By Steve Young, CIO Advisor

With any job it’s easy to eventually find oneself in a rut, doing things the same way over and over. I know back when I was teaching, sometimes the pressures of grading, paperwork, and the real world meant that I didn’t try to teach a lesson differently or try something new with my students. Maybe I blamed it on the fact that I had four class preps, but no matter what the reason, it was always very rewarding to take time to try a new innovative lesson and see it work very well in the classroom.

As we start a new school year, there is no better time for teachers to investigate something new. And whether it is something truly transformative to teaching, or maybe just a tool to make teaching a little more efficient, any improvement is a step in the right direction.

Maybe a simple tool to motivate good student behavior is what is needed; then try ClassDojo. Or maybe increasing communication with students and parents is a pressing need. Tools like Remind or Class Messenger will help improve communication.

Want students to be more involved in class? Then give Socrative or ExitTicket a try. Is it time to find a new way to curate and synthesize web content for students or for students to do so as they learn? Then head on over and try super simple Blendspace or LessonPaths.

Sometimes it’s much easier to take baby steps to get out of the rut, rather than trying to climb the ladder and change everything at once. So make a new school year resolution for you or your staff to take a baby step or two on your path of improvement. For more info on these tools, view my blog.

Steve Young is CTO of Judson ISD in Texas and founder of the San Antonio Area Technology Directors group. He blogs at CTO Technotes, where this is cross posted. Follow him on Twitter as @atemyshorts.

By Miguel Guhlin, CIO Advisor

Are you a school administrator on the go who wants to increase transparency? Maybe you have a desperate need to make sense of the world around you clamoring for attention? Or you seek ways to streamline your work processes? Why not take advantage of Evernote, a way to create digital notebooks and notes that you can save pictures, audio, text, MS Office and PDF documents (and make them searchable!), then share content online using Postach.io?

(A quick note: Evernote is free unless you want to tap into some special features, and those may well be worth it. After using Evernote for a few months I purchased the Premium annual license (about $50) because it was that useful since it offered offline copies of notebooks, revision note history, etc. But you don't have to. Start with the Freemium version at no cost.)

Let's Get Started!
Here are a few approaches as to how Evernote, Postach.io and other related services can make a difference. Remember, what you put in Evernote isn't just available on one device or another; it is simultaneously available on all, enabling you to jump from laptop to tablet to mobile phone and back again in a single leap.

Action #1 - Generate a digital story wall
Want to better engage parents, community, students and teachers? Assign yourself the job of "Special Agent in Charge of Finding Stories to Share" at your campus. This is your job, after all, and you can take advantage of Evernote on your smartphone or tablet to capture pictures of great things teachers are doing, whether it's teaching a lesson or coaching a child. You can also capture student work; ask them to share what they were thinking and record that reflection as an audio note. That note gets embedded in your Evernote Note, and if you have Postach.io connected to that Notebook, you can publish it. In minutes, you've added another multimedia element to your school's digital wall.

Action #2 - Answer Parents’ 411 Information Requests!
"Parents will email me or catch me in the hall and ask questions," said one assistant principal. "The thing is, many of them are asking the same question and I'm giving the same answer." Instead of answering the same question a thousand times, why not type up the question—and your response—and then save it in an Evernote Notebook entitled “Parent411." That way, next time someone asks you a question, you can provide a brief response, hand them a card, or SMS/text them a link to your Postach.io blog, which takes your Evernote Notebook and makes them into a series of blog entries that can be shared online.

You can also record audio and share that conversation—be sure to ask for permission from participants—via your Postach.io blog (e.g., http://saacte13.postach.io or mguhlin.postach.io).

Need to quickly share handouts and/or documents? Scan them in! Just run the stack of papers through a copier-scanner and then emai that document to yourself or, if working with less than 20 pages, snap pictures of each page using the Evernote app on your mobile device. Or, if you'd rather not clutter your smartphone's photo gallery with work-related pictures, invest in an Evernote-friendly scanner, such as the mobile USB-powered Doxie Go ($162) or Fujitsu ScanSnap ($250), or the WiFi-friendly Fujitsu ScanSnap Evernote Edition ($495). These items will appear as documents or images in your Postach.io blog.

OCR, as it's commonly known, is a service that you usually pay high dollar for, but Evernote makes it easy for those of us who like to write notes out by hand to scan the text. Of course, OCR features work even better with typed text, so snapping a picture of printed document works even better. If you really want to go whole-hog with handwriting, consider the Evernote MoleSkin. Note that handwriting is not searchable inside PDF documents.

Another neat tip is to photograph a whiteboard you and your team have been writing/drawing on, then make that available online. Again, it's easy to share your Evernote Notebook or auto-share to a Postach.io blog.

Action #4 - Collect and Curate Your Twitter Favorites!
Are you a Twitter-holic focused on digital leadership? If you're like me, you are constantly scanning the hundreds (or thousands) of twitterati that you follow, frantically tapping on the star that "favorites" a tweet, sending a bit of karmic thanks to the twitterer. But you are also creating a trail of breadcrumbs, each a bit of nourishment for your learning that you can revisit later. The problem is, you have to use Twitter to review your Favorites.

Instead, consider using If This Then That (IFTTT) to automatically save anything you "favorite" on Twitter to an Evernote Notebook. Here are a few of my favorite things from Twitter. Learning to use IFTTT is quite easy and you'll be up and running in no time.

Once you start saving your Twitter favorites via IFTTT to Evernote, you'll promptly want to turn around and share those with others. You can do that in two ways:

a) Turn on Sharing for your IFTTT Twitter notebook. This will make it easy for others to access your favorites as an Evernote collection.

b) Create a Postach.io blog using your IFTTT Twitter notebook in Evernote as its source. That means that anything you favorite will be saved to Evernote, then automatically posted to Postach.io. (You'll need to modify your IFTTT recipe to add the required "published" tag to each note.)

The neat thing about Postach.io is that you can set it up to re-share your Postach.io blog posts back to your Twitter or Facebook account. This is a painless process once it is setup and can make it very easy to "retweet" while saving content for future investigation in Evernote.

Another Evernote and Twitter tip to keep in mind. You can send anything you tweet to Evernote by adding @myen to the it. Find out how.

Action #5 - Create a Slideshow of Pictures!
Most presentations these days are image-centric since photos help you tell a tale. Imagine this concept: Walking through a Conference Exhibit Hall and taking pictures of stuff you'd like more information on or that you'd like to share. You can categorize those pictures for the Finance Department, Maintenance Department, Technology Department, etc. Although I haven't tried it yet, Evernote makes it possible to turn any notebook into a slideshow.

And, finally, here's a bonus:

Action #6 - Digitize Your Walkthrough Checklists!
Walkthroughs enable administrators to become more familiar with how their teachers approach teaching, providing coaching opportunities that can also positively inform the formal appraisal process. Now, use Evernote's Checklist feature to create walkthroughs to help facilitate instructional audits. These instructional audits help you gather information consistently so that you and your teachers can have conversations about what's happening in the classroom. Of course, if you are a district admin, you can also use this to have conversations with your direct reports.

To get you started, I asked my colleagues what walkthrough checklists they use. Here are a few that I’ve saved in my EvernoteForms Notebook. If you are using Evernote on your Mac or Windows, you can save a copy of an ENEX file (Evernote Export) and then import it into Evernote. This gives you an exact copy of the entire Notebook! Here's a quick tutorial I made to get you started. If you have an Evernote Premium account, you can share it with teachers so they have direct access to the walkthroughs you've done for them and any notes/action steps you've both agreed to! Find out more.

Conclusion
Evernote and Postach.io provide many opportunities to re-energize and empower you as an administrator, whether you are at a campus or district level. Why not take advantage of them?

Miguel Guhlin is director of technology for a 5A school district in Texas and past president of the statewide TCEA Technology Education Coordinators group. This blog is cross posted at Around the Corner.

By Diane Doersch, CIO Advisor

I recently posted that I quite possibly have the best job in the world. I am the chief technology & information officer for Green Bay Area Public Schools. While I have only been at the helm a little more than a year, I taught at elementary and middle for 21 years and have now served for five years as a technology director. As somebody who has been in the educational field since 1987, I have seen many ebbs and flows in education, but all my experiences in the classroom and as a leader have helped prepare me for what I do today.

Last weekend, my husband (a computer applications teacher) and I explored Raspberry Pi. For those of you who are thinking that perhaps this is a dessert that needs ice cream on the side, Raspberry Pi is a very simple mini computer that costs about $35. You must load on an operating system and add your own power source, keyboard, and monitor. From that point on, the possibilities are endless. As our district moves to integrate STEM-based education, it is important for our technical team to have an understanding of new items like 3D printers, Makey-Makeys, and Raspberry Pis so we can support them in our classrooms. Our technology integrators can promote them with schools and teachers when they have relevant and practical lessons to accompany them.

Exploring new technologies is just one of the many jobs I do as CTIO. I recently finished our hardware acquisition plan, one of our teams is preparing technology builds at two new schools, our team is working on various stages RFPs for new purchases, and another of our teams is preparing data to go in to our new substitute-calling system and also a new data warehouse. Our central registration team is busy enrolling new families to the school system while our technicians and network managers are upgrading and installing equipment. Sometimes my job reminds me of the plate-spinner act at the circus where I need to make sure that attention is given to each project and team so that they reach their goals and the plates continue to spin. As one item needs another swift spin, I must make sure all other plates are safe so that I can focus on the needed project. Of course, I am always challenged with the question of how processes can be done better as even a novice plate spinner knows that the farther away the poles are from each other the harder it is to keep all tasks in one’s line of sight and duty.

As we move through August, we are in month three of our preparation for the 2014-2015 school year. I think that when you ask anybody in edtech, they will tell you that summer work is the culmination of the whole preceding year’s worth of planning. While exploring Raspberry Pi is very much on my radar right now, so are a gajillion other technology-related items. It’s a huge job and there are many plates to keep in the air. I wish all technology leaders the best as you all work to keep your plates spinning in to the new school year!

Diane W. Doersch is chief technology & information officer at Green Bay Area Public School District in Wisconsin. Follow her on Twitter as @DoerDi.

By Carl Hooker, CIO Advisor

I've received lots of great feedback on my SAMR Swimming Pool analogy (Taking a Dip in the SAMR Swimming Pool). This was an idea originated by Greg Garner's take on Dr. Ruben Puentedura's often referred to "SAMR ladder" and then "remixed" if you will by me. Well ... it's time for another remix because after reading that original post I realized something.

I got it wrong.

I focused on the teacher's role in the pool the entire time and didn't think about the students as much. So I've decided to take another stab at this and was motivated by my recent trip up to Minnesota for iPadpaloozaMN. They asked me to make my SAMR swimming pool analogy into an entire 50-minute keynote! Talk about pressure! So, here goes. A remix on the SAMR swimming pool with all new analogies and concepts.

You want me to do what with technology?

The Baby Pool (Substitution)

While parts of the original analogy still apply, it's not just about what the teacher is doing with technology. Sure, you still need to test water when it comes to tech. Some teachers feel the temperature and decide it's too cold to enter. Let's say you feel the pool is comfortable and safe to enter. You step into the pool and your 25 students enter the pool with you. All of a sudden you notice something; you are happy that it's only so deep. Because it never goes below 1 1/2 feet deep, the kids can safely walk and splash around with the tools. They don't need log-ins or email addresses. You can control where they go, and if any of them are acting up or playing rough you can just kick them out of the pool (take away their device). A baby pool is fun for really young kids (ages 5 and under); however, older students will quickly get bored in here and want to stretch the boundaries a little. The same thing happens when you take out a device that has access to the entire world and then limit it to just note-taking or e-reading.

The Shallow End (Augmentation)

Wading deeper into learning...

After some time wading in the baby pool with technology, you feel like you can handle having all your students enter the main pool. They start out around the steps and work their way into waste-deep or even chest-deep water. You give them some freedom to go online (but only to certain sites) and you let them use a couple of different apps to help show they understand the learning objective. Kids can start to be a little more creative here. They can now do headstands under water. They can make a PowerPoint presentation. They can play games like water volleyball. They can take a quiz on Socrative. You get the idea.

However, as the water is a little deeper, there is also a little more risk. Someone may fall and drown. You quickly realize that the boundary into the deep end of technology is only a little rope with some buoys on it. But, rather than stop and go back to the baby pool with the kids, you decide to let them stretch their wings. Kids can of pretty much any age range that can swim a little (3yo-18yo) can interact in this part of the pool with some monitoring. You notice they enjoy it much more as there is more to do and you enjoy it more because you know that if someone falls down, they can still stand up safely and breathe. Maybe they don't need to go to the deep end....

Pool breaks (No technology)

Just like the pool, you need breaks from technology or your fingers will get pruney. Every so often you need to take 10 minutes or so to just get out, walk around, eat a snack and reapply sunscreen. Don't forget that no matter how great all this tech-integration is, we all need breaks from it from time to time. Some of the best brain breaks are just 5-10 minutes of playing Charades or doing a silly dance. While they may fight to get back into the pool, plan these into your technology-integrated lessons. The students may not notice it at first, but these breaks spur creativity and interaction, essential especially when going into the deep end.

The Deep End (Modification)

Eventually, you realize you have now spent quite a bit of time talking about boundaries and rules with your kids. They are all now very efficient at swimming with technology and are aware of the risks that are out there. You decide it's ok to send them past the rope with a mission or project in mind without many restrictions except the basic pool rules. As a teacher, you realize it's no longer feasible to be in the pool with the kids as that would be incredibly exhausting trying to tell each of them what to do (sage on the stage) so you elect to go into the lifeguard's chair and keep an eye on things as well as offer motivation (guide on the side).

You begin to notice some things very different about this part of the pool. Kids can now swim all the way to the 12-foot bottom and touch. They can hold their breath for 2 minutes without much struggle. They can focus on an assignment much longer—even with all the access they now have. They start to invent games like Sharks and Minnows. They start to create Explain Everything examples of how they understand an objective. They start to get in and out of the pool and dive in off the side (as it's now deep enough). They quickly transition from paper to device back to paper when needed. As kids need to be pretty efficient swimmers, you wouldn't want any too young (6 or less) in this part of the pool without a floatie. As a lifeguard, you need to make sure they don't drown and occasionally might need to blow the whistle when they've been in the pool too long, but overall the kids are really enjoying the rigor and fun that comes in this part of the pool.

The High Dive (Redefinition)

Kids can not only swim completely independently now, they are also starting to do things you didn't even imagine when you entered the pool.

They can stay under water for 20 or 30 minutes at a time without batting an eye.

The pool no longer has a bottom.

They see the high dive and quickly decide to go off of it. They begin to design gravity-defying dives that involve their friends doing coordinated back flips. Not only that, they show their teacher how they collaborated and achieved the dive but also how it identifies mastery in their learning.

Taking the plunge with technology!

The students have nowbecomethe lifeguards and invent the rules they feel are appropriate for all the swimmers. Your role is that of a swimming or dive coach as well as pool owner (mentor in the center). You want to make sure the water is clean and the internet is filtered appropriately. You set some limits as too how long kids can swim in the pool before a break but the kids enforce it. Your pool is now one of the most popular places in the city and kids are building their own crazy slides, games, and zip lines that make it an enriching and engaging place to be.

None of this was possible when you first stepped foot in that baby pool, but without those initial steps you could have never gotten here. Without letting the kids have some level of autonomy with technology, they would have never gotten to the point where they felt they had some ownership in their learning. Just remember, now that they can jump off that high dive, it doesn't mean this is where they always have to be. Some days the baby pool is all they can handle. Other days, maybe it's the shallow end.

No matter where they are around your pool, you can rest easy in the work you have done to get them at this point.

Now go let them swim.

SAMR Swimming Pool 2.0

Carl Hooker is director of innovation & digital learning at Eanes ISD in Texas and blogs at Hooked on Innovation, where this is cross posted.

By Steven M. Baule, CIO Advisor

I was recently reading a tech facilitator's blog and saw the term futureproof. It has been a while since I saw that term. It was common in the 1990s, as everyone was preparing for Y2K and the potential end of the digital world as we knew it. (Yes, I do know people who bought stashes of bottled water, extra gasoline and such at the end of 1999.) However, I haven't seen the futureproof term being used as much lately. I started to wonder why? Has the potential direction of educational technology been more clearly identified than it was 20 years ago? Or have we simply given up on trying to anticipate the future as things have been changing too rapidly to try to prepare for the future? I have my thoughts, but I am interested in those of other readers.

Another issue that used to loom large in most educational settings was the Mac v. PC debate. With the rise of online and interactive Web 2.0 applications, this issues seems to rarely raise its ugly head these days. People seem to have moved one way or another and the issue is generally settled in most schools and districts. Again, what do you think?

A third issue that really has died is the issue of copper v. fiber. The days of arguing about Cat 5 v. Level 7 cabling seem to be gone with the advent of ubiquitous wireless networking. (Of course, ubiquitous has become a ubiquitous term in the last 20 years.) Non-technical staff don't seem to ever venture down that conversational road at all these days.

The arguments about Word Perfect v. Word are long gone, but they have been replaced by the Office365 v. GoogleApps conversation or even the conversation about whether students need to learn using traditional office v. whether the skills taught via GAFE, etc., are truly readily transferable. It seems in IT there is always a choice to be made with advocates on both sides of the issue. Rarely is there a single correct answer (maybe with VHS v Beta). The key is deciding not which choice is right, but which choice is right for your school and its students, staff, and environment.

Steven M. Baule is superintendent of North Boone CUSD 200 in Poplar Grove, IL. He has written several books on aspects of library and technology management and planning. Follow North Boone on Twitter @NBCUSD200.

By Jon Castelhano, CIO Advisor

July
July brings so many exciting events; FIFA World Cup Finals, RedBud National, and Le Tour de France are among my favorites this year. Each of these events brings many rich traditions and I enjoy them for a number of reasons. The Tour de France, however, is the event that amazes me for so many reasons. To think these athletes will cover over 2,200 miles, ride through the steep mountains passes in the Alps and Pyrenees, draw 3.5 billion television viewers annually and 12 million spectators along the route, it is not hard to understand why it is the world's largest annual sporting event. For the average person that isn't into cycling, the Tour may just seem like another person pedaling a bike around France, but for the enthusiast, it is the ultimate test of endurance and team work that takes place every July.

Working Together
The Tour de France is a great example of teams working together for one common goal. Each team has one chosen leader on their 9-person squad that all other team riders (domestiques) will support. The leader may be going for the overall Tour win, a particular stage win, or in contention for one of the colored jerseys, each representing a different classification. Each rider on the team has strengths that compliment the leader and the overall team strategy. No matter what the goal is, the supporting riders on the team are servant in helping achieve the leader's success.

Vision
Every school district has a vision statement that defines its goals, creates an identity and shapes its culture. All parts of the organization work together to support the vision statement and make it a reality. Similar to the way a Tour team creates its vision for the team leader, a school district has a number of domestiques working together for the success of its students. If you follow the Tour closely, you can see how each team struggles with issues and the leader can not go solo as he or she needs the supporting cast. From the classroom teacher to the bus driver that transports students, to the technology staff that provides working devices and a solid network, every part of the team must work together in a school system in similar fashion.

Final Stage
The road to the Champs-Élysées is a commitment that requires all the pieces of a Tour team working together. When they ride the final stage on the last day, all the teams in the peloton are together, celebrating the end of their long journey. Accomplishing such an arduous task is gratifying when working alongside others, so think about the stages of the school year as your Tour and pedal on!

Jon Castelhano is director of technology for Apache Junction USD in Arizona. This blog is cross posted on his blog, This and That.

By Steve Young, CIO Advisor

As I vacationed last week, I curiously watched the news to see if the overhaul of the e-rate program would pass. While there was widespread agreement that the program needed to change, there was less agreement about how it should change. The FCC commissioners passed the changes with a whopping 3-2 vote. It is amazing and terrifying at the same time that five people—strike that, three people—can have so much authority to drastically change one of K-12’s largest funding sources. And even scarier is that so much of the money will be dedicated to be spent over two years, without what seems to be a clear path for long-term funding sustainability. Undoubtedly, some companies (i.e., overpriced K-12 web hosting companies, for one) are quaking in their business suits and some are rejoicing (major network equipment providers), while us in K-12 are wondering what happens in five or six years when the thousands of subsidized access points we installed in our schools need to be replaced?

I applaud the support for technology in education and the acknowledgment that the program needed changing, while I am terrified that it is just a one-time spend with a tenuous plan for ongoing support and sustainability, making it smell more like D.C. politics than true long-term reform. And let’s be clear, many areas cut out of e-rate are costs that schools and districts will still have to bear, so while it helps e-rate provide funding for wireless, schools will have to fund these cut services out of local budgets.

Steve Young is CTO of Judson ISD in Texas and founder of the San Antonio Area Technology Directors group. He blogs at CTO Technotes, where this is cross posted. Follow him on Twitter as @atemyshorts.

By Tim Clark, CIO Advisor

An ecosystem is a system formed by the interaction of a community of living organisms with each other and their environment. (Dictionary.com, 2014)

When I visit a digital-age classroom where students are actively using technology tools for inquiry and creating new products to show their learning, I see a similarity to an ecosystem. The students and teacher interact within the classroom environment in an organic way to construct learning experiences. What are the components of this digital-age learning ecosystem? What facilitates a sustainable learning environment that endures over time and through adversity? After reading my suggested attributes of a digital-age learning ecosystem, post a reply with your own suggestions that I may have overlooked and should consider for future reflection.

A Sense of Community

Teachers intentionally nurture a community in the digital-age learning ecosystem. They know the interests, strengths, and challenges of their students, and they are eager to learn alongside them. Rather than viewing themselves as content experts with the primary purpose of directing instruction, teachers in the digital-age learning ecosystem relish the roles of learner and explorer. Digital citizenship is ingrained throughout the practices of the classroom. Because students have typically developed their own norms and practices for how they should co-exist with technology, teachers in the digital-age learning ecosystem must encourage appropriate netiquette and the responsible use of technology tools and resources.

Essential Questions
Teachers should design lessons or units of study within the digital-age learning ecosystem by posing essential, open-ended questions. This strategy provokes deeper thinking and encourages students to develop additional questions for future exploration and possible solution. As teachers frame learning experiences around questions, they promote a stimulating culture of inquiry and innovation.

Captivating Digital Content
Students need access to rich multimedia content, including primary resources and documents, in a digital-age learning ecosystem. Teachers can model strategies for conducting smart searches for the just-right information needed to answer the essential questions of the lesson. That information can be further reviewed for accuracy, authenticity, and relevancy in order to develop the students’ skills with digital literacy. By utilizing a learning-object repository, teachers and students can access resources as well as upload and share the content they create within their learning activities.

Assessment for Learning
Teaching rote information to prepare for standardized assessments has dominated classroom practice for the last several years, resulting in teacher-directed learning and high-stakes assignments, grading, and reporting. Conversely, the teacher in the digital-age learning ecosystem employs assessment for learning. This practice utilizes more risk-free formative assessments where the teacher continually checks for student understanding so that students are able to freely share their developing ideas and skills. Teachers also use multiple forms of assessment in the process of learning so that students have more ways to experience success. These forms may include participation in discussion, student-produced content, and multimedia presentations.

Multiple Technology Tools
Whether students use their own technology tools that they bring to school in their pockets and backpacks or school-provided technology resources, these devices develop new purposes within the digital-age learning ecosystem. They are the means for building connections among teachers, students, and content. Different resources are also useful for different tasks. So, there may be a situation when a smartphone or a tablet is the appropriate tool for taking a photo, responding to a question, or accessing content, but other situations may require the use of a laptop or desktop computer, broadcast equipment, interactive whiteboard, or 3D printer. Learning when and how to use the right tool for a job are essential functions within the digital-age learning ecosystem.

Designs for Differentiation and Accessibility
Because each student is unique, teachers in the digital-age learning ecosystem realize that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to learning. Students have different strengths and challenges, so their learning experiences should be tailored for those personal differences. Personalizing learning should include support for English language learners and students with academic and physical needs as well as remediation and enrichment opportunities for all students, as needed. Thoughtfully designed accessibility features within the classroom engage all of the learners by reducing factors that may limit success and impede equitable participation.

Supportive Classroom Environment
The classroom environment of the digital-age learning ecosystem includes both the physical and online areas that are used and curated by the teacher and students. There are a variety of learning spaces and tools available as needed for the students to use for different learning activities, including nooks for individual innovation and quiet reflection in addition to zones for collaborative work and discussion. The learning environment is vibrant, and furniture and equipment are mobile so that they can be easily rearranged to adjust for multiple learning situations and functions.

Engaging Instructional Strategies
Teachers plan instructional strategies that engage students within the digital-age learning ecosystem. With a focus on the skills of communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking, the processes involved in learning, rather than just the products, gain new importance. Not only does this focus ensure that students have multiple ways to show evidence of success in the classroom, it also helps them develop the skills necessary for success in their future careers. Digital-age teachers consider how they implement these strategies throughout each day and realize that they can facilitate student learning without everyone doing the same thing, at the same time, and in the same way.

Summary
Although I described each of the above components of the digital-age learning ecosystem separately, they are all integrated parts. With continued support, this learning environment begins to take on a life of its own as the teacher and students feel a sense of ownership and pride over its sustainable success.

“ecosystem.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 06 Jul. 2014.

Tim Clark is coordinator of instructional technology for Forsyth County Schools in Georgia. This blog is cross posted on BYOT Network.

By Carl Hooker, CIO Advisor

Having just wrapped up a successful iPadpalooza and seeing all the chatter around ISTE 2014 online, I wondered: What makes a memorable and meaningful conference experience?

At iPadpalooza, we had 98.4% of people tell us they would come back to our event next year. Rather than being happy about that number, I focused on what the 1.6% didn’t like. Was the live music too loud? Were the speakers or presentations not what the attendee expected?

I used to be guilty of attending conferences and passively waiting for information or presentations to amaze me. I’d leave disappointed and wonder what attending these conferences would mean for me in the future. However, all of that changed when I started taking a more proactive approach to my conference experience. Here are a few steps to help anyone attending either his or her 1st or 50th event.

Prior to the Event

Laying a good foundation of prep work prior to attending a conference on the scale of ISTE or the variety of something like iPadpalooza can make huge a difference.

1. Find some people to follow - This doesn’t mean cyber-stalk or physically tail someone during the event. Rather, look at the big-name speakers or presenters and start to follow their work on social media. This will give you a flavor of their presentation style and may indicate what kind of content they might offer during their sessions.

2. Identify sessions ahead of time –Looking at the program guide for the first time at the registration booth puts you at a disadvantage. Most events (especially edtech ones) post their session titles and descriptions well in advance. Take that opportunity to do some early research on topics that interest you and areas that you want to improve upon professionally. Additionally, as popular sessions can fill up quickly, always have a back-up plan.

3. Plan on giving yourself time between sessions – George Couros blogged about a conference in Australia that left 30 minutes in between sessions. While that’s a great way to have time in your schedule, most events only allow for 15 minutes or so. When planning out your days, be sure to leave a couple of longer breaks throughout the day. This extra time will allow you to reflect on a session or connect with colleagues and maybe actually have a professional lunch that is longer than 30 minutes.During the Event

4. Don’t sit in sessions you don’t want to be in– EdCamps have mastered this strategy by the “voting with your feet” way that they run their events. If you are “stuck” in a 2-hour workshop on the theory of how Disney’s Frozen can be applied to advanced physics, you either didn’t research the workshop well enough or the description was completely off. (First clue – it was called “Let it Go: Why Liquid Nitrogen is the Bomb.”) Don’t be afraid to walk out to your back-up session. If that one is full, find a quiet place where you can observe and follow the conference hashtag. At least that way you might pick up on some great things shared at other sessions.

5. Meet somebody new and connect – The easy way to do this is to have some virtual introductions via social media beforehand and then approach them when you see them in person (assuming their social media avatar looks like them). The more challenging, and sometimes more interesting, way to do this would be to find an attendee sitting by themselves and just introduce yourself. You never know how their story may help inspire you in the long run and vice-versa.

6. Capture your thoughts and reflect daily – I like to blog about the things that I have learned at conferences. This isn’t so much to share with others as it is for me to identify the things that I found valuable in my learning each day. Not a blogger? Use a tool like Storify to capture bits and pieces of a hashtag and make your own recap with others’ social media posts.

7. Go back and share what you learned – As teachers, we know that our students learn by doing. Therefore, take what you learned and teach someone else. The blog that I mentioned in step #6 is a great way to share what you learned. For the slightly more daring, ask to have some time at an upcoming faculty meeting to give your 5-minute Ignite-type talk about highlights of your learning to the whole staff.

8. Follow-up with attendees and presenters online – Now that you’ve made some connections with new people from the event, be sure to send a message in the weeks afterwards to strengthen that connection.9. Blackmail yourself – Learning new and inspiring ideas at an event can be great momentum going into the beginning of the school year. However, often weeks or months pass before you even get the motivation to apply something you’ve learned and by then you are too tired with the day-to-day of school life. Rather than blow it off, blackmail yourself. Outwardly tell colleagues (online or in person) that you are going to try a new concept that you learned. Then, set a time when you are actually going to try it and publicize this as well. I like to send myself an email in the future using futureme.org or the like. Setting up that email immediately after the event ends can immediately reignite you months later.

These steps or tips are not foolproof, and they do require a bit of heavy lifting on the part of the normally passive conference attendee. But, if you apply some or all of these steps, you’ll find yourself not only enjoying conferences more but also sharing that joy with other colleagues and students down the road.

Carl Hooker is director of innovation & digital learning at Eanes ISD in Texas and blogs at Hooked on Innovation, where this is cross posted.

By Carl Hooker, CIO Advisor

This year at iPadpalooza we were looking to do something a little different with all that "transition" time in between sessions. Often times, when you attend a conference, you find yourself in complete session-mode. You rush from session to session, never taking time to reflect, interact or collaborate with others at the event.

And so, the APPMazing Race was born. When the team at iPadpalooza started brainstorming ideas, we passed around the thought of some sort of app-based Olympics. Last year, we did an Aurasma scavenger hunt to get people interacting with their space. It was a great time-filler but was purely for individuals. We hoped that inventing a teamwork challenge would make the actual event even more meaningful. We ended up with 47 teams of 3 to 4 players signing up for the race by the end of the opening keynote. At midnight of the first day, they received their instructions of what they had to accomplish in the next 36 hours.

Unscheduled Challenges:
1. CREATE - A logo and team name for your team
2. LISTEN - Create a 15- to 20-second audio podcast that summarizes your favorite session. (background music/sound effects for a bonus point)
3. CONNECT - Oneteam member must make a new friend from somewhere else (not on their team) and find 3 things they have in common. Create a Thinglink to represent your new friend and the 3 things you have in common. (Bonus point for finding someone from a different state or country.)
4. SNEAK - A team member photo-bombs an Eanes iVenger (hint: they will be wearing red crew shirts on Wednesday) Clarification: A proper photo bomb is when someone sneaks into a photo from behind.
5. CAPTURE - Take 5 selfies with vendors and post to Instagram with hashtag #iplza14 and your team name. Capture all 5 for final submission video. 1 point per selfie.
6. EAT - Create a Canva poster based on your favorite food item from the food trucks.
7. DRAW - Usinga drawing app, create your best caricature of another team member.
8. CHALLENGE - Create and post a Vine of a team member asking a presenter a question. (please don’t interrupt a session just for this - that could result in a deduction)
9. OUTREACH - Connect with someone over FaceTime who is not at the event and show them around. Take a screenshot that displays evidence you are here.
10. SHARE - Upload and share your final video submission somewhere visible on the web. Your final video must be no longer than 2 minutes.

We also had two scheduled challenges from 3:30-4:30 in the main room of iPadpalooza on Day 2 where the teams had to complete these tasks:
1. DRIVE - Control a Sphero through an obstacle course. 5 attempts per team. Bonus points to the top 3 teams that take the shortest time to complete the challenge.
2. SMASH - Create an Appsmash LIVE during the day 2 closing activity. Theme of the smash will be given at 3:30. You must smash as many apps as you have team members +1 (so a team of 4 must smash 5 apps).

We had an amazing 18 teams complete the challenge and many were made up of people from completely different districts. In retrospect I would have loved to have given every finishing team an award, but we ended up just awarding the top three prizes. Here is what the winning video submission looked like from Team "FargoFromDownUnder Appletes"

While there are always areas to improve, this race was successful in bringing colleagues together (either from the same district or even different countries) to engage and collaborate with an event rather than just being a passive participant. We look forward to even more teams competing next year and know now that the bar has been raised!

Official APPMazing Race Rules & Challenges 2014 PDF

Carl Hooker is director of innovation & digital learning at Eanes ISD in Texas and blogs at Hooked on Innovation, where this is cross posted.

By Carl Hooker, CIO Advisor

Planning a wedding is tough. As a (somewhat) retired wedding DJ, I have seen all the good and the bad of a wedding. From a bride's father refusing to walk his daughter down the aisle to a drunken uncle "mic-bombing" the reception, it's a celebration of life while coupled with an undercurrent of stress.

Now take that and multiple it by 37, lose your voice, and you have my experience at this year's iPadpalooza. It was all the fun mixed with all the stress. Only instead of obstinate fathers we had some amazingly inventive teams of teachers in our first-ever APPmazing race. We had our own drunken mic-bombing uncle close out the show (only without the drunk part) in the ever-entertaining and inspiring Kevin Honeycutt. All of this and my voice never fully made its way back from a weekend cold which made things madly frustrating at times for me.

This was our third year of the 'palooz and we tried to continue to make it not only a happening event but also one where learning was fun and at the center of everything. Last year's keynote of Sir Ken Robinson was very much the highlight of the 2013 event. While it's great to have one-of-a-kind keynote speakers, making this event different than others is the experience around it. From the food trucks to the live music to the wide variety of speakers from all over the world (including our new friends Janelle and Terry from Australia!), making the experience innovative is always the toughest challenge to event organizers.

My attempt at a "Vendor Rap" without a voice

Like any other innovation or invention, we got some parts right and we failed on some others. Regardless, the feedback from attendees has been OVERWHELMINGLY positive with more than 98% saying they would return next year, which speaks volumes to the success of this year's event. Here are some highlights from both my perspective and from those of that sent in feedback.

New additions this year:

APP-mazing Race -

Whenever I attend an event or conference, there are times where I feel like I could and should be a little more active in my learning. The APPmazing Race was born out of the idea that we have a lot of "minutia" that we could be utilizing. (Such a great idea I hear Pearson used it at ISTE a week later.) I also feel like at times we don't make a point of getting to know others and instead just talk to those in our inner circle or Twitter PLN. The APPMazing Race was a chance for 3- to 4-person teams to complete a series of challenges in a 36-hour period starting at midnight on the first night. While we may have shot a little far on our series of app-based challenges, we did have 18 teams complete the race—far exceeding our initial expectations. In the end it was a couple of Minnesotans joining forces with two Aussies to create the winning team, "FargoFromDownUnder Appletes," each of whom went home with an HD iPad Mini and a great story to share. Blog coming soon with more details on how we did this.

Youth Film Festival -

Without a doubt, the youth film festival film screening at Alamo Drafthouse on the second night of iPadpalooza was my personal favorite moment from the event, and not just because I was able to take my wife and oldest daughter along with me. Keeping with last year's theme of creativity, we decided to join forces with Pflugerville ISD film guru Humberto Perez to create our first-ever youth film festival. Much like the APPmazing race, the film festival wasn't without its set of challenges, but in the end, we got to witness first-hand the joy of film-making from the minds of children of all ages. The teams had only a few rules: create a 2- to 4-minute film using only an iOS device, make it have something to do with this year's theme of "up," and put a balloon in it as a prop. The final results were magical and the winning team, "Up, Up, and Away," was also the team that traveled the farthest (coming to us all the way from Illinois). We can't wait until next year's event where we're sure we'll see the bar raised even higher after this year.

On stage with the real stars of the show from the Youth Film Festival (credit: Richard Johnson)

iLead Academy -

Leadership in any type of mobile-device initiative is vital to its success. While iPadpalooza offers many learning opportunities for leaders, it's still teacher-focused at its heart. We created the iLead Academy as an opportunity to get like-minded leaders who hope to make change happen on their campuses in the same room. We mixed in a variety of world-renown speakers, expert panels, and activities focused around the 4Cs. Having an opportunity the hear from so many inspiring leaders, much like the kids from the film festival, really reminded me of what this is all about.

Expert Lounge & Human Library -

With all of these great speakers and variety of expertise in one place, it would be a shame not to at least have 5-10 minutes with them in 1:1 conversation. For those buffer times in the schedule, we created a "human library" where you could check out an expert in a field and sit down and have a conversation to help with your growth and learning. We hope to expand and advertise this much more next year as feedback from those that attended these times was extremely positive.

Challenges
One of the goals of iPadpalooza is to really focus attention on the attendees and make their experience an enjoyable one so that learning can happen more freely. Sometimes we get it right. Sometimes we get it wrong. Here are a couple of areas we'll focus on improving next year:

Schedule -

I tried a "staggered" schedule much like that of a movie theater, instead of the standard 60-minute session/15-minute break approach. The idea was to leave some wider gaps in between sessions and to cut back on traffic flow. Based on attendee feedback, this was either loved or hated. Add to that the limitations of our Sched app and there were times people got up and walked out of a session because they didn't know another was starting a few minutes later. We also tried an evening keynote on the night before the event with the thinking that many people would be in town anyway for the next day. Sadly, many people missed this because they didn't schedule to come in until the first full day. Next year, we'll look at keeping some of those wide gaps but possibly syncing up more of the session starting times, and we'll move the keynotes back to the daytime and improve (or likely change) the scheduling app.

Music -

With a couple of last-minute cancellations, our music this year was a mix of good and bad. At one point I even came out of retirement to spin the 1's and 2's as a morning DJ. While we had an eclectic mix of music, next year we'll look to keep that flavor but possibly have it either in a different area or turn the sound down on the amps so people can enjoy conversation and music at the same time.

Food Trucks -

Having an event with "personalized eating" when it comes to food trailers is still very much part of the fun experience of this learning festival and very much an attendee favorite.

Session diversity -

This year we had sessions from "I fear I'm becoming a Tree-hugging Hippie" to "Guilty Pleasures...Apps You Just Can't Delete." There were presenters from all over the U.S. and beyond bringing their own unique perspectives to learning with mobile devices. We had a little something for every attendee out there and can bet that we'll increase on that diversity next year. We'll be adding both a "Poster-Session" option for presenters and possibly a 15-minute "TED-style" option for talks in short bursts in a certain area of the event.

Keynotes -

Sugata Mitra and Kevin Honeycutt provided the perfect bookend speakers for this year's event. Both spoke about the ideas behind global outreach and also brought us back to core of why we are here ... kids. Like Sir Ken last year, they'll be tough acts to follow, but we already have some interesting leads in the works!

Sneak Peak toward 2015
While I won't spill all the goods on next year's event, I've already alluded to the fact we'll see some different types of session offerings, a change in our keynote structure, and improvements on the APPmazing Race and Youth Film Festival. We'll also likely keep our old faves of live music and food trucks in place. I know that not every innovative and "weird" idea will work next year. Like a wedding, there will be all sorts of magical moments happening throughout the event (only hopefully without the tears). What I can guarantee people walking "down the aisle" of iPadpalooza will experience something they can't get anywhere else...and learn a thing or two along the way.

Come to Austin on June 23-25, 2015 and say "I do."

Here's a word cloud of all the one-word answers attendees used to describe this year's event:

Carl Hooker is director of innovation & digital learning at Eanes ISD in Texas and blogs at Hooked on Innovation, where this is cross posted.

By Steven M. Baule, CIO Advisor

What does 1:1 mean? To many people outside of educational technology, a 1:1 classroom is envisioned as a place where students watch videos and work directly with their computer, tablet or iPad. They imagine a classroom without student-to-student or even student-to-teacher interactions. The vision some have is that 1:1 educational programming will stunt social and emotional growth and lead to a nerdocracywhere interacting with a keyboard or touch screen will replace nearly all human interaction. Others simply see the automation of traditional classroom instruction where the device is simply an expensive spiral notebook.

In reality, the best 1:1 classrooms are much more engaging. Students are using a range of tools to collaborate on assignments via Web 2.0 tools in ways that are not practical in traditional settings. Students in classrooms I have observed are often more interactive with each other than in traditional settings. In the North Boone 1:1 pilot, both discipline incidents and absenteeism have decreased sharply, which is a sign of better student engagement in instruction. The 1:1 device also allows for a more differentiated curriculum, easier modification for special needs, and the ability for more easier, faster, and more accurate formative assessment. Students who read books on electronic devices read about 60% more books per year than those without, according to a recent LearnStuff.com infographic. Of course, I doubt that I am telling most IT folks something new.

The question is how to educate the general public, parents, and some educators to these facts? In some corners there appears to be a campaign worthy of General Lud to return to the traditional textbook and not move to a stronger and more flexible digital curriculum. I think it is important for instructional technology leaders in education and other educators to share their digital curriculum successes in order to bolster the whole. Otherwise, I worry we will be in an even sharper digital divide than we currently have. What can you share?

Steven M. Baule is superintendent of North Boone CUSD 200 in Poplar Grove, IL. He has written several books on aspects of library and technology management and planning. Follow North Boone on Twitter @NBCUSD200.

By Steve Young, CIO Advisor

What is my password for Google Apps? What is my username for Schoology?

We all live with the pain of trying to remember usernames and passwords every day and the problem is getting exponentially worse. Schools are adopting applications for staff and students at a record pace, and with every adopted application the username and password pain train grows worse. Now picture our youngest learners, who increasingly have to sign in to access educational resources. For them, remembering user credentials and typing them in correctly can be a time-consuming exercise in aggravating frustration. Now multiply this times a classroom full of students, and it’s enough to drive a teacher insane. The amount of instructional time wasted on logging in is immense and there seems to be no end in sight.

Thankfully, there are some vendors focusing on easing this pain for staff and students. While corporations have been flocking to single sign-on (SSO) providers like onelogin, which offer portals with one-click login to applications, companies are increasingly offering education-focused SSO and portal solutions. Schools need solutions to the login mess so they can focus on learning, rather than flushing expensive classroom time down the drain as students try to get logged in to applications. The fastest-moving new entrant to the K-12 market is Clever, which is rapidly expanding its portal-based SSO to be the front-end solution for districts to simplify username and password management. Other more complex and versatile systems, like Stoneware webNetwork, can also help schools tame the password beast and get students and staff focused on what really matters.

Steve Young is CTO of Judson ISD in Texas and founder of the San Antonio Area Technology Directors group. He blogs at CTO Technotes, where this is cross posted. Follow him on Twitter as @atemyshorts.

By Miguel Guhlin, CIO Advisor

"If we're not seeing technology blended into curriculum & instruction," shared a colleague one afternoon, "if it's not integral to the success of a lesson or learning activity, then technology is just so much fluff."

"Well, if we must be fluff, then let's be the best fluff out there!"

I regret that this was not a fulfilling conversation for either party. When we talk of revolutionizing schools, reforming them, fundamentally transforming them, I'm left wondering what we're really saying.

As I've transitioned from my role as a director of instructionaltechnology to technology operations, I feel less pressure to advocate the "edtech perspective" which is undervalued in schools today. Simply, who the heck wants to keep evangelizing a perspective that has made such poor inroads into curriculum & instruction departments in schools? Now, my focus is less that of preacher and more of Maytag repairman with a good product to support ... fortunately, no technology seems to be as reliable as the Maytag washer featured in commercials!I'm often reminded of the plight of instructional technologists when I reflect on the work of C.S. Lewis, who cites G.K. Chesterton. I've adapted the original quote:

Instructional Technology has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.

I get a laugh every time. I also get a laugh when I read quotes about revolution (including my own):

Principal Chris Lehmann believes Chromebooks can “revolutionize the way schools are thinking about technology” because of their cost. Source: No More Macs

Chromebooks are attractive for schools...but why? What's the motivation for taking a hard look at Chromebooks?

"Humans respond to three motivations: moral, social and economic. The measure of character is which you respond to most." —Joseph Grenny

Character may matter little to schools these days. Choosing your technology because of cost makes sense. The problem is, most school leaders are NOT choosing cost. If that were the case, we'd all be using Linux and figure out a way to make management work and twist the arms of State Education Agencies and Pearson to support dominant technologies.

We'd forget about motivators like...

1. High-stakes testing from Pearson that requires a proprietary operating system.
2. iStation (in Texas)
3. Think Through Math (in Texas)
4. A wide variety of software that only runs on Windows, and many times, on Mac

More powerful than Lehmann's embrace of Chromebooks for SLA (Video | Article | Rebuttal) is this story Del Valle ISD English teacher shared. This is the motivation I can get behind, although cost is a powerful motivator:

Source: Students Raise Money for New Computers in Del Valle ISD, Texas

Who couldn't blame students for wanting computers they could type on?

Although I've discussed this before, if cost is the primary motivator, then why not do a cost comparison? Sorry, Windows 7 on desktop computers wins for most versatile.

My criteria depend on the following, for which I am unapologetic:

Does the technology do what we need it to?If the need is for drill-n-practice, then it would be foolish to buy technology for PBL, multimedia creation, etc. After all, tech supports the dominant culture in schools. Unfortunately, mixing super advanced technology into the mix does not "transform" people. That takes crucial conversations and confrontations.

Once we've determined what technology is needed, what's the least expensive equipment to get the job done?If we're going to be putting kids on electronic tutorials, then why buy top-of-the-line laptops that cost $1,300? Let's spend $620 (that's an actual quote for Win7 machine, BTW) or less to get an i3, 4gigs RAM, 500gig hard drive desktop that will get it done.

Where will this equipment be placed?If placement is in a lab, then we should be buying desktops, not laptops, Chromebooks and iPads that have to be managed in a cart (expensive). I can't tell you how many times I've walked into situations where equipment less durable than a desktop has been destroyed.

With these 3 bullets in mind, I see real value in setting up desktop computer labs because that's what is needed now. However, in classrooms, we need more choices. And, iPads, Chromebooks, etc., all can fit into the classroom.

That's why a mix of technologies in the classroom is helpful. For example:

• 2 iPads for document cameras, video editing, digital cameras
• 2-5 desktop computers for whatever
• 5 Chromebooks

Campuses must make these decisions on their own, decide what they need and what they intend to accomplish.

How would you go about helping teachers develop a classroom technology plan?

For those of you looking for more information regarding Chromebooks, you may want to check out these documents:

• Will my favorite app or instructional service work on a Chromebook?
• Comparison Chart of Chromebook models
• Leyden Techies Review of various Chromebook models

Miguel Guhlin is director of technology for a 5A school district in Texas and past president of the statewide TCEA Technology Education Coordinators group. This blog is cross posted at Around the Corner.

By Carl Hooker, CIO Advisor

Like most kids, when I was young I held some irrational fears. I was pretty sure any unseen thing that brushed against my leg in the ocean was Jaws. Whenever I saw a slobbery St. Bernard, I was convinced it had rabies and was going to attack me. And for some reason, even to this day, I hold an unnatural fear of clowns. But no fear captivated me more than the fear of the bogeyman.

When I went to camp I would hear all the stories about how if you didn't behave, the bogeyman w come and take you away (usually in a van with no windows). He was a dark, hairy, creepy man that smelled of a foul odor. Kind of a Satanic, hippie-like grim reaper of kid justice if you will. That was a pretty obvious (and evil) trick played by parents to make their kids behave. (No judgment here as I've told my kids some similar things in moments of frustration). However, this sort of nondescript being called the bogeyman still seemed to keep me up at night. Tall. Dark. Shadowy. And he always seemed to come in the window or live under the bed.

Nowadays there's a new bogeyman and he lives on the internet. His name is "Slender Man" and if you haven't heard about him yet, you probably will by the end of this weekend. While his tale has been online for several years, it's now only recently being brought to light following the actions of these 12-year old girls. It's a sad, tragic tale about a bogeyman story going too far, but the crazy thing is, the person that will tell you the most about him is probably an unlikely source ... your children.

Much like those stories at camp, kids pass stories and urban legends to each other as sort of a sadistic right of passage into teenage years.

"If you say Bloody Mary's name in the mirror 3 times and turn off the light, she'll appear and attack you."

"Don't cross your eyes, because if you do and someone slaps you on the back, you'll stay that way."

"Did you ever hear the story about the two teenagers who were driving in the woods and escape death from the one-arm hooked psychopath?"

All of these stories are fed by our fears. Now we have an all-you-can-eat buffet feeding these fears even faster and more anonymously ... the Internet. The difference between now and then is, instead of hearing inflection or seeing a slight smirk on someone's face as they try to scare you to death, the Internet is as faceless as the bogeyman rumors they are trying to spread.

So what's a parent to do? My wife's first reaction is one I find most typical in parents faced with something new and terrible online:

As a parent, when you hear stories as tragic as the one around the Slender Man, your gut reaction is to hold your babies even tighter. In this case, lock the doors, bar the windows, and turn off the Internet. That's a primal reaction that dates back to when we were cavemen and we would hear a growl in the woods. There is NOTHING wrong with that instinct and reaction.

However, while taking away the Internet may seem like a great solution to the problem, it actually focuses your energy as a parent on the wrong bogeyman. True, the Internet can spread these stories faster than you can keep up with them as parents. True, anyone can really say anything online with little consequence. I mean, look at Charlie Sheen. But in all seriousness, taking that away doesn't help your child learn.

The reason why I had those irrational fears as a kid was because of the movies I was watching and my lack of ability to disconnect reality from fiction. My parents and I had long discussions (usually after I crawled into their bed faking a stomach ache) about what was real and what wasn't. In our world, with or without the Internet, we must constantly make judgments. About food. About people. About situations. The fact this is a newer medium than when we were kids doesn't make it any worse, just different.

The bottom line with all of this is we as parents need to have continual conversations with our kids about life. The ability to hold constant mini-conversations with our kids via text messages may make us feel more connected than we ever were with our parents. But it also gives us the false impression that we truly know our kids. That we truly know what they are up to and who they are hanging out with.

In that sense the true bogeyman isn't a shark. It isn't a rabid dog. It isn't a tall, thin man with long wavy arms called Slender Man. And I'm sorry to say, the true bogeyman isn't the Internet.

The true bogeyman are those small moments with our kids that have escaped us as we were busy doing something else (like writing a blog). It's those little rips in the fabric of our relationships that we choose to ignore as they grow and fray. It's all those times we wanted to have a hard conversation with our kids but didn't want to upset them or make them think we weren't friends.

You see, the true bogeyman it turns out is inthe mirror ... only you don't have to say its name 3 times to make it appear.

Carl Hooker is director of innovation & digital learning at Eanes ISD in Texas and blogs at Hooked on Innovation, where this is cross posted.

By Jon Castelhano, CIO Advisor

Willie Style
Who can forget when the Fresh Prince was throwin' down "summer, summer, summertime, time to sit back and unwind?" I am showing my age with that bit of information; that song was the first single on his Homebase album, released in May of 1991, nice play record studio. As educators, we all know that summertime doesn't afford much time to unwind. Although we try to sneak in a little time for "cool shootin' some b-ball outside the school," the down time is used in different way. Teachers are busy searching for new resources, building their PLNs, and planning for the upcoming school year, which is a full-time job. Tech staff is using this time to upgrade hardware, implement new software, and refresh thousands of devices before the new school year arrives. Frantic as it may seem, however, this may be the time to seek out new ways to collect resources, build your PLN, upgrade devices, and take a deep breath before the new school year arrives.

You're Not Alone
If you are a student, teacher, administrator, or techie, there are thousands of your same kind out there working on similar projects and looking to collaborate. So how about taking a little time this summer to connect with others, gather some great resources, and build your PLN by following other educators on Twitter? Twitter is arguably one of the best places online to gather educational ideas and resources. Follow people like Free For Teachers @rmbyrne, hashtag #chromebooks, or if iPads interest you, guru @tonyvincent! The great thing is, you don't have to work hard to find great educators to follow. Here is a list of educators that will get you started by content area/title; you can even add yourself after you create your Twitter account: http://goo.gl/k8U1Yc. If you would like to take it a step further and participate in a Twitter chat, follow this link for times and hashtags: http://goo.gl/9h74lg (thank you @MrsKim_Reynolds for sharing).

Change It Up
Summertime is also a chance to reflect on the traditional things that we seem to do when this time of year rolls around. Speaking from the technology side of the house, the first thought that comes to mind is re-imaging of devices. Spring always seems like the time when new images are being built for deployment, so the second the students and teachers are out the door, massive re-imaging starts taking place. Often, we can't avoid this type of scenario, and we will be doing our fair share of imaging this summer, but maybe there is a better way. Use this time to reflect on the processes and see how you can eliminate some of the lengthy projects that seem to take up most of those summer days that you could be focusing on other areas.

Another idea that is always refreshing during the summer months is the start of the day. When school is in session, start times are critical for providing good customer support. Summer can allow flexibility for your tech staff to start the day off in a different way. Use this time to have brief 15-30 minute sit downs to share how their summer projects are rolling along, collaborate on any issues that may be happening, and enjoy a nice ice coffee or smoothie to start the day!

Jon Castelhano is director of technology for Apache Junction USD in Arizona. This blog is cross posted on his blog, This and That.

By Steve Young, CIO Advisor

In a previous post, I mentioned the need for overworked school IT staff of a top-notch help desk system. I also laid out what my staff and I felt were the major features we needed from a system to help our staff provide better and more efficient service to our customers.

I usually shy away from writing outright product recommendations, but given how great of a product we ended up with, I wanted to be sure and share this with other school districts and any other growing IT department that has needs that go beyond a basic help desk ticketing system.

After many months of requirements gathering, web research, and product demos, we ended up selecting our new service desk, iSupport. iSupport is only in the business of selling and supporting its awesome help desk offering. The company does one thing and does it extremely well. And lest you think they stole the name from that other “i” company, iSupport has been in the help desk business a very long time and focuses on making a very good product better with every release.

I am not going to get into the feature set of the product; let me just say it is robust and more configurable than almost any product I have ever seen. There is almost always a way to make this system fit your needs and processes. And if you can’t figure it out, the BEST tech support I have received is just a phone call away. If you want to know about features and functions, try visiting their site, requesting a trial, or perusing some of their YouTube videos.

Our implementation of iSupport is not done. We have a great start with incident management, a parts store, parts charging, knowledgebase, end user portal, automated reporting, and several custom incident templates, email notifications, and more. Next up we are looking to roll out a service catalog and purchasing handbook. The great part is that we are able to move almost all of our customer interaction right into iSupport, so that they have only one place to go when in need of assistance. At the end of the day, providing our customers the best service possible is our goal, and iSupport is helping us to do that better.

Steve Young is CTO of Judson ISD in Texas and founder of the San Antonio Area Technology Directors group. He blogs at CTO Technotes, where this is cross posted. Follow him on Twitter as @atemyshorts.

By Carl Hooker, CIO Advisor

This "off-season" in the Texas legislature brings about a chance for both House and Senate members to gather information and intel for the upcoming session in 2015. On the House side, Public Education committee members are gathering information to review, repeal, and possibly replace the current method of administering teacher evaluations. That was the not-so-hidden agenda presented to me a couple of weeks ago when I was asked to give testimony on innovative teaching and learning from the viewpoint of a 1:1 school.

Now, I've done all manner of public speaking in my life; from being a keynote speaker to dressing up like a zombie, I really enjoy engaging a crowd. I don't get nervous or stage fright like I probably should in those situations. Testifying was definitely an exception to that rule. While I was extremely honored and grateful to have the opportunity to speak, I was nervous beyond belief. Not only did I have a whole set of verbiage to learn ("Mr. Chairman," members of the the committee, etc.), but I was also on a 10-minute time limit. Those of you who know me know that I can speak fast so my goal was to cram about 20 minutes worth of content into those 10 minutes without being completely incomprehensible.

Adding to those nerves was the actual physical set-up of the room. I don't know how many of you have had to give testimony or speak at a Board meeting, but that set-up can be intimidating. I was sitting at a table with 3 other witnesses looking up toward a wall of tables that greatly mimicked "The Wall" from Game of Thrones in my mind. This gave the committee members a distinct strategic advantage in terms of having the higher ground and vantage point to any argument.

I had all sorts of crazy ideas for my testimony as a way to stand-out (Zombie costume or take over their iPads somehow came to mind first). However, in the end, I felt it most important to speak clearly on our 1:1, the changes we've seen in learning and teaching, and the fact that professional learning is so valuable with these changes. Here's a link to the entire testimony. (I'm in the first hour and a half or so.)

I did decide to auto-tweet my testimony since my notes were written on keynote slides. (I had been advised to avoid "reading" my testimony.) While I got no response from the panel at the auto-tweet remark, I did actually get Rep. Donna Howard (D) to tweet at me which I took as an early win.

Need 2 follow--testifying/tweeting at same time RT @mrhooker: Going to attempt to live-tweet my resources during my testimony

today #txlege

— Donna Howard (@DonnaHowardTX) May 14, 2014

As for the testimony itself, I was fast but seemed to get the story of my district across. I was extremely thankful to see a friendly face, our Superintendent Dr. Nola Wellman, walk in minutes before I took the stand. Once I started speaking, a strange calm washed over me. I realized as they moved to the next panelist, that this was a great opportunity to speak my mind about what's been bothering me about the way the state handles public education. If you don't want to watch the entire testimony, here are a few of the points I tried to make:

The Autopsy that is standardized testing

I actually got quoted by the local NPR affiliatefor this one. When asked about whether or not state standardized tests should count towards a teachers evaluation, I cautioned the committee that that course of action is "dangerous." My rationale being: You are judging that teacher using one metric that is essentially an autopsy of what they learned, not only that year from that teacher, but the teacher prior to that and prior to that and so on. This isn't a new idea among many of us, but thought it was a good opportunity to get that out in the open.

"Bottom Kids"

When Rep. Harold Dutton mentioned in his cross testimony of Andrew Kim about whether or not project-based learning worked for "bottom kids," I started stewing. Our culture is so ingrained with the idea of ranking individuals that we now use nomenclature that demeans those struggling students right out of the gate by calling them "bottom kids." I went on a mini-rant about how we as society need to stop the competitive nature of state-testing in our world as it really benefits no one. (Rep. Dutton later apologized for using that phrase.)

Evaluating in Isolation

Near the end of our time on the panel, Chairman Jimmie Don Aycock took the opportunity to ask us our opinion on how teachers should be evaluated. There was unanimous agreement among the panel that the focus should shift from the "dog & pony" show of teacher-led lectures to encompass more of a 360-degree view of the classroom and what the kids are doing. As an appraiser, you should be not only ask kids what they are learning but also ask them to demonstrate their learning. My main beef with traditional teacher evaluations is the idea that we all should teach in silos (an idea that's made even worse when you throw in performance-based pay). There are no metrics out there that truly measure teamwork, but having items on a evaluation that encourage collaboration among peers would be valuable to break from the approach of teaching in isolation.

Parents evaluating teachers?

One of the more interesting questions was the final one: Should parents be able to evaluate teachers? This question prompted my "mic drop" (although it was more of a "mic shove" if you watch the video)

When asked the question, here was my response:

"I have no problem at all with parents evaluating teachers....as long as teachers can evaluate parents." (mic shove)

Opportunity strikes

This whole experience was very eye-opening for me and it has raised some extra questions in my mind that I'd love for some of my fellow bloggers or followers to reply to. Please comment below to one or all of these questions:

1. If you had 10 minutes to present in front of Congress, what would you talk about and why?

2. If you could remake teacher evaluations, what would you do differently?

3. Have you ever had a time in your life when you were given the opportunity to say something, but didn't?

I'm curious to hear your responses and invite you to help add to my testimony.

I promise not only that I'll listen, but that I won't be staring down at you from a tall desk.

Carl Hooker is director of innovation & digital learning at Eanes ISD in Texas and blogs at Hooked on Innovation, where this is cross posted.

Tim Clark, CIO Advisor

How it begins…

When students first bring in their own technology devices for a BYOT initiative, the energy in the classroom crackles with their excitement. They are eager to share how they use those tools for connecting to others, consuming content, and playing games. Teachers usually prepare an introductory activity designed to help their students explore how to learn with BYOT. There are many discussions about apps, websites, networks, and hardware. However, there is a potential for magic to happen through consistent use, high expectations, and sheer determination. The devices blend into the normal part of the process of learning, and the technology becomes invisible. The teachers who are able to conduct that magic trick possess a common understanding—BYOT is a mindset, and here’s the secret; it isn’t about technology after all.

What it is…

The BYOT Mindset is a deeply ingrained (in your bones, even) conviction that students can and should own the learning (or at least share it with their teachers). Just as they own their technology devices, most students also possess an understanding of software, processes, and media that have to be acknowledged as possibilities for deeper learning. The BYOT mindset is more than the understanding of a technology device (most students don’t automatically know how to learn with their technology); rather, the BYOT mindset also takes into consideration that the students have particular knowledge of applications that may be beneficial for their learning.

How you embrace it…

As teachers, we often think that our job is to direct the learning in the classroom. We concoct the perfect recipe of lecture, project, practice, and assessment to lead to student mastery of a concept. However, what would happen if we challenged the students with a relevant question and had them research information and propose solutions to real-world problems? Ideally, this situation would lead to greater student engagement and relevancy. The students can utilize their own technology tools in this pursuit of learning, as needed. Teachers can embrace the BYOT mindset by trusting that their students will be connected to their learning as they are challenged to discover for themselves new solutions to authentic problems.

By exhibiting the following five behaviors, teachers can venture along the path to embracing the BYOT mindset.

1. Share control of the learning.

2. Ask more questions than give answers.

3. Realize that BYOT is about understanding as well as devices.

4. Provide access to rich content and resources.
5. Trust your students as members of a learning community.

Tim Clark is coordinator of instructional technology for Forsyth County Schools in Georgia. This blog is cross posted on BYOT Network.

By Miguel Guhlin, CIO Advisor

During a conversation with a principal, in response to the question, "Why aren't you a principal?" I replied in the following way:

"A principal's impact is small..." I began. "And...."

Before I could say anything else, my colleague pounced. "What? Are you saying I don't influence people across the district?"

Obviously, I'd goofed. The conversation had stumbled into an area that I hadn't thought through very well, and it was unfortunate. Not because I was pounced on—and rightly so—but because, as I pointed out, as a writer I like to use my writing to figure out what I mean. When you do that aloud, there's no backspace and delete. There's no revision. The words are out there. You can't pull them back.

What I meant to say—which was also poorly considered—was the following:

A principal has a small impact because the number of people he or she interacts with on a daily basis is much less than a district staff member. (Yes, you can see the hole getting deeper in writing, right?) When you work at a district, regional, or state level, the potential impact of your work is greater. Today, though, folks can capitalize on social media to have a broader impact.

Again, as I read this, I realize what a goof I've made of the conversation. As I reflect on experiences and interactions with principals via Twitter, I realize how stupid my remark is. The more I think about where it came from, the more I realize it's a leftover sentiment from something I heard long ago and internalized. And it's no longer true.

One friend put it to me this way: "We adopt opinions and beliefs as our own, giving no further thought to their veracity, then at a certain point, slap a coat of shellac on them and that's that. These perspectives endure until life rocks our world and makes us rethink them." The value of perpetual learning is that we are often forced to reexamine our perspectives.

Yet, even knowing that, I failed to reexamine something I'd held true for a long time. It's an ill-conceived mess that shows my bias against being a principal and my preference for being in a district, regional, or state leadership position that interacts with more people. Yet that's a preference, a bias based on information that is no longer true. And thanks to social media, it's even less true than before.

As I reflected in the moment, I realized what a terrible thing I'd done to my highly-esteemed colleague. How to apologize?

Crafting an Apology

When I apologize, I believe in doing it in this way:

1. Be emphatic in your apology. Halfhearted apologies are for wimps. Fall on your sword.

2. Be specific about what you're apologizing about. The point of specificity isn't so the other person will remember how you wronged them, but so that youwill remember and offer an apology that addresses what you did wrong.

3. Assume complete responsibility for what you've done wrong. Obviously, you've messed up. Own your mistake (or know when you can do nothing to repair the damage, another blog entry in itself).

4. Ask for forgiveness.

As I read my four points, I wasn't surprised to find that others have elaborated on The Key Components of an Effective Apology.

To internalize this process for the future and apologize as I explored a dark, half-formed chaotic thought and voiced it, I'm going to write an apology with those components above.

Here goes:

1) A clear 'I'm sorry' statement.
"Jennifer, I have reflected on what I just said, and I want to sincerely apologize. I'm not sure that explaining what I was thinking—and not thinking—will be effective, so I want to say "I'm heartily sorry for having offended you."

2) An expression of regret for what happened.
Knowing how small my poorly considered remark made you feel, and how poorly it reflected what I think about you, I want you to know how much I regret what just happened.

3) An acknowledgment that social norms or expectations were violated.
The more I think about it, the more I realize that I shouldn't have said something like that without giving it more thought ahead of time. There's an expectation for civil discourse, and I just crossed the line. I want you to know that I know it.

4) An empathy statement acknowledging the full impact of our actions on the other person.
I can only imagine what an impact my foolish remark had on you. I hold you in high esteem, and I hope that my poorly considered remark will not damage our relationship. The work you do is critical and your influence stretches far beyond the bounds of your campus and your role as principal.

Ah, there's nothing like a solid apology to remind us that each of us is fallible, and one action away from foolishness or worse. I'm grateful to have a forgiving colleague and friend, but having made my share of mistakes, there's nothing that fully takes away the sting of stupidity than an authentic, heartfelt apology followed by a request for forgiveness.

Miguel Guhlin is director of technology for a 5A school district in Texas and past president of the statewide TCEA Technology Education Coordinators group. This blog is cross posted at Around the Corner.

By Carl Hooker, CIO Advisor

In the movie Harry Potter, one of the most fantastical moments happens when Harry receives his invisibility cloak, passed down from his father. It was a powerful moment in those movies and a tool that Harry would utilize many times over in the following films to help get him in and out of trouble.

While this magic may seem like fiction, I have news for you. Most of us now harness the power of invisibility in the palm of our hands. My wife and I began to refer to the magic of what we called the "Invisible Cell Phone Shield" or ICPS, back before smartphones were even a twinkle in Steve Jobs' eye. I remember my first encounter with this phenomenon back in 2004.

I had recently purchased what I then described to my wife as "the last cell phone I'll ever own"—the Motorola RAZR. It was so cool and slick and shiny and even looked like it could be some sort of weapon. At any rate, we were outside of a University of Texas basketball game, waiting for a friend who was supposed to bring us some tickets. Texting wasn't really widespread at the time so I was stuck with this RAZR attached to my head, trying to get a hold of him. We wandered around outside the arena for about 20 minutes, my wife's foot tapping impatiently with every passing minute.

At that moment, I captured my first glimpse of the power of invisibility. As I wandered over by the player will call door, phone still firmly planted on my ear and a furrowed brow across my face, the door magically opened. An usher, seeing my stress and no-doubt high-status phone, had surmised that we must be trying to get in. Rather than bother me with a question like "Can I see your tickets?," he instead let us wander right in through the back door and practically onto the court.

When we got inside, my wife looked at me in dismay and said, "What just happened?" I didn't have an answer for her, but somehow we were now sitting courtside at a basketball game in seats we had no business being in. We both began to get nervous. I called my friend again. No response. The game was about to start. An usher looked in our direction and started walking toward us. Carefully and purposefully, I picked up my phone and placed it on my ear. This time, I acted like I was in a deep conversation. The usher approached, paused for a moment, then moved on with a sort of dumbfounded look on his face. It worked again!

After tip-off we were able to finally locate our friend and go to our actual seats, but that moment stuck in both of our heads. What was this witchcraft that made us invisible? Could it work anywhere else? (Short answer: no, something I would find out the following year when I tried to use it to sneak into the 2005 National Championship game.)

We had discovered a secret power this mobile technology held. It made us not only somewhat invisible, but also protected us from harm or questioning. It was the Invisible Cell Phone Shield and it was a great thing to behold.

That was 10 years ago. Today, you see this ICPS as commonplace throughout modern society. People walking down the street, holding the phone up to their ear to avoid real conversation. Hanging out near a grocery store exit around Girl Scout cookie time is a great time to watch this phenomenon in action. Even the Girl Scouts can't seem to penetrate its defenses. Common waiting areas like bus stops, elevators, doctor's offices, etc., seem to also have a case of widespread ICPS. I even witnessed our beloved former UT football coach Mack Brown using the Invisible Cell Phone Shield recently when I saw him walking through the airport.

What started out as a magical tool, a cloak that could help me get in and out of trouble, has now become a means of social isolation. It has become a necessity when going out into the world and mixing in public places with strangers. And now that these are all smartphones (update: The RAZR was not the last phone I ever bought), it seems as if we don't even have to press the device to our ear to gain the power of invisibility.

This video called "Look up" was released recently and has gone viral on social media (ironic considering the content).

In the video the author demonstrates a situation where he chose to make himself invisible, and in doing so he misses the opportunity to interact with the future love of his life. While I think this is an extreme example of how too connected/not connected we are as a society, it demonstrates perfectly what's happened to this once magical power. It's almost like Harry got the cloak, put it on, and never took it off again, especially when it came to being a crowd of strangers.

So my new challenge for all of the world is not to just go out and be 'visible' by detaching yourself from your phone. Instead, I challenge you to break someone's Invisible Cell Phone Shield and actually interact with them. It will seem uncomfortable and almost like an invasion of privacy. But it isn't. You'll probably get a perplexed look that says "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" or "Seriously, I'm texting someone now, why are you bothering me?" but I encourage you to fight against this disease that I once considered magic.

After all, you never know who you might meet....

My #selfie w/Mack after I broke his ICPS

Note: This post is the fourth installment of a 5-part series on digital zombies, re-animated, if you will, from my SXSW presentation on Surviving the Digital Zombie Apocalypse.

Carl Hooker is director of innovation & digital learning at Eanes ISD in Texas and blogs at Hooked on Innovation, where this is cross posted.

By Gary Shattuck, CIO Advisor

In my last series of blogs, I wrote about thepast, the present, and the future (Part 1 and Part 2). More specifically, I wrote about the future in terms of how we must be preparing for a future that will be characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. If that is not daunting enough for ourselves as adults, how do we prepare our students for that kind of future? That will be our challenge as educators as we continue forward in the 21st century.

This new series of blogs is connected to the last one in the sense that I believe in order for us to prepare our students for this future we need to learn to be innovative and creative so we can teach our students to be innovators. In 2010, Steven Johnson wrote Where Good Ideas Come From as an illustration about how the innovations we know today were discovered in our past. By discovering how these innovations developed, we can have a better idea about how to go about developing a culture of innovation in our schools. For example, the mythology of inventions or innovations is that a single inventor working in his workshop, his basement, or his garage toiled away by himself until he was able to perfect a new invention and reap the rewards. This mythology is just that—mythology. In reality, most inventions and innovations were created by a team of people working together collaboratively to perfect an idea.

We all know that Steve Jobs did not singlehandedly invent the Apple computer; he worked on it with his friend Steve Wozniak. The same goes for Bill Gates and countless others. The computer mouse, a peripheral device we all take for granted, was invented by two engineers, Douglas Engelbart and Bill English, working at Stanford Research Institute in 1963. Thus, collaboration is an important element in an innovative culture.

Another characteristic of innovations is that they most often come from improvements from current practices or ideas. It is rare that an invention takes a great leap forward. It happens but very infrequently. Johnson calls this close proximity phenomenon the “adjacent possible.” Most innovations are just the next evolutionary step in an idea or a product. For example, the television was first used in a US broadcast from a TV station in 1946, and it was in black and white. The next evolutionary step was the color TV. When people wanted to record their favorite shows to watch later, the VCR developed which turned into the DVD and, now, Blu-ray. All these innovations were made possible by the pioneering work done earlier. These innovations were possible because they were adjacent to current practices.

Not only do innovations come from the “adjacent possible,” but Johnson also documents that innovations come from “slow hunches” and from “serendipity.” To this end, we in education must use these strategies to become innovative educators; to create innovative classroom environments that foster innovative thinking on the part of our students. These subjects will be explored in more depth in subsequent blogs in this series.

Gary Shattuck is the director of technology and media services at Newton County Schools in Covington, Georgia. Follow him on Twitter as @EdTechLeader.

By Steve Young, CIO Advisor

It's not news that mobile device adoption continues to surge. Smartphones and tablets are everywhere and the price barriers to adoption have collapsed. Many schools have embraced mobile devices and have adopted tablets or allowed BYOD, or both.

One area schools are lagging behind in is putting their web content in a format that consumers prefer on those devices. A visit to most school web sites still shows that the sites themselves are not mobile friendly.

But before jumping off the deep end and telling everyone to make a mobile-friendly web site, a close look at some recent statistics is in order. Techcrunch had 2014 as the year total desktop web users were first outnumbered by mobile web users. And in K-12 we are already seeing more families where their only Internet access is via a mobile device. But before making your site mobile, consider this key metric from Flurry Analytics. Their recent data shows that in just once year, mobile device users spend 86% of their time in mobile apps daily, versus just 14% on the mobile web. Mobile web use fell 6% in just one year.

So while appeasing the voracious mobile beast, K-12 districts need to look at their strategy closely. Is a mobile web site good enough? The data says otherwise. Districts are going to need to seriously look at creating a mobile app, paying a company to do it, or subscribing to one of the increasing number of K-12 mobile app providers.

Steve Young is CTO of Judson ISD in Texas and founder of the San Antonio Area Technology Directors group. He blogs at CTO Technotes, where this is cross posted. Follow him on Twitter as @atemyshorts

By Tim Clark, CIO Advisor

After spending a week observing classrooms at various stages of implementing BYOT, I reflected on how I could encourage the members of those schools to find new ways to learn with their technology tools. I turned to my own Personal Learning Network (PLN) in Twitter in #BYOTchat for suggestions regarding the components necessary for initiating and sustaining a schoolwide BYOT implementation. I’m sure that everyone has different opinions about the order of significance of the following recommendations, but please share your ideas by commenting at the end of this post. This compilation is ordered in the way I received them from my PLN, and I added some of my own ideas about each of the following areas:

1. Administrator Support and Expectations.I began the discussion by suggesting this item. From my experience, when an administrator relates that BYOT is important for students and expects that students should be using their technology tools for learning, then teachers are more motivated to encourage BYOT. I think that school and district leaders need to walk through their buildings and recognize effective uses of technology and offer support when necessary.

2. Adequate Infrastructure.Having a robust Wi-Fi network is essential to the effective implementation of BYOT. I have also seen students use their own devices without necessarily being connected to the Internet, and in my district students also can use their personal data plans (if they can get a signal). I do recognize, however, that teachers and students will be frustrated with an unreliable network within their schools.

3. Dedicated, Interested Teachers.Teachers have to understand that they don’t need to know how to use all of the technology tools that come into their classrooms. They need to focus on the teaching and know how to ask good questions so that they can facilitate student discovery of new ways to learn with their personal devices. They also need to develop a responsive learning community and negotiate strategies for the use of BYOT. Teachers have to be resilient and understand that they will sometimes make mistakes, but they can model how to be digital-age learners.

4. Parent Support.Many parents see their children using technology for gaming or communicating with friends, and parents often hand their own devices to children to keep them pacified in restaurants or in the back seat of the car, but they usually haven’t seen children learning with technology. There are many ways to help parents understand BYOT. Use a polling app during a PTA meeting so that parents can participate with their own devices. Invite parents to a Technology Night at the school at which students can explain to parents how they learn with BYOT. Finally, share out suggestions for apps and tools in newsletters or provide links to successful BYOT lessons and products so that parents can realize new learning opportunities with BYOT.

5. A BYOT Policy.Everyone needs to understand how the technology tools will be used and how issues will be resolved if the technology is used inappropriately. We never really experienced nightmare scenarios with BYOT in my district, and over time we developed a new Responsible Use Policy that focuses on nurturing trust among teachers and students. Of course, as professionals, the teachers still monitor the use of technology tools in their classrooms just like they monitor other behaviors.

6. A BYOT Purpose/Vision. There are several reasons why a school may choose to begin a BYOT initiative. One reason is that so many students may have devices that a school needs to find ways (other that outright banning them) to deal with all of these forms of technology. In addition, digital-age skills can be taught and facilitated with students' own technology tools. Furthermore, students can be more engaged in learning when they become producers of original content rather than solely consuming content. The vision for BYOT needs to be understood and shared by all of the members of the learning community.

7. BYOT Capacity and Equity. BYOT equity can be a challenge to understand and accomplish. I prefer having different devices because those differences help provide more personalized learning experiences and more opportunities to transform learning within the classroom. Is it equitable when a parent chooses not to send technology to school because of fears related to screen time or when one teacher utilizes technology but the teacher in the next classroom doesn’t use it because of his or her fears related to technology use? A good blend of school technology resources and personal technology tools seems like the most equitable solution, and a school district also needs to consider the issue of home Internet access.

8. On-Going Personalized Professional Learning.I think that there is no final resting place for professional learning in BYOT. The tools and applications continue to evolve over time, and a certain mindset is required for teaching and learning in the digital age. With so many different opportunities for engaging student learning with BYOT, a teacher has to receive support just in time and usually that support comes from the students in the classroom. Again, a supportive learning community encourages teachers and students to be risk-takers, willing to try new approaches and able to learn from successes and mistakes.

Having a great PLN like #BYOTchat in Twitter helps me to make my professional learning personalized to my unique challenges and interests.

I’m grateful to all of the educators who contributed to my understanding of the needs for BYOT implementation. If you think there is an item missing from this list, or if you think of a creative way of ordering these suggestions, please leave a comment.

Also, join #BYOTchat in Twitter each Thursday night at 9 PM EST for an exciting discussion regarding an aspect of BYOT!

Tim Clark is coordinator of instructional technology for Forsyth County Schools in Georgia. This blog is cross posted on BYOT Network.

By Carl Hooker, CIO Advisor

http://goo.gl/XNgMhR

Since the beginning of time, man has always had an innate sense of alertness. In our primitive self, that alertness was used to make us aware of dangers around us. Imagine it—you are hunting and gathering food when all of a sudden you happen upon a pond with fresh water. You bend over to quench your thirst or possibly fill a jug with water for your family, when all of the sudden you hear a twig…

SNAP!!

You turn and look for what blood-crazed beast might be approaching you. It turns out to be a smaller creature…like a squirrel. (Look! Squirrel!) Following your expience with the varmint, you travel cautiously back to your cave having survived certain death. When you arrive home to your wife and kids you discover that you left your jug full of water behind. “What were you thinking?” she might ask (although back then it might be more like a series of grunts). Your response would be simply “Ah dunno” (which in modern times still sounds like a series of grunts).

The truth is, you were distracted. Your brain refocused attention and energy toward survival and alertness. In that moment, you forgot the water jug and simply returned home. To set this more in modern times, have you ever gone into a room to look for something and then something else caught your eye or someone asked you a question at which point you forget why you were in the room? You might even travel back into the original room to sort of mentally “retrace” your steps and try and figure out why you were going into a certain room.

I know I’ve probably paid hundreds of dollars in wasted electricity staring into the refrigerator pondering why I went there in the first place. By our very nature, we are victims of distraction. Distraction causes our brain to alter its original course of action whenever a new stimulus is produced. Some of us have become quite acute at managing this and claim to be multitaskers (a theory that is seemingly debunked weekly). Others have figured out ways to block out distraction when working on a task.

Enter the era of smartphones and notification alerts. All the sudden, something as small and innocent as a beep or tweet causes us to lose focus on our task at hand. I’m calling this “Notifistraction” (No-tis-fah-strac-shun) Disease, or the mash up of notifications and the distraction they cause. Despite our best efforts to focus, our brains still revert back to the stone-age twig-snapping event whenever our devices alert us about something.

And that’s only part of it. A local cyber-psychologist here in Austin, Dr. Mike Brooks, says that we are becoming addicted to our alert notifications. He states that we get small endorphin rushes to our brain whenever we get an alert notifying us that someone has connected with us. This can be mentioning us in a tweet, tagging us in a photo, or commenting on our YouTube video, for example. That connection creates endorphins that are subconsciously associated to the sound or sight of a notification alert.

Think of the rat in B.F. Skinner’s famous rat experiment on Operant Conditioning as a simple example of this conditioning. A more modern example might be the feeling one gets when walking through a casino and listening to the slot machine make all sorts of bells and whistles to claim we have won something. That same primitive level of satisfaction combined with our inability to control perfect focus when distracted makes Notifistraction Disease another sign that the Digital Zombie Apocalypse is upon us.

Like everything else I’ve written in this series, I have had some level of personal challenges to overcome when it comes to notifistractions. Recently, I was honored to receive a new Pebble watch as a going-away present from my TEC-SIG presidency. Just like any new gizmo, I love the watch. I can see my running times on it, can bring up the weather, and can even be notified when my washing machine is done with my clothes. It uses the smartphone as sort of a “main frame” and just relays alerts to the watch. Now I have notifistractions literally tethered to my body!

Now, as with Digital Yawns, the good news is there are some homeopathic cures out there for those of us suffering from Notifistraction Disease. Here are some tools I’ve deployed personally to help me get through a project or just simply enjoy time with my kids and family without my attention being drawn else where. It’s already come in handy when we went on a recent family trip and I noticed that the airport had mis-tagged our car seats which would have sent them to a totally different city. If my nose had been buried in my phone, I wouldn’t have caught that slip-up.

1. Turn Off Notification Alerts -I have turned off all audio alerts except for text messages and phone calls. While this might not seem like much of a sacrifice, at one point I was getting Foursquare alerts about the good mileage Greg Garner made on a recent run. Do I really need to know that? (he’s fast by the way) My next step is turning off that little alert icon that appears on my apps as I don’t need to see the 999 unread email messages I might have.

2. Don’t Respond to Everything Right Away -

I try not to respond or read alerts or social media while sitting in the car. Notice I didn’t say “while driving”. This is still a bit of a challenge, because, just like the Skinner rat, I sometimes want to know what someone is sending me. Of course, with the new watch, I can see the alert on my wrist and just choose not to respond, but that’s still a distraction.

3. Employ the “Pomodoro Technique” -

When working on a project, I employ the Pomodoro Technique. I have to give props to Lisa Johnson for sending this my way, but it’s a simple technique used to maintain focus throughout a project. Here’s how it works. You write down a goal or project that you need to work on. Then you basically turn off all notifications, shut down email, turn off your phone, etc., for a period of 25 minutes. When the 25 minutes are up, you can take a break for 5 minutes to check email, social media, your clothes in the washing machine, etc., but then you have to get back to work on the task for another 25-minute period. I even employed this technique while writing this post!Let’s face it, we’ve been distracted creatures for thousands of years, but it’s time we started managing those distractions and not letting them rule our lives. Do we really need to know when our washing machine is done? The next time you suffer from Notifistraction Disease, ask yourself, is it really important that I get this alert on my phone? You might find yourself being distracted by more pleasant things like nature and birds and … squirrels!

Now . . . what was I saying?

Note: This post is the third installment of a 5-part series on digital zombies, re-animated, if you will, from my SXSW presentation on
Surviving the Digital Zombie Apocalypse.

Carl Hooker is director of innovation & digital learning at Eanes ISD in Texas and blogs at Hooked on Innovation, where this is cross posted.

By Gary Shattuck, CIO Advisor

In this blog, I will try to explain what I think we in education need to do to prepare our students for a future that is characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. If we are to predict the near future then we must use that prediction to inform our decisions and our actions today.

Clayton Christensen of Harvard University discovered what he called disruptive technologies and which he outlined in his book The Innovator’s Dilemma. Later, he applied his research methodology to K-12 education in Disrupting Class and predicted that by 2020 one-half of high school classes will be taught online. How do we prepare for that scenario? Do we create our own classes or do we push our students into K-12 online alternatives? Do we go all online or do we use blended learning alternatives? These are decisions we will need to make very soon.

If that is not enough, look at what we are producing as far as student outcomes are concerned. Are we graduating students who are prepared for the 21st century? Tony Wagner’s research in The Global Achievement Gap indicates that we are not preparing our students for this kind of world. Since we are stuck with assessments that measure retention of discrete facts, we are not preparing our students for the high-tech jobs that are currently available, let alone for the jobs that have not yet been created. According to Wagner, the number-one characteristic that CEOs and HR personnel are looking for in new hires is the ability to ask good questions. Do we teach that? Do we teach inquisitiveness and curiosity, or do we teach memorization skills? Do we teach creativity and critical-thinking skills or do we teach mimicry and compliance? Of the 10 most marketable jobs in 2014, three are in computer technologies and seven are in health care. The top two are software developer and computer systems analyst. Are we preparing our children for these kinds of jobs?

Wagner’s ideas about what CEOs and HR personnel are looking for do not focus on specific jobs but on specific characteristics that he calls the Seven Survival Skills. These are:

1. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
2. Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence
3. Agility and Adaptability
4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism
5. Effective Oral and Written Communication
6. Accessing and Analyzing Information
7. Curiosity and Imagination

These skills are not job specific nor should they be. Some call these soft skills, but Wagner calls them survival skills. They are survival skills because only those who have these skills will thrive in the 21st century—a century that will separate the wheat from the chaff. These skills are what we need to teach in order to prepare our students for their future because, if we do not, John Dewey’s admonition will come back to haunt us: “If we teach today like we taught yesterday, we will rob or children of their tomorrow.” Will this be our generation’s legacy? Will we rob of children of their tomorrow, or will we prepare them for their future? The decision is yours to make.

Gary Shattuck is the director of technology and media services at Newton County Schoolsin Covington, Georgia. Follow him on Twitter as @EdTechLeader.

By Miguel Guhlin, CIO Advisor

"Do you 'pick' your battles with staff?"

Ah, what a delightful way of avoiding the issues that can move your team forward or not. In my own work, I've found that the crucial conversations/confrontations that you have successfully move your team forward, while those you fail to have or are unaware of can stop growth. As a leader, I have "mine for conflict," a term that Patrick Lencioni introduced me to in his books. One of my favorite quotes about conversations comes from the VitalSmarts folks:

Whenever you're not getting the results you're looking for, it's likely that a crucial conversation is keeping you stuck. Whether it's a problem with poor quality, slow time-to-market, declining customer satisfaction, or a strained relationship, if you can't talk honestly, you can expect poor results.

Don't get me wrong, mining for conflict is a good way to lose a limb or get burned, unless you have a plan that works. Having been a poor conversationalist in the past, I'm grateful to the Crucial Conversations and Crucial Confrontations books for providing a framework that works for me. What's more important is that your team members are looking to you to handle these issues. When you do, there's a collective sigh of relief. When you do not, people won't meet your eyes and they'll avoid uncomfortable topics and/or find subversive ways to get things done.

Dan Rockwell (Leadership Freak blog) points out the problem with administrators who "pick their battles" with staff:

• Weak leaders choose manipulation over honest exchange. Wise leaders choose tough conversation over mediocrity.
• Excellence is a function of confrontation.
• The more uncomfortable the conversation the more important it is. The more it matters, the tougher it is.
• Successful leaders address issues others avoid.
• Mediocrity is the result of avoidance.

"Critical Conversations," so called because they are necessary, are perceived as tough to have (best measured by your blood pressure and the gobs of time they consume, so it's a bit of an endurance challenge. They are critical because without them, you simply can't move forward at work and/or life.

Here are some additional helpful resources:

"Presume positive intent" - lots of references to this, but check out this chapter excerpt from What Successful Principals Do!
Achieving Transformational Leadership
Our Iceberg is Melting
Scenario #1 - Confrontations that Lead to Excellence

Miguel Guhlin is director of technology for a 5A school district in Texas and past president of the statewide TCEA Technology Education Coordinators group. This blog is cross posted at Around the Corner.

By Jon Castelhano, CIO Advisor

Decisions
With Microsoft Office 365 Personal adds running lately, articles concerning the mining of student data, and the forever debate on which cloud suite to choose, I began reflecting on my district's office suite timeline. Maybe we have traveled a different road than others, but the decisions along the way I feel have been well thought out, even if the timing was not always perfect. Since 1998 we have run on four different platforms of office suites roughly:

Microsoft Office/Exchange: 1998-2000
Sun's Star Office/E-mail: 2000-2002
Open Office/Open Webmail: 2002-2005
Microsoft Office/Exchange: 2005-2009
Google Apps: 2009-Present

This is quick overview of our journey and why I enjoy the ever-changing landscape of technology.

Duck and Cover

If you think switching to something other than a Microsoft product now is tough, try doing it back in 2000, when we switched top down to StarOffice—departments and all! You would have thought the world was ending, but it really wasn't that tragic when everyone became comfortable and discovered they could still do their job. In those five years we switched email to Open WebMail because the Star email went away when Sun pushed Star Office to the OpenOffice format. Again, a few were upset, but then they realized they could access their e-mail from anywhere with an Internet connection and things were a little better than before. When we went from a distributive server model to a data center and made the move from Linux-based servers to a Server 2003 platform, we decided to give the Microsoft horse a ride again. It was ok, and I do love me some Outlook, but the back-end maintenance with Exchange was present and the web version of Outlook was not well received. As far as the departments go, they were happy and I do agree that they use Office products unlike most teachers for their jobs (no offense to any teachers who are power users with the Microsoft Office suite). For the ease of our departments' daily functions, we will always run Office products for them, but they all have Google apps and Gmail is the district's e-mail client. (Sidebar: Our departments are using Google Apps to collaborate in ways they never have been able to previously.)

To the Cloud
When we made the most recent move to Google apps, there were many reasons why and we did look to Office 365, but it was not ready for release and we felt the road map was not there at that time. We have pushed to do everything in the cloud for a number of years and apps fits nice. Teachers were given directions on how to setup their folders for migration to Gmail and that happened without much fuss on our side. Their biggest concern was losing email, since all students k-12 and staff use Gmail. We let teachers know that we would never be upgrading Office and did a survey if they wanted it to remain on their teacher laptops. All departments are running Office and theirs will be the only ones that we will upgrade. Google Apps has done more for student/ teacher, student/student collaboration than any other program I have seen in many years. The communication and endless options make cloud-based apps a modern day joy....always changing.

Change
For many, all the changing we have done over the years may seem a bit much, but I think it has done a few things for us. One, it has helped staff realize that change is not such a bad thing. In a profession that is usually slow to change, it has helped create a culture that looks at change as something positive that keeps us relevant with the world and our students. Two, it keeps our tech staff always moving forward, innovating, and leading from the middle, which can be very powerful. I don't believe there is a one size fits all, so take the time to decide what fits for you and your district and don't look back.

Jon Castelhano is director of technology forApache Junction USD in Arizona. This blog is cross posted on his blog, This and That.

By Tim Clark, CIO Advisor

Sustainability is defined as the capacity to endure. Most people agree that the natural environment has to be sustained so that we can get long-lasting and renewable benefits from its resources. Similarly, we must develop sustainable practices that continue to support digital age learning within the learning environments of today’s schools. When the initial enthusiasm for shiny new technology devices begins to pale, what will help to keep the spark alive?

Digital Age Learning describes the shift from traditional teacher-directed instruction to student-centered learning with the use of technology tools. Those resources may be provided by the school or through a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) initiative. I have observed the transformation of many typical classrooms in my district through the implementation of BYOT supplemented by the school’s technology devices and infrastructure. However, that transformation has to be sustained so that teachers and students don’t revert into the old habits of standardized, rote instruction—mainly characterized by the activities of lecturing, memorizing, and recalling information.

Based on my collaboration with teachers and students throughout my district, here are some practices for sustaining digital age learning.

Build the Learning Community

I’ve written before about the importance of developing learning communities in schools and classrooms, and one hallmark of an effective community is trust. When students and teachers are working with technology devices and applications, there is always the possibility that someone could make a mistake or a poor choice. Yet, I’ve seen classrooms with clear, consistent expectations and an atmosphere of safety and respect that rarely experience issues related to the inappropriate use of technology. When teachers expect the responsible use of technology, they convey that they believe in each student’s ability to accomplish great things.

Utilize Student ExpertiseBecause students are accustomed to using their own technology tools for consuming content and communicating with their friends, they have already learned how to troubleshoot many technology issues. Of course, not every student has the same level of interest, ability, or expertise with technology, but they can learn to rely on each other for support. The teacher can also begin to depend on the students for technology assistance. This strategy empowers students to discover new skills for life-long learning.

Focus on Digital Age Skills

Teachers often become frustrated when they focus their instruction on a particular application or device. In fact, as we implemented BYOT, we quickly realized that we needed to talk more about digital age skills (communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking), rather than on technology. As teachers begin to incorporate those skills into their content standards, technology becomes purposeful, meaningful, and relevant.

Encourage the Regular Use of Technology

Having special technology times or days means that technology use occurs outside of the norms of learning. However, when it becomes a normal part of teaching and learning, teachers and students are able to discover new uses for the available technology tools. Then technology serves a legitimate function in the process of learning, and its use becomes an enjoyable, necessary process, rather than a big production or event.

Provide Continuous Professional Learning

Teachers and students need time to “play” with the technology tools, but the real paradigm shift for many teachers is learning how to share control and direction of the learning with the students. It is also helpful if teachers can see digital age learning in action by observing each other trying new strategies, using technology, and facilitating learning experiences for students. This support should be on-going and include opportunities for feedback and reflection.

In addition to the above strategies, the buy in and support of the parents and other stakeholders also ensures the sustainability of digital age learning. Technology hardware, applications, and processes will continue to change over time, whether students are using school-owned or student-owned devices, but the supportive practices that truly leverage change are everlasting.

Resource

Sustainability. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved November 26, 2013

Tim Clark is coordinator of instructional technology for Forsyth County Schools in Georgia. This blog is cross posted on BYOT Network.

By Carl Hooker, CIO Advisor

Lately I’ve noticed a strange phenomenon that occurs at traffic lights around town. The light turns green and the first car, after some hesitation, pulls forward. Then the next one, after another prolonged delay, does the same. This continues until maybe 4 or 5 cars have traveled through what would normally be a 10- to 12-car light. When I look over at the drivers, they are all doing the same thing: checking their phones.

We’ve seen a lot of commentary on the web recently about our addiction to our phones. Recently I wrote a post about the Digital Yawn, an event that seems to happen more and more in social settings. This restaurant in Beirut actually gives you a 10% discount if you turn in your phone and socialize at their restaurant. And for those of us that must remain connected, the city of Philadelphia implemented these texting and walking lanes near city hall so we don’t crash into each other.

NPR has released a couple of thought-provoking materials in recent months including this article that “We Are Just Not Here Anymore.” In the article, the author Linton Weeks takes us through the concept of the “Severed Self” and asks the question, “How can we ever feel comfortable with others when we don’t even feel comfortable with ourselves?” He mentions a course at the University of Washington where a professor actually teaches his students patience, reflection and meditation by “unplugging” for a few minutes before class.

In September of 2013, NPR’s All Tech Considered site released a short film titled “Forgot My Phone” by videographer Charlene deGuzman. It was meant to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but actually highlighted the fact that we aren’t really present unless we are connecting and documenting our lives on our devices. I found myself both laughing and crying during the two minutes of this video.

Lastly, comedian Louis C.K. went on a comedic rant about cell phones on the Conan show. In his interview he mentions the fact that we can’t truly ever be alone and “be ourselves and just sit there. Being a person.” He goes on to say that “underneath everything, there’s that thing…you know…that empty. That knowledge that we are all alone. It’s down there.” While he’s a comedian, I think he’s waxing poetic about the fact that we can’t let ourselves ever be truly happy or truly sad because we are constantly connected.

As educators (and parents), we need to work with kids (and ourselves) in balancing our lives in every way. We talk with them about eating right. We talk with them about manners. We talk with them on how to behave in various situations. I’m going to argue it’s time we talk to them about when it’s ok not to connect. When it’s ok to just “be”.

I’ve struggled with this personally, as I’ve always felt my phone was an extension of my hand. Then, several months ago, one of my daughters told me, “Daddy, can you put down your phone and pay attention to me?” It broke my heart but also alerted me to a larger problem. The message I was sending her then 4-year old mind was that the phone was more important to me than her. I also found myself feeding our youngest daughter her bottle at night with one hand with my phone was in the other. I was missing that magical moment of physical connection with her, because of my need to have a virtual one.

So I decided to change.

I started to enforce these 5 simple rules for myself:

1. When I get home, the phone gets plugged into the charger and that’s where it sits the whole night.

2. While the kids are awake, I don’t work, connect, tweet, blog, etc. I just spend time with my family.

3. When feeding the baby and getting her to go to sleep, no technology whatsoever.

4. After the kids are in bed, unless it’s a major project, I don’t work or tweet or blog. I spend time with my wife watching a show (lately it’s been House of Cards) or washing dishes or cleaning up toys or just talking.

5. The phone stays downstairs, connected to the charger all night. It doesn’t go into my bedroom.

Though I haven’t followed these rules every single day, I find them easy enough to maintain and actually find that I’m working a lot more efficiently because of my disconnection. When feeding our youngest her bottle at night, I take the time to connect with her, but I also use that time as sort of “reflection meditation” if you will. I reflect and evaluate my day. I think about creative projects that I need to start or problems that I need to solve.

I discovered that I can just “be alone” digitally and the world will move along regardless.

So the next time you are at that traffic light or in that waiting room, hold off on taking out your phone and checking it even if it hurts. Instead, take a moment to breathe in life.

Reflect.

Think.

Carl Hooker is director of instructional technology at Eanes ISD in Texas and blogs at Hooked on Innovation, where this is cross posted.

Note: This post is the second installment of a 5-part series on digital zombies, re-animated, if you will, from my SXSW presentation on Surviving the Digital Zombie Apocalypse.

By Gary Shattuck, CIO Advisor

The last two blogs (here and here) deal with a theory I have: I believe there is a continuity of events that leads from the past to the present and, finally, to the future. In order to predict our future we must first understand our present; but, to understand our present we need to discover our past. This is the continuity of events.

To this end, let me say that the future our students will inherit will be nothing like our present. It will be so vastly different that it will be beyond most people’s comprehension. For example, Gordon Moore, one of the founders of Intel, wrote an article in 1965 that predicted that computer processing power would double every 12 months. This is now known as Moore’s Law. His prediction proved remarkably accurate. Who would have predicted 50 years ago the personal PC, 3D printers, the Internet, driverless cars, wearable computers such as Google glass, cell phone, social media, heart transplants, stealth airplanes, and so much more? Maybe George Orwell or Isaac Asimov or Ray Kurzweil would have predicted these, but who else? Yet, 50 years later and, as a result of computer’s processing power’s exponential growth, we have all these new inventions and the benefits and liabilities they have brought.

According to Brynjolfsson and McAfee in Race Against the Machine, this exponential growth we are experiencing is still at the beginning. These authors recount a fable popularized by Ray Kurzweil whereas an inventor created a game he called chess. He presented this game to the emperor. The emperor was so enthralled by this game that he offered the inventor any reward. The sly inventor suggested that the reward should be one grain of rice on the first day and that amount should double every day for 64 days, the number of squares on a chessboard. By the end of the first row, or 8 days, the inventor received a total of 255 grains of rice. By the end of the second row, or 16 days, the total amount of rice the inventor received was 64,535 grains. This represents only one-fourth of the chess board but the trend is clear. By the end of the chess board, the amount of rice equals more than 4 quintillion grains of rice, more than the size of Mt. Everest. According to Brynjolfsson and McAfee’s calculations for Moore’s Law, we are currently only halfway through the chessboard. When compared to the last 50 years, in the next 50 years, if this exponential growth continues unabated as many expect, the changes forthcoming will be unimaginable to most of us.

One person who is able to foresee the future is Bob Johansen, who has made it his life’s work to predict the future. As CEO of the Institute of the Future and author of Leaders Make the Future (2012), he regularly is asked to make 10-year predictions. It is his prediction that the four characteristics that will dictate the next 10 years are Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity. Are our students prepared to inherit this kind of world? Are movies like the Matrixand iRobot just fantasies or are they harbingers of things to come?

Our challenge now facing us is this: How do we prepare our children for the kind of tomorrow which is marked by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity? We all must begin grappling with this issue because the longer we wait, the more difficult our challenges become.

Gary Shattuck is the director of technology and media services at Newton County Schools in Covington, Georgia. Follow him on Twitter as @EdTechLeader.

By Miguel Guhlin, CIO Advisor

In January, a retired colleague shared this intriguing point:

Years have gone by, and still ... integrating technology into the curriculum has not happened. I know why and so do you.

I asked, "Why hasn't it?"

She replied:

1998: District-wide one computer in science classrooms with Internet connection. One person [me] to meet with all teachers (that did not want to meet with me).

2007: Lots of stuff but the school day is still as it was when I was in school in the early 1960s, and teachers do not have the time or the teamwork to make anything happen.

2014: Still the same. District-wide but now a group of about 12 go to each campus to model for teachers and then leave, and there is no backup after that.

[My old district] has a two-week tech session for teachers and they love it and learn so much but they still must go back to the daily schedule of one conference period, and—if they are lucky—no parent meeting, no staff meeting and no time to plan with their peers.

I've been around long enough to know that what comes around just comes around with a different name and after all of those years I still see that many district administrators, principals and teachers only worry about testing.

Is there an app for putting things off? It's so frustrating to plan (and for districts to spend the money on so much stuff.)

One other thing. Most do not see the integration of technology into the school day as a seamless tool; they see it as a separate "another thing I have to do."

How would you respond to these points? Are you "settling for nothing?"

Image Source: Keep Calm and Do Nothing

Miguel Guhlin is director of technology for a 5A school district in Texas and past president of the statewide TCEA Technology Education Coordinators group. This blog is cross posted at Around the Corner.

By Tim Clark & Jill Hobson, CIO Advisors

We’ve written previously on our decision to implement a Responsible Use Procedure rather than an Acceptable Use Procedure. And while we’ve shared some of the philosophical reasons why we believe in the idea of a Responsible Use Procedure, we’ve not spent much time on strategies to make that move successfully.

Grappling with and being ready to break from a long list of things that users shouldn’t do and moving to a shorter (and more memorable) list of responsibilities is both a philosophical and operational shift that takes consensus building. And it might seem like this would be opening the floodgates of disciplinary issues without the necessary “rules” to shore up necessary response. We have found that through consistent communication and ongoing training those things are not happening.

These strategies have been essential to our successful transition.

Engaging the Stakeholders
Is everyone swimming in the same direction? Are you involving members of your Safety, Academics, Student Support, Special Education, Educational Leadership and Technology Services departments? Did you consider all levels of school leaders? Don’t forget to include Media Specialists. By being inclusive and transparent throughout the process, stronger support can be garnered.

Educating Everyone
Don’t drown as people start considering their worst fears. Take a look at the research, blogs and tweets about responsible use. SEDTA’s Broadband Imperative is a helpful white paper as is Grunwald and Associate’s Living and Learning with Mobile Devices. Look at other school systems’ policies on responsible use. A few that were particularly useful in our process were Katy ISD, TX, Canyon School District and Holy Spirit Roman Catholic Separate Regional Division. Check out this post from Katrina Schwartz on MindShift: Teach Kids to Be Their Own Internet Filters. NPR’s All Tech Considered blogged about this issue in “For The Tablet Generation, A Lesson In Digital Citizenship” as well.

Focus on Digital-Age Skills
The vision for instructional technology within our district is embedded within the FCS Learner Profile. This profile describes the attributes of students attending and graduating from a Forsyth County school, and digital-age skills are reflected within those hallmarks. When highlighting how the responsible use of technology is an essential digital-age skill rippling through each student’s path to success, it is possible to achieve a growing groundswell of support and buy-in throughout the district.

Review Data
What are the statistics on current issues with “appropriate use” in your district or school? What percentage of students is being reported for inappropriate use? Is there a surge of issues or is it a small minority of students (maybe 5 percent or so) and the imagined problems are bigger than the reality. Maybe the “rules” are being written for the 5% of students who may make poor choices rather than the 95% who will usually make appropriate decisions.

Incremental Changes
Are there ways to ease up on filtering (for example, unblocking YouTube for teachers and then later for students) to test the waters? What about allowing students to use devices before and after class as a first step (like in the lunchroom or between classes)?

Technology Rules Shouldn’t Be Separate
In Forsyth we were able to take some of the most important ideas from our Acceptable Use Procedure and have them flow into the Code of Conduct. For instance, we had an AUP rule about not vandalizing computer equipment. So we incorporated that statement into the existing statement about not vandalizing school property. Since we already had a statement in Code of Conduct, we didn’t feel that we should have a separate and different rule for technology.

Provide Learning Resources – For Staff and Students
By providing videos and other resources to educate staff as well as students on the new procedures, we were able to ensure a consistent message throughout our schools. Whether you develop your own materials or rely on those from places like Common Sense Media, consistency of message is essential.

When we started on our implementation of BYOT about six years ago, we would never have been able to predict that our community would embrace changes to our Appropriate Use Procedure as they have. We’ve gradually seen the rise in the tide of support as we have all been able to understand how much our students need us to model being a responsible digital citizen and learner.

Resources:
FCS Responsible Use Guidelines

FCS Code of Conduct

FCS Learner Profile

Tim Clark is coordinator of instructional technology and Jill Hobson is director of instructional technology for Forsyth County Schools in Georgia. This blog is cross posted on BYOT Network.

By Jon Castelhano, CIO Advisor

One Love

I recently came across this tweet from Jenny Wright that complemented what my staff and I were talking about at our gathering earlier this week and wanted to share. A good question to ask ourselves as we sit together can come right out of this tweet: "Are we building on our ideas or just working together"? Working happily with each other is important, as in Bob Marley's song "One Love," but to grow as a group we will need to build on each other's ideas and strengths.

The Challenge

Remember when MTV spun off The Real World and Road Rules reality shows in to The Challenge shows? They brought the craziest of the casts together and made them compete against one another. The group dynamics made for good TV because half of them were crazy, but the point when they had to actually work together to accomplish a task at times displayed how they pulled together multiple perspectives/personalities to make things happen. When I or someone from my staff brings forward a thought, idea, or task that we need to get done, I rely upon their ideas and knowledge to figure out the best plan of attack. If we run into bumps in the road, a room full of smart folks is better to right the ship than just one.

Big Difference

None of the above will happen if you do not possess confidence in yourself. Sitting and sharing with peers is often a very difficult thing to do. Insecurities can keep us from opening up and letting out those magic moments that give the group that needed lift. Creating a safe environment where collaboration is supported by leadership can instill confidence and ease insecurities. The arrogance piece is pretty self-explanatory—an arrogant perspective does not encourage collaboration. Yes, folks will sometimes call someone arrogant when they don't agree with what the other person is saying, but a truly arrogant attitude will cause divide over time and that will show. It is a fine line that should not be forgotten about. Some may say posting my own tweets here is arrogant ;-).

Jon Castelhano is director of technology for Apache Junction USD in Arizona. This blog is cross posted on his blog, This and That.

By Gary Shattuck, CIO Advisor

In my last blog, I laid out a thesis that our present is the result of three periods in human history in which revolutionary changes took place in the ways humans conduct their economic activities and organize their lives. These three revolutionary periods, or what I called inflection points, are the Agriculture Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, and the Digital Revolution. In The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman explained how the Digital Revolution is reshaping the world’s economies. Put into this perspective, the current changes we are experiencing are truly transformational, and the only way we have of coping with these changes is in learning how to be adaptable and learning how to be innovative.

Since I am an educator, what I will focus on is how education must also be adaptable and innovative. Although this idea is gaining momentum throughout the education sector, it is a hard idea to swallow for many educators, but if we do not adapt and innovate, public education, as it currently exists in most places, will die a show death. If you think this is hyperbole, I suggest you read Clayton Christensen’s Disrupting Class. In this book, Christensen predicts, using an algorithm he developing when analyzing businesses’ successes and failures, that by 2020 half of high school classes will be taught online. That portends a future in which the brick and mortar school is being threatened by change. I do not think that all physical school buildings will disappear, but I do believe forces beyond our control will force education to adapt its education model or wither from competition from home schools, charter schools, private schools, and online schools.

If this does not wake you up, let’s analyze our students. No longer are our students willing to sit in their seats respectfully and be bored. They want—they demand—engagement, and not engagement just for the sake of engagement; they want engagement that emanates from authentic, meaningful, and purposeful lessons. In other words, our students want their teachers to have a student-centered classroom. How many teachers are creating those kinds of lessons? When Facebook and YouTube burst on the scene in 2005 and 2006 the genie was let out of the bottle and it will never go back again. The Internet is no longer just a consumer-based platform; the Internet is now a consumer/producer-based platform. Are we allowing our student to create content on the Internet? Are we allowing our students to blog, to communication, and to collaborate with other students all over the world? As educators, this is the challenge of our time; are we teaching like we taught yesterday, or are we teaching in order to prepare our students for their tomorrow?

Wake up, education! We must find a way to be relevant to our students and our communities. We must find a way to teach our students for their tomorrow, not our past. We must innovate like Newton County, Georgia, is doing with ViewPath cameras in the classroom or like Mooresville, North Carolina, is doing with its 1:1 initiative. The status quo is no longer acceptable because change is here whether we like it or not.

Gary Shattuck is the director of technology and media services at Newton County Schools in Covington, Georgia. Follow him on Twitter as @EdTechLeader.

By Paul Barrette, CIO Advisor

In an effort to look for a flexible approach to technology PD and support in our district—and maybe have a little fun doing it—we've instituted a Google Docs and Drive 21 Day Challenge for our staff. Each school day, we're sending out a new (and small) Google Docs and Drive tip via district email. We're collecting all the tips on a blog to create a mini-course that staff can work through at their own pace and on their own schedule.

Check out the Smithfield Public Schools' SPS Google Docs and Drive 21 Day Challenge.

Why not do something similar in your district?

Paul Barrette is director of technology at Smithfield Public Schools in Rhode Island.

By Steven M. Baule, CIO Advisor

Nearly as soon as I got to my desk on a Monday morning, my executive assistant darkened my doorway. Her message was that the deputy police chief wanted to know if he and the chief could come over to see me in about 10 minutes. That is a request that you always say yes to, so I did. I started to go through my head who was on the substitute list that morning and would be the most likely object of the forthcoming conversation. As it turned out, the two command officers of the police department simply wanted to inform me directly about a relatively minor change in their overtime policy that would affect the school resource officers and other extra duty officers we used for events. I told them I had assumed one of my staff was sitting in their lockup and that early Monday mornings shouldn't be used for that type of spontaneous meetings. They laughed and understood.

Timing is everything. A call from them on Thursday at noon wouldn't have elicited the same response.

In the same way, your IT staff has to time when it rolls out new programs or upgrades software. Historically, school IT staff can make major program upgrades three times a year: over the summer, at winter break, and at spring break. Changes at any other time are usually considered too disruptive and even those that could be done over break are put off until the summer if they impact the instructional program in a way that students or teachers would have to adjust to a new version, etc.

Recently, an automated notification of a new application for a vacancy came across my computer screen about two minutes after a different candidate withdrew from an interview. The subject of the notification should have played the lottery that day because her timing earned her the recently vacated spot in the interview lineup. Timing really is everything in many cases. Asking for senior administrators or Boards to green light even the most necessary and important projects can be a difficult sell, depending upon what other issues are being dealt with at the Board and cabinet level.

Always try to time your requests at the right time, whether for staff, equipment, or other services. It is best to always provide more lead time than you think they will need so they don't feel pressured to act immediately. Besides, you may not be fully informed as to the other issues that the Board and senior administrators are dealing with at any given time. If the superintendent normally requires information be provided two weeks before the Board meeting so s/he has time to review it and package it for the Board, try to provide the information to him/her well before the deadline.

Articulate the same thing to vendors, but realize that they seem to like to wait until the last minute to do almost everything. It is a good practice to always provide yourself with a buffer when it comes to vendor timelines. If you tell a vendor that you need a quote for a Monday, April 8 Board meeting at 7:00 p.m., you risk getting a quote at 6:45 that evening and the vendor will think s/he is being timely. If you want it for that meeting, tell them you need it by March 25. To paraphrase Douglas Adams, vendors love deadlines. Particularly, they "love like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by."

Remember timing may not be everything all of the time, but it is an essential component in many executive decision-making processes. Being aware of that is essential for the CIO to have the greatest impact and success.

Steven M. Baule is superintendent of North Boone CUSD 200 in Poplar Grove, IL. He has written several books on aspects of library and technology management and planning. Follow North Boone on Twitter @NBCUSD200.

By Carl Hooker, CIO Advisor

Coming off my SXSWedu presentation on “Surviving the Digital Zombie Apocalypse” and subsequent MindShift article on how our brains are “changing” with societal changes, I thought I’d start a 5-part series of observations and tools to cope with this new digitally instant world. Today’s post focuses on a trend I’ve been noticing as our phones become more and more smart.

“The Digital Yawn”
You ever have that moment where you experience something and are somewhat annoyed by it? Better yet, have you ever actually participated in something and ended up annoyed at yourself?

I’m one of those people who feels naked without their phone. I used to think I was in the minority, but after my SXSW presentation, I think I’m now just part of the “in” crowd. I experimented going digitally naked once and felt the experience strangely freeing and refreshing. It’s kind of like carrying a heavy backpack full of essential things and then putting it down for a moment. ou know you need to pick it back up again but enjoy the break on your back muscles.

The other day, I was amongst a group of colleagues discussing work life and talking some mild business when it happened again.

That moment.

I was witnessing something I sensed was happening more and more in social circles (even in non-social ones). Here’s how it goes:

Everyone is standing or sitting around, having conversation when someone decides it’s time to check his phone. Maybe it vibrated. Maybe it flashed or blinked up some sort of notification, but he checked it. Then, almost without fail, someone else in the group decides to do the same thing. Only, they likely weren’t notified or “pinged” for any reason. They were merely mimicking the action of a group member doing the same thing. Or maybe they took his actions as an opportunity to break from normal social maladies to check their own device.

Only it doesn’t stop there. A third person takes this opportunity to check their device. Then a fourth. Then a fifth. Eventually everyone is checking their phones. This experience is what I’m calling the “Digital Yawn”.

Witness a Digital Yawn in captured in action

Originally, I wanted to call it something more viral like YouTuberculosis or iFluenza or maybe Cell Phonic Plague. But since it usually isn’t a permanent or long lasting event, I had to search for something simpler but just as contagious like a yawn.

After some back and forth on ideas with colleague and blogger, Gina Dodd, I settled on the idea of a “Digital Yawn.” It turns out this isn’t a completely unique idea as research would turn up this Huffington Post article mentioning the yawn parallel to cell phone usage back in 2012. I think something more ubiquitous and device agnostic works better for these situations (especially with the proliferation of tablets in the world).

The second event that usually follows a group digital yawn is a moment of involuntary silence. This is known as “Nocialization”, or the lack of socialization in a social setting. Again, research shows that this term has started to make appearances in Urban Dictionary in mid-2013.

While I think that as a society we are becoming more and more connected, that connection comes with a cost. The cost of giving up face-to-face time with others. The cost of being fully in the moment.

So what does all this mean? Are we all becoming Digital Zombies? Drawn to our phones like those walkers looking for brains? Are more and more of us are ambling about through the world slowly as we check our text messages?

No. I don’t think so. The reality is, as with any innovation or cultural nuance, society is quick to become addicted and latch on. But eventually we level out. Check out this picture Jacob Luevano shared with me on twitter. Apparently there were paper zombies before there were digital ones and we have been nocializing for a while.

No, I think like anything else, this pendulum will swing to center. Becoming aware of these social (or non-social) situations is the first step in balancing out our lives. So the next time you are in a crowd of friends or trapped in an elevator with a bunch of strangers, resist the temptation to grab for that device and check on it.

Instead, lean back, breathe in the air, and smile. You are now a member of a new movement. We are battling the digital walking dead one person at a time. The apocalypse may come one day, but with all of your help, we can at least enjoy each other’s conversation and company as the end comes while our phones vibrate and ping away unsuccessfully trying to gain our attention.

Carl Hooker is director of instructional technology at Eanes ISD in Texas and blogs at Hooked on Innovation, where this is cross posted.

By Jennifer LaMaster, CIO Advisor

1. Edline as Home base
a. Only for classes that would meet the day of Virtual Learning
b. Announce Virtual Learning objectives by 8:30am the day of school closure via Edline News item on your class page.
c. Link any videos, handouts, readings, planned Twitter chats, Google Hangouts, etc. to that News announcement with clear directions of what student is responsible to complete/prepare/produce.
d. Our future weather closure notice will include directions for parents and students to check Edline for Virtual Learning instructions.
2. Secondary sites such as Twitter or G+ Community are fine but make sure the News item on Edline is posted first. This will clearly articulate learning goals to students and parents AND make it easy for me to collect evidence to submit to IDOE.
3. Be prepared to send me a sample of student work after the Virtual Learning Day. The IDOE will request evidence of “time on task or learning growth.”

On a cold day in mid-February, The Indiana Department of Education opened applications for its Distance Virtual Learning program. The application qualifies schools to request Virtual Learning Days to cover closures due to inclement weather. On February 26, I received the official word that Brebeuf Jesuit was approved for the IDOE Inclement Weather Virtual Learning Option. In plain words—if we had to close due to snow we could officially take school online and it would count for our mandated 180 days.

In my ideal world, we were going to have at least 9-10 months of dialogue, reflection and pilot lessons with the idea of hosting a Virtual Learning Day. I am most comfortable working in collaborative process which takes a little time. For better or worse, Mother Nature appeared to have great confidence that we did not need that much time…. Weather predictions for a major snow event began even as I read our approval email.

Context
Brebeuf Jesuit is well-positioned to hit the ground on a Virtual Learning Day. Our faculty have been 1:1 with tablet-based PCs since 2006. We've been cloud-based with an LMS since the same time. Two years ago we went 1:1 across the whole learning community with our Bring Your Own Technology initiative (see any previous post). We are a Google Apps for Education school. Teachers and students are very comfortable in cloud-based environments. And as you might have read in my previous post, we had experimented most of this brutal winter with keeping the learning moving forward in virtual environments.

But a five-day turnaround was going to put us to the test on how flexible we really are. So what happened?

Experience – A Timeline
Wednesday, Feb 26th….
Receive notice from IDOE that we are approved for Virtual Learning Days.

I sent out message to faculty and staff announcing our participation in the program. In consult with principal, we come up with an outline of expectations. This was all done by email.

Reflection: Email is less than ideal… especially in this case as the winter storm was already being heavily discussed. On reflection, my excitement to share information took over. More face-to-face conversation, even in the hallway, was needed.

Here’s the thing though… almost immediately the brainstorming started to fly.

Thursday, Feb 27- Friday, Feb 28
Utilizing YouTube video, online discussion forums, readings, flip videos, Twitter, Edmodo, Google Docs and many other resources… I spent the 27th and 28th reading lesson plans, talking on the phone and in the hallway…faculty collaborated...ideas were thrown around...

An Ed Tech Newsletter was created to give further samples to clarify expectations.

Saturday, March 1- Sunday, March 2I watch as News items were posted on class pages in the LMS as requested….we were ready…

Credit: Bill Watterson

Okay, to be fair, Indianapolis received 2.7 inches of snow. Which is not nearly enough to cancel school. Feeling a little let down, but grateful for a day of face-to-face interaction, we had a normal instructional day on Monday.

What I learned

Still, I learned a lot about Virtual Learning Days (beside how wicked awesome the faculty and students are at Brebeuf).

Clear expectations are key.

• Consider recommended “office hours” to narrow time online expectations for teachers. This also gives students the security that they will receive prompt attention for their questions.
• Consider how much is enough. The idea of a Virtual Learning Day is not to dump 12 hours of busy work in the lap of the students. Reflect realistically on would occur during face-to-face class time.
• And yes, students are responsible for the work. You can hold them to the usual standards of assignment completion.

Communicate to the entire community

• We were on a time crunch but still communicated out via our Learning Management System, weekly online newsletter, email and face-to-face. Now that we have some time, we’ll be even better.
• Ed Tech Newsletter (follow this link to entire newsletter)

Look at other school’s sites
Special shout out to Yorktown Schools who have great examples of parent communication, teacher expectations and student accountability regarding a planned Virtual Learning Day on their website.

Has your school tried a Virtual Learning Day? Add your reflections below in the comments... what worked? what didn't? The idea of the Snow Day has changed forever with the Winter of '14. No longer are schools going to consider weather the end of learning. But let's do it intentionally, with clear expectations, clear purpose, in right relationship ... and safe at home.

Jen LaMaster is director of faculty development for Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis. This blog is cross posted on her blog, Ed Tech Reflections.

By Miguel Guhlin, CIO Advisor

When I look around, I focus on the technology that gets the job done. If that's Windows (I hate Windows), then that's the tool. If it's Linux, then Linux is it. If it's Mac or iOS, then that's what I go with. Avoid the sucker's choice, "Either we go Apple because it's the best blah blah blah, or nothing."

Either/or choices are Sucker’s Choices. The best at dialogue refuse Sucker’s Choices by setting up new choices. They present themselves with tougher questions that turn the either/or choice into a search for the all-important and ever-elusive and.

In Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes are High, the authors write about how to search for the elusive AND. (Source: Refuse the Sucker's Choice)

The approach to take:

Step 1. Clarify What You Really Want.For example, “What I want is for my husband to be more reliable. I’m tired of being let down by him when he makes comments that I depend on.”

Step 2. Clarify What You Really Don’t Want.For example, “What I don’t want is to have a useless and heated conversation that creates bad feelings and doesn’t lead to change.”

Step 3. Present Your Brain With a More Complex Problem.For example, “How can I have a candid conversation with my husband about being more dependable and avoid creating bad feelings or wasting our time?”

People have argued that some devices should find no home in public schools. I would argue that all devices might find their place in public schools because our choice of tools should reflect the wide diversity of people and needs in society. We only narrow those choices down when funding is limited. In that case, we ask the question:

Which technology can we use to achieve the most learning objectives AND is cost effective?

Step 1. Clarify What You Really Want
What I want is technology that helps students and staff achieve desired learning objectives and allows maximization of limited fiscal resources.

Step 2. Clarify What You Really Don’t Want.

What I don't want is for the district to spend tons of money on technology that won't be usable in as many teaching and learning situations as possible. I don't want folks buying any technology that catches their eye today but fails to align to the real needs and work they are about, and eventually, that ends up sitting unused on a shelf.

Step 3. Present Your Brain With a More Complex Problem.
How can we better clarify the technology that meets our needs so that we don't waste time, money, and effort on approaches?

1. Learners actively regularly participate in authentic and engaging work so that they persist when the work is difficult.
2. Learners work in appropriate groups including cooperative, heterogeneous, homogeneous, or individually to maximize learning.
3. Learning is integrated between subjects and across medium (including technology) so that skills are not taught in isolation, but instead applied to relevant work.
4. Learners benefit from customization of content, process, and product, layered support, and scaffolding to ensure individual success.
5. Learners receive a frequent feedback loop clearly communicating concept mastery.
6. Learning outcomes are predicted by the rigor of activities and the time spent on task.
7. All learners—students, teachers, and families—partner together to optimize learning.

What guideposts are you considering when it comes to technology purchases?

Miguel Guhlin is director of technology for a 5A school district in Texas and past president of the statewide TCEA Technology Education Coordinators group. This blog is cross posted at Around the Corner.

By Gary Shattuck, CIO Advisor

In 1944, John Dewey wrote: “If we teach today like we taught yesterday, we will rob our children of their tomorrow.” What a profound statement. Even though Dewey lived in our past, his ideas are as important today as they were 70 years ago. Alvin Toffler, likewise, lived in our past but he prophesized our present and our future. He predicted that the most important characteristic of the 21st century would be accelerating change. He was correct in ways we can only now understand. Change is endemic in our post-modern era and it is accelerating at dizzying speeds. One recent example illustrates this point: Staples announced recently that it would be closing 200 stores because one-half of its business is now online sales. How do we prepare our students for this kind of world in which nothing is certain and nothing will remain the same? Two characteristics our students will need are the ability to adapt and the ability to innovate.

In order to prepare our students for their tomorrow, we need to first understand our present but, according to Toffler, we cannot really understand our present until we first discover our past. Toffler viewed history through a macro-economics lens. As a result, he determined that there are only three inflection points in human history. The first inflection point is when hunting-and-gathering humans settled down and became farmers. This first inflection point is called the Agriculture Revolution. Obviously, this inflection point changed humans’ economic activities dramatically and changed how humans organized their lives.

The second inflection point is when humans moved from the farm into the cities and began working in factories. This inflection point is called the Industrial Revolution. Again, this inflection point dramatically changed the way humans conducted their economic activities and it changed the way humans organized their lives.

The third inflection point began in 1969; that was the year when the US Census Bureau determined that more people were working in white-collar jobs than blue-collar jobs. In other words, humans’ economic activities changed from manual labor to information-basis labor. What we call this transformation is still open for debate, but without a doubt this new Revolution is changing the way humans conduct their economic activities and it is changing the way humans organize their lives.

If you believe in Toffler’s theory, as I do, you cannot escape the conclusion that this Digital Age in which we currently live is so dramatically different from what came before that it can rightly be called a Revolution as the two previous inflection points were called. Our differences are as transformational as the other two Revolutions. To keep the current changes that are occurring in perspective, the kind of disruptive changes we are experiencing now have only occurred twice before in the last 10,000 years of human history. What this portends for our future, or more importantly for our children’s tomorrow, will be discussed in some detail in my subsequent three blogs.

Gary Shattuck is the director of technology and media services at Newton County Schools in Covington, Georgia. Follow him on Twitter as @EdTechLeader

By Steven M. Baule, CIO Advisor

Looking through all of the digital debris that shows up in my filtered social media mail is usually a waste of my time. However, every once in a while I find a gold nugget among the flotsam. A couple days ago, one of the threads I follow asked the question: What would you change about the direction of K-12 public schools if you could? A couple of things struck me as I read through the responses. One was that most of the people commenting were not in public school leadership, but were vendors or consultants of one type or another. The other was that most of the issues raised, except for reducing testing, had little or no impact on student learning.

The first issue is probably the bigger concern. There are a great many people trying to control the direction of public education. However, many of them are not educators nor have they spent enough time in schools to really understand how education works. It is almost like the scene from The American President, when the president says his opposition asks people to recall the "good old days" that never really existed and then they spend time lamenting the changes (for the worse). I am working again with a salesman I have known for nearly 20 years. He continues to shake his head at all the things principals and teachers have to deal with—from kids without coats to custody battles that get played out in school offices, etc. It is imperative that the best educators who work in schools speak out about what they need to improve schools and help to shape policy at every level from the federal government to the local school board.

Everyone reading this needs to commit to inviting a policy maker or shaper into your school to show them how things are really being done. We also need to speak out more at all levels about our views about what is in the best interest of children.

There was discussion of needing more business partnerships (without discussion of how to link those into instruction) and less federal regulation. There were some general comments about needing to be more flexible and embrace technology. Michael Perko, one of my former professors, always said that education's dirty little secret is policy makers really don't care about what happens inside the classroom walls. I continue to struggle to prove him wrong. Let's work hard to focus the conversation on how to use technology to improve student learning with specific examples and not glossy overarching statements full of buzz words. If educators are going to be able to direct the future of public education, it is time for educators to provide the necessary leadership.

Steven M. Baule is superintendent of North Boone CUSD 200 in Poplar Grove, IL. He has written several books on aspects of library and technology management and planning. Follow North Boone on Twitter @NBCUSD200.

By Carl Hooker, CIO Advisor

About a year ago, we decided after much input to open up YouTube Safe Search for students. While there can be a lot of mind-numbing videos about squirrels on jet-skis, there is also a large amount of instructional content on there. Want to learn how to do Photoshop? Or maybe just the right way to carve a turkey? It's all on there.

Being a 1:1 iPad school district means that anything we enable on the filter side, pretty much goes out to all students since it's all at their fingertips. It's taken some time for teachers to adjust to this new student-centered focused on learning versus the teacher as "disseminator of all information" model. One thing we've noticed throughout this initiative is that a lecture-based, teacher at the front, method of instruction lends itself to more distraction and less educational use of the devices. As teachers have shifted the knowledge to the students, distraction has decreased and learning with iPads as tools has increased. This may seem like a simple enough switch, but we are asking some of the best and brightest teachers to change everything they have been doing the past 20-25 years successfully. Which brings me to last January and the opening of YouTube.

Ten full minutes after announcing that YouTube would be open for students, I received the following email: (Name omitted)

I knew the sender of this email very well and for the sake of this article we'll just refer to him as Jim. Being a very accomplished teacher, I realized the worry that Jim had with all the distraction and possible off-task behavior. I had a list of apps that allow some sort of screen-sheltered management. Apps like Nearpod or "Focus" by JAMF allow some form of screen control and embedded lock-down. My gut reaction was to seek out one of these apps as a way to help this him with his teaching. Knowing Jim well though, I decided on a different approach and response:

I made sure to include the all important smiley face on my response so that Jim knew I was being somewhat tongue-in-cheek but also sincere when it came to thinking about shifting the pedagogical practice he was employing. I later regretted not adding the statement that you can also use your "iMouth" to enforce restrictions.

While this was done to spark thinking and hopefully garner a bit of a laugh, the overall message has had some affect, even outside of Jim's classroom. I mentioned this to some colleagues shortly after this and word spread about the "2Eyes" app. Before I knew it, people were actually sending me messages asking what the 2 Eyes app was because they couldn't find it in the app store. In fact, Jim even responded with "I know that Carl. In fact, any teacher worth their salt knows that. It's just that...this is hard! Having all this distraction pulls their attention away from what I'm trying to teach them."

We ended the email exchange and opted for a face-to-face conversation, at which point I offered some assistance. While I couldn't ask him to change his entire pedagogical practice, I made him a promise to work with him on changing some of what he's currently doing to a more student-centered approach. A month later, Jim invited me into the classroom to watch an interactive lesson using formative assessment and Socrative. While this wasn't a complete shift to student-driven learning, it was a step in the right direction and helped solve two issues:

1. Students felt much more empowered and more engaged in the class and lesson. When I informally asked them what they thought of this new approach many mentioned it made learning fun again. Some said that normally (even without an iPad), they would just check out and daydream while the teacher asked the kids questions. Now they felt like they needed to participate to be a part of the class.

2. The teacher also left feeling empowered. Jim was able to walk around the room and send out the questions via the app and watch and listen as kids responded. He was able to instantly show the class data on the screen and have discussion about which points the group did poorly on. He was able to focus his direct instruction on those weaker areas in future lessons.

The moral of this story is that changing in teaching practice doesn't happen overnight. You can put new devices in the hands of kids, but without some adjustments by the instructors, they are little more than expensive eReaders. I applaud teachers like Jim who have the courage to reach out and admit that this is hard. His original email was a call for help and I could have taken the easy way out by just giving him some screen-controlling app and been on my merry way.

That would have benefited me in terms of time and energy saved from having to work with him on those changes. It would have benefited Jim because he could have had a quick fix for teaching the kids. There's one group though that wouldn't have benefited—those students in Jim's class. They are the reason we are all here and sometimes it means taking the more difficult road if it's for the betterment of learning.

If you are a teacher or administrator reading this, you will experience this exact scenario if you haven't already when it comes to a "mobile device initiative" or BYOD. While it may seem like that easiest answer is the best answer, take a moment to think to yourself and ask the question: Is this beneficial to student learning?

Carl Hooker is director of instructional technology at Eanes ISD in Texas and blogs at Hooked on Innovation, where this is cross posted.

By Gary Shattuck, CIO Advisor

When planning the implementation of a huge technology initiative where audio enhancement and camera technologies would be placed in 552 classrooms over the summer of 2013, I knew that the key to make this initiative successful was a rethinking of how we deliver professional learning. My experience with the traditional professional learning model of training-the-trainer has not been pleasant or successful. First, the training was always delivered in huge piles of information over long periods of time—either half-day or full-day. Second, the training was provided to one person whose responsibility it was to redeliver this training to their school even though these teacher-trainers did not fully learn the material in the first place. Third, in the traditional model the teacher-trainer who is responsible for redelivering this training is supposed to redeliver and then support all the teachers in her building while teaching all day. This is the fatal flaw of the traditional model, especially when it comes to technology.

In order to develop a new model, Newton County Schools took a different approach. Our plan was to create a contact person is each school who was responsible for all the Instructional Technology in that school. This person was designated the Technology Teacher Leader, and she is paid a small stipend to perform this role. Knowing that it was impossible for one person to provide the training and the support necessary for all the teachers in her building, we then directed these Technology Teacher Leaders to create in their buildings, in collaboration with the principal, a team of exemplary technology-using teachers to assist in training and in supporting all the teachers in her building.

When selecting these Technology Support Team members, the Technology Teacher Leader must make sure that every organization unit in the building has a member on this team. For example, there must be a team member from each grade level in the elementary schools so when grade-level teachers have common planning, there is a team member there who can do training and provide support. When it comes to middle schools and high schools, there must be a team member from each content area and each grade level. This way there will be a Technology Support Team member within five or six classrooms of any one teacher in order to provide the necessary just-in-time support.

Once the teams were created, we had to develop a training philosophy. Our training philosophy revolves around three basic principles. First, we only train for short periods of time; then, we give ample practice time to allow the teacher-trainers plenty of time to master the skills and knowledge that was presented. Our formal training period lasts only one hour and the practice time lasts one hour. By presenting new material in this manner, the teacher-trainers leave our trainings with a complete grasp of the material.

The second novel approach we are taking is that we train not only the Technology Teacher Leader from each school, but we also train all the Technology Support Team members in each school. Generally speaking, each school has a team of 8 to 12 teachers who serve on their school's Technology Support Team. By using this distributive model, we have a teacher-trainer in every department, on every grade level, and in every hallway. Regular and timely support, especially when it comes to technology, is essential in getting teachers to buy into any new technology initiative.

Finally, what makes this work so well is the existence of a Technology Teacher Leader in every building. Their job is not to be the technology expert in the building, but to be the leader of the technology experts in her building. Generally, the Technology Teacher Leaders have very good instructional technology skills but it is impossible for this Leader to be an expert on every technology application. Her job is to make sure there is someone on her team who is an expert on every application. Our goal is to make sure every school is self-sufficient when it comes to training and supporting its teachers in using technology-embedded lessons.

To make this system of technology-focused professional learning work, regular follow-up and a system of accountability has to be in place. What we do is regularly visit schools to find out how their training and support strategies are working. Additionally, the Technology Teacher Leaders must have monthly meetings with their Technology Support Team members and turn in agendas and sign-in sheets as verification of these activities. Lastly, we survey all the teachers in each building to determine their level of satisfaction with the instructional technology training and support they are receiving. When all these accountability elements are met, the Technology Teacher Leaders receive their stipend. This program is working for us. I feel confident that if you implement this program it will work for you.

Gary Shattuck is the director of technology and media services at Newton County Schools in Covington, Georgia. Follow him on Twitter as @EdTechLeader

By Jon Castelhano, CIO Advisor

I have always enjoyed watching the Olympics, both summer and winter versions. Each of the seasons contain many events that I find exciting and some that are, well, just plain boring to me. At times I think that the X Games should just change its name to the Olympics and we would be better off, but that is just an opinion, so please don't take offense. One aspect of the games that I do find interesting is the technology advancements in equipment and apparel that the athletes use to give them that ever-so-slight advantage when paired with their amazing athletic ability. Let us also not overlook the technology that runs the entire event, including the opening and closing ceremonies.

The 5th Ring
By now the 5th ring of the Olympic symbol is famous; being stubborn and refusing to open was all part of its mischievous plan to separate itself from the other four rings at the opening ceremonies in Sochi. We all know that somewhere in Russia, someone was blaming that dang technology for not working properly and ruing the lesson, I mean show. All IT people around the world were probably cringing when they saw that ring thinking about itself and not the countless tech folks who put hours into programming, setup, and testing to make that one moment go off without a fuss. We all know it's part of the game and the amount of technology at Sochi is quite staggering when you take a closer look.

Courtesy of CNET News. Adiba explained that the technology infrastructure is composed of 400 servers, 1,000 security network devices, and 5,600 computers that are responsible for things such as providing real-time Olympics information to 9,500 accredited broadcasters and members of the media. As well, it is delivering competition results to a global audience in less than a second; processing and activating accreditation badges for 200,000 "members of the Olympic Family," and collecting and processing data for all of the more than 5,500 athletes taking part in the games.

My favorite tech stat from the opening ceremony is the 2.64 million lumens that were created by the 132 projectors working together to illuminate the stadium floor. I am not sure, however, if that tops the security perimeter setup around the games to scan texts, emails, cell calls and facially recognize anyone attending, but that is a post for another day.

Other Technology

There are many other forms of technology worth noting that many wouldn't directly relate to someone sitting behind a laptop punching keys for hours. Matt McFarland pulled together seven examples in his Washington Postarticle and I wanted to highlight a few.

1. New speed skating suit created by a collaboration between the apparel company Under Armour and Lockheed Martin. Who would have thought a defense company and sports clothing maker could come together to make a speed skating suit? Even if the U.S., skaters are calling the suit in question after a poor start, large amount of technology here.

2. An ultra lightweight zipper on the jackets of freestyle skiers that—get this—is waterproof. I tease, but the zipper is bonded directly to the fabric. Very cool if you ever have sewn a zipper back on.

3. Raising money through cryptocurrency. This form of exchange still confuses me, but this is how the Jamaican bobsled team and an Indian luger made it to Sochi.

Bring It Home

I did not take the time to research exactly how many people it takes just to make sure the technology at Sochi runs smoothly. After reflecting a bit on such a number, it really doesn't matter, because at some point technology plays a role in just about every aspect of our daily lives, including the Olympics. From social media to security, fancy zippers to 132 projectors, technology is embedded in our environment. Our students of today will be planning the Olympics of tomorrow and I just bet they won't be pushing a pencil to make things happen. Just remember to keep that 5th ring in check so all the IT folks around the world don't have to hold their breath in the future.

Jon Castelhano is director of technology for Apache Junction USD in Arizona. This blog is cross posted on his blog, This and That.

By Steve Young, CIO Advisor

I came back from TCEA, underwhelmed, not by the myriad of great presenters, but by vendor product offerings. Where were the companies transforming education and interconnecting systems so that educators can leverage multiple platforms as needed to help provide a better, more integrated learning experience? Most of what I saw was just incremental improvements of existing products. While there were some standouts, I was not wowed.

I came home to beautiful warm weather over the weekend and decided to work off too many conference calories by exercising. I thought about how technology has transformed fitness for me in the past couple of years and it struck me that other industries are embracing interconnected app and data ecosystems much faster than K-12 education. I use an app called MyFitnessPal to track weight, calories, exercise and more. I chose this app mainly because of its very robust third-party integration. It integrates with Endomondo, which I use to track running, walking, and cycling. So I donned my bluetooth headset, which allowed me to play cloud-streamed Spotify music, while I biked many miles to be tracked by GPS on Endomondo. At the end of the ride my ride, data was automagically synced from Endomondo to MyFitnessPal, allowing me a seamless experience that made working out a less-taxing, more enjoyable experience. That is what is needed in education. We need products that integrate easily together and provide students and staff enjoyable and powerful educational experiences.

We are seeing more companies do this. Products such as Google Apps for Education, Schoology, and Edmodo, just to name a few, are working on app ecosystems so staff and students can easily integrate apps and data for a seamless and more productive learning experience. We need a lot less siloed products that are hard to manage and do not share data and functions with other apps or systems. Am I wishing for too much, or do our students deserve this?

Steve Young is CTO of Judson ISD in Texas and founder of the San Antonio Area Technology Directors group. He blogs at CTO Technotes, where this is cross posted. Follow him on Twitter as @atemyshorts.

By Steven M. Baule, CIO Advisor

A few days ago, I was watching Olympic half pipe snowboarding. I watched the athletes doing moves that would most likely land me in traction, if not in a wheel chair. However, they all started small doing tricks on their neighborhood sledding hills and probably eating some snow.

Earlier in the same day, I listened as a group of teachers shared with some visitors about preparing for the move to 1:1 instruction. They gave the sage advice that teachers should focus on one or two points and work on becoming comfortable with those before expanding their use of the tablets. As an example, one teacher focused on using the tablets for bell work each day. Another used them for collaborative writing exercises. Soon, through other teachers and student innovation, these teachers had a well-developed bag of tricks in which to use instructionally.

How do we continue to motivate ourselves to strive towards excellence everyday for the benefit of our students? What can we learn from the Olympians about how to continue to improve our craft? How do we strive to improve our technology systems every day? Do we look at our daily work in the same way the athletes do—that we need to try to improve toward perfection—or are we able to simply sit back and be comfortable in that we are doing “good work?” Is good work enough or should we be striving for real excellence every day? In the days where I regularly evaluated teachers, I found those teachers who were reflective and sought to analyze and improve on their craft were the best teachers with the greatest potential. They were also the most likely to be unhappy with their performances.

The other thing that I heard from the teachers was that they felt able to strive for excellence because they felt that their supervisors had given them license to fail without having to worry about making mistakes and in fact to expect that there would be mistakes and bad days. So, failure and excellence seem to be two sides of the same coin in many ways. Those who strive for excellence are, at the same time, not afraid to fail. What can we do to help ourselves and our teammates overcome the fear of failure and strive for excellence every day? Our students and our communities all deserve that we strive for excellence.

Steven M. Baule is superintendent of North Boone CUSD 200 in Poplar Grove, IL. He has written several books on aspects of library and technology management and planning. Follow North Boone on Twitter @NBCUSD200.

By Miguel Guhlin, CIO Advisor

Team leaders, I'm told, take responsibility for their team's failures. You know, when the Titanic hit the iceberg, and it sank, the Captain went down with the ship.

I recently found that I fumbled on a project. Here are some tips I came up with to avoid having it occur again. As I read these, I realize that they are obvious. I can't help but ask, Why didn't I do this in the first place? The reality is that everyone missteps and other factors can force your hand. For example, consider what might make you set aside these tips for avoiding technology implementation failure:

• Perceived need for speed. In my situation, I felt we were under an imperative to fix a technical issue and, as such, taking shortcut in implementing a solution that has worked in the past seemed OK. Be on guard for the "need for speed."
• The boss says, "Do it."Trust me, even when the boss says to get it done, the intensity will be increased when what gets done fails.
• Foolproof solution that will work!We've all encountered foolproof solutions that are going to be "slam-dunk" and then ... you get slammed.

Here are the 7 Tips:

1. Contact other districts and find out what’s been done previously. If I'd done that in this particular situation, I would have found that the mistake we made in implementing had already been explored and done by others. Learn from others' experiences is a piece of advice I forgot.
2. Do a mock walkthrough of the technology implementation and detail the steps. This is important because, in one situation, I realized that while several team members individually knew something needed to be done, that wasn't articulated as a team and failed to become part of the group knowledge that we could tap into. If we had walked through the process, we would have realized we needed to take more steps.
3. Consult with stakeholders prior to scheduling—when possible. One of the challenges I encountered included a failure to appreciate how serious a temporary lack of access to the technology implementation would be for stakeholders. What seemed pretty short time to be without something was of incalculable concern to stakeholders. When we went over schedule on the implementation by a few hours, stakeholders were concerned.
4. Notify stakeholders using different methods (e.g. email AND phone calls).Although I always notify folks when I'm moving their cheese, I failed to pick up the phone.
5. Develop a fallback plan if it all goes poorly. Having a fallback plan in mind is important. In our case, the primary plan failed to work as well as expected. We had to come up with a fallback plan at the last minute, which meant stepping back and relying on equipment that was less than desirable.
6. Make it easy to receive stakeholder feedback on the tech implementation. This seems pretty obvious, but sometimes we forget to take the necessary steps.
7. Shut down the old technology. Switching from one technology to another? Make sure that you shut down the "old technology" so that users won't keep using it when the new one is put in place. That way, you're not caught trailing data from one system to another.

Miguel Guhlin is director of technology for a 5A school district in Texas and past president of the statewide TCEA Technology Education Coordinators group. This blog is cross posted at Around the Corner.

By Jennifer LaMaster, CIO Advisor

It's been a rough winter here in the MidWest. Schools are scrambling to gather their 180 days in Indiana. But face it, an extra day (or 4) tacked on in May is not going to make up for the momentum lost in January. But hey folks! There are resources that can help keep the momentum and the learning going.... well beyond the four physical walls of the school building. Or as we like to say...communicate, collaborate, consume and curate... anytime/anywhere regardless of the weather (unless you lose power like we did in the January 7th storm; then you're pretty much just reading by paper and staying warm by fire #17thcenturylearning).

As I like to say, "This Ain't Your 1970's Snow Day..." Or at least it certainly doesn't have to be ... although pancakes, hot cocoa and sledding are still allowed.

Twitter #Chats

• Simple push notifications. Send out reminders, reading links or review questions for students.
• Class #hashtag. Asynchronous but easily searched. Say #BJPSEng9 if you teach freshmen. No need for your students to have a Twitter account (but most do)—hashtags are publicly accessible on public accounts. You could also make a class Twitter account (in which case it would be @BJPSEng9).
• Live #chat. Set up a time (perhaps normal class time) letting students know you will be live and online. Send out prepared questions and expect answers. Or just be there to answer student questions. Use a class hashtag for students to follow or read later.

Google Apps for Education (aka GAFE)

Had a small-group activity in mind for room 218 period 3? Set up a Google Doc and have students answer questions collaboratively from home. A shared Google Presentation allows students to view or view & edit materials easily. If you have a presentation all ready for “live” class, throw it up to a shared class Folder and have students view outside of class.

Google Forms

Google Forms can be turned into a quiz simply by asking content specific questions. Or they can be designed more like a handout where students answer/practice/reflect on topic areas you wanted to cover face to face.

You can create a G+ Community for just your class. This makes a group page where you can upload readings, videos, and links and have students comment on them. Help pages for this feature can be found at Create a Google+ Community.

Try a HangOut

Feeling like a live chat? Set up a Google Hangout on Air. The added benefit is this records the discussion for later viewing (by students are not able to join the live feed). Regular Hangouts work too by clicking the New Hangout button in your G+. I have seen this used for quiz review, new material or discussion. A detailed how to can be found here.

***Student must be in your G+ Community to “hangout”

Edmodo

A favorite of Brebeuf Social Studies types, Edmodo looks like Facebook but you must be an educator to make a page. Students are invited in with a class password. Post videos, readings and links and begin the discussion.

YouTube

Since we are a GAFE school, every student and faculty member has an AMDG account that comes with YouTube access. (Not a GAFE school? Your regular GMail account works). You can upload a self-created video (via Camtasia or WeVideo) or edit directly into YouTube. More details here.Class Blog or Website

Several of our Brebeuf faculty have created their own class pages using various free blogging tools. Check out Edublogs, Blogger and Weebly to start.

Go for the Free Trials

Try a streaming conference product… heck, it’s a free trial. Check out GoToMeeting or AdobeConnect.

Winter can’t last forever, right?

Jen LaMaster is director of faculty development for Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School in Indianapolis. This blog is cross posted on her blog, Ed Tech Reflections.

By Gary Shattuck, CIO Advisor

This blog is about the last of the Six Laws of the Adoption of Technology in Education: the Law of Leadership. As my previous blog on the Law of Change indicated, change is accelerating at a dizzying pace. In order to meet those challenges, schools need to adapt to these societal and student changes. This adaption must include the use of technology both instructionally and administratively. If school leaders do not learn how to leverage technology in their building to improve the instruction delivered to the students, school leaders will be fulfilling John Dewey’s warning in 1944: “If we continue to teach our students today like we taught them yesterday, we will rob them of their future.”

Some of the challenges that educators will encounter in the future will be education related, as well. As a result, leadership will matter more than ever. For example, Common Core stipulates that all testing will be done online by 2015. Which schools are prepared for this? Does your school have adequate internal bandwidth and external bandwidth? Does your school have the technical resources available to test every student in the testing window (Law of Scarcity)? Only leadership can solve this problem. Leadership matters.

Will teachers ever adopt a student-centered pedagogy? According to our accrediting agency, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS), the External Review Team will be looking for students using the classroom technology, not the teacher. Students using the technology represent a student-centered classroom. In many cases, teachers will need to change their belief about what constitutes good instruction. Only leaders can assist in this transformation (Law of Beliefs). Leadership matters.

In my blog about the Law of Perception, I explained how important it is for leaders to pay attention to what teachers perceive to be true. A school can have an ample amount of technology for students to use, but if a teacher perceives that she does not have enough, that will affect her classroom practices. A school leader must create a common understanding (vision) with the teachers in her building to ensure good instruction takes place. Leadership matters.

Finally, for teachers to adopt a student-centered classroom, they need excellent technology-using teachers to emulate. To achieve a successful diffusion of an innovation requires 15% to 20% of these excellent technology-using teachers leading the way. Who hires the teachers in a building? Leadership matters.

The Law of Leadership is the binding that allows the other Laws to flourish. Leadership truly does matter. None of the other Laws can be effective unless they are supported by the Law of Leadership.

Gary Shattuck is the director of technology and media services at Newton County Schools in Covington, Georgia. Follow him on Twitter as @EdTechLeader