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Category: Instructional Technology (page 1 of 2)

Early Childhood Technology Enhanced Lessons

March 4, 2014 / / 0 Comments

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Recently I spent some time in two classes where the early childhood teachers seamlessly used technology to help their young students reach the learning goals for their respective lessons. Cecilia Rios teaches one of our two Spanish Kindergarten classes. She is a leader in our iPad pilot and uses her interactive whiteboard (IWB) in a student-centered manner. With one of the biggest and deserved complaints about IWBs being that they are often used just for direct instruction, it was nice to see Cecilia’s students interacting with the software on the board. The students were comfortable answering questions by moving to the board to manipulate digital objects.

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Cecilia’s room is filled with images, objects and descriptors to immerse her students in the Spanish language.

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Movement, singing, and hands-on activities are a big part of our early childhood program. The teachers tell me that learning a second language also involves social engagement and games to help students learn within routines that use language. Teachers like Cecilia also bring in digital media (see image above) so that students can see and hear Spanish in a fun and engaging way.

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I also spent some time in Rebecca Courouble’s French Pre-Kindergarten classroom. Rebecca is another one of our tech leaders. Besides using her IWB for interactive language work, Rebecca created a series of online video storybooks with pages from books where she virtually reads to her students. Rebecca also has a Moodle site rich with resources to extend learning beyond the classroom. She will be one of my models as we work to further our efforts to provide a blended learning environment for our students.
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One of the many wonderful aspects of the Primary Years Programme (PYP) of studies is the conceptual nature of the learning goals. Built along the same lines of Understanding by Design, the PYP curriculum starts with the end in mind focusing on the learning goal. The learning goal is all about big ideas that connect to multiple disciplines.

The Kindergarten students recently finished a unit about homes. The inquiry unit had the students pondering questions about the various ways and reasons why people build their homes the way they do. While the goal was to understand how homes are designed to fit the needs of the people and their localities, the students started their learning pursuit by looking at the similarities and differences of each others’ homes. They took photos of rooms in their houses and then worked with their teachers to build a three-dimensional composite. An example of their work is below.

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Excellent Podcast on Flipping and Role of Technology in Learning

December 11, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Schooled

Look to listen to a recent Slate Magazine podcast where two educators discuss the viability of flipping the classroom with teacher-created videos to improve student learning. The moderator does an excellent job of asking questions and providing insights to move the conversation to the more profound question of how technology can move beyond simply reinforcing essential knowledge attainment to empower students to engage their higher-order thinking skills. I especially value that teachers in language arts and other subject areas have always given their students information to process at home so that class time can be devoted to discussion, questioning, and building more profound understanding.

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“And Action: Directing Documentaries in the Social Studies Classroom”

December 9, 2013 / / 0 Comments

And Action

We know that if done correctly, videography can support our students to support the multiple pedagogies of project-based, inquiry, student-centered, authentic, etc. learning. The combination of students working in teams to create documentaries leverages the learning possibilities of using video. It is one thing to hand a camera to a group of students and say, “Create a video.” It is another way to plan, scaffold and guide students through designing, shooting, editing, and publishing a documentary. The learning rewards are abundant and rich, but it is a challenging task to perform.

Just like our students, we need all the help that we can get to teach and manage the process of having our students create documentaries. Fortunately, two leaders in instructional technology and social studies will guide us through the process.

Kathy Swan of the University of Kentucky and Mark Hofer of the College of William & Mary drew on their experience and outstanding teaching ability to provide the A to Z practical guide for documentary creation in the K-12 classroom. Their book, Action: Directing Documentaries in the Social Studies Classroom, nails it with the nuts and bolts of “how to’s.” But more importantly, Kathy and Mark provide the “how to’s” of using the videography process to help students understand the concepts, themes, and significance of their subject matter.

Look to purchase the book for yourself, your student library, and your professional development library. It is a winner.

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Virtual Tech Courses

March 27, 2013 / / 0 Comments

Virtual learning is a topic we recently spoke to on the Edtech Co-Op podcast. The discussion reminded me of a talk many years ago with our high school instructional technologist at Hong Kong International School (HKIS). We discussed the computer programming course he taught. The context was a meeting of the instructional technologists from each of our four divisions about online learning as we had run a virtual school for a month in 2003 when SARS struck Hong Kong.

We were thinking about the power of the HKIS brand in Asia and our regional leadership for technology integration. The idea was to start offering fully online courses for HKIS students and interested students from around the region. While this idea was not implemented, it did bring us back to the computer science course and how it would be an excellent class to teach virtually. International schools used the Virtual High School, now called The VHS Collaborative, to provide courses when they needed more teachers or many students to run courses efficiently. It also would be easy to run a computer programming course in-house through our MyDragonnet learning management system.

Back to the present day, in recent chats with directors of technology from two leading independent schools in Washington, DC, we discussed where their respective schools are in offering online courses. There are many reasons for providing students access to virtual courses, but the question arose regarding how to offer them. Does one do them in-house or through a provider like The VHS Collaborative, K12, or the Online School for Girls? Several questions arose about how the courses would connect to the mission of the schools, who would teach the courses, whether virtual courses take the place of regular classes in the student’s schedule, etc. It was interesting for me as an instructional technologist to hear about the needs of the students and teachers to get me thinking about how to design the process of deciding how to offer virtual learning opportunities.

Connecting back to my experiences at HKIS, it became clear to me that one option for these schools would be to offer their technology and Information and Communication literacy (ICL) courses online instead of teaching them during the regular school day. The instructional technologists at each school have the skill set and content knowledge (i.e., TPACK) to design and deliver courses in either a hybrid or a fully online fashion. The schools could pilot this effort to meet not only the student’s learning needs but also a model for interested teachers how they might also provide virtual courses. It could be an easy first step towards providing virtual learning for each community.

Another thought is to build on the badge movement for virtual learning offerings. The instructional technologist, librarian, and other interested teachers could build mini-courses focused on specific skills. Examples could be learning how to use various apps on the iPad for student workflow and productivity, using apps for editing images and video, providing a mini course in sound design in presentations, etc. Students could earn badges to represent their certification in reaching the standards set for each mini-course. Instead of taking up time in their daily course schedule, the students could work independently through the schools’ learning management system and other online collaborative tools.

This line of thinking connects to what we are doing at Alexandria Country Day school, whereby the Fifth Grade provides “just in time” instruction with follow-up online tutorials for students to explore further how to use various apps and Web 2.0 tools. One of our science teachers, Sara Stein, looks to her students as learning partners when new apps are introduced to the class. The students use their ICL skills to find tutorials to self-teach and then provide guidance for other students during class meeting times.

This supports my belief that my job is to help each student build their ICL tool belt by the end of the Fourth Grade. While their ICL skills are far from complete, the students have the foundation skills and know how to find tutorials and experts among their co-learners to self-teach. This connects to constructing one’s personal learning system that empowers and skills students to use ICL to become more effective learners.

Screencasting and Adaptations

December 13, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I am working with a group of students, having them research sound design principles that they will use to create a presentation to share their findings. While working in the computer lab, several students decided to use both their iPads and the computers. Some reviewed the provided Web sites on the iPads while recording the notes into a Google Doc on the computer. Others did the opposite. Some took bullet-form notes, while others had more free-flowing short paragraphs. Each student adapted the technology and information processing to meet their personal learning system best.

Second Grader Opening Scene of Screencast on Hanukkah

Much is in the blogosphere about how helpful screencasting apps are for helping students communicate their understanding. Our First and Second Graders use the ScreenChomp app on their iPads. I am in awe at how well they can use their drawing and verbal skills to make their thinking visible. While the final products provide valuable measurements for understanding, the student processing and constructing their learning while creating the video is necessary.

I previously posted about Suzy Tacktill, our art teacher at Alexandria Country Day School, and the field trips she leads for all our grade levels throughout the school year. Our most recent trip was to the National Gallery, where the students viewed landscapes. Suzy taught them how to analyze landscapes, leading to incredible discussions as I watched the students interact with the art. As before, Suzy set aside some time for the students to use their iPads in the museum to apply what they had seen on their tour. Here are some more examples by our Third Graders to go with the one at the start of this paragraph.

 

TPACK and Learning Activity Types: Pathways to Student Learning

November 25, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I was fortunate this past week to chat with my partner in podcasting, Mark Hofer, about his experiences working with pre-service and veteran teachers in using TPACK and the Learning Activity Types (LAT). Mark and Judi Harris of the College of William and Mary have written a series of articles around these two topics. They have articles that list helpful learning activities for most subject areas. If you are looking for efficient strategies for using technology and various literacies in your classroom, listen to this week’s Edtech Co-Op podcast. Thanks to Mark for his clear and helpful explanations.

 

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The ICL and Child Study Team Partnership

October 10, 2012 / / 0 Comments

I often post here and report through the Edtech Co-Op podcast about my experiences working as a partner with teachers and administrators. A primary collaboration area is having one’s Information and Communication Literacies (ICL) team work with the classroom teachers, the learning support staff, and administrators to review the curriculum.

The ICL team at our school comprises the Tech Director, the Library Media Specialist, and the Instructional Technologist. Besides working to find ways for ICL to enhance student learning, we also look to precisely differentiate the content, process, and products of each unit of study we review. It is beneficial to work with the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) approach to designing the curriculum for special needs and all student learners.

With this collaborative approach to support learning, the logical next step is to have one’s ICL team join the Student Services Team as they meet to discuss individual student needs or give them access to the digital learning plans/IEPs. Just as the ICL team can access unit plans via one’s online curriculum mapping tools to add their ideas, they could also access individual learning plans (via the Student Information System) to list ways that technology and web resources can be utilized to support the learning needs of each student.

This approach also involves helping students develop their Personal Learning Systems (i.e., personal toolkit) of software, apps, websites, widgets, etc using Symbaloo, creating a Google Site with links to helpful websites, finding apps, and adding shortcuts to one’s mobile device, etc. are a few ways to create this personal learning system.

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How to Infuse Information Literacy Skills Across the Curriculum? SOS Episode 16

October 28, 2008 / / 0 Comments

We have three essential questions for this show:

  • How to infuse information literacy skills across the curriculum?
  • Where does the use of technology fit into the information literacy picture?
  • How does a modern library media specialist fit into the shifting process?

The possible answers to these questions start with the library media specialist trained in using digital information tools and generative technologies for student sharing of their research. This individual is a leader in their school, working with the instructional technologist as designers and collaborators in the curriculum review process to embed the various information & communication literacy (ICL) skills throughout the curriculum.

Where Do You Start the Shift? SOS Episode 15

October 21, 2008 / / 2 Comments

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Everywhere. Well, almost everywhere. We work with early adopter teachers, students, interested parents, and administrators to build a learning community open to new ideas and practices. We don’t start with overwhelmed teachers or those uncomfortable with change. We return to collaborate with them individually, honoring their contributions while working to adapt their practices when possible.

Working organically, we nurture our risk takers and spread their ideas by publically celebrating best practice instructional strategies and assessments. As is written all over the edublogosphere, we must do everything possible to bring the administrators on board to provide the leadership and modeling of the instructional strategies that lead to the skill and concept-based learning our students need.

The meeting rooms to start the conversations where our curriculum reviews take place are pivotal to starting the shifting process. This is followed up by team and department meetings where lessons are finalized for the classroom.

Two key leaders are your instructional technologist and library media specialist. They can be a big part of being in many places to make the shift happen.

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The Big Picture: How to Create a Collaborative and Systematic Process for Curriculum Development and Review

September 24, 2008 / / 0 Comments

What a mouthful for a post title. 

I have spent my years as an instructional technologist working through the curriculum development and review process to help shift my schools toward becoming what we call School 2.0. We constructed a workable system at my last school that made a difference in how and what we taught in our classrooms.

We are now developing a curriculum development system at my current school that will involve working with our school culture and unique needs. Hsinchu International School is very different than the huge school I worked at before. We will use questions around specific categories to help us through this creation process. The questions come from a workshop I developed to help guide school communities to either refine their current curriculum review system or start a new one. I will be sharing these categories and questions in a series of posts.

This is the first one, covering the big picture when school-wide leaders come together to start the conversation.

1) What would be an effective way to manage school-wide subject area meetings to review the standards/benchmarks for scope/sequencing (i.e., facilitation, time of year, one or several meetings by division, etc.)?

2) How do discussions take place about the big picture and developing ownership of the curriculum?

3) Who oversees this process of creating this process?

4) Who will be the leaders in each division to support and gain support for this effort?

5) Who would be involved in curriculum development in each division? What would be their roles? Is there a place for students and parents at some point in the curriculum review process?

6) How would you ensure follow-through on action items (to-do’s) as you create your curriculum development system?

7) What big-picture topics (i.e., each school year’s goals, student learning results, differentiation, etc.) would you want to integrate into your curriculum besides aligning standards and benchmarks?

8) What are your priorities in refining your current curriculum review system (or starting one from scratch)? In other words, how much can you take on and still be effective in this process?

9) What ultimately do you want your curriculum to do?

10) How will you provide your participants the time and coaching to learn the skills needed to develop the curriculum?

11) How will you get “buy in” from your participants to be curriculum designers?

12) How will you get buy-in from all of your educators to actively use the curriculum?

13) How do you share the curriculum? To whom?

14) What other questions (and answers) come to mind?

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