Tag:

technology

We Feel Your Pain and Have a Solution

by Dr. Bruce Ellis November 5, 2016

written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Being a campus technology specialist can be very challenging these days. You try to work with all of your teachers, from the most tech savvy to the teacher who still can’t plug in her computer. Everyone wants you to troubleshoot technical problems, even though you’re not the technican. The office needs you to solve printer issues and install the new curriculum software, all by tomorrow.

And you wonder why it’s so hard to make some time to read up on the latest free apps or Web 2.0 tools that you can share to engage students. Few folks are aware of the extra time that you put in on a regular basis or how exhausting it can be to support adult learners; they only know that you make it look easy. But even on the best day, it can sometimes be a lonely job that few people understand.

To help you become a more effective and efficient campus technology specialist, TCEA has put together a solution, almost a miracle cure: an awesome group of presenters who know your struggles and can offer authentic solutions and advice to make your job easier and bring a smile to your face. Here are the top three reasons you should attend the Campus Technology Specialist Academy November 17-18 in Austin.

Reason #1: Relevant Solutions

Throughout the sessions of the Academy, you’ll hear how other campus technology specialists have worked with their staff to overcome the same challenges that you face. They’ll share what worked (and what didn’t), as well as critical tips to help you avoid the pitfalls that come with being a campus technology specialist.

Reason #2: Innovative and Tested Ideas

You’ll hear great ideas from experts in the field on how to motivate your reluctant teachers while challenging those who are always your first-adopters. You will leave with specific and actionable ideas, lessons, and activities that can be used with students, as well as with teachers, as you help them along their journey to innovative teaching and learning. And you’ll gain creative ways to offer professional development opportunities to better meet the needs of your staff.

Reason #3: You’re Not Alone

It is critical to both your sanity and your effectiveness as a campus leader that you have peers as contacts who can share their experiences and help you brainstorm possible next steps to try. Whatever your preferred method of connecting with others, you’ll find plenty of experts and supportive educators to add to your professional learning network to help you stay informed and balanced.

So, before you download the next app, restart the next computer, or counsel a teacher on why it’s important to integrate technology, take a moment to learn about the best learning event for campus technology specialists. View the sessions and schedule here and then register and join us at the TCEA Headquarters on November 17-18, 2016, for two days of refreshing, relevant training. Together, we can stop the pain and put a smile back on your face!

November 5, 2016 0 comment

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

Good Teaching

Skip Superficial Learning: Blend Technology

by Miguel Guhlin October 31, 2016

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.

October 31, 2016 0 comment

Leadership

Solving Wicked Problems: When Details Matter (Part 3)

by Miguel Guhlin July 27, 2016

written by Miguel Guhlin

In the previous blog entry in this series, I shared two approaches to obtaining funding and resources to solve wicked problems, 1) The Conversation that Results in Action and 2) Executive Summary. In this final installment, we will explore the long proposal format.

When details matter, and there are many stakeholders who will need to review a project prior to implementation, you will want to take advantage of the standard proposal format. The brief version of the proposal format includes certain elements of the longer form:

Proposal
Research
Cost
Registration Process
Give Back.

Proposal
This proposal recommends that Ardent ISD fund attendance at the TCEA 2017 Convention & Exposition taking place February 2017 in Austin, Texas for 200 principals and/or ESSA instructional specialists. Administrators play a pivotal role in determining how well technology is used in our schools. Enabling administrators to attend the conference enables Ardent ISD to define what administrators need to know and be able to do in order to discharge their responsibility as leaders in the effective use of technology in our schools.

[inspirational quote that summarizes the importance of professional learning for campus instructional leaders]

Research
School leaders, especially at the campus level, need access to professional learning opportunities that help them to better understand the best uses of technology in educational settings. Some research regarding the role of the campus principal and leadership…[include bulleted list of research points]. Based on this research, as well as others not cited here, it is clear that the role of the principal in affecting use of technology in classrooms is incredibly important.

Cost
The cost of sending approximately 200 staff is based on a cost of $285 for every 10 staff members. For 200 participants, the cost is $22,800.

Registration Process
To register campus leaders for the TCEA 2017 Convention & Exposition, the Office of Instructional Technology Services will take the following steps…

Give Back
Participants at the convention will be expected to facilitate presentations at the Ardent ISD Tech Unconference to be held in June 2017.

For the longer proposal format, the headings appear below. As you might imagine, it can be quite tedious to fill out and plan all the implementation details. That aside, I have never had a “long form” proposal declined because it is overwhelmingly powerful. I often think of this as the dreadnought battleship approach to getting things done.

Goal
Vision of What Successful Implementation Looks Like
Background Information
Content Area Focus
Professional Learning
Implementation Phases
Key Areas to Implementation Success
Implementation Timeline (which includes a table with action step, office/staff responsible, and a completion date)
Appendix (with information such as):
- Readiness Checklist
- Hardware/Network Assessment

Solving wicked problems can seem impossible. But often, it requires the strategic application of one or more approaches outlined in the “Solving Wicked Problems” series. Make the effort and you will see the results.

Join the ongoing TCEA Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) SkypeChat via your mobile device or online. Explore and share concepts at the intersection of teaching, learning, leading, and technology.

July 27, 2016 0 comment

Leadership

Solving Wicked Problems: Getting Things Done (Part 2)

by Miguel Guhlin July 25, 2016

written by Miguel Guhlin

In the previous blog entry in this series, I shared that solving wicked problems involves different approaches, each of which will be received differently by your supervisor or those with the power to pay for an expensive project. This is part two in the series.

Speak to an administrator at the cabinet level, and they all have one expectation: “Keep it to one page.” A one-page document can make all the difference, and I can honestly say that I have had hundreds of thousands of dollars funded through a well-written executive summary submitted to superintendent level staff.

Scenario #1 – Insufficient Power

“When the power poles in the computer labs were put in, the maintenance department failed to connect the power.”

“Wait!” the technology director asked surprised. “Are you saying that all these power poles do not have power in them? Are you just daisy chaining the power from one outlet?”

“Yes,” replied the media specialist. “That is exactly what we have had to do. As you can guess, we can’t put as many computers in this room as we would like. And I’m worried about overloading power. Isn’t that unsafe or something? I’ve told my principal, but she doesn’t have the money to get it done and it should have been done when they built the school several years ago.”

In this scenario, there are several issues. The first is that the maintenance department failed to connect the power. The second is that no one followed up for years to address the issue when it was fresh, plus the temporary/permanent solution may be unsafe or result in greater damage to the campus’ infrastructure. The fourth, and most important, consequence is that the lab cannot be used at full capacity, preventing students from taking advantage of the computers. In fact, some of those computers have been moved out of the lab because there is insufficient power.

Something needs to happen. The answer to this scenario involves an executive summary focused on getting things done.

Join the ongoing TCEA Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) SkypeChat via your mobile device or online. Explore and share concepts at the intersection of teaching, learning, leading, and technology!

Note the brevity, as well as the key elements, of the Executive Summary below:

Executive Summary for Ardent ISD High School Campus Electrical Needs

Overview

The Ardent ISD High School campus currently has several computer labs. However, each lacks critical electrical connections. The lack of electrical connections prevent full utilization of the computer labs, impacting their use for high stakes assessments:

Room #

Description

Network Drops Needed and 48-Port Switch

Electrical

321

Standalone Lab (30)

Window 10 OS

4 drops

Has electrical poles installed, but no electrical outlets. Electrical outlets are in the floor, which presents problems for consistent use.

221

Standalone Lab (30)

Window 10 OS

5 drops

Same electrical challenges as Room 321

Staff Impact

Staff who employ the computer labs adjoining library.

Student Impact

All students at the campus would be affected.

Budget Available

Campus has not identified funding for infrastructure needs.

Professional Learning

Not applicable

Products

Improved network support and responsiveness, upgraded lab.

Stakeholders

Campus; Maintenance Department; Technology Department

Why is this necessary?

High School campus labs lack electrical connections needed to “complete” the labs. Inadequately wired rooms have consequences on performance of equipment and reliability.

What happens if we don’t implement?

High school campus labs will continue to face electrical issues caused by poles that were never wired for electrical. Furthermore, new equipment will sit unused in the labs.

Potential summary of costs are as follows (estimated since quotes are not yet available):

Electrical in Labs: $1,000 (estimate)

How will we measure success?

All labs will be at 100% utilization and have functional network and electrical connections.

When will this happen?

This is scheduled for the 2016-2017 budget year.

In the next blog entry, we will explore another approach to getting projects funded out of existing budgets: the Standard Proposal.

July 25, 2016 0 comment

Leadership

Solving Wicked Problems: Talk Is Cheap (Part 1)

by Miguel Guhlin July 22, 2016

written by Miguel Guhlin

“Our kiddoes are stuck in a portable building with no Internet,” challenged a kindly, experienced principal, smiling her demand, “and I’m not sure why. Can you help me, please?”

In any environment, there are various ways of accomplishing goals and objectives and of receiving funding for needed projects. In some locations, a conversation that moves participants towards action suffices, while in others, the value is placed on a formal presentation or proposal. In the next few blog entries, I explore several ways that most supervisors will ask for plans of action. Having successfully introduced and implemented several types of technology projects, I hope that these suggestions will save you some time.

Approach #1 – Conversations that Result in Action (and Funding)

“The network conduit pipe needs to be installed to a ‘pull box,’ capped when not being used, with a pull string, and the pipe needs to be buried, not laid in an open trench.” I had just come from seeing the work a small district maintenance team had done and snapped a few pictures.

The response was to the question “Why can’t the district maintenance department do the job at a lower cost?” Of course, they had stated they knew how to do the job of putting a network conduit pipe in place, but had done so poorly, a fact evidenced by several photographs. Obviously, not doing these things resulted in several problems. When it rained, the network conduit pipe was filled with water and the networking contractor could not run the cable without a pull string. This resulted in a delay of several months to the project during the school year.

The goal was to outsource the job to networking professionals who knew the proper way to install a conduit pipe. But how to get district leadership to understand the necessary cost and that saving money really was just wasting time?

Join the ongoing TCEA Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) SkypeChat via your mobile device or online. Explore and share concepts at the intersection of teaching, learning, leading, and technology.

When working with others who approve budgets for a project, it is absolutely critical to introduce expensive ideas in informal conversations that focus on the needs of the organization. Your responsibility, as the person proposing the information, is to clearly articulate the need(s) of the organization. It’s not YOU that wants to spend money; rather, you are compelled by the need you have encountered.

Make sure to have these conversations with all stakeholders prior to having a formal meeting. These kinds of conversations will carry the day for the needs you have expressed and the people you serve. When possible, obtain pictures or photos. Following this approach enables leadership to not be overwhelmed with technical information and to clearly see the problem.

It’s clear that while talk is cheap, conversations can result in much-needed action.

A Problem for You to Solve
Let’s explore an additional scenario which features a wicked problem, a problem that has endured for years, and see how you would handle it. Leave your approaches in the comments.

“When the power poles in the computer labs were put in, the maintenance department failed to connect the power.”

“Wait,” the technology director asked in surprise, “Are you saying that all these power poles do not have power in them? Are you just daisy chaining the power from one outlet?”

“Yes,” replied the media specialist. “That is exactly what we have had to do. As you can guess, we can’t put as many computers in this room as we would like. And I’m worried about overloading power. Isn’t this unsafe or something? I’ve told my principal, but she doesn’t have the money to get it done and it should have been done when they built the school several years ago.”

In the next blog entry, we will explore another approach to getting projects funded out of existing budgets: the Executive Summary.

July 22, 2016 0 comment

Good Teaching

Be the “Big Tot” on Campus!

by Peggy Reimers May 1, 2016

written by Peggy Reimers

My heart and soul is invested in the elementary classroom. After all, I did teach for a quarter of a century in the K-6 setting and my students have had a profound impact on my life. My second grader, Ross, told me he didn’t eat apricots because they had fur on them. And, to this day, I still don’t eat canned apricots! On the last day of school, my first and second graders were allowed to ask me any question. Someone asked “How old are you?” I had them take a guess before I answered. Sarah G. piped up “65.” I was only 23 at the time, but to elementary kids, if you are a teacher, you are OLD. So numbers aren’t a big thing to me. But the sixth summer conference for elementary is BIG, in my world!

Haven’t you always wanted to be the Big Tot on Campus? Well, attending TCEA’s Tots and Technology Conference will give you that title. There are two locations this year for the BIG state of Texas. If you want a sunny island feel for summer learning, Galveston on June 12-14 will meet your need. The second T&T conference is located in Frisco, part of the greater Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex with art museums, amusement parks, and shopping galore. It will take place July 24-26. The Texas Rangers will also be in town during this time playing the Oakland A’s. What a great time to squeeze in a little major league play after a day of amazing collaborating and connecting!

I ask you, where else can you attend professional development:

in shorts and flipflops?
in a laid back, relaxing atmosphere?
with a photo booth with the best silly props?
that has you participate in BIG GAMES at the Sunday evening welcome reception?
to network with peeps that are focused on the same grade levels?

The top three reasons to attend Tots are:

It’s the perfect summer learning space.
You can share successes and setbacks with like-minded educators.
You will get energized and empowered for the 2016-2017 school year.

But don’t just take it from me. Here are a few quotes from the 2015 attendee survey.

I want to come every year.
To be honest, I was amazed at all the knowledge that was in one place. This was my first conference and I absolutely loved it!
I especially enjoy attending sessions given by classroom teachers.
I got so many great ideas it is hard to pick just one.

The *VIN* (very important news)

TCEA is planning a super-charged, super-fun time for the Sunday evening welcome reception. It involves pit balls, LEGOs, swimming pool noodles, and rock/paper/scissors, all on a BIG scale. Curious? I hope so.
If you need a flyer or a letter of support for your principal, TCEA has already written it. All you need to do is access it here.
Don’t delay; register now. See you soon, as summer will be here before we know it.

Featured Image: Photos take by TCEA

May 1, 2016 0 comment

Good Teaching

Lesson Planning: 5E Model + Technology

by Miguel Guhlin April 27, 2016

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.

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.

References

April 27, 2016 8 comments

BYOD Chromebooks Content Areas Digital Literacy Good Teaching Google Tips and Tricks iOS Tips and Tricks Leadership Libraries Microsoft Tips and Tricks Robotics STEM/STEAM Web 2.0 Tool

Summer Learning at Its Best for Elementary Educators

by Dr. Bruce Ellis March 18, 2016

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.

March 18, 2016 0 comment

Announcements/Important Dates Good Teaching Leadership

Elementary Educators, Have Something to Share?

by Alexis Cline February 18, 2016

written by Alexis Cline

Are you an elementary teacher, librarian, technologist, or administrator using technology to enhance learning for PreK-5 students? Do you have advice, ideas, and tools that can help empower your peers to excite young students and differentiate their learning? Share your knowledge and experience as a presenter at one of TCEA’s two Tots and Technology conferences this summer.

Each year, the two-day Tots and Technology conference is packed with elementary educators looking for resources and best practices that will motivate students and transform the learning experience through technology. This year, TCEA is offering two elementary conferences to make travel and attendance even easier.

June 12 – 14 in Galveston, Texas
July 24 – 26 in Frisco, Texas

Whether you’d like to host sessions at one or both events, submit your ideas today. Your insights could make all the difference for attendees and their elementary students. The call for proposals is now open and ends February 29, 2016. Submitting your proposal is quick and easy, so share your knowledge today!

February 18, 2016 0 comment

Advocacy Leadership

The National Education Technology Plan Gets a Refresh

by Jennifer Bergland January 22, 2016

written by Jennifer Bergland

The Department of Education recently released the new National Education Technology Plan. The last time it was reviewed and updated was in 2010. A lot has changed in education and technology since then. So not only are some of the goals updated, but the format in which the plan is delivered has changed. There is still a PDF version that can be downloaded and printed, but the online version is more reflective of the content. It has short videos that illustrate the different aspects of the plan and lots of graphics that highlight its specific features.

The plan has seven different sections. It starts with an introduction and ends with a conclusion and in between are the different areas the plan addresses; learning, teaching, leadership, assessment, and infrastructure. In each of the sections, there is a major goal and list of ways states and districts can reach that goal. Key terms such as “personalized learning” and “blended learning” are explained so that non-educators can understand what is being described and how technology can assist in the process. Each section provides case studies as examples so that others can see what the plan is describing.

If you want to skip all the background information, explanations, and examples and just get a list of recommendations, then you will find that in the conclusion. The NETP is something that districts and states can use in their planning for the future. It has lots of resources and examples that can be advantageous in the strategic planning process. Building a vision that is shared with key stakeholders is vitally important when determining how your district wants to use technology. This plan provides resources that will help those stakeholders envision ways in which technology can empower students and teachers to achieve the educational goals of the community.

This plan, just like the one in 2010, focuses on learning. Technology is seen as a foundation that empowers the learning process. This is as it should be. If you are coming to TCEA 2016, you can get a personal tour of the plan by Zac Chase from the Department of Education. He will be presenting on Wednesday, February 3 from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. in room 18A.

January 22, 2016 0 comment

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