The Technology Edge: We venture into uncharted waters with enthusiasm and a zest for exploration

Lori Franklin, LMS/NBCTOlathe East High School

Olathe, KS

Uncharted

• We know what is available to us in terms of hardware, software and experiences.

• What we do not know is where we could actually end up on our journey…

The questions…

• Who’s job is it to determine the journey’s end point and success level?

• The teacher?• The student?• The team?

The Box

• Educators and those who rule education like to say they are thinking outside of the box.

• Most of the time, they are in the box.

http://www.socialtikmag.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/man-in-box1.jpg

What’s good about The Box?

• Knowns• Tangibles• Baselines

What’s not so good about The Box?

• Missed opportunities• Growth• 24/7 educational

experiences• 21st century student-

centered learning• Affects desire for lifelong

learning

http://www.newyorkparkingticket.com/Portals/41340/images//NYPT---Stuck%20inside%20a%20box.jpg

Did you know?

• In many schools, we still ask students to sit for several hours a day at desks, listening (or not) to a teacher as he or she lectures?

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Participatory Learning

• Chen’s Many to Many model

• Leaves the “Sage on the Stage” model

• Requires group collaboration

• Needs new assessment tools

• Should be frequently evolving to meet needs

Olathe East High School

One-to-one Palm initiative

• 1,500 students check out Palm handheld devices for the school year

• Usage varies from word processing to using temperature probes attached to the Palms.

http://www.palminfocenter.com/images/img_PalmInClass.jpg

The current scenario

• 500 PCs• 250 laptops stored in mobile carts• Minimum of one PC in every classroom; some

rooms have more; labs typically have 25 PCs• Average class size is approaching 30

Budget effects

• Time/personnel constraints• Purchasing power• Reduced spending per

student

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NCLB effects

• Teaching to test• Less personal investment in subject matter• Lack of context across subjects• Focus on end point, not the learning process

OE School Library

Teacher/Librarian Immersion Levels

• Isolation• Semi-isolation• Semi-immersion (PC lab)• Immersion

Immersion looks like:

• Collaborative planning• Multi-standard driven• Real-world problem solving• Authentic assessment• Ongoing evaluation

Example: the “Country Report”

• Put the focus on building a knowledge base• No PowerPoint allowed!• Student collaboration and peer review• Made the student the expert• Constructive comments expected• This project provided frustration, exhilaration,

and student learning beyond rote memorization of facts

Thinking outside The Box:

• College Prep English IV – blogging about the novel Frankenstein with a partner school; wiki creation, meeting in person to share results; effects

• Algebra III, pre-Calculus – all classes podcasted; use of cell phones as “clickers”

• Edmodo

Some don’t…

• Using assignments from 5 years ago• Isolated teaching• Not reaching out with online resources

(eBooks, databases, Skype with experts, Edmodo, wikis, pod/vodcasting, Moodle)

Special learners lose out

• Boys better served by breaking up instruction with physical activity each hour

• ELL learners left behind• SPED students receive modifications but not

necessarily modified teaching, which should include a continual assessment/modification cycle to determine if learning is occurring.

2 Reports

• Horizon Report: K-12 Edition - The New Media Consortium - Updated annually - Identifies trends, challenges, what’s next

• Speak Up Study - Project Tomorrow initiative - Nearly 2 million informants (students, teachers, administrators, parents)

Horizon Report Findings: #1

• Technology is: - means for empowering students - method for communication & socializing - ubiquitous transparent part of student lives

Horizon Report Findings: #2

• Technology has a profound affect on the way we work, collaborate, communicate and succeed.

Horizon Report Findings: #3

• Increasing interest in just-in-time, alternative, or non-formal avenues of education: - online learning - mentoring - independent study

http://www.northcantonschools.org/nccs/images/stories/news/2010/02/distance-learning-gt-texas.jpg

Horizon Report Findings: #4

• The way we think of learning environments is changing

Challenges

• The Horizon Report outlines several challenges. Especially telling is this statement:

• “Students are different, but educational practice and the materials that support it are changing only slowly.”

Thinking outside The Box

• The Horizon Report describes how today’s learning and education must happen outside of physical walls and time/distance constraints.

• Students expect to seek out expert opinions other than the teacher who is in the room with them!

Speak Up

• Students identified as “Free Agent Learners”• School building, teacher, and textbook no

longer have a monopoly on knowledge, content or the educational process.

• Students seek personalized learning.

http://www.iusb.edu/~cted/Images/Fotolia_Distance-Learning.gif

More Speak Up

• Students want: - Social-based learning - Untethered learning - Digitally rich learning

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URLs

• Horizon Reports (2011 & 2010):http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2011-Horizon-Report-K12.pdfhttp://wp.nmc.org/horizon-k12-2010/

Speak Upwww.tomorrow.org

How to be there, 24/7

• LibGuides• Databases• eBooks• E-mail• Web presence

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LibGuides

• Helps you reach out to everyone• Always available• Includes collaborative ability for teamwork• Multi-functional

Databases

• Meet a variety of reading and comprehension needs

• Includes format functionality: MP3 files and translations of articles

• Always available• Flexible and powerful

eBooks

• Available 24/7 for varied amounts of check out time (2-3 weeks for some eBooks)

• Personal assistant example• Flexibility for assignments (requirement for

print and electronic sources)

E-mail

• You can help students outside of school hours

• Gmail student accounts• Google Docs and other Google

tools• File transfer from home• My students know I will

frequently check my work e-mail and return their queries quickly!

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Web Presence

• Up to date information available immediately• Links to other items just discussed -

integration• Library Thing• Podcasts

http://teachers.olatheschools.com/~lfranklinoe/

Questions in my head

• What do we need to learn about students in order to best meet their needs?

• How can we tap into students’ love of their cell phones in order to help them learn more?

• Can we mesh cell phone use with classroom instruction?

• How can I make my own library program into a better fit with student learning processes?

One more question:

• Maybe “Education Nation” needs one more edge…one that interweaves what we know about how school librarians impact student achievement.

• If not an edge, can the school librarian and all that he or she influences become a guiding force that touches and influences all of the edges?