Blog Post #6 - No more privacy!

I hadn’t heard of the phrase “deprivatize practice” before and was quite intrigued after listening to an interview by John Burns, Director of Creativity & Innovation at International Schools Services (ISS) on 21CL Radio.  Often we think about our work being private for many reasons, people are afraid to share it. Maybe it's because we worked really hard on it and it was “our” idea, or maybe we are embarrassed to share our work with others.  Burns states, “If something great is happening, it shouldn’t be a secret! It should shine so others could see it and learn from it. If I am doing something worthwhile, maybe it is my duty to share it.”

I love the growth mindset here that he shares.  What does good teaching look like?  Good questioning?  Good feedback?  These are golden nuggets that can help educators not only in your school, but all over the world.  

Korea International School (KIS) deprivatizes practice and it shows because it is a school that is constantly setting the bar and then raising it.  One way KIS deprivatises practice is by shared curriculum mapping through Atlas Rubicon where everyone in a certain department can see each other’s unit plans and lessons.  This helps to vertical align standards and also helps us as a department see any gaps in our curriculum.

Another way KIS deprivatizes practice is through our KIS Talks, a PD done in-house, where teachers share things that they use in their classroom with other teachers during a 45 minute PD session.

With Twitter and other social media platforms, #KISPRIDE and/or #KISPD is the hashtag that KIS uses when anyone is doing something that brings pride to the school or when you want to share something that you feel others can benefit from. These hashtags have allowed many other teachers, not only at KIS, but world wide to see the great things happening at KIS and use them to better their teaching.

Blog Post #5 - Redefining Physical Education with technology

Physical educators are always looking for ways to incorporate technology to enhance the student’s learning.

Giving timely feedback is crucial for success.  As a PE teacher, giving feedback and using helpful cues that will help guide that student into performing a skill successfully and seeing growth is a win for the student. Getting a win early sets that student up for more success because they feel “they can do it”.

It used to be walk around, give some feedback, make corrections if need be, come back, see they made the corrections, it not, work with them some more.

Now with the help of technology, not only can we go around and give feedback on form, we can record the student with an iPad and show them so they can see where they need to make corrections.

I've taken my PE classes to the Redefinition level in the SAMR model by having the students video record themselves performing a skill using Hudl Technique in a slow motion, they do it at the beginning of the unit showing their skill with no instruction on how to perform in properly.  After teaching the students how to perform a skill and give them the cues they need to be successful with the skill, they then video record themselves again.  

This time, they compare side by side with the first time they performed the skill. They use their devices to annotate with angles and voiceovers explaining where they made corrections, then they share it with me. I have also expanded this lesson to have them do a side by side skill analysis comparing their skill with a professional athlete's skill.  I have seen so much growth when students can see themselves and see where they need to make those changes.  As a PE teacher, Hudl Technique is such a valuable tool to help students use technology to take their learning and skill set to the next level.

Blog Post 4 - Technology rich learning environment. Is it important?

Support is so crucial in education and same goes with technology in education.  I read over the ISTE Standards for Administrators which include;

1. Visionary leadership
2. Digital age learning culture
3. Excellence in professional practice
4. Systemic improvement
5. Digital citizenship

Each of these standards plays an important role for leaders when supporting effective technology and integration.  In an article by Scott McLeod & Jayson W. Richardson, they state, “There are 14 essential conditions described by ISTE as necessary for effective technology integration and implementation in schools. Principals and superintendents arguably are primarily responsible for the climate, culture, and other environmental characteristics that define students’ and teachers’ work.” I appreciate what The Journal says about 7 Habits of Highly Effective Tech-leading Principals.  I really liked the #6 - Take Risks!  We encourage our students to do it.  As the leader of our school, they must be willing to take risks and share that message with the staff. When we are not afraid to fail, that is where real growth will occur.

To get better, we could improve on all 14 of these conditions, every school could. I want to focus on two essential conditions that I feel my school does a fantastic job with and one that I would really like to see take off.

1. Ongoing Professional Learning -  KIS is providing over 20 hours of PD every week.  This provides a culture of digital learning that can be put into professional practice allowing our teachers to be visionary leaders in their subject matter.  
2. Skilled Personnel - Having five full time Education Technology Specialists gives our school confidence in the ability to show systemic improvement in technology and provide teachers and administrators with the knowledge and skills so they are leading the way in digital age learning culture.  Our admin can go to them with an idea and the EdTech team with their expertise and knowledge can help guide and implement that change.
3. Assessment and Evaluation - “Summative outcome measures and progress monitoring benchmarks can be identified for all technology deployments.” When we are using certain technologies, how effective is it? Are we collecting data that is recorded and used to make future decisions?  That is where I would see this going moving forward.  

Blog Post #3: Hit the ground running with technology at KIS.

Describe what your school’s new teacher technology orientation looks like. What suggestions do you have to improve the orientation?

When new teachers are hired at KIS they receive a KIS Google login which gives them access to their school email account and the ability to connect with their building-level administrators and teachers in their departments via Google Apps for Education. Principals, Department Heads, New-Hire Buddies, and our Faculty Support team begin communicating with new hires via email and share with them documents that can support them in their transition to Korea and to KIS. The majority of technology training (Schoology, PowerSchool, Google Apps, MacBook, iPad) happens once teachers arrive on campus and is delivered in the FishBowl during New Teacher Orientation.

Something new coming to KIS.

KIS EdTech director states, “This year we are planning to take some of this training online using a resource called “Synergyse” which will allow new teachers the ability to train remotely on the programs and platforms pertinent to their jobs at KIS. The hope here is that new faculty who initiate some self-study ahead of time will have increased time in their classrooms in the lead up to the first day of school rather than spending time in tech-based orientation sessions. This remote training will feature screen casts, follow-along tutorials, and interactive lessons and will be tracked on the back-end by our technology team. Teachers who complete the lessons will be excused from mandatory training sessions.”

I would encourage the EdTech team to break up and pick new staff that they will check up on maybe weekly, the first month, then monthly.  I believe having a strong accountability in technology is important for new staff coming in.  It could be a quick email asking “How’s it going with your tech?  Is there anything that you need help on?”

If the Edtech team reaches out to new staff, and make sure they hit the ground running, they will get a win early.

Blog Post #2: Can you ever have too much technology?

I had a great Google hangout with Jeff Korich, @kordichj today about technology in schools.

It was great hearing the thoughts on technology from another #physed teacher. As I was chatting with Jeff, I asked myself what has played a big role in my development as an educator over the last 12 years and I would say that it was technology. According to the Teacher Leader Model Standards (TLMS) Domain 3 talks about Promoting Professional Learning for Continuous Improvement. This has been done in a great deal through technology. I have added some great "tools" to my teaching toolbox that are technology based. As a physical educator, its the apps on my iPad such as attendance, digital rubrics that I can just click the microphone and voice to text so I can go back and see notes from the unit that will help me in making sure I give a fair assessment of their work in class, apps that help me make even and fair teams with the push of a button. Apps that allow me to video record students in game play so I can go back and see things that I may have missed so I can give them feedback on the next lesson. There are dozens of apps by the #PEGeek and the sky has been the limit with how I as a teacher can use technology to better assist me in teaching my students.

Technology is used and really helps with TLMS Domain 6: Improving Outreach and Collaboration with Families and Community. We talked about how the second I submit a grade, a parent is able to see the grade on the portal. A low grade may trigger a conversation between the parent and student, it may be followed up with by a quick email from the teacher, all without even having to take time to set up a meeting and have the parent come in. Now don't get me wrong, I am not a big proponent of no face to face interaction, but technology helps us as educators stay connected with parents and the community. Many schools have Twitter accounts or Facebook pages along with their school's website. These provide great communication with parents instantaneously.

My daughter was just in a talent show two weeks ago and our family in the States were not able to be in attendance as the 15 hour flight might have been a little much for the 1minute she was on stage, however the school live streamed the talent show and we were able to provide her grandparents with the link. This happens for many extracurricular events where busy parents who may be out of town on business trips can still watch their son or daughter.

Another form of collaboration with parents and community is in the form of surveys done through Google Forms. Parents are able to provide feedback and with the click of the button Administrators can gather that data and make potential decisions with the input from the stakeholders.

As much as I feel technology is a necessity in education and also a tool that can be very helpful, we can't get too caught up in all the gadgets and miss the boat that we are dealing with humans, young ones that want a positive relationship with their teacher, the one who recognizes them and says "hi" to them when they walk in the door.  That has a heart to heart conversation about something they are passionate about.  We can't ever lose sight of that.  That is something technology can not help with But for many of the other things, technology sure is great!

@kordichj

 

Blog Post #1: Developing a technology plan

Imagine you are in a new school and are in charge of developing the technology plan. Which of the following areas of the plan do you feel least confident in implementing: tools, personnel, pedagogy, or professional learning? Listen to the interview and briefly explain the area you feel least confident in implementing and explain what area of the technology plan you would develop first.

In listening to the interview on http://21clradio.com/, I was really impressed with the three Educational Technolgoy specialists and what they had to say about technology in their school and what their Technology Manual, titled, Don’t Just Do It, "which takes readers through 12 steps it takes to build a truly comprehensive program from the ground up."

If I were in charge of developing a technolgy plan for a new school, I feel professional learning is an area that I would feel the least confident in. I am someone who is currently learning new technology that will help me in my teaching, but I like to get good at one tecnhnology before I move on to the next. There are educators out there that are "pace setters" in technology and are always one step ahead of the rest. They are in tune with the latest and greatest. Due to the fact that anything you want to learn now, you can Google it, I would have to ask myself, what can I provide as a professional learning tool in technology that someone cant' get in a YouTube video in five minutes?

The area I would implement first would be personnel. As Michael Pelletier states in the interview, when asked, "do you get the right people first or determine the right process?" He states, "you try to do both, but if you can't do both, I find the right team first because once you have the right team, you'll be able to get to the other."

I find this so true. Being able to paint a vision and getting the right people in place is crucial. You have to be able to know people and know what you are looking for in a team. I think that goes the same in many things. I'm looking for those team members who are the epitome of 21st century learners and applying those skills. They think critically, they collaborate, they communicate, those are the right people. Whether I am building a technology plan, fielding a soccer team, doing an obstacle course challenge, or building a house, I want those kind of people on my team. The rest will take care of itself if they are successful with those skills.

Interview: http://21clradio.com/mike-dion-and-norman-share-their-ideas-for-building-a-successful-technology-education-program-education-vanguard-36/