Digital Eyes

*Co-written with Jenny Krzystowczyk and cross-posted at http://technologytools4teaching.blogspot.com/2014/01/how-blended-learning-environments-can.html Recently, my friend and colleague David Zukor, who lives in an extreme winter climate, made a point on our Google + page that a Blended Learning Environment would be a great solution to all the snow days they were experiencing. He is right. If an established Blended Learning Environment was up and running, school could be too, even when there is a foot of snow outside. I think educators view a Blended Learning Environment as a massive task to undertake. The simple definition of Blended Learning Environments is: “Learn ing is referred to as hybrid learning combining traditional face-to-face classroom instruction with online learning.”   The revised definition is: “A formal education program in which a student learns at least in part through online delivery of content and instruction with some element of student contro...

There has been a great conversation going on about parents' concerns with 1:1 initiatives and helping kids manage screen time. Here are just a few of the great posts: Scott McLeod's When Parents Want to Opt Their Children Out of Ed Tech Patrick Larkin's A Great Conversation On The Technology Concerns Of Parents Regarding 1:1 Sandy Kendell's Parent Concerns in a 1:1 iPad Initiative Beth Holland's The Balancing Act of Screen Time Thanks to each of them and all the commenters for continuing this conversation. As a tech integration specialist who supports a 1:1 initiative as well as a parent of two children who are part of the 1:1 initiative, this is such an important conversation. I feel compelled to add my thoughts. First, limiting screen time has always been a goal of ours. From the time our kids were little we used an egg timer to help them monitor how long they spent on the computer. As they outgrew this, we still set limits and monitor how much scr...

Recently I was asked by a candidate for our local school board to sit down and talk about the state of technology in our district. Here is the interview from http://andreacueneforschoolboard.com/2013/10/17/talking-technology-with-dave-zukor/ I believe that Wayzata’s dedication to excellence in technology is changing the way our students learn and the way our teachers teach. In my own work at Greenwood, I’ve seen firsthand how the MyWay initiative is truly engaging kids in learning and supporting communication in exciting, new ways. So I was really looking forward to my conversation about technology with Dave Zukor , a Technology Integration Specialist in Wayzata Schools. Dave Zukor has worked in the Wayzata schools for over 13 years. He worked at Sunset Hill and Plymouth Creek teaching third grade, fifth grade, vision 21 and technology before becoming a Technology Integration Specialist six years ago. His primary role is to support and train teachers, but you may recogni...

So recently I had a great conversation with a friend and colleague. We started our conversation around the Ted Talk, "Why Work Doesn't Happen At Work." We were applying it to teachers and how teachers are never able to have the time to dig deep into new learning and ideas. They are so inundated with directives and initiatives, combined with meetings and interruptions, that they are consumed with tasks, rather than tackling big ideas. This means that when I meet with them to talk about mobile devices, digital literacy, personalized learning, etc... they take a "just tell me what I need to do" approach, rather than thinking about why this is so important and how best to make it happen. The conversation led into a discussion about Flow. How can we help teachers immerse themselves in something so they can reach that state of flow. Again, there are too many distractions for teachers to ever dig deeply into their learning. For more on Flow, check out http://en....

Usually in education, when we talk about doing more with less, we are talking about money or resources. This time, I'm talking about less content. What if instead of covering all the material in our curriculum, we covered less? I've been paying a lot of attention recently to the impact of feedback on our students. Turns out, we don't often do a very good job of providing timely, specific feedback. More importantly, even when we do, we don't provide time for students to respond to that feedback. Think about it. How often do you give students feedback on a project or learning target and then provide them time to relearn or rework it so that the feedback is meaningful and impactful? For me, the answer is easy... not often enough. What if we spent more time on each concept or product? Yes, we would have to make some tough decisions about what we don't have time to teach, but we would be providing such amazing learning opportunities for our kids. I have used this exa...

Just about everyday, I hear from someone that there is too much technology and things change too quickly. They may have a point. After all, here are just a few changes that welcomed our teachers back to school this year: New computers with an updated operating system. Updated software for our student response devices. Student iPads and all the new apps that go with it. Updated software for our SmartBoards. Add to that all the good old stuff that is still around, from MOODLE to Google and everything in between. It seems like each year, there is more to master. As the guy, or one of a small team of people, who are responsible for supporting teachers in their work to effectively use these tools in their classrooms, I sometimes feel like I need to apologize to them for all the opportunities that are out there. So is there such a thing as too much? Perhaps the issue is not how much is out there, but how we perceive our role in using these things. We never complain that ther...

(This post was a collaborative effort with Jennifer Krzystowczyk from Bellevue Public Schools in Bellevue, NE and is cross-posted at http://technologytools4teaching.blogspot.com/.) Now that the school year has ended and teachers are so excited to be on vacation, it is time to relax and rejuvenate, right? Right! But it is also a fantastic time to focus on your professional learning! I know many teachers who use summer as an opportunity to take classes, read professional books, and work collaboratively with their teammates. Here are a few other ideas for how you can take advantage of summer learning while also working on your tan! 1. Develop a Professional Learning Network: Using social networking tools like Twitter, Google+, Feedly, and many others, you can connect with teachers around the globe who are doing amazing things. Read about what they are doing, participate in conversations with them, read articles recommended by colleagues, all from your mobile devic...