PD Opportunities this winter with MassCUE

MassCUE is again offering a variety of PD opportunities during the winter. Here are a few that might be right for you. Follow the link to learn more about the details. REGISTRATION

Going Google:  Google Tools and Apps for Classroom Use*
This multi-session, online workshop is comprised of several components that allow participants to explore the many tools provided by the Google platform.  Participants will use Google as a means to organize, facilitate, assess, create, and collaborate with students and other colleagues. They will learn about the power of these tools and discuss how they might be implemented in a classroom.  Workshop participants will explore and learn about each Google feature and then create a use-case or activity. January 7 through February 4, 2016

Did They Really Get it?  Web tools to help with Formative or Summative Assessment
In this single session, on-site workshop you will learn how to incorporate a few fun and engaging tools that will help you gather information on your students as they work towards their learning goals in your classroom. Web 2.0 tools like Kahoot, Socrative, Educanon, Exit Ticket and Plickers will be examined.  You will walk away with a toolbox of resources that are easy to use in your classroom to help you better understand what your students understand. January 26, 2016

Motivation, Management and Media:  Using Web 2.0 Tools to Focus Student Attention*
In this four session, online workshop you will learn how to use a variety of simple, yet powerful, web 2.0 tools that will help you manage student behavior as well as motivate students, focus their attention on learning, and do it in fun and engaging ways!  February 3 through March 8, 2016

* indicates university graduate credit is available

What is OER?

Open Educational Resources is a  library of lesson plans, teaching materials, videos, presentations, e-books and many more resources completely free. These can be as simple as a single image to a complete online course.

You can access the resources at OER Commons.

OER is supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, who's image of OER is  "teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use and re-purposing by others. Open educational resources include full courses, course materials, modules, textbooks, streaming videos, tests, software, and any other tools, materials, or techniques used to support access to knowledge."'

Here's a recent article in edutopia explaining more about OER

Great Day at Ed Tech Teacher Conference

Yesterday I attended a one day Ed Tech Teacher conference at Medfield HS just up the road. It was a great day, lots of enthusiastic teachers, mostly from schools nearby (although there was a team of 3 from Nantucket) and broad mix of levels - K through 12 and a dose of administrators thrown in as well.

Myth Busters:

These conferences draw a younger crowd, as there is a clear generational divide regarding familiarity and comfort with technology use.

FALSE

Sure, there were younger teachers - thirty-somthings and younger - but I also saw and met quite a few veteran teachers with 15 to 20 years experience. About half were teachers 45 - 55!

It's not about your age, it's about your attitude

Tom Dacord, the founder of Ed Tech Teacher, was a keynote speaker. He's a former history teacher and his talk was about how it's not the technology that matters, but our vision of awesome learning does. Like this Ad from way back touting a typewriter as an Ed Tech innovation with impact! It was another variation on a theme that pops up in the Ed Tech community every so often - I last saw it on the EdSurge blog about how technology won't save our schools.




He showed this video from this year's Google Science Fair. Pretty awesome high school student!

Someday/Monday

He talked about a clever way of thinking about this problem: Someday/Monday. Someday is your vision, your goal, where you want to be someday (unclear) and maybe not sure just exactly how you're going to get there. Someday is your image of what Awesome Learning looks like.

In contrast, Monday is what steps, what tangible actions, what projects you can undertake now, on Monday when you've attended a weekend conference, that can move your teaching practice in the direction of Someday, however small and incremental.

He emphasized, and I think quite rightly, that if you don't have vision, if you don't have a plan with intended outcomes, all you have is a collection of gizmos and confusing tangles of files and programs. But no real expansion in learning.

Another speaker emphasized the importance of not focusing all our attention on Google Apps, but to be open and aware of other platforms. Not only is it a wise choice to select tools based on effectiveness over vendor, but it is also important for preparing students for the real world of work - where everything is not neatly packaged up and organized for you. He argued that Classroom is great for teachers, but questioned if we are doing our students a disservice by having an environment that is so streamlined and well organized when a key job skill is being able to organize a project or set of tasks out of the chaos.

Workshops

I took in a couple of exciting workshops and I'll publish additional blog posts to cover the details. In one workshop we focused on variety of tools and methods for providing rich feedback to student work online - using text, audio, and video. Cool tools.

A second workshop was about using YouTube for online extra help, student projects, or lesson review/study guides.

Teach 'em to Code

There were quite a few teachers there who represented schools committed to the Hour of Code. Interestingly, a number of these teachers are at the Elementary and Middle levels. In one of the workshops I sat next to a woman (veteran science teacher of 17 years) who is teaching programming at a K-5 school in Carver.  Lower grades are using symbolic programming tools like MIT's Scratch, but 4th and 5th graders are creating mobile apps using Java scripting tools!

 Hour of Code

The Hour of Code is a grassroots campaign with the goal of engaging tens of millions of students worldwide to try an Hour of Code during December 7-13, in celebration of Computer Science Education Week. Learn more about the Hour of Code at hourofcode.org.

MassCUE December Newsletter

Recent News from MassCUE

MassCUE Grants for Classrooms
Do you have an innovative idea for using classroom technology with your students and need some funds to get the project going? We are pleased to announce that the 2016 MassCUE Grant process is now open! MassCUE awards competitive grants up to $3,000 for innovative technology-enhanced, student-centered projects and lessons. The MassCUE grant application is a 3-page application with a required letter of administrative support. All grant documents including a grant rubric and timetable can be downloaded from the MassCUE Grants website page.
Deadline: January 1, 2016


MassCUE Winter Camp featuring Google Apps for Education offers a full day of hands-on workshops taught by experienced Google certified teachers to promote better learning in the classroom.

Date: February 18, 2016 (during Feb. vacation), 8:30 to 3:30 pm
Location: Manchester-Essex Regional Middle School
Cost: $65 (includes lunch and demo slam!)

Limit: Registration is limited to first 100 teachers
Registration will open December 15, 2015


Big Deal Book of Technology Newsletter
Maximize Technology in Your Classroom with Big Deal Media and MassCUE
MassCUE partners with Big Deal Media to bring you the Big Deal Book of Technology Newsletter, featuring contests, resources, and information designed to bring the power of the web to your classroom. The Big Deal Book newsletter will give you great ideas for your classroom. Although it is K-12 focused, there are plenty of ideas & examples from high school classrooms.
Click here for the December 2015 issue

Online Google PD Opportunity

Thanks, Stephanie, for passing this along.

Simple K-12, an organization that markets teaching resources and professional development, is holding a free, online Google Apps training targeted to teachers this Saturday, 21 November from 10:00 to 3:30.

The session topics look pretty interesting; this is great opportunity for those who are 'beginner' users. Because it's online, you can pick the ones you think most useful, skip the rest. What's particularly useful with sessions like this is how the presenter will explain the application in the context of a classroom setting and not just some generic "this button does .... ".

Register

Session 1:  10:00-10:30AM EST
Presented by Jenna Linskens
Getting Started with Google Tools: An Intro for Educators

Session 2:  11:00 - 11:30AM EST
Presented by Lyn Hilt
Streamline Collaboration and Communication with Google Docs

Session 3:  12:00 - 12:30PM EST
Presented by Kim Munoz
Time-Saving Forms, Surveys, and Quizzes with Google Forms

Session 4:  1:00 - 1:30PM EST
Presented by Matt Bergman
10 Ways Google Can Increase Student Engagement

Session 5:  2:00 - 2:30PM EST
Presented by Naomi Harm
Creating a Community of Learners with Google Hangouts

Session 6:  3:00 - 3:30PM EST
Presented by Shervette Miller-Payton
Google Guru: 20 Hidden Google Tricks for Schools and Classrooms

An Excellent Source for Teaching Materials - PBS LearningMedia

Thanks to several teachers who shared this with me.  PBS Learning Media is an excellent source for teaching resources on a wide variety of topics and methods of instruction.

HOME FIND RESOURCES TOOLS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT LOG IN            HOME FIND RESOURCES TOOLS PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT LOG IN "Get Your Tech On" is back by popular demand! Enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win tech-themed prizes including: local PD trainings; a trip to Austin, TX to attend the TCEA 2016 Convention & Exposition; or Chromebooks and a document camera for your class.  ENTER SWEEPSTAKES  TONIGHT! Webinar: Apps, Tools, and Tech Tips You Can Use Tomorrow Looking to expand your digital toolkit? Join PBS LearningMedia for an edtech 'show and tell' with tech guru Leslie Fisher. During the hour, Leslie will showcase a range of apps, tools and gadgets and explore practical tips and solutions for integrating technology into your classroom. You will walk away with a range of new ideas that will wow your colleagues and students! Tuesday, November 17 | 7pm ET Register Now Webinar: Tips for Transforming Your Classroom into a Personalized Learning Environment What does "personalized learning" really mean and how do we shift the culture in our schools to ensure personalized instruction is meaningful and effective? Join PBS LearningMedia to unpack this popular topic and hear from the perspective of a high school teacher and former school administrator. Thursday, December 3 | 7pm ET Register Now Tip: Check Out the "Get Your Tech On" Resource Collection Get the tools you need to navigate and succeed in the digital age of learning. To get started, we've compiled our favorite technology-themed resources designed to enhance your lesson plans and spark discussion in the classroom. Topics include: 21st century learning, careers in technology, adaptive technologies, and using video games to enhance learning. View Collection Tip: Did You Know PBS LearningMedia Offers FREE Training Videos? Looking to use PBS LearningMedia in your school or classroom but not sure where to start? Visit our Training page! From a one hour "PBS LearningMedia 101" tutorial to short videos on how to use PBS LearningMedia's Teacher Tools, you'll discover new ideas to integrate media and technology more deeply into your lesson planning. View Training Page

MassCUE Conference - Fall, 2015

This past Wednesday and Thursday I attended the MassCUE (Massachusetts Computer Using Educators) annual Fall conference at Gillette Stadium. It was an awesome event, as usual. Probably 2,500 attendees (I guesstimate); the conference organizers reported that there were 1,700 classroom teachers, mainly MA, but some from RI and CT. Plymouth public schools sent 38 classroom teachers and administrators. There were Superintendents, Assistant Supers, Principals, Chief Technologists, Instructional Technology coordinators, and classroom teachers from K to Community College level.

The energy was amazing, positive, inspiring. There are teachers all over the Commonwealth doing amazing work in their classrooms using video production, audio recording, graphic arts, blogging, and more. There were also a few sessions focusing on the transformation of the school library from the traditional book depository to the active, engaging Learning Commons. Fantastic stuff.

What I like most about this conference is that, despite being a "technology conference" it is definitely not some sort of geek-fest. It's really about how technology opens doors, breaks barriers, for successful, deeper learning. More than half of all the workshop sessions are designed and delivered by classroom teachers to other classroom teachers about how this or that technology has enabled them to efficiently, effectively use project based learning, or create a more student centered classroom, or truly differentiate their instruction so all their students succeed.

Videos of the keynote addresses should be available in a couple of days. when they are, I'll post them for those who are interested.


What Did I learn?
I tried to focus in on a couple of topics while also taking in as much on the periphery as I could. Going 1-to-1, expanding and enhancing the adoption of digital technology throughout the community and employing video (both for instruction and for student assessment).


1-to-1
Going 1-to-1 is not about the devices, it's about how you transform your curriculum. If you keep doing things the same way and simply drop a bunch of laptops into the classroom, you fail. This is why professional development for teachers is so critical. Duxbury devoted 2 years of their PD time strictly to technology and the interaction of tech and pedagogy. They also provided lots of additional incentives, including PDP graduate credits through FItchburg State, for teachers.

And because going 1-to-1 is more about transformation than computers and wires and routers and stuff, having a clear vision, communicating that vision from the top, having a strong cross-disciplinary planning team, and building buy-in at all levels of the organization are critical.


Coaching Teachers in adoption of digital technology
The key message here: look for the "win" for the teacher (based on what their concerns, goals, and perspective). We looked at ways to present technology to different types of teachers so that it directly addressed their goals, their teaching practice, and their concerns. Some good insights here.


I also attended a sessions on the Paperless Classroom and Teaching in a BYOD Classroom, both to gain practical ideas about adoption of tech.


Using Video
Finally, I sat in a session on using video for student assessment and demonstration of learning. This amazing French teacher has her students work in small groups to create 10 - 15 minute videos, in French of course, on whatever topic they want (drama, horror, comedy, doesn't matter). English subtitles are required, of course. A couple of film clips she showed were fantastic. Everything about the film production is in French, of course; storyboard, script, camera direction, etc. Everything is done with readily accessible tools, nothing really expensive.