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Announcements/Important DatesLeadershipProfessional Learning

Recharge at the Campus Technology Specialist Academy

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Like many educators, you, the campus technology specialist, probably find that more is expected of you each year. That’s one of the compelling reasons why teachers move out of the classroom to positions that support other teachers….only to find out that the grass may not be much greener on the other side. And if you hold a position on a campus or in a district where you coach teachers as they integrate technology, assist with basic troubleshooting, AND take on “other duties as assigned,” you may feel like you need to be recharged and refreshed before you burn out. That’s exactly what the Campus Technology Specialist Academy is designed to do: recharge and refresh you with new ideas, relevant solutions, and activities you can take back to your campuses.

Join us at the TCEA headquarters in Austin, Texas on November 16-17 for great learning and sharing that will inspire you and provide that needed support you’ve been looking for. You’ll have the opportunity to attend great concurrent sessions led by educators who are or have been in your shoes. Each hour, you’ll be able to connect with others like yourself who have a passion for helping teachers better integrate technology so that students can be engaged by outstanding lessons.

Registration is only $239 per person (which includes meals for both days and 12 hours of professional development credit). You can check out the specific content sessions in this year’s lineup by going here. There’s also an unconference time frame to ensure that your specific questions are addressed. The schedule for this academy includes:

DAY 1
7:30 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. – Check-in
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. – Welcome, Unconference Topic Selection, and Announcements
8:30 a.m. -10:00 a.m. – Concurrent Sessions
10:10 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. – Concurrent Sessions
11:10 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Concurrent Sessions
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. – Lunch (provided)
1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m. – Unconference Sessions
2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. – Unconference Sessions
3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. – Closing Activity and Door Prizes for Day 1

DAY 1
8:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. – Concurrent Sessions
10:10 a.m. – 10:40 a.m. – Birds of a Feather Sessions
10:50 a.m. – 11:40 a.m. – Concurrent Sessions
11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. – Lunch (provided)
12:45 p.m. – 1:35 p.m. – Concurrent Sessions
1:45 p.m. – 2:35 p.m. – Concurrent Sessions
2:40 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. – Next Steps, Survey, and Door Prizes for Day 2

Don’t let this year go by without making time to recharge and refresh…and why not do so with about 200 others for an enjoyable time that will help you make it through this year and then some! Register today and ensure that you can continue to provide the best support to your students and teachers.

 

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resolutions
Good TeachingLeadershipProfessional Learning

Five Ways to Make SMART New School Year’s Resolutions

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

Every year as the clock nears midnight on December 31st, millions of people dream about what the new year will bring. A new year brings the hope of possibilities and a fresh start, and many of us make New Year’s resolutions and share them with others. We vow to lose weight, to spend more quality time with family, or to volunteer more often. Some resolutions we accomplish and others we don’t. Still, there is joy in the dreaming.

Educators are blessed in that we get to make New Year’s resolutions twice a year. Just as January brings hope, fall brings about the start of a new school year. While we may be a little sad to see our summer fade so quickly, we eagerly look forward to seeing our colleagues and, most importantly, our students once again. So in August, many of us make new school year’s resolutions.

This year, why not make a few of the new school year’s resolutions center around integrating technology into your classroom? Whether you’re a tech junkie, a novice, or somewhere in between, there’s always room for improvement. Our advice? Make your resolutions SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-bound.

Make it SPECIFIC

Make your tech goal as specific as you can. Instead of making a goal to “use technology to communicate with parents,” you could strive to “use the new Seesaw announcements feature to send reminders to parents.” Rather than saying you will “use technology to get feedback from students,” you could aim to “gather video feedback from students using Recap.”

Make it MEASURABLE

It is much easier to monitor progress towards your resolutions if you make them measurable. (Think IEP’s.) It is more feasible to assess your results if your goal is to  “post at least one flipped lesson a week to EdPuzzle” rather than to  “flip my class.” Imagine how effortless it would be to gauge your progress on a resolution that states “I will publish one newsletter a month using Smore.”

Make it ATTAINABLE

When you set your resolution measurement, make your mark high enough to challenge yourself, but not so high there’s no way you can accomplish it. It may be lofty to say “I will tweet out something about my class every hour of every day,” but chances are that just won’t happen. Setting out to “send ten positive affirmation emails to students daily” sure would be nice, but realistically it’s far fetched. Don’t be too easy on yourself, but give yourself a goal you can be proud of when you achieve it.

Make it RELEVANT

It is important that your goals are meaningful. If you spend most of your technology time managing your email, then organizing your messages and reaching “inbox zero” should be a top priority. You can also focus on making day-to-day work more meaningful and integral for your students.  How can you improve their centers, presentations, or group work with regular technology use?

Make it TIME-BOUND

Set an end date or a time-frame for your resolutions. Having a deadline encourages you to complete your goal. Your long-term resolution could be to “create a Google Classroom and post three announcements and assignments by the end of the year” with the smaller goal to “post one announcement and assignment by the end of October.”

Lastly, share your resolutions with a trusted colleague, someone who will offer praise when you’re on track and a gentle nudge when you steer off course.

If you do make a SMART new school year’s technology resolution, please let us know! Tweet it out, tag @TCEA, and use the hashtag #TechResolution17.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This is a guest blog contributed by Dr. Roland Rios and Ms. Jeannine Freeman. Dr. Rios is Vice President of TCEA and the Director of Technology at Ft. Sam Houston ISD. Ms. Freeman is the District Instructional Technology Specialist at Ft. Sam Houston ISD. The pair also want to give a special thanks to their Administrative Assistant, Ms. Elizabeth Davidson, for “proofreading, wordsmithing, and making us sound much smarter than we actually are!”

 

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clock and wall sign displaying "MakerSpace"
LeadershipLibrariesRoboticsSTEM/STEAM

Pursuing the Makerspace Will-o’-the-Wisp

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

“One of the challenges for ed tech folks to bring about change is knowing how to do it,” I said to Steve Dembo (@teach42) when he visited Austin, Tx for the TCEA TEC-SIG spring meeting. It was a conclusion I had come to after many years as an ed tech advocate. For those seeking to pursue the school makerspace will-o’-the-wisp eldritch light, overcoming this challenge is critical. This blog entry discusses this question in the context of school makerspaces.

A Question of Trust

True leaders know how to build relationships that engender trust, trust that eases the bumps and bruises of walking forward in the unknown dark. Most educational technology folks focus on the benefits of the technology as their main selling point, yet this can be insufficient. Adopting a maker attitude and building makerspaces in schools and libraries seems obvious. Yet the challenge isn’t the technology. It’s the human relationships that support any change effort. Without trust in the technologist, no technology can succeed.

Tip #1 – Build Relationships

“You have to meet with people before the big decision is made,” said one colleague years ago. “You need to introduce the ideas and information so that people have time to think about it, one on one.” This tip for relationship building is to start having conversations that genuinely show concern for the needs of others. As trust builds and as you get a sense for how others think (and feel), you can start introducing some of the core ideas of the maker movement.

Makers may be defined “as people who design and make things because they find it intrinsically rewarding to make, tinker, problem-solve, discover, and share what they have learned” (Kalil, 2013). Your school and district leaders, librarians, and teachers must understand this isn’t about the technology, but is rather about cultivating a maker attitude in themselves and students.

Tip #2 – Avoid Oversimplifying What a Makerspace Is

With that definition in mind, it may still be possible to focus on the tools and technology. That is, on Raspberry Pi vs Arduino, 3D printing vs bead-making, drones vs cardboard creations. Or it may be all of the above. As Lee Martin points out in The Promise of the Maker Movement for Education, if the focus is on the technologies and tools, then you’re missing the point. Martin goes on to point out:

…the history of the adoption of computers in schools suggests a lurking danger: a seductive, but fatally flawed conceptualization of the Maker Movement that assumes its power lies primarily in its revolutionary tool set, that these tools hold the power to catalyze transformations in education.

Tip #3 – Establish a Budget

Once you have built trust with district and/or campus leaders and gathered the as yet untrained support of librarians, you will need to establish a budget. When setting up a makerspace budget, consider what kind of space your stakeholders will find easiest to begin with and that has minimal budget impact. It’s much better to have a low-budget success than a high-cost failure stalled by expensive technology. For example, when rolling out Raspberry Pi for a summer camp, I failed to take into account the time required to setup the devices and all the necessary extras (e.g. WiFi USB dongle, cables, and stuff) needed for a student do-able activity. Worse, the cost of all the additional items killed the initiative its first year because supplies were not available from our usual vendors.

If you lack purchasing authority, you may need to pursue crowd-sourced funding options such as Kickstarter and DonorsChoose. View some suggestions and tips online.

Tip #4 – Approve the Right Vendors

Even with a budget in place, you may find yourself at a temporary impasse as your standard vendors may not have what your makerspace needs. You may need to contact sole source vendors to obtain necessary sole source letters and W9 forms to be able to do business with them. You may also want to find a convenient reseller. The reseller is someone you do have an open purchase order with that can order what you need from vendors not on your district approved list. This can be a real time-saver.

Tip #5 – Create Your Own Buzz

Aside from staying in constant contact with stakeholders who have supported you, you will also want to amplify the voices of teachers and students who have become makers. Several ways to accomplish that include:

  • Conduct a weekly podcast featuring pictures/videos of student creations, no matter how cheesy they may seem at first blush. Part of your work is documenting the growth of makers in your community, so tweet, Instagram, and Facebook pictures and videos. You can schedule tweets in advance to ensure their maker attitude is on display seven days a week. Find out how here.
  • Create tiered levels of experience that align to the skill level and age level of young makers. This can ensure your makers are always learning and growing towards something.
  • Build up your stock of resources and setup supply lines within your academic community. This way, you will have a ready supply of cardboard and other raw materials for less techcentric activities. This will also lower your overall cost.
  • Develop a community of mentors for both staff and students. Actively encourage mentoring and differentiate between levels of experience. You want to build depth of the community, and you can accomplish that by implementing badging for various aspects.
  • Invite leaders to give making a try, and include students with parents. Spend time sharing the importance of cultivating a maker attitude up front, and align everything you say and do to that.

Final Thoughts

Remember that just as you are building a maker community in your space, you need to be an active participant in other maker communities. As your learners are nurtured, so must you be committed to receiving and learning with others. Some people to start following and connecting with include:

 

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Alexa
Content AreasEducational TrendsESL/ELL

Alexa: Your New Teacher Assistant (Updated)

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

One of the newest trends that is getting a lot of attention lately involves controlling devices with our voices. Amazon is just one of many that are working to make their VUI (voice user interface) more intelligent and user-friendly. One way Amazon is doing this is by providing a host of skills to their personal intelligent assistant Alexa. Alexa runs on Amazon’s Echo, Dot, and Tap devices. You may know someone who has received an Echo, Dot, or Tap as a gift recently and wondered what all the commotion is about. I didn’t pay too much attention myself until I received a Dot as a gift. Then I started discovering the many ways Alexa could be used in the classroom…and possibly as your new teaching assistant.

Out of the Box

Once I unboxed my Dot and connected it to the internet via my wireless network, I was able to get Alexa to provide basic information and perform simple tasks:

  • Alexa, what is the weather for tomorrow?
  • Alexa, what is the capital of Alaska?
  • Alexa, what is 37 times 414?
  • Alexa, tell me a riddle.
  • Alexa, set a ten-minute timer.
  • Alexa, sing me a song.

Classroom Uses

There are many ways that Alexa can help you in the classroom even in addition to adding skills (which we’ll highlight in the next section).

  • Get rid of all of your dice, cards, coins, and other probability tools as Alexa can take care of that for you. Just ask her to flip a coin, pick a card, roll a dice, or pick a random number between 1 and whatever top number you want.
  • Use Alexa in your classroom to support literacy by having students ask her how to spell a specific word, suggest a synonym, or provide a definition.
  • Social studies students can skip an internet search by asking Alexa simple geography and civics questions.
  • Math students can use Alexa to check their work when they’ve finished an assignment, and science students will find Alexa is great at converting units of measurements.
  • If it’s been a stressful day, you can ask Alexa to play a track like “Nature Sounds for Relaxation” and give your students the opportunity to unwind.
  • To help your students keep up with current events, set up daily news briefings from the app.
  • Splurge for an Audible account (free 30-day trial; $14.95/month after that) and have Alexa read an audiobook to the class. Or have her read Wikipedia articles to students in need of reading support. The device can even read any Kindle book that you own (both free and paid), if you don’t mind the robot voice.
  • Encourage students to become more knowledgeable about a wide variety of subjects with an “Alexa Fact of the Day.” Each day (or class period), a different student gets to ask Alexa a question about any (appropriate) subject the student is interested in. Have students keep track of these facts in a journal and then quiz each other about them at the end of the month. They can even use these facts to stump their parents.
  • This device can also be a great way for kids to practice speaking as they must enunciate pretty well in order to be understood. You can also have them practice their questioning skills by thinking of the question they want to ask before asking it.

Consider adapting your rule of “Ask three before me” to “Ask Alexa and three before me.” You’ll find more ideas of how to use the basics of the tech by visiting Erintigration’s site.

An Alexa Just for Kids

Amazon AlexaOn April 25, Amazon announced a new Alexa designed just for children. The Echo Dot Kids Edition, which costs $79.99 and is geared toward ages 5-12, is available for pre-order and starts shipping on May 9.

There are a lot of nice features in this new Dot, including Parental Controls, a case, and a year of FreeTime Unlimited, which includes great resources like kids’ Audible books, ad-free music stations, and fun, kid-friendly alarms. The device can decipher “kid speak” and rewards those who are polite in asking for something. It is also cautious in answering delicate questions such as “Is there a Santa Claus?” or “Where do babies come from?” The device comes set to not allow any Amazon ordering by the children and does not collect any personal data, which may set your mind a little more at ease.

If your student or child loves LEGO Duplo blocks, you can even add an Alexa story skill that guides younger children (aged 2 to 5) through playtime with the blocks. The customizable stories are themed around animals or vehicles. Alexa can encourage them to build creatively or recognize colors.

ClassAlexa

An enterprising set of teachers from 31 different states has now created ClassAlexa. Defined as “an extra pair of hands for busy K-to-8 teachers,” the add-on has hundreds of activities. The teacher can ask Alexa for an activity, like a ten-minute countdown or a word problem. Within a few seconds, Alexa “speaks back” the activity to the class, providing prompts as needed. Activities include brain breaks, math and ELA review questions, transitions, discussion prompts, countdowns and timers, social/emotional support, random student pickers, voice note taker, and class fun and games (coming soon).

The Starter version is free and includes five of the most popular activities with limited variations and a customizable random student picker. The Full Member version is just $20 before August 1 ($40 a year after that) and includes everything.

This blog was updated with additional content on July 5, 2018.

 

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augmented reality
Educational TrendsSTEM/STEAM

Top Five Tips for Diving into AR/VR

by Guest Blogger
written by Guest Blogger

The new frontier of augmented and virtual reality has all types of goodness it can bring to your content. Many educators are eager to dive into this pool, and with good reason: the possibilities are nearly endless. With this in mind, I thought I would share my top five tips for getting started with AR (augmented reality) and VR (virtual reality). Some seem simple and obvious, but I have found these to be the steps you definitely don’t want to skip.

1. Read the Instructions

It seems silly to actually not only write that, but start with that tip. But AR/VR apps often have specific instructions that will make or break your success with the program. Be sure to peruse them to make sure you are doing everything required to have the best experience. Also, as a facilitator, it’s best if you read the instructions to know all of the ins and outs that could be asked about by students.

2. Locate Necessary Triggers

Most AR apps use triggers in order to create the experience. Sometimes, those triggers reside within the app, which requires a download and then a transfer process to print out. Or they may reside on a companion website, which also may require a download and print situation. Next, refer to step 1. You may see specific instructions on whether or not the trigger must be printed in color in order to work.

3. Don’t Be Device Dependent

Lots of people, especially when exploring VR, get very caught up in whether or not they have a Cardboard, a Vive, or a Viewmaster. Then their next step is what devices to use in those headsets, and how to get a class set. These are all valid questions, but I would challenge you to notice that the majority of VR apps are not device dependent, meaning that you can utilize them with a tablet or other mobile device without a viewer.  So don’t let the headset be a hindrance.

4. Be Aware and Share

This bit of advice could be a part of any educational tidbit. AR/VR (and really all educational technology) move fast. In the famous words of Ferris Bueller, “If you don’t stop and look around, you might miss it.” In that vein, utilize all of your resources, especially social media, to locate, follow, and stay current with what’s going on, what’s updated, and what’s coming soon. Along those lines, don’t horde remarkability. If you find something new, share it. If you see something cool, shout it out. As we all know, sharing is caring, and I guarantee if you share something out, you will get back something just as good, if not better, for your efforts.

5. Connect to the Content

I often say “A turtle on a skateboard is really cool, but what does it have to do with anything?” AR/VR is a similar case. Audiences and participants of AR/VR will be wowed with very little effort on your part; it will dazzle even some of the toughest to reach. But if it is not connected to the content, it will have very little impact on improving learning. You are the content expert and it’s up to you to help students make those connections. Apps and devices don’t make those connections; you do.

This blog was written by Kim Murphree, an educational technology trainer from Mansfield ISD. You can reach Kim on Twitter @murphree_kim.

 

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professional learning
Microsoft Tips and TricksProfessional Learning

Mapping Your Holiday Learning

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

“What can I learn this vacation break?” As a lifelong learner, I like to ask myself this question when I have some spare time. Balance quiet family moments this holiday with anytime, anywhere learning. Below, you will find suggestions for self-paced professional learning this winter break. These will deepen your technological and pedagogical knowledge without impacting your budget.

mappingDid you know? Join the December 27-29, 2016 EdCamp Voxer event,  100% audio and mobile, available for free! Find out more!

Microsoft Education Community

The self-paced classes available will garner you badges and certificates you can print and share. In a profound way, these courses deepen your understanding of teaching and learning with technology in your classroom. Take these three steps to maximize your holiday learning.

Step 1 – Get a free account.

Your first step involves setting yourself up with a Microsoft Education Community account. Don’t lose your username and password. Some of the options that you have include a free Microsoft account (you can create one with your Gmail or Apple email account), Twitter, Facebook, and Office 365 account connected to work.

Step 2 – Select topics of interest.

Once you are logged in, you’ll see a menu bar running down the left side of the screen featuring several links. Click on the Badges and Points to see what options are available.

Recommendations for Microsoft classes are shown below, followed by more courses focused on pedagogy:

Microsoft Office Tools

  • Teacher Academy Windows 10 – A straightforward overview of Windows 10, great for newbies. You will earn 3,000 points and a badge for completing the course.
  • Teacher Academy OneNote – This provides some great insights into using OneNote, a collaboration tool that is available free to all. You will earn a badge and 3,000 points.
  • Digital Inking and Surface – Learn about digital inking and how the MS Surface Pro tablet can make learning more engaging. You will earn a badge.
  • Teacher Academy: Office 365 – Did you just get a free Office 365 account through work or on your own as a teacher? This course will help you create, edit, share, and work with others using Office Online, Outlook, and Skype for Business. Earn a badge and 3,000 points.

Enhancing Teaching and Learning with Technology

  • 21st Century Learning Design – This 20-hour course combines eight courses with 4-6 lessons each. You will earn a badge, certificate and have a better understanding of the learning that is possible in today’s classroom.
  • Digital Citizenship – Explore digital citizenship concepts and become a confident digital citizenship champion. You will earn 500 points for this course and it will only take 30 minutes to complete.
  • Technology-Enriched Instruction – Learn more about TPACK, 21st Century Learning Design, and how to integrate technology into your classroom. This three-hour course will earn you 3,000 points and a badge.
  • Amplifying Student Voice – In this course, you will explore how to amplify student voice through the lens of research, practice, and integration frameworks. Tools like Skype, Flipgrid.com, and Sway will be used. You will earn 500 points for completing this course.
  • PDLN Connect, Communicate and Collaborate – Visit classrooms that have set norms for cooperation and collaboration. You’ll see how technology can expand the walls of your classroom. Earn 500 points for this one-hour course.

Learn More About Coding

If you’re interested in developing your coding chops, then definitely check out Prepare to Teach Creative Coding Through Games and Apps.  Join the TCEA Microsoft Innovative Educators (MIE) Facebook group (with 210+ members) to tap into a dynamic community!

Step 3 – Share Your Learning

Take a moment to share your learning insights via a blog entry, record a voxercast and tweet it, or present at the next staff meeting.  Principals could certainly create a Padlet to facilitate sharing.

Did you know? Ditch That Textbook Digital Seminars are available for free. Go to the site and click “Today’s Speaker” to learn something.

TCEA Professional Learning

Need more human interaction? Check out all the available options at TCEA.org. These for-cost options feature TCEA Professional Development directors to support your learning efforts. Here are a few certification courses:

  • 21st Century Administrator Certification – Learn what you need to be successful in a campus leadership role.
  • Campus Technology Specialist Certification – Understand the tools and processes to better engage students and increase relevant technology utilization in the classroom.
  • IT/Technology Director Certification – Become an effective district leader and support administrators, teachers, and students in the use of technology.
  • Chromebook Certification (Level 1) – Dig deeper in their utilization of Google Apps for Education tools.
  • iPad Certification (Level 1) – Build a solid foundation for integrating the iPad in your classroom by participating in this certification.

Conclusion

Mapping your holiday learning gets easier every day. Treat yourself with anytime, anywhere learning!

 

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stack of books with a red apple on top, colored pencils, and ABC blocks
Good Teaching

Skip Superficial Learning: Blend Technology

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

How can we get past superficial technology use in our classrooms? When I envision changing what is happening in the classroom, some of the transformations I’d like to see include the following:

  • Problem-Based Learning: PBL engages students not with technology, but with powerful ideas and learning possibilities that technology can accelerate. Read more about PBL. | Visit Professional Learning Site.
  • Collaboration: The hallmark of today’s technology-embedded classrooms must be increased communication opportunities along with collaboration. In Three Steps to Leverage Technology for Dual Language or ELL Strategies, you can see that these uses transcend technology and enable powerful, interactive activities that can be done at a distance. Try having students create a multimedia anthology of digital stories that can be read, viewed, and listened to across the globe. Another example involves students nationwide gathering and analyzing data via cloud spreadsheets.
  • Amplify Student Voices: Powerful learning occurs when we hear our own voice in the world. Affirming students’ ability to impact social justice issues in their community helps them develop their voice. Going digital on a world stage can transform lives in an instant for good or ill.

Achieving the Impossible

Technology also makes possible the difficult or impossible. One example includes creating lifelong electronic portfolios and another is augmenting learning.

  • Lifelong Electronic Portfolios: As learners, most work disappears at the end of class. Creating lifelong e-Portfolios enables learners to achieve greater insight into what and how they learn. It also forces reflections on learning. Find out more: e-Portfolios | Picture Portfolios
  • Empower the Previously Difficult or Impossible: Technology enables us to learn in ways previously impossible. Consider technologies like an iPad and Moticonnect, which fellow blogger Richard Byrne highlights through a guest post by Maggie Keeler and EdTechTeacher. MotiConnect augments what may have been done in the past.

Skip superficial attempts at technology-enhanced learning. Commit to blending technology for transformative learning in our classrooms.

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ESL
ESL/ELLPodcasts

TCEA Podcast #3: ESLs and Technology

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

“What level of cognitive complexity are students operating at,” asks Dr. Chris Moersch, “when using technology in the classroom?” Technology, asserts Dr. Moersch, needs to be used to think and reason. “It doesn’t matter how much money you throw at it (spending on technology) if you’re using it at a low level,” says Dr. Desiree Marks-Arias. “What is the potential for using technology at its highest level?” What an exciting conversation about the English Language Proficiency Standards (ELPS) and technology in the classroom!

To what extent are we positioning ESL (English as a Second Language) students to become college and career ready? According to the Alliance for Effective Schools, “About 63 percent of the 46.8 million job openings created by 2018 will require workers with at least some college education….” Traditional approaches to pedagogy often leave the ESL population underserved in preparation of post-secondary pursuits. Beyond analyzing traditional achievement gaps between student groups, including those who receive program services such as ESL, Special Education (SPED), and Gifted and Talented (GT), it is pivotal that equal attention be given to curricular and instructional gaps as they relate to (1) the integration of 21st century skills into core subjects and (2) pedagogical approaches that emphasize collaborative learning, technology proficiency, and problem-solving.

Identifying appropriate methods and strategies to narrow and eliminate such gaps requires a fundamental shift in our existing paradigm—observing achievement and instructional gaps not as indicators of student deficiency, but rather as opportunities for supporting and developing student learning and success—addressing “support gaps.” In essence, by evaluating support gaps, we can determine the effort and resources necessary for teaching, learning, and academic mastery. Source: The Support Gap: Supporting and Developing Teaching and Learning for ESL

Travel back in time with me to Thursday, June 9, 2016, when I had the opportunity to explore a topic that goes to the heart of equity in bilingual/ESL classrooms. That topic is the gap between how we approach teaching and learning in English Language Learner (ELL) Classrooms. Certainly, if you are an ESL/ELL/Dual Language teacher, or you are an administrator responsible for supporting ELL students, you will want to listen to this conversation. Be aware that this podcast is quite long at almost an hour in length.

Listen to TCEA Podcast #3: ELL/ESL Support Gaps
with Dr. Chris Moersch (@lotiguy) and
Dr. Desiree Marks-Arias (email: desiree@loticonnection.com)

ELPS and Technology: Dr. Marks-Arias and Dr. Moersch

Three ESL Support Pillars

  1. Student Achievement
  2. HEAT Levels
  3. LOTI Levels

To find out more about the Support Pillars, review the Powerpoint and concept paper (links 1 and 2, respectively) in the Links section below.

Links

  1. ESL Support Pillars PowerPoint
  2. The Support Gap: Supporting and Developing Teaching and Learning for ESL
  3. H.E.A.T. Framework Overview
  4. LOTI Framework “Sniff Test”

HEAT Framework and ELPS:

ELPS and Technology ELPS and Technology

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Good Teaching

Lesson Planning: 5E Model + Technology

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

While lesson plans may have fallen out of favor in some districts, replaced by online curriculum management systems, the lesson planning process is still an excellent opportunity for collaborative planning and development. When co-planning, it’s important to have a common framework for lessons that enlists the expertise of classroom teachers and campus curriculum guides. One popular approach to lesson planning is the 5E Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate). Let’s explore 5E and how it might look when enhanced with technology. If you have other examples from your own work or online, please share them in the comments below.

The 5E+T Model Sample Lesson Plan

The 5Es and a technology connection are shown in the table below, followed by a brief description of what student success looks like.

5E

Technology Connection

What Success Looks Like

ENGAGE

Activities that capture the students’ attention, stimulate their thinking, and help them access prior knowledge.  Students become engaged in the process of inquiry. The teacher can ask questions to find out what students already know, or think they know, about the topic and concepts to be covered. These questions typically start with “how” instead of with “why.”

_ Problem-based Learning (PBL) component or Online Simulation

_ Collaborative Projects with GoogleApps

_ Concept map creation _Milanote Storyboarding Tool

_ Create interactive web sites that others can connect and interact with.

_ Create video/audio explorations of a topic, responding to questions.

Teacher creates a problem narrative/engagement scenario, video, or resource that engages students, then helps students develop questions and identify what and KWHLT.

EXPLORE

Enable students to explore their ideas, singly and in groups, in classroom or at a distance. Provides students time to think, plan, investigate, and organize collected information.

_ Video

_ Blog or Google Sites

_ Podcast/Vidcast

_ Data collection (Google Form/Sheet)

Students conduct advanced searches using Boolean operators (and/or) after having developed effective questions/search queries, blog journaling, curate content and add comments (e.g. Flipboard), video, vidcast/podcast, remixing another product, create a Google Hangout or Voxer chat.

EXPLAIN

Students acquire opportunities to connect their previous experiences with current learning and to make conceptual sense of the main ideas of the topic being studied.

_ Digital storytelling

_ Podcasting/Vidcasting

_ Presentation (Google Slides)

_ Blog or Google Sites

_ Collaborative Product Creation

Create a media product (e.g. video, podcast), digital story or plan a web site using storyboarding and script-writing to share their learning and help others understand it.

ELABORATE

Students apply or extend previously introduced concepts and experiences to new situations. Students apply their knowledge to real world applications.

_ Forum (Google Classroom)

_ Product creation

_ Virtual field trip

_ Ask an Expert video chat

Students develop a solution to a real problem that incorporates their knowledge, communicating that in a variety of media formats.

EVALUATE

Students, with their teachers, review and assess what they have learned and how they have learned it. Students can be given a summative assessment to demonstrate what they know and can do.

_ Video feedback on product

_ OneNote notebook with feedback

  Students’ creations are notated from a perspective of real life usability rather than teacher satisfaction with a transitional student product.

But wait, there’s more! Let’s also include what this might look like with a lesson in mind.

Did You Know about This Storyboarding Tool?

Milanote is a tool for organizing creative projects into beautiful visual boards. By design, it feels a lot like working on the wall in a creative studio – visual, tactile and sometimes a bit messy.   Some of its key features include being able to:
– Write notes & to-do lists, upload images & files and save things you find on the web
– Organize visually using the flexible drag and drop interface.
– Boards by default are a private place to think, but with a single click you can create a shared workspace for collaboration with your team
– Milanote is filled with hundreds of built-in templates to help you get started with a variety of different projects, from creating a mood board to writing that perfect creative brief.

Learning Objectives:

Students will learn to conduct investigations to differentiate among different forms of energy, including mechanical, sound, electrical, light, and heat/thermal energy. Students will also accomplish the following:

  • Design and conduct a descriptive investigation to test the effect of force on an object. Forces may include pushes, pulls, gravity, friction, or magnetism.  
  • Select appropriate equipment, collect and record data using the metric system, and construct simple tables, charts, and bar graphs to organize, examine, and evaluate data.  
  • Communicate valid oral and written results supported by data.  
  • Draw inferences and evaluate accuracy of services and product claims found in advertisements and labels, such as for toys.  
  • Record scientific data and observations in their science notebooks and practice safety during investigations.

 

TEKS Connection:

4.6(A) Differentiate among forms of energy, including mechanical, sound, electrical, light, and heat/thermal.

4.6(B) Differentiate between conductors and insulators.

4.6(C) Demonstrate that electricity travels in a closed path, creating an electrical circuit, and explore an electromagnetic field.

4.6(D) Design an experiment to test the effect of force on an object such as a push or a pull, gravity, friction, or magnetism.

 

And, here’s what the table might look like:

5 E

Technology Connection

What Success Looks Like

ENGAGE

Activities that capture the students’ attention, stimulate their thinking, and help them access prior knowledge.

 x  Problem-based Learning (PBL) component or online simulation

_ Collaborative Projects with Google Apps

_ Concept map creation

_ Create interactive web sites that others can connect and interact with.

_ Create video/audio explorations of a topic, responding to questions.

Problem Engagement: 

 

KSAT 12 has contacted the school and asked us to investigate exploding hoverboards. What they are asking is, simply speaking, “How do hoverboards work and are they are safe?”  

EXPLORE

Enable students to explore their ideas, singly and in groups, in classroom or at a distance. Provides students time to think, plan, investigate, and organize collected information.

_ Video

_ Blog or Google Sites

_ Podcast/Vidcast

_ Data collection (Google Form/Sheet or Excel Online survey)

 Students create a Google Form-based survey or a survey with Office 365’s Excel Online product to gather data on how many hoverboards there might actually be in people’s possession at school.

EXPLAIN

Students acquire opportunities to connect their previous experiences with current learning and to make conceptual sense of the main ideas of the topic being studied.

_ Digital storytelling

_ Podcasting/Vidcasting

_ Presentation (Google Slides)

_ Blog or Google Sites

_ Collaborative Product Creation

Create a media product (e.g. video, podcast), digital story, or plan a website using storyboarding and script writing to share their learning and help others understand it.

ELABORATE

Students apply or extend previously introduced concepts and experiences to new situations. Students apply their knowledge to real world applications.

_ Forum (Google Classroom)

_ Product creation

_ Virtual field trip

_ Ask an Expert video chat

Students develop a solution to a real problem that incorporates their knowledge, communicating that in a variety of media formats.

EVALUATE

Students, with their teachers, review and assess what they have learned and how they have learned it. Students can be given a summative assessment to demonstrate what they know and can do.

_ Video feedback on product

_ OneNote notebook

 Students create a video that summarizes what they have learned, embedding it as a Microsoft Sway in their OneNote Class Notebook.
 
As you can see, using the 5E+T Model can simplify lesson planning and help you develop classroom activities that do more than cover required essential knowledge and skills.
 

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Summer Learning at Its Best for Elementary Educators

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Looking for a great learning experience this summer that will enhance your teaching skills and energize you at the same time? Then look no further than the TCEA Tots and Technology Conference, an event so popular that we are offering two this summer. Join us in Galveston on June 12-14 or the next month in Frisco on July 24-26 for workshops and sessions that are designed by elementary educators for elementary educators.

With all the choices you have this summer to get ready for the fall, here are the three biggest reasons to attend one of our stimulating Tots and Technology conferences this summer:

  • Attend sessions and workshops designed especially for educators and administrators integrating technology with 3 year olds through fifth grade;
  • Network with other like-minded educators to expand your resources for the new school year and get tons of hands-on, relevant, classroom-ready ideas and activities to implement in your classroom; and,
  • Earn up to 17 hours of professional development credit for meaningful learning targeted to your needs.

 

Sessions and workshops for these events will be posted April 1, so you can plan which sessions to attend and coordinate your schedule with friends and colleagues. Get support from your administrators about the value of the Tots and Technology conference by downloading and sharing this template with them.

If you are an elementary educator or work with elementary educators, join us for a great learning experience. Find out more and register here. If you have any questions, contact Peggy Reimers at preimers@tcea.org. We look forward to seeing you in Galveston, Frisco, or both locations.

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