Degrees of Tech Use in Education

I've been working on this thought for awhile, but the missing piece came from a simply stated insight from Terry Heick in this short interview. He said his advice to teachers regarding tech integration would be:

"Think of it as a learning tool, not a teaching tool."

It's my job to help teachers infuse more technology into their instruction and that is too often hindered by a misunderstanding of terms. It is easy for some teachers to say they integrate technology because they use their interactive whiteboards and students play on Study Island in the lab.

But technology use in education has to be seen as a spectrum, not a yes-no question as to whether a computer is on in the classroom.  I'm sure some of the distinctions I make below would not matter in all schools, but here is the image and terminology I will begin using as I teach teachers.



Of course, my goal is to help every teacher to take the next step toward the innovation end of the spectrum. First, I want them to identify where their instruction would fall on the scale most days using this criteria:

• Teacher use - The technology is in the teacher's hands and it is essential for her to do her job. Examples - Lesson in PowerPoint projected in front of the room, lesson plans done in a calendar shared with the principal, grading program
• Student use - Students need to use technology to complete the lesson. Examples - Watch Khan Academy videos at home, find the assignment in Edmodo, read the article in Newsela
• Integration - This is the important distinction for me because I am working toward integration of content objectives and technology skills. Here students can't complete the lesson without learning a new technology skill. Examples of this could look like student use above, but the difference is the teacher designed the learning so most or all students will use a new tool in a new way to learn a new skill. The step in tech skills has to be small enough that it enhances rather than distracts from the learning of the content.
• Innovation - Here the teacher is using the technology to design learning experiences no one else has used before. This is exciting, but difficult work. It stems from a high degree of digital literacy in which the teacher thinks creatively with the technology, expressing herself through the blend of her unique personality and broad range of personal experiences.

Two thoughts:

• Each level is a spectrum as well. There are levels of tech integration and levels of innovation. The idea of what counts as "new" can relate more or less to the teachers and students themselves, the district as a whole or possibly the world.
• I will be thrilled to have all teachers at the Integration stage. Innovation is vital and I believe passionate teachers will automatically move in that direction. We need innovators leading the way, both in the world at large and within our districts. However, students acquiring appropriate tech skills within the context of content are a lessons is exciting.

If this becomes an effective tool in our district I will follow up with some examples.

Quotes and thoughts for teachers and leaders

At some point I started turning the things I say regularly at school and my more popular tweets into the little word posters we see plastered all over the internet and social media.  I compiled most of them here, each with a brief thought. 

Please feel free to share or use them as slides or images for presentations. A link to my blog or my profile on Twitter is appreciated. 

One variation on my "play or make something" routine...

Here are a few that sum up everything I'm learning from all my "teaching like an artist" thinking. 

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Artists dream big and do what it takes to make the dream real. They are motivated by letting their ideas spread and they love to share the ideas with others. School needs more of these people!

Too often we forget that technology allows us to connect and to do something big now. I know students don't think of it much. They are bombarded with free entertainment instead. The chance to do something big now is why I'm not big on talking about career planning or getting a high paying job someday. 

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Change happens a heart at a time and for school, those hearts will mostly be those of the teachers. Let them see us learning.

This picture that came to mind when I discovered the power of creativity in school. It has received a lot of attention in the years since.

Technology integration doesn't mean there's a computer on in the room or even that a student is engaged in an activity at a computer. 

We don't often grade on the creativity and it's not on the list of learning objectives. That's fine, but that doesn't mean it's not important in all grades and subjects.

This is the key to success I always taught my students. 

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It's no wonder the students get bored with school. We all are wired to learn so we can do. Focus on the doing and design it so learning happens. 

This was my most tweeted thought ever. It would be displayed before a learning activity. I designed it for a session for teachers, but any secondary class might benefit from it. I wrote a lot more about it here. 

The only question that matters when working for success. 

Don't forget it's not about the tools. Let students be amazed with what they can accomplish. 

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My favorite things to assign students (that they enjoyed too)

I've been working on a book for a few months now. While finishing a chapter tonight, I was thinking of some things I have assigned over the years that students really enjoyed and that I also had fun making up, talking about or grading.

In no particular order, here's my list:

• Self-reflection journals - I love to have students think about what they have learned or can learn from their own lives. Sometimes we delve into memories and sometimes we plan the future. The idea is to make school more purposeful by tying the content from the lesson to their lives. I believe all truly important learning has to start with a sense of purpose.
• Reading interviews with artists - I like to have them look up the person behind their favorite entertainment and read an interview with the person. I am inspired by how my favorite artists think and I want the students to see that they do in fact think.
• Similarly, quote assignments - Students love to find quotes they can relate to. I have them add the quote to pictures or incorporate them in their presentations in some way. You can also have students try to write their own "quote worthy" statements. We did one with six-word memoirs.
• Writing scripts for videos - I don't recall anyone ever asking me what they were getting for a grade when they were writing a script or otherwise planning a video. It is an engaging activity.  When assigned properly, it simply cannot be done well without deeply thinking about the subject matter. Here are my recent video assignments for high school students.
• Writing songs - These assignments can be difficult for students, but they are rewarding for all involved when the work is completed. Be sure to check those final submissions for plagiarism! See this page for my work in this area.
• Puzzles - It is getting harder and harder to make a good assignment out of these if the internet is within reach. If you make your own it's still possible to get students thinking about a good challenge, though. My favorite creations involved:
• A long list of directions that took them throughout pages in their math books.  Each step had them look up something that was used in the next step. 
• A triple puzzle I created that had scrambled words (usually content area words, but some teacher names or other school related things thrown in) that were also hidden in a word search. The third part of the puzzle was usually a quote or advice that was formed by entering circled letters from the scrambled word part.  I made these with PuzzleMaker.com.
• Visual puns like these.
• What advice would you give...? - I ask students to make comics or other creative works that could provide success tips to younger students. This makes it meaningful for them. I used to also give high school seniors a much loved assignment where they had to write letters filled with advice addressed to their past selves when they were freshmen. It is a good activity for teachers too!