Inspiration When We Need It Most

This article is cross posted at the Technology & Learning Advisor blog.

Recently, I have seen too many news stories about school budgets being voted down, federal educational technology programs no longer being funded, and the continued attacks on educators from politicians and other organizations. I know that this has been going on for a while but it has really made me reflect on where we are in terms of the state of our educational programs in this country and the attitude we must take. We are a country that is supposed to be a leader in this world and we are spending more time, and money, pointing fingers then trying to fix our problems.

As educators we are supposed to be preparing our students for their futures as wise content consumers and producers. Savvy technology users that can innovate, collaborate, and be creative with a global perspective. Yet, for the most part, we continue to feel demoralized for not being given the proper support and tools to achieve these goals.

Now that I have vented, I want to put this into perspective. I want you all to meet Moliehi Sekese, a Microsoft Worldwide Innovative Teacher Award recipient. Moliehi, from the very small and poor South African country of Lesotho, has been globally recognized as an innovative integrator of technology. Her class size is about 100 students, that is not a typo, and the school does not have electricity. But she uses her personal laptop, as long as the battery lasts, and some innovative teaching techniques to teach and integrate technology. Please take time to listen to her words in the video below and read her story on Ewan McIntosh's bog. You can also, read more and see a longer interview on the Cool Cat Teacher Blog. She is an amazing woman who can teach us all how to be innovators in a time when we need it the most. As you will hear her say,

"Stop blaming the challenges. Use a stumbling block as a stepping stone to success."

So, if you are feeling sorry for yourself when you are faced with the one computer classroom or you can't get that new set of mobile devices for your school, take a minute and remember Moliehi, and what she doing to be innovative, successful and inspiring to her students and colleagues. She is certainly an example for all of us to remember when we think we can't overcome a challenge.

I will leave you with this quote, by Dr. Martin Luther King:

"If you can't fly then run, if you can't run then walk, if you can't walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.

It serves as a reminder to me when I get upset or depressed about that challenges that I face everyday as I try to help the teachers and students in my school district achieve their goals to become twenty-first century workers and learners. I hope it inspires you to move forward as well. I know that Moliehi is a living example.

Prove Your Concept First!

This article is cross posted at the Technology & Learning Advisor blog.

There are many blog posts, articles, and debates going on among colleagues around the idea of whether education, as a whole, should be run more like a business or not. I have seen people on both ends of the spectrum on this issue as well as some with no real opinion. But, I really believe that this is worth discussing within the context of educational technology. Especially since school districts are investing so much money in their technology programs and are expected to infuse it throughout their curricula. So, a wise "business" model is a good idea.

Being in the position of technology coordinator, I have to play both sides of the line on this topic since my job requires that I be part educator and businessman. I am an educator first and, for the most part, look at the educational value of a technology before I look at the cost. If its value to the students and teachers is great enough, which means it can improve on teaching and learning, than it is worth the investment (if we have the funds). With that said you still have to do your "homework."

Besides the obvious research on-line and sales representatives coming to your school to give you their presentations. Educators really should look at the value that the proof of concept model can bring to their experience. In the economic climate that we are in educational technology vendors are clamoring for your business and, for the most part, are willing to let you "test drive" their products for a period of time at no charge.

I know that, for the most part, this is easily done with software and the ubiquitous 30-day trial version. But, doing this with hardware is of even more value and can really let you know if the technology is right for you and your students before you make your decisions. Plus, it can save your district money.

For example, my school district was looking to purchase about fifty laptops, and assistive technologies, under a federal grant for our special needs students. When approached with this project I assembled a committee of stakeholders that included teachers, administrators and technology staff. We contacted vendors and let them know our needs and usage requirements. We also attended workshops about assistive technologies and researched software and hardware solutions to gain a scope of knowledge to make an informed decision. Each vendor was of course very interested in our business. So, I felt comfortable enough to ask for some products to prove our concept and their use in an adaptive technology situation. One was a PC vendor who sent us two different model laptops to keep, for free, to test out with our students and staff. The other, Apple Computers, allowed us to take advantage of their Mac Integration Program (MIP).

We were very hesitant about bringing in a large quantity of Macs into our PC based network and had a lot of questions as to how they would integrate. So, the MIP was the best thing to do to prove our concept not only for the IT staff on the networking side, but also the most important end users, our teachers and students. The MIP program gave us a server, with an engineer to install it, as well as computers to test out for a period of one month. They came in gave us some training, and also spoke to our committee about what the computers could do for our special needs students, for no charge.

Through this experience, we were able to prove our concept that they would not only work on our Windows network, but that they had enough assistive/adaptive technologies built into their systems that we would actually realize a cost savings due to the fact that we would not have to purchase additional hardware or software. So, we really learned a lot about our choices and proved our the concept that we can make the Apple computers connect and function on a Windows-based PC network.

Since then we have repeatedly tested products under the proof of concept model and have been able to get better instructional technologies and save our district money. Our teachers are happier, more effective and learning is improving. Also, via this model we have realized cost savings by finding out that sometimes a product is too much for the actual need and a better result was achieved through a different, or less expensive option.

Case in point, we were buying $700-$800 document cameras. We are now buying $70 document cameras that give the teachers the results they desired for a fraction of the price. This allowed us to purchase more of them and get them into the classrooms faster. The teachers are very pleased and so are our taxpayers!

The moral of this story is that you really should not be afraid to ask vendors for products in order to see if they are going to work for you or not. Most will really go out of their way to help you out. You don't have to be a technology coordinator or administrator either. You are their customer and your students deserve to have instructional technologies that will best help them learn.

Now go out there and ask for "stuff," to prove your concept. You will be pleasantly surprised as to what you will find out.

Web 2.0 - Like Drinking Water from a Fire Hose

This article is cross posted at the Technology & Learning Advisor blog.

It seems that every time I turn around I see another new, or new and improved, tool out there that catches my attention and sends my mind into the, "I gotta sign up for that," mode. I have to admit it is very enticing when you see all of these innovative new tools coming at you fast and furious.

When you look at all of these new Web 2.0 technology offerings, making a choice can be like drinking water from a fire hose. I mean before you know it, if you lose your focus, you are signed up for a large number of sites that you find out you don't have any time to master or really integrate into your curriculum. The best advice that I can give is to take a deep breath and do your homework while developing your own Web 2.0 “Tool Kit.” By doing this you can develop skills and lessons based around your tool kit and then grow them from there. It’s very tempting to want to try all of the new things that you come across, but you need to explore them and make a decision as to whether that will work for you or not. Don’t try to “drink” them all in, take small “sips.”

So, how would one go about developing their own Web 2.0 toolkit? Here's my advice, and of course, I want to hear yours and what you use:

1. Take time and reflect on your curricular goals and try to pinpoint areas that could be improved by the integration of a new tool or technology. Reflection is the key here, don't jump into the world of Web 2.0 without a plan and a clear focus on what you want yourself, and your students, to get out of it.


2. Once you have a plan start to reach out to your colleagues both in person and through any networks that you have developed via your Personal Learning Network (You are developing your PLN aren't you??). Ask, what others in your curricular area have had successes and struggles with and filter that through your level of expertise as well as the vision that you have created in step one.


3. Once you have made the decision take "baby steps," and make sure that you learn it well enough first before you fully implement it. Then identify a group of students that you feel would be a good group to pilot your new-found tool. Don't be afraid to have it fail at first, let the kids teach you what they have found it can do. They may come up with an entirely new, and innovative, approach to using it. Remember they are the experts sometimes.


4. Once you have gone through the steps above stop and reflect again. I can't stress this enough, reflection should be a part of your daily routine. If it's not, then you are missing a very important step in your personal and professional life. Reflect on your successes and failures, as well as the feedback you received from your students and any observations that you have made.

Creating your Web 2.0 toolkit can be a daunting task. But, every craftsman has one and if you want to be successful educating our modern learners the you need your own to master your craft as well. Like real tools, your Web 2.o "Tool Kit," will get old, and better tools will come around, so always remember to go back through the process every once in a while to see if it's time to re-tool. Also, by all means continue to add new tools and grow it as well!!

So, now it's your turn. How have you developed your tool kit? What implementation strategies have worked for you and what are your favorite tools? Let's share our success and failures so we can all grow together.

Remember don't "drink" too fast, take small "sips" and leave time for reflection!!

Tablets - We're Almost There!

This article is cross posted at the Technology & Learning Advisor blog.

A whole lot of attention has been placed on the vast array of tablet devices that are on the market right now and their potential for changing the way we teach and learn.  Obviously with the release of the iPad 2 the discussion has ramped up a bit.  It seems to me that the talk about how the iPad 2, and other tablets, are going to "revolutionize" education, and how they are going to replace the computers and paper texts that we are using, is a bit premature.  Although I agree that the mobile computing platform is where we need to head, I still think that there is a whole lot of work that needs to be done.

Many people are talking about how the combination of  apps and e-textbooks are "the way to go."  There are so many great apps out there, and trying to cull your way through them can be cumbersome. Sure, there are ways to find the best ones but there are a lot that aren't viable either.  I think that we are still at the beginning of the true impact of  small applications that can be easily downloaded and are inexpensive and useful for the educational technology market.

The same goes for the way we are approaching e-texts.  There is a big difference between and e-book and an e-textbook.  An e-reader device or app works just fine for e-books because they are designed to be primarily flat text that is consumed in a linear fashion without any real interactivity. Just think about when someone is using a traditional book for study, not pleasure, they are going to interact with it in a variety of ways.  They will want to do what one would do with a paper text whether it be to annotate, highlight, or "dog ear" a page.   What I think we need to see are the designers of the devices, as well as the texts, look more towards interactive, dynamic and flexible content that will allow user to customize their experience.  The devices also need to be able to manipulate and create content in order to enhance any lesson that they are used for in the classroom.

I am not sure that they really have their act together yet on this because everyone is so busy just trying to get a product to market that they are trying to be all things to all people. Manufacturers, software designers and publishers need to get together and come up with a model that will make a tablet and digital text something that is more than just a tool for consumption.

The tablet creators are producing for a wide-ranging audience, not just educators, and I think that is where the challenges begin. A tablet that will revolutionize the way we teach and learn has yet to be produced because that device needs to be geared towards education as well. The iPad, which I am an owner of, as well as other Apple products, is truly a great innovation with a whole host of worthwhile educational apps. But, when I stopped and thought about it a bit, I have had a device similar, yet not as small, for a couple of years now and that is my tablet PC. Yes, it is a lot thicker and, a bit heavier, but not all that bad. I have a touch screen, stylus and a keyboard. Most importantly, I can produce content in a very efficient manner. It also costs about five times more than the iPad. Big downfall!!

So, we are still waiting for that fabled device that bridges that gap between a full-blown laptop and a powerful tablet that is affordable and capable of content creation, consumption and expandability. Now, don't get me wrong we are getting there and there are a few real players out there that are worth a look. One that I think is on the right track is the Kno Tablet.

The creators of the Kno have put together two models of the device, a single slate or a double that opens like a book. It has a built-in e-reader, notebook and browser. It allows the user to interact with their texts in a way that the others don't. They have also teamed with textbook companies to deliver e-textbooks that allow users to read, write and research all in one place. Users can write notes and highlight with their fingers or a stylus. You have the ability to keep multiple notebooks as well which makes it more of an "all-in-one," device. They are also offering a Software Development Kit (SDK) and recruiting developers for an app store to build upon its features. For now, it is marketed to higher education with the idea that e-textbooks are cheaper and that it will pay for itself in the savings they offer.

Check out this video to see its features in action -



In my opinion, and I want to hear yours, the concept of the Kno is good, but it is still a device that is primarily for content consumption and notation. Sadly, the producers of the Kno have halted production and there is a lot of speculation as to why. Some have speculated that the company is going to concentrate on developing their software and will team up with a better known hardware manufacturer for more market exposure. So, the future of the device is yet to be determined.

While we wait for that one device to come along that satisfies all of our educational technology needs it sure is fun to watch and see what innovations will take place. Early adopters need to give feedback to these companies and in turn they really need to reach out to consumers, educators and students. These conversations will continue to drive the innovations and really solidify the tablet's place in the educational market.

So, my question to you is this: "What features do you want to see in a tablet that could "revolutionize" education?