Thinking About Learning

This spring my district offered our teachers a wonderful grant opportunity, the DLT Mac Grant, Designing and Learning with Technology and a Mac.  After submitting grant proposals, 24 teachers were selected to receive equipment and training.  Fortunately, 2 of my teachers applied and won!  They each received a MacBook, 2 Mac-minis, 2 KVM switches, 3 iPods, a microphone, and a digital camera.   The purpose of the grant is to focus “on changing pedagogy to improve student learning rather than acquiring technology skills.”

As their supporting TIS, I also received a MacBook.  We spent 4 days in early June learning about our new equipment (we are a PC district), and “learning how to infuse technology into the classroom curriculum by conducting research, completing an assigned project using available technology tools, and designing a curriculum unit.” (The quotes are from the original grant flyer.)  I did a presentation about project-based learning for the training, and we also set up a Diigo DLT Mac user group so we can share resources.  It was a great, intensive week!  There was a lot to learn, but we jumped right in.  The group was very motivated and enthusiastic.  It will be exciting to see the outcome of this grant.  Our district has purchased a new Apple server, so we will be able to host our own blogs, wikis, and podcasts next year.  I am so proud be part of a district that is proactive with 21st Century learning and technology.  I think that providing this grant opportunity is an excellent way to begin developing those pedagogical changes that are necessary if we are going to be effective educators in this rapidly changing world.

It’s pretty amazing to think of all the changes that have taken place in the past 5 years in my district.  Five years ago at this time, I was working with my TIS to plan a pilot 5^th grade class that would have a laptop for each student along with all the other basic equipment necessary to implement a technology-infused learning environment.  Our “21^st Century Classroom” was the first of its kind in our district.  I taught in that class for 4 years and loved every minute of it!  It invigorated my teaching life and provided some incredible opportunities for both professional and personal growth.  Now I am a TIS myself and working in a different school.  My district is within a year of completing a  five year technology equipment roll-out plan that will put a laptop, projector, and SMART Board or Airliner in every classroom.  District personnel are now contemplating a new five year technology plan.  Some of the things I hope will be included are multi-layer filtering for Internet access so teachers can have greater access than students, a specific technology staff development plan for teachers, and a greater emphasis on the use of Web 2.0 tools in the classroom.

As I think about my own school, I see a great need for the development of a school-wide shared vision regarding the integration of technology as a seamless embedded component of  instruction.  Are there any tools or websites out there that provide a guide to facilitate this sort of visioning process?  Some of the questions that need to be answered are:

• What are our broader school goals?
• How can the use of technology help us accomplish these goals?
• What strategies will we use?
• What tools do we need?
• What training do we need?
• How will we  monitor/evaluate our progress?

I need to find some resources to help with this visioning process and identify a small core of teachers who will be willing to assist with the process.  It will be a huge undertaking in a setting where teachers feel so overwhelmed already with more responsibilities than is humanly possible to manage.  I’m always hesitant to add “one more thing” to anyone’s plate, but I think we are at a critical juncture.  Real progress requires a plan, because “without a vision, the people perish!”

I am fortunate to work in a district that embraces technology. Several years ago we passed an additional penny sales tax to fund a laptop, projector, and SMART Board for every classroom. My school is at the end of the roll-out plan, but it’s finally our turn. My teachers now have their laptops and projectors. Their SMART Boards arrived before Christmas, but they’re still in boxes locked in a storage room. I CAN’T STAND THIS! The company doing the mounting of projectors is way behind schedule, but those boards need to be in classrooms where teachers can use them now.
It’s time to get creative, so I’m borrowing SMART Board stands from a TIS friend at another school who already got his boards mounted. I got 4 set up on Wednesday, and those teachers acted like I had just given them a million dollars! I plan to get 5 more set up on Monday. My teachers are hungry to use their technology tools!

I posted a 2 minute video on TeacherTube to give students some reminders about taking care of the SMART boards in their classrooms.

Download Video: Posted by ffoxworth at TeacherTube.com.

What a week! Have you ever worked on a project where turn after turn you encountered a roadblock? That is exactly what happened to me this week. I have a 4th grade teacher who is working on National Board Certification. She asked me to videotape a small group discussion lesson for her. As I have previously mentioned, I don’t have a digital video camera. When I inquired about using the school news team’s camera that had been recently dropped and broken, I was assured that it would work sufficiently for the task. I went and video-taped a superb lesson, but when I tried to capture the video to my computer, the screen showed up with 1/3 of the area blue, and there was a file error message. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper!

I shared my troubles with my principal, who authorized me to purchase a new camera. I was encouraged to buy one with built-in hard drive memory. Okay, I admit, there are lots of things I just don’t know a lot about. Turns out that HD cameras have their own file type that isn’t compatible with Movie Maker. (Now you tell me!) Also, the cameras in my price range don’t have an external mike jack. I bought what I thought was a decent camera for the money, and taped this teacher again. Great video…terrible audio quality.

Being the perfectionist that I am, I was fairly peeved by this point! I called my former partner, Ron, from the Global Horizons class to borrow the old Sony camera(which I knew had an external mike), and I scheduled a time for a 3rd videotape session.  FINALLY I was able to get a video with quality audio, and the lesson was superb! My next challenge is to learn how to effectively use my new hard drive video camera.  I’m going to need a DVD burner next!

Curriculum Connections:

Literacy: One of my 5th grade teachers found this great lesson on learning to write details in descriptive writing: Looking for Details? It’s a fabulous lesson for teaching sensory imagery.  Her students posted their writing on their blogs.  Check out this great student work sample: A Snowy Day.

Last week I held a training session for my teachers that I called SMART Board 101. I was very impressed that 14 teachers came voluntarily to the session at 8:00 am on a work day. They have so much to do and so little time to get their work done! I was honored that they would give up an hour of their precious time to come for training. My faculty is a very committed group of educators, and they are excited about getting their SMART Boards. I hope that will happen soon!
For the session I used a presentation that was originally created by Marcia Jeans of Witchita Public Schools. Her district has an amazing resource site for SMART Board tutorials and lessons. Another great resource is Jim Hollis’s blog, Teachers Love SMART Boards. He daily posts useful ideas and links for teachers…awesome stuff!

I needed a little dose of nature this weekend, so I went hiking and visited some waterfalls. As I walked back to my car after observing the grandeur of Isaqueena Falls, I noticed the small, quiet stream that fed the great cascades below. That image was very encouraging to me as it reminded me of my work. Hopefully my simple, steady efforts as a TIS will eventually produce a powerful flow of technology integration!