Tag:

technology integration

Recognize an Exceptional Educator for their Amazing Work

by Robert Bennett September 1, 2021

written by Robert Bennett

Educators have difficult jobs and take on immense responsibility. These days, many are working harder than ever to deliver meaningful, lasting learning experiences, no matter the circumstances. Each year at TCEA, we honor the most dedicated and innovative educators with our Educator Awards and Scholarships.

We present these awards, also known as Golden Apples, to some of the most innovative and engaging educators worldwide. Award recipients receive a $1,000 cash prize, and, additionally, two finalists in each category receive $500 prizes. We also award three different scholarships, available to both preservice education majors and those already in the field.

If you know a teacher, librarian, instructional specialist, education student, technical support person, or administrator deserving of recognition as a leader in using technology in education, please submit a nomination! There are ten categories for our Educator Awards and Scholarships, and you can nominate educators for multiple awards. Nominations are now open through October 31, 2021, and the winners will be announced at the TCEA Convention and Exposition in February.

September 1, 2021 0 comment

CTO/CIO Cybersecurity Leadership Technical Support

Checklist: Learning with Technology

by Miguel Guhlin May 26, 2021

written by Miguel Guhlin

When schools take a look at campus educational technology efforts and how the technology is being leveraged for learning, they need to keep a few points in mind. This checklist focuses on three key areas you can use to do that. Let’s take a quick look at each area.

checklist

Key Area #1: Impacting Growth

When discussing growth, it’s almost always student growth you need to consider. That is, are students able to show growth from beginning of the year to the middle and end of the year? How about from year to year? When adapting technology for use in the classroom, you need strategies that work. You can use this free app to get some insights and access digital tools. All strategies have an effect size. What you are looking for is the pairing of one digital tool that amplifies the positive effect.

Another key checklist component is ensuring that you have a well-established coaching program. Kickstart your coaching program with this easy to use multimedia text set.

checklist

Get a copy of this multimedia text set

Key Area #2: Supporting Technology

You’re not alone if you find yourself wondering, “How long will it take to get technical support?” This particular area of the checklist focuses on technical support and response time. What’s more, it addresses two sore points with end users.

The first is being able to check the status of an help request (a.k.a. trouble ticket). In one small urban school district, the help desk lead “improved” his numbers by assigning active tickets to an inactive technician account. This made them “disappear” or appear as closed in the help desk system. Ensuring that end users can check the status of their help requests can stop fraud like that.

checklist

The second sore point? Safeguarding sensitive data. It’s important that the district or campus have a process in place for protecting data. What’s more, it’s critical that all staff be a part of that process.

Key Area #3: Planning for Anytime, Anywhere Access

checklist Wondering how to provide anytime, anywhere access for students and staff? It’s been a big issue for both small and large schools and districts. One of the most important ways to achieve this is to establish clear standards for all locations. In this way, you can ensure everyone has the connectivity they must have at the point of need.

Go Even Deeper: Become a Data Guardian

You can find the best ways to secure your data and device(s), as well as what you put in the cloud, plus even more, with TCEA’s affordable, self-paced Data Guardian course. Learn more here.

Learning with Technology Checklist

Here’s the learning with technology checklist which can be used to help you gauge how you are leveraging technology. The goal is ensure a positive impact on teaching, learning, and leading at your campus. Although the checklist has evolved since its creation, you can find the original in this Google Doc.

Get the PDF version for printing (Updated: 9/2/2021)

Feature Image Source

Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

May 26, 2021 0 comment

Announcements/Important Dates

Building Resilience in Coaching, PD, and Campus Tech

by Andrew Roush September 18, 2020

written by Andrew Roush

Change can be tough to navigate. And when your role in education is focused on keeping frontline educators connected to the latest tech, trends, and research-proven ideas, change can throw a number of new challenges your way.

At TCEA, we’re dedicated to resourcing those who make learning happen. That’s why this year, we’re hosting our annual Campus Technology Specialist Academy online, November 13-14, 2019, with live events and on-demand content. You can choose how you take part in this expert-led online gathering.

Working Through Change

Each year, our academies give education professionals the opportunity to hear from thoughtfully chosen experts and explore many aspects of a topic through small-group, hands-on sessions. This year, we’re taking that energy online, with a focus on the them of Resiliency through Change.

With the changes happening in education, educators are working hard to deliver meaningful learning. With our topics, speakers, and online network of engaged campus tech experts, we’re empowering you to make the most of the tools at your disposal — an maybe find a few new ones, too.

Connecting Instructional Tech Pros

Designed for curriculum specialists, instructional technologists, and tech integration coaches, this year’s event has been modified to fit your needs. The event includes three days of learning to help you become more effective, and two scheduling options that allow you to engage with live presenters and on-demand content that you can continue at your own pace.

As part of this flexible event, attendees can expect all the latest big ideas and helpful tips that they rely on to make learning possible. Attendees will:

Meet with experts and experienced coaches to share ideas
Learn best practices for integrating technology
Build the training skills to make the professional development you offer more impactful
Solve problems and develop relevant solutions with your peers
Gain resources to share on your campus
Develop a network of support for ongoing motivation and inspiration

Get in on the Inspiration

You can take part live during the event, or online from November 19, 2020 – January 18, 2021. Plus, registration includes a one-year membership (or membership renewal) in TCEA, so you can take part in meaningful professional learning and network-building all year long. Registration is only $129, but act fast — early registration pricing won’t last.

Ready to level-up your learning? Join us at the TCEA Campus Technology Specialist Academy!

September 18, 2020 0 comment

Educational Trends Good Teaching Leadership Professional Learning

What the Data Says: Teacher Confidence Is High

by Lori Gracey January 22, 2019

written by Lori Gracey

The 4th Annual Educator Confidence Report released by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt late in 2018 has some interesting findings in it. More than 1,200 teachers and administrators across the country participated in the study that looked at “how educators perceive the state of education” and how they are using technology in the classroom for learning. While 1,200 is not a huge sample size, it does offer some possible themes that we can examine, themes that may point the way to improvements we as leaders can make.

Theme #1: Barriers to Technology Use Are Decreasing

While barriers to the effective use of technology for learning do exist, educators were more positive this year about their ability to overcome them. Barriers that still remain, however, include:

Lack of time to plan for integration of digital resources into instruction – 52% of educators responding
Inadequate student access to devices/internet outside the classroom – 42%
Lack of devices for students in the classroom – 42%
Device/network unreliability – 35%
Lack of technology-focused professional development – 33%
Lack of digital curriculum-focused professional development – 30%

teacher confidence

It is interesting to note that teachers with more years of experience in the field are more likely to report that lack of time to plan ed tech implementations is a big barrier while those with less experience find inadequate access to tech at home as the biggest barrier.

District leaders should consider how they can provide more time for teacher planning for the use of digital resources, along with more professional development offerings focused on technology and digital curriculum. A blended learning approach might work well for both of these needs.

Another finding from the study has to do with how teachers prefer to learn about the use of instructional technology. 62% of the respondents felt that informal discussions with colleagues was the most impactful way for them to learn how to support the use of technology in the classroom. This was considerably higher than formal professional development provided by the district/campus (49%) or self-guided research (41%). This clearly shows that teachers prefer the opportunity to learn from their peers what works and what doesn’t.

Theme #2: Teacher Confidence in Using Technology Remains About the Same

In the survey, 58% of the teachers responded that they are extremely or very confident in their ability to use ed tech in instructionally effective ways. This compares to 54% in 2016 and 62% in 2017. Again, however, differences appear when you examine the number of years of experience that respondents have. While 64% of those with 10 or fewer years of teaching are confident, only 49% of those with more than 20 years experience feel the same.

This is a gap that must be addressed by leadership, perhaps through more individualized learning opportunities or by pairing younger and more experienced teachers together for learning. Since the study showed that teachers prefer to learn from their peers, paired professional development with ample time for discussion and experimentation is critical.

Theme #3: Teacher Use of Digital Tools Is Up

More and more educators are using digital materials to help their students master content. The most used tools include:

Videos from an instructional program or open source (66%)
Digital communication tools to engage with parents (65%)
Resources shared via a (free or paid) professional, online community (such as TCEA’s Community) (64%)
Digital versions of print instructional materials (59%)
Practice work apps/websites/digital games (58%)

Learning Management Systems saw a significant increase in use, rising to 51% of respondents.

However, while more teachers are using digital resources in the classroom, most of their use remains at the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy: watching a video, looking at print-into-digital resources, and using practice apps. Fewer of the uses at the creativity or collaboration level are being seen even today.

In addition, more teachers are using social media as a way to explore teaching and instructional content. 80% of survey respondents say they use it for that purpose, while 74% use it to communicate/interact with students’ families and 72% use it to interact with other educators.

Conclusions

As leaders, the biggest take-aways from this latest study are that teachers are amazing professionals who want to grow and improve. They definitely see the value that technology can offer for student learning, but need more structured time with peers to practice and master it. How will you make this happen for your teachers?

January 22, 2019 0 comment

Future Good Teaching

Three Tips to Make Your Ed Tech Integration Resolutions Stick in 2019

by January 10, 2019

written by

Every year, without fail, the new year brings with it an air of melancholy for me. Often, as I look back on the past year, I wonder why I, like so many others, wasn’t able to keep my New Year’s resolutions. As a type-A person, that sentence hurts to even write! But perhaps you have felt the same?

One Step at a Time

Research shows that between 90 and 92 percent of people fail to keep their New Year’s resolutions. Many of these are due to a lack of setting specific goals that will still challenge you along the way. Some are also the result of a lack of persistence to keep your initiative moving.

For example, let’s say your goal is to learn Spanish between now and the end of the year. That’s great, but it’s not exactly specific. To make it specific and challenging, you should break your goal down into measurable chunks. For example: “In February, I will learn 30 words in Spanish.” This makes it a targeted goal that you can then break down even further. You can then take steps toward achieving something that is getting you closer to your goal every day. This keeps you motivated and more likely to follow through on a day-by-day basis.

Tackling Ed Tech Integration

The same principle of tackling a big project with slow, steady, measurable steps applies to integrating ed tech in a classroom. There are even more barriers to ed tech integration as a broader initiative that is campus- or district-wide. We all know what the research says, so why is there a lag when it comes to implementation?

Educators and administrators face many barriers to implementing instructional technology. These barriers include a lack of resources and training, inadequate knowledge and skills, and institutional barriers.

TCEA understands that although most educators and administrators believe in the benefits of ed tech, they may not be set up for success. That’s why we at TCEA have set an organizational resolution in 2019. Our goal is to educate even more campuses and districts on proven, research-based strategies for successful implementation.

As we work to bring these new research-based strategies to you in a broader, more impactful way, I will leave you with three tips for overcoming your problems with ed tech implementation.

1. Create a Shared Vision

Get your colleagues involved with ed tech. Help one person find one way of restructuring one aspect of their instruction to include technology. Work with your campus or district administrators. Help them understand the relationship between ed tech and student achievement. Involve others in creating an organizational resolution that focuses on ed tech implementation. After all, we are stronger together.

2. Overcome Limited Resources

Lack of resources or access to technology is the greatest barrier many in education face when it comes to implementation. Work to find creative ways of accessing technology (repurposing old technologies, for example) or utilize your students to help you learn a new technology. Provide them with an incentive for being involved and engaged in this way. Although the initial step of finding creative ways of implementing technology may take more time than desired, the benefits of setting the time aside now will be worth it for you and your students long term.

3. Meld Technology into the Curriculum

Implementing ed tech shouldn’t just be about cramming technology into the curriculum you’re already tasked with teaching. The use of technology should be to enhance instruction. By aligning the curriculum, standards, and technology, students will begin to truly benefit from your tech-integrated classroom.

As I begin my personal journey to better myself and the world around me in 2019, I hope these tips will help you do the same. Let’s keep our resolutions this year! Revisit your ed tech implementation plan to find something that works for you. More importantly, begin to work with those who surround you on a daily basis to help them realize that ed tech implementation can no longer be a lone-wolf effort. To truly implement something that will enhance instruction and provide for deeper learning, full campus or district involvement is key to success. I have full faith that 2019 can be the year you and I succeed at our resolutions and truly expand the use of educational technology, because with TCEA, we’ve got this!

January 10, 2019 0 comment

Content Areas Educational Trends

Fine-tuning Your Virtual Assistant: Alexa Skills for All Content Areas

by Dr. Bruce Ellis February 20, 2018

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Amazon’s Alexa can be a big help in a lot of contexts. But have you embraced the use of Alexa in the classroom yet? If you’re new to the idea of virtual teaching assistants, hop on over to this post to get some background on how Alexa can be a valuable addition to your lesson plans. If you’re already on board with Alexa, you’re in the right place to discover all the skills that will allow Alexa to be more helpful and relevant in your classroom, no matter what you teach.

Adding Skills

Begin by locating the Skills section in the free Alexa app that is associated with your Echo, Dot, or Tap.

While you can use the search feature, I have found it to be quicker to just browse the Education and Reference category. By default, your search results are listed by relevance, but you may want to change that to sort by average customer rating. Below are some skills that you might want to enable and how they can be used in the classroom. Search for the bolded skill name.

Primary Learners

Speak Listen Learn – Speak Listen Learn is being launched with the ability to sing the alphabet, teach letters/pronunciation, words, play sound effects, animal noises, tell jokes and more.
Animal Workout – Animal Workout allows kids to become different animals while getting exercise. Alexa will offer up encouraging words as they go along to also boost motivation and confidence.
Music Bop – This Alexa Kids Skill consists of fun, interactive adventures that get the kids moving around whilst also incorporating educational themes.

ELA

Earplay – Students will enjoy these choose-your-own-adventure stories featuring sound effects. You will need to sign up for a free Earplay account for Alexa to access.
Spelling Bee – The spelling bee is designed for students (grades 4 and 5) to help them practice their words. You can also use Spelling Champion, which will let you enter your own words to practice.
Amazing Word Master Game – Match your word skills against Alexa as you take turns saying a word that begins with the last letter of the previous word said. Earn more points for longer words. Consider having elementary students work in groups and take turns saying their word after Alexa to see how many points the class can get and if they can beat Alexa. Be sure to enunciate clearly; otherwise she might mistakenly think you said a shorter word!
Word Chain – Similar to the Amazing Word Master Game above, this skill limits the game to two categories: names of countries or names of countries, states, and capitals. Social studies students will find this fun and challenging…especially since you cannot repeat a place previously said.
Difficult Word Quiz – This skill reminds me of the word quiz section of Reader’s Digest. You’ll find it very appropriate for middle and high school students to expand their vocabulary for the SAT and ACT. Each quiz has ten words, and you must choose the correct definition of each.
The Magic Door – This is a choose-your-own-adventure skill that lets you explore the sea, hills, or dark forests. There are sleeping dragons, temples, the faint sound of music, and other mysterious sights and sounds to lure your students in. They probably won’t be able to finish the adventure during the class period. So then you can have them write their own endings to the story.
Short Bedtime Story – Each of these stories is 30 seconds to one minute long and can be personalized to one student’s name. These might work well as writing prompts. The Amazon Storytime skill has professionally narrated stories for children ages 5 to 12.
Magoosh Vocabulary Builder – Alexa will ask questions about five different vocabulary words to help you increase your vocabulary.
Highlights Magazine – Bring the family together to try some terrifically toothsome tongue-twisters, laugh at family-friendly jokes, and reconnect with Goofus and Gallant™. If you’re up for a challenge, push your imagination to the limits with brainteasers, or host a poetry slam in your living room. You can also listen to stories about animals, friendship, sports, and more.
Listening Comprehension Practice – This is an interactive story game suitable for all ages. Hear fun, quick stories and answer questions at the end to sharpen your listening comprehension. Each story is about Hutch, a boy in the 5th grade with a big brother and little sister. Listen to Hutch’s adventures and hear him make up his own entertaining tall tales. New content is added weekly, so check back often.

Math

Math Mania – Solve these addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division problems.
The Queen’s Mathematician – Mischievous elves have kidnapped the Tree Queen, and she can only be rescued if you, her best mathematician, unlock the charms that are keeping her hidden. Kids 6-8 use early elementary math facts, solve word problems, and stretch their imaginations and vocabularies in a quirky tree house castle full of surprises and kid-friendly humor.
My Math – This is a powerful skill that can do lots of different things to help students master math facts.
1-2-3 Math – A math challenge which tests your elementary computing skills, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, comparison, etc., in three modes.
Lemonade Stand – This game skill simulates owning a lemonade stand. Alexa states the weather forecast for the (simulated) day and then the player buys cups of lemonade to sell, buys signs for advertising, and sets a price for a cup of lemonade. The game focuses on the following player skills: careful listening, math, money, business, understanding odds and chance statements, and managing expectations.
Railroad Math – Railroad Math is a math challenge which tests your elementary math skills, including addition, subtraction and multiplication.

Science

NASA Mars – If your students are studying Mars, you might find this skill very resourceful. You can ask Alexa questions about the red planet or the rover Curiosity. Other similar skills to check out include Planets Trivia or Star Facts or Earth, Moon and Sun Facts.
Science Buddy – Science Buddy is a fun and interactive way for kids to learn about science. It quizzes topics including earth science, biology, physics, and energy. It is based on the National Science Bowl but with simpler questions; Science Buddy will ask you ten multiple-choice questions with three choices each.
Outer Space Alice – With Outer Space Alice, kids learn about the International Space Station, geography, languages and other fun facts about the world.

Social Studies

This Day in History – Check in with Alexa to find out what events happened on this day.
Black History Facts – Live stars share important facts about African American history.
Kids Court – No more “she pushed me/he started it.” Send them to Kids Court and let Judge Lexy decide.
While you rest, they will learn some basic facts about the U. S. judicial system. They will learn to present their cases coherently and speak up for themselves.
Texas Fun Facts – Help students learn more about their home state.
Kids News – Kids News provides fun entertaining daily current events, science and other types of news.
Colonial History – Looking to learn more about our Founding Fathers and the era that they lived in? This skill shares interesting historical information about the era of American colonial history.
Time Machine – Listen to the top headlines of the same day in a randomly chosen year from 1851 on.
Kid Power – Want to get active and save lives? UNICEF Kid Power is a way to play games and transform your activity into food packets that UNICEF delivers to malnourished kids around the world.

Other Subject Areas

Jeopardy – Each weekday, Alexa receives six questions by the show’s official writers. How many can you get correct? This may be a great challenge for gifted and talented students. There’s also a Teen Jeopardy available.
Twenty Questions – Young students will enjoy thinking of an animal, vegetable, or mineral and seeing if Alexa can deduce it by asking yes-or-no questions.
Ditty – Ask Alexa to make a fast song with Ditty, which turns any message you give it into a song. This is a great way for students to quickly create a song about a particular topic.
Learn Spanish – Learn the most commonly used phrases in Spanish.
Take part in the breakout explosion and have your students Escape the Room. There are currently four different rooms to try and escape from. This activity is great for logical thinking and problem solving, as well as small group teamwork.

More Skills Coming

New skills are added every week. And as more folks rate the skills, you’ll find that it’s easier to find the best content. Regardless of the user rating, though, be sure to enable the skill and test it out yourself before you introduce it to the classroom. And if you have an idea for a skill that should be added and are interested in creating it for Alexa, jump over to Getting Started with the Alexa Skills Kit or the set of YouTube videos on Developing Alexa Skills.

If you find a skill that is great in the classroom or just plain fun, leave me a comment and we can enjoy it together!

February 20, 2018 0 comment

Android BYOD Chromebooks iOS Tips and Tricks

Six BYOD Tools for the Classroom

by Dr. Bruce Ellis September 25, 2017

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Making use of Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD) in the classroom can enhance your teaching if you are comfortable with students using various apps to complete their tasks. Many teachers, though, find that it may be more stressful when students use a different OS than what the teacher is familiar with. For educators who encourage the students to use the app of their choice, we recommend that teachers create a Padlet (shelf layout) as a place for students to easily share. If you don’t want to start from scratch, you can always use our template and make a copy of it for your own use to adapt with your students.

If you find that you prefer all your students to have the same app on their device regardless of the operating system, here are some great ones I recommend for iOS and Android.

OverDrive

OneDrive icon image If you like listening to audiobooks, you’ll enjoy using OverDrive. If your district doesn’t subscribe to it, check and see if your local public library does. If so, you can check out audiobooks from them, as well as through their network of other contributing libraries!

Web, iOS, Android, Microsoft

PicCollage

PicCollage App Icon While grandparents love this app for making collages of their grandkids, students of all ages will find this app easy to use when they have an assignment where they can create collages, annotate over photos, etc.

Web, iOS, Android, Microsoft

Office Lens

Office Lens app icon Though many of us remember copying down notes in class to study for tests, current students seem to prefer to take photos of the board to capture their notes. This app is so handy for that. Point and aim it at the board, projector, paper, etc.. Once it detects the area, you just snap the photo; it will crop it so only the board is in the photo and deskew the image so it looks like you had prime seating in front of the board when you took the picture. Save as an image on your device or as a PDF or Office format if you have an Office 365 account.

iOS, Android, Microsoft

Adobe Express

Adobe Spark Video app icon Sometimes you want your students to record a video to capture their learning. But many devices have a default video recording app that is bare bones. You’ll find Adobe Express to be an easy go-to tool that will help students make great videos without getting bogged down in the technical aspects of videography. Though it is only for iOS currently, it is worth the wait for other operating systems.

Web, iOS, Android and Microsoft coming soon

Pushbullet

Pushbullet app icon Pushbullet is great if your students find that they need to “push” files or photos from their phone or tablet to their laptop/computer (and vice versa). Pushbullet makes it easy without having to move your file/photo to Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, or DropBox first. And, since it is in the cloud, you can access your account from any device to retrieve previously pushed files. This is great if you have students taking photos or videos on their phones, but then need to add them to documents that they are editing on a computer.

Web, iOS, Android

Flipgrid

Flipgrid app icon If you want an easy app that allows all of your students to share, then this has to be the best app for that. It’s perfect for having students summarize their content or reflect on their learning. If they are using a phone or tablet, they’ll need to download the app; otherwise, they can use the webcam on their laptop to participate. Though I don’t recommend the paid version of many apps (I remember what it was like when my teacher budget was whatever I had in my pocket), this is definitely one app that is worth the price; consider getting others to join with you and you all can enjoy a discounted price. Even without the additional features in the paid version, this is a super app!

Web, iOS, Android

This only scratched the surface of great tools that can enhance your BYOD classroom, school, and district. If you would like more assistance, contact me at bellis@tcea.org to discuss scheduling TCEA to come to your site to provide either a half-day, full-day, or two days of training. You’ll find our training is very customized, research-based, definitely hands-on, and reasonably priced.

September 25, 2017 1 comment

Good Teaching Leadership

Five Campus Administrator Myths

by Dr. Bruce Ellis March 14, 2017

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Being a campus administrator today is quite different than it was just ten years ago. New tools, newer research on pedagogy and technology, and a different generation of students make being a principal and assistant principal more challenging. If we aren’t careful, it’s easy to neglect some things because they aren’t the way we used to do them; we may fall into patterns developed long ago without realizing it. Here are five myths that we need to avoid in order to build capacity in our staff with regards to integrating technology effectively.

Myth 1: I don’t have time to model effective technology use.

Yes, different parts of the year get busier than others and it seems like life somehow runs only on the chaos cycle. When that happens, it is easy to take some shortcuts. Be on the lookout though; this myth is likely to pop up while you are planning your next faculty meeting. Modeling effective technology use is important for teachers to see. How you use it, even in a faculty meeting, can give teachers a better understanding of how to use technology in their classroom, as well as grow their confidence in using technology. You may even use technology differently than they’ve thought of before, which broadens their understanding of the different ways that technology can be used to facilitate inquiry, discussion, research, consensus-building, voting, and follow-up.

Myth 2: My staff is skilled. I can just tell them.

Each staff member does bring a level of skills and talent to the table as they teach that you should be able to speak to. But, just like other professions, simply telling somebody something may not help them connect the dots on how to use the technology as effectively as if you took the time to share a video with them, demonstrated how to integrate a new resource, or pointed out another teacher’s proficient use of technology in her classroom. Just think what would happen if medical school interns were only told about medical procedures or read about them – no videos, no investigative studies, no cadavers. I think we would agree that we would not want a doctor that was just told about medicine. Don’t make the mistake of lessening the teaching profession.

Myth 3: I have to look like I have no problems when using technology.

As the instructional leader of the school, you do have a lot of people that are watching you. Instead of striving to be perfect, strive to be human. If you are using technology in a faculty meeting and something goes wrong, make it a part of the conversation, think out loud as to what you should do, and be willing to ask for help. Otherwise, when teachers go to their classroom and close their doors, they are likely fall into the same trap which prevents their students from seeing their teachers grow…and being a part of that growth. How freeing it would be if we were all able to admit that we each need help at times and unafraid to ask for it and give it.

Myth 4: It’s not that important.

Just like children mimic their role models, you will find that your faculty will mimic you. They’ll start reflecting the same values that you have for many things: children, testing, technology integration, etc. If you believe the myth that technology integration is not that important, you have removed an expectation of your faculty that will negatively impact your students’ potential to compete in a digital world where knowing how to use technology as professional tools of learning can be a game changer.

Myth 5: Modeling effective technology integration is the job of my campus tech specialist, librarian, or computer lab teacher…not mine.

We do have staff members who are expected to possibly assume more technology integration and use than others. Abdicating your responsibilities to them, though, can be a strategy that can lead on a downward spiral to incompetence. Would it be okay if your teachers decided that teaching digital citizenship was the job of just the librarian or computer lab teacher? What if teachers decided to just teach review content instead of on-grade-level content? Soon, every teacher would be complaining about the teachers below them – “If they would just do their job, my job would be much easier!” Embrace your role as instructional leader and consider it a privilege that you get to learn and model effective technology integration along with your staff.

be awesome image Take time to reflect on what myths you have bought into and the impact that you can make by changing your mind and believing what is actually true…not necessarily easy but true nonetheless. If I left you with one saying to challenge you, it would be with what Steven W. Anderson (@web20classroom) daily exhorts his Twitter followers to do: Be awesome! However you need to do it, work on removing those crippling lies and myths so that you can be awesome today. You do have the power to change lives and impact people beyond what you see.

March 14, 2017 0 comment

Content Areas Educational Trends ESL/ELL

Alexa: Your New Teacher Assistant (Updated)

by Dr. Bruce Ellis February 15, 2017

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 Alexa On 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.

February 15, 2017 4 comments

Chromebooks iOS Tips and Tricks Professional Learning

Fall 2016 Online Certification Recipients

by Dr. Bruce Ellis December 2, 2016

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Whether it is via a shared cart, 1:1, or BYOD, many teachers and students have access to iPads and Chromebooks to the extent that these are now common tools in their classrooms. Sometimes, though, it is easy to feel as if you know some of the basics, but not all that you need to really start using it as a powerful instructional tool. TCEA has developed two self-paced, online certification programs to help build these skills: the iPad (Level 1) Certification and the Chromebook (Level 1) Certification. These certifications are designed to help busy educators who don’t have time to attend optional after-school training, but do want the knowledge and skills to be adept users of the tools while earning 18 hours of professional development credit.

Each certification consists of self-paced modules to gain basic understanding of the device, pedagogical considerations when integrating the device in various settings (1:1, BYOD, shared cart, etc.), and introductory tutorials of some of the basic tools/apps that can be used on the device to engage students across the content areas. As a capstone to the online certifications, each participant develops a lesson plan that is correlated to specific content standards and integrates the device and tools/apps.

We would like to congratulate the graduates of the Fall 2016 semester who have earned the iPad (Level 1) Certification and/or the Chromebook (Level 1) Certification.

Certification graduates include:

Kayla Burgoon of Lubbock ISD – Chromebook (Level 1)
Veronica Castillo Baca of Harlingen Consolidated ISD – Chromebook (Level 1)
Veronica Castillo Baca of Harlingen Consolidated ISD – iPad (Level 1)
Kizuwanda Christie of KIPP – Chromebook (Level 1)
Scott Firenza of Lubbock ISD – Chromebook (Level 1)
Laura Howard of San Angelo ISD – Chromebook (Level 1)
Jackie Johnson of Seminole ISD – iPad (Level 1)
Stephanie Trook of Lubbock ISD – Chromebook (Level 1)

Learn more about these certifications or contact Ashley Weiler at aweiler@tcea.org . Group discounts are available for districts/campuses who want to register a group of their educators as a cohort; contact Dr. Bruce Ellis at bellis@tcea.org for more information on group discounts.

December 2, 2016 0 comment

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