I presented my use of Andrew Stillman's Doctopus and Goobric at the KL GAFE conference. Through the power of Google Sheets, I bring all of the assessment data collected by Goobric into one spreadsheet that acts as a Markbook. Since all of the students are identified by their email address, I can filter all of the data for each of them to create a report sheet that graphs the data.
Check out the presentation and embedded videos.
Showing posts with label 1-Content Knowledge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 1-Content Knowledge. Show all posts
Sunday, 9 November 2014
Friday, 31 October 2014
Server Project and Moodle Installation
I have written at the bottom of this introductory page that I felt I had failed due to not getting my server online. Amusingly, and rather frustratingly, I had my server online the whole time! I was trying to view my server from inside/behind my own router firewall, which doesn't work.
After contacting an IT forum and receiving the advice that loopbacks don't work within a LAN, I used my phone on 3G and not my wifi and discovered that everything was working; I wasted so much time!
After contacting an IT forum and receiving the advice that loopbacks don't work within a LAN, I used my phone on 3G and not my wifi and discovered that everything was working; I wasted so much time!
Server Project and Error Log
While building a system, keeping a log of what went wrong and how it was fixed is an important part of the process. I need to be able to build this system again in the future; knowing how I solved the problems and helping others recreate my work is what the error log is for.
Thursday, 23 October 2014
Tuesday, 16 September 2014
Thursday, 24 July 2014
Sunday, 2 March 2014
Spreadsheets
I want to give some thanks to Bob Frankston and Dan Bricklin for designing the first spreadsheet package, Visicalc, that was released for the Apple II in 1979.
Student test and assessment performances are recorded in a master spreadsheet. Spreadsheets are used to import data and reports into our LMS. Data from datalogging activities are analysed by the students. Students plot data from investigations into charts win GSheets and MS Excel. Exam performance practice is recorded in shared GSheets by the students. Historical climate data and weather data is recorded and charted in spreadsheets.
The automaticity that can be built into Google Sheets using Google Apps Script takes it to another level. My markbook emails my students to congratulate them on top effort! The ability to collaborate on GSheets has allowed me to guide students in real time in constructing the best table structure of their results when at home.
What is the relative advantage of spreadsheets? It is hard to imagine not having the functionality of spreadsheets at our fingertips, they simply make long and difficult tasks so much faster and simpler. So thank you Bob and Dan for Visicalc which became Lotus 1-2-3, which led to MS Excel and now GSheets; you saved millions of people millions of hours of work!
My spreadsheets in learning settings
"VisiCalc took 20 hours of work per week for some people and turned it out in 15 minutes and let them become much more creative." - Dan BricklinI use spreadsheets for almost everything in my work. I have an MS Excel Lesson Planner that uses vlookups and VBscript to allow me to efficiently and effectively plan my lessons and order my resources from my lab tech; she is shred into my planner as I have it saved in DropBox. I use a gamified social markbook with my students that is built in Google Sheets; it records everything about my students and functions as a database pulling in data from several other sheets generated from Google Forms...and grades the form responses!
Student test and assessment performances are recorded in a master spreadsheet. Spreadsheets are used to import data and reports into our LMS. Data from datalogging activities are analysed by the students. Students plot data from investigations into charts win GSheets and MS Excel. Exam performance practice is recorded in shared GSheets by the students. Historical climate data and weather data is recorded and charted in spreadsheets.
The automaticity that can be built into Google Sheets using Google Apps Script takes it to another level. My markbook emails my students to congratulate them on top effort! The ability to collaborate on GSheets has allowed me to guide students in real time in constructing the best table structure of their results when at home.
What is the relative advantage of spreadsheets? It is hard to imagine not having the functionality of spreadsheets at our fingertips, they simply make long and difficult tasks so much faster and simpler. So thank you Bob and Dan for Visicalc which became Lotus 1-2-3, which led to MS Excel and now GSheets; you saved millions of people millions of hours of work!
My spreadsheets in learning settings
Saturday, 1 March 2014
Communication: Podcast for Professional Development
Podcasts for Professional Development
Podcasts are a convenient way to reach many people. As a leader, I can publish my views on technology with a human voice; emotion included. My listeners can subscribe to my podcasts and have the latest casts automatically downloaded onto their mobile devices. Personally, I like to listen to the podcasts I subscribe to as I drive to work; I can't read as I drive but I can still consume the latest goings on in the fields I am interested in. Podcasts allow listeners to come into contact with my ideas for using technology at a time that suits them and they can be doing something else as they listen! Teacher time is precious and finding a way to offer them PD without taking more time seems like an ideal use of technology.
Podcasts are a convenient way to reach many people. As a leader, I can publish my views on technology with a human voice; emotion included. My listeners can subscribe to my podcasts and have the latest casts automatically downloaded onto their mobile devices. Personally, I like to listen to the podcasts I subscribe to as I drive to work; I can't read as I drive but I can still consume the latest goings on in the fields I am interested in. Podcasts allow listeners to come into contact with my ideas for using technology at a time that suits them and they can be doing something else as they listen! Teacher time is precious and finding a way to offer them PD without taking more time seems like an ideal use of technology.
Sunday, 23 February 2014
Relative Advantage of Slide Presentations
I am a dedicated SMART Notebook guy so I may struggle with describing the relative advantage of slide presentations in my teaching as it has been years since I have used MS PowerPoint to build a lesson with. I do use it but that is because my department bought some presentations with awesome Flash animations embedded into them; the company is going HTML5 now!
I think Prezi is a cool program and my school bought a subscription last year for everyone; I didn't use it! I can't interact with it and I don't give presentations I do workshops and collaborative lessons. Don't get me wrong, I tell my students to use it 'til the hearts are content but they must follow my "Let's not make our audience sea-sick guidelines!". Mainly though, my students use it a a collaborative board for dropping into the notes and ideas the same way one might use Padlet.
As far as Google Slides goes, I don't use it to present to my students either but they like the way the slides give them a frame to write and present their work within, and so that they can build flash cards. I can share out a GSlide to my students using Andrew Stillman's Doctopus script and have the framework for their work built into it. Since I own the GSlides they are using, I can access them anytime I like and comment on their work as it progresses in a formative fashion or grade it when they are done.
It is interesting that we were assigned 25 slides to create for this task. The last time I did a presentation in public was during a Middle Leader's course. I had a lot of slides but they were built to the standards described in "Five ways to reduce PowerPoint overload" by Cliff Atkinson and Richard E. Mayer. Richard Mayer has published a lot of research on the the effects of presentation on learning during E-Instruction. What was interesting about the evaluation after my presentation was that the two coaches told me I should have had three slides maximum! Having 25 slides means I am standing in front of people and as the center of attention; I don't do this in class! I had the privilege of watching George Couros present his "The Networked Leader" keynote in Hong Kong at the 21CL Convention in December 2013. His presentation followed all the advice provided by Presentation Zen's Top Ten Slide Tips. The imagery completely supported George's keynote and made very emotional ties to what he was saying - he included very little text, the images were a pictorial representation of what he was talking about. Mayer's segmentation, coherence and redundancy principles all apply when it comes to instruction, but George wasn't trying to instruct, he was creating an emotional response and text on his slides were not necessary for that.
During school assemblies I have had to sit and watch presentations where students and teachers have put yellow text on a white background! Or white text over a bright blue and cloudy white sky! Rainbow coloured Word Art! It is painful. Death by PowerPoint or death by the incompetent presentation builder! My students try to do something similar in the GSlides I send them. They like to use all the coloured background templates; especially the Trek themed one that looks like the computers on Next Generation. The irony being that they don't even know that it is Star Trek. The theme is black and they proceed to drop white background images onto it. Some of them print them out and hand to me "Can you mark this Mr. Mullan?", "I can't, my pen won't write on all that black printer ink you have used...how's about I comment onto the GSlide like I said I would! And perhaps in future if you want to print, use the plain white template."
So for me, presentations need to be done right, for the right purpose and for the right audience. In class I will stick to my interactive software where I can get the students up to manipulate and draw. When I have to do an assembly, there will be very little text, beautiful images and me hopefully nowhere in sight with the microphone - they should be looking at the pics and listening not looking at me and listening, otherwise what is the point of the presentation?!
Tuesday, 18 February 2014
Relative Advantage
As a technology coach with a responsibility for training staff on new technologies that my school purchases/buys into, I often have to work with members of staff who believe the 'current' way they do things is already great. Certainly, when they are awarded "Outstanding" in lesson observations by Ofsted who can argue with them? Here I am thinking "whao, your lessons are outstanding!" but I have to get you using technology in the classroom to bring you into the 21st century!
I have had some good successes with individuals who don't see why they should change. I was able to show them that the focus of their lesson can be the students and that they can extend their classroom far beyond the tables, desks and paper they sit at and write into. When I work with members of faculty like this, I am very careful not to say: "You can use technology to improve your teaching", or "Using technology will improve your students' learning." The "improve" word is a problem; it gets their back up! How can you improve on teaching that is officially considered "outstanding?" So, my vocabulary has changed to "enhance."
I try to sneak techie ideas "under the door." The staffroom at lunchtime is a good place for this where I walk in with a big grin on my face. People just can't help ask what has made me so happy, so I tell them how my students videoed themselves pretending to be newsreaders reporting about an epidemic of Spanish Flu and the percentage of people that died from it in the past. I have automatically hit English, History, Media, Science and Maths! I then go on to describe how the students added captions and links to their videos in the YouTube editor, how they built a Google Map of the areas reported worst hit - linking in their videos etc. and how the other students proceeded to add comments for evaluation and improvement. All of these are higher order thinking skills (HOTS) on Bloom's taxonomy and the staff can't help but ask about it. I have augmented and redefined how students present their work on infections. It is after this initial seeding of disruption to their status quo that I have begun to break down the resistance! These teachers aren't threatened but are enticed into presenting their lessons in a way that is more student centered and in line with 21st century ideals of collaboration, creativity and redefinition.
Relative advantage is the degree to which the new approach "enhances" the current approach. With regard to introducing technology to classrooms where the practitioner is accomplished; I feel it is key to show the advantage with regard to skills rather than knowledge e.g. allow students to collaborate on a document, evaluate each other's work, create videos, a Google map or a tour in Google tour builder, etc. The choice for students makes it interesting for them and I have had some success with #takeawayhomework and problem based learning using different technologies as a way for the students to present their work.
Regarding the different types of software, I am a fan of the tutorials that augment the teacher's lessons and give the students an alternative view of the content. The current trend of reverse instruction/flipping the classroom with Ed.Ted.com allows me to find videos for the students that presents the content differently to the way I do; it is like they are getting a second teacher. When the students turn up to my lesson and I assess their comfort with the content and they aren't fully confident, I know that I need to give them my take on things so that they will walk out of my lesson with good progression. If the students are good with the content, we can start to do some HOTS and make the best use of class time.
Simulations and games go hand-in-hand in science. The students love the games and if the simulation is part of the game that makes it even better. Science Pirates is just awesome for getting 11 year old students comfortable with the concept of controlled variables. It is important though to give the students questions to complete as they play in order to focus their attention on the learning objective and not just on the fun of the game.
I use several of the Spongelab games with my students, in particular the A level photosynthesis games. Jeremy Friedman of Spongelab has published several articles on the use of the games his company has produced including a recent report (Muehrer, R., Jenson, J., Friedberg, J. and Husain, N., 2012) where his team describe the mixed successes of using games in class. Their findings suggest that students remember terminology well but struggle to transfer knowledge outside of the game. I have found that the simu-game format of the Spongelab games makes them good for strengthening knowledge after instruction as they give the students the opportunity to visualise and manipulate the molecules they have been learning about.
A current favourite of mine at the moment is Pearson's Mastering Biology series (needs a login) that accompanies their huge textbook. The software is a full online solution with tutorials, animations, e-book and quizzes. The animations are all fully 3d and provide excellent visuals to set the scene for the students and simulate the molecular processes involved. I can teach action potentials and the propagation of an action potential in the post-synaptic membrane without the animations and simulations but the simulation makes the students' understanding progress at a much faster rate. While the use of the simulation to directly instruct the students would be criticised by the contructivists, my students don't have the time available to construct their own knowledge with their A Level exams looming over them in four weeks; they would think I was wasting their time and not focus on the task!
Appropriate software, like appropriate strategies, have to be weighed up for their strengths and weaknesses. If you have time to do constructivist style problem based learning then absolutely go for it! If you have time to allow your students to construct a cell in Mindcraft then go for it. For me, the strategies I choose to use with my students must be supported by the software and I will likely need a combination of the five (drill and practice, tutorial, simulation, instructional games and problem solving software) for any given topic as they represent the varying levels of Bloom's taxonomy or the 21st century skills I want my students expressing.
References:
Muehrer, R., Jenson, J., Friedberg, J. and Husain, N. (2012). Challenges And Opportunities: Using A Science-based Video Game In Secondary School Settings. Retrieved from: http://www.jenjenson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/2012-Science-Based-Video-Game.pdf
View original Pictochart here.
I have had some good successes with individuals who don't see why they should change. I was able to show them that the focus of their lesson can be the students and that they can extend their classroom far beyond the tables, desks and paper they sit at and write into. When I work with members of faculty like this, I am very careful not to say: "You can use technology to improve your teaching", or "Using technology will improve your students' learning." The "improve" word is a problem; it gets their back up! How can you improve on teaching that is officially considered "outstanding?" So, my vocabulary has changed to "enhance."
I try to sneak techie ideas "under the door." The staffroom at lunchtime is a good place for this where I walk in with a big grin on my face. People just can't help ask what has made me so happy, so I tell them how my students videoed themselves pretending to be newsreaders reporting about an epidemic of Spanish Flu and the percentage of people that died from it in the past. I have automatically hit English, History, Media, Science and Maths! I then go on to describe how the students added captions and links to their videos in the YouTube editor, how they built a Google Map of the areas reported worst hit - linking in their videos etc. and how the other students proceeded to add comments for evaluation and improvement. All of these are higher order thinking skills (HOTS) on Bloom's taxonomy and the staff can't help but ask about it. I have augmented and redefined how students present their work on infections. It is after this initial seeding of disruption to their status quo that I have begun to break down the resistance! These teachers aren't threatened but are enticed into presenting their lessons in a way that is more student centered and in line with 21st century ideals of collaboration, creativity and redefinition.
Relative advantage is the degree to which the new approach "enhances" the current approach. With regard to introducing technology to classrooms where the practitioner is accomplished; I feel it is key to show the advantage with regard to skills rather than knowledge e.g. allow students to collaborate on a document, evaluate each other's work, create videos, a Google map or a tour in Google tour builder, etc. The choice for students makes it interesting for them and I have had some success with #takeawayhomework and problem based learning using different technologies as a way for the students to present their work.
Regarding the different types of software, I am a fan of the tutorials that augment the teacher's lessons and give the students an alternative view of the content. The current trend of reverse instruction/flipping the classroom with Ed.Ted.com allows me to find videos for the students that presents the content differently to the way I do; it is like they are getting a second teacher. When the students turn up to my lesson and I assess their comfort with the content and they aren't fully confident, I know that I need to give them my take on things so that they will walk out of my lesson with good progression. If the students are good with the content, we can start to do some HOTS and make the best use of class time.
Simulations and games go hand-in-hand in science. The students love the games and if the simulation is part of the game that makes it even better. Science Pirates is just awesome for getting 11 year old students comfortable with the concept of controlled variables. It is important though to give the students questions to complete as they play in order to focus their attention on the learning objective and not just on the fun of the game.
I use several of the Spongelab games with my students, in particular the A level photosynthesis games. Jeremy Friedman of Spongelab has published several articles on the use of the games his company has produced including a recent report (Muehrer, R., Jenson, J., Friedberg, J. and Husain, N., 2012) where his team describe the mixed successes of using games in class. Their findings suggest that students remember terminology well but struggle to transfer knowledge outside of the game. I have found that the simu-game format of the Spongelab games makes them good for strengthening knowledge after instruction as they give the students the opportunity to visualise and manipulate the molecules they have been learning about.
A current favourite of mine at the moment is Pearson's Mastering Biology series (needs a login) that accompanies their huge textbook. The software is a full online solution with tutorials, animations, e-book and quizzes. The animations are all fully 3d and provide excellent visuals to set the scene for the students and simulate the molecular processes involved. I can teach action potentials and the propagation of an action potential in the post-synaptic membrane without the animations and simulations but the simulation makes the students' understanding progress at a much faster rate. While the use of the simulation to directly instruct the students would be criticised by the contructivists, my students don't have the time available to construct their own knowledge with their A Level exams looming over them in four weeks; they would think I was wasting their time and not focus on the task!
Appropriate software, like appropriate strategies, have to be weighed up for their strengths and weaknesses. If you have time to do constructivist style problem based learning then absolutely go for it! If you have time to allow your students to construct a cell in Mindcraft then go for it. For me, the strategies I choose to use with my students must be supported by the software and I will likely need a combination of the five (drill and practice, tutorial, simulation, instructional games and problem solving software) for any given topic as they represent the varying levels of Bloom's taxonomy or the 21st century skills I want my students expressing.
References:
Muehrer, R., Jenson, J., Friedberg, J. and Husain, N. (2012). Challenges And Opportunities: Using A Science-based Video Game In Secondary School Settings. Retrieved from: http://www.jenjenson.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/2012-Science-Based-Video-Game.pdf
View original Pictochart here.
Monday, 23 December 2013
Final Instructional Design Project: ePortfolio and Target Setting Google Site
In the ePortfolio site below, the instruction materials for the ID project are built and presented in the Help page. The other pages in the site are for the students to use for their evidence and it is the instructional materials in the help page that provide them with the info they need to edit a Google Site.
Videos were built in alignment with Multimedia Design Principles (Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2008)), and the pace of the YouTube demos are appropriate and uses an appropriately “conversational” style.
View the full site here.
Videos were built in alignment with Multimedia Design Principles (Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2008)), and the pace of the YouTube demos are appropriate and uses an appropriately “conversational” style.
View the full site here.
Monday, 21 October 2013
Monday, 12 August 2013
Webquest
http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/martinmullan/502/webquest/start.html
The Webquest, made popular by Bernie Dodge, is a structured learning environment for students to find resources that support the production of an object for their learning. In this case, the theme of the webquest is Animal Testing.
The "Triple Impact" self/peer/teacher assessment is a powerful pedagogical tool for enhancing the students work. Reflection and feedback at multiple times throughout the process increases the quality of the final product. Ertmer points out that "Students noted that peer feedback can be valuable and, more importantly, described how giving peer feedback not only reinforced their learning but enabled them to achieve higher understanding" (Ertmer, 2007)
This was the final object I created in this module and encompasses all the elements of the other modules; accessible and responsive design, with appropriate copyright usage demonstrated.
I find the webquest structure itself useful, but elements of it are somewhat redundant and repetitive. In the future when I create a webquest, I will not include all of the elements as a result of my learning on this task i.e. the introduction, task and process pages can all be one, and the teacher page does not have to be included for the students to see.
Ertmer, P. A., Richardson, J. C., Belland, B., Camin, D., Connolly, P., Coulthard, G., et al. (2007). Using peer feedback to enhance the quality of student online postings: An exploratory study. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 12(2), 412-433.
The Webquest, made popular by Bernie Dodge, is a structured learning environment for students to find resources that support the production of an object for their learning. In this case, the theme of the webquest is Animal Testing.
The "Triple Impact" self/peer/teacher assessment is a powerful pedagogical tool for enhancing the students work. Reflection and feedback at multiple times throughout the process increases the quality of the final product. Ertmer points out that "Students noted that peer feedback can be valuable and, more importantly, described how giving peer feedback not only reinforced their learning but enabled them to achieve higher understanding" (Ertmer, 2007)
This was the final object I created in this module and encompasses all the elements of the other modules; accessible and responsive design, with appropriate copyright usage demonstrated.
I find the webquest structure itself useful, but elements of it are somewhat redundant and repetitive. In the future when I create a webquest, I will not include all of the elements as a result of my learning on this task i.e. the introduction, task and process pages can all be one, and the teacher page does not have to be included for the students to see.
Ertmer, P. A., Richardson, J. C., Belland, B., Camin, D., Connolly, P., Coulthard, G., et al. (2007). Using peer feedback to enhance the quality of student online postings: An exploratory study. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 12(2), 412-433.
Monday, 5 August 2013
Virtual Field Trip
http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/martinmullan/502/start.html
The Virtual Field Trip is a series of linked pages with different activities on each. Students navigate through the site completing the activities and do the research at the proposed sites; it is somewhat like a webquest but tries to "take" students to the real-world places they are studying, virtually!
I have embedded a specifically designed Google Map, a Mindmeister MindMap, and a YouTube clip. The various media and interactivity make this learning object engaging and a challenge to complete.
The Virtual Field Trip is a series of linked pages with different activities on each. Students navigate through the site completing the activities and do the research at the proposed sites; it is somewhat like a webquest but tries to "take" students to the real-world places they are studying, virtually!
I have embedded a specifically designed Google Map, a Mindmeister MindMap, and a YouTube clip. The various media and interactivity make this learning object engaging and a challenge to complete.
Thursday, 1 August 2013
Mobile Learning
http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/martinmullan/502/mlearning.html
The mobile learning task was not required for the course but I did it anyway. Using Dreamweaver's responsive template designs I was able to adapt my other CSS stylesheets to be mobile compatible. The responsive design works well in PC, tablet and smartphone sized screens, enabling students to access the info as efficiently as possible while studying offsite.
The best practice of creating a resource that fits the most devices possible iin order to enhance accessibility is highlighted by this object.
The mobile learning task was not required for the course but I did it anyway. Using Dreamweaver's responsive template designs I was able to adapt my other CSS stylesheets to be mobile compatible. The responsive design works well in PC, tablet and smartphone sized screens, enabling students to access the info as efficiently as possible while studying offsite.
The best practice of creating a resource that fits the most devices possible iin order to enhance accessibility is highlighted by this object.
Monday, 29 July 2013
Jigsaw
http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/martinmullan/502/Jigsaw.html
Elliot Aronson, the creator of the Jigsaw activity describes it as this: Jigsaw is a cooperative learning technique rich in opportunities for promotive interaction (Aronson, 2008).
The Jigsaw activity is an excellent pedagogical group work strategy where students initially assign themselves to do research on part of the whole task. They split up and work with other students from different groups also researching the same topic to become "experts". These secondary groups decide how to teach the content to their "home" group and then give a presentation.
A short quiz is given at the end of the session to ensure the students have taken onboard the learning objectives and have taken the activity seriously.
Aronson, E. (2008). Jigsaw classroom. Retrieved July 29, 2013 from http://www.jigsaw.org/
Elliot Aronson, the creator of the Jigsaw activity describes it as this: Jigsaw is a cooperative learning technique rich in opportunities for promotive interaction (Aronson, 2008).
The Jigsaw activity is an excellent pedagogical group work strategy where students initially assign themselves to do research on part of the whole task. They split up and work with other students from different groups also researching the same topic to become "experts". These secondary groups decide how to teach the content to their "home" group and then give a presentation.
A short quiz is given at the end of the session to ensure the students have taken onboard the learning objectives and have taken the activity seriously.
Aronson, E. (2008). Jigsaw classroom. Retrieved July 29, 2013 from http://www.jigsaw.org/
Monday, 22 July 2013
Concept Map
http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/martinmullan/502/conceptmap.html
The concept map image on the right hand side of the main page was build in Adobe Fireworks and then imported into Dreamweaver. This is a relatively straight forward process but one which can make the design and navigation of a page more appealing to the user as images are being used to enhance the experience.
The concept map image on the right hand side of the main page was build in Adobe Fireworks and then imported into Dreamweaver. This is a relatively straight forward process but one which can make the design and navigation of a page more appealing to the user as images are being used to enhance the experience.
Copyright Scavenger Hunt
http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/martinmullan/502/scavenger.html
The copyright scavenger hunt is a learning resource that guides teachers and students to answer questions about copyright abuse, plagiarism and fair use.
After doing the research and building this object, I have a new respect for doing things the right way. Teachers tend to take if they can get their hands on resources, and use them as their own. I have made it my goal to not do this again and have been in contact with companies regarding the use of their materials within the confines of our school's domain.
In order to instill a sense of responsibility in my students, I have begun to include a referencing section in all of my rubrics in order to push the students to identify from where they have been taking the media they find for their work. It is slowly getting through to them that if they didn't build it themselves, they need to say who did!
The copyright scavenger hunt is a learning resource that guides teachers and students to answer questions about copyright abuse, plagiarism and fair use.
After doing the research and building this object, I have a new respect for doing things the right way. Teachers tend to take if they can get their hands on resources, and use them as their own. I have made it my goal to not do this again and have been in contact with companies regarding the use of their materials within the confines of our school's domain.
In order to instill a sense of responsibility in my students, I have begun to include a referencing section in all of my rubrics in order to push the students to identify from where they have been taking the media they find for their work. It is slowly getting through to them that if they didn't build it themselves, they need to say who did!
Thursday, 18 July 2013
Technology Use Planning Overview
Technology Use Planning.
Technology use planning is a process by which an institution develops a time based action plan for the future integration of technology. The plan is based upon the mission and vision of the institution; where they currently are and where they aim to be all in light of their budget, stakeholder skills, and the current state of the technology available.
How might the new National Educational Technology Plan 2010 be an effective and powerful resource for technology use planning?
After researching and reading about digital divides and digital inequalities, I feel that the NETP 2010 tries to address each of the elements of possible inequality well while looking at new competencies and how these should be approached. In this regard the NETP is a great guide from which to base technology use planning.
I particularly like the section on "Assessment: Measure What Matters". I have been challenged over the last couple of years to find ways to measure the effectiveness of student behaviors online in relation to 21st century skills, so this section has definitely caught my attention. The recording of formative assessments (assessment for learning) using simulations and games is very interesting and as the authors clearly see the increase in gaming and the use of tablets for such actions as a trend that will continue to rise, finding ways to evidence the 'players' performances seems logical particularly in light of the skills Universities and employers are asking for lately.
The recommendations for "Connected Teaching" are very forward thinking. To have a vision such as this come to fruition will require the other possible divides that teachers might face to already have been leveled. Whilst I am a big fan of using LinkedIn, Google+ and have various RSS feeds aggregating into my email, and enjoy learning on Coursera, the majority of the teachers I work with are far from a level of 'connectedness' that would meet the NETP goals. The degree of awareness and ed-tech skills exhibited by my colleagues would have to grow considerably and would require, at the very least, one year if not more is several cases, for staff members to become connected. On top of this, a full culture change would be required and driven with considerable energy by the senior leaders of the school for there to be an impact. A shift toward professional development that was continuous, focused and has time allotted to it very regularly would be necessary.
The "Rethinking Basic Assumptions" is an interesting section with the reference to the restructuring of classes to ones where competence is the primary factor and not age. Is it not generally a difficult decision to have students, who are not performing at their age appropriate standard, move to work with different aged students? Physical and emotional developmental states can have repercussions in certain scenarios. Having not read any research on the success of American schools using this technique, I am only going on what I have seen in the British and International systems. It has become more common for tutor groups to be arranged in a "vertical" fashion so that younger students come into contact with the more mature students; learning from them and building relationships. It is not common in international schools or British schools for this vertical, competency based approached to be applied to the curriculum.
It is mentioned several times in the NETP 2010 that research into learning sciences and pedagogy has and is to be used to guide the further implementation of technology. This is essential for any effective integration. It has been my experience that new technologies are bought by schools to provide a superficial push toward meeting requirements. The knowledge and experience of how the technology can be used to enhance learning must be built through the use of sound theories from good research and practice.
Do you agree with See about tech use plans needing to be short, not long term? Why or why not?
Whilst much of the technology that Dr See refers to is out of date, his ideas are still relevant. The first two paragraphs of his article refer to his opinions of long and short term plans. I personally do not agree that five years are too long. It really depends on what you are trying to achieve. Planning for the acquisition and integration of a VLE may easily take three to five years; research, trialing, acquisition, implementation, training of early adopters in the student, teacher and parent body, opening up to the institution, and review/evaluation. If however we are planning for the integration of a new site wide application e.g. Prezi, this could easily be done in a much shorter time and probably within six months assuming the budget has been prepared with foresight to allow for such a fast turn around purchase. Certainly curriculum based software and technology identified by the specialists can be requested by a deadline that provides the requisitioning staff time to order and receive the purchase for the next academic year; three to six months seems appropriate in this instance.
So, whilst I understand his perspective, Dr See has simplified the situation too much for it to be applicable in all instances.
What do you think about his comment that "effective technology plans focus on applications, not technology?
After reading this section of Dr See's article, I wonder if Simon Sinek didn't get his inspiration for his "the golden circle" concept made popular on his TED talk from Dr See. The 'Why' is very important and I fully agree with Dr See in this regard. The why is always about the learning of our students. When we understand the why and can answer this question, the how and what are much easier to address. Example: The Art department are interested in giving their students the best opportunity to enhance their digital photography and video work. This is the why. How? By providing them with the best possible hardware and software within the constraints of the budget, if not for this year, perhaps for the year after. What? Apple? Microsoft? Adobe? It may actually be easier to convince the Board of Governors to spend more money by allowing them to answer the question "What?" after considering the why and the how first.
If the answer is Apple for the Art department, a similar consideration of technology may lead the Science department to acquire Microsoft laptops. Like what we teach the students in IT class; use the correct tool for the job, one size does not fit all.
It is this argument with which I intend to approach the Board in the near future to argue that forcing all of our students to buy iPads for our 1 to 1 scheme isn't appropriate. As long as our students can achieve the desired learning experience, it doesn't matter which device they use, therefore BYOT seems like a better fit. The only stipulation the students should be given is that they are capable, using the device they choose, of experiencing the process their teachers wish them to have.
What experiences have you had with technology use planning and what have been your experiences in terms of outcomes (both good and bad)?
The examples I have mentioned above are indeed my own experiences. Not everything has been smooth sailing. The implementation of our VLE has had its challenges as it was decided to implement two different versions of the VLE, one for the primary campus and one for the secondary, on the same server. While we were assured this would work, it has had problems as the company has updated the different instances at different rates causing malfunctions on the instance that wasn't updated.
What have I learned from this? Don't be an early adopter and don't try something that others haven't done before and been successful with. I'm sure that my compatriots in other international schools in the region have looked at our experience and steered away! That being said, I'm not afraid to lead the pack but when it comes to a product that costs $25000 per year, it needs to work!
The majority of my experience has been around the training of staff to improve their basic skills and to enhance their lessons with technology use. This has been a success for those members of staff who have given their time to attend the sessions and apply what they have learned. If I were to have this be more successful, I would need more support from the senior leaders of the school to make the use of educational technologies to enhance learning a greater priority for all teachers. Many teachers who choose not to attend the training sessions use the technologies in ways that could be a lot more inspiring but since there is nothing forcing them to attend and to improve, they continue to use the IWBs simply as a surface to project on to. My plan this year was to identify individuals how were prepared to give thirty minutes of their time after school to run a training session. These sessions were replicated several times each week with different volunteers, including myself, running the same content. This has had the benefit of serving more teachers as many can't make it to training on certain days. This strategy will continue next academic year.
The most recent blunder and success I have had was this year when I, through lack of awareness, registered the wrong email address with Google when we began the process of integrating GAFE into our school. After attending a Google summit I realized the scope of what acquiring GAFE for our school meant. Fortunately the error wasn't a serious one and my drive to have GAFE into our school is progressing well with us rolling out Gmail to our early adopters in preparation for a school wide transition in September. These early adopters are a combination of savvy and not-so-skilled individuals working in teams. They will disseminate there knowledge to the rest of their faculty colleagues and progress through further training sessions, as the year goes by, in the various Google Apps. I have encouraged the less confident adopters to get involved because I wanted them to be able to show the rest of their teams how the technology worked; if they can do it, everyone can! I have also used these individuals as a debugging tool not only for the technology itself but as a gauge for the appropriateness of the training I have organised. Everything seems to be going well although I do have to remind myself on occasion that just because they volunteer, doesn't mean they can use technology, and so I need to go a lot slower!
Technology use planning is a process by which an institution develops a time based action plan for the future integration of technology. The plan is based upon the mission and vision of the institution; where they currently are and where they aim to be all in light of their budget, stakeholder skills, and the current state of the technology available.
How might the new National Educational Technology Plan 2010 be an effective and powerful resource for technology use planning?
After researching and reading about digital divides and digital inequalities, I feel that the NETP 2010 tries to address each of the elements of possible inequality well while looking at new competencies and how these should be approached. In this regard the NETP is a great guide from which to base technology use planning.
I particularly like the section on "Assessment: Measure What Matters". I have been challenged over the last couple of years to find ways to measure the effectiveness of student behaviors online in relation to 21st century skills, so this section has definitely caught my attention. The recording of formative assessments (assessment for learning) using simulations and games is very interesting and as the authors clearly see the increase in gaming and the use of tablets for such actions as a trend that will continue to rise, finding ways to evidence the 'players' performances seems logical particularly in light of the skills Universities and employers are asking for lately.
The recommendations for "Connected Teaching" are very forward thinking. To have a vision such as this come to fruition will require the other possible divides that teachers might face to already have been leveled. Whilst I am a big fan of using LinkedIn, Google+ and have various RSS feeds aggregating into my email, and enjoy learning on Coursera, the majority of the teachers I work with are far from a level of 'connectedness' that would meet the NETP goals. The degree of awareness and ed-tech skills exhibited by my colleagues would have to grow considerably and would require, at the very least, one year if not more is several cases, for staff members to become connected. On top of this, a full culture change would be required and driven with considerable energy by the senior leaders of the school for there to be an impact. A shift toward professional development that was continuous, focused and has time allotted to it very regularly would be necessary.
The "Rethinking Basic Assumptions" is an interesting section with the reference to the restructuring of classes to ones where competence is the primary factor and not age. Is it not generally a difficult decision to have students, who are not performing at their age appropriate standard, move to work with different aged students? Physical and emotional developmental states can have repercussions in certain scenarios. Having not read any research on the success of American schools using this technique, I am only going on what I have seen in the British and International systems. It has become more common for tutor groups to be arranged in a "vertical" fashion so that younger students come into contact with the more mature students; learning from them and building relationships. It is not common in international schools or British schools for this vertical, competency based approached to be applied to the curriculum.
It is mentioned several times in the NETP 2010 that research into learning sciences and pedagogy has and is to be used to guide the further implementation of technology. This is essential for any effective integration. It has been my experience that new technologies are bought by schools to provide a superficial push toward meeting requirements. The knowledge and experience of how the technology can be used to enhance learning must be built through the use of sound theories from good research and practice.
Do you agree with See about tech use plans needing to be short, not long term? Why or why not?
Whilst much of the technology that Dr See refers to is out of date, his ideas are still relevant. The first two paragraphs of his article refer to his opinions of long and short term plans. I personally do not agree that five years are too long. It really depends on what you are trying to achieve. Planning for the acquisition and integration of a VLE may easily take three to five years; research, trialing, acquisition, implementation, training of early adopters in the student, teacher and parent body, opening up to the institution, and review/evaluation. If however we are planning for the integration of a new site wide application e.g. Prezi, this could easily be done in a much shorter time and probably within six months assuming the budget has been prepared with foresight to allow for such a fast turn around purchase. Certainly curriculum based software and technology identified by the specialists can be requested by a deadline that provides the requisitioning staff time to order and receive the purchase for the next academic year; three to six months seems appropriate in this instance.
So, whilst I understand his perspective, Dr See has simplified the situation too much for it to be applicable in all instances.
What do you think about his comment that "effective technology plans focus on applications, not technology?
After reading this section of Dr See's article, I wonder if Simon Sinek didn't get his inspiration for his "the golden circle" concept made popular on his TED talk from Dr See. The 'Why' is very important and I fully agree with Dr See in this regard. The why is always about the learning of our students. When we understand the why and can answer this question, the how and what are much easier to address. Example: The Art department are interested in giving their students the best opportunity to enhance their digital photography and video work. This is the why. How? By providing them with the best possible hardware and software within the constraints of the budget, if not for this year, perhaps for the year after. What? Apple? Microsoft? Adobe? It may actually be easier to convince the Board of Governors to spend more money by allowing them to answer the question "What?" after considering the why and the how first.
If the answer is Apple for the Art department, a similar consideration of technology may lead the Science department to acquire Microsoft laptops. Like what we teach the students in IT class; use the correct tool for the job, one size does not fit all.
It is this argument with which I intend to approach the Board in the near future to argue that forcing all of our students to buy iPads for our 1 to 1 scheme isn't appropriate. As long as our students can achieve the desired learning experience, it doesn't matter which device they use, therefore BYOT seems like a better fit. The only stipulation the students should be given is that they are capable, using the device they choose, of experiencing the process their teachers wish them to have.
What experiences have you had with technology use planning and what have been your experiences in terms of outcomes (both good and bad)?
The examples I have mentioned above are indeed my own experiences. Not everything has been smooth sailing. The implementation of our VLE has had its challenges as it was decided to implement two different versions of the VLE, one for the primary campus and one for the secondary, on the same server. While we were assured this would work, it has had problems as the company has updated the different instances at different rates causing malfunctions on the instance that wasn't updated.
What have I learned from this? Don't be an early adopter and don't try something that others haven't done before and been successful with. I'm sure that my compatriots in other international schools in the region have looked at our experience and steered away! That being said, I'm not afraid to lead the pack but when it comes to a product that costs $25000 per year, it needs to work!
The majority of my experience has been around the training of staff to improve their basic skills and to enhance their lessons with technology use. This has been a success for those members of staff who have given their time to attend the sessions and apply what they have learned. If I were to have this be more successful, I would need more support from the senior leaders of the school to make the use of educational technologies to enhance learning a greater priority for all teachers. Many teachers who choose not to attend the training sessions use the technologies in ways that could be a lot more inspiring but since there is nothing forcing them to attend and to improve, they continue to use the IWBs simply as a surface to project on to. My plan this year was to identify individuals how were prepared to give thirty minutes of their time after school to run a training session. These sessions were replicated several times each week with different volunteers, including myself, running the same content. This has had the benefit of serving more teachers as many can't make it to training on certain days. This strategy will continue next academic year.
The most recent blunder and success I have had was this year when I, through lack of awareness, registered the wrong email address with Google when we began the process of integrating GAFE into our school. After attending a Google summit I realized the scope of what acquiring GAFE for our school meant. Fortunately the error wasn't a serious one and my drive to have GAFE into our school is progressing well with us rolling out Gmail to our early adopters in preparation for a school wide transition in September. These early adopters are a combination of savvy and not-so-skilled individuals working in teams. They will disseminate there knowledge to the rest of their faculty colleagues and progress through further training sessions, as the year goes by, in the various Google Apps. I have encouraged the less confident adopters to get involved because I wanted them to be able to show the rest of their teams how the technology worked; if they can do it, everyone can! I have also used these individuals as a debugging tool not only for the technology itself but as a gauge for the appropriateness of the training I have organised. Everything seems to be going well although I do have to remind myself on occasion that just because they volunteer, doesn't mean they can use technology, and so I need to go a lot slower!
Monday, 15 July 2013
Digital Inequality
Over the last week I have been on a school trip to Phuket, Thailand. Every time I go to Thailand it amazes me how rice farmers can pull out a smart phone and happily text away, or how it is possible to pay for your Air Asia flights, along with all your other bills, in 7 Eleven. The Thai technology infrastructure is pretty good despite their 91st placing by the ITU last year!
Initially I was intending to do my piece as a comparison of the strategies Thailand and Malaysia have put in place to bridge their digital divides with regards to broadband access and to bring themselves inline with the international agreements for 2015. However, a discussion with a colleague on the trip, when they said they needed to figure out Google Docs, was what triggered me to think about the issues with our staff as a whole. Since all of our students have their own devices and can bring them to school if they wish, their techie skills are high. They are autonomous. What they don't do so well is use the technologies available to them to enhance their learning, and this is due to the teachers not exposing them to the plethora of awesome apps and websites available to them.
Just like what Anthony has done for us with the use of these different web apps, the exposure to the technology needs to be greater. Of course, teachers will complain about not having enough time therefore whatever strategies are put in place, they need to target as many individuals as possible so as the 'don't have time' excuse becomes superfluous.
I mention Digital Literacy in my second to last slide. This is an issue I wish to look into further and hopefully provide some guidance for the improvement of at my school with the help of our librarian.
Initially I was intending to do my piece as a comparison of the strategies Thailand and Malaysia have put in place to bridge their digital divides with regards to broadband access and to bring themselves inline with the international agreements for 2015. However, a discussion with a colleague on the trip, when they said they needed to figure out Google Docs, was what triggered me to think about the issues with our staff as a whole. Since all of our students have their own devices and can bring them to school if they wish, their techie skills are high. They are autonomous. What they don't do so well is use the technologies available to them to enhance their learning, and this is due to the teachers not exposing them to the plethora of awesome apps and websites available to them.
Just like what Anthony has done for us with the use of these different web apps, the exposure to the technology needs to be greater. Of course, teachers will complain about not having enough time therefore whatever strategies are put in place, they need to target as many individuals as possible so as the 'don't have time' excuse becomes superfluous.
I mention Digital Literacy in my second to last slide. This is an issue I wish to look into further and hopefully provide some guidance for the improvement of at my school with the help of our librarian.
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