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"To think that ANY single model is the cure-all is dangerous in any profession, particularly in education. To base any teaching structure on a single (unsupported?) model is hardly scholarly."

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Love this. The reality is, that students are already learning without us in their own digital learning environments. The challenge for formal education is to be as intriguing and engaging.

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"In a 2013 Christensen Institute report, the authors pose the question: “Is K–12 blended learning disruptive?” That is, does it create a new definition of what qualifies as “good”? They argue that to be disruptive, blended learning needs to replace the existing teacher-directed orientation of school with a more student-centered model. Blended learning could create a new definition of teaching and learning (the promise), or it could become nothing more than a digital version of a traditional notion of school (the peril)."https://www.edutopia.org/article/are-we-innovating-or-just-digitizing-traditional-teaching-beth-hollandThe premise in the above statement almost implies that tradition, direct instruction might not have a place, a valuable place in the future. We as E-L leaders have an enormous responsibility to be very discerning & critical, confident enough to reject fashion and trends – yet not losing the courage to take risks to see what Edutech can offer to greater knowledge, better citizenship etc.

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"In a 2013 Christensen Institute report, the authors pose the question: “Is K–12 blended learning disruptive?” That is, does it create a new definition of what qualifies as “good”? They argue that to be disruptive, blended learning needs to replace the existing teacher-directed orientation of school with a more student-centered model. Blended learning could create a new definition of teaching and learning (the promise), or it could become nothing more than a digital version of a traditional notion of school (the peril)."https://www.edutopia.org/article/are-we-innovating-or-just-digitizing-traditional-teaching-beth-hollandThe premise in the above statement almost implies that tradition, direct instruction might not have a place, a valuable place in the future. We as E-L leaders have an enormous responsibility to be very discerning & critical, confident enough to reject fashion and trends – yet not losing the courage to take risks to see what Edutech can offer to greater knowledge, better citizenship etc.

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I have found the SAMR model useful as a focusing tool in using technologies. It is useful when considering the question raised in the other article 'Are we innovating...'

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Are We Innovating, or Just Digitizing Traditional Teaching?

Completely agree, most e-Learning is very much replicating traditional classroom work. However it is still engaging students at a higher level, teaching ICT capabilities, and is a step towards, student centred DLE.
I think many teachers would be truly apprehensive and even scared about a true student centred digital learning environment. Some teachers would need a high level of support

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Giving students choice in their path to learning the content means we have to be very clear about the end goal. What are the students learning/doing/creating? What do we want them to do/learn. The learning intentions and success criteria need to be crystal clear to the students. If this is done then UDL can be really valuable for students to take different paths in order to reach the end goal, whatever that might be.

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Great article that highlights what learning looks like over what is actually happening. I think we all see examples of digitisation and recognise the challenge in taking a photo and actually shifting practice

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Holland: I liked the quotes"personalised, active learning experiences."

"Teachers need to create the conditions under which agency can flourish"

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Having seen TPACK & SAMR referenced constantly by major journals, websites, teaching associations and in ed tech circles, this (and all the links within) was a fascinating read of discovery. I have used SAMR before when working with teachers and it brings a difficult choice into focus: research-based practice versus practitioner-experience. There is lots of debate about the requirement that everything we do in education must be research or evidence-based. There are many papers being written (Yong Zhao's latest one) that argue that research-based education policy is not always appropriate. I'm yet to make my own mind up about this - but it is interesting given how much of what we already do in classrooms is a combination of both.

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SAMR helps start conversations about the appropriateness of technology.

Write the shopping list with a pen and paper because that technology is appropriate!

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How to integrate technology -
Love the suggestions for feedback.  Written feedback rarely gets read and understood.  Being able to provide feedback verbally is real and time effective.

Technology frustration from teachers will always be there!
If Technology integration is going to happen properly the tech support needs to be there - without it teachers will go back to what they've always done.

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Richard - Integrating Digital Technology

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Richard - Integrating Digital Technology

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I see a need for teachers moving from the "Sage on the Stage" to the "Guide on the side". Technology can be an enabler for this purpose. If we are trying to create independent learning, then we need to realize that we are not the center of attention but a vital resource that students can access (American autocorrect!)

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Professional learning digital maturation model.
1. learning and identifying the digital skills or literacies
2. learning to add digital tech into existing practice and curriculum
3. rethinking the curriculum where DT and applications are infused.

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Are We Innovating, or Just Digitizing Traditional Teaching?

Too often technology is used as a replacement for traditional methods. Teachers need to experience how blended learning works so that they can introduce it.

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How to Integrate Tech

"Teachers guide the use of digital tools effectively for learning and collaboration."

I agree that teachers need to be modelling troubleshooting to the students, asking for help and also teaching students that we can learn from failure.

We have 1:1 in year 4 and this term have been completing our reading assessment in Socrative. It is such a great tool that allows students to work at their own pace plus it marks it all for you!

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Digital technologies and applications are embedded within each discipline.

A policy of supporting teacher capability would have a focus on effective teaching of the curriculum.

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This blog highlights some of the frustrations and ongoing problems that will exist when well-thought out systems are not in place or developed. Work creation becomes a unending problem if digital citizenship behaviours are not inbuilt into systems and expected practices. The concept of "plateau" seems to indicate that there is either a boredom with the pace of innovation (needing constant new shiny things) or that potential to really get maximum use out of current applications isn't being tapped. The danger is creating a feedback-driven culture where the only changes are those resulting out of perpetual surveying. Lots of food for thought in this.

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"The Myth of the Digital Native"

Students need to be taught how to use tools effectively for learning and collaboration.

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Low levels of education correlate to more internet usage but less use to access information or PD.

Divide may be closed if all students learnt to apply strategic digital skills to enable participation in society.

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A Critical Review of Puentedura’s SAMR

How many more pedagogical models lack the research to back up their claims.

Do we need formal research or as teachers we know what works in our classrooms.

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Fascinating overview of some of the complexities of integrating technology in education settings. The article should be essential reading for critics of the Australian Curriculum as it shows the research-base on which the curriculum was built (see Fig 1). I like that the divide explained in Table 1 show the work that this group does beyond picking technology devices, fixing websites or teaching teachers how to use a particular application.

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Edutopia - "How to integrate technology"
"Effective tech integration changes classroom dynamics, encouraging student-centered project-based learning."

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Digital Divides - Starkey

Has identified 3 digital divides:
- Access to digital devices/internet (the haves and the have nots)
- digital device/internet capability
- Participation with digital technologies (Are students making the most of what is available/what can be done to improve this)

Gallagher - Has your school reached an Edtech plateau?
Interesting article - I think there always comes a time in every school that educational technology plateaus... Are teachers being offered the opportunities to further develop their knowledge/skills in new apps/tech... We know that technology is constantly changing, are the teachers being upskilled too? Are students given the opportunity to be in charge of technology? or is that seen to be the teacher's role??

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""A usage gap between different socioeconomic groups in society"
Can we close the gap for students and teachers with using technology?
Technology without Technology
http://csunplugged.org/

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Skills and knowledge to use DT has limited correlation to time spent using tech. Teachers and students need to have technology capability

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How to Integrate Technology

I like the idea that when teachers introduce technology they need to be prepared that they won't be the centre of attention anymore.

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Gallagher: I think all schools experience the plateau of technology use at some stage. I liked the ideas and the suggested tools that can be used at staff meetings and PD with staff.

I agree that students need to be able to find their own way to share their learning and not be limited by the App choice.

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On reading the  Edutopia article re: Digitizing Traditional methods, I do see this happening a lot in classrooms. I like the idea of screencasting the teacher instruction, thus allowing the teacher to circulate and support others during the screencast. Students often feel more secure listening to their own teachers voice/ instruction as opposed to a "stranger" on a video with an unusual accent.

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6 Implications
Interested in taking a detailed look at Sakai - https://sakaiproject.org/

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Blended Learning

A totally new concept that a lot of teachers will struggle with as they did/have with the change in curriculum.
Making the change from old ways to new is a challenge, however this is totally necessary for our students to be ready for their life after school.
I think teachers are worried about losing control and not knowing where the students are at because of so much accountability.
For this change to happen schools need full time Tech Experts Teachers to support teachers in making the change.

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Digital Divides
Policies required:
1. Enable access to technologies and tool for learning
2. Curriculum to enable students to learn knowledge and skills. AC?
3. Support for teacher PD for implementation. Strategic use.

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Starkey:
2012 PISA study found that internet speeds aren't linked to SES factors.  Lower SES students often had faster internet speeds.

The same study showed that higher SES students reported using the internet to get information on news/practical information more often than lower SES students.

Page 199: Curriculum needs to have students learn digital capabilities rather than assume knowledge by classifying students as 'digital natives'.

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FUTURE WITHOUT DIGITAL DIVIDES
3 x Digital Divides
1.Access
2.Knowing how to use
3.Using effectively
Imagine a future w/out these divides.....
Ed system would need:
1. Resourcing = $$$$$$
2. Curriculum
3. Teacher prof learning

INNOVATING OR DIGITIZING?

I agree teachers are flavouring their traditional methods with tech, but wonder how much support are teachers actually given to explore and learn all of the new apps of tech so that they can teach differently.  If we want teachers to change their pedagogy, then explicitly teach us....can't get it through osmosis!

INTEGRATING TECH:
Love this article.....Actually provides suggestions and a handful of apps for the how to.  Not overwhelming for anyone dipping their toes in.  More of this please.

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Gallagher - "Has your school reached an Edtech plateau".

Was interesting to come across 4 tools I've not seen before.  They are now bookmarked to come back to later.
* Papyrus
* EdPuzzle
* PlayPosit
* Infogr.am

It was also nice to see an article discuss the fact that it's not just students behaving badly on social media.  It talked about adults also behaving badly and went beyond this to talk about the need for students to see adults behaving responsibly.  I liked the examples of how schools can model good use of social media.

I also liked the examples of leaders demonstrating trial and risk taking behaviours.

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Edutopia is a free source of information, inspiration, and practical strategies for learning and teaching in preK-12 education. We are published by the George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization.

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You are invited to respond using Flipgrid to this provocation: How might we transition our 20th Century-style learning and teaching behaviours into Digital Learning Environments? What types of literacies or fluencies will teachers and students need to work in DLEs? Password: elf2017

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Time: 20 minute read (Starkey L. (2016, October). What if digital divides closed? Schooling in a future without digital divides. Paper published in the ACCE bi-annual conference proceedings, Brisbane, Australia. This received the best paper award for the conference.

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Time: 3 minute read.

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Blended learning has the potential to transform the way teachers teach and students learn-if we take advantage of all that it offers.

A few months ago, I noticed an increased amount of discussion around the notion of blended learning. Many of these conversations started on a similar note: "We're blended-all of our teachers use Google Classroom" (or Edmodo, Schoology, Canvas, Moodle, etc.). However, in probing further, I often discovered that these tools had merely digitized existing content and classroom procedures.

Instead of filling an inbox on the teacher's desk with packets and worksheets, students now completed the exact same procedures online. Rather than write homework assignments on the board, teachers posted them to the students' digital news feeds. While blended learning brings with it the promise of innovation, there is the peril that it will perpetuate and replicate existing practices with newer, more expensive tools.

The Peril

The dissemination of digitized, teacher-driven content is not full blended learning. Though this can be viewed as a first step toward new models of learning, the peril lies in complacency. When blended learning is equated with digital workflow, students remain consumers of teacher-directed content instead of becoming creators of knowledge within a context that they can actively control.

The Promise

True blended learning affords students not only the opportunity to gain both content and instruction via online as well as traditional classroom means, but also an element of authority over this process. Freeing students from the confines of the school day, the walls of the classroom, the sole expertise of the teacher, and the pace of the rest of the class, blended learning could fundamentally change the system and structure of school, and provide students with a more personalized, active learning experience.

Last year, I interviewed three instructional coaches from Bellevue, Nebraska, about their 1:1 iPad initiative (where each student has an iPad) and their move to blended learning. They described efforts to provide multiple avenues for students to access content, strategies for using audio and video to scaffold independent learning, opportunities to adapt instruction based on real-time data, and the chance to engage in more meaningful face-to-face conversations. These coaches saw blended learning as providing students with control over how they learn, the pace of the learning experience, and where they might choose to learn within the classroom.

For example, Ann Feldmann (@AnnFeldmann1) described how teachers might harness the power of screencasting to read and explain content-allowing students to choose the pace of their learning as well as the mode through which they experienced the content. To prove that all students can benefit from these opportunities, Ann's colleague Jeanette Carlson (@MrsJCarlson) tweeted the image at left. These kindergartners not only learned to work independently on an analog task but also leveraged videos to help them decipher directions and comprehend the material.

At a more advanced level, Jeanette found blended learning particularly helpful in teaching challenging concepts during her business class. Through screencasting, she essentially cloned herself, creating a video to walk students through a difficult task. This blended approach freed her from the front of the room so that she could work with students on an individual basis and provide customized instruction.

Ann and Jeanette's colleague Jeffrey Bernadt (@JeffreyBernadt) elaborated on the concept and shared how he leveraged blended learning to provide his high school social studies students with multiple options for acquiring content knowledge-video, digital text, paper or e-books, or face-to-face conversation. Instead of requiring students to sit in desks and learn in lockstep, Jeffrey created an environment where his students could control the path, pace, and even place of their learning. These examples highlight how students can engage with blended learning to gain content and instruction, but the coaches also described how digital tools give students new voice and choice in demonstrating their learning.

Blended learning can mean a step forward toward something greater- giving students agency over their own learning, but that is dependent on the direction chosen by the teacher. In a recent blog post, Will Richardson raised the point that educators do not "give" agency to students through choice or technology or even blended learning. Instead, students acquire it when teachers "create the conditions under which agency can flourish."

In a 2013 Christensen Institute report, the authors pose the question: "Is K-12 blended learning disruptive?" That is, does it create a new definition of what qualifies as "good"? They argue that to be disruptive, blended learning needs to replace the existing teacher-directed orientation of school with a more student-centered model. Blended learning could create a new definition of teaching and learning (the promise), or it could become nothing more than a digital version of a traditional notion of school (the peril).

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Are We Innovating, or Just Digitizing Traditional Teaching?

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Blended learning has the potential to transform the way teachers teach and students learn-if we take advantage of all that it offers. A few months ago, I noticed an increased amount of discussion around the notion of blended learning.

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Time: 3 minute read.

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A Critical Review of Puentedura's SAMR - e-O'Hagan

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This blog post is a critical review of SAMR which was conceptualized by Dr. Ruben Puentedura.

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Time: 2 minute read.

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A year ago, EDUCAUSE published a white paper describing new directions for our campus digital learning environments. (You can download a copy of the report here.)

In the year since its publication, it's become clear that there is growing support within the higher ed teaching and learning community for the idea of learning environments to be based on component architecture. Rather than relying heavily on a single application like an LMS, this approach would be more modular in nature, allowing institutions to pick and choose the most relevant digital tools to suit the specific needs of their student and faculty populations.

As the concept of component architecture gains momentum, it seems appropriate to begin identifying some of the implications of that approach for our professional practice.

Here is an initial set of six such implications:

1) We are the architects.
The shift to component-based architecture gives us - the members of the higher ed community - an unprecedented opportunity to shape, rethink, plan, and design our digital learning environments in a way that we haven't had since the advent of the LMS. We are the architects. So we will need to think like architects. One characteristic of this kind of thinking is that the architect takes the long and wide view, thinking about how the structure will hold up five, 10, even 20 years after completion and whether this design will work for everybody. In a component-based approach, especially one that is very interoperable, there will be a tendency to simply collect lots of different stuff. But adding functionalities could lead to clutter - like a smart phone with too many apps - so we'll need to adopt the architect's perspective.

2) The challenge of BYODLE (bring your own digital learning environment).
Personalization and customization is, by itself, a decentralizing force. Teaching and learning in higher education has always had a bit of a wild west character to it, where educators and instructors are frequently and independently tailoring the design of the course to suit their own approach to teaching their subject. This style will receive new encouragement in the interoperable environment, where it will present challenges in terms of coherence. How is a press for customization to be reconciled with students' desire to always have the syllabus in the same folder? The answer's not immediately apparent, so this is an issue that will need to be grappled with by each institution.

3) Policy and governance will be critical.
Under the pressure of this new ecosystem, the policies and governance practices now in place may start to crack. A learning environment of broader scope and more diverse componentry will require new policies and additional nuances with respect to the governance of those environments. For example, with learning data flowing in unprecedented volume, we'll need to revisit privacy policies and perhaps redefine the charters for our governance committees.

4) Weighing the pros and cons of open source code vs. consortia.
This new territory will require us to rethink the way we work with our colleague institutions. Since what we are talking about is a learning environment and not first and foremost an application, it will require that we come together for purposes in addition to writing code. Code is important, but it is by itself not the whole story.

About a decade ago, there was surge of impatience with the LMS, similar to what we are seeing today. So the community banded together and jointly wrote code to create an open source LMS, called Sakai. The idea was to regain control of the learning environment by producing an über-application that would be free to institutions of higher education. Today, the path to regaining control lies less in writing super-large chunks of code and more in forming consortia that serve a variety of purposes. Some of these purposes include setting up buyers' clubs that have more influence on vendors and that can secure volume discounts; sharing data and best practices; jointly buying technology; and in some cases writing component applications.

5) Vendor relationships must evolve.
We'll need to consciously move away from more adversarial relationships with vendors and work toward something that more closely resembles partnerships and collaboration. Most likely, the key point of engagement with them will be around standards. We'll also need to work to ensure that the key standards are well and fully implemented, and we will need to re-examine our own procurement practices in order to ensure that components we bring to the mix truly are interoperable. But, and perhaps most important, we will also need to communicate to our vendors the vision and aspirations that we have for our learning environments.

6) Leadership will shift.
Finally, this new approach to the DLE will require new kinds of leadership. At EDUCAUSE, we see this evolution toward the NGDLE as nothing less than academic transformation. This will require new aspects or dimensions to leadership, especially the ability to build consensus across campus groups and organizations. It will also call for new approaches to governance and will require continued participation in the strategic discussions on campus. The leadership called for is one that must be facile in working with a cohort of campus players and external partners in support of the teaching and learning mission.

To learn more about the Next Generation Digital Learning Environment initiative, read this blog post responding to comments from the higher ed community, or check out our resources page.

Malcolm Brown is director of the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative.

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6 implications of the next-generation digital learning environments (ngdle) framework

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6 Implications of the Next-Generation Digital Learning Environments (NGDLE) Framework

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A year ago, EDUCAUSE published a white paper describing new directions for our campus digital learning environments. (You can download a copy of the report here.) In the year since its publication, it's become clear that there is growing support within the higher ed teaching and learning community for the idea of learning environments to be based on component architecture.

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Time: 5 minute read

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Whether your role is as an administrator, teacher, parent, or student leader, if you're reading this, you are probably interested in helping other school community stakeholders understand the power of technology in a teaching and learning environment. A common mantra I'm hearing from digital learning coaches and innovative administrators is that they feel the progress toward using technology tools in their schools has plateaued. Many teachers have made great strides, but many more are still tentative with technology.

Just as it is a best practice for educators to model with math and reading and writing for students, it is also a best practice for all tech-savvy stakeholders to model for the tech-tentative.

Administrators: Model risk-taking with edtech for faculty

District and school administrators can start small to demonstrate the willingness to try new tactics and harness the power of technology. Start simple by sending out surveys with Google Forms or Survey Monkey, or interactive video lessons with PlayPosit or EdPuzzle, before meetings and professional learning opportunities. Then, share the resulting data and respond to the concerns of participants so that the meeting can continue positively and productively.

Or, go farther by using technology tools live during these professional learning times. For example, create a live word cloud with AnswerGarden or Poll Everywhere in response to a school-wide question to help focus the discussion. Ask faculty to share links and descriptions from their favorite resources with Padlet.

As teachers see how these tools helped facilitate their own professional experiences, they will see how they could be used with their own students.

Teachers: Model appropriate etiquette with edtech for students

When I work with teachers, one obstacle they say is in the way of them letting students use mobile devices every day in their classrooms is the distraction factor. With a classroom full of students who each have their own screen, how can even the most skilled experienced educator manage to teach content and responsible behavior simultaneously?

Well, not surprisingly, it starts with modeling-and some adults aren't exactly setting the right kind of example. Research has shown that some children feel as though they are competing with devices for adults' attention and that caregivers respond harshly to children who try to interrupt their attention to their devices. Teachers can help by talking with students about how they behave when using technology in class-they will turn off all notifications, will only use devices to help demonstrate and teach the students in the room, will not respond to emails during class-and ask students how they intend to behave when using their devices. Classroom contracts aren't a new concept, and when used well can help everyone hold one another accountable as a community. In a classroom community where each member is responsible, the teacher alone does not bear the burden of being the only manager.

Parents and educators: Model positive social media usage for children

Given the way social media was used by adults to converse and debate during the recent election, it can be challenging to tell our middle and high schoolers that they should follow the examples set by those adults. Instead of ignoring the problem or trying to convince kids to stay off social media, educators can shape the conversation this way:

1. Acknowledge that some adults use social media poorly and ask your students/children if they've seen examples and talk about those examples.

2. Empower your students/children. They can help make the internet a better place by making accurate and positive posts and by reminding other users to do the same. (I sometimes drop a link to a relevant Snopes page if someone I know posts inaccurate information and politely let them know they might want to check it out.)

3. Remind your students/children that are the policymakers, educators, business people, and parents of the future. They can start creating the future they want to exist right now. Show examples of other teen users who are already taking positive action so they know it is possible and are inspired to do something themselves.

And here's a useful note: Always follow the district social media policies, but consider starting a department or team Instagram account and use this as an opportunity to model for students. St. Bernard School in Connecticut goes even further and lets a new student take over the Instagram account each week. Give the students a chance to do some positive modeling, too!

Students: Model how to use technologies in new and creative ways

When designing lessons and projects, teachers can give every student a chance to model by incorporating student choice. Are they analyzing data or using math to solve real world problems? Invite them to choose either an infographic (with infogr.am or Piktochart or Canva) or to create an explainer video (with Explain Everything or Educreations) to show their conclusions based on their work. Are they connecting literature or history to the present day? Provide students with choices like storyboarding, acting in, and then creating a movie (with iMovie or WeVideo) or authoring their own book (with Book Creator or Papyrus) so they have original products to share.

Take it one step further and invite students to come up with their own ways to share their learning. Does a student want to use musical.ly to perform a current song from the perspective of a book character? What about creating a mock Snapchat story to show a day in the life of a scientist? When your students come up with these ideas, let them model creative uses of edtech and then share them with their peers and teachers.

A school community can push past that plateau and continue to make progress when all stakeholders are able to model for and teach one another.

Kerry Gallagher (@KerryHawk02) is a Digital Learning Specialist at a 1:1 iPad school serving 1500 students grades 6-12. She is also the Director of K-12 Education for ConnectSafely.org, and an EdSurge columnist.

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Has Your School Reached an Edtech Plateau? Here's the Key to Moving the Needle - EdSurge News

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Whether your role is as an administrator, teacher, parent, or student leader, if you're reading this, you are probably interested in helping other school community stakeholders understand the power of technology in a teaching and learning environment.