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Click to View My Twitter Page

Getting Started

To be completely honest, my least favorite part of Facebook for years, was the postings.  It seemed odd to me that people would share so much, from the mundane, “Today went grocery shopping”, to the extremely intimate, “Got cancer again”, to the over-opinionated, “Don’t get your children vaccinated or your they will die,” posted right above, “Get your children vaccinated or they will die.”

When I heard there was an app, Twitter, that was only the posts part of Facebook, I thought, “There’s one app I’m sure to use…never.”  A few years ago, the tech specialist at our school made a big push to set-up Twitter accounts. Not being one to say no to people who have always said yes to me, I set up my account…and then literally posted nothing…ever.  

It wasn’t until I was assigned to introduce myself to the Twitterverse in my Integrating Technology graduate class, that I really started seeing Twitter as a resource for teachers.  After participating in an ICE Chat, I realized that there were teachers not only talking about their effective teaching strategies, but also sharing their resources.  Videos, articles, quotes, projects and printables were all available on Twitter. 

First up, ollow 20 people/organizations that are involved with education.  The first few were easy.  Friends of mine who are educators, the tech specialists in our district, and a few Professional Learning Networks like ICE and Edmodo.  The rest came via searching with #’s (#math or #5thgrade).  Even after all of this, I still found I needed a handful more to follow.  This would become much more manageable after I participated in my first twitter chat through ICE’s Personal Learning online discussion called an "Ice Chat". 

The Chat

I was a little nervous going into it.  How would I know if people saw my responses? What if my responses suggested I had no clue what I was talking about? Would I remember to tag #edu776nz?  

When the chat began, I felt like things were happening at blazing speeds.  By the time I read a tweet and hit “Live” there were 5 more tweets that I had to read.  I wanted to contribute to the conversation, so I decided I would answer the first of eight questions chatters were responding to.  I quickly learned I had to paraphrase as best as possible to be able to get my message across.  It made me wonder if in general I talk too much. Probably.

By the end of the chat I felt like my neurons were firing.  The questions posed led to introspective thinking of best practices.  This metacognition I feel leads to some of my best personal development.  The chat also proved useful in finding other people to follow.  I was able to recognize that there were some members of the chat who had experience executing personalized learning and could provide insight on how to achieve it.  I also found that if there is a person you follow who you find resourceful, chances are they follow people who also are resourceful too.

To view opportunities for upcoming ICE Chats click here.

New Resource:

PracTutor

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Do you know Hardik Parikh? Neither did I until he started following me on twitter.  Turns out that he co-founded a tool called PracTutor.  PracTutor is a program that customizes learning for each student based on individual skills and empowers them to master every concept of the Common Core Standards in grades 1 through 8.  They claim, “All kids - whether they need intervention, accelerated learning or career and college readiness, can achieve their goals.”  While I can’t say that I have used the program, I do like the concept behind it, and like how it addresses personalized learning.  While I wouldn’t use this as my only curriculum, I think it would be beneficial to supplement with this tool and use it as a Tier II intervention you could progress monitor with.  Another bonus is that the format mirrors PARCC questions so students could get exposure and practice to the types of questions they will see on their state assessments.

Program Components
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Click here to watch a tutorial on PracTutor

Not only does Practutor seem like a useful program, I also appreciate how they tweet articles and videos that are thought provoking and very relevant to the teaching profession.

Stages of Technology Integration

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     In the 1980's, Apple did a study on classroom teachers. "State of the Art" computers were given to volunteer teachers who were intentionally given little instruction, on the condition that they keep journals of their experience.  If a teacher was selected, their classroom received computers.  In addition, both students and teachers received computers for home use.  What were they hoping to find?  I'm not sure if even they knew.  I believe they just wanted to see how the technology would be used. What did they find based off of the teachers' journal entries? There were 5 stages teachers went through.

Stage 1: Entry

     I would describe this as the Anti-Technology stage.  People in this stage most likely don't have the technology, don't know how to use the technology, and as a result, don't like the technology.  It is of my personal belief that if the teachers understood the technology better, they wouldn't be as opposed to it.

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Stage 2: Adoption

      This stage is less Anti-Technology as it is not knowing technology.  Like Stage 1, Adoption doesn't use technology, but it is more due to a lack of knowledge rather than a negative viewpoint.

Stage 3: Adaption

      Now we're taking baby steps. We are seeing our first traces of technology, which most likely comes in the form of typing a document using a word processor.  Students are probably learning how to type, use grammar/spell check, save and print.  The Apple study described this phase as slow going and frustrating.

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Stage 4: Appropriation

     We're moving in the right direction! During Appropriation, the teacher has had the wool over their eyes removed and now see how much technology has to offer.  They start playing around with it and start to feel good about themselves.  Not only are they open to adding technology into their classroom, they now want their lesson and assessments to be embedded with technology.  While Apple obviously views this as a good thing, they noticed that teachers in this stage might go overboard and use technology just for the sake of using technology.

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Look at all these possibilities!!!

Stage 5: Innovation

      After spending time in Stage 4, you are now ready to move on to Innovation!  Teachers in this stage have been exposed to many different examples of technology and can be more selective in which technology works best for them and their curriculum.  They realize that not one technology tool works for everybody, and in some instances, students might feel better demonstrating knowledge without the use of technology.

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     Now that we have the 5 Stage of Technology Integration described, I need to figure out which stage I'm in.  It was very clear that I was well beyond the first 3 stages.  There were many things in Stage 4 that reminds me of myself.  Jerri G and I were the first (and maybe only) two volunteers to get a classroom Smart Board out of all the teachers at our school.  While I didn't know very much about interactive white boards at the time, I knew that it would make my life easier (typing/projecting notes vs using the messy overhead) and that it would engage students.  When I started using Open Education Resources (OERs) from LearnZillion, Khan Academy, Smart Exchange, and YouTube, my collection of resources went from a single textbook to a global collection gathered from experienced and innovative teachers.

     The other trait of Stage 4: Appropriation that I saw in myself was the "excess" or an eagerness to use as much technology as possible.   The good thing about this is that it exposed me to a wealth of technology resources, but perhaps it was too much.  Instead of really delving into just a few resources, I was scratching the surface of many, without realizing their full potential.  There were a few tools I would show my students, we would play around with it for a day or two, and then move on.  

    One major question I have is if it is possible to leapfrog Stage 4 and go right to Stage 5.  At first, I almost felt defensive when Stage 4 was described as the stage of "excess", but in my opinion, I think Stage 4 is a necessary step to get to Stage 5.  If the teacher doesn't have a strong desire to play around and use a wealth of technology, they will never be exposed to the many wonderful tools it has to offer.  How can you help your kids problem solve/ trouble shoot if you've never had to do it yourself? How can you become selective in your technology choices if you haven't thrown yourself out there and immersed yourself in technology?

MY STAGE: 4.5

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I hate to make it a .5, but I feel I'm not quite firmly planted in either.  While I still love exploring all the new things out there, I do believe I'm no longer using technology just to use technology.  The technology embedded in my classroom allows my students to access all my notes and instructional videos, provides me with immediate formative assessments, and allows my students choice when demonstrating knowledge, as well as authentic audiences for their work.  I'm not sure I will ever by completely in Stage 5, because there is always new technology I am seeking out.  Sometimes this makes it hard for me to hyper focus on one or two, but at least it exposes to me to all the wonderful things out there.