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Section 1: Engaging and Empowering Learning Through Technology

Section 2: Teaching with Technology

Transforming Literacy Instruction into a Digital World: 4 Principles and Practices of Digital Rigor

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*Use personalized learning to drive instruction
*Offer student choice in the classroom
*Keep students engaged with Project Based Learning
*Don't forget about our roles as educators
1. Instruct with Intent
2. Reach all Learners
3. Engage & Inspire

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Technology Integration Overview

Why Do We Need Technology Integration?

What is Successful Integration?

Preparing 21st Century Students for a Global Society

The Story of the Four Cs

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The flood of edtech tools that teachers are presented with has been staggering over the last several years, and continues to be this way. A quick glance on Twitter or any edtech conference program shows this. In fact, just typing "edtech industry" into a Google search can show the magnitude of the edtech business world.

What exactly are the four C's?

Communication

Collaboration

Creativity

Critical Thinking

In my experience, edtech tools tend to revolve around the 4Cs of 21st century skills: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking. I would argue that there is not "one tool to rule them all" in education. (In fact, looking for one of those is like looking for a unicorn. Good luck.) Any tool that is worthy of consideration by a teacher should first clearly represent how it will impact student learning: What will my students be able to do when using XYZ? How will using XYZ in my classroom create a richer learning experience for my students?

While it's great to have so many choices, this is also what can hold a teacher back from trying something new in their classroom-especially if the tool is cumbersome or does not show meaningful purpose in students' learning. But, it's also up to the educator him or herself to decide how best to integrate the 4 C's into daily lesson plans. It's safe to say... both educators and companies can do their part.

And so, let's start by looking at strategies educators can try when exploring new edtech tools.

What Educators Should Do

Experiment

Don't try to use a dozen edtech tools at one time. Don't even try tackling all 4 Cs at the same time. Pick one or two of these 21st century learning skills to focus on during the school year and then ask which tools help students develop those skills. Here are a few that I support:

If you try to use too many tools at once, you're likely to feel overwhelmed and become frustrated. Get really good at using one and then continue on from there. As long as you're moving forward, don't get caught up on how fast you're moving.

Don't Try to Stay on Top of it All-And Have 'Sandbox Time'

Teachers, you know the name of the game in education is "flexibility." Edtech tools come, they go, they're free, then they're not. It's the nature of the beast. This is one of the many great reasons to have a personal learning network (PLN) that you can tap for advice, resources and ideas. This also means that you have to keep a "learner first" mindset with all of these tools that come your way.

Make the time for "sandbox time" with a tool you're thinking about using in your class. Get together with other teachers and practice using it before you try it out with kids. Then, be sure to get back together with your colleagues to share your classroom experiences with one another. You'll grow, your students will grow and everyone will win.

What Companies Should Do

When It Comes to Pricing, Be Upfront

This is always a popular topic with edtech companies, isn't it? If a tool is "free," does it offer teachers and students enough capabilities that they can do something useful? If teachers only have a "freemium" option, is that useful? Will they only get to enjoy, say, 30 days of using the tool before they are expected to pay?

Look, I get that at the end of the day, edtech companies are businesses that need to make money. Teachers and administrators get this, too. Just make it easy for teachers to understand what they're getting when they click that sign-up button. I have seen some edtech tools that make it ridiculously difficult to locate pricing/trial period information. Don't make it a guessing game.

Teachers and administrators-at least the ones who are paying-don't have time for this. My personal opinion on this is that if you want to have a pay version, then great-have it. However, please offer teachers and students a decent free version to use, too. I've found more often than not that the free version does just fine for most students and teachers.

Please don't make your premium version a budget buster, either. Administrators are the ones having to constantly find ways to do more with less. Make it a reasonable annual price and make it clear exactly that the teacher gets (and how it will benefit student learning). A student tool that I believe does this well is Kidblog. Yes, they recently started offering a 30-day trial of their premium version. But even the premium version is affordable at $29 per year per teacher. For what you get, I think this is a very good value.

Understand Needs By Having Teachers as Advisors

If an edtech company is 1) not hiring people with education experience and/or 2) not listening to the direct needs of teachers and students, then they're missing the boat. This is the only way that a web tool or app is going to have an adequate pulse on the true needs of teachers and students.

When surveyed, teachers report that their top three considerations for choosing tools are 1) price, 2) whether the tool was time-saving and simple to integrate into instruction, and 3) whether the tool tailored student tasks and instructions based on individual students' needs.*

*Teachers Know Best, 2015 Report

Many companies have had great success by creating an advisory board of educators, an ambassador program, or something similar. It ensures that teachers and students have a voice within the organization and it is an effective, efficient way to continually iterate impact on classrooms.

I can't think of a better way for a company to measure their impact on the 4Cs by seeking opinions and evaluations from teachers. Invite teachers to try a beta version, participate in virtual focus groups, and create pilot groups to try out specific components with their students.

Get Out of The Way

I have always said, the best web tools do a great job at getting out of the way of student learning. This means they just work and do exactly what the company says they're going to do. The login/signup process is simple (hint: let teachers and students use their Google accounts), it's seamless for teachers to manage and share student work, and it's easy to learn how to actually use the tool.

For example, my students shouldn't have to click six times just to get started on collaborating with a classmate online. I think of my own children in this situation: It has become totally normal (not to mention easy) for them to share a story with me that they've written or an illustration they've created in Google Draw. They share it, I leave them comments, and they keep working. It's quick, efficient and it's become the norm. This should be the case no matter which of the 4Cs the tool is focusing on.

Again, if you read the point I made before this one, then this should not be an issue.

Whether you're a teacher giving some new edtech tools a spin, or a creator of an edtech tool, I charge you with a great responsibility. If you're a teacher, it's about remaining a learner first and taking some risks. If you're making an edtech tool, it's about truly understanding what teachers and students need. After all, we're all in it for the same reason-student success.

This post is part of the EdSurge Fifty States Project (representing the state of Missouri). The project is supported in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are those of the individual contributors alone and do not reflect the views of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

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How to Champion the Four C's in the Classroom - EdSurge News

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The flood of edtech tools that teachers are presented with has been staggering over the last several years, and continues to be this way. A quick glance on Twitter or any edtech conference program shows this. In fact, just typing "edtech industry" into a Google search can show the magnitude of the edtech business world.

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The SAMR Model Explained by students

SAMR Resources

TIM Framework Resources

TPACK Framework Resources

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14 Things that are Obsolete in 21st Century Schools

5 Trends that Could Supercharge Education in 2016

5 Trends that Could Supercharge Education in 2017

Explore resources on emerging trends

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Assessing Classroom Technology Integration

Technology Integration vs. Using Technology

Legal Issues: CIPA, COPPA and FERPA.

Managing Technology in your Class

5 classroom management tips for Technology Integration

5 Easy Options for Beginning Tech Integration

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14 things that are obsolete in 21st century schools

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14 things that are obsolete in 21st century schools

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Saying that it has always been this way, doesn't count as a legitimate justification as to why it should stay that way. Teachers and administrators all over the world are doing amazing things, but some of the things we are still doing, despite all the new solutions, research and ideas out there are, to put it mildly, incredible.

I'm not saying we should just make the current system better... we should change it into something else.

I have compiled a list of 14 things that are obsolete in 21st-century schools and it is my hope that this will inspire lively discussions about the future of education.

1. Computer Rooms

The idea of taking a whole class to a computer room with outdated equipment, once a week to practice their typewriting skills and sending them back to the classroom 40 minutes later, is obsolete.

Computers or technology shouldn't just be a specific subject, that's not sufficient anymore but rather it should be an integral part of all the subjects and built into the curriculum.

2. Isolated classrooms

Classrooms can be isolated in two ways. One where parents, teachers or guests are not welcome because the door and drapes are always shut... which has the words "Don't come in here" written all over it. The other way is being isolated to all the knowledge outside the 4 walls. For example from the internet, videos, blogs, websites, and visits from authors or scientists through Skype, to name a few.

Tony Wagner, the author of the Global Achievement Gap says: "Isolation is the enemy of improvement". The classroom should be open, teachers should be able to walk in and learn from each other, parents should visit often, f.x. with so-called Extra Open Schooldays (where all parents are encouraged to visit classrooms anytime during the day). Isolated classrooms are therefore obsolete.

3. Schools that don't have WiFi

Schools that don't have a robust WiFi network for staff and students are not only missing a big change for teaching and learning but robbing the students of access to knowledge and also limiting their chances to learn about the internet and using technology in a safe way.

21st-century schools make it possible for students and staff to learn anywhere, anytime and schools that don't allow that are obsolete.

4. Banning phones and tablets

Taking phones and tablets from students instead of using them to enhance learning is obsolete. We should celebrate the technology students bring and use them as learning tools.

Phones are no longer just devices to text and make phone calls... when they were, then banning them was OK. Today there is more processing power in the average cellular telephone than NASA had access to when they sent a man to the moon in 1969. Yet most students only know how to use these devices for social media and playing games.

Today you can edit a movie, make a radio show, take pictures, make posters, websites, blog, tweet as a character from a book, have class conversations over TodaysMeet and Google most answers on a test with the device in your pocket. We should show our students the learning possibilities & turn these distractions into learning opportunities that will reach far outside the classroom.

5. Tech director with an administrator access

Having one person responsible for the computer system, working from a windowless office in the school basement, surrounded by old computers, updates the programs and tells the staff what tech tools they can and cannot use... is obsolete.

Today we need technology co-ordinators that know what teachers and students need to be successful and solve problems instead of creating barriers. Someone who helps people to help themselves by giving them responsibility and finds better and cheaper ways to do things.

6. Teachers that don't share what they do

Teachers who work silently, don't tweet, blog and discuss ideas with people around the world are obsolete. Teachers are no longer working locally but globally and it's our job to share what we do and see what others are doing. If a teacher is no longer learning then he shouldn't be teaching other people.

We should all be tweeting, blogging and sharing what works and doesn't work, get and give advice to and from co-workers around the world. We should constantly be improving our craft because professional development isn't a 3-hour workshop once a month but a lifelong process.
"We do not learn from experience...we learn from reflecting on experience." -John Dewey
7. Schools that don't have Facebook or Twitter

Schools that think putting a news article on the school website every other week and publish a monthly newsletter is enough to keep parents informed are obsolete.

The school should have a Facebook page, share news and information with parents, have a Twitter account and their own hashtag, run their own online TV channel where students film, edit and publish things about school events.

If you don't tell your story, someone else will.

8. Unhealthy cafeteria food

School cafeterias that look and operate almost like fast food restaurants where staff and students get a cheap, fast and unhealthy meals are obsolete.

A few schools in Iceland and Sweden have turned almost completely to organic foods and given thought into the long term benefit of healthy food rather than the short term savings of the unhealthy. For example at Stora Hammar school in Sweden, 90% of the food served is organic.

Children should put the food on their own plate, clean up after themselves and even do the dishes. Not because it saves the school money on the workforce but because it is a part of growing up and learning about responsibility. What 21st-century schools should be doing as well is growing their own fruits and vegetables where students water them and learn about nature. Setting up a farm to feed students would be optimal, but if that is not an option (for example in big city schools) then they can at last set up a window farm in some of the school windows.

The goal of providing students a healthy meal is not only to give them enough nutrition to last the school day but to make healthy food a normal part of their daily life and get them to think about nutrition which is something that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

9. Starting school at 8 o'clock for teenagers

Research has shown over and over again that teenagers do better and feel better in schools that start later. Often parents or administrators get in the way of that change. Research (f.x. from the The Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics and University of Minnesota - video) show that delaying school start as little as 50 minutes and making it longer by 30 minutes instead has a positive effect both on learning and activities after school. Schools that don't do this are obsolete.

Starting later is easy and teachers could use the extra time in the morning to prepare class... it's a win-win situation.

10. Buying poster-, website- and pamphlet design for the school

When your school needs a poster, pamphlet or a new website they shouldn't buy the service from somewhere else (although that can sometimes be the case) and have students do it instead. In the best schools of the future, they will be the ones doing it as a real project that has meaning and as a collaborative project in language and art....using technology.

11. Traditional libraries

Libraries that only contain books and chess tables are obsolete.

A 21st-century library should be at the heart of the school and a place where both students and staff can come in to relax, read, get advice, access powerful devices, edit videos, music, print in 3D and learn how to code to name a few. This 21st-century learning space should give people an equal chance to use these devices and access information. Otherwise, these libraries will turn into museums where people go to look at all the things we used to use.

12. All students get the same

Putting kids in the same class because they are born in the same year is obsolete. School systems were originally set up to meet the needs of industrialism. Back then we needed people to work in factories, conformity was good and nobody was meant to excel or be different in that environment. That doesn't fit our needs today, let alone the future but many schools are still set up like the factories they were meant to serve 100 years ago.

We should increase choice, give children support to flourish in what interests them and not only give them extra attention to the things they're bad at. In most schools, if you are good at art but bad in german you get german lessons to get to par with the other students instead of excelling at art... All even, all the same!

Education should be individualized, students should work in groups regardless of age and their education should be built around their needs.

13. One-Professional development-workshop-fits-all

A school that just sends the entire staff to a workshop once a month where everyone gets the same is obsolete. Professional development is usually top-down instead of the ground up where everyone gets what they want and need. This is because giving everyone (including students) what they need and want takes time & money.

With things like Twitter, Pinterest, articles online, books, videos, co-operation & conversations employees can personalize their professional development. (Read about my article on Personalized Professional Development here)

14. Standardized tests to measure the quality of education

Looking at standardized tests to evaluate whether or not children are educated or not is the dumbest thing we can do and gives us a shallow view of learning.

The outcomes, although moderately important, measure only a small part of what we want our kids to learn and by focusing on these exams we are narrowing the curriculum. Alfie Kohn even pointed out a statistically significant correlation between high grades on standardized tests and a shallow approach to learning.

The world today and the needs of society are completely different from what they used to be. We are not only training people to work locally but globally. With standardized tests, like PISA, we are narrowing the curriculum, and all the OECD countries are teaching the same thing. Because of that, we all produce the same kind of workers, outdated workers, to work in factories. People who can comply, behave and be like everybody else.

In the global world today it is easy to outsource jobs to someone who is willing to do the same job, just as fast for less money. Therefore we need creative people that can do something else and think differently.

Andreas Schleicher (2010) said:

"Schools have to prepare students for jobs that have not yet been created, technologies that have not yet been invented and problems that we don't know will arise."

Standardized education might have been the answer once but saying that it's obsolete is putting it mildly and is only a way to try to repair the broken system. The results of those tests are, according to Daniel Pink (A Whole New Mind, 2005) in direct contradiction to the skills we need today. Those skills are for example design, story, symphony, empathy, play, and meaning.

We should be solving real problems, asking questions that matter instead of remembering and repeating facts. Adults' accomplishments are linked far more strongly to their creativity than IQ ( source) and we should be celebrating diverse knowledge and interest instead of trying to standardize knowledge and skills.

I wonder if schools would finally change their direction if we designed a new standardize test that wouldn't measure numeracy, science, and literacy but empathy, creative thinking and communication skills... Maybe that is all we need.

Final thoughts

All the education systems on the planet are being reformed, but I don't think reform is what we need. We need a revolution and change the education system into something else. It isn't an easy task, but as S.E. Phillips once said:

Anything worth having is worth fighting for.

Doing something new and getting poor results on the old test shouldn't surprise anyone. What is the point of doing something new and different if we get the same results on standardized tests... then we might as well just do factory schooling, conform and comply.

"If I had asked the people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses"

That is exactly what we are doing today. We are asking our students to remember more, write better and repeat faster than before... just like we wanted the faster horse when really we should be asking for the car. Sure the car wasn't better than the horse in the beginning and our education system won't be perfect either. It will never be perfect, it should be constantly evolving and we should strive to make it better every day.

I don't know what a perfect education system looks like, and don't think it even exists. But I believe that if we talk, try something different, fail forward, investigate and share what we do, not only locally but globally, we can get a lot closer.

If you want to see a change in education, you should start in your own classroom.

"Education can be encouraged from the top-down but can only be improved from the ground up" - Sir Ken Robinson
Icelandic Educator. Creator. Designer. Stanford Graduate School of Education Alumn
Ingvi Hrannar Ómarsson

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14 things that are obsolete in 21st century schools

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Saying that it has always been this way, doesn't count as a legitimate justification as to why it should stay that way. Teachers and administrators all over the world are doing amazing things, but some of the things we are still doing, despite all the new solutions, research and ideas out there are, to put [...]

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*Multiple ways to integrate technology into the classroom:
-Project-Based Activities Incorporating Technology
-Game-Based Learning and Assessment
-Student-Created Media like Podcasts, Videos, or Slideshows
*The 4 Cs
-Critical Thinking-Look at problems in a new way and use problem solving skills across disciplines to analyze and evaluate between information and arguments.

-Communication-Share ideas, questions, thoughts, and solutions to become a confident speaker.
-Collaboration-Work together to be interconnected with the world around us.
-Creativity-Cultivate creativity in the classroom to create new and worthwhile ideas.

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*Ensure seamless technology integration:

1. From the Chart: Technology use is planned and purposeful. I need to determine that the technology I’m using is essential.

2. From the YouTube video: FERPA: Keep student data safe. Students trust their teachers and I need to keep their information safe online.

3. From Managing Technology Use in the Classroom: Take full advantage of student expertise. My kids have learned a lot about technology even though they are only in third grade. Sometimes they may know more about a website or an even better website for use than I do!

4. From 5 Classroom Management Tips for Technology Integration: Engage their interests. This is why I’m starting Genius Hour for the first time! I want to see what they are interested in and how they present what they learned.

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*Benefits
-Allows Personalized Learning.
-Teachers can differentiate with technology.
-Teaching students how to find trusted online resources is crucial.
-Opportunities are endless for learning with technology!
*Drawbacks
-Technology isn’t cheap.
-It isn’t easy for all districts to get technology into the hands of students.
-Hard for teachers to adjust to new technology.

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Personalized Learning Requires Effective Teaching First, Technology Second

Information on the ASSURE model in technology integration

ASSURE Lesson

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*Personalized Learning requires that teachers should:
1) Know their students
2) Know their pedagogy and content
3) Manage student learning
4) Access available resources
*Follow the ASSURE model
A – Analyze Learners

S – State Standards and Objectives

S – Select Strategies, Technology, Media, and Materials

U – Utilize Technology, Media, and Material

R – Require Learner Participation

E – Evaluate and Revise

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Six Tips for Choosing Digital Tools to Support 21st Century Learning

Five Points for Evaluating Use of Technology in the Classroom

Checklist for Evaluating Tech Tools, Apps, Software and Hardware

5 Guiding Principles to Help Evaluate EdTech

Common Sense Education Top EdTech Picks

Technology Tools for Teachers

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*Evaluation Checklist
-Is this adding value to student learning?

-Will students stay engaged while using this tool?

-Is the tool making a difference in growth of learning?

-Is it free or does my district provide it?

-Does it meet student needs?

-Does it allow for personalized learning to take place?

-Can students use it at home for further enjoyment/practice?

-Does it challenge students in a positive way?

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Steps of Framework

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*Figure out what model matches your district - Mine is SAMR

Substitution: The first step in integrating technology, substitution takes basic class tasks and substitutes them with technology.

Example: I give my spelling tests in Google Forms now because it will grade it for me.

Augmentation: Next, technology is a direct tool substitute but has functional improvement.

Example: For every writing project my students complete on paper/pencil, they get to type it and change the font, colors, and add pictures. They LOVE to see their final paper published and hanging in the hallway. This step goes beyond basic publication with paper/pencil and an illustration.

Modification: This step changes a classroom task to be significantly redesigned.

Example: Instead of only manipulating math tools by hand to understand basic multiplication, I am using online manipulatives for students to rearrange and visualize. Then they have to see how it relates to a fact family.

Redefinition: The ultimate goal of integrating technology, redefinition allows teachers to take tasks that were inconceivable prior to tech use in the classroom.