Practicing What I Preach

Originally published in my 21st Century Classroom Blog on 3/17/13

Teaching other educational professionals how to use technology tools is actually a bit daunting. With the rapid change of technology and how educators across the globe are integrating technology, the role of being the technology instructor, or integration specialist is about staying current, flexible, and participatory. In some regards I am a preacher, and in order to have a meaningful connection with my 'students', I need to know what I'm talking about.

Schoology and Edmodo Part 2

In the first post on free blended learning platforms, I focused on the value of a quality Discussion tool within the platform (read that post here!). This week I will breakdown the features that help organize the online learning environment.

Managing a hybrid/blended course is relatively straightforward when your content is kept to a minimum. Do you just want to post homework? How about weekly discussions? Interested in posting only assignments? What if you want to collect assignments? What if you are aiming for a paperless classroom? All of these and more can be managed with the free classroom management tools Schoology and Edmodo.

Why The 1:1 Debate is a False One

The computer revolution has slowly reshaped the landscape of education. In my personal experience it started with Apple IIe's in my middle school. It was the mid 80s and we were taught some basic programming. It was not an effective use of technology, but it was the first trend. The third trend is the move to one to one learning. From where I sit, this is not a fad any more.

One to One (1:1) Computing Trends & BYOD

The trend of one to one (1:1) computing has received a new boost of energy thanks to tablets, especially the iPad. Below is an analysis of the trend in Massachusetts K-12 schools.Today, 1:1 computing tends to involve one of two models: either all students bring their own mobile devices (BYOD/BYOT/BYOL), or the school provides the device such as a laptop or iPad. While there has been slow growth in 1:1 computing in K-12 throughout the past decade, rapid changes are occurring now. The iPad is definitely at the center of this trend. Are we reaching the tipping point of an exponential growth pattern, or is this an isolated trend? Will more districts jump on board in the next three years than have in the past twelve years combined?

Here is a list of schools that currently support either a 1:1 or BYOD model from across Massachusetts. A link to related media is provided where available. Some of the schools listed have not fully adopted the program and are only in pilot phases. If you have information on a school that engaged in a 1:1 or BYOD program and is not listed below, or if you have an update on a program listed, please let us know!

PRE 2008
Dorchester Lila G. Fredrick Middle School - 1:1 Laptop since 2006 (pdf)

Huntington - Gateway Regional High School - 1:1 laptops since 2007 (pdf)

2008-2009
Burlington - 1:1 since 2009

Newton Beaver Country Dayschool - BYOL Since 2009 (website)

2010-2011
Beverly HS - 1:1 Macbooks since 2011 (blog) (article)
Burlington - 1:1 iPad since 2011 (article)
Cambridge: Cambridge Friends School 6-8 - 1:1 iPad in-school only since 2011 (article)

Marblehead Tower School Elementary 3-8 - 1:1 iPad started 2011 (article)

Millis Grade 8 - 1:1 iPad Pilot Fall 2011 (blog)

Natick Grade 8 & HS - 1:1 MacBooks program started 2011 (article)

2012 and beyond
Bedford HS 9th grade pilot - 1:1 iPad pilot (website)
Grafton HS - 1:1 iPad starting in Fall 2012 (website)

Holliston HS - BYOD starting Spring 2012 / required by 2014 (website)

Ludlow district - BYOD pilot starting 2012 (article)
Millis HS - 1:1 iPad program starting 2012 (blog)

Reading MS & HS - BYOD optional - pilot program 2012 (article)
Upper Cape Tech HS 10th grade pilot - 1:1 iPad pilot (website)
Uxbridge HS - 1:1 iPad - Beginning 2012 (pdf)
Wayland HS - 1:1 MacBooks(?) to start in 2012-2013 (blog)

Westfield HS - 1:1 Laptops program in development (website)

Worcester Bancroft 6-12 - 1:1 iPad program starts Fall 2012 (website)

Here are some recent articles and blogs that discuss 1:1 effectiveness and other topics.
Is the move to a 1:1 model worth the time and expense? Research is showing that there are two key factors to the success of implementing a 1:1 model. The first is training and development. All teachers need to be involved and receive both technical and pedagogical training early and often. The second key factor is creating true 1:1 models. This means that the devices travel with students wherever students go--both in and out of school.

Research says that 1:1 is nothing if the teacher's aren't ready or capable - article
Mass 1 to 1 works with schools to implement affordable lease programs - website
iPads in School blog - blog
iPads improving literacy scores at the kindergarten level - article
CybraryMan's 1:1 Resource Page - webpage
CybraryMan's BYOD Resource Page - webpage

Four P's for Twitter Newbies

This is a guide that has been put together based on personal experiences. While it is targeted at educational minded Twitter newbies, the principles certainly will apply to people from all walks interested in getting started on Twitter. These are the Four P's for Twitter Newbies.


Patience
It is rare that someone will understand how Twitter works in their first usage. Instead, newbies should be patient with themselves and with Twitter and take in advice from different websites and from users they trust. While there is no right way to use Twitter, there are certainly pitfalls and things to avoid. If you want to get something out of Twitter, spend at least three months actively reading about Twitter, discovering educational sites that tout the strengths of Twitter, and, most importantly, being an active participant on Twitter.

People
The people you follow will lead you to topics of interest, to follow more people, and to read blogs and websites of interest. Therefor, you will want to choose wisely. Don't be afraid to follow a lot of people and then unfollow people who don't tweet much, or who tweet things that annoy you. Are they tweeting more about breakfast than world languages? Unfollow. Are they tweeting every minute with bits of info that are unhelpful to you? Unfollow. While there are artificial ways to get lots of followers, you will not get value unless the people you follow and the people who follow you will further the discussions you are interested in. Some good ways to get new followers include:

• Follow people who are tweeting frequently on topics that are of interest to you
• Click on people you follow to see who they follow (and follow those that interest you)
• Leave your account public - you can always boot people you don't want to have following you
• Be interesting in your tweets and true to yourself and your interests

Participation
Getting involved in Twitter can be well worth the time investment. Increase your participation by tweeting at least once a day. Increase this number every couple of weeks until it feels natural for you to want to tweet about things you read and experience. Participation will be one of the top ways you can gain followers and get the most out of Twitter. Including hashtags and links to topics that interest you will draw people into your circle who are interested in similar topics.

You will also find that joining in on Twitter discussions can be a great way to participate. Every weekday there are multiple educational chats that take place on topics of all types. Topics range from discipline specific, to age level, to pedagogy and general interests. You can find the entire list  of topics on Jerry Blumengarten's (a.k.a. Cybraryman) website as well as a calendar with scheduled chats.

Finally, you can also participate by being social. After all, this is a social network. Be social by...

• Following people and occasionally retweeting what they have tweeted (if you really like it)
• Replying to other's tweets...if they say something interesting, you hit reply and make a comment
• Sending direct messages to followers, and thanking people who follow you
• Recognizing anyone who retweets you or mentions you in a way that you appreciate

Remember to use @ when mentioning someone by their Twitter name.

Probability
Increasing the probability of your tweets being read will increase the number of followers you have and the more followers you have the more influence your voice will have. Improve the probability of Twitter working for you by increasing your interactions on Twitter. The probability of any one of your tweets being read is completely dependent on three factors:

1. How many followers you have
2. How well your words and hashtags are chosen and
3. The time at which you tweet

Get more followers in ways that are legitimate to your interests. This will provide the most professional value to you. Read above for ideas on how to get more followers.

People who know how to use Twitter to gain information also know how to search Twitter. This can be done through hashtags and any words included in tweets. Therefor, when people are searching, they will find your tweets if you are including appropriate hashtags and key words or phrases relevant to your topic of interest.

Timing your tweets can be an art-form. In general, if you are including hashtags or you have several followers, people will see your tweets. Knowing your followers will allow you to improve your odds with timing. In education that can mean tweeting during the school day. I find tweets that land in the mid-morning are more frequently read because there are less tweets at that hour. Therefore, whatever I have to say may stay in search results longer. The lunch hour is also a predictable time that all teachers will have at least 20 minutes to be on Twitter and more than you can imagine, actually are. You will have to practice this and get a sense of what works best in your area of interests.