The technology edge

The Technology Edge: We venture into uncharted waters with enthusiasm and a zest for exploration
Lori Franklin, LMS/NBCTOlathe East High SchoolOlathe, KS

Uncharted
We know what is available to us in terms of hardware, software and experiences.
What we do not know is where we could actually end up on our journey…

The questions…
Who’s job is it to determine the journey’s end point and success level?
The teacher?
The student?
The team?

The Box
Educators and those who rule education like to say they are thinking outside of the box.
Most of the time, they are in the box.
http://www.socialtikmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/man-in-box1.jpg

What’s good about The Box?
Knowns
Tangibles
Baselines

What’s not so good about The Box?
Missed opportunities
Growth
24/7 educational experiences
21st century student-centered learning
Affects desire for lifelong learning
http://www.newyorkparkingticket.com/Portals/41340/images//NYPT---Stuck%20inside%20a%20box.jpg

Did you know?
In many schools, we still ask students to sit for several hours a day at desks, listening (or not) to a teacher as he or she lectures?
http://image3.examiner.com/images/blog/replicate/EXID59607/images/examiner_pic_5.jpg

Participatory Learning
Chen’s Many to Many model
Leaves the “Sage on the Stage” model
Requires group collaboration
Needs new assessment tools
Should be frequently evolving to meet needs

Olathe East High School

One-to-one Palm initiative
1,500 students check out Palm handheld devices for the school year
Usage varies from word processing to using temperature probes attached to the Palms.
http://www.palminfocenter.com/images/img_PalmInClass.jpg

The current scenario
500 PCs
250 laptops stored in mobile carts
Minimum of one PC in every classroom; some rooms have more; labs typically have 25 PCs
Average class size is approaching 30

Budget effects
Time/personnel constraints
Purchasing power
Reduced spending per student
http://images.mylot.com/userImages/images/postphotos/1934040.jpg

NCLB effects
Teaching to test
Less personal investment in subject matter
Lack of context across subjects
Focus on end point, not the learning process

OE School Library

Teacher/Librarian Immersion Levels
Isolation
Semi-isolation
Semi-immersion (PC lab)
Immersion

Immersion looks like:
Collaborative planning
Multi-standard driven
Real-world problem solving
Authentic assessment
Ongoing evaluation

Example: the “Country Report”
Put the focus on building a knowledge base
No PowerPoint allowed!
Student collaboration and peer review
Made the student the expert
Constructive comments expected
This project provided frustration, exhilaration, and student learning beyond rote memorization of facts

Thinking outside The Box:
College Prep English IV – blogging about the novel Frankensteinwith a partner school; wiki creation, meeting in person to share results; effects
Algebra III, pre-Calculus – all classes podcasted; use of cell phones as “clickers”
Edmodo

Some don’t…
Using assignments from 5 years ago
Isolated teaching
Not reaching out with online resources (eBooks, databases, Skype with experts, Edmodo, wikis, pod/vodcasting, Moodle)

Special learners lose out
Boys better served by breaking up instruction with physical activity each hour
ELL learners left behind
SPED students receive modifications but not necessarily modified teaching, which should include a continual assessment/modification cycle to determine if learning is occurring.

2 Reports
Horizon Report: K-12 Edition - The New Media Consortium - Updated annually - Identifies trends, challenges, what’s next
Speak Up Study - Project Tomorrow initiative - Nearly 2 million informants (students, teachers, administrators, parents)

Horizon Report Findings: #1
Technology is: - means for empowering students - method for communication & socializing - ubiquitous transparent part of student lives

Technology has a profound affect on the way we work, collaborate, communicate and succeed.

Increasing interest in just-in-time, alternative, or non-formal avenues of education: - online learning - mentoring - independent study
http://www.northcantonschools.org/nccs/images/stories/news/2010/02/distance-learning-gt-texas.jpg

The way we think of learning environments is changing

Challenges
The Horizon Report outlines several challenges. Especially telling is this statement:
“Students are different, but educational practice and the materials that support it are changing only slowly.”

Thinking outside The Box
The Horizon Report describes how today’s learning and education must happen outside of physical walls and time/distance constraints.
Students expect to seek out expert opinions other than the teacher who is in the room with them!

Speak Up
Students identified as “Free Agent Learners”
School building, teacher, and textbook no longer have a monopoly on knowledge, content or the educational process.
Students seek personalized learning.
http://www.iusb.edu/~cted/Images/Fotolia_Distance-Learning.gif

More Speak Up
Students want: - Social-based learning - Untethered learning - Digitally rich learning
http://mswilliamsyear9history.edublogs.org/files/2011/03/immersive-internet-1n0d0pb.png

URLs
Horizon Reports (2011 & 2010):http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2011-Horizon-Report-K12.pdf
http://wp.nmc.org/horizon-k12-2010/
Speak Upwww.tomorrow.org

How to be there, 24/7
LibGuides
Databases
eBooks
E-mail
Web presence
http://www.weshare247.com/images/24_7_artikelbild240ny.jpg

LibGuides
Helps you reach out to everyone
Always available
Includes collaborative ability for teamwork
Multi-functional

Databases
Meet a variety of reading and comprehension needs
Includes format functionality: MP3 files and translations of articles
Always available
Flexible and powerful

eBooks
Available 24/7 for varied amounts of check out time (2-3 weeks for some eBooks)
Personal assistant example
Flexibility for assignments (requirement for print and electronic sources)

E-mail
You can help students outside of school hours
Gmail student accounts
Google Docs and other Google tools
File transfer from home
My students know I will frequently check my work e-mail and return their queries quickly!
http://seo.ds6.net/images/SEO-1-20110210-6.jpg

Web Presence
Up to date information available immediately
Links to other items just discussed - integration
Library Thing
Podcasts

Questions in my head
What do we need to learn about students in order to best meet their needs?
How can we tap into students’ love of their cell phones in order to help them learn more?
Can we mesh cell phone use with classroom instruction?
How can I make my own library program into a better fit with student learning processes?

One more question:
Maybe “Education Nation” needs one more edge…one that interweaves what we know about how school librarians impact student achievement.
If not an edge, can the school librarian and all that he or she influences become a guiding force that touches and influences all of the edges?

The technology edge

by Lori Franklin

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