What are your top 5 resources you use as you support and coach educators integrating technology?

This morning this question came through my email: What are your top 5 resources you use as you support and coach educators integrating technology? The question was posted in the ISTE EdTech Coaches Network. I wanted to save my response for future use and also share it with others as this is an important question. There were lots of "tools" being thrown around but if you know me you know I like to focus on the use of the technology and connection to pedagogy/teaching/learning versus the specific tool.

My response (cleaned up a bit for blog readiness:)):


"For me it is not so much the specific tool but rather what the tool does. These are the most purposeful uses of technology that I have found:

1. Screencasting - teachers need to have a tool that gives students a voice and makes learning audible. Screencasting is the perfect way to do this. Example tools include: Educreations, Explain Everything, Screencastify, SnagIt, Screencast-o-matic, etc.
2. Real-time collaboration - A tool that allows for real-time collaboration between teacher and students. Example tools include: Google Docs would be the gold standard but also Padlet, Popplet for different purposes AND Global collaboration - Tools that help the teacher break down the classroom walls to collaborate with those outside of the classroom. Example tools include: Skype (Skype in the Classroom), Google Hangouts, Twitter to make connections
3. Creation tools - Tools that turn students into creators and publishers. There are MANY options here for tools: Animoto, BookCreator, Thinglink, Smore, etc.
4. Authentic sharing - A tool that allows students to publish their wonderful creations from above and more. Example tools include: A blog (Blogger (easyblogger), Kidblog, Edublogs), a website/e-portfolio (Google Sites, Weebly), Twitter, YouTube channel
5. Digital formative assessment - tools that make formative assessment quick, easy, and track data for the teacher. Example tools include: Kahoot, Quizziz, Plickers

I tell teachers to focus on how technology can allow you do do things you couldn't do without the technology and then pick the tool that works best for you."


This goes a bit with a recent graphic I made to help teachers navigate and use the SAMR model:

If we are using technology to make learning visual, audible, authentic, and/or personalized then we are most likely using technology in a transformative way. I am debating adding collaborative to this model as well...

Do you agree with my response? How would you answer this question?

Wyoming Google Apps for Education Summit

This week I had the opportunity to attend and present at the Wyoming Google Apps for Education Summit put on by the EdTech Team in Cody, WY. Although I took away many things, below are a few of the highlights and things I want to further explore:

• Superquiz - Do you use Flubaroo? Superquiz is Flubaroo on steroids! It grades your Google Forms and provides all sorts of other info. I need to explore more.
• DocentEdu - I have to explore this more. Turn any website into an interactive online lesson!
• Ricoh Theta camera - A spherical camera! Oh the possibilities!
• Google Cardboard - Turns your phone into a virtual reality device!
• Docs Demo - I have to demonstrate how a collaborative Google Doc works all the time. This resource let's people demo a Google Doc with characters like Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson. I will use this a lot!
• Google News Archive - Google has archived hundreds of newspapers for FREE! What a great primary source resource.
• Flippity - Change Google Sheets into flashcards and games.
• Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus! - Do you need to teach your students that not everything on the Internet is true and how to find accurate information? Use this incredibly real looking yet totally fake website to do so.
• Flipface - Just for fun - cartoon-ize your picture!

All Screen Time is Not Created Equal

I was having dinner with colleagues a couple weeks ago when the topic of screen time came to the table. We began to discuss the ever-present debate of the pros and cons of technology use when I heard this come out of my mouth:

All screen time is not created equal. 

Our society tends to classify technology in one camp or the other: good or bad. However, I propose that this issue is not black or white - it depends on what you are doing with that screen time. Yes, there are certain things we do on devices that aren't productive and there are people who let devices overtake their lives. We are inundated with stories about cyberbullying, teenagers who have no social skills, and tragedies that result form texting and driving. However, I continue to see amazing things happen as a result of technology. There are just as many stories (if not more) of two year olds learning their ABC's with an iPad app, non-verbal people finally being able to communicate via their smartphone, students getting to tour art museums that they will probably never be able to see in person, and classrooms collaborating with classrooms across the nation (and world). And in the case of my Kindergartner niece, learning how to write the lower-case letter "a" via an iPad app that has visual and auditory prompts after repeated attempts by me to teach her on paper (and lost patience by both parties!). Unfortunately, these positive stories tend to be lost in our negative-heavy mainstream media.

Here is a great example of positive screen time. A few weeks ago I was watching my nieces who are two and six. We were staying in a hotel, nearing bed time, and quickly running out of activities. The oldest asked if we could play on my "tabwet." I pulled out my iPad and asked what they wanted to do. They both exclaimed "puppets!" Knowing exactly what that meant I quickly opened the Sock Puppets app. With a kid on each side we proceeded to make a variety of Sock Puppet videos which were all prompted by what they wanted to tell a story about. Here is one example of our Sock Puppet creations:



Although this 30 second video may not seem like much, the girls learned a lot through this experience. They learned the basic concept of storytelling. They learned how to take turns. They learned how to touch their puppet when it was their turn to talk. And all three of us spent quality time winding down before bed.

If someone would have walked into the room and saw all three of us huddled around the iPad they may have made a quick negative judgement. I probably would have been labeled as a millennial who doesn't know how to spend quality time with kids. We should be making forts and playing outside instead of wasting time on those useless devices! That quick judgement would have been wrong though. Therefore, I urge you to not dismiss all screen time; instead, evaluate that screen time for value in both the classroom and home. Don't judge parents for allowing their kids occasional, valuable screen time. Instead, let's find a balance with everything in our lives, including technology.

Note: I begin this post a couple weeks ago, and it sat in drafts. Today, I came across this article Technology and Balance in an All or Nothing World by Dr. Karen Richardson. The article makes many of the same points as this blog post and prompted me to finish my drafted post. Make sure to also read this article for additional points regarding balanced screen time.

Acceptable Use Policy or Responsible Use Policy or Empowered Use Policy?

One of my grad school assignments this week was to explore the concept of acceptable use policies (AUPs). As I was conducting my research, I came across several resources that challenged the title and contents of an AUP. The article "Rethinking Acceptable Use Policies to Enable Digital Learning: A Guide for School Districts" explains that some schools are changing the perspective on AUPs by framing them as "responsible use policies." A responsible use policy focuses on the positive - what students should do with technology instead of what they should not do. School districts that adopt this philosophy focus on helping students become responsible users of technology through specific experiences. To me this is like teaching digital citizenship. Digital citizenship encompasses teaching students more than how to protect themselves from threats but also important skills such as how to evaluate content to avoid the pitfall of misinformation. 

The authors of the article "Moving From 'Acceptable' to 'Responsible' Use in a Web 2.0 World" advocate for a new philosophy to the traditional AUP that empowers students to use technology in a responsible and healthy manner. It occured to me that this type of philosophy change also reflects changes being made to discipline and classroom management (at least in Montana) as a result of the Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) philosophy. As "SWPBIS for Beginners" indicates, schools that implement PBIS "focus on three to five behavioral expectations that are positively stated and easy to remember. In other words, rather than telling students what not to do, the school will focus on the preferred behaviors." PBIS focuses on not overwhelming students with "rules" and having constant expectations throughout an entire school instead of from classroom to classroom. This got me thinking that couldn't we combine this concept of positive expectations to have one guideline of expectations for students? Really, if technology is another tool for learning, should it have a separate document with separate expectations? 

Another resource I came across furthers the idea of a Responsible Use Policy and questions whether we should call it an "Empowered Use Policy." It encourages students to "do awesome things" and "amaze us." I love this! 

Regardless of what you call it, do you think the philosophies of AUPs should change to be more positive and empower students to use technology in a responsible and healthy manner that creates amazing results?

Dig Deeper: 

• Rethinking Acceptable Use Policies to Enable Digital Learning: A Guide for School Districts 
• Moving From 'Acceptable' to 'Responsible' Use in a Web 2.0 World 
• PBIS
• Instead of an AUP, how about an EUP?
• AUP to RUP Livebinder
• Rethinking AUPs

ISTE 2014: Disneyland for Teachers!

I had the wonderful opportunity to attend the ISTE 2014 conference in Atlanta last week. What a conference it was! I have heard many great reviews, but it is definitely something you have to attend to really "get." I am calling it "Disneyland for Teachers" for multiple reasons:

• Excitement - I had the same feeling of excitement both in the days ahead of the conference and at the conference that I remember having as a child when we visited Disney World!
• Lines and Crowds - Don't let this discourage you from attending, but I had to wait in line for EVERYTHING - food, bathroom, to get into sessions, walking around... it was crazy with 16,000 people in the Georgia World Congress Center.
• Exhibitor hall - I compare the feeling walking into the ISTE exhibitor hall to a kid walking into a Disney World arcade... other people compared it to Las Vegas. 
• Too much to do! - Just like Disneyland, there were more options than time. Every hour you had the choice to attend a session, visit the exhibitors, collaborate, visit "playgrounds," and much more. I learned that you have to set 1-3 learning goals prior to the conference and hone in on utilizing your time to reach those learning goals. Otherwise all the options are too overwhelming and you spend all your time determining what to do next.

I focused my conference learning goals on the following topics:

• How to develop effective professional development experiences,  PLC development in schools, and effective change processes (these are all interrelated)
• Gamification
• PBL

I finally had a chance to reflect on the conference this afternoon. Below are the most important points, resources, and tools I took away:

• Mash-ups - I love unconferences. I have participated in both EdCamps and Open Spaces. I am on the NAMTC board - National Association of Media and Technology Centers - that has an institute every late November. This year the institute was all Open Spaces and everyone loved it; the only critique was that some wished to have some new information "front-loaded" to them so they could use this new information as a starting point to discussions and sessions. A mash-up does just this. It begins with several "topics" that participants can choose from. Participants learn a little and then build the unconference "wall" and the unconference begins.
• Differentiation and gamification are not just for students - I need to do a WAY better job of differentiating and gamifying my trainings. Below are some tools and ideas to do so.
• Blendspace.com - As I mentioned, two of my learning goals were to learn how to develop more effective and innovative PD opportunities and gamification. I attended a session that combined these two goals - how to gamify your PD. I learned about this tool https://www.blendspace.com/ that allows you to both differentiate and gamify learning.

• http://www.edtechchallenge.com - This is an amazing resource created by a collection of TIS's. I have been envisioning creating something similar to this to differentiate my trainings, so I need to review and determine if I should work of this or create my own or... 

• https://credly.com/  - Another tool for awarding badges

• http://www.worlds-of-learning-nmhs.com/  - combines PD and gamification and badges - I am envisioning something similar for my trainings...

• Badges - Digital Promise is working on making badges transferable and count towards professional learning credit.

• PLC development - Almost every session I went to emphasized the importance of building communities of practice of PLC's within schools. I would love to attend a PLC training... there is one in Denver in October... road trip?!

• http://contxts.com - Allows you to send links via SMS/text messages!

• SAMR model - Anyone who has attended one of my technology integration trainings knows that I am a huge SAMR model fan; therefore, you can imagine my excitement at attending a session by the SAMR model creator, Dr. Ruben Puentedura. There was a huge emphasis throughout the conference on using the SAMR model to analyze technology integration use and ensure technology is not becoming an expensive pencil. An "ah-ha" moment I had at the conference was that technology tools and strategies that reach the redefinition stage seem to have the following characteristics: they make learning VISIBLE, AUDIBLE, AND SOCIAL. For example, screencasting makes learning visible and audible. Sharing a screencast video on a blog makes learning social. This is a redefinition of the learning process.

• Moving through the change process - I attended a great session on the process of moving through change. They emphasized the importance of beginning with a vision (which seems obvious yet so often doesn't occur). Then, "chunk" that vision into smaller steps. This makes perfect sense when you compare it to brain research that shows the importance of learning in "chunks." Then, VALIDATE where you are in the process. Everyone needs to know the progress made and even if you haven't made it very far CELEBRATE each step. The validation and celebration were an "ah-hah" moment for me. So often we set a large goal and then get frustrated when it isn't met right away versus celebrating the progress that has been made in order to keep us motivated to work towards the end goal/vision.

• Tackk.com - https://tackk.com/ Great FREE resource for developing digital content and more.

Technology can't be an instructional add-on

Something has been bothering me lately... and when something bothers me I won't give up until I find a solution!

I kept hearing some teachers say that technology was "one more thing." Whenever I receive a hurdle or roadblock to technology integration I make it my personal mission to find a solution to that hurdle. Therefore, my question became, "What is the solution to teachers feeling that using technology in their classroom is a burden instead of a valuable instructional tool?" 

My first reaction was to focus on potential problems with the technology itself - access, classroom management, troubleshooting, etc. But then... I had an epiphany. I realized that I don't think the solution lies with the technology itself. I think the solution lies with HOW the technology is being used in the classroom.

Let me explain myself. This theory came in large part to working with the SAMR model. I will make sure to create a post sometime soon regarding the SAMR model, but if you are not familiar please, please, please watch this video:





















My theory is that if instructional use of technology remains at the “substitution” level (and maybe even the augmentation level), schools/teachers are never going to see the true benefit of technology and how it can transform the learning process for students. Substitution doesn't change the learning environment all that much; technology is being used in the same way as pencil, paper, and other non-tech instructional tools that have been used for years (I am not devaluing these tools and strategies but noting that technology shouldn't be used as a substitute). Substitution might add a small engagement factor for students but no big, awesome changes. This is when teachers may begin to view the technology as a burden and "one more thing". Well, of course they see it as "one more thing" because it has become one more thing... learning for their students hasn't changed. Why wouldn't they teach the way they have always taught - without technology? The same result is being produced and comfort lies with the non-tech instructional options.

I believe what we have to do is change the WAY we teach to truly see the value of technology. If we move to the redefinition level of the SAMR model, technology allows us to do things we have never been able to do before (and will never be able to do without using technology). If technology is used to transform the learning process there is no way it can become "one more thing." Instead, technology becomes a crucial, irreplaceable instructional tool. If this happens, teachers won't be able to teach without technology.

I know some will disagree with me and say "No, my roadblock to technology integration is my lack of access, limited bandwidth or wireless connectivity, etc." I agree that this can be frustrating and can get in the way. However, I have seen some of the most amazing technology integration that truly improves student achievement occur in schools that have (what I consider) some of the worst technology access. I think if educators see the power of technology, they will find ways to work around technology access issues. Although they shouldn't have to, but we won't get into that today. :)

I tested my theory on the MSU FACS methods class a few weeks ago (thank you :)). I asked them to brainstorm the following question: "Why don’t teachers use/find value in using technology?"

They came up with this amazing list of "hurdles" to technology integration (and yes we used a non-tech option of the good ole' whiteboard):

After creating this list, I presented my theory to the MSU students. We were able to rule out basically every hurdle on the list by implementing this theory. For example, if technology is used to teach differently, then community members, board members, administrators, etc. will see technology has an irreplaceable tool = they find value in funding technology = increased technology access.

In conclusion, I believe that technology can't be an instructional add-on or afterthought. If this happens the true power of technology for learning will never be reached. Technology needs to be seamlessly integrated into instruction like any other instructional tool. In order to reach this goal, technology needs to be used in a way that reaches the top of the SAMR model and redefines learning. So, how do we do this? In my next few posts, I will explore potential strategies for reaching this goal.

What are your thoughts? Do you agree or disagree with my theory? Do you have anything to add or change?

Why Transformational Teaching with Tech?

Welcome to my blog! I have had "start blog" on my to-do list for at least a year (really I am not joking...wish I was!). I am not a procrastinator, so I am not sure what took so long but regardless...I am here now! One of my goals for 2014 is to contribute to the Internet as much as I consume great Internet information. This is a philosophy I try to instill in the teachers and students I work with, so I better practice what I preach. I am very excited to finally get started and have a lot of information to share - I already have about 20 post ideas in my notes!

A Little Bit About Me
My name is Lindy Hockenbary, and I live in Bozeman, MT. I am the owner and technology integration coach at InTECHgrated Professional Development. The main goal of my job is to help teachers use technology to enhance student learning. I am currently in the master's degree in educational technology program at Boise State University. I will add an "about me" page with more information.

Other methods to connect with me
This blog isn't the only way I share information. I am also very active on twitter - @lindyhockenbary

And my website: http://www.intechgratedpd.org

My master's degree learning log/blog: http://lindyedtech.blogspot.com/ (this is my blog/learning log for my master's degree work. I am not sure what it will end up looking like but am sure it will have some great information!)

Why Transformational Teaching with Tech?
I contemplated the title of this blog for a while. I didn't want it to completely focus on technology, yet I am a technology integration specialist. However, I believe that the teachers I work with would tell you that I also believe in the philosophy "take it out when you need it, put it away when you don't." But... then I kept getting stuck on this quote:




This quote has been floating around Twitter for a while now. It makes you realize the truth: technology lets us do things that we have never been able to do before... things that were unimaginable even five years ago. What does that mean for teachers? We can help students learn in new, transformational ways. Therefore, my question becomes: why are we still teaching kids the same way my grandparents were taught? Thus creates the focus of my blog! Technology is not the only instructional tool, but we can not ignore the truly transformational learning that can occur in the classroom as a result of effective technology integration. Plus, like I said, I AM a technology integration specialist and this is my strength (and job) :)

What To Expect
This blog will be MOSTLY focused on technology integration - pedagogy, integration ideas, tools, tips, and more! If you are in the field of education I believe you will find this blog informative, helpful, intriguing, interesting, and TRANSFORMATIONAL!

PS - Spell check keeps informing me that transformational is not a word... however, if you know me you know I like to make up words, so the title of this blog fits me even more!