Photo credit Kobiz7 on Flickr

Over the past four years I’ve had the opportunity to work with teams of administrators and teachers from around the country.  I’ve heard about many of the challenges they face integrating technology as well as many of their successes.  One of the simplest lessons I’ve learned in that work is in the value of time to collaborate on a focused topic.  Unfortunately, if teams do have time to collaborate, that time is often used to address the burning issue of the day or week. Although those issues are certainly important and may keep the ship from sinking, they don’t always move things forward.

How can your school create time that focuses specifically on ways to use technology to enhance the educational experience for your students?  I’ve heard some great recommendations from colleagues around the globe.  The most common theme that has come out of those sessions is a dedicated time slot with a focused theme.  Schools often do a poor job recognizing all of the experts that work within the school walls.  Having conversations locally also certainly increases the likelihood that the presenter will understand the context of the school!  A couple of the more creative meetings I’ve heard described are:

Muggers meeting-A voluntary meeting with coffee and donuts provided where teachers share a technology tool that is working well for them.

Appy hour-A voluntary meet up of teachers to discuss apps that they use.

Happy collaborating!

Nick Sauers

This experience has me thinking about the type of customer service that schools provide to teachers, parents, and students.  In particular, I wonder what type of customer service your technology department provides.  I’ve worked and chatted with many teachers and students who avoid their technology department at all costs.  They fear the belittling attitudes or being put down for not knowing something “simple”.  These technology departments actually hinder teachers’ experimentation with technology.  However, there are other technology directors and departments that create a totally positive environment.  As a teacher, I was brave enough to experiment with technology and that often led to problems with technology that I wasn’t able to solve by myself.  I was fortunate to have a tech director who was always very responsive to my tech problems.  He seemed to appreciate the fact that I was exploring new territory, and he actually encouraged me.  His attitude certainly led to continued tech integration in my classroom.  I wonder how different my approach to technology may have been had he responded differently.  How is the customer service in your technology department?  How is the customer service at your school?

Nick Sauers

Leadership:  Tracy was part of a very strong leadership team who were very committed to transforming the learning experience for their school.  However, this doesn’t necessarily set their school apart from other schools.  What did make them different is that they also created a formal network for developing other leaders.  They created a team of collaborative coaches (teachers) based on a Peer-Ed model.  The training for the coaches was very systematic.  By creating this much larger leadership team, it appears that true changes could reach a “critical mass” much easier.

Pedagogy:  Rather than focusing just on the technology, Tracy’s school really focused on effective instruction.  It appeared that even their PD was very integrated.  Tracy talked about how they would first talk about pedagogy and then think about ways technology could enhance or enrich teacher’s methods.  Although this may seem apparent to many of us, few schools seem to be doing this well.  Does all PD in your school consider ways technology can enhance a teaching strategy?

Modeling:  Tracy has truly been a model learner for others in her school.  She has created a blog that goes beyond just technology.  She also has used technology to enhance learning groups with tools such as diigo where she has created multiple groups.  Groups then share valuable resources with other group members.

It is certainly worth your time to watch this webinar.  You can also view resources from the webinar at this link.  There are take-aways that can help impact 1:1 schools at various levels of implementation.  Happy viewing!

Nick Sauers

1. It’s still about the people – the educators, the students, the parents, and administrators – and making sure voices are heard, stakeholders are brought into all conversations. Decisions should start with these types of questions – How will [students] benefit and participate? How will [teachers] lead? How will [parents] support? Then ask the questions again but switch the stakeholder name.

2. Every program is different – because each school’s mission, culture, and goals are different. Ensuring alignment to the school or district is key.

3. Students need to be empowered and should be part of the planning and discussions, and not just as the target of the program.

4. There is no such thing as over planning or over communicating. Plans will change and be fluid. Everyone will fill in the silence with their own interpretation if there is not enough communication.

5. Hardware and software keeps getting better, more flexible, and easier to use.

6. An online learning community is vital  — one that everyone can access – to eliminate unintentional silos of learning, cluttered email and fractured student experiences.

7. Furniture is improving – check this out: http://www.ideo.com/work/node-chair/

9. Learner-centricity and personalized learning is what 1-to-1 is all about. What a pleasure to see it written into so many school 1-to-1 plans.

10. Logistics still count; laptops still break; insurance is still needed; electricity is a fact of 1-to-1 life.

11. Parents are our best partners; when they embrace 1-to-1 in their home practices much of the battle is won.

12. Relating 1-to-1 to previous faculty work can be a smart move. One school modeled their pending 1-to-1 in part on discussions with their faculty several years back on “what is a 21^st century classroom.” The ideas of their faculty then became the important framework for providing laptops to students.

It’s so great to see that 1-to-1 continues to flourish.

- Pamela Livingston

If you were unable to attend, please check-out our wiki where presenters posted their resources.  You can also follow the conversations that took place with our twitter hashtag (#i11i).  There are also a couple of additional 1:1 conferences that would be great ways to continue to move your initiative forward.

• Lausanne Learning Institute-July 14–17
• International 1:1 Computing Conference-December 2–3

Nick Sauers

1. Throughout the day, we will offer five “mini-keynote” sessions.  Check-out those session  presenters and titles!
2. We will now offer role-alike sessions throughout the day.  Those sessions will have facilitators who will direct the conversation in each role-alike. Role-alike sessions are designed as a place for educators with similar job responsibilities to discuss the successes and challenges they’ve had with their 1:1 program.

Thanks to those of you who have helped to make this conference possible once again!  We hope that it can be a great learning experience for those educators who are novice or veteran 1:1 educators.

Nick Sauers

1. Create a leadership team
• Include multiple stakeholders on the team, and not just technophiles!  
• Include students in the process.
• Consider having subcommittees that address various topics.
• Involve administrators in the leadership team and the entire process.  They are key players who will need to support the initiative.
2. Identify the reason you are going to implement 1:1
• This may be the biggest problem I see with 1:1 initiatives.  Converting to 1:1 should not be your goal.  Identify a change you want to see in your school that 1:1 can support.
• That goal should align with your school’s mission and vision, and not be something that acts as a stand alone.
3. Visit other schools
• Identify model schools and send teams to those schools.
• Rather than sending a larger group to one school, send smaller groups to multiple schools.
• Include educators as well as students, board members, and community members in these visits.
4. Initiate pilot programs
• Identify a strong team that can implement a pilot program to become the 1:1 pioneers in your school.
• Provide that small group of educators with additional training resources.  Allow them to attend conferences or participate in other workshops.
• Study the successes and challenges of those pilot programs.
• Use those educators to lead professional development for other staff members.
5. Study the change process
• Transitioning to 1:1 is a major change!  Don’t ignore the literature on change.
• Kotter’s book Leading Change is one of my favorites around the stages of the change process.
6. Develop a plan for implementation of your initiative
• Create a clear plan that lays out your 1:1 plan and includes components for required steps for implementation and evaluation.
• This tool created by John Nash is an extremely useful tool for any major change in a school!
7. Create and deliver professional development
• Professional development sessions need to begin PRIOR to launching your initiative.
• Differentiate professional development for educators.
• Create the capacity of educators in your school to deliver professional development.
• Identify a core set of competencies around technology that all teachers should have and help them gain those competencies!  It may be helpful to identify a core set of technology tools that EVERY educator could use fluently.
• It seems absolutely crazy that schools invest hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in technology, but refuse to spend any substantial amount on professional development.

The expectation that students will develop to direct and own their learning and assume responsibility for themselves and their communities.  Student agency is both a means to college and career readiness and a competency that is part of being a college and career ready individual.

Student choice and voice are certainly part of student agency, but this definition includes student responsibility as a key component.  When thinking about student agency, the amount of student ownership could certainly vary widely.  I’ve categorized a couple of possible examples of student agency from mild to wild.  The wild ideas are certainly a bit more challenging to implement!

Mild:

• Let students take responsibility for how they will share their learning with you.  Create a rubric that clearly identifies learning goals and guidelines.  Students can then choose the medium to demonstrate their knowledge.  That might be a report, blog, video, podcast, prezi, song, or presentation.  It could also be a medium unfamiliar to you.  The success of this project will be dependent on your rubric!
• Have students create a plan for creating a positive digital presence for your school.  Allow students to implement that plan!

Wild:

• Share end of unit objectives with students.  Allow students to create their own learning plan that must include a demonstration showing that they have mastered the content. The plan should also include the steps students will use to gain that knowledge. This would certainly be easier in some courses than others!
• Give students freedom each week to explore a topic of their choosing.  I recently finished Daniel Pink’s book Drive which highlighted the successes many companies have had with allowing employees to explore a topic of their own choosing.

Nick  Sauers

Now we are seeing more ubiquitous devices including tablets, laptops, smart phones and the complexity that ensues. This previous post went into some of the issues faced by schools when introducing BYOD; the comments provide more depth and ideas as well. Any 1-to-1 or BYOD school is wired now as it would make so sense otherwise. Nearly all schools and districts offer some type of email for students if they are 1-to-1.

Like many, I’ve become intrigued by the concept of flipped learning – an idea even more feasible when students all possess some type of device that is as mobile as they are and which is used to learn, review and synthesize content away from the classroom followed by more indepth social, hands-on learning when back in the classroom. To me, it’s all about learner centricity – if done right. This is a great thing and what we have always wanted – the learner has the resources at his/her fingertips, learning and tools for learning are continously available – and the user-created artifacts of learning are organized and available to the learner at any time.

However, the piece that is also needed is some type of online learning community. Rather than email, which we all know has become a boondoggle in our lives and which students are moving away from in droves, an online learning community can offer a safe, contained space for teachers and students.

I’ll be presenting at NCCE on Friday, March 1 at 2:30 a session entitled “A ‘Cloud’ for Flipped Classrooms” which is all about how implementing flipped classrooms, or really most all technology integration projects, ought to have the cornerstone of an online learning community. The benefits of a learning community include:

• Providing a central space for learning that extends the classroom
• Eliminating “Web 2.0 site of the week” syndrome which results in
  • login fatigue (trying to remember which ID and password to use) resulting from all the different applications
  • fractured student experiences (having multiple interfaces to know and navigate)
• Preventing email clutter
  • Rather than the teacher maintaining lists of internal or external emails, the community uses its own internal messaging
  • Messaging can include sending student documents, marking them up, and returning to the student via attachments – trackable and centralized
• Threaded discussions
  • Real discussions can occur and be followed
  • Promotes collaboration
    • Students can work as a whole class or in smaller groups with teacher oversight
• Increased student accountability
  • No lost paper – the Internet is everywhere – even at McDonald’s!
  • Date and time is stamped with work turned in
• Shared resources
  • Everyone sees the links, the resources, the photos, podcasts, etc.
  • Assignment posting, turning in
    • The assignments and the work are centralized
    • Class calendar
      • A calendar for the class is available to view events, assignments, assessments, etc.
• Easy interfaces
• • Students use social media now and most online communities emulate this
• A safe place to learn digital citizenship
• • Practicing how to be a good digital citizenship using social media in a classroom community can provide real examples of what to do and what not to do, along with teachable moments
  • Teachers may wish to implement “L.A.R.K.” a concept from my book
  • Digital learning should be L — Legal (adhering to copyright and other laws) A — Appropriate (images and ideas should not be offensive) R — Responsible (taking care of digital tools and resources) K — Kind (knowing how to respect and be kind to everyone in a community)

Full disclosure: I manage a great (IMHO!) product that does all this. But this list above applies in general as well. 1-to-1 needs an online learning community to unleash its true potential.

Your thoughts and comments are welcome!

-        Pamela Livingston

•  Classroom blogs-These two examples (example 1 & example 2) highlight how elementary classroom teachers created a blog and gave their students a wider audience.  With the help of Quad blogging and edublogs, their class blog has had nearly 4,000 views from around the world!
• Facebook–This example is a high school teacher who uses facebook as one way to connect with his students.  By the looks of the page, it is certainly effective.
• Diigo–This diigo group was created by a tech integration coach, and it is used as a way for teams to gather resources together.
• Twitter–Twitter chats are a great way to share and gather valuable resources and information.  This kindergarten chat is just one example.
• Podcasts–These were created by elementary students, and then merged together for one master class podcast.   They certainly sound very professional!

When making decisions about the use of technology in schools, educators need to balance the pros and cons of different types of technology use.  Too often, decisions are made because of the possibility of a small group of students behaving inappropriately.  Unfortunately, those decisions also limit the benefits that many other students would have had.

Nick Sauers

1. Help Iowa’s 1:1 dis­tricts learn from each other about inno­v­a­tive teach­ing, learn­ing, and admin­is­tra­tive prac­tices that are occur­ring in their districts;
2. Build excite­ment and ‘buzz’ around 1:1 lap­top com­put­ing ini­tia­tives in the state; and
3. Help oth­ers who are inter­ested in 1:1 com­put­ing learn more about how to get started and be successful.

If you’d like to attend, please click on one of the links below and register soon!  Each year we have had to turn away participants because of lack of space.  We anticipate very high numbers again this year!

• Gen­eral details
• Reg­is­ter
• Present
• Be a vendor

We hope you will be part of what has become the biggest, and we hope best, one-to-one con­fer­ence in the world!

Nick Sauers

While “tweaking” the syllabus of the former instructor, I carefully considered ways to enhance the course.  With that in mind, I decided to add a component that focused on developing personal learning networks through the use of social media.  In our first class, students actually created a “Low-Tech Social Network” by creating avatars and tags on note cards.  They then had to make connections with one another.  Unfortunately, my board was too small for the group that I had!

(Check out Gamestorming for this activity and many others that are great for work with groups.)

Last week our class dove more deeply into social media, and I was encouraged to blog about my findings :)

Prior to class students read a series of articles around the use of social media in sports organizations.  They also participated in a class discussion board led by two moderators.  I was surprised by how much the discussion threads focused on the student-athletes use of social media. Much of the conversation focused on ways to educate, filter, monitor, or block students use of social media.  Although I found that conversation fascinating, I was more interested in two other ways social media can be used in athletics.  I wanted them to become aware of ways that organizations were using social media.  More importantly, I wanted to help them recognize how they can use social media to stay connected and informed about their profession.  I think this is so important that one of their assignments for the semester is to grow their social presence.  My criteria are fairly lenient.  Some may choose to grow their network by connecting and interacting with others in their field.  Other students may just dip their toes in and use social media as a listening station where they can gain insight from insiders and others in their field.

Although there are sure to be individuals in this new information rich interconnected society who succeed without such tools, they won’t be the norm.  Organizations and individuals who embrace social media will be able to connect in ways that are not possible without the use of technology!

Nick Sauers

• Learning initiative
• Professional development
• Infrastructure
• Digital Citizenship
• Choice
• Time and patience

His list stresses many of the things that I talk about frequently. However, his point about choice is one that I don’t talk about nearly as often.  I like the concept of student choice, and it is certainly a powerful way to engage students in many educational activities.  I also wonder what that looks like in a school setting.  How do teachers deal with it and support students?  How about tech directors?  I’m not opposed, but I get lost in the logistics.  I’d love to know more!

Nick Sauers

Their implementation was different than the ways that many schools implement 1:1, but it is a model others should consider.  The change in their learning environment focused on an instructional change (inquiry based learning).  A 1:1 pilot program was just one part of the plan that would support teachers as they changed the ways that they taught.  Too often, 1:1 schools approach their implementation with a far different approach.  Some simply set their goal as going 1:1, and fail to connect that goal to any learning initiative.  For those of you that have been reading this blog for any length of time, that last sentence should sound familiar.  I am extremely concerned about how often schools transition to 1:1 without having a goal other than “transitioning to 1:1”.  In fact, I think this problem is becoming worse as more and more schools implement 1:1 at a very rapid pace.   There are a couple of good question to ask yourself and your colleagues.  How does 1:1 connect to other learning initiatives in your school?  Is it something separate or is it a tool used to support other plans in your district?  My hope is that more 1:1 schools are able to provide answers to these questions that indicate that 1:1 is connected to a change in the teaching and learning in a school.

• Support:  Don’t throw out all of the resources you currently have.  It may be better to target just one course, or only portions of a course.
• Support:  Find another educator who teaches similar content and ask them to do the same thing and share resources with one another.

Change:  Create or expand your personal learning network.

• Support:  Schedule a 15 minute block once each week to build your network.
• Support:  Find someone who has created a successful PLN to ask about recommended resources.  If you can find someone with similar interests, that will be more helpful.

Change:  Implement an online/virtual component to a course that expands the learning experience for students.  You could partially flip the classroom, bring in virtual guest speakers, or collaborate with another class from a different location.

• Support:  Chat with another teacher at your school or elsewhere who has implemented some of these items.
• Support:  Recruit students to help with the technical aspects of these items.

Change (Administrator Specific): Provide specific feedback to teachers around the ways they are using technology.

• Support:  Identify an “expert” who can help you with your initial walk-throughs.
• Support:  Identify a simple, easy to understand vocabulary that you can use to provide feedback.  Bernajean Porter’s Spectrum is a favorite of mine!

It certainly isn’t realistic or healthy to try to implement all of these changes at once.  However, these items by themselves are things that can be implemented with some effort and commitment.  Good luck and Happy New Year!

Nick Sauers

Focus on HOW you are using technology rather than just IF you are using technology.
I cringe when I hear conversations that focus on whether or not technology is being used (at schools or at home). Sometimes we equate technology use, any technology use, as an improvement to instruction. As teachers and school leaders, the focus needs to shift to HOW technology is being used.  Does it improve the learning experience for students?

Consult the experts about ways to use technology to enhance teaching and learning.
We often think of tech integrators, media directors, and tech savvy teachers as our technology experts in the school.  They certainly are extremely valuable resources. In addition, I strongly encouraged teachers to also identify the experts that exist within their classrooms.  All students certainly are not technology experts, but it is HIGHLY likely that there are a few in nearly every class. 

Create a professional network and stay informed on trends related to your topic.
Developing networks outside of your school building is one way to stay current on whatever you teach.  Technology should certainly be a part of the conversation with any group of educators who come together to discuss educational topics.  Technology is also the tool that will allow teachers to make those connections even when they are not able to meet face-to-face on a regular basis.

Although this list certainly isn’t all inclusive, it hopefully captures a couple of major points to consider for all 1:1 educators.  Keeping these ideas in mind when preparing or working in a 1:1 environment may better prepare teachers to use technology as a real change vehicle.

Nick Sauers

The first major point students made was about the ways that computers were currently being used.  They delivered a message that I often try to deliver.  They described how technology was often used in ways that didn’t really change what they were doing.  It helped them with their organization and may have increased their efficiency,  but it didn’t necessarily change the ways they learned.  That message aligns with the ways that I often see technology used.  My challenge to the administrators at that meeting was to aggressively try to empower teachers to use the technology in ways that will truly change the learning experience of students.  Next week I’ll be working with the entire administration team, and I hope to help them develop a walk-through tool that can assess the ways in which technology is being used.

 The next major point students made was that they wanted to be able to personalize their devices as much as possible and make them their own. The students had questions about the things they would be able to put on their devices as well as summer use.  Obviously, both of these issues present challenges on school owned devices.  They do, however, raise some questions to consider.  Are there ways that students can keep their devices over extended breaks?  If not all students, can some students submit “proposals” why they need their device?  Are there other ways that students can make the device more personal so that they don’t need a second laptop or desktop?

 When describing the design process, my colleague ,John Nash, always highlights the importance of hearing from all stakeholders.  AES faculty were wise to meet with and listen to their students.  The concerns, questions, and opinions they shared should help the school as they transition to 1:1. Similar conversations with student focus groups could also be valuable for any 1:1 school.

*On a personal note, I’m excited to say that I wrote this on my way to the Taj Mahal! It was more spectacular than I imagined!

• Camp 1-Technology is specifically assessed including the frequency and ways in which the technology is being used.
• Camp 2-Individuals who believe technology should not be specifically monitored in the walk-through.  Instead, administrators should just focus on effective instruction recognizing technology is part of that model.

Throwing walk-throughs around technology into two camps is certainly oversimplifying the subject a bit.  However, I do think this oversimplification highlights much of the conversation around what things to include on a walk-through in a technology rich school.  So where should 1:1 schools or other tech-rich schools fall?  My strong belief is that “it depends”.  For schools that are new to 1:1, or are just moving into a technology rich environment, Camp 1 seems to make sense.  After investing hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in technology, I would want to know two things immediately.

How frequently is the technology being used?
How is the technology being used?

• How is the technology impacting student learning?
• How is the technology impacting teaching?

One fear that I do have any time I read a post like this, is that technology will be held responsible as the cause or driving force behind this issue rather than the racist message the teens posted.  Is the medium, technology, truly the culprit here, or is it simply a new broadcasting device?  Although I don’t believe technology is the culprit, I do believe strongly that technology adds a unique dimension to this issue.  The audience and publicity of the message certainly change things.  Schools need to focus on educating students about all of the ramifications of their digital footprint.  Unfortunately, that focus is often on the negative things such as this.  A common message is, “Don’t post X, Y, or Z on (insert web 2.0 tool here)”.  That message certainly needs to be shared with students, but it shouldn’t be the only message.  There should also be a focus on all of the positive things students can accomplish using social media.  Social media can also be used as a tool for positive social change!  I worry that a post like the one mentioned may encourage people to dwell on only the negative aspects.  Schools should not forget to focus on the good, as well as the negative, uses of social media!

Nick Sauers

Nick Sauers

• Effective leadership
• Dr. Schrum stressed how leadership was key to systematic change.
• A clear vision
• I have frequently observed the lack of vision as one of the most common flaws with schools that implement 1:1.  The school leaders in the book established a clear vision for their school.
• Risk taking
• Dr. Schrum talked about how teachers were able to be risk takers and were not afraid.  Does your school encourage that type of behavior?
• Changing teaching practices
• A big focus of many of the schools was project based learning.  She also talked about how many of the successful teachers focused on students “showing” their knowledge.  One example she used was of students who were able to choose the format they would use to present information.
• Teachers also used technology to easily collect and sort data so that they could adjust instruction.