Education and Technology should come together in a balance that is purposeful and goal driven. As both a teacher and administrator, I have stressed the implementation technology in the classroom through the innovative use of chromebooks. Here are my insights, reflections, and suggestions. Take it or leave it.
For those unaware, the Research tool in google docs is being replaced by the Explore tool. It is a fancy change and a cleaner look, but I have had some questions. I work with teachers on technology integration and I have taught, through the research tool, how to change the usage rights of images. Now that is gone. What to do?
I have been trying to figure it out through Google help forum, through twitter, and through countless searching. I finally found it by playing with the tool.
1. Open the Explore tool, search for something, and flip it to images.
2. Hover over an image and
click the zoom symbol.
Below the large image is the usage rights of the image.
Get past the rule: communicate appropriately online.
Rather than simply telling students what is right and wrong, I choose to look beyond the communication. As a science teacher, I often told my students about discoveries made in science. A discovery is only a discovery if communicated out to the world. It is how people gather information, learn about new things, and how they identify with people. Whether spoken or written, communication is the key to transfer of knowledge. A person may have found the cure to all disease, but without communication, nobody knows and the disease continues.
Who discovered the double helix? Who won the Nobel Prize for it?
So how can we inspire good digital citizenship in online communication. Rather than give a set of don'ts, inspire greatness. Are your students communicating about a discovery? Have they designed a solution to a problem? Are they trying to change the culture at their school? None of these things can be done with poor communication.
Look at commercials, presidential elections, anything negative; people get sick of it. Going back to my favorite book, Start with Why, people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it. If you want people to buy your product, buy in to your culture change, and support your solution then you need to communicate in a manner that speaks to them. A lesson in Digital Citizenship does not need to be about do's and don'ts, it can be more about marketing. Changing an idea in your head to a movement takes communication.
Turn a dream into a movement, spread the positive, solve a problem.
Regardless of how you word it. Students rise to a challenge and will surprise you with the things that they do. If all we do is get our kids to "not say bad things online" then we are selling them short. Have them communicate online to create something.
A digital footprint is like credit... Good digital footprint is good, bad is bad, none is bad.
- Jeremy Shorr
Digital Citizenship is not a set of rules. It is a guide for students to change the world.
Why do we only warn our students about having a bad digital footprint? Show them what is possible with a good digital footprint.
I enjoy talking to teachers about student-centered classrooms. The importance of innovative teaching methods and creating amazing learning environments for students is a passion of mine. What if I posted image of my own classroom and everything showed students in rows, reading silently to themselves, or being completely disengaged. My digital footprint would be in complete contradiction to what I was talking about. I wouldn't be buying the very product that I am selling. It is not that I have a bad digital footprint, it is just that the footprint does not "say" that same things I do. Odd.
Now imagine if students wanted to change the world. They identify a problem and design a solution. One thing that I used to get my chemistry students to write, is the fact that a discovery is only a discovery if communicated to the world. To change the world you need to communicate your solution. People will see and judge you and your ideas.
Simon Sinek said it best, "people do not buy what do, they buy why you are doing it." That "why" is communicated through the marketing, communication, and by the people who are the face of the discovery. What type of digital footprint do you want others to see so you can change the world? If people truly buy why you do something, then they will find it in what you post, share, say, and advertise. What digital footprint will people buy?
I refuse to leave digital footprint as something to keep from being bad. I prefer to help students choose what their footprint is going to be and make it one that will allow them to change the world. Every decision that they make will do 1 of 3 things. 1) it won't matter. 2) it will open a door. 3) it will close a door. Make sure you leave doors open because you never know where they will take you.
This is all fine and dandy, but you can see from the presidential race, there is a negative side to digital footprint... That is all I have to say about that.
This year I have worked to help our school district become a CommonSenseMedia certified district. Over the last 2 years our district has worked with the teachers to curate a curriculum, we have worked with principals to set expectations, and we have worked with the teachers union to ensure that what we were trying to do is not excessive. Teachers curated content from CommonSenseMedia, Principals have agreed that digital citizenship, much like lab safety, should be done in the beginning of the year (rather than by June 1 when required by E-rate), and teachers have loved the idea of presenting digital citizenship along with classroom rules.
We have devised a method for collecting data on when the teachers report teaching lessons. Principals are pushing to have these completed in the first month of school, and, since the lessons were pulled from commonsensemedia, teachers and schools and the district qualify for certification. That is awesome.
We have also changed our student homepage. When students log in to their google account (home or school) and go the homepage, they see a page with digital citizenship reminders. There is the possibility that every day starts with a quick 10 second digital citizenship lesson. Teachers can open the reminders, students can open them, parents can even access them.
Teachers are talking about digital citizenship, students are learning the material. So What?
Do I hope that students are good digital citizens? Yes. Did I spend all that time so students would be? No. In the realm of my responsibility in the district, good and bad behavior are issues handled at the school sites. I am not spending all this time so principals have a few less disciplinary issues at their schools. I am happy that the conversations are starting to change. As our teachers have learned more about Digital Citizenship, the conversation is less about the Do's and Don'ts of technology use and teachers are starting to talk about how these are guides for how students can change the world. My goals, however, is beyond that. I hope that students receive a personalized education where students can reach their potential.
My goal is that students learn in an environment where they can learn to change the world using the traits that make them special and unique.
What does that mean? Students learn differently, at different paces, with different interests, and start with different experiences and differing degrees of initial competency. In a classroom of 40 students, can a teacher manage all that and be an expert in every area that students are interested. No. That would be ridiculous. Can technology help? Maybe. It depends on how it is implemented. The first step is digital citizenship.
Students need to learn to communicate, collaborate, and create in a digital setting. They need to understand how their digital footprint will affect their ability to change the world one day, and they need to understand how to respect the intellectual property of another so they understand the respect that others should pay to their intellectual property.
Digital citizenship is not an end game, it is a step towards creating a culture where students can be creators, entrepreneurs, and original thinkers. As educators, it is not our job to change the world ourselves, it is our job to create an environment where students can change the world. Digital Citizenship is a tool and guide that we can use to change education, so our students change the world. Our students are going to change the world in some way, we get to help.
Digital Citizenship is less about Do's and Don'ts and more of a guide for students to change the world.
If the goal is for a student to behave, then we are selling ourselves short (like integrating technology without transforming education). We are creating a culture of conformists, not a culture of innovators. Innovators understand the strides that have been made before them, incorporate the experiences and understanding, and solve a problem to create something new. That type of learning, collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creation can only come from understanding the ethics associated with digital citizenship. Changing the world comes when students apply what they have learned and amaze us.
So what is the next step?
Mindset. Education is not only for our students. It is for ourselves. As educators we cannot let our ego get in the way. If we think that we are there to bestow knowledge and students are merely there to soak it up, then we are missing out. As students are learning how to change the world, teachers need to be ok with letting them. That can only come when the teacher recognizes they are the smartest person in the room, only because they are willing to learn more than every other student. Next we are working on our mindset. That post will come soon.
What about devices?
Devices are technology. Innovation lies within the education and learning, but more so in the products that the students create.
What is my goal?
Every student can learn. Every student is different. Every student interprets things differently, constructs different ideas and solutions, and applies learned concepts in different ways and from different perspectives. Why do we teach like an assembly line? Why do we teach students in a way that requires them to give up what makes them special to learn the concept a specific way. My goal is that students learn in an environment where they can learn to change the world using the traits that make them special and unique.
If you have never used this one, then try it... Seriously, open a new tab and search for screencastify. Find the link that is in the chrome webstore and install this extension (just a suggestion, but it is up to you). Once you have done that, try to record something. It is going to ask to set up the camera and microphone and ask where you want things saved. I chose my google drive so I can share the videos with my students. If you do this, understand that screencastify with hide all recordings in a folder called, wait for it...screencastify.
So you are good to go now? Good. How many of you nodded at or spoke to the computer? Caught!
What does this little film strip in the upper right hand corner do? It records your computer screen and your voice. That is it. Big whoop, right. Wrong. Lets check out the things that you can do with this little ditty.
Lesson Ideas:
Read Aloud or Document Analysis - Rather than having students read silently, have them read aloud so they can hear their fluency and practice or, if your students are older, give them a piece of complex text and have them record their annotations and rationale for their annotations.
Presentation Videos - while nothing is more exciting than hearing the same, or similar presentations for all your classes over the course of a week, have your students record their presentations and turn them in for a grade every time, then call 5 students up to present each time. Over the course of a grading period make sure each student presents.
Anything on the internet!
My Maps: showing the journey of a hero, explaining the geography of a country, Plate tectonics, battles of a war, migrations of people, can I stop now and you figure some out.
Cultural Institute: significance and historical connection of photos and artwork, cultural significance and time period influence of artwork, yada yada yada.
Public Data Explorer: Talk about points in the moving graphs that tell a story. Connect the data to the story.
Desmos: Explain how the graph comes from the equation or how it connects to real world problems.
Sheets: Use the "show all formulas" toggle switch to have students explain their formulas and the order of operations inside the cell. Have students give multiple answers and methods of typing an equation in sheets.
There are literally Billions of things, I am going to stop now. Leave a comment if you want more, I am happy to figure something out for another subject.
Benefits of Using Screencastify:
Students who are afraid of presenting will thank you, but they will still be required to communicate through the video of their presentation.
There is no editing feature in Screencatify. Students who are not good with the language will take 15 tries to get the word pronunciation correct, but when they are proud of their pronunciation of the words, then they will turn in the video
Time. It literally takes 30 seconds to make a 30 second video.
Requires students to tell what they understand and not regurgitate what you have told them.
You know your students voices. Even if they got the information from somewhere else, they still need to speak it.
Growing up in California, I enjoyed going to the beach. During the summer I rarely saw my parents as I would wake up early, go to the beach, come home for dinner, and get to bed early so I could wake up and do it again the next day. While I was at the beach I would paddle, dive, stand, and turn. It was the best time ever.
There are many ways to do the 4 activities that I did at the beach. In fact they could be done in a pool if you wanted to. Some of you got the point, I grew up surfing. It is possible to understand how people could read this and have missed the point. When we think of the 4C's (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity) there are many ways to do them, but what are we actually talking about doing?
All he did was paddle, stand, and turn! Wasn't it amazing how he did though?
What is the big picture?
Design thinking. If you have ever read or experienced design thinking, you have seen how it encapsulates the 4C's. If not, then I recommend learning more about design thinking.
My point is step back and look at the cards on the table, in my example there are 4 (paddling, diving, standing, and turning). These 4 activities can be done in such a way that is horribly boring and in no way innovative or intriguing, or they can be done in such a way as to produce the experience of surfing which, if you have done it, you understand the thrill.
In the realm on the 4 C's, it is possible to embed these in your class like a checklist. Yes, everyday my students talk, there is work together time, there is problem solving time (worksheet), and there is creativity time (playdough). The day is a success because I did all the 4C's, but it sucked for kids and did it increase their learning? When these are done in such a way that the students themselves become innovators, that is where the design thinking element comes into play.
What is design thinking?
I would not say that I am an authority on that. Reason being is that I would not want to dilute the things that I have heard and experienced. What I can give you is how it applies to me, but please read, watch, and learn for yourself as it will inspire you in your own way.
I am the Interim Director of EdTech in my district. My job focuses on getting teachers to transform their classes with the technology that is available to them. In the past 2 years, we have placed 27,000 chromebooks in the classrooms and trained every teacher who has a chromebook cart in their class. We have trained them on tools to collaborate, communicate, and create in their classes with their students. We discuss SAMR and redefining the classroom through the use of technology. We have limited the number of programs that we have taught as the sheer number of programs did not help us reach our goal of reaching and inspiring more teachers. We have focused on a few programs and student creation. If students are creating, truly innovating and making something new, then they need to be communicating, collaborating, and thinking critically.
So how does SAMR fit into Design Thinking?
It doesn't necessarily. If technology is involved, we tend to ask how much autonomy do students have? How much of what they do can be done without technology? Are students reaching out beyond their physical limitations and looking to the internet for other authoritative sources, professionals, authors, etc. What are students doing, creating, or being allowed to produce? These are all things that the lens of the SAMR model affords evaluation.
If SAMR is the WHAT, then design thinking is the HOW and the WHY. How are students going through the creation process. Why do they feel the need to do reach out to a professional, another source, etc.? The are doing this because they are in the process of design. They are asking questions depending upon where they are in the process. SAMR is great as it is a reflective piece, answer the question, Are we innovating, but the design thinking process answer the question of how and why are students asking questions and pursuing answers to those questions. I still hold that creation has a process that allows students to authentically communicate, collaborate, and think critically. The design thinking process is an amazing model of how students and teachers can go through the creation process.
Have I missed the big idea?
As I look back now and learn more about design thinking as a frame for how to get students creating I think that I understood the big picture, I needed a more concrete method of explaining it. Does that mean that I have failed? Yes. Does that mean I am actively engaging in design thinking? Yes. I am constantly learning and that is OK.
So what are the next steps? My team and I have gone out and talked to teachers, observed what they are doing, and gotten an idea of what they want and need. From there we are going to redefine the integration problem we have and the work to brainstorm, select, prototype, and test solutions to the problem. This will not be a quick, clean, or simple process.
Formative Assessment, Summative Assessment, turn-in ration of assignments, zeroes, behavior, calls home, referrals, tardies, absences, etc. There is data about your student popping out your ears. Are you listening to it?
For many teachers, school has started and you are staring down back to school night. Parent attendance may or may not be high at these events, but those who show up may wonder if there kid needs a tutor, what does their angel need to do to be successful, and what can they do to help their pride-&-joy succeed in your class.
It is possible that you have answers. Ones that you have had canned for years, but are they the right ones? With the amount of technology integration, you inevitably have data on your students. You know how they write, when they do their assignments, how they do on formative assessments, what are their strengths, and what are their weaknesses. Use the data to drive these discussions.
Not all data is quantitative. When I collected data and completed my dissertation, this was the hardest thing for me to understand. I had a bachelor's degree in chemistry, if it is not a number, then it didn't matter (not really). You have many different kinds of data about your students, use these data points. Inevitably, you have collected them while talking with your class. Does the student make eye contact? Does the student answer questions with the voice inflection of question? Sure you may have data on the scores on tests, quizzes, and exit tickets?
Data is not something to be feared. I love data because I have learned that I often get the following questions:
Is what you are doing working?
How do you know?
I can only answer this question with data.
Imagine that your principal asked you those two questions. What would your answer be? How could you give them data? What pieces of data have you collected?
Why are people afraid of data? Data can tell you if what you are doing is not working. That may be scary for some, but there are limits to data. Make sure that you always put your data in context. Use it to help you write a story, do not let the data be the only thing that makes up the story. Give it context, faces, and make sure that you get (and give) the entire picture of what the data is helping to tell you.
Why do I bring this up? If there is no expectation of looking at data, then you have time to get comfortable with it. If you are expected to collect data to rationalize what you are doing, then make sure your data is not just a set of numbers and charts, make sure it is a story.
How do you get data if you think you have none? Count the number of times kids speak in class, give a formative assessment through a google form so you can track the data (do this over several days to see improvement). Talk to students about what they understand and what they do not understand and look for patterns. Time yourself while you teach and measure engagement with anecdotal evidence or formative assessment.
What are you doing in class? Is it working? How do you know?
