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NETA Conference Notes & Resources…

It has been a few busy days since attending the NETA Conference in Omaha, and I just had an opportunity to look over my notes and add various links I wanted to share.  The conference was very rewarding once again, and despite the sketchy internet connection, I was able to gain a wealth of information.

If you are interested in viewing the resources that my team and I gathered go to the following PBworks page (So long PBwiki in name, and hello to the new name!); plus, we will be adding more notes over the coming days so check back:  http://hokanson.pbworks.com/NETA-Conference-2009

“Not on the Test” Tom Chapin

I had viewed this before and was reminded of it in a recent presentation I attended. Food for thought. Enjoy!

Map of Future Forces Affecting Education

Now that we are two years in on the KnowledgeWorks Foundation and Institute for the Future 2006-2016 Map of Future Forces Affecting Education where are we now?

Digital Immigrant or Digital Native…Which One Are You?

The labels, digital immigrant and digital native, have been floating around the blogosphere and education circles for a few years now. The digital natives are sometimes referred to as the millennial generation, current K-12 and college students, that have been immersed in a technological world. At a current, and young mind you, 43 years old I have been thinking where I fit into this picture, and I know where I am.

I was born in 1965, and just before my 4th birthday Sesame Street went on the air. For the most part I always remember having a television in my home. I remember my first digital football game, playing pong at a local eatery, my sister’s Atari 2600 video game system, our laser disc player, and the Apple IIe computers that entered our high school building pre-1984. From high school on out through the rest of the 80s, 90s, and now in the 21st century I have not known a time when I didn’t have access to a computer.

For those in my generation, late boom, early or pre-millennial, whatever you want to call it, we have feet placed on both sides of the digital immigrant and digital native worlds. I would say we are more native than immigrant, and we really don’t have an excuse when it comes to embedding technology into the curriculum. I am going to go so far as to say that if you were born after 1960, a digital native you are (As Yoda might put it!).

Starting in the 1980s we, the digital explorers I will name us, began attending and graduating from educational institutions that were digital, but pre-internet. We took each innovation into our lives and embedded it, we changed with the times, but we understood what a dial phone was, knew people who had actually grown up on farms, and had some compassion for those that couldn’t understand how to set the clock on the VCR. We helped our elders along the digital road and did it for our folks because they didn’t know how.

As the digital explorer generation, we hoped that our education system that we knew would be transformed, but after 25 years removed from my own high school graduation not much has transformed in the classroom. The internet connections are there now, much of the hardware and software is there, but too much instruction is the same as it was in 1984. Why?

As part of this newly named digital explorer generation I have a call to action. If we look around right now we may want to realize and notice, if we haven’t already, that we have reached the age of decision making. We are in a position to be great influences in generating a cultural shift that has failed to move as fast as we have always hoped it would. As educators we especially cannot rely on an excuse that we are digital immigrants, we are not. We are the digital explorers and the first digital natives.

My challenge to my generation of digital explorers is to set the example. Continue to embed technology in your classrooms, start embedding technology in your classrooms if you have been avoiding it (we really have no excuse as we know the language and the customs already), and we must help digital immigrants embed technology in their classrooms. I do, because I am a digital explorer and one of the first digital natives, and we are the generation that knows how to change. As for the younger digital natives they expect something different, and we must help forge the trail because we have been the digital explorers and know the way.

“Education chief: Schools crucial to recovery” AP

“Education chief: Schools crucial to recovery” AP

“WASHINGTON – Education Secretary Arne Duncan said the economy won’t improve without the billions of dollars for schools in President Barack Obama’s recovery plan.
“If we want to stimulate the economy, we need a better-educated workforce,” Duncan said Thursday in an interview with The Associated Press.
“That’s the only way, long-term, we’re going to get out of this economic crisis,” he said…”

Fifth Grade Leadership Day

This was a wonderful experience spending time with some of the great leaders that inhabit  the fifth grade classrooms around western Nebraska!  The following is a podcast the students created:

Fifth Grade Leadership Day Podcast

I am proud to say my own son, Ronan, was a member of this great group!

Enjoy!

Technology Training Implementation: A First Year Reflection

One of the first tasks I was faced with as a new educational technology specialist was to offer sustained technology professional development to the teaching staff in my district. Time is always an issue in education, and it was not unexpected to find this resource limited. My initial approach to developing training for teachers, in particular, was to deploy a modified levels of technology implementation (LoTi) survey at the beginning of the school year. This data provided me with a snapshot of where particular staff members were in specific buildings concerning technology use.  The survey will be deployed again at the beginning of the new school year to measure growth from what has been implemented from the previous instructional year.

The survey results identified a majority of users at the exploration/infusion stage of the model and, along with information from a recent McREL report, I began the process of gathering resources to provide exposure to various technology tools that exist for educational purposes. With a limited budget, myself as the only instructional technology professional, but with some excellent tools such as a new training lab of 27 Windows XP work stations, I developed a strategy to offer one hour training sessions, immediately after school hours, roughly two days per week. The focus of the training was for certified teachers, but I allowed paraprofessionals to attend the trainings too. Continuing education credits were offered as incentive to attend the trainings, and attendance was voluntary.

Hardware was the driving force of the initial offerings with a focus on the new SMART Board and iPod technology in the district and the use of teacher workstations and the software contained therein as foundational tools. This was expanded to introductions on Web 2.0 technologies such as blogging (WordPress & Blogger), wikis (PBWiki & Wikispaces), and eventually spread to podcasting, digital storytelling, and video production. These trainings were offered multiple times and at varying levels to meet the needs of new, developing, and master users.

Utilizing the internet as a curriculum tool was also a focus as new labs required activities for students to use. In the past, CD software for Macintosh computers had been used, but with a move to a single Windows platform approach the situation required some ingenuity to not accrue additional costs through purchasing software. Several online activities were found to supplement student use of the new computer systems. This approach continues as some teachers utilize the Del.icio.us online tool to organize web related resources and with an effort to create a district wide online repository of these online activities.

Over time, it became apparent that teachers required a place to serve staff created content. Our First Class client software allowed the use of its web publishing feature to offer up such creations. A focus on utilizing this software was implemented during the spring semester to enable users to place their content on a server for student use. The podcasting feature of First Class (version 8.3) provided an easy way for staff to record student stories, poems, and reports and to share it online with the school population, parents, the community, and the world. Several teachers started blogs and wikis to also share their curriculum and student generated content and media.

Digital storytelling was a natural step in the progression of initial technology implementation. Photo Story 3, Windows Movie Maker, and Power Point served as ready to use software for the staff and students. Basic training in the use of this software was provided, and teachers and students began the process of using these tools to generate content. The district web site served as a gateway in sharing this content and led to an increased awareness and interest in learning how staff members were implementing these tools in their classrooms.

As staff members attended various trainings, individual support was offered on site and several projects were completed alongside the teachers and students on a daily basis. This approach supplemented the teacher’s attendance and learning during the trainings and led to increased application of the new skills. Many teachers were surprised by the level of competence that students already had in utilizing these tools even at the Kindergarten and first grade levels. Failed attempts were re-evaluated and modified to meet the demands of time, resources, classroom and lab management, and scaling back the expectations of initial implementation generally remedied initial complications. The combination of training, support, and guidance during implementation provided a recipe for success.

An Open Lab was also offered during the spring semester to supplement after school trainings. These were held generally three times per week and allowed staff to come to the central office learning lab and get one on one attention with their various projects. A limited number of students also attended some of these sessions to learn how to implement technology and create content. A combination of after school trainings, individual support, and Open Lab time provided a way to accommodate the use of precious hours that were in limited supply. These trainings were extended by utilizing continuing education days and via professional learning community days where whole district, building, and multiple staff trainings were offered. Some professional training was also brought in specifically through eInstruction and their CPS clicker systems. Over 460 staff members received technology training over the course of the school year with 25% of that number returning for multiple trainings. All staff had multiple opportunities for training via the two continuing education days offered over the school year.

With the end of the school year a summer training program was also implemented and staff voluntarily spent time in extended learning workshops during the summer months. This program is continuing and will be expanded for the next summer. In all 60 staff member have utilized the summer training sessions that provided time to work on blogging, wikis, podcasting, digital storytelling, video, utilizing the internet, and computer basics.

The key component to the success of this technology training implementation was the addition of a full-time educational technology specialist to facilitate and implement such a training program. The knowledge and experience of a former classroom teacher with specialized instructional technology training enabled this program to come to fruition. Instructional technology professionals can make a huge impact in a school district as they work together with a supportive administration, teachers who see a concerted effort to meet their technology integration goals, and via a technology staff that provides superior support for the district’s network, hardware, and software implementation.

A Video From One of My Teachers…

My blog has been a place where I have met some wonderful people.  These great folks have become my teachers and as they share their knowledge, experiences, products, concerns, and hearts they become my friends.  Kyle Addington teaches me more and more each day, and he created a video that I have been meaning to share and it cannot wait any longer!  Watch, learn, and do:

Good Morning From NETA Day 1

I sit waiting for Will Richardson’s keynote this morning here in beautiful Omaha, Nebraska at the NETA Conference.  This should be a good conference as I have heard many positive things about it.  My notes for the day can be found at my PBWiki; so, if you are interested head over to get the details.

NETA: Nebraska Educational Technology Association

I’m off to my first NETA conference this week!

NETA: “The Nebraska Educational Technology Association is a grassroots organization open to everyone interested in sharing information about using technology in the educational process.”

“Our membership is comprised of approximately 1800 members representing classroom teachers from kindergarten through college, administrators, technology specialists, researchers, and preservice educators.

Our members are leading the charge toward the future by helping educators learn to infuse innovative technologies into the learning process. You’ll find us working year round to support educational technology, but our favorite time of year comes in the spring when nearly 2000 of us gather at our annual Spring Conference for two days of national speakers, engaging breakout sessions, hands-on workshops and an exhibition hall filled with all the best education technology vendors.

NETA is an official Affiliate of the International Society for Technology in Education. We join approximately 70 other affiliated educational technology associations from around the world in the improvement of teaching and learning through the use of technology.”

I will be attending the conference with four other colleagues; plus, we have a few others who will join the mix along the way. I plan to take notes on my PBWiki and to share the exciting events and knowledge that I gain at the gathering. Stay posted for information here at H I T too!!!

Who I Am Makes A Difference

A good friend and colleague, Larry LaShell, shared the following video with me today:

Web Link

I needed this today. Thanks Larry, you made a difference by passing this on!

$125,000 Teacher Salary…

The New York Times:  “At Charter School, Higher Teacher Pay”

“A New York City charter school set to open in 2009 in Washington Heights will test one of the most fundamental questions in education: Whether significantly higher pay for teachers is the key to improving schools.

The school, which will run from fifth to eighth grades, is promising to pay teachers $125,000, plus a potential bonus based on schoolwide performance. That is nearly twice as much as the average New York City public school teacher earns, roughly two and a half times the national average teacher salary and higher than the base salary of all but the most senior teachers in the most generous districts nationwide.”

A Picture from Space & MIT Open Courseware

I thought this picture was great (Click it to see it bigger or go here), and it caused me to reflect on us down here on the good planet earth. I have been quite busy it seems for the past year, and as over 600 articles pile up in my RSS reader, as April 15th looms closer and closer (It is my youngest daughter’s birthday too so I’m excited about that part), and as life seems to zip by at an ever increasing pace it takes a picture from space to give a little bit of perspective from up so high to way down there or here depending upon if you are in the space station or not. If I do have readers on the space station, thanks for stopping by during your busy schedules and I would recommend that you not stop by anymore and just stay focused on your space station duties!

Speaking of time, I have been debating what I could enroll myself in via MIT’s Open Courseware. What a great opportunity, as there are with many universities now. A visit to iTunes U opens up many lessons to be had and learned. That is what I like about this “new” world, it is smaller, flatter, and it is easier to get around. It brings us closer together, if we make time to do so. That is what I need to do: make the time, shape the time, capture the time. A focus on things that matter most is the key. Peace!

Also, go here if you haven’t as of yet (PBS Frontline special “Growing Up Online”).  We really need to address digital citizenship!  Things are happening each day and we need to help young people navigate this digital world.

Alan November is coming!!!

I am pleased to have the opportunity to be able to see and hear Alan November when he arrives to visit our school district next week. Alan’s writings have been important and they have influenced me to work to find ways to help students learn and grow. I had the opportunity to attend the Building Learning Communities Conference in Boston last July 2007, and the conference, workshops, and wonderful people I met and conversed with were inspiring. Our little part of the world is moving forward as we look for ways to embed technology in the learning process, and Alan’s influence is a big part in that process. I look forward to Alan’s time here, and I know my colleagues will benefit from what he has to say. My hopes are that his inspiring words will lead to more action. This is a really big deal!!! Can you tell I’m excited!?!

Next week is also the one year anniversary of when my wife, children and I visited to interview for my position as educational technology specialist and Dianna’s speech-language pathologist position.  If I had been told I would be in the presence of Alan November one year later I  would have thought it was a dream!  What a difference a year makes, and I am so fortunate to have had the experiences I have had over this period of time.  The heart of it all has been the wonderful people I have met and been blessed to work with.  We are in the midst of something great, and as I have had more opportunities to work with students as of late, I know more than ever we are working with precious souls that need our guidance in an ever changing and complicated world.  My fifteen years in public education is such a short period of time, but I have gained a better perspective because of people like Alan November.  I would call it focus, and that is what people like Alan help me to do:  focus on things that are most important and things that matter most!  Working with young people and shaping a better future is what it is all about, and my lens is aimed at doing all that I can to be a positive influence in that noble cause!