Focus: Instructional Technology

Before Adopting a Laptop Initiative

by ELIZABETH ROSS HUBBELL

How often have you heard the story of a school or district spending thousands of dollars on technology without any evidence it will have an impact on student learning?

Whether a failure to prepare teachers for a fundamental shift in how they teach or a failure to plan for technology obsolescence, district and school leaders have considerable information to gather and up-front planning to do if a laptop implementation is to be successful. One of the best ways to collect this information is to conduct a technology audit. It can save time, money and headaches.

Last year, I worked with a suburban school district that was preparing for a laptop initiative. Their initial thinking was to start small with just a few schools, then expand it K-12. The district leadership thought the high school would be the most logical starting point for the rollout.

After discussing the idea with principals, the superintendent decided to have McREL conduct a technology audit to see how comfortable teachers were with current technologies and how easily a new tool could be integrated into the current culture.

Classroom Climate
The audit results surprised them. Teachers of kindergarten through 2nd grade and those at the high school level tended to use the most traditional methods in their instruction. When I walked into these classrooms, students often were passive audiences to teacher-led, whole-group instruction. I saw a fair amount of worksheets and teacher-directed question-and-answer sessions.

This did not mean learning wasn’t happening, but a laptop initiative in this environment probably would have resulted in expensive machines being used for rudimentary tasks, such as early learning games or note taking.

At the upper-elementary and middle-school levels, however, instruction looked quite different. Students often were engaged in small-group, collaborative learning. The classrooms had a busy buzz to them as students discussed ideas, collaborated on projects and shared their learning with the larger group.

The structure of the rooms represented pods of activities. I often found the teacher taking the role of a facilitator who would help a group refocus or work through a challenge, then move on to the next group. The levels of Bloom’s taxonomy that the lessons targeted often were at a higher level of thinking. A set of laptops in this environment had potential to be used not only for building basic skills, note-taking and research, but also for collaboration and communication among groups and for evidence of learning beyond quizzes and tests.

Based on the audit details, the school district started the laptop initiative at the middle-school level, while focusing professional development on how to create engaging, project-based, differentiated classrooms.

Gathering Data
A good tech audit will gather data through various tools — surveys, focus groups, classroom walkthroughs, and interviews with members of the schools and district — to get an understanding of what learning looks like in that environment.

If you are considering implementing a 1:1 initiative, ask yourself these questions:

• How are the teachers and students in my building or district using the tools they already have?

• How well do my teachers vary how students are grouped?

• How well do my teachers allow flexibility and variety in showing evidence of learning? (Do students primarily show learning through a summative assessment, or do teachers use many formative assessments?)

• Do teachers support and extend students’ understanding of basic concepts by developing authentic projects that take student learning to a higher level?

• Do teachers know how technology can transform students’ capacity to create, collaborate and communicate?

• Do all students in the school or district emerge prepared to use 21st-century tools in collaborative and creative settings, or is their experience dependent upon teacher interest and comfort level?

• How ready are my teachers for highly differentiated instruction?

A Costly Tool
When schools and districts spend thousands of dollars on expensive and powerful equipment without finding out if their teachers and students are prepared to use these tools, they may find the machines are only being used, as Alan November points out in an article on his website November Learning , as a “$2,000 pencil” for web research, word processing, note taking and disseminating PowerPoint documents.

In these situations, teachers are, in a sense, integrating technology, but its use has little advantage over paper-and-pencil methods. Some teachers even may insist students put valuable learning tools away during instruction because they view them as distractions or inappropriate in the classroom.

On the other hand, when teachers are well-versed in creating environments in which students regularly collaborate on projects, use a variety of high-level strategies, and have choices in how they receive and disseminate what they have learned, technology seamlessly, almost invisibly, exists as a tool to facilitate these processes.

Which Route?
Implementing a 1:1 laptop initiative requires much more than purchasing hardware and software. It requires teachers being comfortable with no longer being the “sage on the stage.” It requires a general knowledge of various tools that help students collaborate on projects and communicate with others.

Finally, it requires a plan for dealing with inappropriate behavior in a way that addresses the infraction rather than banning the media that provided the means. A tech audit can help a school or district decide what professional development, curriculum alignment and staffing are needed for an initiative to be most ­successful.

Elizabeth Hubbell is an educational technology consultant at McREL in Denver, Colo. E-mail: ehubbell@mcrel.org

Khan Academy (Flip the Classroom) This is what Mr. Fitzgerald is doing in his Mathematics classroom...

Why Social Media Can and Is Changing Education

POSTED ON MARCH 24, 2011 BY GEORGE

Social media is something that has become so prevalent in our culture that I have seen everything from large companies to churches having their own facebook accounts. When I first was presented with the idea that using Twitter, Facebook, or blogging as something in education I was weary of its application. As I have immersed myself in the process, and have seen my own staff and school use this themselves along with students, I have seen some tremendous changes in their practice.
cc licensed flickr photo shared by shareski

I really believe that using technology just to do the same things that we have always done, but on the computer, is not a good enough reason. There has to be more. Thinking aboutthis today, I have really seen some of the impacts that social media is having on education.

1. It’s free. Okay, in reality, nothing is really free. We still have to pay for Internet and technology in our building, but our software costs have gone down significantly. As educators continuously have to deal with budget cuts, it is important that we use tools that do not have a cost on it. Safety is essential, but with teaching Internet safety, setting up certain sites, with a little hard work, the software costs nothing. Our school has paid $300 for server space (for three years) in the last two years that I have been here, and have set up a safe and secure blogging platform for our students. This is music to any educators’ (especially those dealing with budgets) ears.

2. It cuts down on isolation. One of our programs is an off-site building that is out in the country. This program serves 12 students and has two teachers. Every few years, this program is revisited and we ensure that teachers have an opportunity to move so that they have the ability to connectand learn from others. This year when we had the conversation, both teachers did not feel the need to move. They are both connected through many teachers through social networks and the feeling of isolation has somewhat dissipated. Now with small schools that are out in the country, you are never limited to the ideas and camraderie of those in the building, but those that you are willing to connect with. When I first started my career in a small town, it felt very lonely and on some days could be very taxing. The opportunity to connect is there for those who are willing to take it.

3. Building tolerance and understanding of cultural diversity. There are so many different cultures in the world and when I was a kid, we only had read about them in books. There is so much of an opportunity to not only read content from different people and hear their perspectives, but social media gives us the opportunity to actually talk with people. Having the opportunity to connect with people all over the world breaks down a lot of barriers and builds understanding. These are opportunities that we did not have as kids but we need to ensure that our students have this opportunity now.

4. It can amplify passion. Passion is a term that has been used a great deal in education. I am a firm believer that we have to build learning upon the passions and interests of our students. We now have the opportunity to not only connect with people of different cultures, but to people with similar interests. If you watch Chris Anderson’s Ted Talk, he discusses how people can connect with similar interests and create innovation in new areas. He talks about through the use of video, dance has evolved so rapidly because of the ease of sharing. The child who does not feel anyone has similar interests in the classroom, is not limited anymore. We can help to facilitate these connections in schools so our students do not only feel “normal”, but their passion thrives.

5. The world of education is (and needs to be) more open. As an administrator, I need to continuously communicate and connect with not only my stakeholders, but the world of education. Parents no longer need to wonder what I am thinking, because I can share it continuously in an open way. I can do everything from sharing my calendar for the week with our community, to things I am reading. Chris Kennedy, a superintendent in British Columbia, shared everything from his cell phone number to his calendar with the entire world. The parent who may not know the teacher in the next grade, can simply follow their blog to get to know about some of the practices. This breaks down walls and helps to build relationships with families and our community. Parents could not see the other classroom’s “newsletter” unless it was passed around; now it is easily shared. Knowing people beforehand will help to break down barriers that may have existed before.

I have said this many times before, that education is based upon relationships. While people often look at social media is just “technology” we have to see how proper use can help really bring our world together. If we are proactive in the way we work with kids using social media, there is no limit to what we can do.