0 A colleague asked .....

A colleague asked me to answer the following questions for one of her graduate assignments. I am curious on your thoughts on either of the following:

• If technology were removed, what learning would be impossible/impaired?
• How do you support professional development?
• What is the best “advice” you would give for moving technology/learning forward in a way that will make more impact for all students

My thoughts are: 

If technology were removed, what learning would be impossible/impaired?

If technology were removed, I believe, it would hinder our learners to neither advance beyond knowledge and comprehensive learning nor facilitate student driven learning experiences needed to assist our student to thrive in today’s world. The utilization of technology fosters collaboration among students promoting an engaged-learning environment, which I believe, enhances critical/higher level thinking skills.

How do you support professional development?

Our technology department supports professional development in many ways to assist in meeting the needs of our staff. Our technology professional developments concentrate on increasing student achievement utilizing backwards planning to recognize the desired student’s behavior.  Additionally our professional developments are centering around the 21^st Century learning skills which encompass the 4C’s: Creativity, Communication. Collaboration and Critical Thinking,

What is the best “advice” you would give for moving technology/learning forward in a way that will make more impact for all students.

The best advice I can provide is to consider the SAMR technology integration model - developed by Dr, Rubin Puentadura.  When integrating technology consider centering the lesson around the following questions:

• What do I want my students to learn?
• What are the student behaviors? 

The SAMR model is a useful tool to assist teachers to gradually shift to transitioning from below the line to above the line of technology integration. I highly recommend you viewing the following post by Carl Hooker, Director of Instructional Technology in Eanes ISD. He approaches the SAMR model to the analogy of a pool (“Taking a Dip in the SAMR Swimming Pool”) compared to the ladder approach. His explanation of the “SAMR Swimming Pool” provides a straightforward explanation of the SAMR model.

What are your thoughts?

0 How Can You Meet the Demands of Today's 21st Century Generation?

As this technologically driven world, continuously and rapidly moves forward, we as educators need to meet the demands of today’s 21st Century generation. So how do we do this?  One way, is to follow technology instructional /educational blogs. A GREAT blog to follow is Technology Tailgate. 

What is Technology Tailgate?

Technology Tailgate was  “created with a vision for teachers to collaborate, share ideas and demonstrate real ways technology is being used in the classroom.” 

These posts are from a network of individuals (“Coaches”) who contribute monthly to Technology Tailgate. You will find these posts both enlightening and informative. Check it out!! It TRULY will be worth your time.

0 What’s the buzz? Tell me what’s happening….

I wrote this as a guest for another blog. Thought it was worth repeating.....

Ok, so it is a line from the 1970’s Rock Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Yep…that dates me! As I was deciding on my topic, the terms: 21st Century Education, 21st Century Schools, 21st Century Learner, etc began to bounce around my head, as these are buzz words which have been circulating in our district.

So what about the 21st Century Learner? Schools? Education? Classroom? What’s the buzz?


The technological revolution is upon us and has opened the door to a wealth of information which has the capabilities to enhance the educational structure we offer to our students. The need to change both the role of the educator and meet the demands of the future is imperative. The majority of educators are modifying their teaching approach by facilitating learning, instead of simply dispensing knowledge.

With this said, I believe, Tony Wagner’s “Seven Survival Skills for Careers, College and Citizenship for the 21st Century”, exemplifies exactly what is necessary for the 21st century.

• Critical Thinking and Problem Solving - Buzz Words: Reason, analyze, make judgments, solve, make decisions
• Collaboration across Networks and Leading by Influence - Buzz Words: Engage, part of a team, work with others, contribute, collaborate
• Agility and Adaptability - Buzz Words: Flexibility, accept feedback effectively – positive or negative, compromise, change
• Initiative and Entrepreneurialism - Buzz Words: Self-directed learner, commitment, time management, lifelong learner
• Effective Oral and Written Communication - Buzz Words: Articulate clearly/effectively, listen, utilize various/numerous medias and technologies, diversity
• Accessing and Analyzing Information - Buzz Words: Critical thinking, evaluate, validity of information, process
• Curiosity and Imagination - Buzz Words: The whys, utilizing various perspectives, generating new ideas

I came across this quote: “If we teach today the way we were taught yesterday… we aren't preparing students for today or tomorrow.” As you know, our students are entering the classroom with a wealth of pre-exposed knowledge to technology and are aware of what the internet has to offer. The role of technology in the 21st century is both indispensable and crucial. It offers a vast array of learning opportunities to both the educator and student.

As educators, it is essential for us to evolve with this generation and with the evolution of technology into our daily lives. Two great videos to view (if you have not already) are:

• A Vision of K-12 Student Today: This project was created to inspire teachers to use technology in engaging ways to help students develop higher level thinking skills. Equally important, it serves to motivate district level leaders to provide teachers with the tools and training to do so. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8&feature=related
• Learning to Change Changing to Learn: Learning to Change Changing to Learn Advancing K-12 Technology Leadership, Consortium for School Networking (COSN) Video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tahTKdEUAPk&NR=1
  

To read more about the 21st century learner, please visit the following site - edorigami. http://edorigami.wikispaces.com/21st+Century+Learners. Andrew Churches has created a very informative and insightful wiki about the 21 Century Learner.

Peace....