If you were not present, you will get a good sense of the day from the action packed Twitter stream (pre discussion from Sunday and the full session today). [View the story “MoE 21C Round Table 20131029 ” on Storify]
~Mark
As part of our Board capacity building program, we offered 2 full day sessions for our school administrators and instructional leaders with George Couros. George’s session aligned perfectly with our system plan and Ontario school improvement framework. The timing of our sessions also support the global work of Connected Educator Month.
George is very personable in front of a crowd, and that in itself helped drive home one of the key messages of the day – the human connection. His approach captured and reinforced an important message in my recent blog post providing a perspective on technology enabled learning. It is NOT about the technology itself. It IS about the human connection: how we connect, develop relationships, learn, support the learning journey of others and reflect. Technology plays a powerful role in the “C’s” – communicate, collaborate, citizenship and character development, creating and critical questions.
The “C’s” provide connectors for us to learn, tell our story or tell the story of our school or system. The “C’s” help us connect beyond our school and system. We gain a wider perspective on innovation and best practices from educational counterparts around the world. Who can better tell your/your school story than you, the administrator and instructional leader?
Through personal and heart warming examples, George shared a journey that connected the dots on the benefits of becoming connected. In the end, the tools themselves, and the technology involved, was simply that – a mechanism to get to the relationships and the story. Tools that supported the journey included Twitter, Google tools (docs, hangouts, youtube etc.), Ted Talks. Use the tools to make your job more streamlined. Deal with information once: Google doc vs word processor to pdf to email for example.
One can not under estimate the value of developing a personal learning network (PLN) to give you access to sharing, resources, problem solving, exchange ideas, thinking and best practices and asking questions – all part of telling your story. I really enjoyed George’s analogy to using your PLN to ask questions and source the wisdom of the PLN crowd to lighting up the “Bat Signal” – a call for help, information, collaboration etc. – awesome!
Dovetailed with blogging, you have a powerful method of communicating your story to a real world audience. This journey certainly does require one to step into the role of the learner and that in itself may be one of the most powerful things that you do as an instructional leader. People around you will benefit from watching you learn, ask critical questions, share through blogging & other means, and shape your thinking.
Sounds like this could be messy – right? So what – learning is messy, and that is simply OK. Why wouldn’t it be messy? Process vs end result. This journey does require that you put your self out there and demonstrate transparency in what you are doing. And just like the first time skier on the 60 foot run (reference to video) – go for it — it is just a little longer and faster than the 20 foot run.
You can do it.
Start building your network by spending a few minutes a day on Twitter. Commit 10-15 minutes daily – that is all it takes to get started. Commit to contributing to your board/district hashtag (#edwrdsb for us).
See you online in the “Twitterverse” and “Blogosphere”.
~Mark
View the session Twitter Stream at Storify
Today I am sharing a framework from WRDSB to consider digital citizenship and literacies in the K12 environment.
~Mark
Yesterday, my morning started with my with my usual routine – a check on the ‘Twitterverse’. There is always something interesting going on there, and this day was no different. I took note of a tweet from Donna Fry announcing her new blog post Changing the Trajectory. I always enjoy reading Donna’s blog as I find her writing thought provoking and insightful.
This article inspired as anticipated, digging into critical aspects of student learning – learning is for ALL, learning is messy and sometimes very messy. Then there were “those words” that REALLY caught my attention: building capacity, personalized learning and towards the end of her article a strong statement of importance of Assessment data + Thinking, collaborating teacher + Technology.
This last statement fit nicely with a diagram I had sketched various of versions of on my office whiteboard. These words capture the essence of what I think of as Technology Enabled Learning (TEL). The journey is all about student learning. The use of technology should not interfere with best instructional and assessment practices. We should not use technology because it is there or perhaps new, but use it in ways that make a difference in the learning.
I am a believer in a thoughtful approach to the use of technology in the learning process and encourage educators to familiarize themselves with both the TPACK model as well as the SAMR model. The C’s, as often described in 21C learning references, provide what I think of as key “hooks” for leveraging the potential of technology for learning. All to often, I think we get caught up in thinking about the hardware …. desktops, operating systems, mobile – laptops, netbooks and tablets. Ah yes, and don’t forget about the bring your own option.
In the end, these devices are well, simply devices. Today, the rate of change in technology is staggering. Devices will come and go, improve, get faster, and have more capabilities. If we are lucky, the price of a device suitable for student learning will continue to drop in price over time. In the spin of the “device of the day”, we do have to learn them and design support models. BUT, we need to be prepared for change as the churn of hardware development and operating system advances will never stand still.
The focus must remain on best instructional and assessment practices and how we use technology to support and enable learning, and not what the technology of the day is. I have attempted to capture a way of connecting these ideas in the diagram below.
I appreciate the timing of Donna’s publication, that she wrote such an insightful article and created an opportunity for me to share how some of my thinking and learning as it links to her learning.
~Mark
The last 2 weeks have been filled with amazing opportunities to spend quality time with passionate Ontario educators: the WRDSB CATC by the Water annual summer PD session, the OSAPAC summer planning session and a full day event focused on the SAMR technology integration model — talk about awesome!
The SAMR day was very exciting as the presentation given by Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura, the researcher and author of this model. The SAMR model defines 4 levels of technology use for learning as described in the diagram below. The focus of the day was to look at the SAMR model in the context of many different grade levels and subject disciplines.
Personally, I found the day fascinating. Dr. Puentedura presented many excellent examples of SAMR within the context of Ontario curriculum. One example that particularly resonated with me was around the idea of reading. In terms of the substitute level, one can read on paper or read on a screen, highlight on paper or highlight on the screen etc. This shift really only serves to set the stage for the A, M and R levels. The augmentation level might include using an e-reader auto read feature to improve the experience and understanding. The modification level might include a task redesign such as extracting the highlighted notes and using them in new contexts such as word processing, wikis or in social media contexts such as twitter. The redefinition could include blogging by engaging students in reading circles, providing meaningful comments on other’s work and asking probing questions. This could be extended for deeper meaning by replacing an essay with a digital video production. Video components would include narrative, images, context etc. Students could further engage by providing meaningful comments on other videos and asking probing questions. Other examples I appreciated centred around social technologies (a range of tools from email to Facebook) and story telling.
The bonus in the day was that Dr. Puentedura joined our table for lunch – yes!!! We enjoyed a great free flowing discussion about his research – many contexts, environments and countries. There is no real way to capture all of the things we talked about in our rich discussion, but here are a few highlights:
The day was truly amazing, and I couldn’t help but leave feeling energized and wondering about a practical way to put this into action.
Suggestion for Ontario elementary teachers: Check out the new social studies curriculum document (or choose a curriculum relevant to you) with an eye to technology integration and the SAMR model. I personally see many possibilities with the included citizenship framework of active participation, identity, structures and attributes. Some of the possibilities I see are inquiry based research, writing/blogging, collaboration tools, wikis, digital maps, digital timelines, presenting (posters, videos etc.) and age appropriate social media tools. Wonder, and ponder. What possibilities do you see? Share your great idea(s) by leaving a comment to this blog post.
A (YouTube) video introduction to SAMR by Dr. Ruben R. Puentedura
SAMR event tweet stream
SAMR resources on scoop it!
SAMR presenter notes
Happy learning and integrating.
~Mark
Note: Cross posted to VoicED.ca
The OASBO ICT group (K12 IT Managers) has prepared a document to capture network infrastructure needs to support 21C learning. Read their thoughts on capacity, scalability and sustainability in a Manifesto for 21st Century Learning.
~Mark
As June came to a close, I eagerly anticipated my attendance at the CASA conference as a good learning opportunity and to present with Ed Doadt on the use of social media in the classroom and school community. With a conference title of Pedagogy to Technology & Hardware to Headware I certainly felt some great learning and networking opportunities would unfold.
I must admit that I was taken aback by the approach taken in the keynote address. The intent may very well have been to cause people to stop, reflect, and engage in meaningful dialogue about the use of technology to support student learning, but the rather hard nosed approach taken seemed to disengage the audience. Although several key points were made, including:
the message seemed to be stay out of this arena and focus on aspects of education that are already proven by research. Two important questions emerged from this framework: a) why would we (educators) get into the innovation game in K-12 education where funds are limited?, and b) where is the research that demonstrates technology makes a difference?
The audience reaction was rather subdued and there was a smattering of polite applause. While a few people offered up examples where technology was making an observable difference in student learning, the comments were essentially shot down based on statements of “lack of research”. There was a real sense of disconnect in the room. The view presented was polarized relative to current directions and thinking in this area by many. Audience member and conference presenter George Couros ended the session with a very important point: learning with technology is significantly different than learning about technology.
I have been reflecting on this scenario since attending the conference trying to sort through the various perspectives that come into play. First off, I don’t think anyone would debate the 4 bulleted points outlined above. These are known facts that are well researched and documented. Teaching and learning with technology must be done well, and in the framework of best instructional and assessment practices. Learning WITH technology IS different: it is about NEW possibilities. The SAMR model, as described in the diagram below, offers a great way to define stages of development in terms of how well technology may be used to support learning.
Yet, there is this nagging question: why do educators want to move in this direction if it does not make any difference? So many people I talked to indicate that technology DOES make a difference in how students learn. Many shared reports that perceptual, observation based, focus group data etc. indeed show differences in this area.
After chatting with several people after the presentation and some personal reflection time, I think there is an important perspective missing: the timing of the research (assuming that this should be researched at all).
REMIX: In reality, we are still in the infancy in this area of teaching and learning with technology. We need to apply the right lens and connect the dots differently. Why? Learning how to use technology effectively in education is NOT wild reckless expensive innovation in my opinion. It is about doing things differently and exploring new possibilities. We are not at a point in time where enough teachers use technology effectively in their practice. To me, it would make sense that if one researches and measures the effectiveness of technology now, the results may indeed be somewhat marginal. Then again, if any educational tool/resource is used ineffectively, research will show that the impact of that tool/resource is marginal.
So Now What? We need to consider the way in which the term innovate is used in the context of education. Like it or not, technology is here to stay. Learning to use it effectively is not reckless innovation or transformation. We need to learn how to leverage it in the most effective ways possible. This means trying things, and sharing the learnings — blogging about is would be great! I believe we need to invest in teacher training, close the gap, and raise the bar in the area of technology use. Continuing to gather data and formalizing research is a ‘must do’. Every educator needs to commit to sharing their learnings and best practices (add another plug for blogging).
Finally, in the keynote, technology was portrayed as the big bad beast: you were IN or OUT. I strongly believe that we can not look at this sandbox stage as some definitive point of decision. We do need to continue leveraging learning WITH technology, exploring new possibilities and sharing.
Perhaps it is time to throw a technology challenge on the table: eliminate technology from your line of work and personal use for a month — no corresponding, collaborating, note taking, internet enabled research/fact finding, analysing, exploring, reading, social media, email … well you get the picture. At the end of the month, reflect on whether or not technology makes a difference to how you work, then share your learnings by commenting on this blog post.
I also wanted to share a few notable quotes from the #CASA13 Twitter stream from this session.
<insert screen caps from storify>
Other Resources
SAMR model resources from Scoop.it
Happy reading and reflecting
~Mark
Last night I came across this article via Zite: 3 Knowledge Domains For The 21st Century Student. I was rather intrigued by this way of looking at 21C learning, and have linked to the main graphic.
Many of you will no doubt be familiar with TPACK.
Image credit http://tpack.org/
Points for reflection:
Happy pondering! Please share your ideas.
~Mark
~ Mark's Musings ~ blog.markwcarbone.ca 
