In my previous post titled Enhancement-Automating-Transforming-Informating, I described the fusion (in my mind) of the SAMR model with Alan November’s concept of Automating vs. Informating to transform teaching and learning.

Since then, my colleague Andrea Hernandez and I have set down to create a visual using the above model to include concrete examples from our school to illustrate to our teachers what tasks are considered in the substitution/augmentation/modification/redefinition stages. We want to be transparent in showing our expectations of basic tasks being led autonomously by the classroom teachers to teach and support students without the necessity of tech support to be present. At the same time, we wanted to emphasize the progression and show what transformational teaching and learning looks like.

As we were populating the chart, it became clear to me that the stages were part of a time line, a process that an individual and an entire school cultures had to go through in order to transform and leap from “preparing students for 1970s, 1980′s 1990′s to preparing them for 2020′s and beyond” (Heidi Hayes Jacobs). Once I saw the imaginary time line, I also felt that that the stages coincided with how (21st century) teaching and learning was seen. We used to see it as a:

Tools Set:

• we taught keyboarding classes
• we had classes that taught a specific version of a office program (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
• we emphasized file management
• we supported teachers when they did not know which button to click for printing
• we gave instructions, such as “click in the upper left corner for the drop down menu and save”, we gave new instructions when the software package, platform or version changed
• we gave tech support to upload, download and resize images

Then we started to understand that it was never about the tools, but about the skills teachers and students would acquire when using these tools.

Skill Set:

• we blog to teach and learn about writing, communication, networking, presentation, publishing, commenting, reflection, organization and collaboration skills. Blogging is about Digital Citizenship, Media Literacy, Information Literacy and Global Awareness.
• we use wikis to understand about copyright, evaluation and analysis of Information, collective knowledge and new writing genres.
• we skype in order to expose and connect teachers and students locally and globally to peers, experts, eye witnesses. We become more fluent in networking and and information literacies, speaking, listening and presentation skills are honed.
• we teach bookmarking skills to help teachers and students cope with the exponentially increasing information available. Finding, evaluating, analyzing, tagging, categorizing, organizing, connecting and remixing of information are just some of the skills necessary for that
• we podcast (audio and video)  to allow students to express themselves and their knowledge in more than the written form. We incorporate storytelling in order to give students multimedia skills as well as expose them to visual literacy and information literacy.

Now, it seems that teaching and learning will not necessarily move from the “enhancement” to the “transformation” stage with a tool set and the necessary skills alone. In order for teaching and learning to become transformative there also needs to be a

Mind Set:

• Our world has flattened and is interconnected
• Information is just going to continue to grow exponentially
• Students of today and tomorrow learn differently than we did
• We are life long learners
• We are self-directed learners
• “How we connect with each other is how learning occurs” (Stephen Wilmarth)
• “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read or write, but the ones who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn” (Alvin Toffler)
• “Collaboration and sharing knowledge are highly prized skills” (Alan November)

Take a look at the following graphic and keep a time line in mind, as well as the stages mentioned above to move from substitution to redefinition. Does this make sense to you? What would you add?

I am constantly wrestling with the issue of using technology in schools to TEACH and to LEARN.

Long ago, I have resolved that teaching and learning DO NOT depend on technology nor are “not real”, good or effective without it (see Changing-Shifting a School Culture, Bringing in Experts.  Transformative Teaching and Learning? and It’s not about the Tools, it is about the Skills ). The best “tool” for good teaching and learning…is… a good teacher! That teacher can be a professional educator…it can be “yourself”… it can be a group of your peers… it can be a book, film, audio…(insert whatever media) or it can be… (insert whatever suits you, your learning or teaching style). What technology has done for me (it came naturally) is that it makes everything CLEARER!

Through the technology lens, I am:

• amplified… I learn amplified…I can teach amplified..not only to physical bodies that I happen to share time and space with at the moment…
• reachable… I reach and can be reached whenever I choose to
• worldwide… I am in contact with people from around the world… I disseminate, ask, receive, share, publish to a worldwide audience
• connected… to information, an audience,  a personal learning network, etc.
• collaborative…I am collaborating with educators from around the world to figure out “this thing”…how to best prepare the citizens of the future, so they can solve all the problems of the world awaiting them…
• available…I am available to others asynchronously via my online presence. Limitless information, opinions, experiences, expertize from others are available to me anytime, anywhere in whatever media and platform I prefer to learn with/through…
• exposed to multiple teaching styles… I am stretching my own teaching style by exploring and experimenting with media and platforms beyond my normal comfort zone…
• exposed to multiple learning styles… I am able to differentiate multiple learning styles by giving students choices that allow them to demonstrate their learning in multiple ways…
• networked… I am part of a network…I am not alone…a network of peers, experts, learners… a network that helps me be fluent in accomplishing tasks, solving problems, being inspired by ideas, remixing of information…

Without the lens… teaching & learning seems fuzzy… uni-dimensional…monolingual…not reaching its full potential… to me…

When I became a “Technology Integration Facilitator“,  I wanted to use and help teachers use technology in their classroom NOT as an add on, but as a way to support their teaching. As I grew in my own learning process and became a 21st Century Learning Specialist , I realized that it was not enough to integrate technology. There had to be a change (an amplification) in what learning and teaching could be in the 21st century. Technology was merely the tool, not the end in itself.

In the article Creating a New Culture of Teaching , Alan November points out the difference between AUTOMATING a task for learning (“using a $2000 pencil”) and INFORMATING teaching and learning (“think about information systems, whole systems of the flow of information and communication”).

It has been hard…I have not always been successful… in trying to help teachers see beyond the technology and the logistics of how to use it in order to TRANSFORM the way we teach and learn. There seems to be the need of keeping the change (that needs to happen) wrapped up in a “technology bow” in order to have excuses WHY the paradigm shift can’t happen. It seems easier (and more acceptable) to say “I don’t do computers” than “I don’t know how or don’t care to prepare my students for a different future than I am used to and adapt MY teaching to THEIR learning needs”…everything is fine the way it is…it has worked for the past 20 years…!

Technology integrationists, computer lab teachers or whatever the title , still seem to serve as the crutch some teachers want to/ need to lean on, instead of taking responsibility of becoming “21st Century literate“.   If classroom teachers are taking their students to the lab to “do computers”, then they can CHECK OFF the use of technology. If a 21st century coach/facilitator/specialist/resource is in a classroom to co-teach with them, then they can CHECK OFF the use of technology integration… no matter if the classroom teacher physically leaves the room, checks mentally out or grades worksheets in the back of the room…

How can we support the paradigm shift in teaching and learning if teachers and administrators are still hung up on the logistics and basics of technology use? How can integrationists, facilitators and coaches best use their time in moving forward and supporting TEACHING and LEARNING when they are asked to hold hands with AUTOMATING tasks that have been done with paper and pencils before? They are asked to :

• fix printers to print out worksheets
• upload and edit images and videos that will be forgotten on hard drives
• help students type their book reports to be displayed on the bulletin board outside classrooms
• be on call for teachers to help them when students need to take computer based tests
• supervise students with kill and drill math and vocabulary games
• bookmark Internet resources to be accessed by students
• help students with digital drawings to be printed out
• help with basic tasks like text formatting and file management

I had the pleasure of meeting and listening to Maggie Hos-McGrane at ECIS in Frankfurt, Germany last month. Her presentation The Role of ICT in the PYP was an incredible eye opener. Maggie mentioned The SAMR Model, which immediately caught my attention.

SAMR, a model designed to help educators integrate technology into teaching and learning , was developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura.  The model aims to enable teachers to design, develop, and integrate digital learning experiences that utilize technology to transform learning experiences to lead to high levels of  achievement for students.

Maggie explained how she is using the model to move teachers from substitution, where “technology acts like a direct tool substitute, with no functional change” to a redefinition, where “technology allows for the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable”.

The SAMR model seems to perfectly align with Alan November’s Automating and Informating distinction.

Maggie and her team are deciding what skills their teachers will need to start taking on:

In the case of substitution we felt that teachers themselves should be able to lead lessons that involve simple data handling – adding information into spreadsheets to produce graphs for example. They should also be able to support students using a simple graphics programme, have students take photographs and transfer them onto the computer, use a digital microscope to view images, access the internet for research and use word processing software.

I liked the idea of the model to illustrate and formally outline for teachers the different stages. By pointing out their responsibilities in taking on the roles of leading and supporting their own students in the Enhancement/Automating stage of substitution and augmentation, the “crutch role” of the facilitator in the classroom should be diminished, limited and even eliminated. Classroom teachers take on the responsibility of these tasks. If they need help to learn the tasks for themselves, they receive training outside of the classroom without students. When teachers are ready to redesign and transform tasks (not automate) to create learning opportunities that previously  would not have been possible, the facilitator becomes the co-planner, collaborator, co-teacher, connector and coach.

I wrote previously about the issue of teachers relying on coaches/ facilitators too much in 2009 in a post titled Interested? Supported? Let’s move on to taking the Reigns.

How do we keep moving from one stage to the other? How long do we “allow” teachers to stay in one stage? How do we make sure we don’t enable teachers and get stuck? How do we increase the chances of sustainability? How do we prepare teachers so they are able to take the reins and enjoy the ride?

Almost 18 months later, I am still contemplating the issue…I have not found a solution yet… I believe  the SAMR/November model/idea can give us a roadmap.

I will be working with Andrea Hernandez on creating a customized chart with example tasks to illustrate for our teachers  what stage their “technology use” in the classroom falls under. We will formally outline what kind of responsibility we are expecting teachers will assume in leading and supporting 21st century teaching and learning through technology.

Here are a few more of Maggie’s blog posts describing how she is using the SAMR model at her school:

• The SAMR Model – From Theory to Practice
• Moving from S to R
• Moving from S to R part 2

What kind of task do you see in your own school, classroom or work that would fall under the 4 stages outlined in the model? What stages/tasks do you support directly? Which ones are classroom teachers’ responsibilities?

Through Langwitches’ Twitter Times, I found the following slideshow from the Business Insider.com

Kids explain their passion for technology. How can we not LISTEN to them and CONTINUE to teach them like NOTHING has CHANGED?

I was asked by my principal to think BIG. What would a technology rich school look like?  My first thought was to correct the title of the assignment. Not a “technology rich”, but a technology integration rich” school. I wanted the emphasis shifted from technology (which is often set equal to hardware) to integration and LEARNING!!!

I started brainstorming with my colleague Paige M. about what the essential components would be. This is the list we came up with…. if money were no object… (the hardware is in addition to what our school currently already has in place)

Technology Integration Rich School

1. Hardware
2. Support
3. Programs
4. Accountability

Hardware

• 1:1 laptops students for older grades
• Alphasmart class sets for younger grades
• Tablet Laptops for faculty
• LCD Projectors
• SmartBoards in every classroom
• Wireless access across the school
• Ipod lab
• Digital Camera Class sets
• Flip Camera class sets
• Wii Fit and Sport

Support

• IT Support
• Curriculum Integration
• Professional Development Trainer

Projects/Programs:

• 21st Century Skills
  • Communicate
    • Literacy
  • Collaborate
    • Global Awareness
    • Geographic Literacy
  • Connect
  • Create
• Professional Development
  • Creation and support of your own Personal Learning Network
  • monthly workshops
  • international conferences
  • Monthly/Weekly planning time (substitutes)

Accountability

• Student Assessment
• Teacher Evaluation
• Reflection
• Lesson Plan Sharing
• Presentations

I also threw out the question of “What are components of a technology integration rich school to my twitter network and received the following answers.

@cwebbtech added the component of “Stakeholders” which I felt is an important addition to the components list. Who are the stakeholders in a technology integration rich school?

Stakeholders

1. Students
2. Teachers
3. Administration
4. Parents
5. Community

What are your thoughs? What would you add or take away, if you were to devise a plan to create and run a technology integration rich school?

The link to the above cartoon came via twitter from mclobridge. Thanks!

It has been 2 years, since I was in the classroom teaching Spanish to elementary school students. I am often asked  if I miss it. I do miss having classes on my own, where I am the one who can decide on a project and see it through from beginning to end. Do I still feel like that I am continuing to contribute to my students’ Spanish language skills as a Technology Integration Facilitator? YES!

As the Spanish teacher, I felt that not only the language itself was important to teach to my students, but also global awareness and specifically Hispanic culture were part of my job. My philosophy was:

• Being able to communicate is one of the primary goals of the world language classroom.
• Collaborate with others by being sensitive and aware of cultural differences
• Presenting opportunities in order to make connections to help my students understand the value, advantages and necessity of learning another language are always a priority.
• Teaching creatively to engage my students is a must, especially when being considered a “resource” teacher, not part of the core subjects.
• Allowing students to be creative in order to take the language out of the textbook and make it real to them in common situations.

Is it becoming obvious yet where I am going with this?

• Communicate
• Collaborate
• Connect
• Create

World Language teachers ARE teaching 21st century skills. Through web 2.0 tools it is easier, available and more affordable than ever before to bring the world, your language’s culture and people to your students. Technology is a World Language teacher’s best friend and ally.

As part of my Masters in Instructional Technology, Langwitches: The magic of Learning Languages through Technology was born in 2005. I started posting projects that would benefit the world language learner.

• digital recipes
• digital movies
• digital images
• webquests
• blogging
• distance learning
• puzzles
• podcast
• iPods

In 2006, I presented at the K-12 Online Conference iPods-iSpeak-iSing-iListen-iLearn

iPods and other MP3 players have revolutionized the way kids listen to and purchase their music. They are quickly entering the classrooms as a teaching and learning tool as well. The foreign language classroom can especially benefit from the possibilities the iPod opens up, such as podcasting, video capabilities, and audio recordings. The popularity of such devices directly effects students’ engagement in the learning process.Teachers will learn about ideas and ways they can easily create and distribute pronunciation guides, audio books, lectures, notes, and much more for their students.

A lot has changed since 2005/2006. If I were a World Language teacher in the classroom, what would I do differently today, ? I would continue to reinforce 21st century skills for my students. Some of the tools that I would use are different though.

• Communicate (Skype, blogs, VoiceThread)
• Collaborate (Skype, Google Docs, Mixbook, wikis)
• Connect (Skype, blogs, VoiceThread)
• Create (podcast, vidcast, online portfolios)

Seeing the impact the Skype Video Conferences has had these past few months on our elementary school students is encouraging. The easiness and normality Kindergarten kids use their Spanish to sing, play, listen and talk to other Kindergarteners in Lima, Peru is exhilerating and hopeful that we are on the right path.

We are hopeful that we are able to prepare those kids for a world where they will talk, work and collaborate with people around the world on a daily basis. This collaboration requires cultural awareness, language ability AND sensitivity as well as a global network.

Technology is just another language. Both of them fit together like Pizza and Empanadas, Peanut Butter and Jelly or Nutella with Pancakes. Pick the one that culturally seems to makes the most sense to you. 

Photo Credit:

Nutella by DTC Master Crew
Pizza & Empanadas by ricardo.martins
Peanut Butter & Jelly by iirraa

What makes the Whiteboard Interactive?

Finding an answer to this question is very important to me. Since I first touched a SmartBoard at my friend Andrea H.’s (from EdTechWorkshop) school I knew that the possibility for teachers to use the board JUST as another dry erase board or big screen was huge. I need to find a way to demonstrate and clarify the difference to teachers. What makes a SmartBoard lesson different from the one delivered on a normal screen?

See my previous posts:

• SmartBoard Training
• SmartBoard- The WoW Factor
• There is a SmartBoard in the House
• Interactive Whiteboards- Which? How? What?

I feel that IWB are capable of amazing things, but so are MP3 recorders, digital cameras, document cameras,etc.

What makes the whiteboard interactive?

The more I am playing and experimenting with the SmartBoard and the software Notebook 10, the more I am convinced that the power is IN THE SOFTWARE.  But not the software itself, but how it is used as a tool to present the lesson in a new way, for a different learning style, for access outside of the classroom. The software’s ability to :

• easily integrate
• pull in
• record
• create
• focus on
• highlight
• have students create their own lessons notebooks
• edit/add to  the teacher’s notebooks
• GET THE STUDENTS INVOLVED beyond the classroom

can make the difference.

No doubt that the WOW factor, when one first sees techniques used with the IWB, will wear off and fade for teachers and students after the initial phase. What will keep the teachers going to create and search for new innovative ways to use their IWB? What will keep the students engaged and INTERACTIVE with a lesson?

On one of the slide (35) from a presentation by Jason de Nys below states:

In these classrooms, interactivity has come to stand for interacting with the board itself, not manipulating the concepts the teacher is teaching

A few slides later Schuck and Kerney are quoted saying:

the the only form of interactivity we saw was the tactile benefit for young students.

This brings me back to the initial fear of how not to use the IWB as a big screen and your fingers as a “cool” mouse. The same fear that creeps up when I see teachers plopping their students in front of a website, letting them read the content and then summarize it in a Word document, THEN calling it Technology Integration.

On slides 56 & 57 the question is asked if:

• Text + Diagram+ Hyperlink = Interactive?
• Choices+ Feedback + Challenges = Interactive?

We need to spend time in training and supporting teachers using IWB and helping them become aware and clarifying the concept of “interactivity”.

Slide 58 suggests to focus on existing interactive pedagogy such as:

• critical thinking
• graphical organizers
• problem solving
• expert jigsaw
• reflections
• think-pair-share
• well crafted software

to make the IWB truly interactive.

| View | Upload your own

What do you think? If you train teachers to use IWB… how do you make the difference in how the board is used for learning apparent for them? What activities are truly interactive and contribute to learning in a new way while others are merely”fun” to use your fingers with?

I would liek to put together examples of traditional notebook slides, the ones that could have been delivered just as well on a normal screen and than contrast them to the same lesson, but with true interactivity. Any suggestions?

Technorati Tags: SmartBoard

Muchísimas gracias a la dirección de la Goethe Schule en Buenos Aires, Argentina por darme la oportunidad de hablar con ellos acerca de la integración de tecnología y la alfabetización en el siglo XXI.

Gracias a Verónica D. y Heidi M. por organizar ese encuentro. Ich freue mich schon auf gemeinsame Projekte!

¿Qué es un Instructional Technologist?

• La carrera universitaria de un Instructional Technologist es una combinación de cursos de educación, pedagogía, diseño gráfico, diseño de cursos, investigación de programas de estudios, diseño de paginas web
• Planifica y enseña con los maestros/profesores en las aulas y en la sala de computación como co-  teachers.
• Responsable en el ámbito tecnológico del desarrollo profesional de profesores y dirección.
• Trabaja directamente con el coordinador de programa de estudio, el administrador y técnicos de la red

Video “Did you know?

• ¿Sabías ?

Desarrollo profesional de los docentes

• Planificación semanal
• Co-teaching y apoyo en la sala de computación y en los aulas
• Reuniones y talleres mensuales
• Ayuda uno a uno -  One-on-One help
• Conferencias y talleres afuera del colegio
• Crear una comunidad de aprendices
• Incentivos y Evaluaciones
• Prioridad la enseñanza y el apoyo de los profesores
• Crear una red personal de aprendizaje (Personal Learning Network)
• Micro- Blogging: Twitter o Plurk
• K-12 Online Conference
  • iPods- iSpeak- iSing- iListen- iLearn
  • Travel through Space and Time

Cambio en la enseñanza y el aprendizaje

• De enseñanza aislada a enseñanza paralela y de ahí a enseñanza integrada
• Enseñanza y el aprendizaje- Donde sea, como sea, cuando sea..
• 24 horas al día, 7 días a la semana, 365 días al año
• Los chicos están siempre conectados (instant messaging, MySpace, Facebook, celular), esperan resultados inmediatos, respuestas instantáneas
• Los alumnos muy buenos para acumular información, pero necesitan ayuda para analizar y comprender
• El cerebro evolucionó y las neuronas conectan en forma diferente
• Tareas múltiples para concentrarse- escuchando al ipod, chateando …….
• Aprendizaje y enseñanza a distancia

Traducido de “How the Google generation thinks differently ” by Catherine O’Brien

Habilidades, conocimientos y competencias del siglo XXI- 21st Century Skills

• Comunicación
• Colaboración
• Conexiones
• Preparar a nuestros alumnos para SU futuro, no para NUESTRO pasado.

Alfabetización en el  Siglo XXI – 21st Century Literacy

• Los analfabetos del Siglo XXI, “no son aquellos que no saben leer y escribir, sino más bien aquellos que no puedan aprender, desaprender lo aprendido y volver a aprender. Alvin Toffler
• “leer”: una foto, un video, diferentes medios, como analizarlos
• Informacion:
  • acceder, manejar, integrar, evaluar y generar información, y la utilización como herramienta
  • Cómo organizarla?- uso extensivo del “tagging” como forma de clasificación de la información
  • Cómo manipularla, crear nueva información y nuevos conocimientos
  • Cómo conectarla a otra información en nuevas maneras.
• ¿Cómo se lee un Wiki o un blog?
• ¿Cómo se escribe, como se crea enlaces para conectar mas información?

Web 2.0

• Cambio de herramientas tradicionales (MS Office), dependientes de la plataforma, instalados y que funcionan desde el escritorio, a herramientas basados en el web (el web es la plataforma) aplicaciones que generan colaboración, son personalizadas
• La información es lo que mueve al Internet
• Cambiamos de ser consumidores /receptores de la información a ser productores/ autores de la Red
• Herramientas de la web 2.0:
  • Blogs- Blogger , WordPress
  • Wikis- Wikispaces
    • What Could it Mean? Wiki
    • Cities Around the World
    • Global Collaborations
  • Redes Sociales- MySpace , Facebook , Ning
  • Social Bookmarks- web de intercambio de enlaces/favoritos- Del.icio.us , Diigo
  • Google Docs : Word Processor, Spreadsheet, Presentations
  • Skype – Video Conferencia
  • Flickr – web social de intercambio de fotos
  • YouTube
  • VoiceThread
    • What could it mean?
    • Jose travels to Egypt

I have decided to introduce Scatch in my upcoming TechCamp.

Scratch is a new programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art — and share your creations on the web.

Scratch is designed to help young people (ages 8 and up) develop 21st century learning skills. As they create Scratch projects, young people learn important mathematical and computational ideas, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the process of design.

Documenting my learning journey in familiarizing myself with the program helps me in the process and might encourage and guide someone else.

First I downloaded the available documentation from Scratch:

• Getting Started Guide (.pdf)
• Reference Guide (.pdf)
• I made copies of the Scratch Cards for each one of my TechCampers to reference. It was a lot of work copying, cutting, laminating and adding a metal ring. In the future, I am thinking of just photocopying them, letting the students color them and create their own style of booklet.

Researched other educator’s blogs and websites on their use, lesson plans and experience in the classroom with Scratch:

• Creative Computer Exploration

Other resources:

• LearnScratch.org
  Great getting started videos and answers to Why Learn Scratch for the development of 21st century Learning Skills
• Scratch Help Screens

This is how I plan to start out on Day 1 of camp. Let’s see where it takes us from there

• Discussion of importance of collaborative learning
• In order to personalize: take and import students pictures to be used as sprites
• Watch Introduction Video
  
• Watch Image Effect Video
  
• Let students experiment in the Scratch environment and create their own Name Project.
  Here is my first attempt:
  
• Record students explaining their projects
• I am leaving the Scratch Cards to be handed out for the next day. Again emphasizing to try out and play without too much instruction.