Start Small

I read some great advice this week during my research collecting...Start Small.  Many times, as could be the case in our school next year, we are bombarded with all this fancy, shiny, new equipment and told how amazing it is and all the wonderful things we can learn and teach with it...but there is no training and we become overwhelmed trying to teach it to ourselves so we can teach our students with it.  Or, we have amazing training and are so excited to share what we have learned with our students and then it just doesn't work.  It's okay!!  I think sometimes as educators and leaders, we forget that it is okay for US to fail...we always want things to go smoothly and be sunshine and sprinkles, when in fact it is anything but...
I have vowed to try one new thing a week, thus not overwhelming myself and giving up on everything!  If I work with this one new thing all week, by the end of the week I should be a master (or at least feel more confident in my ability to do it).  So, in one school year I would try roughly 40 new things in technology.  I also plan to share my learning with my staff through an inter-school sharing site and ask them for their feedback on the tool for the week.  I also want to challenge myself to use one of the new things during our staff meetings...maybe in turn encouraging them to branch our in their classrooms!
I also teach technology at our school for grades 5-8 and have learned new things this year, number one...when computers don't work frustration is not the answer.  We have done lots of cooperating learning at one computer and though it is not ideal, it works. I am excited to have equipment that will work and show those students the power of collaboration with students from other schools.  I want to incorporate their core classes into our collaboration, I am not sure how that will look yet, but there is a wealth of resources available to us.  I want to learn and teach google docs, I have used it for classes in our program, but beyond that have not gotten brave! :)  I would love to dive into social media with them but again am hesitant.  I would love to see how a class/school has made this work.
It is easy to collaborate with our friends and classmates, but think of the things we can learn if we get the opinion of someone we have never met...they have no idea how we feel on the topic, thus would give us their own personal opinion.  Collaboration is the 21st century skill and we are behind at our school, unless you count face to face, small group inside classroom walls...which after my research and this class, I have decided just isn't enough...we need to break outside our walls, even borders!  Our students have great ideas, letting them share them with the world is amazing, I just have to bring it to reality!

Digital Collaboration?

*Photo courtesy of EduTopia

Digital collaboration...I know what digital means and I know how to collaborate but putting the two together goes way beyond what I am accustomed to doing.  Here is the definition for you: digital collaboration is using digital devices, open source data and cloud technology to share knowledge, manage information and contribute user-generated content to communities of people regardless of time or place (Wikipedia). Through this class, I have learned how to digitally collaborate with fellow classmates and LOVE it...but I have to be honest and say I have never done it in the classroom.  I still don't use the cloud, though my phone tells me I have saved stuff to my cloud...I am becoming more familiar with Google docs, but have never created a document myself...of course there is my new found love/hate relationship for Twitter (I LOVE all the information I am getting from here, it is amazing, I hate that I sometimes become consumed in all the information and get nothing else done).

As educators, we have done the face to face, one on one, small & large group collaboration from the beginning of our careers and they are good ways to communicate.  BUT, they are not the only way...face to face is great for many reasons, but we have to look outside the box (our classroom and school) to find someone who may have a fantastic idea we would have never dreamed of pursuing.  The problem is we sometimes lack the push or desire to step out of our comfort zone and collaborate beyond our school walls.  If this is the case, we are not only hurting ourselves, but also doing a disservice to our students.  The ways to collaborate are seemingly endless and can become overwhelming, but when we take baby steps, it may not seem so bad.

How amazing is it for students to be able to have a conversation with a student in South America when they are studying different continents, take a virtual field trip to the jungle when studying habitats, learn how to work a math problem with someone in a different state.  When we get our students beyond the classroom doors, we excite them and revive their desire for learning.  When it becomes real to them, it becomes something they will remember.  A classroom desk and white board are so "not fun" but an iPad connected to a student in Mexico when learning about Cinco de Mayo is WAY more engaging.

As leaders, we have to help our fellow staff step outside of their comfort zone.  I think many of us have already done that through this class and we have survived to LOVE it (or at least I have).  We have to share our knowledge with those teachers we know who are reluctant to jump on the train of technology!  It is always moving and changing, we have to hang on and learn as we go!  What better way to be a life long learner!

Technology...What's Not To Love...

A caffeinated way to explain SAMR...I am not a coffee drinker, but I get it! :)

I do enjoy technology and all it has to offer, being able to find things with a click, talk to my sister in Omaha via messaging, find daily inspirational quotes in my inbox, it is awesome!  UNTIL...it doesn't work!  I was so excited to spend my afternoon working on my blog, checking on tweets on twitter, responding to fellow classmates blogs and working on my paper for technology integration...and then, NO INTERNET CONNECTION!!!  You would have thought the world was ending!  Not only for myself who had legitimate work to do, but my 12 year old daughter almost died...really, I think she did!  She couldn't get on muscily...which is kind of a funny little app if you haven't tried it out.  She couldn't browse pinterest or send emails to her friends (as that is the only way her mom allows her to chat with her friends, unless she wants to pick up that ancient thing you call a telephone!).  So, needless to say, I was annoyed and so were other members of our family.  Then, I thought...maybe this is Gods way of telling you to find something else to do today....but, but, but I need to get this done and that done and I really wanted to check my Facebook account.  So, instead of working online yesterday I did some reading of things I had printed (thankful for that smart move) and actually spent some time just doing, nothing!
Now that I am back online (at school, cause it still isn't working at home).  I wanted to share what I learned about SAMR.  After listening to some of you talk so highly of this model of technology integration, I turned my paper in that direction and I am so glad I did.  It has made this task of how in the world are we going to do this with all our new technology, a little less scary! The thing I think I like the most about SAMR is that as you move through the SAMR continuum technology becomes more important in the classrooms and also is easily woven into the demands of good teaching and learning...it becomes second nature.
I also like that it states the non-use of technology is okay and will sometimes be appropriate in your classroom, this is the Substitution part.
Augmentation is when the technology is used as a tool to perform common classroom tasks, like taking quizzes, completing worksheets, or using google notes instead of pencil paper.  This is the part where you are "getting your feet wet" learning how to include some of this technology without really changing much of your instruction.  Teachers can receive immediate answers and give students feedback instantly.  This also is a paper saver!
Modification, this is where you are crossing the line between the traditional paper/pencil, lecture classroom to the transformation to computer technology classroom.  This is allowing students to be learning the same skills, just compiling and presenting the concept in different ways, ways that suit their learning style.  The teacher is guiding them while they are learning hands on with technology.
Redefinition, is the step where technology allows new tasks to be completed that were previously inconceivable in the classroom.  This step will not happen over night, which is why I like the SAMR model and how it gives you steps to ease into the use of technology in the classroom. 
As our students become more and more digital, we need to continue to learn or, in my opinion, find a different career.  If we as leaders cannot help our teachers become comfortable using technology in their classrooms, beyond showing a Youtube science video, we are failing our students and teachers.  I don't think we have to be technology all the time, but getting to that modification step is key and then honestly, reaching redefinition will seem pretty easy. 
I am going to have to lead the integration of new technology for my staff in the 16-17 school year.  I will give them this model as a guide and offer them ample professional development.  I think that is a HUGE step in implementing anything new correctly...when teachers are comfortable, students will benefit from their knowledge. When teachers are not comfortable you have technology equipment that is not being used and students who are not being challenged in the world of technology and not learning the amazing things they can do beyond paper/pencil/textbook.

Life...

You see that e-mail from your professor wondering why you haven't done your assignment and you feel like someone just died...yep, that was me about an hour ago!  Why did I think this was due Thursday, I have no idea...April 5 is Tuesday, not Thursday.  Regardless, here is my blog for the week...though late!
An update on E-Rate first of all.  We are currently in the 28 day waiting period, which is what you must do between filing your initial request for E-Rate and filing your "actual" request.  In this 28 days, you should receive bids from local carriers to provide you service for you telecommunications and or internet access (so far, we have not received any bids...I am not sure if that is good or bad).  As you receive these bids, you will put them in your prepared matrix to compare them all and see which one is best for your school.  Once your 28 days are up, you then file Form 471 which is showing them who your carrier will be, the cost of their services, and they will factor the discount amount you are given.  I HIGHLY recommend contacting your ESU to help you with this. Diane, my E-Rate fairy, has been SO helpful through this process and made it so easy for my team (remember...me, myself, and I).  I did share this amazing program with my staff today at our bi-weekly meeting and had some great response to the fact that we were saving money...one willing to help with the process next year! :)  I will present this to our school board tomorrow evening and hopefully get one of them to help chair this project as well.  As Dr. Mausbach said...you shouldn't have to beg for volunteers, if you can show them the great ways it will help your school you should easily get volunteers.  I pray that is the case!
Though E-Rate is still fresh in my head and I continue reading on it, my brain has switched gears to my next module, Technology Integration.  I look forward to hearing what those of you who have done this module have learned tonight (yes, I do have that date right) in our BlueCafe discussion.  In my brain, this should be a simple task...well as you may realize from my forgetfulness of this blog my brain may not always be right!  In a perfect world, technology integration should be just like using your reading basil or your math workbook.  It is just part of your curriculum and "how we do things".  Though this may not be the case right off the bat, after some practice and implementation...it will be, right?!  Dr. Mausbach has suggested that I look at some of the technology models when I am writing my paper. Honestly, they are all new to me so I am taking a peek at each one and trying to decide which one would work best for our 1-8 school.  Any suggestions?  I of course like parts of each one and do have one that I like more than the others, but haven't decided why I like that one the best yet...more research.  I have been most familiar with the TIM model, as Doug Zauha our "tech guy" has talked about this and I have read up on the SAMR model after reading Candace's blog.  That doesn't mean I won't look at the others, but these two were in the forefront of my research as I was more familiar with them.
I look forward to learning more about these technology models and how they can help us in our school to make technology "how we do things" in our classrooms.  I am up for the challenge of taking our school closer to the digital era!