Moving Toward a Successful 1:1 Implementation

After a busy summer getting ready for Phase 2 of our 1:1 implementation, I'm feeling great about the upcoming weeks as we roll out over 8000 devices in schools. Chromebook distributions will start Monday for two high school take-home programs, and many middle school students will be issued devices to use throughout the school day. Our elementary program with Chromebooks now includes 4th and 5th grade.

Over the past year I've struggled with this initiative. Feeling great one moment after seeing students engaged in their learning and then feeling worried about the enormity of the project. The stakes are high with a great need to be fiscally responsible and to show a return on investment with improved student achievement and student engagement.

I can't say enough about the importance of constantly evaluating your 1:1 initiative and making needed changes if you see problems with the implementation. We're working with our Getting To Outcomes™ evaluation team and constantly evaluating for quality implementation. The first teacher, parent, and student survey results are coming in now, and I'm thrilled that we're already seeing positive changes in our classrooms. I'm looking forward to sharing those results in the near future.

My professional goal for the upcoming school year is to become more involved with groups that are on the front lines of research and evaluation for 1:1 programs. Organizations like EdLeader21, Project RED, CoSN's Teaming for Transformation group, and Gartner all have robust learning communities and a wealth of resources and research data. This year I want to take an in depth look at rubrics for evaluating the 4Cs and focus on helping schools to incorporate the Project RED key implementation factors at the school level.

With good planning and thoughtful evaluation, 1:1 computing can have a positive impact on student learning. I look forward to collaborating with others who are working with 1:1 programs and look forward to sharing results as our implementation continues.

 

The Real Meaning of PBL

After a number of learning opportunities this year including a visit to High Tech High in San Diego, I have a better understanding about the meaning of PBL.

Learning how to implement PBL in the classroom is no easy task, but I believe that the key to implementation is passion. We need to be passionate about our jobs and about providing engaging work for our students. Students need to be allowed to follow their passions in a learning environment that allows for choice. Passion-based learning is the real meaning of PBL.

My technology integration team is modeling PBL this summer with a new course called, "Passport to 21st Century Learning." An important part of the course is offering choice for the teachers. As a kick-off to the course, teachers attended our two day SC Midlands Summit and selected sessions of their choice. I've just completed reading the blog posts from the teachers in my course section, and the passion is evident.

The final class project will be a PBL unit which each participant will implement during the 2012-13 school year. We hope to have an exhibition later in the school year to showcase both the teacher's PBL unit as well as the student work. If you're interested in learning more about passion-based learning, Jackie Gerstein has a great blog post.

1:1 Implementation: Take Your Time

As the school year comes to a close, I've been reflecting on the progress we've made with our 1:1 initiative. One piece of advice that I would give to anyone contemplating a 1:1 initiative is "take your time." My favorite performer at Mallory Square in Key West, Cat Man, loves to say "hurry up, take your time" as audience participants are called up front. But don't hurry up. Take your time.

I began the school year talking about a journey, but I had no idea what the journey would be like. I believe that we've been thoughtful and purposeful in phase one of our roll out. We've made mistakes, but we've constantly evaluated our project and made corrections as needed.

Remember the old saying, "Rome wasn't built in a day" when you begin working with teachers. Scaffold your instruction so that teachers can begin to see how to move up the SAMR ladder from substitution to redefinition in the use of technology. Don't expect one device to magically change everything. As I've said before, we need lots of tools and instructional strategies in our toolbox and students need choice in projects.

In addition to taking your time with the implementation, you will need vision, leadership, team work, professional development, and a reflective evaluation process in place. Take out any one of those ingredients, and your project is likely to fail.

I'm looking forward to phase two of our implementation in August and will post soon about the professional learning that is taking place this summer as we continue on the journey. Enjoy the summer, take time for professional learning, and take time out to spend with your family and friends.

Summertime and the Learning is Easy

As the school year comes to a close, I'm excited about the upcoming summer learning opportunities.

My district is partnering with a neighboring district for the first annual SC Midlands Summit. The Summit  is a two day conference focused on the use of Google Apps for Education, research tools, Web 2.0 tools, and technology integration in the classroom. The lineup of presenters is fantastic, and I can't wait for the event to begin.

Another great summer event is the Upstate Technology Conference hosted by Greenville County School District. This conference grows every year, and the teachers who present have some wonderful ideas for integrating technology into the curriculum.

Last but not least, is the ISTE 2012 conference in San Diego. Over the past two years I have become more involved with ISTE as a presenter and participant. The conference is a great opportunity to network with other educators from around the country and build relationships that will last a  lifetime.

There are many more professional learning opportunities available this summer, and I look forward to taking some time for learning and professional growth. Look around your area for opportunities to get involved this summer!

Google and the Power of Stories

Occasionally when I'm watching television I'll see Google commercials for Chrome and Google+. I know that all companies have a lot of marketing hype, and it's easy to get pulled into their advertising.

All the marketing glitz aside, I've found my own personal story to tell about how Google has helped my cousin, her husband, and the rest of my family cope with the loss of my dear great aunt. Barnie Hall passed away in January at the age of 97. As I was growing up, she was one of the people in my life who held things together for our family. I remember the wonderful Christmas eves spent at her house and the raucous fun that she would have with my grandmother making fruit cakes (with just a little bit of wine!). After their family moved away in search of paradise - first to Hawaii, then to Naples (FL), and finally to the Florida Keys, I had the great fun of visiting them in those tropical locations. We took our daughter to meet Aunt Barnie when she was 3 months old. I have a great photo of Aunt Barnie holding Meg (in a tiny blue swimsuit) at their first meeting. Every year since then, we have visited them in the Keys and I have a photos of Meg growing up with Aunt Barnie.

So how does Google fit into this story? In December I introduced my cousin to GMail because she was having so much trouble with her e-mail client program. We enjoyed sending photos to each other and it made communicating much easier for her. We received the terrible phone call about Aunt Barnie's death on January 15.

I was able to get down to visit my cousin during the first week after Aunt Barnie's death. I feel so fortunate that I was able to be with them as they began coping with the loss. I installed Chrome on their laptop, and we had a few wonderful Google+ hangouts with my husband and Meg. It was so good that they could join us as we cried together and told stories. I hated to leave, but since then I have enjoyed seeing the green chat light when my cousin is online, and we've had a few nice chats that way. I've also posted photos and videos of Barnie to Picasa and YouTube to share. I used the people feature in Picasa to find all of our photos of Barnie and was able to create a beautiful slideshow of wonderful times spent in the keys with her - walking on No Name bridge, playing putt putt, and having picnics at Bahia Honda or Fort Zachary Taylor parks. Good times and often very funny times!

My cousin has also found her voice with Google Docs. She is going back through all of the stories that they wrote over the years and putting them in Google Docs. Every day I get one or two stories written in her voice or Aunt Barnie's voice. All of the memories come flooding back, and I can hear Aunt Barnie speaking the words. The writing is therapeutic, and the stories are now recorded for our entire family to read and enjoy. The stories are wonderful, and I've already volunteered a title for my cousin's future book!

Grief continues, but staying connected has made a difference for all of us. If you haven't been writing down your stories, I encourage you to start sharing stories with those you love. It can make a huge difference in their lives.

Chromebooks: The Final Piece to the 1:1 Computing Puzzle

After a year of planning, I'm happy to report that our 1:1 computing initiative is on the move! In the last two weeks, all of our elementary schools have received Samsung Chromebooks for 5th grade classrooms.  The carts are still being assembled, but the Chromebooks came out of the boxes ready to go. Over the next month, high schools and some middle schools will also be receiving Chromebooks.

The device selection process was very comprehensive, and I believe that the Chromebooks will make a real difference in how our teachers teach and in how our students learn. My district has Google Apps for Education and the Chromebook is the perfect fit. The Chrome OS integrates completely with Google Apps with a single sign-on and a full web browser experience. Here is my top ten list (in no particular order) of why the Chromebook is great for education:

1. Boots up in 8 seconds - This is a big time saver in the classroom. Students open the Chromebook, sign in, and they're ready to work. Students can also close the lid without worrying that they will have a long boot up process when it's time to work again.


2. No management issues for the classroom teacher or the IT department - Automatic updates and no viruses. Teachers can teach instead of managing equipment. The total cost of ownership for a Chromebook is much lower than the total cost of ownership for a laptop.


3. Battery - The Chromebook battery easily lasts for 8 hours.


4. Management Console - The IT Department can deliver apps and set restrictions using the Management Console which is built into the Google Apps for Education administrator dashboard.


5. The Cloud - The Chromebook allows students full access to Google Apps for Education. Students can create ePortfolios using Google Sites, chat with their teacher, collaborate with other students on a Google Doc, access Picasa web albums, blog, and a host of other things. With Ericom, our students can also access our district cloud.


6. Apps - The Chrome Web Store is growing every day with great free apps for education. Many of the apps can be used offline if needed. Students don't need an additional account to download and install apps.


7. Physical Keyboard - The keyboard has been modified to include a search key and a reload key. The physical keyboard makes it easy for a student to be productive.


8. USB ports, memory card slot - It's easy for a student to insert a flash drive or SD card and upload files or photos to Google Apps using the Chromebook File Manager.


9. Webcam - The webcam works well for Google chat.


10. Flash - Until more vendors create HTML5 sites, we can still access educational content through Flash sites.

My list could go on, but the most important thing about the Chromebooks is that they will provide our students with meaningful experiences and 21st century skills that will prepare them for a great future! Students in our pilot group were collaborating, creating, and publishing on the first day that they started using the Chromebooks. Stay tuned for updates on how Chromebooks are being used in classrooms.

What's in Your Toolbox?

I've been thinking a lot lately about the variety of tools that we need to offer to our students in order for them to be successful. There are 1:1 computing initiatives across the country right now where the focus is sometimes more on the cool new device rather than the instructional purposes. Students are being given devices and teachers are working hard to design activities to fit the device. We need to reverse this trend.

My husband gave me a great analogy that I've been using a lot lately. He talked about having a saw as your only tool and how that would cause a lot of trouble around the house. You can't hang a photo with a saw.  Maybe you need a hammer in your toolbox. And a screwdriver. Even a pencil. You get the idea.

There is no 1:1 device that is going to meet all the needs of a student. There are arguments for and against all 1:1 devices that districts can afford, so we have to realize that we still need a variety of tools in our schools. One idea is to have sets of other devices in the media center for checkout to students or teachers as the need arises.

I recently read a paper entitled, "Education in the World of Choice."  The authors talk about how districts can move forward by offering choice while avoiding chaos. The illustration shows four models that districts sometimes follow: Cafe Fixed Menu, Cafeteria Buffet, Private Dining Club, and Sit with the Cool Kids. The paper gave me "food for thought" as we face crucial decisions about the tools and resources that we make available to our students and teachers. We don't want chaos with too many tools that can't be supported or sustained, but we also don't want to leave our teachers and students with a fixed menu that won't give us enough tools in our toolbox.

I would love to hear your thoughts on what tools you make available in your school and how you manage choice while avoiding chaos. What's in your toolbox?

ePortfolios and the Power of Reflection

In early September, I was fortunate to spend two days with Dr. Helen Barrett, the guru of ePortfolios. My district was able to bring her to Columbia to teach a group of teachers and district staff about ePortfolio creation. The timing was perfect - all the stars were aligned with our adoption of Google Apps for Education and our 1:1 computing initiative. Google Docs and Sites makes it possible for students to collect artifacts and share them through a showcase ePortfolio. As we move to 1:1 computing in our classrooms, students will  have easy access to the technology tools that they need to store and collect documents as well as reflect on the importance of their work.

One big idea that I came away with after the workshop is that there are levels of ePortfolio development. I went into the workshop thinking of ePortfolios as a showcase of a student's best work. I learned that the most important level of portfolio development is actually Level II, the portfolio as workspace with a focus on process and documentation of learning. Reflective journals are an important part of Level II. Students can use Blogger or other blogging and social networking sites to continuously reflect on their work.

As educators, we know the importance of reflection. I just received notice of my National Board for Professional Teaching Standards renewal which involved many hours of reflecting on my professional growth. The NBPTS renewal portfolio, while a showcase of my work and achievement over the past eight years, was most importantly a profile of my continuous learning as an educator.

One of my favorite college professors, Dr. Dan Barron, always used the phrase, "Grow or Die" to stress the importance of continuous reflection. A few days ago, I gave myself a few hours without Internet access, e-mail or phone calls to reflect on my work and think about improvements that might be needed. Over the next week, take time out of your busy schedule and reflect on where you've been and how you need to improve as you move forward. I hope you will feel renewed and ready to face the next challenge.

IT to the Rescue

The school year is off to a great start but with the usual technology glitches as teachers get back into their classrooms. Terrible things happen to computers and printers over the summer. In ghostly quiet classrooms, cables mysteriously disappear, printer ink evaporates, and cords become so tangled that it's difficult to get things up and running again.

On a typical summer day in the IT department, data is being updated and converted for the student information system, lunch systems are being upgraded, wiring is being installed in new and existing schools, new e-mail systems are being put into place, and the department is trying to comply with all of the state and federal regulations that sometimes dictate how things are done.

The multifaceted work of the IT department is multiplied when teachers are back in the classroom. The school instructional technology specialist and/or media specialist suddenly become IT support as they begin placing work orders and helping teachers get things ready for opening day. District technicians are pulled in many directions and feel overwhelmed by the number of problems. I'm sure that many technicians have terrible dreams at night about out-of-control printers spewing out paper and marching down school hallways.

As this new year gets underway, I hope that everyone in the school system can be tolerant of the problems and understand that everyone is working hard to support the work of teachers. Take a few minutes to look at the big picture and talk with the staff in your IT department to find out about ongoing projects. Here are a few things to think about:

• Flitering: I'm fortunate to be in a district that allows teachers to get to sites that may be restricted for students. There are times when uncategorized sites are unavailable, but that isn't the fault of IT. Any site that is new or hasn't been visited is suspect and it may take a day or two to have the site categorized. Be patient.  Realize that CIPA regulations keep districts in check and funding is withheld if filtering isn't in place.


• Bandwidth:  IT staff are constantly fine tuning bandwidth restrictions to make sure that all sites can be accessed.  If streaming video is allotted too much bandwidth and a teacher needs to Skype with another class, access may be dicey.  The IT department is trying to support the needs of all users in the district and additional bandwidth isn't cheap or easy to increase.


• Work orders: Most IT departments are severely understaffed with a limited number of technicians. What you may not know is that some technicians and district staff are working on the weekends and into the evening to get through the beginning of the school year.  Take a few minutes to troubleshoot before placing that work order, and thank the technician for helping out.


• Computer restrictions: Large districts with thousands of computers have to come up with workstation restrictions and standardized applications to make it possible to survive with limited funding and staff.  Technicians already spend hundreds of hours reimaging computers that have viruses.  Open the lines of communication by talking with someone in your IT department about your needs and how the department can best support those needs.

Let's all work together this year to provide our students with the tools and resources that they need to be successful in the 21st century. Spend some time talking with IT staff members about your needs and be sure to listen to their responses.  We're all in this together and communication is the best way for all of us to succeed.

A New Journey Begins...

Another busy summer is almost over, and I've begun preparing for the upcoming school year.  I had wonderful experiences at ISTE 2011 and made many new connections that will be valuable as my district continues planning for 1:1 computing.  My district team participated in two poster sessions and a birds of a feather session.  The educators who stopped by and shared their experiences with me reinforced my belief that we must constantly continue to grow and learn.

One thing I've been learning about this summer is making effective presentations.  I love the PechaKucha presentation method and decided to use my trip to Peru for my back-to-school presentation.  Going on a vacation adventure is a lot like starting a new school year so I used the theme "A New Journey Begins" to share my experience.

 
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHc5JRt-sec&w=425&h=349]

I hope you enjoy the photos and start thinking about how you can motivate your colleagues as the new school year begins.

Waiting for the Next Great Device

As I look back over my many years in instructional technology, I can remember all of the times when the news was buzzing about the next best technology.  I remember the first TRS-80 that I actually used for recordkeeping.  The company even "improved" on the device with the addition of a cassette drive.  Technology finally improved for education with Apple's introduction of the IIe in 1983.  And in 1992, my home life changed with the purchase of a Mac Classic.  I still have that computer (pictured above).  It's on a shelf in the basement waiting for the day when I pull out my directions for transforming it into an aquarium.  Which brings up the point that no great technology stays great for too long.

I spent last summer exploring all the uses for my new iPad.  I gave it a full workout at the ISTE conference and tried it out as an e-reader on my vacation to Mexico.  You can read about that experience in my blog post "And the Winner Is...".  The iPad is still a device that I use frequently when I'm at home for reading newspapers, magazines, and catching up on my Google Reader.  I absolutely love the Flipboard app for consolidating all of my must read content into one place.  I've also seen great uses for the iPad and the iPod Touch in classrooms in my district.

I must thank a teacher in my district, Casey Ellisor, for a comment that he made during a recent presentation.  He said that he had tried hard to make the iPod Touch work in his curriculum but that he just couldn't force it to fit into all of his class activities.  He did discover a great use for the tool, but the lesson that he learned is that you can't force a particular technology to work in every situation.

The newest device that I've been exploring is the Chrome OS CR-48.  I was fortunate to receive one this spring, and I've seen a lot of interest when I bring it into meetings.  I am incredibly happy with the notebook now that the OS has been upgraded to include file storage.  I'm able to upload files to the cloud from my flash drive, and I have offline storage if needed.  I can see myself continuing to use a Chromebook for personal and professional work.



As I wait for the next great device to come out, I believe that we have to be open minded to the possibility that we'll never have the perfect device.  We need to evaluate our needs and then select the best available device to meet those needs.  Our classrooms can and should have a variety of tools available for students to use as they work in and out of the classroom.  I look forward to continuing conversations with other educators about the tools that they are using in their classrooms.  We'll never agree on one best device, and that's a good thing since our needs are constantly evolving.

Reflection on One-to-One Computing Site Visits

Over the last three months, I've been on a wild ride learning about one-to-one computing initiatives around the country.  My district is in an exploration phase, and this explorer has seen a lot in the last two months.

I want to give special thanks to the neighboring school districts who have allowed us into their classrooms and shared a wealth of information.  A team from my district visited Gilbert High School in Lexington School District One (Lexington, SC) to see one-to-one computing in action.  The district has a long term plan for expansion of the one-to-one program and started with Gilbert as the pilot school.  I was impressed with the engagement of the students and the willingness of the teachers to transform their teaching.  We saw students in collaborative groups with the teacher as facilitator.

We also had the opportunity of visiting Busbee Creative Arts Academy (grades 6-8) and Davis Elementary in Lexington School District Two.  The students at Busbee use iPod Touches and the students in grades 4-5 at Davis are using iPads.  I came away from the visits with a firm belief that student achievement and discipline is improved when students are engaged in meaningful activities with the technology tools that are made available to them.

Through sleet and snow, I made my way to Pascack Valley Regional High School District in Montvale, NJ for an NSBA site visit.  Pascack Valley and Pascack Hills High Schools have been implementing one-to-one for seven years.  The depth of instruction was evident as we observed classrooms throughout the two day visit.  I met wonderful students and had great discussions with the Pascack students and teachers about how one-to-one computing has transformed their learning environments.

Finally, a large team from my district visited Lee County School District in Sanford, NC.  The district Information Technology and Curriculum departments worked closely together in the development of their one-to-one initiative which started with middle schools and has expanded to the high schools and elementary schools.  The lesson I took away is that teamwork is essential in a successful implementation.

Several of our committee members also visited Henrico County in Virginia and came away with a comprehensive understanding of the planning that is involved with providing one-to-one computing to all students.

So, where do we go from here?  We'll keep reading, keep exploring, keep learning, and start to plan the next steps.  We have several groups of teachers in our district who have been teaching in one-to-one computing classrooms, and we are grateful to have them on the implementation team.  Above all, we have students who are giving us input into what they want to see happen in their classrooms.  We are all amazed at the insight that our students have brought to the discussion.

What I've learned from this exploration phase is that it isn't about the device but about the learning goals.  The technology isn't going to transform a classroom unless the leaders in the district provide teachers with the time and support to create engaging work for students.  Students are digital natives, and we need to step into their world and let them be our guides.

More to come as this journey continues.

Changing Our View

I recently attended the South Carolina Council of Teachers of English conference and heard Kylene Beers speak.  She talked about No Child Left Behind and other timely issues in education.  Her opening quote was, "When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at will change."  That really got me thinking about how we as educators need to change our views as we move toward providing 21st century skills for our students. At one point during her speech, Kylene asked the audience to complete a seemingly simple task - moving your right foot clockwise while drawing a figure six in the air with your left hand.  Try it and you'll find out just how difficult it can be to learn something.  In order to complete the task, we have to unlearn the traditional method that we have been taught.

We get students in the classroom every day who are not going to be able to learn what we teach in the traditional way.  In order for those students to achieve, we need to look with new eyes at what we're doing in the classroom.  Transforming how we do things can be a very difficult task.  I talk a lot with others about the importance of a professional learning network as we try new strategies in the classroom and work place.  We need to be able to share ideas and have others challenge us.  By talking with another teacher, I was able to see how I could teach a child to draw that six in the air while moving his or her right foot in a clockwise direction.  Without the discussion, I would have taken a lot longer to find the solution.

One book that I would recommend for anyone looking to change the way that they do things is "Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard" by Chip and Dan Health.  The premise is simple: Our emotions are the elephant and our rational side is the rider.  In order to bring about change, we need to appeal to someone's emotions using compelling ideas and we need to change the path so that the rider must change in order to move forward. We need to find the balance between emotional drive and reason.

How do we get others to change the way they've always looked at things and see the classroom from a new perspective?  How do we get that student to succeed at a seemingly impossible task?  We have to change the direction so that the solution becomes more obvious.  Over the new week, try looking at the problems that you encounter in your classroom or office as a chance to find new and creative ways to solve those challenges.  Enjoy the journey!

Fail Often...Succeed Sooner

In October, I had the opportunity to attend the Schlechty Center's Working on the Work (WOW) Conference.  Phil Schlechty, the author of Leading for Learning and Working on the Work, provides a great professional development experience for participants.  I attended the Design 2.0 sessions and returned to work with great ideas to share with other teachers in my district.  As we walked through the process of designing engaging student work, one participant made a profound statement, "Fail Often...Succeed Sooner."  This video on the design process shows how we must go through a trial and error process to arrive at the right design for our customers.

The idea that we must fail is not very popular in education.  Administrators and parents expect their students to succeed, and many people believe that success is about passing rates on standardized tests.  As a result of these expectations, many teachers feel that they can't try new teaching strategies that might jeopardize the success rate of their students.  We settle for "ritual engagement" and "passive compliance" instead of "authentic engagement."  The only way to have actively engaged students is to know our students and design work that is meaningful and valuable.  And that process, as many of us know from experience, can be a bumpy ride.  Some strategies that we try will not work as planned, and we'll be back to the drawing board just like the designer in that video.

With so much on the line, how can we move forward in designing project and problem-based learning experiences for our students?  My suggestion is to create your own coaching circle of colleagues who can cheer you on, give you feedback, and be there for support when something doesn't turn out the way that you planned.  At the WOW conference, I was able to participate in a coaching circle as I designed a lesson.  I enjoyed taking the lesson back to the circle and having the participants ask me questions to help me with my design.

As educators, we must continually reflect on our failures and successes to provide the right learning experience for each of our students.  The key is to step out on a limb and surround yourself with teachers who are working through the same process.  Take that chance, and your failures will turn into brilliant successes.

PD Goes Viral!

I was in a district meeting recently, and a teacher shared with the group how she is using Edmodo with her students. I didn't know that teacher, but I was thrilled to discover that she is having success with Edmodo. This semester, I've included Edmodo in many of my staff development workshops and the word is spreading. I've also been sharing Lodge McCammon's great ideas for creating paper-slide and one-take music videos. DI coaches in our district have worked with their students on videos and posted them to our Edmodo group.

These two easy to use tools have given many teachers a great way to have their students share and collaborate. If you want professional development to go viral in your school or district, follow these steps:

1. Pick one amazing and easy to use tool to share. I shared Edmodo as a first step in getting teachers to collaborate online. They were also able to easily create groups for their students. Simplicity is the key. If you can attend a 45 minute session and walk away feeling comfortable with the tool, then you're more likely to use it with your students.


2. Provide time in your session for teachers to share and brainstorm ideas for using the technology. Continue the discussion online.


3. During the second session, extend the use of the tool by sharing a great curriculum integration idea. I've been working with teachers on creating paper-slide videos using Flip cameras. Students just need a few directions, and they can produce great videos that can be used to teach concepts to other students in the classroom.


4. Model the use of technology by giving the teachers a chance to work in groups and create a product. This gives them the confidence to go back to the classroom and work with students on a similar project.


5. Ask the teachers to post their work, and schedule a time for them to share their successes. Once the work is posted, other teachers in the school and district are able to see examples. They're motivated to begin using a new tool or idea in the classroom if they can see student work samples.

Follow these steps and you're sure to have successful professional development that spreads throughout your school or district. Let me know what is working well for you.

And the Winner is...

In a June blog post, I told you about my summer plans to read books on the iPad and Kindle and decide on a favorite tool to use for reading.  I have to tell you that I began my summer reading experiment thinking that the iPad would easily win over other e-reader hardware.  I was wrong!

The major problem that I have reading on the iPad is the back light and the screen glare.  On vacation in Mexico, I found a great spot on our ocean view balcony and discovered that I couldn't see a thing on the screen except for myself.   The iPad makes a great mirror if you're outside!  I would like to see someone invent a clip-on hoodie for the iPad that would minimize the glare.  Amazon got it right with their latest commercial featuring a man reading an iPad by the pool next to a lady with a Kindle.  He asks, "How are you reading that in this light?"

I've been trying many of the iPad reading apps including Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble, and iBook.  All of them fall short for one reason or another.  I spend a lot of time adjusting screen brightness, changing the background color and changing font size.  I experience a lot of eye strain when I read a back-lit screen for an extended time.  I also find it hard to fall asleep at night if I've been reading on the iPad.  A final problem with the iPad is definitely the weight.  There are ways to prop it up while reading, but sometimes I can't find a comfortable reading position.

What I do like about reading on the iPad is the color and graphics.  The iPad does win for me as a news, magazine, and textbook reader.  I want color photos and nice graphics for that type of reading.  It also works well for many nonfiction books that feature charts and images.  I love the fact that I can bookmark my page and go right to the Internet to find other information. This can be a plus and a drawback.  Many days I find myself surfing the web for an extended period of time instead of reading.

On summer vacation, I finally gave up on the iPad and went back to reading a book on my Kindle 2.  I could read at the beach and didn't have any eye strain.  About a week ago, I walked into a store and tried out the Kindle 3 for the first time.  It was love at first sight!  I went home and immediately placed an order.  The smaller size, light weight, and improved screen contrast make the Kindle 3 a wonderful e-reader.  The Nook has a lot of followers, but I think the new low price for the wireless Kindle 3 is going to be very appealing to many people.   Even more amazing is the fact that the Kindle 3 can  hold 3,500 books.  That's a lot of books for a tiny device!

I know many people who like the smell and feel of a book in their hands, but I have to say that I haven't missed it very much.  The fact that I can take this small device with me everywhere and choose from hundreds of books makes this the perfect device for me.  Our physical bookshelves may be slimmer in the future, but our minds will be full from the many books that we read.

Happy reading!

Thank You PLN for a Great Summer!

This summer has gone by so quickly!  It seems like I was just blogging about my summer plans to attend ISTE and the DEN LC symposium.  In the middle of all my summer activities, I was hired to be the Technology Integration Coordinator in my district.  I began work last week and have jumped right into projects and staff development workshops.  I'm excited about the upcoming year, and I'm already planning how I can use everything that I learned this summer.  It was great to see so many of my Twitter friends at the Upstate Technology Conference, the ISTE Conference, and the DEN LC symposium.  I also made many new friends who have shared valuable advice with me. I will be hanging on tight to my PLN as I encounter new challenges this year.

Here are a few photos from summer adventures that illustrate how much I need my PLN:


This photo was taken several weeks ago on my vacation in Puerto Aventuras, Mexico.  My husband and daughter convinced me to go on a cavern dive in one of the nearby cenotes.  This was a #fail! The reason that it was a failure for me is that I was not able to swim next to a buddy.  I did have a guide ahead of me and my daughter behind me, but I felt very alone.  I wasn't able to see very much and really needed a hand to hold onto to give me courage to go under all of that rock. I gracefully bailed out of the dive and let my daughter and husband see the wonders of the cavern.



The photo above illustrates a different sort of adventure.  While ziplining in Jamaica last summer, my daughter and I were told by the guide that we wouldn't make it to the end by ourselves.  Our individual weights were not enough to get us to the end, but our combined weights would give us a great ride.  We went together on this adventure, and it was faster and more fun to have a companion! #success



On the Mexico trip, I swam into the midst of enormous whale sharks. The guide told us that we would need to jump into the water in pairs.  When the guide saw a whale shark and yelled, "Go,"  we had to jump in together without any hesitation.  I'm pretty sure that I would have been more worried if I had been alone. Having a companion to go overboard with me was fantastic.  We swam beside huge whale sharks and shared our enthusiasm with each other.  This was one of the top adventures of my life!  Jumping right into a situation that is larger than life really made me think about how I should approach all of the challenges coming my way.  I hope that I can keep this image with me every time that I face a new situation.



As I begin the school year and face new challenges, I plan to lean heavily on my PLN. I hope that I can also be a support to you as you jump into new situations.  Let's stick together, have a great time, and see the wonderful results of our learning and growing.  The cavern at the end of the dark tunnel is stunning!

DEN Leadership Council Symposium Reflection

I just arrived back from the Discovery Educator Network 2010 Leadership Council Symposium at Bentley University.  The trip to Boston was a fantastic opportunity to network with other educators, share best practices, and hear thought-provoking speakers.  Here is a summary of the ideas that I came away with:

Paperslide Videos and Music Videos with Lodge McCammon:



Lodge gave the group an opportunity to have hands-on with creating a paperslide video and a collaborative music video.  You can see his presentation here: http://sites.google.com/site/denlcfizz2010.  These are both great project-centered activities to implement in the classroom and will help students understand concepts.

Chris Dede on 21st Century Learning:

Day two of the symposium was an opportunity for us to hear Dr. Chris Dede from Harvard University speak about transforming education for the 21st century. He challenged us to think about what transformation looks like in the classroom.  He shared information about new literacies for the 21st century based on the Framework for New Media Literacies.  Dr. Dede also shared his EcoMUVE project and discussed how he hopes to develop a way for assessing student work in a MUVE.  He stressed that we must have sophisticated performance assessments based on rich observations.  My favorite quote: "Plan needs to be a verb, not a noun."

Unconference Day:

On Wednesday, we had the chance to organize ourselves into sessions for an unconference day.  Twenty teachers agreed to lead sessions and the other participants could attend sessions of their choice.  The only rule was that you must be passionate about your topic.  I hosted a session on one-to-one computing with Genevieve Kahlweiss.  We were able to spend the entire morning talking about issues with one-to-one computing and sharing ideas and resources.  I also attended sessions on augmented reality and cell phone use in schools.  Check out  ROAR (Radford Outdoor Augmented Reality Project) to learn more about augmented reality in education.  All of the groups created documents that could be shared with everyone in attendance.  I'll be exploring the documents for a long time!

Building Learning Communities 2010:

The DEN team outdid themselves this year by taking us into Boston on Thursday to attend Alan November's BLC (Building Learning Communities) 2010 conference.  Michael Wesch, the creator of the viral video, A Vision of Students Today, talked about how we need to move our students from knowledgeable to knowledge-able.  His main point was that we need to engage students with real problems and harness the relevant tools to solve the problems.  I was also able to attend a session by Bette Manchester from the Maine International Center for Digital Learning.  She talked about the lessons learned from the one-to-one computing project in Maine.  I came away with a wealth of information that I can share with teachers in my district.

My Network:

I feel honored that I was able to attend the DEN LC Symposium.  The highlight of the week was networking with great educators from around the US.  The theme of the week was summed up by Peter Reynolds.  We visited Fablevision studios and heard Peter Reynolds talk about the books that he writes.  He emphasizes in his books that we need to make our mark (The Dot) and have a great journey as we go (The North Star). I feel certain that I can do that with the great network of people who will be walking alongside me.

Thanks to the DEN planners for putting together such a great week!

Reflections on ISTE 2010

I just returned from the ISTE 2010 conference in Denver, Colorado.  I was privileged to be with a group of wonderful teachers from my district who challenged me to think deeply about the reasons why we use technology with out students.  I took some time to pick out sessions that would show me new approaches to teaching and learning.  I'm sure that I will be reflecting on the conference for a very long time, but here are some of the big ideas that I want to spend more time developing in my own educational practice.

Developing, Designing and Delivering Presentations:
Ken Shelton and Robert Craven provided me with food for thought about creating presentations which use visuals to communicate a message. They provided great resources and my take-away is that I want to encourage students and teachers at my school to use cameras and create a comprehensive library of images that we can share with each other.  I also want to eliminate those bullets from my presentations and continue to look for ways to involve my audience through interactive activities.

Matching Teachers and Technology and Birds of a Feather sessions:
Rushton Hurley had a great interactive session which engaged the audience.  He has a list of things to do and things not to do to provide effective staff development for teachers.  He emphasized not teaching in a computer lab, but instead using staff meeting time for teachers to share student work and ideas for projects.  I started that process this year with a faculty Ning, but I need to provide teachers with more opportunities for sharing in teams.  I experienced the power of teamwork at ISTE while meeting with four other teachers from my district.  We had impromptu sharing sessions and inspired each other with great ideas.   The Google Certified Teachers Birds of a Feather session also made me think about ways to improve sharing at my school.  GCTs came to the front of the room in this smackdown and shared one thing that they were doing in their classroom or school.  There were so many fantastic ideas shared in that one hour session!  We need to provide our teachers with this sharing time in school and then great things will happen in the classroom.  Teachers need to be given opportunities to inspire each other.

1-1 Computing and Designing Learning Spaces:
I attended a few sessions about 1-1 computing environments and am very excited that so many states are looking at ways to provide each student with a learning device.  There are a variety of research studies coming out providing valuable data on how to make 1-1 projects successful.  I have had some experience this year working with a teacher in our state digital textbook pilot.  Just from that small pilot, I have seen some of the same results that are being reported in research studies.  Students do communicate more with the teacher and are more engaged in assignments and projects.  I definitely want to continue learning more about what works and what pitfalls to avoid.  I also attended a session on learning spaces by Chris Johnson from the University of Arizona.  He emphasized the need for building spaces that allow us to interact with each other.  He said that the best social interactions come from sitting around the fire.  This is definitely true for me.  I love the chance to meet with small teams and work in an environment that facilitates collaboration and communication.

The Tools:
A conference wouldn't be complete without attending sessions about new technology tools.  I loved Leslie Fisher's presentation on iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad apps.  She shared a great list of resources, and I can see many great uses for educational applications.  Sometimes you just need to attend a session to get a new idea for something that you've been doing for a while.  I work a lot with students and teachers on Google Earth projects.  I attended the Google Earth Web 2.0 Mashup and came away with some great ideas.  I had never though about embedding a timeline in a Google Earth placemark.  Now I'm going to be taking more time to look at ways to embed content in my GE placemarks for more interactive activities.  In the vendor hall, Dan Russell from Google shared his top favorite search tools with me.  He had some great educational uses for Google News Archive and Google Sets.  I can't wait to share his curriculum examples with my faculty.

Wrap Up:
I'm thrilled that I had the chance to meet so many new people and learn so much in a short amount of time.  If you didn't have a chance to attend the conference, follow the tweets on Twitter by searching #ISTE10 and join the ISTE Ning to find presentation links - http://www.iste2010.org/.

Summertime and the Reading is Easy

Now that my summer break has started, I'm finally able to find a little time for my e-reader experiment.  I received my iPad about a week ago, and I've loaded it with lots of e-reader apps.  I want to try them all out and evaluate them based on the quality of books available, ease of use, notetaking and bookmarking capability, and customizable features such as font size and screen colors. Some of the apps I've started using include iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and Kindle.  Other apps I've downloaded include Stanza, Free Books, and CourseSmart.  The book club I participate in has provided me with a great list of books for my summer reading.

I also want to explore the differences between using an e-reader device like a Kindle vs. using a netbook, iPod, phone, or iPad.  I've been using a Kindle for about nine months now and I like the fact that it has a single purpose.  My biggest problem with the iPad is that I get distracted by all of the apps, tweets, and e-mail.  It's just too easy to bookmark my page and move on to something else.

So, what's the point of my summer project?  I believe that schools will soon (if they're not already) be looking at ways to provide each student with a netbook or tablet for home and school use.  We will need electronic books and textbooks, productivity software, and wireless access so that students can have anytime, anywhere learning.  I want to be ready!

More to come as the experiment continues.