Beyond the Device Check In

As we approach winter break it’s time to take stock in our evolution as a 1-to-1 learning environment. The key here is to focus on learning, not technology. The beginning of the 2014-15 school year marked the start of cycle three where we shifted gears to think beyond the device toward the elements listed on the left.

You’ve considered failure, taken steps to become more mindful (thx Leslie) w/ and w/o technology, and explored the complicated lives of our digitally connected students (thx dboyd). You have looked at IRC student perception data related to organization and communication, thought through why communication fails, earned your GYST badge, and continued to dig into the very BIG driving question…..How will you continue to evolve your teaching to ensure transformational learning experience for yourself and your students?

The PBL mindset as highlighted by Markham (2015) goes a long way towards supporting transformational student-centered learning. In the new year we will continue to explore our evolution of PBL during lunchtime sessions (see the note in FF to sign up) and with Suzie at the beginning of March here on campus.

How Will Education be Different in 100 Yrs.

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/iframe/411616/

Modern Learning PD Opportunities

The opportunities listed below are worth checking out as they are inline with our Upper School goals and stage of technology adoption at ZIS:

Connected Educator experiences including book clubs. You’ll find 4 featured book clubs in the community with opportunities to chat with authors and colleagues. That’s pretty special, to be able to sit down with your beverage of choice, at the time of your choosing and engage in conversations with authors who are colleagues and walk the walk of connected learning.Chris Lehmann, Zac Chase, Kathy Cassidy, Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, and Lani Ritter Hall invite you join them in thinking deeply on important ideas.Joining is easy; select the book you’d like to read; click on the book’s link below; request to join and you’re in!
- Building School 2.0
- Connected From the Start
- The Connected Educator
- Cultures of Thinking (This book club hosted by Suzie Boss.)
Learning2 Milan

Learning2 is an innovative, engaging and constantly evolving face-to-face conference with a focus on leveraging technology to support learning globally. It is considered to be one of the leading annual technology conferences in the Asia region. From 2016, Learning2 conferences will be held in over four continents.
ASB Unplugged
Become an Innovative Educator Expert

Evolution of Edtech at the Upper School- Update

This year we have a lot of exploration to be done related to educational technology shifts. All exploration is aimed at streamlining communication and ensuring an agile digital ecosystem, so we can focus on the real goods….forward thinking pedagogy!

Starting in June some of our colleagues (thx- Adrian, Ali, Claudia S, Diya, Geoff, Ian, Jason, Marie & Will) have explored Google Classroom to support blended learning in one or more of their classes. Their efforts have allowed this platform to be explored in our digital ecosystem producing the following findings.

Our next steps is to continue with early adoption of Google Classroom and start piloting SMART amp. SMART amp is a cloud based version of SMART notebook that saves automatically in your Google Drive.

If you are interested in piloting SMART amp or adopting Google Classroom please email Liz before the end of this week (Friday 25th).

US Ed Tech Infographic 14_15 focus

To the left is the graphic that summarizes the findings from the 1-to-1 device cycle three research that points to all things beyond the device. Below is a summary of our Upper School ed tech evolution over the past four years.

2011-12
1-to-1 cycle 2 year 1 (x220), iPad pilot , scaling screencasting and digital portfolios, and desktop research.

2012-13
Start of 1-to-1 device cycle three research, SMART board/projector research, mobile phone wifi connection, and start of PBL work w/ Suzie Boss

2013-14
1-to-1 device cycle three research, continued PBL work w/ Suzie- including the fail festival, and Moodle upgrade

2014-15
1-to-1 cycle 3 year 1 (Yoga), Suzie Boss PBL work, Fine Arts digital ecosystem research, Gmail, and retirement of network drives (Classwork)

2015-16
Start of cycle 3 (iMac labs for visual arts), Google Classroom and SMART amp pilots, continued work with Suzie Boss, and start of 1-to-1 cycle 4 research

The Digital Natives Conversation Continues

Check out last week’s article in the Atlantic, Digital Natives Yet Strangers to the Web by Alia Wong.

Do Digital Natives Exists?

What we as Educators Need to Recognize about Windows 10

Last week Windows 10 was announced. With it the following shifts in technology were yet again affirmed:

-The line between technology and physical space is getting thinner, marked by the announcement of Windows HoloLens

-Mobile is the new normal and if you aren’t connecting and communicating in mobile friendly ways you are missing the mark. If you are aware and embrace mobile computing you are in the front of the boat moving your teaching and learning forward.

by Tiffanylu_Rowing

-Cloud, cloud, cloud…. this is related to the two points above, but worth noting on it’s own. If you have to go to a certain machine to get a file, a big red flag should go up for your workflow.

Will we be switching to Windows 10 soon at ZIS? The short answer is not now (maybe not ever), but we certainly are keeping our eye the market rollout to see if it’s something that will enhance learning in the future.

It’s Complicated Part 3

Last week we looked at boyd’s introduction section on networked publics. We learned more about the opportunities and challenges teens face as they navigate networked publics. This week we will continue our learning by looking at the rhetoric surrounding teens use of technology with the following questions and pages in the text of It’s Complicated (p. 22-24) in mind:

Consider your thoughts regarding this quote on page 22:

“Just because teens are comfortable using social media to hang out does not mean that they’re fluent in or with technology. Many teens are not nearly as digitally adept as the often-used assumption that they are “digital natives” would suggest.”

Why is the rhetoric of digital natives-digital immigrants dangerous for us to embrace as educators?

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ABOUT the book

dana boyd (yes her name is in all lowercase) is one of the world’s experts on youth and social media. Her new book, is now out and certainly worth a read. There are several copies available for check out in hard copy, however the entire PDF of her work is available for free here.