A Challenge to Create a New EdTech App

Today, Aneesh Chopra, former Chief Technology Officer of the US Government, spoke to entrepreneurs, engineers, developers, designers, and business people at the StartNorfolk event. He invited me to share a few thoughts regarding trends in leveraging technology for learning and gave me the opportunity to issue a challenge for the development of a new app.

I’d like to start my remarks by telling you about David. David was an 11^th grade student in my school district last year who was taking Algebra II. David is very quiet. He didn’t talk much to his peers or to the teacher. When it came time to review for the semester exam, his teacher decided that rather than providing the review herself, she would crowdsource the assignment: she would rely on the expertise of the entire class. She challenged David and all the other students to create math tutorial videos and post them on the internet. The students rose to the challenge-they loved that they were creating videos not just for their peers in that class but for a global audience. Because they were so into it, they worked hard to create coherent, easy-to-understand tutorials. David’s video was particularly compelling. Not only did he break down a complex solution into understandable steps, he integrated graphics and sound that grabbed the attention of viewers. The teacher highlighted his video as an example of an effective instructional video and he loved the recognition. The teacher reports that the review was much more effective with this approach. The class would not have benefitted from David’s ability to teach if she had not taken this crowdsourcing approach.

I share this story because it relates to several trends in leveraging technology for learning.

1.       Global Connectivity-it takes advantage of the Internet to provide students with a global audience, thereby increasing their willingness to commit themselves fully to their work

2.       Anytime/Anywhere/Any Device Learning-students in this classroom were able to access the videos, not just at school, but from anywhere that they have connectivity. Also, students are now able to create these tutorials with devices of their choice. Our school district allows students to bring smart phones, netbooks, laptops, and other devices to school and connect with our wireless network. Also, if they wanted to access the resources of our network from home in order to create their tutorial, they could do so because we have a virtual desktop infrastructure that basically serves as a private cloud for our students and teachers.

3.       Open Source/Crowdsourcing-There were no restrictions on who was providing or accessing content. The whole class was doing the job of instruction. This is a bottom-up, not top-down approach. And the content was free.

4.       Personalization/Choice-Each student choose what topic he would teach, as well as what device and software he would use to create the tutorial. And they choose which tutorials to access to prepare for the exam.

I have a confession to make. The story about David and the comments about these four trends were a set up. I was setting you up for an ask.  Aneesh gave me a wonderful opportunity-to issue a challenge to you regarding the creation of a new digital tool or app. I asked whether it could be any challenge and he said yes, so here goes.

Click here to view.

I want an app that helps teachers, and even parents and students leverage the newly created learning registry. Aneesh Chopra for being one of the driving forces behind the register. The learning registry is an emerging web-based library of resources. It is an open community. Any organization or individual can contribute or access resources. Right now, many teachers spend hours surfing the internet to find resources to help them create successful lesson plans. The registry will help teachers find the best resources, not only for their grade or content area, but for particular students.

Design Specs

·         Searchable: I want to be able to search the tagged content by topic, grade level, skill, author, and the time period it was posted to the registry;

·         Platform and Device Agnostic: I want to be able to use this app regardless of whether I am using a PC, tablet, or handheld device and regardless of the operating system I am utilizing.

·         Continuous Content Aggregation:  I want the app to constantly update available resources based on searches that I save.  If I do search looking for lesson plans, I want to be able to save that search and have the results of the search automatically updated as new resources are added to the learning registry;

·         Personalized Smart Search: I want the app to prioritize the resources it identifies based on my preferences, previous usage, and my rating of content I have accessed previously. I want the app to say, "Given what content you liked in the past, I think you'll like this content";

·         Freemium-: I want it to be premium (first-rate), but it must be free. I don’t care if you make money by selling ads or selling upgrades, but the basic app must be free and robust;

·         Sharing Features: I want to be able to distribute links to the registry--as well as ratings, comments, and questions--via social media.

So, that is my challenge and I sincerely hope that some of you will take it on. And if you are working on other apps that are related to learning, I hope they will reflect the trends I have addressed. This is an exciting time to be in K-12 education. I am more optimistic than ever before about our ability to leverage game-changing technology to support student achievement. One reason for my optimism is the League of Innovative Schools and Digital Promise. Digital Promise is a national center created by Congress with bipartisan support. Aneesh also played a key role in getting this off the ground. The League, created as part of Digital Promise, includes leading school districts, as well as some of the world’s most foremost researchers and education technology providers. The York County School Division iss one of the charter members of the league.  I hope you will join us in the league's endeavor to use technology to transform teaching and learning.

During the Q and A session, Bert Schmidt, with encouragement from Aneesh, expressed interest in joining me in issuing this challenge. Bert Schmidt is the CEO of WHRO (our local public television station). PBS is already actively involved with the Learning Registry initiative.

Special thanks to @ccrudy and @ldonvito for brainstorming with me regarding edtech apps! Follow them on Twitter.

Four Policies to Support EdTech

Dear School Board Members,

Too many school districts adopt a lockdown perspective when it comes to technology policy. They lock down access to digital tools in a futile attempt to try to prevent students from making mistakes. Instead, school districts should adopt a “student driver” approach. Provide instruction and then put students behind the wheel for practice under your supervision.

 

Here are four recommendations for creating policies that support, rather than block, student use of technology for learning.

Provide students and staff with robust access to Internet resources, including YouTube, Skype, Twitter, and Facebook.  Sonja Trainer, NSBA Senior Attorney, explains that the FCC ruled in August 2011 that Facebook does not fall into one of the categories that schools must block.  Besides, “banning is not the answer” to promoting acceptable, responsible use notes CoSN in a recent white paper. As suggested by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, districts should “reduce Internet filtering to maximize student access & provide opportunities to exercise judgment.” Let’s focus on developing students as responsible users. With guided practice, students can become responsible digital citizens.

Encourage students to bring cell phones, laptops, e-Readers, MP3 players, and other digital devices to school for learning. Many students own digital tools so let them use them. Even if you don’t sanction the possession of these devices at school, students will bring them anyway. You may be led to expanding your ban, like the school district which banned the Ugh boots because students were hiding their cell phones in them. Let’s put the students’ technology to use for learning.

Provide wireless internet access and sanction student and staff use of this Wi-Fi using personal devices.

Foster students safely blogging, tweeting, and posting work via  the Internet for audiences beyond students’ classroom. Obtain parent permission for safe collaboration, connection, and performances which extend beyond the walls of a student’s class.

You can make a positive difference with these four policies!

Are There Any School Board Members on Twitter?

Want to connect with School Board members via Twitter? Don’t know how to find School Board members on Twitter?

If you want to read the tweets of School Board members, candidates, and associations, click on this link to view a list of School Board members that I curate. Then select “Subscribe.”

To view just the stream of tweets from this group, go to your Profile page. Click the Lists tab on the left side of the screen. Choose the list entitled School Board.  You will immediately see the stream of Tweets from individuals on in this group. If you see the members of the group, rather than the stream, click on the “Tweets” button just below the subscribe/unsubscribe button.

I am not included on this list so please consider following me (@ewilliams65) as well.

As #NSBAConf proceeds, I will add tweeting School Board members to this list.

To see who is on the list, visit the link above and select “List Members” below the subscribe/unsubscribe button.

If you are a School Board member, but are not yet included in the list just mention me (@ewilliams65) in a tweet and let me know that you are a Board member.

Click here to learn more about Twitter Lists, including how to see what lists you are on and how to create lists.

You may also wish to view my post regarding tweeting at conferences.

Also, click here to follow a list of superintendents curated by @DanielLFrazier.

Three Types of Conference Tweets

You have a Twitter account. You understand the basics of tweeting. However, you are uncertain what to tweet. You are about to attend a conference or a workshop so you decide to ease yourself into the Twitterverse. Here are three types of tweets you can send at a conference or workshop. If you are hesitant about tweeting, you may wish to just stick with the first type until you gain more confidence.

1.       Identify noteworthy statements by the speaker. What statements by the speaker/presenter grab your attention? You may find a statement noteworthy because you agree or disagree with it or because it inspires, puzzles, or challenges you. List the statement in your tweet and attribute it to the speaker, using the speaker’s Twitter user name if you know it. Include the conference hashtag, such as #NSBAConf, so people following the hashtag will see it. Feel free, but not obligated, to include your reaction to the statement. 

 

2.       Respond to or retweet the tweets of others at the conference.  This is the best way to connect with others and expand your professional learning network. By collaboratively wrestling with ideas, you make connections that may extend past the conference via Twitter.

Follow the conference hashtag and identify particularly interesting tweets. Retweet an interesting tweet without comment. Note in the graphic below that the original tweet is reissued with the notation that it has been retweeted by you so that your followers see it too.

Alternatively, reply to the tweet with a reaction or a question, including the conference hashtag.

If the initial tweet was relatively short or you can shorten it without changing the meaning, you may reply to the tweet by copying the initial tweet into your response and then adding a brief comment. Apps like Tweetdeck make it easier to retweet with comments and questions.

3.       Send links to resources related to the presentation.  When a presenter displays a web site or video or makes references to individuals, organizations, or resources, conference participants may make a mental note to seek more information on these topics later. You can help your fellow attendees by sending a link to a web site related to one of these resources. Copy and paste the URL from your browser to your tweet. Note that Twitter automatically shortens the URL so that it uses fewer characters.

Enjoy the twitterverse. It needs your contributions!

Transformative Work: Work That Matters

Who owns the work? Giving students the opportunity to a make a difference in the world around them increases student ownership. When students do work that matters, that is valued by others, it affirms that they matter. With transformative work, students literally make a difference in the world.

Six York County teachers recently shared examples of student work that illustrate that students of all ages can do transformative work. Kindergarten students worked in design teams to create a gingerbread house for senior citizens. Third grade students marketed gently used toys to peers in other classes using Skype and an eToys Googledoc modeled after eBay. Middle school students created video presentations to teach peers history. High school students restored oyster life in the Chesapeake Bay. Other high school students created nutritious school menus within fiscal constraints. In each of these cases, the fact that others valued students’ work increased students’ sense of ownership. Because providing students the opportunity to make a difference in the world around them is so instrumental in building student ownership of work, Making a Difference is the title of the first column in a graphic organizer relating to these examples of transformative work. The links in this paragraph take the reader to checklists relating to the transformative work of students.



eToys Web Page



Students in the Field
Oyster Restoration

Transformative work is not just relevant, it is real. As @MarcPrensky explains in Teaching Digital Natives: Partnering for Real Learning,

Relevant means that kids can relate something you are teaching, or something you say, to something they know. . .Relevant is not wrong, of course. People do come to an understanding more easily when context is familiar. The problem with relevant is that it often does not go far enough. Real, on the other hand, means much more and goes much further. Real means that there is a perceived connection by the students . . . between what they are learning and their ability to use that learning to do something useful in the world.  (p.72)

Making it relevant increases student engagement. Making it real boosts student ownership even more. As Prensky observes, “Can you think of a better answer to ‘Why should I learn this?’ than ‘To make your world a better place?” (p.73) It certainly is a better answer, as Prensky notes, than saying that you should learn this because “some day you’ll need it.”

Of course students may be authentically engaged in lessons even when they are not doing work that makes a difference in the world. For example, students may be engaged during lessons in which teachers vary activites, incorporate kinisthetic learning, and provide opportunities for peer interaction. These and other lesson characteristics can boost student engagement. However, these lesson characteristics are less likely to lead to student ownership of work than when students are given the opportunity to do transformative work they personally value. No anticipatory set or cooperative learning activity is as powerful for creating ownership as when students are doing transformative work they value. @Delta_dc recently tweeted a reference to spending less time designing engaging lessons and more time helping students find their spark. Giving students the opportunity to do transformative work certainly helps them find their spark.

When students own the work, they are willing to commit themselves fully, even when the work is difficult. Because they have a strong sense of purpose to learn content and/or skills, they make better connections and ask better questions. This leads to deeper, longer-lasting learning. Besides, when engaged in transformative work, students are also changing the world!
 

Prezi Presentation regarding Transformative Work

Spaghetti Boils Over During Student Engagement #edchat

“How do teachers know when students are engaged?” asked the organizers of last Tuesday’s #edchat.  They received an earful of responses!

@Blairteach quipped, “Maybe it's like the Supreme Court definition of porn--you know it when you see it.” @Techsavvyed observed, “You measure engagement in the classroom same way you decide if it's cold enough outside for a coat, you just know.”

Some participants described specific times they know a student is engaged in learning.

@PernilleRipp: “When they go home and blog about it” and “when they groan because you asked them to get ready for something else.”

@8Rinaldi: “When students volunteer to give up snack/recess to Skype with other students in diff time zone.”

@BosleyAmy: “When lunch lady asks about what's being taught bc kids excitedly talking about it during lunch.”

@MarkBarnes19: “When they ask insightful, topical questions that shock you.”

@BroomerJG: “When they can't stop talking about a topic.”

@ahenrey: “When they refuse to go to recess. When their friends come to get them and end up joining the lesson.”

@DebbieFuco: “When they work on their Glogs and Prezis at all hours of the night.”

Other participants identified words they associate with engagement in learning.

Passion @21stPrincipal: It “happens when students are passionately connected with the learning.”

Excitement @LopezBraus: “Isn’t true engagement the same thing as excitement?” 

Flow @MbTeach: “When I think of engagement, I think of flow--completely losing yourself in what you are doing because it's so engrossing or challenging.”

@MrsBeck25, @Cantiague_Lead, @DoctorJeff and others focused on student ownership of the work as another key indicator of engagement in learning. When students own the work, they are not just working for a grade.

@VMC_Teachers: “An engaged student doesn't care much how to ‘win points’, rather than gain knowledge/ability/understanding."

@Elizeducation: “The engaged student is not worried about the grade, but more likely to get a good one.”

@Lhowe100: “You know students are engaged when they don't ask, ‘Is this going to be on the test?"

@TekkieTalk: “I have had students work on projects after a grade has been given because they wanted it to be better.”

@Matt_Arguello: “If they're spending their own time discussing, we've done something right.”

@AndrewTeacher: “When they talk about home or personal change I'm pleased.”

@cybraryman1: “When they take the learning home on their own & want to extend their knowledge you know they are really engaged.”

@Vmc_teachers: “There is a drive, perseverance, a feeling that the student takes it personal rather than as a task.”

The concept of student interest in work/learning extending beyond getting a good grade is at the heart of the distinction that Phil Schlechty makes between ritualistic engagement and authentic engagement. For other posts on Schlechty and student engagement click here, here, and here. @KStansberry asked, “Lots of tweets on engagement (that suggest that it is) caring about more than grades, but can desire for good grades help promote engagement?” Students may be compliant. They may work hard to get a good grade. But this compliance or ritualistic engagement differs from authentic engagement.

@BlairTeach: “Keep in mind there is a BIG difference between ‘compliance’ & engagement.

@Delta_DC: “We need to recognize difference btwn engagement & conformity.”

@StumpTeacher: “We can't confuse engagement with ‘on task’ behaviors.”

@BroomerJG: “Engagement should never be confused with being on task.”

Authentic engagement leads to deeper, longer-lasting understanding. This occurs because students are more likely to analyze, synthesize, and apply information rather than just memorize it. They ask better questions and make better connections. They persist when work is difficult, leading to greater understanding.

@davidwees engagement is often the gateway to learning

@JudyBrunner: “When engaged, students ask meaningful questions and want meaningful answers. They then follow up with more thought provoking?’s.”

@MrsBeck25: I “notice my students are engaged when responses are their own interpretation and not a regurgitation of the text book.”

@Lookforsun: “I do believe perseverance is part of engagement, a very important part.”

So, the latest #edchat certainly expanded participants’ understanding of student engagement, as indicated by positive comments regarding the #edchat. @Ktvee even commented, “True teacher engagement is when your spaghetti boils over because you can't quit talking about engagement on edchat.” @Ktvee, I hope the #edchat was worth the mess in your kitchen!

I hope to blog in the near future regarding other aspects of the #edchat regarding student engagement, including the discussion of whether educators can take steps to increase student engagement.

Special thanks to @jswiatek for maintaining the #edchat archive. To see the archive of the #edchat discussion regarding student engagement, click here. #edchat is held at noon and 7 p.m., EST, on Tuesdays. For more information, click here.

Students & Transformative Work (introduction to teacher presentations moderated by Alan November)

A sixth grade student started a community newspaper in the St. Louis area in the 1970s. Circulation grew to more than 1000 within months. This sixth grade student enjoyed going to the movies. When he turned twelve, he realized that he would only be able to buy a child's movie ticket for one more year. At age thirteen, he would have to pay $3.50 for an adult movie ticket. Recognizing that 13 year-olds could not attend R-rated movies, he reasoned that it was unfair for movie theaters to charge them adult prices. When he complained to his parents, they told him that if he didn't like the prices, he should work to change them.

This young man wrote an editorial in his newspaper calling for intermediate prices for young teens. When other kids in the neighborhood responded favorably, he decided to start a petition drive, eventually collecting over six hundred signatures. I was this kid who wanted to make a difference in my community. And I eventually went into teaching, like other educators, to make a difference in the lives of others.

Years later, I worked as a teacher and head of an alternative school in Chelsea, Massachusetts, just outside Boston. Most of our students were former dropouts who had returned to school. As part of the schools project-based curriculum, students wrote detailed autobiographies. At the end of the year, students and staff cooked dinner for the families of students. After dinner, students read excerpts from their autobiographies to their parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts at the event. The stories were riveting. Many of our students were immigrants from Southeast Asia or Mexico and they described their journeys to America, many of which involved great personal sacrifice and risk. There was not a dry eye in the house. Students had an immense sense of pride regarding the autobiographies because they knew their work was treasured by their family. Students who had not yet written their autobiographies committed themselves fully to this project the subsequent year because they knew they would be creating work of great value.

Working on an Autobiography

Educators sometimes speak of preparing students to contribute to society at some point in the future, after graduation. What if we allowed, even encouraged, students to make a difference in the world around them NOW? This would amount to telling students that they matter and the work that they do in school matters. Educator @AngelaMaiers emphasizes the importance of telling people that they matter. Giving students the opportunity to do transformative work is the ultimate #youmatter message.

Click Here to View #Youmatter Talk

Some teachers in our division already give students the opportunity to do transformative work. Elementary students help their peers by blogging to share book recommendations. Middle school students create and post math tutorials for a global audience. High School students teach elementary students about heroism.

Today, Alan November will moderate presentations by other teachers in our division whose students are doing transformative work as they learn the content and skills of the curriculum. You will hear about students who are incredibly engaged. They commit themselves fully-they own the work- because they value what they are doing. They are willing to persist when the work is difficult because they value the work. They achieve so much more because of their commitment, ownership, and persistence. With transformative work, there is joy in teaching and learning!

Last summer Alan November challenged educators from around the world to give students the opportunity to proclaim "stand on our shoulders.” In other words, give students the opportunity to do work that is valued by others and then have other students build on this work.  Alan is planning a global exhibition of this stand on our shoulders work, this transformative work.

I spoke to Alan regarding the criteria he will use in selecting exemplars for “stand on our shoulders” work. He spoke not just about the nature of student work but of the importance of celebrating and sharing students work in a way that inspires and supports other teachers in doing similar work with their students. This is what teacher-leadership is all about!

We became educators to make a difference in others’ lives. When you share your students’ work with others, you are making a difference in the lives of students and teachers in other classes in your school and in other schools. Thank you for the work you have already done, for the work you are doing, and the work you will do to give students the opportunity to change the world.  #Youmatter

After these introductory comments, Alan November moderated presentations by teachers regarding transformative work by students. Subsequent blog posts will provide detailed descriptions and photos of student work. Please click on the "Join this Site" icon in the right hand column to be notified of new posts.

·        Gingerbread House Project-Kindergarten students worked in teams to research, produce a master plan, create and follow blue prints to make a gingerbread house as a gift to senior citizens.

·        eToys Project-Students in two 3^rd grade classes in separate schools helped create eToy websites, modeled after eBay. The students collected gently used toys, photographed the toys, and wrote descriptions for the websites to market the toys. The students earned play money which they used to bid on toys of students in the other class. The classes also communicated and marketed through Blackboard Collaborate and Skype.

·        History Mystery Project-7^th grade English students worked in teams to create videos to teach their peers about historical topics, such as the contributions of Henry Ford. They used digital tools, including their own technology they brought to school, to create the videos.

·        Oyster Restoration Project-Building on the work of students during the past seventeen years, 11^th and 12^th grade Marine Science students are growing oysters in the Chesapeake Bay to help restore the native oyster population. They monitor growth data on ongoing basis, learning about the estuary ecosystem, other native species and water quality.

·        You are What You Eat Project-After consulting with experts, 11^th and 12^th grade Anatomy students designed nutritional, appealing menus for school lunches within budgetary constraints. They also wrote advocacy letters to congressional representatives and created informational videos regarding school nutrition.

·        Professional Learning Network-Teachers in an elementary school participate in a wiki (using Ning) created by the principal. They post, view, and discuss articles and videos relating to instructional practices.