Although remote learning is having its day in the sun, the times is coming when kids and teachers are back in the classroom.  With the new emphasis on elearning, as well as the growing popularity of 1:1 classrooms, managing devices to facilitate learning will be key for a productive classroom.

ScreenBeam Inc.'s Classroom Commander orchestration platform is now available for both Chromebook and Windows 1:1 classroom environments. 

The ScreenBeam Classroom Commander combines wireless display with student device orchestration to improve lesson flow and collaboration. Supporting up to 50 student Windows or Chromebook devices and a teacher Windows, macOS, iOS or Chromebook device, the platform frees teachers from the classroom display. Educators can move around and interact with students without interrupting instruction. 

Features include:

• Teachers can monitor student devices and active applications in real-time to keep the classroom focused
• During guided lessons, teachers can message a student or group, blank and lock the keyboard/mouse on a single student screen, multiple student screens or the entire class
• With teacher permission, students can display their work from their desks for the entire classroom to view
• Teachers using Window 10 devices can also annotate directly onto a student screen from the classroom display, even when student devices are not touch-enabled

The Classroom Commander Orchestration software is included with each ScreenBeam 1000 EDU wireless display receiver.

Availability and pricing

Classroom Commander with Chromebook and Windows support is free with the purchase of the 1000 EDU for$499 per classroom.  To learn more, visit Classroom Commander or 1000 EDU, or request a free 30-day trial.

Technology in education, like most other areas of education, has fads, buzzwords, and trends that come and go often. There have been many predictions in the past regarding the future of technology in schools. This list contains a variety of trends that did not meet expectations, but also did not completely flop. The primary focus is on K-12 education, but there will be a few exceptions that apply to education at all levels and in general.

1. Virtual Reality (VR) & Augmented Reality (AR)
   It still seems that the price tag still remains a major barrier of entry for Virtual Reality. Once this barrier is breached, then the issue becomes finding sufficient appropriate learning materials that use the virtual reality components in an efficient and effective educational manner. Augmented reality has become more widespread due to lower barriers of entry, but many implementations of AR could be seen as a simple short-term use gimmick. On top of the barriers of entry, there are also reported issues of headaches and motion sickness which make the selection of VR/AR less desirable to some. While there surely are many people that successfully use both AR and VR in their classrooms, it will likely take further improvements in the technology, more development of appropriate educational programs that can be used on a VR/AR platform, and a lower price point to make this trend reach its full potential.
   
2. Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD)
   The idea of having students bring their own devices to school is a very polarizing issue.  Some think it is a great idea to have students connect their education to their personal devices since they spend a lot of time on them anyway.  Others would say that it is a terrible idea, since the school may not be able to adequately monitor exactly what the students are doing on their devices since they are not school-issued and maintained.  Part of the reason why this may have not caught on to a higher degree could be because of the issue of what to do with students that do not own their own device, or whose parents do not permit them to take their devices to school.  This adds another layer of required management.  Some schools may collect old devices and enable them to be used by students without their own devices, or schools may purchase several loaner devices, but doing so undermines the concept of BYOD to a certain degree.  This is a trend/prediction that could go either way.  Schools could make a push to gather and repurpose used devices for students that do not have the ability to bring their own device.  On the other hand, schools could all together ban the use of personal devices (specifically as it relates to the educational experience) and only allow for school-owned devices to be used in schools.
   
3. Interactive Whiteboards
   This is a trend that I feel has already hit its peak and will begin to fade.  For many students in a 1:1 device environment, the need to have a central presentation location seems to be diminishing.  The expense of purchasing and maintaining the equipment can be high, compared to programs that can allow one computer to share a screen with a class of students on their own devices.  The fate of this trend seems largely tied to a variety of other trends in education that place priority on individualized learning over large group lecture-style learning.
   
4. Computer Labs
   While still somewhere in the middle, this seems to be a trend that is on its way down.  1:1 devices, inexpensive laptops, tablets, BYOD, and other related tech trends all seem to point towards the end of single-purpose computer labs.  While there is certainly still a need for students to learn computer skills, a dedicated lab of computer seems like it will soon no longer be the place.  Students may be able to get a better learning experience in any learning space with their own device and a teacher guiding them through productivity apps, computer science, and/or basic functions of a computer.  There will certainly be exceptions to this.  Rather than eliminating the space altogether, these spaces seem to be prime for morphing into STEM labs and maker spaces.  
   
5. Wearables
   I have predicted it in the past as an upcoming tech trend in education.  But its not quite there yet.  This can include a huge variety of tech-enhanced items including smartwatches, enhanced virtual glasses, and assistive technology for individuals with disabilities.  There still remains relatively high price points for these devices, and many are small and have the potential to be easily lost or damaged by students.  These issues seem to be preventing wearables from becoming a bigger trend in educational technology than they have been so far.  I still feel that this category has great potential to become a major tech trend in education in the future.

Dr. Lahullier is the Coordinator of Technology Services for the Rochelle Park (NJ) School District.

At the Tech & Learning Leadership Summit that took place December 2019, leaders in technology and education shared innovative ideas used to reduce device loss and theft across a variety of populations. This ranged from ensuring educators knew how to integrate tech into learning to speaking to important community members to get them on board. Here's what they discussed. 

Ideas for providing device ownership

Across the board, leaders agreed that providing device ownership helps reduce loss and theft. Here are some ways this takes place in districts across the U.S.

Etching

Etch student names on the bottom of devices.

Personalization

Allowing students to personalize their devices both with background wallpaper and on the outside of the computer. 

Jenith Mishne, Director of Education Technology in Newport-Mesa Unified School District (USD) takes personalization to a whole new level. She provides time, accessories, and stickers for students to use to personalize their device. However, she offers this word of caution: Make it clear only the backside of devices can be bedazzled.

1:1 Take Home Programs 

1:1 take home programs were found to reduce damage of devices. 1:1 provides a better sense of ownership which means better care. 

Home Use

The consensus was that it’s a myth that kids aren’t responsible enough to take devices home. If schools and districts put the right systems and structures in place, students can be responsible enough to use devices at home and bring them back to school.

Summer Use

The end of the school year is often a drag for school technology staff who have to scramble to collect and store all student devices. This isn’t a problem in Newport-Mesa USD. Mishne simply doesn’t collect devices at the end of the school year. Students can keep the devices. This also helps address summer slide issues as the students can have access to technology even when school is out. If a device needs a repair, no problem. Students can make an appointment to bring their devices in. Students at the school keep the same laptop from year to year. This increases the feeling of ownership which reduces chances of loss.

Integration into learning

Leaders found there was a reduction in device damage if educators knew how to meaningfully integrate technology into learning. Using it not just as a substitution for paper or worksheets, but as a tool to transform learning.  When teachers do that, students are more responsible for devices. The issue however, is that districts must properly support teachers with integrating technology. It also must be an expectation included in evaluation of the teachers. 

Out-of-the-box solutions

Adam Phyall, Director of Technology and Media Services at the Newton County School System Covington, Georgia implements several effective out-of-the-box solutions to reduce theft.

• Community relations: He speaks to key players in the community to let them know what is happening in the schools academically and how technology is supporting it. He shares with them how to identify a school device and discusses the significance these devices have in ensuring students are prepared for success. These key players include pawn shop owners as well as street organizational units (aka gangs) which community churches help to arrange. 
• Laptop carts: When Phyall discovered some kids had devices stolen out of bags from the YMCA, the district donated extra laptop carts to them. 

cross posted at The Innovative Educator 

Lisa Nielsen (@InnovativeEdu) has worked as a public-school educator and administrator since 1997. She is a prolific writer best known for her award-winning blog, The Innovative Educator. Nielsen is the author of several booksand her writing has been featured in media outlets such as The New York Times,The Wall Street Journal, Tech&Learning, and T.H.E. Journal. 

Lafayette School Corporation in Indiana, a 1:1 tablet computer district, is dedicated to educating its students through a thoughtful approach to learning and investing in technology. Lafayette recently determined its aging touch boards and displays were no longer reliable in every classroom. 

“Ten years is a really long time in technology years and our failing classroom audio/video systems were starting to be really expensive to service and maintain. We wanted to upgrade the experience with a solution that would truly work for our students and staff and make an impact,” said Li Zhao, Chief Technology Officer at Lafayette School Corporation. 

Over a two-year period of looking at interactive displays, Zhao tested six different makes and models. The objective was to find a solution that not only had to meet the demand for whiteboard technology, but also provide high-quality imaging for the school’s robust IPTV and digital signage network. 

The district selected BenQ’s RP Series interactive flat panels (IFP) after testing more than 40 65-inch IFPs installed across eight schools.

The RP Series of IFPs offers features intended to encourage engagement inside and outside of the classroom. Using cloud-based collaboration combined with BenQ’s EZwrite 5.0 platform, the IFP allows teachers and students to share ideas, notes, opinions, and make annotations on screen captures from any app, video, website, document, or image. Regardless of location, all participants can also make annotations on the screen from their personal devices. Teachers can download and upload files to cloud services such as One Drive or Dropbox directly from their screens. For Lafayette, enabling simple integrations allowed for HDMI inputs to the teacher’s laptop, Apple TV, a Wi-Fi wireless presentation dongle, and a DVD player. 

“All the ports are right there on the front, which was one of our requirements,” said Zhao. “When they’re on the side of up front, it grants quick access. If they’re in back, it’s really awkward trying to plug them in or troubleshoot any issues. It’s a simple design element that in our testing really stood out.” 

The IFPs also come with dual pens permitting two users to write or draw simultaneously with different color at the same time. Within Brush Mode, participants can use a physical paintbrush while the handwriting recognition feature converts written text, numbers, forms, and drawings into legible digital text without having to switch modes. 

Other features include:

• Anti-glare, bacteria-resistant screen
• CO2 air-quality sensor monitors the CO2 concentration level in classrooms
• Smart Eye-Care technology, which is certified to remove the blue light and flicker. 
• Voice Assistant allows teachers to start a timer or search the internet anywhere in the classroom

For Lafayette, BenQ IFPs have become the standard. More than 125 units were installed in all eight of their elementary schools, including the district’s new elementary school where BenQ’s 75-inch 4K IFP was integrated into each of the school’s 36 classrooms. The RP Series IFP were also installed in three high school special education classrooms. Each building also has access to a BenQ IFP installed on a mobile cart to provide the collaboration tools in other areas or to operate as a backup.  As the Lafayette district continues to grow, the technology department is examining other areas where the BenQ technology could be useful. Most recently, the school opened up a new career center and plans are underway to install the panels into the support space.

CatchOn, provider of data analytics to K–12 schools, announced today a strategic partnership with Troxell-CDI to deliver actionable insights for education communities to make data-informed decisions.

Working together, CatchOn and Troxell-CDI are helping school districts understand how school-owned devices and online tools are being used both inside and outside the classroom.

Oregon’s Reynolds School District (RSD) today announced the expansion of its multiyear partnership with Discovery Education provider of  standards-aligned digital curriculum resources and professional learning for K-12 classrooms.  In this collaboration’s latest phase, RSD’s high school science teachers will use Discovery Education’s  Science Techbook and professional development to create  digital lessons in a 1:1 environment.

The Reynolds High School just launched a new 1:1 initiative that is putting new Chromebooks into the hands of each student.  In addition, the district is shifting to a new inquiry-based approach to Science instruction designed to meet the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

To support RSD’s efforts to meet the NGSS, the school system selected Discovery Education’s Science Techbook for student use in high school science classrooms.  The Science Techbook series offers a rich digital curriculum that includes video, audio, text, interactives with hands-on activities, and virtual labs. Additional student features include Spanish/English text-to-speech and leveled reading tools and note-taking and highlighting capabilities.  The Science Techbook series also includes STEM resources including STEM Project Starters that encourage students to connect math, technology, and engineering to their understanding of science concepts to produce creative solutions to real world problems. In addition, the STEM In Action resources help students connect their work to STEM careers, which promotes a clearer understanding of how skills used in school can be applied to jobs “in the real world.”

Discovery Education will provide district educators professional development opportunities for participants to learn best practices for integrating technology and digital content into teaching and learning in ways.

NECSD’s educators will also receive support from the Discovery Education Community. A global community of education professionals, the Discovery Education Community connects members across school systems and around the world through social media, virtual conferences, and in-person events, fostering valuable networking, idea sharing, and inspiration.

Students in Kansas City Public Schools are going back to school this year with Chromebooks filtered and monitored with Lightspeed Systems Relay. The Relay platform is a complete solution to filter, manage, monitor, protect, and analyze online activity in schools. 

For the last five years, every single Kansas City Public Schools student has been equipped with a laptop. As the 1:1 program has matured, the District recognized the need to replace its firewall filtering solution with something that offered more holistic filtering, monitoring, and reporting both on and off campus.

After an review of its options, Kansas City Public Schools selected Relay by Lightspeed Systems. The platform provides internet filtering on and off campus; classroom management and screen monitoring; safety monitoring; reporting; and more. In addition to the Chromebooks, Relay works on other devices and platforms across the District.

In addition to the filtering and safety functions, Relay offers integrated and automated Parent Reports as well as holistic reporting on all user activity. Phillips explained: "Parents have a lot of concerns about privacy, screen time, and the value of technology for instruction. Relay is able to help us alleviate these with actual quantitative data rather than qualitative stories or concepts."

Schools interested in filtering, safety, usage reporting, classroom monitoring, and parent reports can request a demo at: www.lightspeedsystems.com/demo

Catch up on everything new in G Suite for Education from August 2019, and see great ideas and resources!

Below is the recorded video from our August 2019 Google User Meeting, along with the meeting agenda and all the awesome resources and G Suite updates from the summer months. This includes 60 new Google updates and 16 Google resources for your class.

The monthly meetings are hosted by the Google Educator Group of Ohio, but are open to anyone from any location. The purpose of these meetings is to:
The video from the meeting is recorded and available for later viewing for those who cannot attend or connect live. See below to view the recorded video, agenda, and all the resources from the August 2019 meeting:

• Connect Google-using educators
• Share the latest Google Apps news and features
• Provide tutorials, demonstrations, and how-to’s
• Share best practices of how Google Apps is being used within schools
• Ask questions and get answers

Note: If you would like to see each of the agenda items with links directly to those spots in the video, open the video using the YouTube link below and then click “Show More” below the video.

 YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NByjSlwTmj0

You can view the full Google Document agenda with links to all the Google Apps updates from the last month, as well as all the resources covered in the meeting in the Google Doc linked below.

 View the agenda - Google Document link

What's New in G Suite (Summer 2019 Edition)

June 2019

• Google releases the "Future of the Classroom Global Report", which examines research-based trends in classroom education - Resource Link
• Chrome Remote Desktop now available on the web in place of the Chrome app - Resource link
• Google releases new underwater Street View image collection - Resource Link
• See changes in Google Docs over time with Compare Documents feature - Resource Link
• Google Sheets gets option to view edit history of a cell - Resource Link
• Google's "Game Builder" program lets you create 3D games, with or without coding - Resource Link
• Google Slides gets new features in present mode including resizing speaker notes, keyboard shortcuts, and more - Resource Link
• Google Earth adds third Carmen Sandiego game - Resource Link
• Google Classroom launches beta for Rubrics - Resource Link, Resource Link
• Gradebook in Google Classroom comes out of beta and is now available for all users - Resource Link
• Google launches "Chromebook App Hub" to share ideas and tools for teaching and learning with Chromebooks - Resource Link
• Google launches "G Suite Certification" for students - Resource Link
• Google Forms updates - Locked mode for quizzes coming out of beta in August, new feature to import questions from other Forms, updated design - Resource Link
• Google launching beta program for syncing grades from Classroom to school SIS - Resource Link
• Google Arts & Culture releases "Art Zoom" with videos of musicians discussing famous artworks - Resource link
• Google launches "Create with Google" site, including new "Audience Connect" add-on for Google Slides - Resource Link
• Google Earth now works on non-Chrome web browsers - Resource Link
• Google shutting down Hangouts on Air streaming option on August 1, 2019 - Resource Link
• Google launching Beta to make non-Google files available offline through Drive - Resource Link
• Google Home can now play sound effects and music as you read Little Golden Books - Resource Link
• Book Creator adds Google's Autodraw integration - Resource Link
• Google Expeditions is now compatible with Chrome OS devices - Resource Link
• Google Images adding shareable GIFs for direct mobile sharing - Resource Link
• G Suite Admin console interface updated with text links, dynamic title bars, and more - Resource Link

July 2019

• Google launching Beta program that allows you to request and review formal approvals on Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides - Resource Link
• G Suite Admins can now use Groups to control more settings including Drive sharing and Hangouts - Resource Link
• Google Sheets gets option to remove or select a custom color for chart borders - Resource Link
• G Suite Admin Console getting updates for whitelisting and managing domains - Resource Link
• Google improving active account awareness when opening files with multiple sign-ins - Resource Link
• Google Translate app gets updates including more languages, automatic detection, better translations, new look - Resource Link
• Google adds AR version of Apollo 11 module to mobile search - Resource Link
• Google adds several Google Earth tours to celebrate space exploration - Resource Link
• Google adding 65 new emojis to Android Q - Resource Link
• Google's "Arts & Culture" app adds new "Art of Color" AR experience - Resource Link
• More controls and customizations for headers and footers in Google Docs - Resource Link
• Google launches Gallery Go mobile app to organize and edit photos offline - Resource Link
• Google updates Sound Amplifier app that assists hearing by boosting important sounds while filtering out background noise - Resource Link
• Google’s new shortcuts can now create files in other signed-in accounts - Resource Link
• Google providing free Transformation Reports for K-12 schools to track implementation of G Suite tools - Resource Link

August 2019

• Google Sheets gets new features including Slicers, Scorecard Charts, and Themes - Resource Link
• Google Measure app updated with smarter AR tools and Material Theme UI - Resource Link
• Google Images adds side panel for selected pictures - Resource Link
• Priority page in Drive now available for all G Suite editions - Resource Link
• All Google Classrooms upgrading to Classwork page in September - Resource Link
• CS First adds two ELA aligned coding activities - Resource Link
• Google adds new fonts to help improve reading speed in Docs, Sheets, and Slides - Resource Link
• "Originality Reports" for Google Docs help detect plagiarism and needed citations in student writing - Resource Link
• Google launches "Assignments" to give Classroom features to LMS users and other non-Classroom users - Resource Link
• Google's Socratic mobile app uses AI to help students get resources for subject matter questions - Resource Link
• Google launching beta program to allow creation of shortcuts in Drive - Resource Link
• Live edits in Docs help improve real-time collaboration for assistive technology users - Resource Link
• Improved as-you-type spelling and grammar correction in Gmail - Resource Link
• Grow with Google adds Spanish language resources to Applied Digital Skills, Google Primer, and more - Resource Link
• Google Go app for Android provides easy access to Google Lens and text-to-speech reading for any webpage - Resource Link
• Google Drive mobile app now has the ability to fill out and save PDF forms - Resource Link
• Google launches Professional Collaboration Engineer certification for G Suite admins - Resource Link
• Google Photos can now search for text that appears in images - Resource Link
• Google Search adds elaborate ‘Wizard of Oz’ Easter Egg for film’s 80th anniversary - Resource Link
• Google Slides adds presentation looping and auto advance options- Resource Link, Resource Link 
• YouTube Kids coming to the web with age-specific filters - Resource Link

Show and Tell

• Jake Miller's resources - Educational Duct Tape Podcast - GIF-a-Day
• Digital Wellbeing - Tools to Balance Tech and Life - Resource Link
• Learn your New Students' Faces, Names, and More with Google Slides - Resource Link
• Google Slides template for "Year in Review" student reflection - Resource Link
• Using Wakelet and Google Drawings to create and share PottyPD resources - Resource Link
• How to install CloudReady on an end-of-life Chromebook to continue getting updates - Resource Link
• Netflix Hangouts - Chrome extension lets you watch Netflix inside of a fake Google Hangouts window - Resource Link
• Turn your Favorite Book into a Netflix Series - Resource Link
• Workshop Sign up using Google Forms - Resource Link
• Slide Reveal template - Resource Link
• Google Innovator Project - Helping “THAT” Kid be Successful- DOK - Resource Link
• Slide Translator - Google Slide Add-On - Resource Link
• ConnectHub - Google Innovator Project - Instructional Coaching Tool - Resource Link
• Using Google Forms and Quizlet Live for a "Getting to Know You" back-to-school activity - Resource Link
• Student Voice and Choice with Digital Templates and Menus using Google Slides and Drawings - Resource Link
• How to stop receiving spam events in your Google Calendar - Resource Link

To see the schedule for upcoming Google User Group meetings visit:

 Google User Group schedule - https://sites.google.com/view/geg-ohio/monthly-meetings

cross posted at www.controlaltachieve.com

Eric Curts is an education trainer and consultant with over 20 years' experience throughout the U.S. He is an authorized Google Education Trainer and a Google Certified Innovator. Read his blog at www.controlaltachieve.com and follow him on Google+ and @ericcurts on Twitter.

From our friends at TechRadar: The best Chromebooks in 2019 are not just more powerful than ever, but also more flexible and boast longer battery lives. That means that they are capable of so much more than their predecessors.

Still, before you sort through the best Chromebooks to find the one that suits you best, it’s worth your time knowing what exactly a Chromebook is. You know, in case a lighter weight operating system and device don’t actually match your needs.

Why this matters:  Fast, rugged and affordable Chromebooks have become the go-to device for many one-to-one computing programs designed to turbocharge kids' learning with engaging digital technology. Choosing the Chromebook that's best suited for your classroom, school or district will ensure the enthusiastic support of students, teachers, administrators and community stakeholders. For the full report on the ten best Chromebooks of 2019, visit techradar.com

Showbie

Flexible desktop, mobile assignment tool works best with pro features

Pros: With tons of integrations with other iPad apps, a great one-stop place for giving and receiving feedback in the 1-to-1 classroom.

Cons: Teachers won't get as much bang for their buck without the paid version.

Bottom Line: A flexible way to collect student assignments and offer written and verbal feedback, especially with the premium features.

Read more here.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Classkick

Easy-to-use, real-time monitoring of student work for 1-to-1

Pros: Flexible features give teachers and students tons of options for interaction and support.
Cons: The app works best with very steady Wi-Fi access; some teachers might dislike the limited options for uploading files.
Bottom Line: Paperless workflow management is a crowded category, but Classkick's real-time monitoring and ease of use make it a neat tool for 1-to-1 iPad classrooms.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Impero Software, provider of student safety and device monitoring and management solutions, has partnered with ClassLink.

The partnership allows Impero customers who use ClassLink’s Roster Server to avoid manually uploading student data into the Impero platform.  ClassLink Roster Server allows student data to be delivered to Impero securely and automatically.  In addition, when students log into ClassLink’s LaunchPad, they can access resources while remaining supported by Impero’s student safety tools.

ClassLink offers OneClick single sign-on into web and Windows applications, and instant access to files at school and in the cloud.

Impero’s flagship product, Impero Education Pro, consists of a suite of classroom management, student safety and network administration software:

• Impero EdTeach, the classroom management module, provides multi-device monitoring
• Impero EdProtect for student safety allows school staff to receive real-time alerts if students type or search for keywords and phrases related to bullying, self-harm, suicide or mental health
• Impero EdAdmin for network management allows schools to remotely track, monitor, and manage resources across a school network and remotely resolve IT issues

As  the Educational Technology Coach and a District Personalized Learning Coach for Verona Area High School, in Verona, Wisconsin, a key part of my role is supporting my colleagues as they learn to integrate technology into the classroom.  In our fourth year as a 1:1 iPad school (K-12), we have made great strides in our digital transformation, and in order to do this I have been actively working with teachers to develop lessons and content for our 1:1 iPad environment to meet the needs of all learners by incorporating universal design for learning principles.  

Personally, I’ve found that Professional Learning Networks (PLN) can be an immense benefit to teachers looking to continue to grow their classroom practice.  I am a Discovery Educator, Apple Distinguished Educator, Google Innovator and ISTE Arts and Technology PLN Leader, and in each of these PLN’s, I’ve learned valuable lessons and made tremendous connections that support my work each day.  

I couldn’t do my job, or be the educator or person I am today without my PLN. If I post something in an area that I know members of my PLN view or visit such as Twitter, Facebook, or various Blogs,  in a matter of 24 hours, I can immediately get answers to questions, have resources shared with me or have people volunteer to support me with a project. 

Here are five ways you can immediately put a PLN to work for you:

Use your PLN to collaborate with others or answer questions about topics and content.
My PLN’s are a tremendous support to me, because if I need a collaborator on a project, or If I am uncertain with a problem or an issue, I can turn to my PLNs for support and answers.  Often, answers to a problem or resources for a challenge I am facing have already been solved or found by one of my PLN colleagues. 

Use your PLN as a source for creative and effective resources.
I love that educators share.  Recently, I needed to learn more about how I could incorporate digital citizenship into various content areas.  Turning to social media and my PLNs, I immediately received responses.  In seeking new instructional strategies for teachers to use in the classroom, I turned to my PLN and learned about a variety of SOS strategies (Spotlight on Strategies) found in the new Discovery Education Experience.  Educators are united by a common desire to see all students succeed, so you’ll find that PLN members will always share their expertise, passions and resources with you. 

Use your PLN to source virtual presenters or guest speakers.
Guest speakers and content experts are a great way for students to learn from others around the world. I’ve found that my PLN is an abundant source of passionate individuals willing to share information via Google Hangouts or other conferencing software.  

Use your PLN for personalized professional learning.  Educators by nature are lifelong professional learners.  In addition to participating in their school system’s formal professional learning programs, many educators are undertaking their own, self-directed professional learning through their PLNs.  Through book clubs, discussion groups, interactive courses and weekly webinars, PLNs can be a great venue for educators seeking to continue their professional learning through non-traditional means.  Furthermore, many organizations such as Google, Apple and Discovery Education offer professional learning.

Use your PLN to support or challenge your perspective.  
Personally, I find my PLN to be a window out onto the larger educational community and a group that can support or challenge my perspective. Through my PLN, I can learn what it is like to teach in rural schools around the United States or in other parts of the world.  When I learn how other educators around the world would approach a problem or find solutions to challenging issues, it is refreshing.  No matter what idea I am looking to explore, I can always count on my PLN to challenge my thinking and provide a way for me to connect with others outside of my organization. 

At our opening day kick off last year, one of the presenters mentioned that we are better together.  I truly believe that and I apply that on my educational journey.  PLN’s are a wealth of information and professional support, and I encourage all my colleagues to find a PLN that will support their needs.

From our friends at TechRadar:

The Acer Chromebook R11 draws inspiration from the MacBook Air, and is stylish without going too far. And, the Acer Chromebook R11 is affordable, unlike its Apple inspiration, costing $329 (£221, AU$455).

Chromebooks aren’t like other laptops. Historically perceived as a direct route to the Google Chrome browser, their functionality was once limited to what you could accomplish on the web. The climate is a bit different now that most Chromebooks are compatible with Android apps via the Google Play Store. In that regard, the Acer Chromebook R11 is no different.

Why this matters:

With recent research demonstrating the benefits of one-to-one laptop programs, it's important for education professionals to understand the pros and cons of each device. Chromebooks as a group offer the basics for kids to start learning in their one-to-one classrooms - but which Chromebooks are best? To learn more about the Acer Chromebook R11, including design, performance, display features, battery life, where to purchase and more, read the full review at techradar.com.

iMovie

Movie editor will satisfy beginner and intermediate creators

Pros: Themes and templates make it easy to get started. Projects can transfer seamlessly from mobile to Mac.

Cons: Students will outgrow the limited options for title editing, compositing, and layering.

Bottom Line: Despite some limitations with editing, it’s the perfect tool to get teachers and students started with digital video production.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

As an educator with several years of experience, I've always believed in one major principle above all others: Students need to be able to trust their teachers.

There's a huge amount of research available that shows how important this is. When you realize that, on average, a single teacher will impact roughly 3,000 students over the course of their career, it's easy to see why they need to take this as seriously as possible all day, every day.

Ultimately, this a road that runs in two directions, which is something a lot of people don't think about until it's too late. Just as students need to trust their teachers, teachers also need to trust their students. Without mutual trust—which ultimately gives way to mutual respect—even the best teacher will never feel like they can truly give their students agency over their own learning.

Building this mutual trust and giving students agency over their own learning is exactly what we aim to accomplish at St. Leonard Catholic School.

Agency Over Learning

St. Leonard Catholic School is a modestly sized preschool through eighth-grade Catholic school located right in the heart of Louisville, Kentucky. We have 125 students spread across those grades. To put that into perspective, the biggest class I currently teach has just 17 kids.

Because of our size, we're in a great position to bring unique approaches to learning—both in how we schedule our classes and the way all teachers work together to form something that’s stronger together than any one of us individually.

Currently, I teach students in science in grades four through eight. I'm also responsible for our "20% Time" class. If that sounds familiar, it's probably because Google has been doing something similar for years. Every Wednesday and Friday afternoon, kids in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades can work on any project of their choice. They all get together in our library with myself and three other teachers.

These classes feed back into the larger principles at St. Leonard Catholic School in a number of interesting ways. For starters, we realized that when these students graduate and head out into the "real world" in ten years, some of the jobs they'll apply for literally don't exist today. Students need to be able to think for themselves. They must learn new information. They have to be able to research and find reliable sources and drive themselves forward.

But, almost more importantly than that, we wanted to be able to give kids more agency over their own studies—a true belief that they are responsible for their own learning. It can’t just be teachers handing out information they take it in. They need to be accountable for going out there, getting that information, and following their own learning path.

Here Comes the Tech

A major part of our holistic, innovative learning environment is the careful use of the right kind of technology. Technology is already all around us at every moment of every day, so it makes sense that we should try to incorporate it into our education as much as possible. After all, even if kids don’t apply for jobs in the technology industry, they'll still work in positions that require some sort of proficiency. It makes sense to prepare them today so they'll be ready for that shift tomorrow.

The teachers got together and ultimately decided that a heavy technology push was absolutely a step worth taking. We are 1:1 in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. These students all have Chromebooks they get to take home. Further, when they graduate, they can buy that Chromebook for a dollar. Our fourth and fifth graders share a Chromebook cart. 

Our kindergarten through third grade students share a set of 20 iPads and 20 Chromebooks in the classroom. However, while these devices have aided us in so many ways, they also initially proved to erode that essential student/teacher trust I hoped to have between myself and my students.

Technology and Trust: Building a Better Relationship

Make no mistake about it: technology in the classroom is a good thing. I'm glad our school is 1:1. But it was frustrating, too—at least in the beginning.

To initially help establish that trust, we had a platform for filtering in place. If a child searched for something they weren't supposed to, our system would flag it and send it right to our technology coordinator for review. However, we didn't have anything inside of the actual classroom that allowed me to keep an eye on their activity. We definitely needed that frontline defense. 

With the lack of tools for teachers, I realized I spent a lot of time wandering around the room looking at screens to make sure that kids were actually doing their school work. It was heartbreaking for me to know this was how I spent my time instead of my real job: helping them learn.

Quickly, this made it more difficult for me to actually want to use that technology everyone agreed was so important. There had to be a very good reason for me to have students take out their Chromebooks for a lesson.

In a sense, I felt powerless until we found something called GoGuardian—the classroom and device management platform—and I could see a bright light at the end of a long, dark tunnel. 

Going Deeper

Once we implemented this technology, everything changed. For sixth, seventh, and eighth graders, in particular, the trust started to come back. I felt comfortable integrating more tech into the classroom because I was able to trust them more. Both the students and I knew that at any given moment, I could just pull up the technology and see exactly what they were up to. 

If they were supposed to be on Google Docs but wandered away to another site, I could view where they went. This enabled me to address the problem more directly, which eventually allowed me to fix it as well.

Because of this new level of trust and accountability, it’s helped us change the way we teach our students in the first place. The activities we engaged in started to get more advanced and required additional critical thinking. The technology was no longer just a replacement for writing on paper. In a lot of ways, it became the natural evolution of what we'd done all along. 

Enabling the Future Through Today's Technology

I no longer have to worry about how students use their devices. It provides me the chance to always help them if I'm needed—even if we're not in the same physical space. It gives me a way to make sure our students are engaged by the technology—not distracted by it. Finally, all the teachers at St. Leonard have been able to realize our collective dream. By providing kids more control over their learning, we've enabled them to do things that wouldn’t have been possible just a few years ago. 

For several years, the infusion of technology into education has been occurring at dizzying speed, often at a 1:1 scale. However, as anyone who has led a digital conversion knows, deploying the devices and software subscriptions is only the first step in the ultimate goal of edtech—changing the pedagogy of the classroom teacher for the better.

I speak from firsthand experience when I say that it can feel like the mission has been accomplished after the completion of the initial implementation. Given the substantial amount of community support, funding, infrastructure upgrades, and professional development required to complete the initial rollout, many schools view this feat as the endgame, rather than the beginning.

Sadly, if a fundamental shift in classroom instruction does not occur, what schools have actually accomplished is the conversion of a low-performing (or high-performing) school into a digital low-performing (or high-performing) school. If the devices are being used to run low-level apps (digital flash cards) or automated remediation programs, or worse, if they serve as $200 note-takers, fundamental instruction has not changed. If, in the words of Wisdom Amouzou, the Executive Director of Denver’s Empower Community High School, devices are being used to “kill and drill” instead of “code and create,” schools have only exacerbated the digital inequity that existed prior to their digital learning initiative.

At a recent Tech & Learning Leadership Summit, edtech leaders considered follow-up steps to a 1:1 initiative. Two prominent case studies from two innovative and tech-ready school districts were featured. The first district, Community Consolidated School District 59 (CCSD59) in the northwestern Chicago suburb of Mount Prospect, Illinois, demonstrated how their district had adopted four new learning priorities in response to the district’s successful technology integration initiative. These four focus points are successfully changing the pedagogy of teachers in this district: 1) higher-level thinking, 2) student agency, 3) authentic work, and 4) technology infusion. The result has been “nothing short of a paradigm shift in how instruction and services are delivered,” according to CCSD59 Superintendent Dr. Art Fessler.

This innovative district is answering the question “What happens after the technology is deployed?” with a resounding, “Keep innovating.” In a district that has been 1:1 and even 2:1 (two devices per student) for years, the focus after deployment has been on using that technology to find ways to transform the pedagogy into a high-level, student-centered approach.

In the latter half of the breakout, a second case study from the Wichita Falls School District in Wichita Falls, Texas told another tale of successful post-deployment innovation in the classroom. As curriculum and technology continue to develop their symbiotic relationship, it’s natural to expect a transformation of classroom instruction. As technology integration was achieved, Wichita Falls prioritized continual improvement of “successful” integration. The result was a shift toward making learning visible by branding the district and ensuring learning occurred in “connected classrooms.”

Connected classrooms offer collaborative learning, flexible seating arrangements, and innovative lessons. Wichita Falls administrators also stressed that teachers are encouraged to take chances without fear of failure. These priorities have led to an increase in the number of classrooms addressing the 4 Cs of 21stcentury learning: communication, critical thinking, creativity, and collaboration.

An analysis of these two case studies reveals similarities and differences in their approaches to innovation beyond the devices. But these districts both embody the spirit of innovation because they’re free from the fear of taking risks. Many years have passed since the very first district took a chance and deployed digital devices to every student in the district, but the capacity for positive change seen in Illinois and Texas means that the spirit of K–12 education technology innovation is alive and well!

Todd Dugan is superintendent of Bunker Hill (IL) Community School District #8.

"Small but mighty" is what I called my small rural Massachusetts school district when I recently presented to a leadership team that included district administrators, building administrators and community members. In the past three years, our district, with its previously limited instructional technology, has morphed into a digitally equitable learning environment for all students. Transforming a school district into a lean, mean technology-rich machine is no small feat, and it requires educational leaders to reexamine the critical roles they play in this metamorphosis. 

These five critical behavioral components will be essential if educational leaders want to drive sustainable edtech initiatives thoughtfully, collaboratively, and effectively towards "mighty."

1) Model 

Nothing tanks an initiative faster or ensures failure to reach district goals than the school community's perception that their administrators have the "do what I say not what I do' mentality.  Well-intentioned administrators purchase devices for classroom instruction or commit to district-wide software programs but continue to stay in their comfort zone by not learning or using the new technology themselves. Educational leaders need to model technology like they are Tyra Banks on the fashion week runway.  Attend and be present at teacher edtech trainings, communicate with staff and faculty using collaborative online documents, make it a practice to use a school-issued Chromebook or iPad during classroom walkthroughs and facilitate staff meetings using the newly adopted presentation tools. Educational leaders who are involved and engaged with technology initiatives can have a significant impact on school culture and on achieving district goals. 

2) Listen

So many district edtech initiatives suffer from the Oprah car syndrome where educational leaders are on the receiving end of "let's give every student an iPad" or "let's require all teachers to incorporate blended learning into their classroom instruction by the end of the first semester."  These well-intentioned decisions can be disastrous when the very people that are impacted by these decisions are not heard. Dust collects on classroom Chromebook carts, district-issued software programs only integrated into third-grade classrooms, and interactive whiteboards used as glorified projector screens. So, open up your ears wide like a cat outside a mouse hole and listen to ALL stakeholders. Just by walking through classes, meeting with curriculum leaders, creating student and parent focus groups and being a presence in the hallways during passing times will educate leaders on what types and levels of instructional technology are sustainable and critical for our students and teachers.

3) Recruit

When school districts hire teachers, who can text and "insta," it may be assumed that these new hires will be tech-savvy and drive technology initiatives. Sorry but you know what happens when you assume!  Hiring a teacher that will support and drive edtech initiatives at the classroom level should not and cannot be based on anything but their courage and willingness to try and sometimes fail at new things that reach all of our students.  Also, look both outside and inside the organization for innovative educators. Use the listening suggestion above to talk to students and teachers, and consistently walk through classrooms to "recruit" teacher leaders.  I guarantee that you will tap into fantastic teachers already being change agents for education in your buildings. 

4) Showcase 

Everyone needs five minutes of fame as it ignites and energizes us to continue to grow and succeed. As educational leaders, we are not in the "it's all about me" game. We are in our positions to lead, support and guide students and teachers. Take every opportunity to showcase the classroom teachers in your district, who every day, are driving the initiatives, improving student performance, creating an engaging curriculum and provide students with collaborative learning environments. Make it "all about us" by showcasing the dedicated educators and students at every school board meeting, parent open house, edtech event, faculty meetings, and even on social media posts. These are your rock stars who will sell out the show and leave the audience wanting more.

5) Outreach

When it comes to proposed edtech initiatives, it can be a challenge for educational leaders to provide the school board with concrete evidence of success. It feels like final Jeopardy when leaders are put upon to answer the question, “what other districts in the county are doing?”. What if your district is the first in the county to offer mobile hotspots, devices for home use for students, new learning management systems or even student data privacy policies. How do you answer that final jeopardy question? Be the leader not the follower of edtech initiatives. Reach out to edtech organizations such as CoSN and ISTE for resources and case studies, contact your Twitter PLN peeps for their stories of success and join forces with local colleges and universities to underscore the importance of supporting our students from pre-K - postgrad. Make your little (or big) piece of the world the exemplary for other districts to follow. 

Eileen Belastock, CETL (@EileenBelastock) is a Director of Academic Technology in Massachusetts.  

A new meta-analysis of 15 years of research studies reveals that giving every student a laptop increased student achievement and gave a boost to students’ 21st-century skills. Although the number of rigorous studies is limited, the finding is clearly a good sign for 1:1 proponents and underscores the need for additional study. An additional review of 86 academic papers found some additional benefits, including: increased student technology use; more student-centered and project-based instruction; greater student engagement; and better relationships between students and teachers. Elliot Soloway of the University of Michigan notes that these findings have the potential to reshape the debate around the impact of technology. He says that the real benefit of giving every student access to a computer is to move from “instructive” to “constructive” learning, or from “teaching kids to remember something to teaching them how to figure something out.” 

https://tinyurl.com/y9pagfqm

Maynard Massachusetts is a suburban town with a history of technology innovation dating back to 1846 with the installation of a dam on the Assabet River and the building of “the mill” in the center of town. In addition to producing woolen goods for the Civil War, the mill supplied hydro-electricity for the entire town. In more recent years, the 1,000,000,000 square foot mill has hosted many technology companies including, Raytheon, Digital Equipment Corporation and Monster.com. At one point the town was nicknamed “the mini-computer capital of the world.”

Computer technology innovation in the state has also blossomed in school districts like ours that participated in school building projects when wireless and 1:1 educational initiatives were in their infancy. With guidance from the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA), financial support from our town, and E-Rate 2.0, we were able to move from traditional desktop computer room applications to wireless 1:1 technology.

In the beginning we followed other innovative districts by choosing to be device specific. We decided to become an Apple district with iPads and Apple TV hardware. Over time, the Google Apps (G-Suite) platform and low-cost Chromebooks were hard to resist, and we shifted from one platform to another. As we became more sophisticated about the use of technology in the classroom, we discovered that no single device met the needs of all learners.

Most school districts choose one device for each student for their 1:1 programs. An alternative is BYOD (Bring Your Own Device). This idea is less expensive for the school district and gives options to the students to use the device they are most comfortable with. However, BYOD can  exacerbate inequity of access to network infrastructure.

Additionally, a variety of devices have different operating systems, hardware, update history, and functionality making it more difficult for teachers to create a lesson plan around the technology. 

Also, letting every student bring their own device can create an even greater technology gap. Students may not be able to work together because of the disparity in their devices, and 1:1 goals are not fully realized. It is also difficult for the IT department to manage security on personal devices creating a security risk on the network.

The goal of each of these systems is to provide students and teachers access to technology that makes learning easier, faster, and more adaptable. Forcing students to use a single device helps them understand how to work specifically with Google, or Apple, or Microsoft. But we felt that students should have a variety of options for using a device that best fits their needs, learning styles, and comfort level. 

The idea we adapted for the Maynard Public Schools was inspired philosophically by BYOD programs as well as industry CYOD (Choose Your Own Device) programs. In our CYOD program, each student is given their preferred school issued device to use during their time in the school district with periodic opportunities to try other devices.

CYOD is a hybrid model and unifies the advantages of BYOD and CYOD. It provides flexibility for students to choose their own devices and not be forced into being a Google, Apple, or Microsoft user. The devices are issued by the school and the IT department manages and supports the devices and the network. In the first year, students were offered an iPad, Chromebook, or Chrome tablet. Windows, Mac, and Linux laptops are being added in the future.

The implementation plan in Maynard is as follows: 

• K-4 students are able to use a variety of these devices as classroom computers. They can try out different platforms to see what best fits their learning style.
• 5th Grade students are able to choose their own device for 1:1. This device will stay with them until high school.
• 9th Grade students again choose the device they want to use for the 1-1 program. This device will last them through high school. When they graduate they can purchase the device at a reduced cost, although they are not required to.

We believe this hybrid program is the best way to improve students’ technology skills and to provide them with a specific device while giving them opportunities to try other devices as interests and preferences change.

Robert Geradi, Jr. PhD is superintendent of Maynard Public Schools in Massachusetts. Stephen Woicik is director of technology for Maynard Public Schools.

From the Hindsight is 20-20 file:

One of Tech&Learning’s favorite case studies back at the beginning of this decade was Mooresville, NC School District and the Superintendent Mark Edwards. Mooresville became a poster child of sorts for the 1:1 movement at the time, thanks to a bump in student scores right as implementation of the program began.

But was it all #fakenews? This recent study by academics at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro may indicate as much. Granted, I did not plunk down the $36 to download the entire report but did dig into this synopsis by Jill Barshay at The Hechinger Report, which dampens any continuing hoopla about new tech equaling high scores.

The Metropolitan School District (MSD) of Decatur Township today announces it has been awarded a $700,000 two-year grant through T-Mobile's EmpowerED program. As a result of this funding, every student enrolled at MSD of Decatur Township in grades 3-8 for the 2018-19 school year will receive a personal MiFi hotspot at no cost to the students.

The awarded 3,500 MiFi hotspots serve as mobile WiFi devices that can connect to a provided cellular network and grant student’s internet access outside of the classroom and campus.

[Microsoft Education Expands Grant Program, Updates Minecraft]

The one-to-one district’s innovative, technologically advanced pathway-driven curriculum and digital approaches secured the grant.

To learn more about MSD of Decatur Township, visit decaturproud.org.

You’ve handed out devices to students. And to teachers. You work with your colleagues to deliver high-quality professional development. It’s time to cross 1:1 off your to-do list, right? Wrong! Any good CIO (i.e., everyone reading this) knows that a 1:1 initiative needs to be continually tweaked and coddled. We asked a handful of 1:1 veterans to share how they’re keeping their programs alive and well.

SCHOOLCIO: Give us a quick synopsis of your 1:1 program.

Jerri Kemble: We’re a 12,000-student district in our fourth year of deploying devices in classrooms. Last year, we introduced iPads at four middle schools. We’re getting ready to deploy MacBooks at two high schools. Our teachers received devices in 2014.

Jon Castelhano: We’re 1:1 with take-home Chromebooks for 13,000 students in grades 7 through 10. Next year, we’re adding another two grade levels for a total of 20,000 devices. I worked on a 1:1 for six years at my former district (Apache Junction [AZ] Unified School District).

Hank Thiele: We’re in our second year of a full 1:1 with Chromebooks for all 5,000 high-school students. I worked on a 1:1 for five years at my previous district (Maine Township [IL] High School District 207).

Paul Barrette: We’re in our third year of a 1:1. For each of the last three years, we deployed Chromebooks to grades 3, 6, and 9 that the students kept for the following year. This year, grades 3 through 11 have Chromebooks. Next year, it will be grades 3 through 12, and we’ll do our first refresh.

SCHOOLCIO: Speaking of refreshes, how do you handle that?

HT: Since we’re a high-school district, we deploy a new device each year. The Chromebook market has changed so quickly in the last four years; it’s rare to buy the same device twice. The original plan was that our graduating seniors’ devices would go to next year’s freshmen, but since we knew Android on Chrome was coming, along with touch interface, we’re using the older devices for machine parts and bought brand-new Chromebooks for the freshmen that offered touch and flip.

PB: We buy one third of our devices each year. We start evaluating in February or March and try to get test machines for students and teachers. Our state requires us to go out to bid every year, which makes it very competitive for us, which is a good thing. Even though we did a lot of research, it’s difficult to predict how hard middle schoolers will be on devices. I’d caution everyone—particularly at the middle-school level—to weigh the durability and consider additional protection such as a shell, lid, cover, or insurance.

JK: We piloted Chromebooks but had a lot of breakage, so we went with Apple. We started with devices for our blended learning classes. In year two, we did our first four-year lease for teacher devices, and then a four-year lease for middle school, and now one for high school. The high-school devices will fill in when a lease is finished. We looked at resale value and it will pay for most of the year on a new lease, which is helpful. When one lease expires, we start a new one. This has worked well for us so far.

JC: Our 1:1 program is financed by a bond override. We planned to refresh every three years. Originally, a student would use a Chromebook for grades 7–9 and get a new one for grades 10–12, but we can’t sustain that. Instead, students will get a new device for grades 9–12. Our initial Chromebooks were not rugged and we had lots of breakage. Now we have a rugged model but there are still lots of screen issues. I don’t think Chromebooks have changed that much, but the Android piece will make a huge difference.

SCHOOLCIO: How are you handling the issue of at-home Internet access?

JK: When we went 1:1, equity was a huge concern. We asked who had wifi at home. We thought it would be 400 families without Internet access, since that’s in line with the national research, and that’s what we found. We received generous grants from foundations and bought 400 Kajeets. They’ve worked well for us, and children have said that Internet access has changed their family’s lives. We also do EveryoneOn, which gives families Internet access for $10 a month. I think the option of going to the library or McDonalds for free wifi is kind of crazy for kids today. We need to make sure they’re all connected.

HT: I’ll mirror all that. We’ve closed the gap through similar programs. We’ve identified about 200 families and used Kajeet last year. This year, I got a Sprint ConnectED grant; we buy hotspots and Sprint provides data (3 gigs per month). It’s a great program for us, particularly because families don’t need to qualify. We just heard about Sprint’s 1Million Project, in which private partners buy devices to give to students, but there are more restrictions. At registration, we asked every student if they had wifi access at home and offered a hotspot to anyone who said no. I feel comfortable that we’ve done all we can to close the gap for every student.

JC: In my previous district, where we had a much higher free/reduced lunch population, we worked with Mediacom to offer lower-priced Internet access. A large population of students were going to McDonald’s, Starbucks, etc., but I agree that these aren’t the best places for them to be going. My current district has a large percentage of students who don’t need a device. We still have a population of kids who don’t have access, and a local foundation works with groups and the schools to offer hotspots for them. We do provide some hotspots, and T-Mobile is developing a program that will be tied to Title I, and it may have potential in helping to provide equitable access.

PB: We’re doing similar things. Cox Communications has Connect2Compete. We send information about subsidized access to families each year if they qualify for free/reduced lunch.

SCHOOLCIO: Is it your job to keep 1:1 programs fresh and innovative? If so, how do you accomplish that?

PB: We are working hard toward that. It’s really important for parents and the community to understand that it takes a long time to change how teaching and learning are happening. We try to introduce new methods and ideas to our teachers in manageable chunks. We also try to be reflective and focus on how to use these tools. You need to have lots of discussions about any framework; for us, it’s the SAMR model. We try to help teachers make connections. I don’t think it’s reasonable to think you’ll transform a school or schools in three years. I’d love to have technology coaches, but we don’t have the funding yet. It’s a much longer process without that support, but having patience with teachers and students and being up front with your community and parents about expectations are critical.

JC: I can’t echo all of that enough. We were six years in at my previous district and it was part of the culture, but it took that long to get there. With these big rollouts you have to look at the long term, but often the community doesn’t get it and the expectations are different from the outcomes. Here, at Gilbert (AZ) Public Schools, I have a staff of 15 tech integration specialists, but there still can be a disconnect. If they aren’t working closely with the curriculum department or the principals to establish a plan at the beginning of the year with each of their staff, the breakdown quickly becomes apparent.

HT: I call it the ‘three-year mark’ because it isn’t until year three that it starts to get to the point where you can make progress. That’s when the infrastructure is solid, there are use case examples, staff are starting to trust, and teachers are natively thinking about using tech tools when they plan a lesson. Regarding tech coaches, I think the direction we’re going in is with a personalized professional trainer—for technology or other skills. We’re putting people in place to help teachers personalize and improve their skill set. Right now it’s around technology, but there’s more to it than that.

JK: We’ve done several things to build momentum. In the summer, we have coffee shop talks with a tech integrator who meets with teacher groups at the coffee shop. We have student help desks so kids become trained to be helpers in school. As we move forward with the high school, we want to look at a Genius Bar approach. Our 1:1 buildings have vanguard groups where a specialized trainer works with that group for a day. The trainer is in the building for whatever job-embedded training the teachers request. We selected teachers who are good teachers for the training—not necessarily tech savvy but willing to share and pay it forward. They go really deep. The students in their classes go deep, too, and begin to spill it out to the entire school.

PARTICIPANTS:

What follows is an excerpt from the SchoolCIO newsletter, the publication for K-12 district-level edtech leaders. Learn more at www.schoolcio.com.

At Tech & Learning magazine’s recent SchoolCIO Summit, a group of CIOs, superintendents, and other district administrators gathered to discuss their experiences with one-to-one technology initiatives. Participants in this discussion ranged from those who have been involved in 1:1 for more than five years to others just launching an initial implementation. They varied in terms of the devices selected, the grades involved, and other details, but agreed on the following keys to making 1:1 work:

#1: KNOW WHY YOU’RE DOING IT
It is vital to keep the focus on the learning, not the technology. According to Shelby Womack, executive director of technology and digital learning for Stephenville ISD in Texas, “All too often people start with a focus on the What or the How of 1:1. We were diligent in our efforts to always redirect the conversation back to the Why!” In Stephenville the goal was to personalize learning, with technology helping teachers to increase the depth and complexity of instruction by identifying what each individual learner needs.

Other goals described by SchoolCIO participants included equitable ways to help all students (not just those with access to technology at home) to:

■ Become career-and college-ready;
■ Prepare for information-intensive fields that characterize today’s world;
■ Become creative, collaborative, reflective learners and communicators.

As Casey Wardynski, former superintendent for the Huntsville City Schools in Alabama, explains it, “By affording our students these digital resources, we seek to further their development as creative, self-directed learners who have the requisite skills, knowledge, and behaviors to dominate challenges of the 21stcentury workplace.”

#2: RESEARCH AND PLAN
Start by involving a wide range of stakeholders in the planning process and paying visits to existing 1:1 districts before launching your own program. Scott Harris, technology director for Wisconsin’s Neosho School District, offers the following advice: “Don’t try to do this on the fly! Study, read, form book-study groups, visit other districts and ask tons of questions! Find out what works for them and what doesn’t work. Then pick a platform and devices that accomplish your goals and remember that the most important aspect of this is not the device but how the students use it.”

#3: BUILD YOUR INFRASTRUCTURE
Make sure you have adequate bandwidth and network security before launching your program. Rod Russeau, director of technology and information services for Community High School District 99 in Downers Grove, Illinois, elaborates: “The district’s network infrastructure must be robust enough to support the increased access levels required by the initiative. It must be invested in and updated regularly to stay ahead of the exponential increase in connectivity and bandwidth needs.”

#4: HAVE AN IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE
Although some of the districts participating in the SchoolCIO discussion launched a full K-12 implementation in a single year, many others chose to phase their programs in gradually, starting with a few classrooms, schools, or grades in order to “work out the kinks.” For example: Community High School District 99 started with 1:1 in 30% of their classrooms in the first year; Louisiana’s Lafayette Parish chose one grade (third grade) to begin with; Henry County Schools in McDonough, Georgia, began with a single 1:1 school this past year; and Athens City Schools in Alabama started with whole-classroom sets on carts in all of their classrooms in order to test out the infrastructure before assigning devices to individual students.

Regardless of the speed of the implementation timeline, the recommendation is to avoid referring to the initial phase as a “pilot.” As Russeau puts it, “Calling it a ‘pilot’ implies the program is just being tested and may or may not continue. As someone who spent 20 years in the software development industry, I referred to it as a ‘field test’. A field test is the final step before releasing a product, where you make sure it’s functioning as designed, performance is acceptable, user support is in place, and so on; and then make adjustments as needed. This helped solidify the message and our commitment to 1:1 learning.”

#5: MODEL FROM THE TOP
District and building leaders must serve as models. They play a key role in keeping the focus on learning, being motivators and cheerleaders, providing the right resources, and cultivating a school culture that supports and encourages change. “We knew early on,” says Womack, “that if we wanted to change our instructional practices and integrate technology in a transformative manner we had to first create a culture where the fear of failure would not inhibit teachers and students from trying new things. Our superintendent has gone to great lengths to ensure that staff members feel empowered to think differently and explore new methods.”

LaShona Dickerson, technology director for Lafayette Parish School System (LA), reminds us not to forget the building leaders. “Planning and collaboration with the principals is extremely important,” she says. “It garners buy-in.”

#6: GET TEACHERS ON BOARD
While supportive administrators are one key to the success of a new initiative, getting other stakeholders on board from the start is equally crucial. And no stakeholders are as important to the equation as the teachers. There was widespread consensus among SchoolCIO participants that putting technology into the hands of teachers months – or preferably a full year – before a deployment is extremely helpful, as it offers them time to explore (individually and collaboratively) and get comfortable with the technology before they begin using it with students.

#7: PROVIDE ONGOING PD
A commitment to staff development that continues well beyond your initial launch is another variable that is essential to a 1:1 program’s success. Effective approaches include: coaching; staff meetings to share successes and discuss challenges; study groups; and a variety of other opportunities for teachers to collaborate and learn from one another.

“Long-term, ongoing staff development is critical and it’s essential to recognize the costs for this up front,” says Athens City (AL) School System CIO, Chris Hamilton. “The power behind our 1:1 program is not the device but the professional growth that has occurred as a result of extensive professional development. The program has been more about changing instruction than it has been about the technology. The use of the devices has provided a vehicle for retooling pedagogy and is creating a culture of trust and ‘risk-taking’ among teachers.”

This sentiment was echoed by other participants in the discussion, including Scott Harris, who explained, “We invest heavily in PD which, we believe, is absolutely key. We are not afraid of changing the culture of our classrooms as well as how staff are treated and held accountable in evaluations for themselves as well as their administrators. We have built a working environment, over the last three years, that you’re either ‘on the bus or off the bus’. We’ve seen turnover, but overwhelmingly for the positive. Our first administrative book study was Anthony Muhammad’s Transforming School Culture, which really set the tone for our culture changes, as well as Inevitable by Schwahn & McGarvey. Two great places to start. The kids know the devices...they are natives...invest in your teachers! If you don’t, you’ll fail.”

#8: DECIDE WHAT ROLE (IF ANY) BYOD WILL PLAY
Several of the 1:1 districts that contributed to this article say they ruled out BYOD because it ran counter to their digital equity concerns. In Downers Grove (IL), for example, Rod Russeau explains, “We allowed BYOD access before our 1:1 program, but once we went fully 1:1 last year, we stopped providing BYOD access. Our feeling is that, for now, the 1:1 devices provide students the access to information and resources they need, and frankly, we also do not want to tax our infrastructure unnecessarily.”

On the other hand, Brian Blanton, assistant superintendent for technology services in Henry County Schools in McDonough (GA), says his district allows BYOD on a wireless network that specifically supports student-owned devices, and Andrew Phillips, supervisor of technology for the Cleveland City Schools, in Cleveland, Tennessee, adds: “We allow teachers and students to use personal devices. We feel that teachers and students should be able to take advantage of any tool that meets their educational goals.”

#9: ENSURE ONGOING FUNDING
Beyond funding an initial launch, it’s important to have a plan for sustaining your program financially. Possible approaches include:

■ Leasing that allows you to swap out equipment after a few years (typically every three years);
■ Charging parents a small annual fee to help defray costs;
■ Generating local revenue, with taxpayer approval, through a small sales tax or earmarking of funds (as in Texas with a TRE – tax ratification election);
■ Treating technology costs as recurring line items in the regular budget.

#10: MONITOR AND SHARE YOUR RESULTS
Once stakeholders are on board, you will want to keep them in the loop and share evidence of progress towards the educational goals your 1:1 program was designed to meet. In most cases, student engagement is a key goal. While engagement levels are not as easy to track as test scores or other purely quantitative goals, SchoolCIO participants shared lots of examples of progress in this area, measured through everything from SAMR walk-throughs to stakeholder surveys.

In the Athens City (AL) Schools, for example, Chris Hamilton explains that, “Students are now sharing their work with their peers, publishing, and creating in ways they have not done before in school. This type of sharing and collaboration is creating a real-world, engaging atmosphere for all of our students. The systemic solutions we are seeing are being led by teachers and are creating a culture of community never before present in our district.”

For those looking for more numerical measures of progress, SchoolCIO participants suggested monitoring time on task and other behavioral measures. “Since implementing our digital conversion, our graduation rate is up from 66% to 88% and remediation rates for our graduates in their first year in college are down by a third,” says Casey Wardynski. He also points out that disciplinary incidents have dropped dramatically in the classroom and on the school buses (which have wi-fi access) since the program launched.

Today’s K-12 classrooms continue to host a wide variety of tablets, laptops, and Chromebooks, making charging carts an essential component to any 1:1 or BYOD program. What follows are some of the latest offerings.

ERGOTRON’S ZIP40 CHARGING CART (WWW.ERGOTRON.COM)

The Zip40 is a truly universal cart for transporting, securing, protecting and charging all your mobile computing devices for the classroom. It can be used with tablets, Chromebook, Ultrabook, MacBook, and laptops—almost any device with a display size up to 15.6”. Its integrated PowerShuttle Technology optimizes total charge time while safely preventing electrical circuit overload. Ergotron’s innovative, reliable PowerShuttle power management system charges up to 30% faster than a standard round-robin charging system so devices are ready when you need them.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
Classroom safety extends beyond securing and protecting devices. Using just one power cord plugged into a standard wall outlet, the Zip40 charging cart safely prevents overloading of electrical circuits by efficiently grouping the number of devices that are charged at one time. Additionally, users can easily zip from one classroom to another with 5-inch dual-wheel locking casters make for a smooth ride, requiring 33% less push/pull force than carts with single-wheel casters.

COPERNICUS EDUCATIONAL PRODUCTS’ NEW TECH TUB2 MODULAR CART SYSTEM (WWW.COPERNICUSED.COM)

This sturdy and affordable modular cart holds up to 32 devices. The Tech Tubs can be unclipped and placed around the classroom to reduce deployment bottlenecks or to allow individual Tech Tubs to be signed out from a central location, such as a library.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
The modular design allows the Tech Tubs to be unclipped and moved anywhere learning takes place. The Tech Tubs are easy to carry using either the flip-top or the built-in ergonomic handles. When the tubs are returned to the cart for charging, cable management hooks keep cords tidy and the side power timer requires only one plug to the wall. USB charging and syncing hub option also available.

TRIPP LITE 32-DEVICE AC CHARGING STATION CART (WWW.TRIPPLITE.COM)

Tripp Lite’s 32-Device Charging Station Cart provides charging, secure storage, and cord management for up to 32 Chromebooks and laptops. Features include locking, vented steel doors, protective shelves with removable dividers, and lockable casters for easy deployment between classrooms.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
We offer many features found on other carts at a lower price point.

BRETFORD’S EVER CART WITH MIX MODULE SYSTEM (BRETFORD.COM)

The EVER Cart with MiX Module System has the unique ability to be updated rather than replaced like traditional charging carts and a single EVER Cart can support USB and AC-powered devices instead of having multiple carts to charge tablets and laptops separately.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
MiX Modules can be replaced in the future to update the cart for new devices. Cable Management happens outside of the cart. No more bending over or sitting on your knees trying to position cable sets. The MiX Module has easily adjustable slots for matching the width and height of your newest devices, up to 15” diagonal display. The cart has a 45-device capacity, all charging in the quickest possible time, and allows tablets and Chromebooks to charge in the same cart.

LOCKNCHARGE IC 30 CART (WWW.LOCKNCHARGE.COM)

Charge, store, and secure up to 30 devices--almost any device up to a 13-inch screen size. The iC 30 Cart makes the most of its compact size with a top lid that doubles as a work surface and exterior charging status display.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
Because of the top-loading design and baskets by LocknCharge, devices can be deployed in a fraction of the time. In fact, by using an iC 30 Cart by LocknCharge compared to a traditional cabinet-style cart, LocknCharge estimates that 70 hours of instruction time is saved each year. That is almost two weeks of extra class time back into the hands of educators by using a 30-unit LocknCharge top-loading, basket-based cart.

POWERGISTICS 16-SHELF TOWER (SHORT) (WWW.POWERGISTICS.COM)

The newly designed 16-shelf tower has been shortened to better accommodate elementary classrooms. PowerGistics has shortened its popular 16-shelf tower by 7” with the tallest shelf standing at 55” to allow 100% student deployment for all ages, including elementary students. Keeping with the same open concept design, small footprint, and unique cord management, the short 16-shelf wall-mounted tower is making teachers’ lives easier while saving classroom space.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
The vertical design keeps devices organized, compact, and easy to access with an open concept so each stored device can quickly and easily be inventoried. With 100% student management, students learn responsibility and independence while teachers save countless hours managing their transition and teaching time without worrying about device deployment.

LAPCABBY UNICABBY (WWW.LAPCABBY.COM/US/)

The multi-device UniCabby is a flexible, portable cart that can store and charge 20, 32, or 40 devices up to 14” with or without protective cases, bolstering device accessibility. Perfect for tablets, iPads, SurfacePros, Chromebook devices, and more--or mix and match to suit the digital classroom of tomorrow.

WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUE?
The integrated cable management on each purpose-built, molded shelf is suitable for charging any device up to 14” from laptops to tablets, hybrid devices, and more.

One thing is clear: “sit and get” has got up and gone. “How can we lecture teachers for 50 minutes about providing hands on, engaging instruction to students?” asks Jeff McCoy from Greenville County (SC) Schools. Today’s PD has to prepare teachers for “a new way of teaching and learning,” says Donia Doudican of Sapulpa (OK) Public Schools. From various online options to teacher-leader models and more, districts are taking new methods and ideas on board. And teachers at Gurnee School District 56 are literally getting “on board” with their “Tech Trek” gamified PD.

The future, it seems, is already here. “Badges, or micro-credentials, will become powerful tools to motivate educators,” says Steve Wick from Neuqua Valley (IL) High School. Robert Voges from Volusia County (FL) Schools, who is asking some key questions about technology and generational differences, agrees. Twenty-first-century teachers need PD that’s personalized, flexible, and embedded in classroom practice. In the stories below these educators share ideas, successes, and challenges.

GAMIFIED PD: SIMPLE, USER-FRIENDLY, AND FUN

Gurnee School District 56 (D56), a Pre-K–8 district with 2,200 students 45 minutes north of Chicago, is a 1:1 iPad district and Apple Distinguished Program. The district’s PD has evolved from “sit and get” to an Apple PD trainer of trainers model. This organic and self-replicating program was so successful that “we found we didn’t need how-to’s anymore,” says Colleen Pacatte, assistant superintendent for curriculum and assessments. They moved to a focus on SAMR, and programs like their Summer Tech Academy and open office hours before school starts help ensure that teachers have the training and support they need.

TECH TREK

D56 Tech Trek game board But what makes PD at D56 unique—and fun—is “Tech Trek,” a popular gamified PD option developed entirely by teachers. Pacatte researched gamification and badging, assembled a diverse team and gave them some parameters (e.g., it would be SAMR-based, and the evidence submitted had to be student work), and set them loose. While the journey took these teachers-turned-game-developers out of their comfort zones, Pacatte was impressed by their collaboration, problem-solving, hard work, and creativity. She emphasizes that handing teachers a ready-made solution robs them of the learning process and ownership.

Romie Bloom, one of the team members, agrees. It’s important, she says, that it’s “easy to play, including rewards—if it requires too many steps or it’s too difficult to succeed, people will not participate.” Playing Tech Trek is entirely optional.

Teachers accrue points for each badge, linked to SAMR levels, on six continents on the virtual game board (there are also “L” badges for leadership integrating tech in the classroom and “E” badges for “excursions,” or stepping off the game for an activity such as reading an article or listening to a TED talk). Clicking on a bright yellow icon brings players to a Weebly Web site where they’re given a choice of two challenges (or they can create their own) to earn the badge.

Teachers can shop with their points at “SAMR-Mart” for things like a free jeans day, coffee, or 20 minutes of classroom cover—or they can save them up to earn a full comp day. A year and a half in, Pacatte suspects most teachers are choosing the latter option. “Still,” she says, “we’re already seeing a bump in academics and greater levels of tech integration, and even gamification, in classrooms, and the price of a substitute for a day is less than a conference.”

Teacher Stephanie Coe says that Tech Trek “provides a framework that encourages me to experiment with integrating technology at all levels of the SAMR model.” The game has also given her new ideas and helped her to be more reflective of her practices.

THE REAL PAY-OFF

Teachers submit evidence of student work via Google Forms, and the folders containing this work are a rich, curated source of ideas for everyone. Each submission needs to be approved by a colleague and the principal, and this is where Pacatte finds the real pay-off. “Teachers and administrators are talking to each other, having these great conversations about if, say, this is modification and why,” she says.

Pacatte estimates that about 60 per cent of teachers are playing at some level. Tech Trek’s launch featured a simulated flight, complete with pre-flight movie and bags of peanuts. “It’s a fun, stress-free, optional tool,” Pacatte says. “This kind of PD is part of, and honoring, what teachers do every day. It’s embedded in the classroom, and that’s the best kind of PD.”

For more information on D56 Tech Trek, go to https://youtu.be/xm-G_4K8Ggk.

TOOLS THEY USE
GURNEE SCHOOL DISTRICT 56

► Epson Short-Throw Projectors
► FrontRow Sound Field Systems
► iPad airs
► MacBook Pros
► Polyvision Eno Boards

FINDING NEW MODELS FOR A NEW WAY OF TEACHING

Left: LMS training at Sapulpa Public Schools; Right: Sapulpa High School teachers engage in ELA Content Training and collaborative lesson planning When it comes to providing traditional PD opportunities, Sapulpa (OK) Public Schools (SPS) has, according to digital curriculum project manager Donia Doudican, “pretty much tried it all.” They’ve contracted national gurus, shared keynote speakers with surrounding districts, had staff present sessions, travelled to conferences, and done online training.

But implementing a 1:1 program (with Chromebooks) brought new opportunities and changes for the district. Doudican says that they see “now, more than ever, a need to focus on a different kind of professional learning, one that will help our teachers with the pedagogical shift.” PD that is job embedded and practice based is critical, since they’re rolling out not just the devices but “a new way of teaching and learning.” In addition, Oklahoma teachers will have an individual PD plan tied to their state evaluation beginning in the 2017–18 school year, so SPS wants to ensure teachers have all the support they need.

A PERSONALIZED APPROACH

Although SPS staff are, overall, positive about the differentiated approach to learning technology, even careful, phased change brings challenges. Doudican says that offering “a wide variety of learning opportunities” in different learning styles is key—but to do that they needed to find a better way to differentiate their training process. They’ve been able to do this effectively through working with a Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Dedicated Consultant.

“We have someone from HMH in our district every day,” Doudican says, “helping bring very real, practice-based PD that takes into account our district’s culture as well as the specific needs of our students.” This year they’re planning to focus on the coaching method for PD, continuing to emphasize a personalized approach.

MINIMIZING CONFUSION WITH CHUNKING

“The best advice and biggest ‘aha’ in regards to PD thus far,” Doudican says, “has been the idea that we need to ‘chunk’ the information being taught. There is just so much to learn.” Focusing on one or two specific things within the LMS or digital curriculum at a time has eliminated some of the confusion and information overload so teachers can integrate and master the material and feel confident to keep moving forward.

TOOLS THEY USE
SAPULPA (OK) PUBLIC SCHOOLS

► BrainHoney/BUZZ
► Chromebooks (grades 3–12)
► Desktops and/or touchscreen devices (Pre-K–2)
► edFusion
► GAFE
► HMH digital curriculum
► SMART Boards

TEACHING STRATEGIES, NOT TOOLS

Teachers at GCS engage in a PD session led by Discovery. Greenville County Schools (GCS), the largest district in South Carolina, is an old hand in the cutting-edge world of edtech. The 87-school district uses a wide variety of edtech tools, apps, and devices, has committed to a three-year refresh program, and has partnered with Discovery Education for 14 years. But interim associate superintendent Jeff McCoy emphasizes that the tools are there to enhance instruction.

McCoy credits the GCS instructional technology staff with doing a good job training teachers to implement technology in their classrooms in the past but, he says, “typically the teachers who attended were the eager ones who loved technology.” Follow-up was also difficult in such a large district.

TEACHER-LEADERS

Teachers at GCS enjoy an active and interactive PD session. As GCS has moved increasingly towards offering “hands-on, engaging, and just in time” PD, implementing Discovery Education’s Digital Leader Corps model (DLC) was a natural step. DLC, a comprehensive PD program including pedagogy, tools, coaching, and feedback, develops teacher-leaders to serve as change agents in the district’s transition to dynamic digital learner-centered environments. McCoy describes DLC as “a perfect marriage” for GCS.

McCoy has been encouraged by teacher feedback, which has focused not so much on the technology but on the instructional strategies learned. In surveys, teachers also emphasized how encouraging and empowering they find collaboration, sharing ideas, and building relationships with colleagues. Like their students, they also enjoy being able to get up and move around while learning.

The perfect candidate for a teacher-leader, McCoy says, “is strong in instructional practice and willing to learn technology.” Although the district doesn’t ask teachers to open up their classrooms as learning labs for other teachers to learn and observe until year two, McCoy says many are eager to start sharing what they’ve learned immediately.

TAKE THE TIME TO LEAD BY EXAMPLE

McCoy notes that irony that “We preach to teachers about providing hands on, engaging instruction to students—and we do it by lecturing to them for 50 minutes!” Since many people are visual learners, this kind of modeling helps teachers visualize how they might use these best practice strategies in their classrooms.

With so many new options for PD formats, McCoy advises districts to plan their PD first and then “choose the format that best fits (asynchronous virtual, live via distance learning, or face to face).” The biggest challenge with providing this type of PD, McCoy says, is time. It’s “extremely time intensive and a huge culture change. However, the investment you make upfront will pay off tremendously in the end.”

TOOLS THEY USE
GREENVILLE COUNTY SCHOOLS

► Chromebooks
► Discovery Education Techbooks
► Gizmos
► GAFE
► OverDrive
► Promethean Boards

NEXT-GENERATION PD NOW

Personalizing PD is challenging. But personalizing PD at Volusia County (FL) Schools, where thousands of teachers at over 80 different sites using a wide variety of technology tools teach 61,000 students in a demographically diverse district stretching west and south of Daytona Beach, presents a colossal challenge.

As the district implements instructional shifts to meet their “big three” goals—achieving standards, establishing a culture for learning, and personalizing learning—they’re drawing a big edtech breath and asking what pieces talk to each other, how, and why. Robert Voges, professional learning specialist for the district, explains that the SAMR model is helping them to ask the big questions, and sometimes the hard questions, about technology, including “How can we use what we’ve already got more effectively?”

ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL IS GONE

As a PD facilitator, Voges finds the flexibility, breadth of options, and à la carte convenience of the Truenorthlogic PD Premium Library invaluable. With TNL, teachers have a vast array of options. They can focus on the content they need to better equip them to teach their students in their context, they can learn when and where it’s most convenient for them, and the district pays only for the units used.

The core question when it comes to PD, Voges says, is not whether someone has attended a workshop, or even received a credit, but whether the teacher can put that skill into practice in the classroom. “It’s about competence,” he says. “What can you do?”

TODAY IS YESTERDAY

“As quickly as we’re wrapping our heads around online modules,” Voges says, “they’re becoming a thing of the past.” Millennial teachers are sharing best practices in twitter chats at 5:30 a.m. and trying them out at school a few hours later. Voges sees the future of PD in micro-credentialing—learning and presenting evidence of mastery of smaller chunks of material. He sees a future where teachers present badges in addition to, or even instead of, transcripts.

Voges is a Baby Boomer who enjoys attending conferences, but he says this mind shift is critical and parallels the kind of proficiency we’re asking students to demonstrate. “We need to understand the millennial difference and give them the tools and scaffolding they need to learn. If we think this is challenging, wait until the Always-On generation gets here.”

TOOLS THEY USE
VOLUSIA COUNTY SCHOOLS

► Dell laptops
► Edmodo
► iPads
► Office 365
► Truenorthlogic PD Premium Library

EMPOWERING THE TEACHER: HORSE BEFORE THE CART PD

THE WHY

Neuqua teachers sharing edtech success stories Steve Wick, technology coordinator at Neuqua Valley High School, part of Indian Prairie School District 204 (ISPD) in suburban Chicago, says their current approach to PD starts with “good teaching pedagogy connected to student skills and the four Cs (collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and creativity).” A BYOT and GAFE district, ISPD 204 plans to be 1:1 with Chromebooks in the 2017–18 school year.

As they’ve moved from traditional methods of delivering PD to a personalized approach featuring activities that model student-centered learning whenever possible, Neuqua has relied on some key resources including a collaborative blog for tech tips, interactive HyperDocs for GAFE training, and resource Web sites for just-in-time learning, in addition to face-to-face collaboration.

Focusing on the why before the how, Wick says, has helped teachers learn to use technology to enhance instruction and has empowered them to own their learning. A shift to GAFE as a foundation for most activities connected to edtech has also been fundamental.

THE HOW

Neuqua teacher showing her GAFE love Wick encourages districts considering shifts in their approach to PD to “build teacher collaboration into everything you do” and to “build resources to support learner-centered professional development and encourage the development of Personal Learning Networks.” He also advocates utilizing instructional coaches who can work in classrooms to support instruction enhanced by technology.

A number of innovative thinkers and resources have influenced the Neuqua vision for teaching and learning, including Why School? by Will Richardson, The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros, P21 Partnership, and TED Talks Education. While Wick reiterates that change is slow and patience is a virtue, as a result of implementing this why-focused, collaborative, and learner-centered PD at Neuqua Valley, they’re seeing “more student-centered activities in our classrooms with an emphasis on the 4 Cs.”

TOOLS THEY USE
NEUQUA VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL

► Collaboration: GAFE, Padlet, Google Keep
► Creativity: WeVideo, Google Drawings, Canva, Piktochart
► Communication: Google Classroom, Remind, Blogger
► Critical Thinking: Newsela, TED-Ed, Coggle

FREE CONFERENCE

In partnership with Discovery Education, GCS offers an annual Upstate Technology Conference. This popular conference is free to all registered participants. For more information go to https://www.greenville.k12.sc.us/gcssi/.