Comments on: Become Better at Teaching with Technology, Conquering One Tech Challenge a Month for a Year

By: Dave Solon

Dave Solon — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 15:52:13 +0000

I’m a few days late to this, but after reading the suggestions, how about #10 being: “Create a free blog to reflect on the 9 previous listed items.” You might just add another blogger to the fold.

By: E. Wilson

E. Wilson — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:23:05 +0000

Check out Curriki – It’s a free wiki for teachers to share resources.

As for the social bookmarking, I started with Delicious, but have since moved onto Diigo – a much better tool to introduce to students. Works very much like Facebook BUT has great internet researching capabilities.

Another freeware tool I’ve been using is C-Maps, which I have recently discovered has a sharing component to it as well.

And thanks for all the new stuff to look at!

By: Beth Knittle

Beth Knittle — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:48:49 +0000

Coming late to the conversation so many great ideas have already been shared. Pigging backing on Chris’ comment about social bookmarking, I have found one of tools that get teachers hooked on web 2.0 are wikis. I would have teachers collaborate on a wiki. They can share resources and information with students, parents and each other. We have teachers create wikis that address specific needs for kids and they are well used by both students and parents.

By: Deanna

Deanna — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:25:22 +0000

What a great idea! I think one of the best things teachers can do when embarking on such a journey is to find a buddy! I couldn’t learn all these things without the help of my network on Twitter or here at work. Always include tech support in your buddy system. It doesn’t seem like such a huge leap to social networking when you are already working with someone else nearby on a regular basis. So maybe if you start with a LB (Learning Buddy) eventually you can develop a PLN! (Acronym for everything? AFE)

By: Heather Sullivan

Heather Sullivan — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:21:19 +0000

My suggestion is to embrace a Digital Storytelling Tool- that is, find a tool that your students will enjoy that will help them learn to OWN their voices & their words and to be PROUD of them too Tools like Animoto & Voicethread are great for this. Every teacher in every subject can find a way to authentically incorporate digital storytelling into their curriculum (i.e. You don’t have to be an English teacher to help students tell stories. Stories are how we learn about EVERYTHING!). For example, if you teach science, you can have your students create digital stories to recount a lab they performed as an alternative to the traditional one-dimensional “lab report”.

The challenge sounds GREAT! I’m game!

By: jenwagner

jenwagner — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:06:27 +0000

I think the tech challenge I would offer is to not see is ONLY as tech. To take a look at your worksheets and textbooks and then find an alternate way of teaching it……….same topic, new way.

I would also offer a challenge to teachers who say “well I don’t have a projector — so how can I” to start using their “teacher computer” as a center and start working with small groups. This will help you see student’s understanding better as well as learn yourself in a smaller setting.

I guess my biggest challenge would be to ADVANCE. If you have been teaching for 5+ years or more and have become content and confident…….it is time to change. So look for ways to do things new.

By: Rob Newberry

Rob Newberry — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:39:13 +0000

Great ideas here.

As a technology teacher, I would say get teachers into really exploring Google Earth. The benefits of bringing the world into the classroom are huge – so investing in a projector, a laptop and an internet connection makes it worthwhile when you have amazing free apps like GE.
Students can get some fluency with GE, start photographing their community, and post it on the Google Earth Community. So many projects can be imagined with this and the GE Community adds a whole new depth.

By: jclerch

jclerch — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:35:11 +0000

I would respectfully suggest three challenges to increase the use of technology while at the same time maintaining genuine collaborative learning experiences for students. By using these ideas, student investment in learning is encouraged, reliance in online collaboration is enhanced, and the intensity of interaction between classroom time and online interaction is genuinely supported.

First, put applicable standards in front of the students, and then ask them the question that is being asked here, and then follow up on their ideas. If students feel like they have a voice, they will let you know what they want to learn, and how their learning ties into the applicable standards. And if there is concern for anonymity, consider using a confidential survey.

As far as incorporating new technology, I would recommend introducing students to http://evernote.com, once it is up and running again, http://etherpad.com, and finally http://twitter.com. All three of these applications are valuable tools for collaboration.

A third idea that I am trying involves using Understanding By Design’s “Facets of Understanding.” I am having students write “Explain” essays on diverse topics (one topic per student in the class) and post them on a “ning” type site. Once posted, I expect peer editing, as well as for each student to develop an understanding of what is written. Next, we will put each author on the hotseat for ten minutes. Upper level thinking questions should be used to make sure the author (and the questioners) understand their topics. Then we move to the next “Facet of Understanding” – Interpretation, and a new student will add an interpretive addition to the already-started essay. We will continue doing this until each “Facet of Understanding” (“Apply”, “Perspective”, “Empathize”, and “Self-Knowledge”) has been written about, all of them by a different student. This entire process is supported by technology that allows for online collaboration. The end product should be an impressive, comprehensive essay that not only answers the question, but permits students to experience first-hand the power of collaboration.

All three ideas, each supported by technology, and each encouraging an in-depth use of some of the latest technology, will permit teachers with limited use of technology in the classroom, to introduce the use of technology in a meaningful way.

By: Cheryl Oakes

Cheryl Oakes — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:19:19 +0000

My one thing to get a teacher or administrator or student hooked.
Teach Google Alert to help deliver content to your email. It is a great way to keep track of news about a single topic! You feel so important when that email comes in with just the nugget of information you were looking for, anywhere from a research topic to the news about the basketball team.

By: Jeff

Jeff — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 13:16:46 +0000

I think you defined the critical piece: “Let’s assume that teachers answering the challenge are already quality teachers in many ways – they embrace project based learning, they share their enthusiasm for their subject, they care about kids and learning, and they work to make the classroom to be student-centered. They have always taught for critical and creative thinking, they have high expectations, and they encourage collaboration.”
Teachers that embrace such a philosophy of teaching and learning are, IMO, much more likely to be using technology in interesting and creative ways with their students. For those of us supporting and managing technology in schools, it needs to be emphasized that teachers first need to be here, in their minds and in actual practice, before the “tech thing” evolves beyond — paraphrasing Bernajean Porter — the look-it-up-and-tell-me-back approach.
I don’t even like having workshops or in-services with technology in the title any more. Doing so seems to divorce the content — in the minds of those attending — from the real focus of improving teaching and focusing on student outcomes.
My 2¢…