers. I agree Thanks Matt!

“By now there is a good chance you’ve seen or read Matt Damon’s speech in defense of teachers. If you haven’t seen it or read it you can do so here.

Thanks to a handful of my colleagues in SAD 17 who posted it on their Facebook pages I learned about this follow-up interview with Matt Damon in which he defends teachers again. The video speaks for itself.”

 

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Five Things Students Want From their Education

eSchool News recently asked readers: “What’s the one thing you hear most often from students about what they want in school?” in the article entitled Five Things Students Say They Want from Education. Though the responses were numerous, readers repeated these five things students want the most. Check out the article. It has some interesting points. 

1. Real-World Application

2. Choice

3. Innovation

4. Teacher Mentors

5. Interactive Technology

 

 

 

 

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The Henry Ford has TONS of resources

I am currently attending the National Endowment for the Humanities Workshop at The Henry Ford in Dearborn Michigan. I am learning from numerous history professors from around the country, touching historical artifacts, experiencing life in in early colonial America through the present, and learning about creative resources at The Henry Ford to teach my students.

I am learning about the numerous resources The Henry Ford provides teachers for FREE both onsite and online. Check out all the educators resources here

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