Mobile Devices, Apps and Twitter

I am continually amazed at how much  I learn on twitter and I am so grateful to educators that continue to share!  I have reached out to a few schools over the last few months to arrange site visits to observe students using 1:1 devices, (mostly iPads) along with BYOD models.  The approach to each model is very different.  We have also been using Chrome Carts with my high school students for the last few months.

We formed a BYOD committee and we have visited school and had several meetings about our approach.  I think the most important question we should be asking is "What do I want my students to do" and "How will that support learning".   We have spent time on looking a devices ipad, chromebook, BYOD.  It reminds me of days when we picked between Beta and VHS machines!  I know it's not about the device, but it does impact the delivery in the classroom.  I came across an interesting link on twitter on the topic.

Choosing the Right Mobile Learning Device "Mobile learning will prove itself to the non-believers, I feel very confident about that. But until then, you should know that beyond exam results, teaching is about preparing students for what comes next; like it or not, technology is a big part of the future and we should be helping make sure that those who will use it, design it and disrupt it, know what they are doing and why they’re doing it.

The time to introduce mobile learning is now. Which device you choose should be dictated by the answer to one question:‘Does this device allow my students (no matter what their ability or learning style) to be exposed to the best, most inspiring content that I can think of?’"

A common thread with some of my visits.  Many of the schools have visited Burlington or have consulted with EdTechTeachers for professional Development. I like the fact they approach the iPad with Learning Objectives. Here is the link http://edtechteacher.org/index.php/teaching-technology/mobile-technology-apps/ipad-as to help answer the questions  I want my students to record, or to make a digital notebook, etc. Their approach is to put the emphasis on creation, not consumption of apps. Many of the apps they recommend may be perceived more as "containers" rather than specific apps for the classroom.

Here are a few, (iBooks for pdf's, epubs and ibooks using mac iauthor) along with purchased books and in some cases textbooks.

Apps on many of the ipads in the classroom,

- Notability  

- Explain Everything  

- Google Drive 

- Evernote 

- DocScanHD 

- HaikuDeck  

- SoundCloud  

- Vimeo (free)

- Book Creator 

 - iMovie (4.99)

- Reflector (alternative to Apple TV) for the classroom and screencats!

- SMART NoteBook App ... just to name a few!

I plan on attending a conference next month and continue to learn from other schools in order to assist with our own BYOD implementation this spring.  

I may be teaching another mobile class next month, so I will continue to learn along with my students and colleagues.

A few good tips tutorials for using the ipad to explore with my classes next month!
Apple Guided Tours

1. Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT2bD0-OqBM&feature=player_embedded 
2. iPad Tips and Tricks (Ten Tips and Tricks!)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pArkIv46TEo 

I used Google Plus and Hangouts a few summers ago with a class on the Cape.  I plan to revisit this
month so I can incorporate into my class for the online portion of teaching!

Google for Educators to support this class!

• Google Plus and Google Circles
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hC_M6PzXS9g 
• Google Hangouts Tutorial for Educatorshttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu4pZirx5S0 

I am hoping my class will find this post along with the class site of videos and presentations helpful!

Using Twitter for school collaboration - Random Acts of Kindness

I have been using twitter for several years to connect with other educators and expand my own learning.   Twitter has been an invaluable resource for me, it has allowed me to connect with other educations and grow my PLN.

I have been waiting for an opportunity to use with teachers and students to show the professional power of connecting.  Our district has a new communication policy that allows staff to access twitter.  

I was asked by a teacher last week to help out the Student Council and Sunshine Society to get staff and students to participate in 26 Days of Sunshine. Inspired by the national campaign entitled "26 Random Acts of Kindness" honoring the memory of the 26 students and teachers who lost their lives at Sandy Hook Elementary school.  We set a goal of 2600 random acts of kindness to be carried out during the 26 days from 1/18-2/13. Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) performed by students and staff will be written on paper suns and hung in the cafeteria.  Today I was asked how get more community members involved and a better way to collect information.  I created a form using googl,  link here to view and posted on our school website to follow on twitter (#nashoba_rak). I am curious to see if this will take off!  

What better way to use technology for collaboration for a great cause!

Learning and Planning for the New Year

Over the past few months I have been working with staff and students on a few new initiatives and have neglected to update my blog.

Here are some of the items we have been working on.

• Chromebooks - We have implemented a Samsung Chromebook Cart and we are planning on two additional carts this month. Part of our decision for the expansion was due to the price, for only $249 you can access your Google Drive and the web through your Chrome browser. Given that we are a Google Apps for Education school and big users of Google Docs, Presentations, Forms and Spreadsheets, this unit fits our needs. Students can log on in a matter of minutes and the battery life is great. 
• iPad for Special Education Pilot is going very well and we plan on expanding into our Life Skills classes. 
•  BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) Pilot. I have been working with administration and a group of teachers over the last few months to visit schools that have implemented BYOD along with 1:1 initiatives. We plan on allowing certain classes to pilot using their own device later this month. Several teachers have registered their own device, mostly iPads on our network and have been using a variety of Apps with students. A few teachers are using the iPads with Reflections along with their SMARTBoard.
  
  Apps and Websites 
• Apps -  Several teachers are trying out Socrative, which allows the teacher to create interactive quizzes which students answer can answer using their iPhone or any device with access to the web. Students can see immediately if they are right or wrong. You can also show a graph of the answers after students have responded and use that to spur discussion about the topic. 
•  I attended a presentation last month by Luis Rodriguez from DESE, (Office of Digital Learning). He presented using Joinme which allowed us to connect to his presentation and follow on our devices. I plan on testing out Joinme and Nearpod this month. Nearpod allows the teacher to control what students see on their device. Teachers can upload any PDF file and Nearpod separates each page into a slide. Students sign into a "room" and the teacher takes control of the slides that each student sees. Nearpod also allows you to intersperse different types of interactive questions throughout the presentation to check for understanding. 
• New Website - our district has updated all our website templates and I am working to refresh the content. - Our district updated our "Communications Policy" and we now have access to more social websites in school. I am thrilled to be able to access twitter to use professionally with teachers and students.  

A new school year and thinking about BYOD

It's September and we have returned to school.  The first few weeks of school for a technology integration teacher can be a little overwhelming.  Summer is wonderful and relaxing but we jump right back in at a very quick pace when we return to school.

This year I am excited to see my district will be planning a BYOD Initiative.  I will be working with a group of high school teachers to establish our goals around teachers bringing in devices and planning for student use later in the year.  I have been watching several school across the state move in this direction.

Last spring I visited Burlington High School, they did a 1:1 Plan using iPads.  Check our their blog post.  It's Time to Collaborate on our 1:1 Plan - Who Wants In?  They created "The BHS 1:1 Wiki".  As a person that  is about to start this process is great to see the results from other schools. I was impressed with the thoughtful planning around using the same device, getting everyone on the same page and most importantly how teacher collaboration has inspired other schools.  Burlington has opened their doors to help teachers see first-hand how embrace new technology to work with students.  The new Grafton High School appears to have modeled their ipad implementation after Burlington.  Another school that used a BYOD model was the Reading Public Schools.  Their BYOD initiative was presented at the MassCUE Leadership conference and had a great team approach to the implementation.  A few members from my school attended a session this month " Discover how to make your 1:1 computing initiatives a definitive success" hosted by http://www.customonline.com/onetoone.html. The Keynote,"Leading the Effort" was presented by  Patrick Larkin and George Couros. As always, they did a great job articulating the transformation in their own schools and their approach for implementation. I have followed both George and Patrick on twitter for several years and spending a day learning from them was inspiring.

I will be preparing a survey for teachers to join our school BYOD Initiative and begin the process of determining our next steps.  Stay tuned for more!

The 21st Century Classroom

Looking forward to joining a group of teachers this week to explore teaching in the 21st Century Classroom.

"The illiterates of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn" - Alvin Toffler

Topics to review and presentation link http://goo.gl/CQNXW

Sites to review

1. The P21 Framework presents a holistic view of 21st century teaching and learning that combines a discrete focus on 21st century student outcomes (a blending of specific skills, content knowledge, expertise and literacies) with innovative support systems to help students master the multi-dimensional abilities required of them in the 21st century along with the  P21 CommonCore Toolkit
2. The 21st Century Fluency Project A collaborative initiative created to develop exceptional educational resources to assist in transforming learning to be relevant to life in the 21st century.  The 21st Century Fluency Project is all about change. In today's world we face technological applications in daily living the likes of which, even a few short years ago, would have been inconceivable. 
3. CommonSense Media  http://www.commonsensemedia.org/digitalliteracy  (report pdf)
   curriculum Link http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/curriculum/
4. Social Media with Twitter #digcit (see recorded conversation and links)
   
   The Digital Citizenship Chat and hashtag is a great network for educators that meets on Wednesday at 7pm Eastern. Digital Citizenship chat #digcit  

Reflection

I was fortunate to teach a mobile computing class this month.  With a varied range of students in the the class we were able to review dozens of apps and apply to our content area.  A few of the elementary teachers created their first ibook using a variety of apps.  I will post the link soon.

Mobile and Social Learning

I am gearing up for a class next week on social media and mobile learning.  I continue to explore apps for learning and lots of online resources.  

Why Mobile Learning?


Looking for more resources?  I attended a presentation by Kathy Schrock last year and she showed her Bloomin' Apps project along with a page to allow you to share your own favorite Web 2.0, iOS, or Android app with others, and find it very useful!

So much to explore and learn!