Implementing an EdTech Learning Model

Too often learning models pontificate at the theoretical level leaving practitioners to ferret out the "How To". SAMR is a good example. Conceptionally, the model makes sense with the goal being



to advance from substituting a newer technology for an older technology to using technology to create a new, previously inconceivable technology. Putting the process into practice is less sensical. As in any planning process, the first step is to define where one is, assuming a continuum along the path within each unit. While the model depicts four graduations, there are, in practice, infinite graduation possibilities making settling on a "Where I Am" a bit difficult. The next step would be to define where one would like to be--discovering the gap. Questions begin to arise. What if I am not convinced that "infusing" any amount of technology into my lessons is the better approach to learning? What if I'm perfectly satisfied with where I am? Wait, technology is ubiquitous and is the future I'm told. Am I obliged to teach subject matter and technology? Or just to teach subject matter while using technology and assigning tasks that require students to self-learn and use technology in task performance? Should I leap directly to the Redefinition level? I would have to come up with technologies that were "previously inconceivable". What that hell does that mean? Enough.

The Internet is rife with SAMR specific examples. Google it. Most are well-intended, however, just plain make-work, even silly. Here are few examples of the Redefinition level from a recent blog (http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/) at the "Emerging Education Technologies" blog. Also, see https://arlington.instructure.com/courses/50558/pages/redefinition-ideas?module_item_id=1138005.

A Handwritten Paper: Redefinition: Instead of a written assignment, students convey analytic thought using multimedia tools.

Geography and Travel: Redefinition: Explore the locale with Google Earth; seek out and include interviews with people who have visited the local.

Understanding Shakespeare: Redefinition: Answer the Question, “What did the culture of the time have on the writing of Shakespeare’s plays” by using a Concept Mapping tool and constructing a mind map demonstrating key elements through words and images.

An Assessment Exercise: Redefinition: “A classroom is asked to create a documentary video answering an essential question related to important concepts. Teams of students take on different subtopics and collaborate to create one final product.  Teams are expected to contact outside sources for information.”

Art/Painting: Redefinition: Create Artwork Collaboratively using a Collaborative Online Whiteboard (like Twiddla or one of these other tools).

Email Etiquette: Redefinition: Students watch the guidelines video, then assess examples of Email Etiquette ‘violations’ and indicate which guidelines should be applied to correct/improve on the examples.

Learning Fractions: Redefinition: Use a Fractions App instead (here’s a handful of examples for iOS devices).

Phys Ed, Learning to Hit a Baseball Well: Redefinition: Students watch video examples and practice the techniques, then the coach/teacher videos them hitting balls and provides feedback about their technique.

 

We Work Together, But Test Alone

I am currently enrolled in a combined technology certifications course. Upon completion of a number of certification-targeted classroom instruction hours and after taking multiple practice tests, we, isolated from any and all digital and human resources (even our wallets and purses are not allowed), are subjected to an intense, time-regulated multiple choice test for each certification. To be fair, the tests include a few "simulations" which are little more than drag and drop exercises. The test questions are determined by the certification authority, proctored by an employee of the instructional organization, and administered remotely by Pearson VUE.

Two points:

• technology certification instruction. Think about that for a minute then visualize a standard 1980's classroom configuration. Add a computer on each desk. The instructor's desk is to the right front of the room so as not to block the information being projected from the overhead projector onto the screen at the front of the room. For the most part the instructor projects and reads from the certification authority's text interrupting only to address questions that are thankfully allowed at any point. Students may observe what is being read on the screen at the front of the room or follow along on their personal computers. The text does contain many reinforcing graphical representations. Periodically within the test are computer-based practical exercises that attempt to replicate the real thing using an artificial user interface that in itself requires familiarization. Infrequently (two in a two-month period) a half-day "lab" is conducted. The labs represent limited reality, e.g., setting up a network switch that is not connected to a network. Somehow what we've learned in the past 30 years about pedagogies, instructional technologies, and integrating technology into classrooms and curriculums have bypassed the exulted organizations that control technology certifications and those that instruct toward certification achievement.


• isolated from any and all digital and human resources. The work world is all about sharing, communicating, and collaborating. In a very long and varied career, I have only experienced one job wherein I was unable to correspond with or seek help from others in a timely manner. It was when I was a high school teacher. Not that help wasn't available overtime, just when most needed. Anyway, for the most part, the work world now expects, even demands, teamwork. Recently I read an article that in a sentence capsulized the way work success has evolved. "We all know who invented the light bulb but who invented the iPhone?" Yet we continue to test knowledge in isolation rather than performance within a group. The future lies in developing and administering team performance tests that also measure individual knowledge and collaborative acuity.

Resume Bombs

This blog at Curmugucation (Peter Greene) is aimed at the Common Core in education but as well applies to many fields.

Discovering Educational Content for iPad

This book is available for download with iBooks on your Mac or iOS device.

This guide will help teachers understand what type of content is available in each of the iTunes stores, how to access the stores from a Mac or iPad, and find tips on how to search each store and education curated collections for the type of content they might use in their classrooms.  The Guide walks through 2 sample lesson topics to help showcase the wide range of materials a teacher might use in a lesson, and encourages creative thinking about using content beyond Apps when teaching with iPad.

Six Must-Haves for a Teacher Effectiveness Technology Platform

At EdSurge we find another numbered sure thing. Every day we see hundreds of the X Best...., X Ways to...., X Keys to...., X Must-Haves...., XX Apps That..., X Steps...., and on and on. Many of the recommended apps and applications are probably useful but do you really want to spend hours daily reviewing and testing them? And many, if not most, of the others are platitudinous and, frankly, embarrassing. Just take a look at the "Six Must-Haves for a Teacher Effectiveness Technology Platform."

1. The platform must deliver high-quality professional development resources.

2. It must provide on-demand, 24/7 access.

3. It must provide highly targeted and personalized PD.

4. It must facilitate teacher collaboration.

5. It must offer robust administrative tools.

6. It must be easy to use.

No doubt Ms. and Mr. Administrator have been sitting on their hands eagerly waiting for this sage advice. Now teaching and learning can continue unabated. But wait! Have you fully implemented the Four Keys to Successful School Improvement and the Five Proven Steps to Promote Great Teaching?

More on CCSS & PARCC in Illinois

Originally posted on Diane Ravitch. Where are the unions on this mess? Read a career teacher's open letter to Cindy Kickna, President of IEA. This is what gives unions a bad name. Who do they really represent if not the teachers and students?

Just one paragraph:

Please, if you are going to take our money and purport to represent teachers collectively in Illinois, it is incumbent upon you to educate yourself about the reality of the monumental bamboozle that is corporate reform. I recommend Diane Ravitch’s book Reign of Error for starters, and her blog is a daily format for exposing the damaging effects of the move to privatize and profitize education. Todd Farley’s book Making the Grades is an insider’s expose of Pearson’s shoddy test design process and and standardized test-grading mills.

 

Ten Principles of Proficiency-Based Learning

Originally posted on CompetencyWorks:

The principles were created by the Great Schools Partnership. To fully appreciate term nuances, you might want to follow the links to the GSP "Glossary of Education Reform" website. Philosophically I find little to argue with here but, as always, it's seldom the principles that are in dispute. No, it's the method by which they are implemented. These 10 principles are intended as, "a good resource for states, districts and schools to start the conversation about the new policies and practices that need to be put in place". Great intention, however, our experience has been that the conversation starts and stops at the federal or state level where implementation becomes dictatorial or at best threatening. GSP tries to take a neutral position on the controversial elements of the principles. For example, browse to the Summative assessments link and at the very bottom of the page is the following:

Debate

While there is little disagreement among educators about the need for or utility of summative assessments, debates and disagreements tend to center on issues of fairness and effectiveness, especially when summative assessment results are used for high-stakes purposes. In these cases, educators, experts, reformers, policy makers, and others may debate whether assessments are being designed and used appropriately, or whether high-stakes tests are either beneficial or harmful to the educational process. For more detailed discussions of these issues, see high-stakes test, measurement error, test accommodations, test bias, score inflation,standardized test, and value-added measures.

1. All learning expectations are clearly and consistently communicated to students and families, including long-term expectations (such as graduation requirements and graduation standards), short-term expectations (such as the learning objectives for a specific lesson), and general expectations (such as the performance levels used in the school’s grading and reporting system).


2. Student achievement is evaluated against common learning standards and performance expectations that are consistently applied to all students, regardless of whether they are enrolled in traditional courses, pursuing alternative learning pathways or receiving academic support.


3. All forms of assessment are standards-based and criterion-referenced, and success is defined by the achievement of expected standards, not relative measures of performance or student-to-student comparisons.


4. Formative assessments evaluate learning progress during the instructional process and are not graded; formative-assessment information is used to inform instructional adjustments, practices, and support.


5. Summative assessments evaluate learning achievement and are graded; summative assessment scores record a student’s level of proficiency at a specific point in time.


6. Grades are used to communicate learning progress and achievement to students and families; grades are not used as forms of punishment or control.


7. Academic progress and achievement is monitored and reported separately from work habits, character traits, and behaviors such as attendance and class participation.


8. Students are given multiple opportunities to retake assessments or improve their work when they fail to meet expected standards.


9. Students can demonstrate learning progress and achievement in multiple ways through differentiatedassessments, personalized-learning options, or alternative learning pathways.


10. Students are given opportunities to make important decisions about their learning, which includes contributing to the design of learning experiences and personalized learning pathways.