Organize yourself for 2011 with the Action Method

December 28, 2010Kelly Tenkely5 Comments2578 views

What it is: You know what I love about a new year? The blank slate. The empty calendar begging to be written on. The chance to take a step back and evaluate how you are working. I am an organizer at heart. I love having everything in its place. I love label makers, file folders, planners, calendars, and software that makes my life easier. For Christmas my little brother (always have to have the little in there to remind him of his place in life 🙂 ) gifted me with the book “Making Ideas Happen” by Scott Belsky. I am about a third of the way through it and already loving it. What my brother knows about me (I think it runs in our gene pool) is that I am a creative person. I am never at a loss for ideas. They flow constantly. The problem: I think every single idea is genius. I want every single idea to come to fruition because surely no one has every come up with something so brilliant before. Even for an organizational nut like me, this is an impossible task. And if I’m totally honest, my organizational skills leave much to be desired when it comes to putting my ideas in their place. Ideas are wonderful things, they make the world go round…but they are only useful as far as they are enacted. When the flow of ideas is constant, many truly brilliant ideas get pushed aside while another round of ideas rolls in. This post isn’t really about the book. While it is a good book, it isn’t really inspirational. It is life changing in what you do with the principles it reveals. Blesky details his Action Method in the book. I immediately loved this method because it works the way I think. It puts everything in its place and gives you a place to organize actionable items (things you can actually work towards completion right now), reference items (all those bits of notes and websites, and pdfs, and pictures I have EVERYWHERE…seriously my husband says I have a problem), and backburners- those ideas that aren’t really actionable yet but could be some day. This keeps those brilliant ideas at the forefront and getting taken care of while the flow of ideas has a place (backburner) so that nothing is lost. Sweet! My next question was: where can I “do” the action method so that I can and will keep up with it? Problem solved, introducing the Action Method online. You can put all of those principles to use in one beautiful interface. Even better…you can access it on your mobile device too. We all know that is a must in this day and age! The online Action Method has a free version which lets you do just about everything…for some extra shiny bits you can sign up for the pro plan. The mobile version is a free download. (There is even a paper version for those of you who like to go old school…normally I am in this organizational camp but like I said, the website is right up my alley.) What is better than starting off the new year organized and with money in the bank?

Here is the Action Method as described on the website:

ACTION STEPS are tasks that need to be completed. Each Action Step should start with a verb: “Call Y,” “Follow up with X,” “Buy a gift for Z.”

REFERENCES are notes, links, files, sketches – any information related to a project that gives context to your Action Steps.

BACKBURNERS are the brilliant ideas that you want to come back to later, but are not yet actionable.

DISCUSSIONS enable you to manage ongoing conversations across all of your projects with anyone that works with you. All relevant communications (shared documents, solutions to problems, feedback, decisions) are in one place.

EVENTS are the key occasions/meetings/milestones/etc toward which you (and your team) are working. Events can be used to coordinate deadlines for Action Steps, aiding project management.

Pretty cool right?! I really like how the Action Method lets you track discussions and delegate tasks easily. Very handy! Need more convincing? Companies like Apple use the Action Method…you know something is working for them! I don’t know about you, but the thought of having everything organized in one place is giving me some major warm fuzzies right now!

How to integrate the Action Method into your curriculum: The Action Method website and app can be used to organize your school life. I constantly have ideas for new lesson plans, projects, websites, etc. that I want to use with students. These can be easily organized with the Action Method. Create a new Project for each unit or educational focus. Action items can be the individual lessons and resources that you are going to complete for that unit. Add any resources you need in the references section. Saw a cool idea on Twitter that you want to use in your classroom but aren’t sure how it will work just yet? Add it to your backburner so you can go back and review it later. The Action Method could very well be the only planner you need! Create discussions with teammates and colleagues (or Twitter colleagues) directly in the program. Delegate tasks to others on your team or even parent volunteers.

The Action Method could be used to help middle school or high school students better organize their lives and learning. It would be especially useful for students who help chart their own learning plans. The site does require an email address (with confirmation) to sign up.

Tips: You can learn more about the Action Method in the book Making Ideas Happen.

Happy organizing!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using the Action Method in Your classroom.

Create your own virtual classroom: Edu 2.0 and Vyew

October 18, 2010Kelly Tenkely15 Comments13703 views

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What it is: Tomorrow I launch my virtual classroom and honestly, I am a little nervous! It is like the first day of school; everything is carefully planned, all the resources are ready to go, and the students are enrolled and have received their welcome packet. But, there is still that anticipation and sense of dread that all that careful planning won’t be enough…that something unexpected will happen that will force me to think on my feet. Really, isn’t that what teaching (and learning) ends up being every day? 🙂 I am using two tools to host my virtual classroom that I wanted to share here. Even if you teach in a traditional classroom, these tools offer the ability to expand your school day and provide your students more of a hybrid learning model.

Edu 2.0 is the first tool. I first wrote about and started using Edu 2.0 in 2007. The tool has only gotten better with time! Edu 2.0 is an outstanding alternative to Moodle or Blackboard as an online Learning Management System (LMS). It is completely free to use, multilingual (it auto translates messages!), allows you to teach public or private classes, gives each student an online portfolio, includes a full gradebook, allows you to create curricula and track proficiencies, transcripts of all student grades, tracks attendance, includes forums and wikis, online quizzes, create and track to-do lists, completely web-based, mobile with a free iPhone app, tracks analytics, teach multiple sessions of the same class, upload and access over 15,000+ online resources, parent involvement, define and measure proficiencies, integration with popular web widgets, real-time chat, custom RSS feeds for your class, Calendars, private (designed with students in mind), create and share lessons, provide conditional pathways in lessons (you have to pass one assignment or class before moving onto the next), rubrics, groups, debates, messaging, public and private blogs, surveys, multimedia, and pdf integration. That is a long list but it really doesn’t even scratch the surface of what Edu 2.0 can do. This is your one stop shop for a LMS whether you are in need of one for a district, a school, or for your individual classroom. It is relatively easy to learn and has fantastic tutorials, guides, and support. The biggest challenge that I have with Edu 2.0 is navigation, not because it is difficult, but because it is so comprehensive!

Vyew is the second tool I am using for my virtual classroom. Vyew is an online meeting room that is simple to use. The free version is the one I am using, premium versions are well priced and offer increased options and capacity. Vyew allows up to 10 students to participate in a room at a time. Teachers can create and upload course content for real-time and anytime collaborative learning. Vyew is a lot like Elluminate but doesn’t require any downloads, it runs completely inside the web browser. This makes it a really easy virtual meeting option for students as they aren’t required to do a lot of extra prep. The authoring area of Vyew is easy to use, it is a lot like creating a PowerPoint presentation with slides. Vyew allows for external publishing which means that you can embed the finished presentation on your Edu 2.0 site for those who couldn’t attend the live Vyew session. Vyew supports a HUGE amount of files including video, pdf, PowerPoint, swf, and many more. It also allows for real-time desktop sharing which means that all of your students can see what you are doing on your computer as if you were sitting side by side! There is a built-in screen capture tool for making step by step tutorials. Both students and teacher have whiteboard drawing tools for on-screen collaboration. Embedded comments let you include information on the page to be expanded. Vyew lets you communicate with VOIP (voice over IP), webcam (all 10 can use the webcam!), free tele-conferencing with a unique phone number provided, and voice notes (voice recording embedded in on-screen sticky notes). This is such a simple to use virtual meeting room and it’s features are among the best.

I am using both edu 2.0 and Vyew together for my virtual classroom. I felt I needed an online meeting room where I could create meetings on the fly because this class is being held completely online. I am working with students in third through eighth grade and teaching a 5 week digital storytelling class. We will be working together to discover the power of story, and how to use different digital mediums to tell a great story. I am offering this class to everyone but advertised specifically to the students I used to teach for the first virtual classroom. I did this for a few reasons: parent requests, as a way to stay connected to my students, and I knew what technology skills they had already learned.

How to integrate Edu 2.0 and Vyew Virtual Classrooms into your classroom: Creating a hybrid classroom is an incredible gift to your students. It offers them the ability to connect with you outside the hours of the school day, and on their own terms. It gives students time to review content, interact with other students, and learn at their own pace. Virtual options provide a whole new dimension to learning. Use a virtual classroom to: extend your classroom and teaching, tutor students individually, offer courses to home school families, connect your students with other classrooms, record in-class learning for students who are absent or have a long-term illness. There are hundreds of ways that taking your classroom online can benefit your students. Taking your classroom online gives parents an additional way to be involved in their child’s education and goes one step better, allows them to learn along side their child. Have a tough new math curriculum that parents are lamenting? Offer a virtual parent university where parents can learn more about how to help their child with the new learning. Have teachers that need professional development but can’t find the time? Use Edu 2.0 for learning on demand. Edu 2.0 can be utilized as a classroom online learning solution, or as a school or district wide learning management system. Use Vyew for live meetings with your students. Make yourself available in a Vyew room at the same time every day for additional academic help.

Tips: You can offer your virtual classes for free or charge depending on their purpose. I wouldn’t charge for a virtual classroom that was an extension to my regular classroom, but you might charge for tutoring or specialized classes. I am charging for my class and treating it as an after school club. Edu 2.0 allows you to charge for a class with checkout support using Paypal or credit cards.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Edu 2.0 and Vyew Virtual Classrooms in your classroom!

Progressive Phonics

September 28, 2010Kelly Tenkely6 Comments5076 views

What it is: Progressive Phonics is a fantastic, free all-in-one reading program that I learned about from @rmbyrne on his blog Free Tech for Teachers (honestly, some days I wonder why I bother with a resource sharing blog…he is amazing!) This site is totally FREE, as in every single download is available for $0, all that is required is registration. Progressive Phonics provides books that can be read on-screen or printed out. Books include alphabet books, beginner phonics, intermediate phonics, advanced phonics, and handwriting. In addition to phonics rules, Progressive Phonics teaches essential sight-words (phonics rule-breakers). Each book includes a PDF version of the book, and accompanying activity sheets such as handwriting worksheets, a word search puzzle, flash cards, and a five-minute memory game. If you have access to iPads or iPod’s for your classroom, these FREE phonics books can be downloaded and put into the iBook bookshelf for reading.

How to integrate Progressive Phonics into your curriculum: Phonics is one of those things that a reading program either excels at, or falls flat with. Using the Treasures reading curriculum, I was always disappointed by the lack of real phonics work and often supplemented with sites like Starfall. Progressive Phonics is another resource that would make a fantastic supplement. If you use a standard reading curriculum, take a look at the Progressive Phonics books and align them with your current curriculum. For example if your current curriculum has students practicing short vowel “a”, find the corresponding phonics rule in Progressive Phonics. Because these books are free to download, they are excellent for printing out and sending home with students for extra reading practice. The accompanying printable games, flashcards, and puzzles will keep your students practicing that skill in and out of the classroom. Books can be printed out and assembled as a traditional book, read on the classroom or lab computers, or transferred onto a mobile device such as the iPad or iPod Touch. This collection of phonics resources is a must see!

Tips: One thing I really appreciate about this site is that each book comes with a page count and an approximate time to print. I remember spending hours printing Starfall books on an old school printer, wondering if I would ever finish. The approximate printing time lets you know what you are in for before you hit print. Each book is offered in two formats, one is a print friendly version that has been designed to use as little ink as possible. So smart!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Progressive Phonics in your classroom!

Free FETC Virtual Conference

September 21, 2010Kelly Tenkely3 Comments3634 views

What it is: On October 7, 2010, FETC is offering a FREE virtual conference for educators. The virtual conference will feature new presentations that originated at the FETC live event, with a focus on the latest educational tools, technologies, and services in learning. Educational experts will be passing on inspiration sharing best practices and successes. A virtual exhibit hall will put you in touch with exhibitors and let you learn about the newest in hardware, software and solutions, there will even be some free downloads and content. In the virtual networking lounge you can chat and interact with other educators from around the world. The Keynote presentation for the virtual conference is titled Mobile Learning: The Game Changer for k-12 it will be hosted by Elliott Soloway and Cathleen Norris. I saw these two present a similarly titled session at ISTE 10 and if it is anything similar, it is definitely worth catching (click here to view my notes from their ISTE 10 session)!

How to integrate FETC Virtual Conference into your curriculum: Okay, so maybe you won’t be integrating the conference itself into your curriculum, but this virtual conference is sure to offer plenty of great ideas, inspiration, and a shot of enthusiasm that will carry into your classroom. If you teach older students, you might let them sit and listen to the keynote session. I know my students were always fascinated to find out that educators talk about innovative ideas for learning. They assume that every teacher wants to teach in the current system. Most are pleasantly surprised and encouraged to find out the contrary.

Tips: Register for this Free Virtual conference today by clicking here. Hope to see you all there!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using the Free FETC Virtual Conference in your classroom!

The Augmented Reality Library

September 9, 2010Kelly Tenkely2 Comments4198 views

What it is: Okay, so the augmented reality library doesn’t exactly exist, but I ran across a few items today that had me dreaming about what augmented reality could do for a library. First a definition for those of you unfamiliar with augmented reality. Wikipedia has this definition for augmented reality (AR): “a term for a live direct or indirect view of a physical real-world environment whose elements are augmented by virtual computer-generated imagery.” If that is a little cumbersome for you, let me give you my definition. Augmented Reality generally uses a camera to let you overlay virtual data on top of the physical world you are seeing through your camera lens. The virtual data could be a map, information, multimedia, or even look like a holograph that you can manipulate. For a really simple explanation you can check out this AR Common Craft Video. Augmented reality apps are available for many devices, the iPhone, Android and now the iPod Touch. Layar is a cross-platform app that is a reality browser that contains a large catalog of data layers. The AR apps use geolocation data from the GPS to layer data over the physical view. Junaio is another app that uses markers to help the device determine it’s location. When GPS isn’t available, AR markers can be used. These are square black and white barcodes that store data. You may have seen the AR markers begin to pop-up on advertising, grocery items, and books. The markers allow a device to gather data about the product and overlay that data on top of your physical view.

How to integrate Augmented Reality into your library: You may be wondering how augmented reality could be used in a library. I recently read an article in the School Library Journal that got my wheels spinning about the ways augmented reality could transform the library experience. In the article they suggest putting AR markers on a book cover so that when a device is used, a librarian could walk across the book jacket and deliver a quick review of the title. Markers inside books could cause 2D diagrams or images to come alive as 3D interactive simulations. Another idea I loved was to create a literary tour using an AR program, which would describe locations that appear in a book. When you actually travel to that place, the text that took place there could pop up along with additional information or content. Each of these ideas is amazing in itself but thinking of transforming a school library, here are the ideas I came up with:

Connecting your card catalog with augmented reality so that students could search for a book or topic from their mobile device and instantly get a layer that directs them to books that may be of interest.
Connecting a tool like Shelfari, where students keep a virtual bookshelf and rate the books they have read ,with augmented reality. Students could instantly ask for books that are recommended based on their ratings of other books and recommendations could pop up in a layer directing students to those recommendations.
Turning booktrailers (professionally created or student created) into an augmented reality layer. Students could use an AR marker on the book cover and instantly watch a booktrailer about the book.
A this day in history layer where a fact pops up each day describing an event in history, the layer could then direct students to additional information, include a video or challenge of some kind.
Connect AR to a search engine so that when students are researching a topic, book recommendations pop up in a layer with directions on where to find them.
Our library is often a showcase of student work, what if each diorama, piece of artwork, or project had an AR marker on it? Students could record themselves (either audio or video) describing their work. This could be attached to an AR marker so that as students viewed other’s work, they could get an introduction to it by the creator. (This would be awesome for parent teacher conference time as well!)
AR Markers next to the computers could remind students of important Internet safety rules, the school acceptable use policy, and what to do if they have been bullied.
The school librarian could have a special selection of books each month that contain an AR marker linked to the librarian reading the story.
Does your school have author visits or use the Skype an Author network? If so record the author (audio or video) and connect it to AR markers on their books.
Label the areas of the library using AR so that ESL and ELL students can get a vocabulary lesson as they walk through the library.

AR could bring libraries to life in new and exciting ways. What ideas do you have for the use of AR in the library?

Tips: Currently this technology isn’t as easy as download and go for the library. Content needs to be created, and background building has to be done. For now you can download Layar to get a feel for how augmented reality works. You can also visit the “Create” section to create your own layers of AR (this is how you could make some of these ideas happen). Junaio also allows you to create a channel that offers information. Junaio makes it very easy to add information by tagging directly within the application. You can tag your library with comments, pictures, audio, or 3D objects. If you are using AR in your library please let us know more about it!

Want to see more AR tools? Here are some that I’ve reviewed.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Augmented Reality in your library.

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My iPad Journey

July 29, 2010July 29, 2010Kelly Tenkely13 Comments3649 views

Open publication – Free publishing – More school

The story above is meant to be an illustration of the school/learning experience. The first explorer’s journey represents the traditional school model. Here, students are given set tools and led in one direction down a river of scripted curriculum and standardized tests. Some wonderful things are learned along the way, but there is little freedom to stop and explore more. This is further limited by the tools provided that allow for little or no discovery. On this journey there is a single goal in mind: graduation.

The second explorer represents a rich learning experience made available when the proper tools and experiences are made available. In this model, there is still a destination and objective, but the journey is one of discovery, adventure, and opportunity. On this journey, students are given the resources that will allow them to explore and learn at their own pace, deepening the learning experience and passion for a life of learning. While there are many resources that could enrich the learning experience and help students on this journey of discovery, the tool I am recommending is the iPad.

I choose the iPad over other devices (such as netbooks) because it is an intuitive device (particularly for the elementary level) that puts the focus on the journey unfolding. Other devices may be cheaper, or offer Flash, or allow multi-tasking but these devices get in the way of the journey because they must be learned before the journey can even begin. These type of devices can end up being THE journey because there is a learning curve for using the device. The iPad is brilliant in its simplicity. Students can pick it up and immediately understand how to navigate and use the device with little guidance. The iPad offers portability not available in other devices. It is the go-anywhere, all day learning device that allows students to explore, communicate, and collaborate at their own pace and in their own way.

In the current school system, students aren’t afforded the luxury of having the teacher to themselves all day. The iPad can fill some of this void by guiding learning, offering instant feedback, giving the ability to pause-rewind-replay learning, and allowing students to learn collaboratively. This frees the teacher to spend more time guiding students individually on their individual learning journey.

As I have written previously, one device may not make sense in every school, in every classroom. In another demographic, the cellphone may be the best portable learning device. I am proposing an iPad study pilot program because for my students at my school, the iPad is the right tool for the journey. I have had an average of 400 students each year. I know every one of them by name. I know many of their families. I know their hobbies, interests, fears, and passions. Being a computer has afforded me the opportunity to teach these kids every week of their elementary school lives. I know these kids. The iPad is the device that would make the second explorer’s journey possible for them.

Before the school year was over, an idea formed to start a 1-to-1 iPad pilot program in first and fifth grade (180 students). I decided to make this program a formal research study to find out what affect the device really had on student learning and achievement. I wanted the results of this program to be farther reaching than my school and my students. It is my hope that by turning this into a research study, not only would my students be given the best, but others could benefit from the results. Perhaps we could provide the road map of how to implement a 1-to-1 iPad program. I wrote out my proposal and immediately sent out a tweet asking if there were any research professors or graduate students who might be interested in something like this. Many from my PLN responded positively with help, Jason Schmidt was the one I chose. Then, I got the wild idea to take the study to another level and sent my proposal to Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering. They agreed to partner with us on research! The problem? We are still working out a way to fund this project.

Below is a pared down version of my proposal:

Objective/Purpose of Study
The purpose of this pilot program is to examine the effectiveness of the Apple iPad multi-touch, mobile device on student achievement and learning in a 1-to-1 environment. The iPad mobile device will be used to augment instruction, differentiation, inquiry learning, and innovative classroom practice with a focus on reading/English language arts and Math. Reading/English language arts and math are the primary focus of the study since these are the two subjects that all states have been required to develop assessments under the No Child Left Behind Act.1 The study will also seek to determine if instructional practices are influenced by the use of iPad mobile devices in the classroom.

Goals
The goal of this pilot program is to provide a 1 to 1 mobile device learning environment which will:

Provide consistent access to technology for a fully integrated learning experience by providing each student with an iPad mobile learning device for use inside and outside the classroom.
Make provisions for on demand learning opportunities which will expand the reach of the classroom with the iPad learn-anywhere platform (applications, podcasts, video, e-books all selected for individual learning needs).
Allow for customized, individualized content to meet each student’s unique learning needs.4
Increase student motivation and engagement in learning.5
Increase collaboration among students and teachers resulting in improved achievement.6
Provide students with student-focused instruction that is multi-level (for different student abilities), multi-sensory (for different learning styles), and individualized.7
Provides students with immediate feedback on learning.8
Provides teachers with the ability for immediate and individualized learning assessments.

Questions to Address

How can the iPad mobile learning device influence student achievement?
How can use of the iPad improve student motivation, attitude, and interest in learning?
How can the iPad mobile learning device be introduced into curriculum and instruction effectively?
What learning strategies are most effective in instructional applications of the iPad?
How can the iPad be used to extend learning beyond the classroom and school day?
In what ways can implementation of the iPad be a catalyst for a restructuring of school?
What are effective ways of evaluating the impact of mobile learning devices on teaching and learning?
Will there be an increase in student ability to use classroom or computer lab computers?
Will there be a change in the way teachers think about the use of mobile technologies?
Will there be a change in the process of learning from being largely teacher centered, to student centered as a result of the introducing the iPad?
Will there be a greater sense of student ownership, responsibility, and empowerment in their own learning (how does this differ in 1st grade to 5th grade)?
Will students use technology more purposefully to complete a task or discover new information?
Will there be a change of teacher’s philosophy, pedagogy, or approach to the learning process?

Conclusion
The iPad pilot program offers something innovative in the classroom. It provides the potential to empower and uplift students in their learning. To maximize effectiveness, education in the 21st century has to be active, engaged, and customized for students. Students must have universal access to mobile technologies that will enable critical thinking, differentiation, and problem solving. It is our belief that the technology in Apple’s iPad meets these needs and more.

I tell you all of this because we are still searching for funding. We have applied for grants, talked with individuals, entered contests, emailed Steve Jobs, etc., etc., etc. I am stubborn. I refuse to believe that money is going to be the thing to stop us in our tracks. I refuse to believe that in all of my PLN, Twitter, and Facebook connections that there isn’t an answer. Surely Twitter shrinks the six degrees of separation between me and someone who can help get this moving. Surely someone knows someone, who knows someone who can make this happen.

So here is my plea:

Spread the word as often as you can to everyone you can.
Tweet like crazy!
Vote for us in the Kohl’s Cares $500,000 give away
Send me any ideas you may have!

I am convinced that with your help I can get this program started and that our ripples will be felt throughout the education community.

iPads in Education

July 16, 2010July 19, 2010Kelly Tenkely11 Comments1524 views

Some of you may know that I am working on an iPad 1-to-1 pilot program for first and fifth grade students at the school where I teach. The program will study the effects of the mobile device on learning and achievement in the math and reading/language arts classroom. One of my PLN members, Jason Schmidt will be working with us as a part of his masters program. Additionally, Robert Marzano and Debra Pickering from the Marzano Research Institute, have agreed to partner with us in research if we can get the funding all settled. Which brings me to the point of this post. I still have to fund the thing! I am waiting to hear back on several leads but never the one to only have one marshmallow in the fire, I am looking at every method conceivable to find the money for this.

This morning my mom sent me a Kohls Cares for Schools contest email that is offering $500,000 to the 20 schools with the most votes by September 3. Of course I promptly signed up for it and am counting on all of you to help me out. You are given a total of 20 votes that you can use, but you can only use 5 votes per school. So I am asking for 5 of your votes to help fund the iPads in education study. It is simple and just takes a one time click to connect and then 5 clicks of the votes button. Easy right? So, would you give us a hand and help us put some research to the iPads in the classroom debate?

One of the fun outcomes of this little idea is the comments that students have started leaving about how they think that the iPad could be used in the classroom. Pretty fun to see from the students point of view 🙂

Two side notes:

1. I have an iLearn Technology fan page on Facebook, if you haven’t already become a fan and clicked “like” you can do that here.

2. If you have a contact that could help with funding, I would take that too 🙂

Thank you all for your help and support! If you are so inclined, you can also tweet about this post and ask others in your PLN to help vote.

ISTE 10 Recap: From Add-on Technology to Essential Technology: Constructing a 1-to-1 Aware Curriculum

July 7, 2010Kelly Tenkely7 Comments4511 views

One of the sessions I attended at the ISTE 10 conference was Elliott Soloway and Cathie Norris’s entitled: “From Add-on Technology to Essential Technology: Constructing 1-to-1 Aware Curriculum”. It is hard to go wrong with a session by Elliott Soloway, his humor is contagious.

I was interested in this session because I am currently working on a proposal for a 1-to-1 iPad pilot program and study for next year. I came away with some new perspectives on mobile technologies that I will share at the end of the post. To begin, here is the gist of the session:

“Within 5 years every child in every grade will be learning with mobile technology, it will be bigger than the Internet”- Elliott Soloway
There are 7 billion people on the planet and 4 billion mobile devices.
The greatest challenge we face as educators is to teach ALL kids. We need to teach kids “brain jobs” not “back jobs”. This is 21st Century skills and content.
“Right now looking at all the school data is just like moving deck chairs around on the Titanic.” – Elliott Soloway
Mobile technology is the game changer.
In Singapore, Nan Chi Primary school saw a significant increase in tests scores after introducing smart phones in the 3rd grade science classroom.
In a classroom using 1 to 1 mobile devices, not a single child failed to turn in a single homework assignment all year. Why did that happen? Because they are engaged.
Time on task = success
The tools have to be used as essential tools, not supplementary. Supplementing with technology doesn’t move the needle. Essential means that technology is in hand 24/7 students have complete access to the tool. Essential means that students are actively engaged in doing and creating. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t other tools being used.
Most things can be done on a mobile phone device.
Mobile devices connect students to the real world. Learning doesn’t end when school does.
When you look closely at the studies that show that technology has no impact, you will see that it is because technology was used as a supplement.
Technology should be like oxygen, invisible but essential.
Mobile devices like the cell phone are ideal because the cost of the device is $0 and what you pay for is the connectivity. It is a cheap solution.
It is about the kids, not the technology. Let them use their own tools.
Mobile devices are growing at a rate of 50% a year, this is the fastest growing technology. We used to tell teachers to get on the technology bus, now we have to say get on the technology bullet train because it is moving!
Elliott mentioned that he doesn’t think that the iPad has a place as a learning device. His reasoning is that it isn’t what kids are using. He argues that kids are using cellphones and mobile devices, that the iPad isn’t natural for them.

Elliott was an excellent presenter. He made some great points about using cellphone technology in the classroom. I have to disagree with his assessment that the iPad isn’t a good device for kids. While I like the idea of using cellphone technology and just paying for connectivity, it isn’t what every classroom needs. The conclusion that I kept coming to is that no classroom situation is the same. While an inner city school with low access to technology and resources might benefit best from a smart phone for learning, it might not make the same sense in a suburban school with more ubiquitous technology access. In a poorer neighborhood you will find homes that lack wireless Internet access, putting an iPad in the hands of those kids might not be as successful as giving them a cellphone that they could use to access a cellular data network. But in a wealthier, suburban neighborhood where wireless Internet is around every corner, an iPad is the perfect device. What I realized is that there can be no one-size-fits-all approach to education. One solution isn’t going to solve the education problems of the world. We need to look at each population and each classroom and choose the solution that makes the most sense for that instance. Education has to be tailored to the individuals, not the masses.

Soloway is right, we keep trying to make the data tell us a new story. Policy makers implement new standards and tests as a way to save education. But that is like moving deck chairs around on the Titanic. Sure things look different, but it is still a sinking ship. We need to cut our losses and build a new ship all together. That new ship should be tailored to fit the needs of the students who are boarding it. For some that means mobile phone technology, for others iPads, and for some netbooks. I can argue all day long for the benefits of the iPad in learning but when we get right down to it, the reason I hold that view is because it is perfect for the student population I work with. It makes sense in our situation. That may or may not be true of you.

To learn more about the session visit here.

Ten Ways to Boost Learning with Technology

How to make iLearn Technology work for you

July 6, 2010Kelly Tenkely18 Comments3553 views

iLearn Technology is coming up on birthday number 4!! It is hard to remember a time when I didn’t blog, the 4 year journey has been amazing! I have grown as a teacher, a user of technology, and (I hope) as a blogger. As I reflected on iLearn Technology, I couldn’t help but remember my first steps into the blogging world. It was the summer of 2007 and I had been teaching in the computer lab for 2 years. At the time, I spent my summers searching the web for resources I could use in my classroom. When I stumbled on gems I wondered why no one had collected all of the great education resources in one place. I kept a notebook of the sites I was finding and would jot down a few words (which I later realized were tags) to help me remember what the website looked like and did. I would also write any thoughts that I had about how I could use the site with students. Every once in a while I would stumble on a collection of education resources for the classroom, but I was disappointed by them. Most were just lists of website links, there was no information that indicated what kind of site it was or how it could be used. It frustrated me that I had to click on each and every link to find out if it was worthwhile for my classroom or not. I was quickly becoming a website snob and when I came upon a website of link lists, I would quickly move on. It was too time consuming to sort through 100 website urls for the chance that I might find something worth keeping.

About this time, the iPhone had just emerged on the scene. My husband bought one and promptly jail broke it so that he could stay on T-mobile network. As he searched around the net for iPhone hacks and tips, he came across this little video from @ijustine. Her AT&T phone bill unveiling.

My husband sent me the video with a link to her blog and said “You should start a blog”. I quickly shot back something snarky like: “oh yeah, what would I blog about my Nokia?” Lucky for me, he ignored my snarky comment and told me to start an education blog where I reviewed all of the sites I was finding for my classroom. I wasn’t sure how I could keep a blog going through the school year or how I would find enough material to keep it current, but it was July and I decided to give it a go. You have to understand, when I started iLearn Technology, I had NO idea what blogging was really all about. I didn’t really understand how it was different from a website (other than being updated more often) and I am pretty sure the term RSS was foreign to me. I started it anyway thinking if nothing else, it would be a good place for me to keep track of what I was finding and would be more easily searchable than my spiral notebook. I didn’t really expect that anyone would read my blog. I didn’t really expect to get a following of any kind. Thus began the journey of iLearn Technology.

Looking back over the past 4 years, I am still baffled that I find time to post every day. I am still dumbstruck that you all read my blog and come back for more. I am still amazed that I continue to find resources that are worthy of posts (I decided when I started iLearn Technology, if it didn’t pass the test of my students enjoying it, there would not be a blog post about it). Each year I get a little nostalgic in July and look through my old posts. I remember what projects I have done with students, make note of the sites that my students still beg for, and look forward to new finds. I also try to find something that I can improve on. This year I decided that I needed to make the resources I post about easier to search. In my sidebar, you will see a category list with several drop-down menus. I have categorized all of my posts by grade, subject, and resource type. The new category search lets you search within multiple categories at once. You can choose a grade level, a subject, and a resource (or just choose one or two categories to search). This should make it easier to find resources that fit your classroom needs. My hope is that iLearn Technology can be your one stop shop for finding the very best student-tested resources for your classroom.

I realize that not all of you have been with me from the beginning of this journey, I thank you for joining me when you did and for sticking with me as I continue to learn and grow! Most of the tools I have posted about I still use every year. They are outstanding resources! I don’t expect you to go back through each and every post on the off chance that you will find something that fits your needs, but hopefully the new multiple category search will encourage you to go through some previous posts that you may have missed to find just the right activities for the next school year. As seems to be the case with technology, not all resources have stood the test of time. Some sites have shut down, others are no longer free resources. I am working on amending these posts accordingly but if you come across a site that is no more, leave me a comment and let me know about it. I can offer some alternative resource suggestions and update the post to indicate the changes.

Try out the multiple category search and let me know what you think! You don’t have to make a selection from every category, just choose the options that best fit what you are searching for.