The Right Technology in the Right Place, Right Time

I have put a lot of thought into why I still use Grandpa Young's old riding mower to mow my lawn. I could very easily upgrade to a new mower that is more efficient, cutting a better swath and in much less time. Most of the attachment to that old mower is nostalgia - it has sentimental value: I think of Grandpa and the good times while I mow. It makes me feel comfortable.

When I think back on some of my best lessons in my classroom, I consider the tools that I had available to facilitate those lessons. I fondly remember feeling cutting edge while I used a dry erase marker directly on an overhead projector for grammar lessons. I also enjoy thinking back on the audio clips from cassette tapes that were played during English class to make Shakespeare easier to understand.

I also recognize that those old, nostalgic tools have their place in the past, but new tools have come along that do a better job of improving student learning and understanding.

While we didn't used to have very many tools available to us in the past, we do have a wealth of tools to choose from today. We have so many tools available that sometimes it gets overwhelming about which tool to use for a group of students at a particular moment.

In choosing the right tool for the task, consider the following:

1. Your objectives for your lesson are the focal point.
2. The end product(s) that students create should demonstrate proficiency in those objectives.
3. Are there multiple means of demonstrating proficiency in the objectives? (differentiated instruction/assessment)
4. Technology is a tool that A) makes it easier for the teacher to teach the lesson, B) improves learning and understanding for the student, and (C) makes it easier for the student to demonstrate proficiency in the learning objectives.
5. Don't use a technology tool just because it is the latest fad - make sure it fulfills #4. If not, find the right tool.
6. Feedback should be consistent and productive throughout each step of the lesson. (formative assessments)
7. The pedagogy used to create the lesson and its assessments should allow for a meaningful experience for the students.

One of our greatest Pleasant Plains toolkits is our Google Apps for Education, which provide multiple means for students and teachers to collaborate, create, and produce their ideas. The summer professional development training sessions for Pleasant Plains CUSD8 have been designed around the pedagogy for 21st Century learning as well as integration of technology to facilitate that learning.

Grandpa's old lawn mower has its place in my heart and home, but new tools for a new generation are a necessity for education. Better tools are out there to help better prepare this generation of students. We'll find them together and share our successes and setbacks with each other along the way.

Share your successful lessons and the technology tools that you integrated to facilitate the lessons in the comments.

Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone

My past week has been filled with staff, teachers, counselors, administrators, and myself stepping outside of our Comfort Zones. We all know that when we stay in our Comfort Zone, we generally don't grow - we generally don't do anything amazing.

While I took a major leap outside my Comfort Zone this year in my new role, I have seen several others who have also ventured outside their Comfort Zones to try something new/different that is better for the students. Teachers are diving head first into the technology tools provided and exploring options to improve student learning. The secretaries are mastering the new Teacher Ease student management system, the lunch staff is owning and adapting the Teacher Ease lunch program to make it work for our district, and administrators and parents are exploring the instant notification features built in to the Teacher Ease system regarding student grades, discipline, attendance, and lunch balance.

Today I was bludgeoned with the Comfort Zone concept. In addition to working with a teacher who is committed to making some overhauls to the way the courses are taught and hearing about a teacher who is taking on the challenge of creating a course from online lessons combined with classroom activities, I also stumbled upon Tom Whitby's article "Comfortable Baby Steps?" As I began reflecting on how I have seen several people in the district step outside their Comfort Zones, the episode of Covert Affairs that I was watching with my wife was based on stepping outside your Comfort Zone for the greater good.

Part of my commitment to you was to also provide technology tools that will make it easier for you to succeed. This week I am promoting Trello. Even though I have been stepping outside my comfort zone, I needed something to keep me organized and grounded. Trello is a wonderful productivity tool that can be used by an individual or by a collaborative group to organize "to do" lists, assign tasks, check off completed tasks, and discuss options to complete tasks.

For the past two years I have been loosely using the free tool Trello with my yearbook staff to collaborate on tasks to meet publishing deadlines as well as with the teachers leading the global Flat Classroom project NetGenEd. In the past two weeks, I have been heavily relying on Trello as a daily "to do" list, a reminder of ongoing tasks, and completed tasks. I access Trello frequently using my iPhone and iPad, but may access it also from a web browser on my laptop or through the app in my android tablet. Last night I let my new yearbook staff know that we will use Trello as a collaborative tool to keep us on track in the production of the yearbook. My favorite side note of Trello is that you can sign up for it using your Google account or just use your email address to sign up. Today, I showed a colleague how I use Trello to stay on track so I make sure I prioritize tasks and complete all the tasks I need to complete.

While Trello is a cool productivity tool, there are others out there that have various appealing functions. Please add a comment about your favorite productivity tool. Stepping outside your Comfort Zone to improve student learning is awesome, and finding a productivity tool that helps maintain sanity is also essential.

One of the areas that I have forced myself to step outside of my Comfort Zone is the area of sharing. I, like many other educators, feel uncomfortable sharing my lessons, pedagogy, expertise, and favorite tools because I fear that I will be perceived as pompous or pretentious. However, since I have joined several global communities of educators, I have found that sharing my information is just as important to others as the information that I glean from them. I am amazed at the down-to-earth nature of the "famous" educators. We are all on the same team and have the same goal of doing what is best for our students. We appreciate tips from others, and they deserve to benefit from our expertise as well. In future posts I will discuss ways to share your expertise with your immediate colleagues as well as other educators.

What are you doing to step outside your Comfort Zone? What tools are you using to maintain or increase your productivity? Share in the comments below.