Spoonfuls of Applesauce

I created a website to share my son's ADHD story. If you have time, I'd love for some people to view it and give some feedback. This is my final project for my Digital Storytelling course.

With this, another semester and two more classes toward my M. Ed. are complete.

bit.ly/spoonfulsofapplesauce

EDUC 5333 - Digital Story Progress & More

This past week was productive. I managed to complete my story map and story table & script and added content to a Google Site I made for Braden's story. Much of the feedback I received about the initial story idea tried to address my concern about keeping the story within a 5-8 minute timeframe. After contacting my instructor I felt much relief. Evidently, the story itself doesn't have to be 5-8 minutes in length. Our summary and reflection that we present needs to be 5-8 minutes in length. Our peers are to view/hear our story before our presentation.

Gathering photos for this project and converting them from HEIC to JPG or PNG took much longer than I expected. Recording and adjusting the audio to have consistent quality across the whole site also took some time. Initially, I considered not adding audio, but I think it adds more feeling than what someone would experience by reading text only. The audio is an optional component but is available for anyone that would like to hear the story instead of, or along with, reading it. I considered using the Choose Your Own Adventure-style of storytelling, but I was feeling pretty overwhelmed with all of this to start. Maybe I'll try something like that later.

For the presentation during week 7, I plan to briefly walk-through the website I created for this assignment. I would like to demonstrate each of the components - audio, text, pictures, surveys, and resource links. I won't have time to go through all aspects of the site, but I hope to provide a sampling of each type of component.

Potential Resources to Use in the Classroom

There are several resources I could see my middle school students use. They're all so app-savvy, but they don't necessarily know how to use their Chromebooks - it's a work-in-progress. Here's a list of what I'd try first on Chromebooks with my group of 7th-graders:

Screencastify - I absolutely could see students using this to record an explanation of an assignment, to make a tutorial for other students, or to create a presentation for later viewing.

Soundtrap - I love this tool, all the options it has, and the ease of use for creating vocal recordings and music!

Comic Life or Motion Comics or Storyboard That - These could be fun for personal storytelling or for our succession comic assignment in the spring. (I've had students use Storyboard That before, so the other comic sites will be interesting to add in.)

Above resources were found here: 

Kapular, D. (September 7, 2018). Top 30 tools and apps for digital storytelling.  Tech & Learning.  Retrieved from:  https://www.techlearning.com/tl-advisor-blog/30-sites-and-apps-for-digital-storytelling

Community Assignment Precursor

As a precursor to an upcoming assignment, we are now asked to consider our audience, skills, and the impact this story may have.

Who is the authentic audience for this story? Who will be impacted by it? In what ways might this story resonate with this audience?

I suppose the target audience is anyone trying to better understand what a journey through ADHD diagnosis and treatment may look like. I hope my family better understands what led us to make some of our decisions about treatment and identification in school. I hope parents, educators, siblings, and other children will try the simulations available on Understood.org so they may better understand ADHD and other learning challenges. It's hard to accept what you don't understand, and Understood.org certainly takes some of the mystery away. I hope everyone that experiences Braden's story leaves with a bit more compassion and empathy for those with learning challenges - especially those challenges that are not visible.

What skills and knowledge have you developed as you created your story?

I have further developed many skills with this assignment. I've worked on photo editing, audio editing, website design, scripting/storyboarding, and research. I certainly have a greater appreciation for storytellers now. In addition to this course, I've also listened to an audio course about storytelling during my commute the past month. While the audio course is about live storytelling, not digital, I still feel I learned some tips and tricks that I hope to put to use in my classroom.

How might your community/students be impacted by engaging in digital storytelling? What role can I play?

I think my students would benefit greatly from learning to tell their stories digitally. Digital storytelling takes some of the discomforts of public speaking away. While the whole world can see the story, the pressure of dozens or hundreds of eyes on you during a recitation is absent. There is an opportunity to fine-tune and edit before publishing, and even after publishing, as needed. As students share their stories they may find they have more in common than not. So often, especially in middle school, students can feel alone and like there's no help or solution available. If they hear others with similar stories, maybe they won't feel so alone. Maybe they'll see a resolution to a story like their own and feel hope. Maybe they'll be the ones that provide hope to someone else.

EDUC 5333 - Project Plan

This week, we are asked to post a preliminary project plan for our digital story so we may receive feedback on it.

Since my plan is still fluid at this point, I will post a link to the current version. Subsequent posts will have more updated versions.

Preliminary Project Plan - Week 3 - revised 2019/11/06

EDUC 5333 - Considering a Digital Story

This week, we are asked to view one or more digital stories and to respond to a few prompts about it. I viewed several but decided to consider two in more detail.

#MetKids - Our Words, Our Stories: Digital Storytelling Lab

What are your overall impressions of what you saw?

In #MetKids, I felt good watching it. The kids looked to be enjoying themselves and the music was upbeat. It felt very professionally done but was still playful.

How could it be used in education?

#MetKids could be used to show how inspiration can come from many places and how collaborative writing might look.

What content area is addressed?

#MetKids seems to address art and history through the focus materials, and language arts through the product.

How would you assess what you saw?

I would want to #MetKids based on these criteria: research, project planning, story, and originality/voice/creativity. 

Did they perform research and document it? Yes - their research and documentation was completed as they viewed exhibits, drew sketches, and took notes. They even got to use Minecraft to redesign parts of the MET digitally. 

Did they actually plan their story, or did they wing it?  Yes - they did extensive planning - both individual and collaborative and on paper and with technology. One student mentioned the use of a site called Twine that I feel I now need to really check out! (Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books are some of my favorites.) 

How well did their story work? WOW! I feel their story worked wonderfully! They pieced together many options for storylines and endings and made it interactive. 

How creative was the production? WOW again! This project was hugely creative, collaborative, and put a fresh twist on how history could have gone. This project connects these kids to history, helps them better understand what was happening and why, and lets them put it all into terms they understand. What an amazing job they all did!

"Turn" - by Dana Atchley

What are your overall impressions of what you saw?

"Turn" reminds me of when we would get out the slide projector and look at photos of my mom's generation and my grandparents' generation growing up. It took me back to when I was a kid at the holidays - doing the same thing each year, looking at old photos and somehow reminiscing about a time I wasn't actually there.

How could it be used in education?

"Turn could be used as an example of how students could tell a story of themselves or their families. They could tell a story using clips or photos from their own past, or the past of others.

What content area is addressed?

The content addressed is personal history. You could also potentially delve into fashion, but that's a bit of a stretch.

How would you assess what you saw?

I would assess this digital story based on story, economy, flow, and presentation.

How well did the story work? I feel it worked well since it took me back to my own memories of looking at my mother's and grandparents' past.

Was the information presented without gaps or detours? I thought the story was rather concise and ended with a light bit that made me smile - showing the progression of his own father's growth and ending with what he became in his 30's.

Was the story well organized? I feel the sequential timeline from his father as a child, through his own childhood, and then with a still as an adult captured the motion of growing and the stillness of a moment in time of who we are at a single moment - implying if we were to unfreeze that moment we would continue on a journey of growth and change.

How effective was the presentation? I thought the narration of his own story was perfect. It allowed me to feel present in his family and let me connect to his personal story better than having an outsider narrate.

*For the assessment criteria, I selected from the "List of Digital Story Evaluation Traits" created by Ohler (2013, p.90). 

Reference

Ohler, J. B. (2013). Digital storytelling in the Classroom: New media pathways to literacy, learning, and creativity (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

EDUC 5333 - Digital Storytelling - Introduction

Introduction 

New course = another introduction: Haylee here! I'm starting courses 6 & 7 of 10 for my Master's in Curriculum & Instruction w/ an emphasis in Educational Technology. My original intro is available at this link, but here's a summary: I've been an educator since 2005 and have mainly taught middle school science and math, but I have also taught 5th grade and high school science, and have also taught PE, Health (online & F2F), and Introductory ASL. I LOVE integrating technology whenever possible because I know our students/children will need it more and more as they grow.

I presently work at DeWitt Perry Middle School in Carrollton, TX. This is my third year here - teaching 7th-grade science each year so far. I've worked diligently over the past three years, as we have become a one-to-one school district, to digitize our 7th-grade science curriculum. Students and teachers now have access to all assignments digitally, many hyperdoc activities, and many warmup activities that are self-checking Google Forms. The kids LOVE getting instant feedback and quick comments as they work on assignments! I love when they bring their Chromebook up to me, grinning so big, to show me they scored a 90 or 100 on a warmup or quiz. I love that they're proud of their work!

My current goal is to complete my Master's by May 2020. My future goals include obtaining additional Master's/Certificates in Math and/or Science C&I and Information Technology/Librarianship. I would love to be able to develop a technology learning program housed that would allow students and adults to advance their technology skills through a shared knowledge program. I know I want to add technology education to whatever I may do, and the age of the student doesn't really matter - I just need willing learners.

Storytelling Ideas

I've been thinking about ideas for the past several days, and I'm definitely having trouble deciding on a topic. I could focus on content-based material with a story to tie into the Catastrophic Events project we have coming up in December. I could also base my story on the Genius Hour/Coding week we will have right before winter break. I could go in a future direction with an idea I have for a "Real Skills" course - similar to Home Economics, but with a tech twist. I could also focus more on personal stories and share about my family. I could share my educational journey. I could share the story of my children. 

Trying to decide which story to tell is difficult. I know I need to select a story that will hold the viewers' interest and be informative. I suppose identifying my audience first would be helpful. Personal stories would certainly be better for non-academic viewers, but I think they would be nice for my children to view later in life. I still have time to decide. ;)

J. Ohler

Jason Ohler (2013) identifies 20 "Revelations" in his book, Digital Storytelling in the Classroom. The "Revelations" I find most pertinent to my storytelling adventure are numbers 3, 4, 9, 18, and 19. 

• Revelation No. 3: "Digital technology is assistive technology for the artistically challenged" (Ohler, 2013, p.4). Many students and adults are afraid to try artistic endeavors because they lack skills in specific media. Digital tools allow us to experiment and try new things, knowing we can undo, edit, or start over if needed. We can also usually find video tutorials that will help show us how to use the tools, which makes them less intimidating. 
• Revelation No. 4: "The digital revolution in a sentence: Finally, we all get to tell our own story in our own way" (Ohler, 2013, p.4). We can choose to tell our story in a variety of formats, like audio files, still photos, video files, or combinations of all of these. We can also choose whether or not to share our story, and even with whom it is shared.
• Revelation No. 9: "The attitude is the aptitude" (Ohler, 2013, p.7). I LOVE this one - probably my favorite. Since I'm going back to school for a Master's degree 20 years after graduating with my Bachelor's, I am definitely embracing the idea of lifelong learning. With rapid advances in technology, we have to be willing to constantly learn more or we will soon be unable to work with devices as they advance and we don't.
• Revelation No. 18: "Digital story creation offers an effective means to teach media literacy" (Ohler, 2013, p.12). Having the skills that enable us to use media in a meaningful way and understanding that the stories we tell can impact others are important. This is important not only for digital interactions but for face-to-face interactions as well.
• Revelation No. 19: "Digital storytelling helps students develop creatical thinking skills, merging creativity and critical thinking, to solve important problems in imaginative, thoughtful ways" (Ohler, 2013, p.13). Creativity and critical thinking are being called upon more and more as technology provides automation of everyday tasks. With the mundane taken care of, we need the creative minds to develop new ideas and we need the critical thinkers to pick apart those new ideas so we have fully refined products created in a more timely fashion.

A. Middleton

Andrew Middleton (2013) discusses the use of podcasting in its various forms - audio, video, audio and still images, and combinations of all of these. I like that there are many free resources available for podcasting. I tried my hand at podcasting in a class last term. My partner and I used Soundtrap to work asynchronously on our podcast. There were synchronous tools available, but we found that working asynchronously worked best for us. We did not use any video or other visuals in our podcast. In a later assignment though, I did use Screencastify to create a tutorial with audible directions to go with the video of the actual steps that needed to be followed as students started to create portfolios on Google Sites. 

Students should definitely be able to use these tools. The tools are very straightforward with how they work. The Soundtrap tools are rather extensive, but basic use is easy and there are many video tutorials available on YouTube. The Screencastify tools are very self-explanatory and make multiple takes unnecessary; if a portion of the video is not needed it can be cut and deleted instead of having to start over. The only problem I see in using these tools in class is finding a quiet time and place to record. When students are working on tasks that would require the use of these tools, they would definitely not provide a quiet recording studio feel.

References

EDUC 5313 - Assessment of Student Work

Over the past few weeks, we have developed a lesson plan that integrates technology by using the Triple E Planning Tool created by Liz Kolb (2017b). We also assessed the quality of integration with the Triple E Simple Rubric (Kolb, 2017b). This week, we are asked to discuss the assessment of student work.

Rubrics & Assessment

I like to give my students all the criteria they'll be assessed on up-front. For assignments that require students to create their own products, I like to share rubrics as a guide for students to follow so they know exactly what is required and how they'll be assessed. They can also self-assess or have peers use the same rubric to provide feedback about their work too. For longer assignments, I also provide checklists and pacing documents that show what they're expected to complete by the end of each class.  To go with the checklists and pacing documents, I also have students complete checkpoint forms so they have an additional record of the required material and so I can check to be sure their information is correct. If they submit any information that is not accurate, I still have time to provide actionable feedback so they may locate correct information for their project before it is due. Being able to provide feedback during the creation process lets them make corrections and better learn the material before they're expected to share their knowledge. This leads to higher confidence and better overall presentations.

For this particular assignment, I've asked students to complete five checkpoints during the seven-day project. Day 1 is the introduction and Day 7 is the final presentation. If students don't complete checkpoints on time, that helps me know who to start with during the next class. If students have responses that don't quite fit the prompt I can step in and correct the issue before it becomes too big of a problem. At the end of the project, students will present their research and proposal for helping the population of an endangered species recover. The initial presentation will be to peers and to me. The final presentation will be uploaded to their digital portfolio so it is visible to anyone with access to their website! All of this will allow them to demonstrate content knowledge and to demonstrate the use of technology for research, presentation creation and sharing, and proper communication etiquette online and in the classroom.

Feedback

Once the assignment is complete, I ask students to submit feedback to their peers and to me. Students submit feedback to peers by completing a form on paper while their peers present their projects. Students give me this feedback and I check for appropriateness and then cluster the feedback by presentation groups so it can be redistributed during the following class. Students are also encouraged to give immediate feedback to the presenting group, but it's not required. Students submit feedback to me about their experience with the project by responding to a feedback prompt in Google Classroom or by providing feedback on paper. I appreciate that most students are comfortable providing both positive and negative feedback about their experiences with my assignments. The most helpful feedback is usually about what they didn't like or what they had difficulty with. Receiving that information helps me know what to focus on for improvement.

On this particular assignment, my students enjoyed getting to choose if they worked with other students or if they worked by themselves. They also appreciated getting to select the specific organism their research focused on. Some students indicated they felt they could have done a better job if they had more time. But some students also indicated they felt they were finished early. Students enjoyed getting to select what digital tools they would use for their presentation, but some felt they needed more instruction on how to use some tools - especially Screencastify and how to embed videos and sound files. Most students were excited about getting to post their work online so anyone could view it. They said it made them work harder since they knew others would see their work.

References

EDUC5313 - Week 3 - Triple E Framework

This week, we are asked to evaluate one "E" from Liz Kolb's Triple E Framework. I've chosen the second "E" - enhancement. Kolb shares that "Many content-area experts agree that technology should move beyond engaging students in learning and actually change the learning experience so that it is improved over traditional methods" (2017, p.56). Price and Kirkwood defined three types of improvements: operational, quantitative, and qualitative (Kolb, 2017). Operational improvements provide better access or more flexibility. Quantitative improvements provide measurable changes to things like test scores or time on task. Qualitative improvements may help students dive deeper into the content or may promote more reflection.

"The Triple E Framework defines enhancement as technology adding value to students' traditional understanding of learning goals through scaffolds or other supports" (Kolb, 2017, p.57). This means students will make more connections with the content, will understand the concepts better/easier, and will be able to show their learning in ways not possible without technology. Technology that supports these factors would support student evaluation of the content and tool, would allow for differentiation and individualization, would allow feedback to be easily and quickly shared.

Students interacting with peers and their teacher while completing a task would support this "E". While collaborating, peers could be discussing the assignment while the teacher provides feedback for modifications. Having feedback available in multiple formats would further support this "E". Much feedback is written or typed, but technology can allow audio/video feedback from a teacher or peer and teachers can even screencast feedback for more direct help or could share a link to a tutorial for a boilerplate approach to feedback. Students could receive instruction customized for their reading level or language even. (I help newcomer students become familiar with how to translate whole pages/documents into their native language so they understand the content while they're acquiring a new language.) There are also many types of software available that make it easy for anyone to make music or art with limited skill.

An example of a lesson that would qualify as "Enhanced" would be like the example Kolb gives in Scenario 9:

A fourth-grade teacher is using Google Hangouts to virtually host author Judy Blume conducting a book club discussion of her book Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing. The students ask Judy questions and listen to her share ideas about writing the novel (2017, p.81).

An example of a lesson that would not qualify as "Enhanced" would be like the example Kolb gives in Scenario 10: "An 11th-grade science teacher is taking pictures of a class field trip to the chemistry museum and cutting them into a movie to show parents and students" (2017, p.82).

Integrating "Enhancement"

I love the idea of having a Skype session with an expert. However, while I would love to have a scientist Skype in to chat with my students, I would need them to be available for at least five different classes throughout the day - and that's asking a lot. I may see about having an expert answer questions that the students develop, and record their answers so I can show all of my classes their responses though. We could have follow-up questions answered via email or in a backchannel forum that we could access asynchronously and be able to refer back to later.

Students would perform their research - either solo or with a small team - based on the organism they select. They will be given ample time to research (2-3 days), compile evidence (1-2 days), develop a plan (2-3 days), and compose a presentation (1-2 days) - for a total of about 2 weeks, including presentation time. Their presentation will need to be digital so they can add it to their online portfolio and can share it with their classmates, and the world, for feedback.

This project meets content standards for Texas Science in grades 7 and 8, for organisms and the environment - 7.13 & 8.11 (TEKS, 2017). This project meets TEKS 7.13 by having students look at responses of organisms to internal and external stimuli. TEKS 7.14 could also be considered if the reason for endangerment pertains to genetic factors. This project meets TEKS 8.11 by having students consider the interdependence of organisms and how humans impact the environment and organisms living within it, in both short-term and long-term scenarios.

Connecting to How People Learn II

Enhancing learning requires connecting with others around us. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) share that humans are designed to be interdependent upon one another (2018). Without other human interaction, our development is stunted/delayed/abnormal. This effect can be lessened with social interactions later in life and has a greater recovery with earlier social interactions (NASEM, 2018). The Enhancement aspect of the Triple E Framework allows for more connections and interaction to take place, even if remotely. Making connections is critical because humans don't retain information for which they don't hold an emotional connection (NASEM, 2018). This makes me wonder what emotional connections I have to certain memories that I don't really feel "connected" to.

Working with others can yield solutions that one person may have never developed if comparison and collaboration weren't available. There are many crowd-sourced platforms out there that allow the everyday person to contribute to various endeavors. One mentioned by NASEM (2018) is "Foldit" - a protein folding game that allows users/contributors to try and fold a protein model as tightly as possible. This collaboration has allow some very unique solutions to be found for problems that have long been attempted. Another I used to participate in was one where you could look at images of outer space and work on identifying stars, planets, and other orbiting bodies - trying to find and categorize new objects captured on camera. (I tried to find this again, but I guess it was shut down. It was over a decade ago that I contributed to this and I can't even remember what it was actually called.)

Social interactions can also directly contribute to learning because humans are capable of learning through observation (NASEM, 2018). We can watch others and determine what is appropriate behavior or if we should attempt an action. We learn injunctive norms, what we should do, from our "elders" and we learn descriptive norms, how we should act with our peers, from our peers (NASEM, 2018). Interacting with others enhances our learning capabilities by broadening our field of focus to include "soft-skills" that let us better relate to and communicate with those around us.

Ultimately, our learning is enhanced by interactions with others - whether direct or with the help of technology. With the help of technology, we can connect with more people and organizations and can find more information directly related to what our goal is. Being able to do more because of technology we have access to is certainly an enhancement to our learning and sharing of knowledge.

References

EDUC 5313 - Week 2 - Authentic Intellectual Work

This week, our Learning Technologies course asks us to describe and discuss Authentic Intellectual Work:

Authentic Intellectual Work (AIW) is purposeful. It's not busy-work that only teaches a concept, but instead is work that can put to use to actually complete a task or solve a problem. To me, this is what project-based-learning (PBL) should be. Traditional instruction has students learning concepts and practicing finding answers to problems that we already know the answers to. AIW and PBL are what students get to experience when they find, or are presented with a problem that they must develop a solution for - that we don't know the "correct" answer to yet. Students get to use their prior knowledge and research they perform to guide their solutions. They get to collaborate with others on the same problem so they can see multiple viewpoints and potential solution ideas to consider. Not only do they get to solve a REAL problem, but they get to socialize and collaborate on the solution with other students and professionals as they work.

Newman, King, & Charmichael (2007) describe Authentic Intellectual Work as having three major characteristics: Construction of Knowledge, Disciplined Inquiry, and Value Beyond School. Disciplined Inquiry resonates with me because I feel it contributes to the Construction of Knowledge and Value Beyond School. Disciplined Inquiry includes using what you already know and information you find to develop and communicate a solution to a problem. As more information is found and incorporated into the solution, the knowledge base is improved. If the problem truly is a real-world problem, the solution that is communicated has value beyond school.

In a study conducted by the Center on Organization and Restructuring of Schools (CORS) from 1990 to 1995, Newman et al, (2007) note that the use of Authentic Pedagogy increased math and social studies performance by 30 percentile points. In another study conducted in 1997 demonstrated a 30 to 56 percentile increase in test scores when Authentic Pedagogy was employed (Newman et al, 2007). Newman et al, (2007) noted gains regardless of gender, race, ethnicity, or socio-economic status. They also note the achievement gap between high and low socio-economic status students was decreased when authentic instruction was employed. Their major takeaway that really resonated with me was "the more teachers expect from students, the better the students' performance" (Newman, et al, 2007, p. 26).

I've always tried to have high expectations from all students - likely the result of teaching at Cornerstone Academy (CSA) for ten years. Jill Wright, our principal during my time at CSA, believed strongly that all children can achieve at high levels. We taught an all Pre-AP curriculum to ALL students - Special Education, 504, "regular", and Gifted & Talented (GT) students. Most of our GT students were on an accelerated track, but all students received instruction through projects that had very high expectations. After being away from CSA for four years, I feel I may have forgotten to maintain that higher level of expectation. This week's readings were a good reminder for me as we enter a new school year.

Authentic Intellectual Work in my Classroom

I hope to implement my CSA-level expectations more regularly in my classes, but especially in an upcoming project this year. This fall, my students will research various endangered species to determine what has caused them to have a decline in population. Students will select a specific species to focus their research on and they will attempt to find/develop solutions that may help increase the population of their selected species. After they develop their potential solution, they will share their ideas with their class and will post their solution to their digital portfolio. With their solutions posted digitally, their ideas will be available for others to view and potentially implement.

I hope to convince them to focus on local species so they may be able to implement their solutions. Rule notes that "science instruction should involve authentic tasks that address real-world problems encountered by scientists, allowing students to investigate problems in their own lives and communities (2006, p. 3)." However, with any project of this nature, having a choice is important. If it is their choice, they will be more likely to remain engaged and really put their heart into the research for a solution.

Throughout this project, students will use their district-provided Chromebooks to perform their research and will collaborate with other students on campus to develop solutions. The National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) wants all learners to "have engaging and empowering learning experiences in both formal and informal settings that prepare them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally connected society" (NETP, 2017). I feel that AIW and the expectations of the NETP merge nicely in this project. This project allows peer interaction, encourages persistence to develop a workable solution to a difficult challenge, includes sharing solutions on a digital platform so others may see and contribute to the solution, is a real-world challenge, has value beyond the classroom, and provides digital accommodations for students with learning challenges. Our campus has one of the highest populations of English Language Learners and also has one of the highest percentages of students that qualify for free and reduced-price meals. We are very fortunate in our district to have these resources available for all of our students!

References

EDUC 5313 - Intro & Learning Activity Selection

Hey there - Haylee here! I'm starting course 5 of 10 for my Master's in Curriculum & Instruction w/ an emphasis in Educational Technology. My original intro is available at this link, but here's a summary: I've been an educator since 2005 and have mainly taught middle school science and math, but I have also taught 5th grade and high school science, and have also taught PE, Health (online & F2F), and Introductory ASL. I LOVE integrating technology whenever possible because I know our students/children will need it more and more as they grow.

My current goal is to complete my Master's by December 2020. My future goals include obtaining additional Master's/Certificates in Math and/or Science C&I and Information Technology/Librarianship. I would love to be able to develop a technology learning program housed in a public library that would allow students and adults to advance their technology skills through a shared knowledge program. I know I want to add technology education to whatever I may do, and the age of the student doesn't really matter - I just need willing learners.

*Added 2019/08/31: As part of this course, we were asked to create a website and digital resume. Here's the link to mine: bit.ly/hayleecarroll

My learning activity for this class:
ISTE Standards for Students Knowledge Constructor indicator 3d asks students to Build knowledge by actively exploring real-world issues and problems, developing ideas and theories and pursuing answers and solutions (ISTE Standards for Students, 2017). Students in 7th-grade science can integrate this and address science TEKS (2017) 5.10B, Organisms and the environment. The student knows that there is a relationship between organisms and the environment. The student is expected to describe how biodiversity contributes to the sustainability of an ecosystem, by researching and presenting potential ways to increase the populations of endangered species. Students could collaborate with other students in their own classes, other classes, or with other people they find through their research, so they may develop plausible solutions. They will then present their findings and solutions to their class and will share their presentations on their websites so others may see their work.

Connections to our readings:
Gura (2017) discusses kids needing to have open-ended assignments - something without obvious right answers. This assignment would provide that opportunity. There are so many potential solutions to the various issues that cause endangered species. This would also encourage students to collaborate with others to see what has already been tried or what is being attempted currently. Students will also be able to select species that they feel a connection with - something that engages them from the start. Whether they want to choose something close to home or something exotic, it will be their choice. Kolb (2017) recommends using technology in co-use environments. Any students considering similar organisms can certainly be partnered so they can have a close working relationship with another student in this project. As they work together they'll be able to discuss various scenarios to improve their potential solution for their selected organism. The Triple E Framework (Kolb, 2017) will help ensure student engagement by increasing time-on-task through co-use/engagement. The Triple E Framework will also be extremely helpful in this project. The technology will enhance the learning by allowing students to have access to information that is current and allows communication with field experts on their organism. The Triple E Framework will also allow for an extension of learning by helping students see how the selected organism may impact the environment and the organisms that are linked to it, whether direct or indirect.

References

The Digital Divide of Use - Promising Practices to Close the Gap

In week 5 of EDUC 5353 we are asked to select a couple of promising practices we identified in our literature review to help close the gap we identified for our community.

I've selected the Digital Divide of Effective Use of Technology by Teachers and Students to focus on during this course. During the literature review, there were many promising practices identified, but here I will focus on the two I feel have the best fit for my community: 1) the "Hacking Leadership" framework developed by Zoller, Lahera, & Jhun (2009), and 2) the 2017 National Education & Technology Plan (NETP).

The Hacking Leadership framework has promise for our community because it will allow teachers and students to have a local impact on our own community while developing connections with community members and each other. They will learn to take all of the ideas that are presented and consider them from a variety of perspectives before deciding on a solution to be implemented. The NETP provides a great set of strategies to help connect the real-world learning of the Hacking Leadership framework with classroom content.

I believe the first steps we need to take would be to train our administrators and teachers on the NETP strategies and select a cadre to attend a Hacking Leadership training. Once the Hacking Leadership cadre has been trained, they can then share the methods they learned with the rest of the faculty. We can then use the Hacking Leadership framework to help each other best determine how to implement these strategies with our students and develop some lesson plans to try them with.

Our entire leadership team and all faculty members should be involved in this ultimately. However, it may be best to start with a few early adopter volunteers and a chunk of the administration and/or leadership team. We could ask one or two highly engaged parents to participate as well if funding allows. Once those participants have a good grasp on the strategies and how they might be implemented, the implementation plan can be rolled out to staff through professional development sessions - either in the summer, during the school year, or both. Once we begin implementing strategies it would be nice to receive feedback from teachers, students, and perhaps parents.

These are first-steps to be implemented in the hopes of increasing the effective use of technology by both students and teachers in our middle school community.

Citations

Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education: 2017 National Education Technology Plan Update [PDF]. (2017, January). U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved February 3, 2019, from https://tech.ed.gov/files/2017/01/NETP17.pdf

Zoller, K., Lahera, A. I., & Jhun, J. K. (2019). A model for addressing adaptive challenges by merging ideas:  How one program designed a hacking framework to address adaptive challenges and discovered the ecotone. Crossing the Bridge of the Digital Divide:  A Walk with Global Leaders, p. 95-112.

The Digital Divide - Factors, Use, and Ability

The Digital Divide

In week 2 of EDUC 5353 we are asked to 1) identify the "dividing factors" impacting our community members, 2) consider the "use" of technology by community members, 3) and consider the "cans and cannots" in our community.

Dividing Factors

Students at DeWitt Perry Middle School are predominantly Hispanic and economically disadvantaged, as shown in my previous post. So, socioeconomic status (SES) and ethnicity are certainly dividing factors to be considered for my community.
Other factors info: I don't have data on their parents' educational levels. Gender is fairly evenly distributed. I'm not sure of their parents' ages, but all of my students are of a similar age. All of my students live in the same geographic area, but their families are mainly from Central America. The mean household size is 5.6, with a median household size of 5, and with a range of 3 to 10 members.

"Use" of Technology

I polled my students about their access to and use of technology for other-than-school. These are the responses from 54 of my 121 students:

"What type(s) of device(s) do you have access to outside of school (other than your school-issued Chromebook)?"
96.1%  Mobile Device
60.9%  Laptop
49.0%  Tablet
23.5%  Desktop
**5.6% of students indicated they had no access to other devices at all.

"Do you have internet access at your house?"
85.2%  Yes
11.1%    Sometimes
3.7%    No

"What are your top 3 uses of internet for non-school activities?"
86.3%  Videos
60.8%  Games
56.9%  Social Media
47.1 % Texting/Messaging
41.7%  Music

"Do you do work for school at home?"
81.5%  Yes
18.5%  No

I was surprised at how many said they have access at home, since a common excuse I hear about why work wasn't done is, "I couldn't do my work because I didn't have internet." Another common excuse is, "My Chromebook ran out of battery."

Ability - "Cans and Cannots"

I did not poll my students about their parents' ability to use various technology devices. I do know that many of the parents that come to campus to use a computer need to have help translating pages to their native language. Once translated, they can usually operate the device with minimal assistance. I do feel there is a divide when it comes to mobile device versus laptop/desktop devices. It seems that more people know how to use apps on their mobile devices than know how to effectively use software on a laptop or desktop.

My Perspective

Any time I introduce a new app/piece of software to my students, they are eager to learn how to use it. Whether or not they continue using it partly depends on if its use is required for my class or another class, but also depends on how engaging it is. I've introduced several sites and apps to my students that they love to use when they finish other classwork - Khan Academy, BrainPop, Legends of Learning, Cool Math Games, Vocabulary.com, MedMyst, Code.org. There are also several sites and apps they only return to if required by an assignment - PHeT, HHMI, NewsELA. The fact that they're returning to sites and apps that are educational is encouraging.

I feel that if we provide more time and instruction on how to use educational sites we will have more students returning to them. In a recent professional development session, we were reminded that we are given time during the work day to collaborate, plan, and try new technology - it's not expected that we do it outside of our scheduled work day. If we expect our students to use a technology we must give them instruction and time to use it during the school day and not expect them to tackle it without teacher support when they're at home. To support their parents' learning, we can do something similar by providing a location and time for parents to receive instruction and have time to practice using technology while support is available.

Initially, I felt my Call to Action would be about ensuring access to the internet for all of my students because it seemed that was the primary issue. However, after polling my students I feel that since 85.2% of them have regular access, energies may be better spent on facilitating education on current technologies for both students and parents. For the 14.8% of students that don't have consistent access to the internet though, I would still like to find a possible solution. (Evidently I'm still a bit torn on which area to focus my energies currently.)

Citations

Defining The Digital Divide in my Community

EDUC 5353 - Week 1

For our Week 1 blog post in EDUC 5353, we are asked to introduce ourselves, make connections between readings, resources, and our community, and define the community we will focus our studies on for this course - Learning Technologies to Bridge the Digital Divide.

Introduction/About Me

My name is Haylee Carroll. I am currently an educator in Carrollton, TX, a suburb of Dallas-Fort Worth, and have been an educator for thirteen years. I've taught math, science, PE, health, and a variety of electives. I'm currently pursuing my a Master's in Education: Curriculum & Instruction - Educational Technology. This is my 2nd course in a series of ten.

The Digital Divide

The readings we were provided all focus on access (at home and/or at school) and use of technology (purpose and skill level) and the differences afforded to people based on location (urban or rural), age, gender, race/ethnicity, level of education (of parents for minors), and income. Van Dijk (2017) discusses how the digital divide was mainly an issue of physical access to a computer, software, and internet in the early years of digital divide research (1999-2002), and then transitioned more to an issue of how technology is used during daily life from 2005-2015. He uses the term "deepening divide" to describe this second level of the digital divide. Since most digital skill acquisition happens as a result of need and use of technology, if a user doesn't have access to current/relevant technologies they won't become skilled in its use. Van Dijk also found that those with higher education levels tended to use technologies more for work, career, and studying, while those with lower education levels tended to use technologies for entertainment, shopping, and messaging. 

KewalRamani, et al. (2018) reveal that physical access is increasing, with mobile device access is climbing faster than high-speed/broadband internet access. While lower-income families are making gains in having internet access, there was still a 33% gap in 2015 between those in the lowest income range and those in the highest income range, closing from a 51% gap in 2010. While Black and Hispanic families show the lowest access, it seems to be income that is the driving force to allowing access.

Turner-Lee (2018) focused on family location for her research, finding that those in more rural areas and with lower income have lower access. Again though, I feel that it connects back to income as the defining variable since people living more remotely tend to have lower incomes overall.  

I feel that if appropriate devices and high-speed internet access can be made more accessible, we will see an increase in technology use for educational purposes. Many people with mobile access only focus on using apps on their mobile devices - those tend to be for entertainment. Users with high-speed access tend to have access to a non-mobile device, desktop, laptop, or Chromebook and are more able to easily access educational information. Chromebooks provide an inexpensive platform to access high-speed internet. If we can make high-speed internet less expensive/more accessible, we can potentially help those in the lowest income levels close the gap in the "deepening divide" Van Dijk (2017) described.

My focus area for this course will include the campus/district where I currently teach 7th grade science - DeWitt Perry Middle School in Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (C-FB ISD). We are located in a suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex: Carrollton, TX. C-FB ISD spans parts of Dallas, Denton, and Collin counties. The Texas Education Agency report card provides the demographic and performance information that follows (2017–18 School Report Card 2018).

Student Population - 1,030

        Campus / District / State

• 96.4% / 95.5% / 95.7% Attendance Rate (2016-17)
• 79.7% / 56.0% / 52.4% Hispanic
• 8.2% / 11.5% / 4.4% Asian
• 6.6% / 12.9% / 27.8% White
• 3.2% / 16.4% / 12.6% African American
• 2.1% / 2.8% / 2.3% Two or More Races
• 0.2% / 0.3% / 0.4% American Indian
• 0.0% / 0.1% / 0.1% Pacific Islander
• 78.3% / 64.1% / 58.8% Economically Disadvantaged
• 45.7% / 29.3% / 18.8% English Learners
• 10.5% / 11.1% / 9.1% Special Education
• 7.0% / 15.8% / 16% Mobility

2018 Performance Rating

• Overall: Met Standard
• Student Achievement: Met Standard
• School Progress: Met Standard
• Closing the Gaps: Met Standard
• Distinctions Received in 7 of 7 categories: Academic Achievement in English Language Arts (ELA)/Reading, Academic Achievement in Mathematics, Academic Achievement in Science, Academic Achievement in Social Studies, Comparative Academic Growth, Comparative Closing the Gaps, and Postsecondary Readiness

Our campus is predominantly Hispanic and Economically Disadvantaged, and has over twice the percentage of English Learners as the state of Texas and over 50% more than C-FB ISD overall.

Community Profile 

The City of Carrollton claims a diverse local economy (City of Carrollton, TX) and boasts recognition in 19 different "Best of" and "Top of" type lists supported by local businesses, associations, and societies. While Carrollton holds several accolades that make it attractive to prospective residents, there is certainly a need felt by the large quantity of lowest socioeconomic status (SES) members - note 78.3% of Perry students mentioned above. 

Focus of Study

I plan to focus my Digital Divide study on the students served by the DeWitt Perry Middle School (DPMS) campus. In a previous course, EDUC 5373 - Innovative Leadership for the Digital Age Learning Environment, I focused my Technology Integration Plan on incorporating access to students of DPMS. I would like to continue my focus on the students I interact with every week and that we serve on my campus so I can help improve their quality of access. 

Citations

Human & Physical Resource Inventory

**I'm not sure how I managed to NOT post this with my initial Needs Assessment. I'm going to post it now, as my EDUC 5373 class is coming to a close. 

Technology Resource Inventory

As part of our Technology Needs Assessment, we also created a Resource Inventory. Again, I will focus on my campus for this initial information.

Human Resources

• On-campus Technology Specialist - responsible for device maintenance and repairs; may also assist with local connection issues
• Technology Integration Specialist - responsible for assisting teachers in small groups or one-on-one with selecting appropriate tools for instruction
• Digital Learning Project "Googler" - responsible for implementing Google's Digital Learning Project protocols to identify challenges, propose solutions, and implement strategies to close those gaps
• Librarian - responsible for cataloging technology devices and processing repair requests
• Teachers - responsible for designing curriculum and delivering instruction for their specific content areas
• Administrators - responsible for decisions about technology procurement
• Students - responsible for learning curriculum delivered by teachers and using technology to enhance and share that learning

Physical Resources

• Chromebooks - one per staff member and one per student
• Desktops - one per staff member and 4 computer labs (each with approximately 25 desktops)
• Document Cameras - one per teacher
• Interactive White Boards (IWB) - one per teacher
• Laptops - approximately 50
• iPads - approximately 50
• Calculators - approximately 350
• ProbeWare - 9 class sets

Reflection on Technology Integration for 21st Century Learners

As I complete my first graduate school course, my final assignment is a reflection about technology integration for 21st Century Learners. 

This course has certainly opened my mind to a broader view than my island of a classroom. I chose to develop a plan to integrate technologies into our whole campus.  I feel that my experiences in this course have better prepared me to discuss options and help implement a new technology integration on my campus. Diving into all the resources, professional development, planning, budgeting, collaboration, and assessment of the plan was a bit overwhelming at times but very educational. This process has shown me many of the intricacies that I had previously not even known to consider.

As a teacher, we frequently hear of a particular device or piece of software and wonder why our campus isn't using it. Now, I know that not only is cost a factor, but a long-term view has to be evaluated, as well as how much training it would take to implement. Since teachers need instruction and time to adequately plan, it's important to have enough time and resources to train teachers far enough in advance that they're comfortable using the technology and they have time to integrate it into their lessons. At the top of my list for successful technology integration: having engaging PD sessions with options that meet teachers' individual needs and allows time to practice and plan. We can also use this learning model for our teachers to guide instruction for our students - meeting their individual needs with the assistance of appropriate technologies and allowing time for them to practice and collaborate with their peers while their teachers provide guidance.


One piece of research I read by McKnight, et al., Teaching in a Digital Age: How Educators Use Technology to Improve Student Learning (2016), found six instructional strategies used by teachers when integrating technology:

1. communication and information management
2. direct instruction of content
3. access and accommodations
4. collaboration
5. research, exploration, and creativity
6. assessment and feedback 

These six strategies were found to be supported by five roles of teaching and learning:

1. improve access - This should allow students to have access to digital information anytime and anywhere and should differentiate their instruction to meet their level and needs.
2. enhance communication and feedback - This means timely feedback is given and instruction is adjusted to meet the needs of students. Multiple modes of communication can be used - email, chat, forum, face-to-face...
3. restructure teachers' use of time  - This transforms the teacher into a coach or guide instead of a source of information. Less direct instruction is needed and allows for more small-group and one-on-one discussion and assistance.
4. extend purpose and audience for student work - Students can now actively find information and share their creations with classmates and people around the world. Teachers that have their students write for a larger audience have found that their students seem to put more effort into their work, claiming that they want to look like they know what they're talking about.
5. shift teacher and student roles - Teachers shift to the role of facilitators instead of information sources and students shift to researchers and evaluators instead of consumers being spoon-fed information.

My take away from this article is that technology use without sound instructional methods embedded in lessons is just a digital babysitter. We must have sound pedagogy in place and support our learning objectives with technologies that are appropriate for the task to be completed. This is where collaboration is key. Nurturing our Professional Learning Communities and growing them to include sources from all around the globe can only give us access to more information and experiences that we can use in our daily instruction of students, which will benefit both us and our students.



Citation

Mcknight, K., O'malley, K., Ruzic, R., Horsley, M. K., Franey, J. J., & Bassett, K. (2016). Teaching in a Digital Age: How Educators Use Technology to Improve Student Learning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 48(3), 194-211. doi:10.1080/15391523.2016.1175856

Technology Integration for Learning

Supporting the learning of teachers and students is the primary goal of technology integration in education. For our Week 5 post, I'm going to focus on providing answers to the prompts about teachers' professional learning.

Teachers' Professional Learning

What structures and practices are already in place in your community to support professional learning?

My campus & district already implement several practices that support the professional learning of educators. 

• Weekly PD on Thursdays given by peers; with a rotating schedule of literacy, AVID, technology, and a book study (Currently: Teach Like a Champion)
• Leadership committees - there are a variety to select from to join at the start of the year; at least 1 is required per teacher
• Summer PD with many choices for educators to select from
• Online PD to extend skills; most courses don't offer actual PD credits though
• Peer coaching
• Administrative support to investigate and implement new technologies

What practices show promise for adoption in your community to support professional learning?

• Teacher Technology Leaders - Some teachers have moved up to Digital Learning Specialist positions, but there aren't enough to have one on each campus. Allowing teachers to step into this role to have a person available throughout the day would be amazing!
• Getting feedback more often - either from peers or from administrators - would be helpful, especially for newer teachers. The more feedback we get, the more we can adjust our practices to improve learning.
• Learning Portfolios - Having teachers present a record at their summative conference of all the training they participate in throughout the year would be very revealing. Both the teacher and administrator would be able to reflect on the learning that happened and discuss what was effective and where there is more opportunity for growth.

Identify synchronous and asynchronous opportunities to develop or grow a professional learning community.

Synchronous - Many of these afford opportunities to grow your PLC face-to-face since you get to participate with people outside of your campus.

• Summer Training/PD Opportunities - the whole district participates
• Start/Mid-Semester PD Sessions - department & campus-level sessions
• Weekly PD - all participants share a planning time
• Committee Meetings - a mix of educators from the entire campus with a shared passion for the selected committee 

Asynchronous - While you can still grow your PLC with these, they require more effort to stay up-to-date due to their formats.

• Twitter - subscribe to content you are interested in; join live chats or participate after by responding to prompts; many great resources
• Webinar - can be done live, but some prefer to watch the playback so they can pause if needed; can still be involved with discussion after the fact
• Facebook Groups - a great way to build relationships with people; opportunities to join groups that have similar interests/goals
• Discussion Boards/Forums - easy to share and find information; many topics to choose from
• Blogs - a great way to see other perspectives and get feedback on ideas
• E-mail - can be used to communicate with one or more people; great for private discussions

How will you plan for successful professional learning activities and network development?

• Gather feedback from educators about what format and topics they'd prefer to learn about.
• Allow educators to choose what they attend, with the understanding that they must attend something and know they will walk away with tools to increase learning.
• Offer the same topic at different levels so beginners, mid-level, and advanced learners are all challenged.
• Offer sessions during designated PD time and before/after school.
• Record sessions or have presentations available for asynchronous use if needed. (Someone is always absent.)
• Ensure there is time for educators to practice their new skills while help is available.
• Offer information for who to contact if further help is needed after the session.
• Encourage teachers to use social media tools in a professional manner: Blogs, Chats, Forums, Hangouts, Twitter, Skype, Google+, Pinterest... 
• At the beginning of the year, ask educators to share the topic and presenter info for any summer PD they attended and enjoyed; same for any books they read. Create a PD Sharing Sheet (and share with all staff) by having educators complete a Google Form to populate the list with opportunities & brief summaries for others to look into for the future. Continue asking participants to update this list as they attend worthwhile events.
• Use information gathered on the PD Sharing Sheet to consider for potential PD ideas or presenters.

Citations

Technology Integration Plan - Moving Beyond the Vision

Last week, in my Innovative Leadership course, we were asked to compare and contrast Technology Integration Plans (TIP). We also started developing the Vision and Goals for our TIP. In week 4, we are asked to continue developing our plan.

What I have from last week:
Campus Technology Vision Statement
Campus educators will create a technologically rich learning environment to prepare students for a rapidly evolving global society through authentic learning experiences and seamlessly integrated technology in order to develop highly skilled digital learners.

Campus Technology Mission Statement
Campus administrators and educators will facilitate the seamless integration of technology into all areas of the campus, including student learning, the learning environment, operations, and interactions with the community.

Goals for Technology Integration Plan
Goal 1: Each student will show growth toward their individual goals.
Goal 2: Educators and administrators will ensure students and educators have equitable access to technology and the supports necessary for success.
Goal 3: Administrators will ensure appropriate technologies are utilized to support the efficient operations of the campus, especially concerning student data and communications.
Goal 4: Administrators and educators will encourage support and participation of community stakeholders as it relates to technology initiatives.

I'm working on my action plan now, and hope to start on the Professional Development Plan and Budget soon.

Guiding my work are several readings that were shared with us - cited below. The 10 Practices for High Achieving Schools and IDEALS discussed in Networking for Professional Learning Communities (O'Hair et al, 2005) overlap each other quite a bit. Three of the 10 Practices resonate with me immediately: #1 Shared Value System, #2 Authentic Teaching, Learning, and Assessment, and #5 Teacher Collaboration. These overlap with the Leadership (shared), Authenticity, and Discourse in IDEALS.

The 2017 National Education Technology Plan Update considers Learning, Teaching, Leadership, Assessment, and Infrastructure to be the areas of focus when integrating technology in education.

In chapter 10 of Renewed Accountability for Access and Excellence, (Shannon & Cate, 2015) discuss technology support for teachers being a sticking point as some teachers resent being pulled from class for technology PD while others don't want to show their skills for fear of their time being consumed by those wanting help. They also address how important it is to have support available on campus, as close to on-demand as possible.

There is SO MUCH to consider when implementing even a small change in technology. These resources certainly provide a good start!

Citations

Technology Integration Plan Options

In week 3 of my Innovative Leadership course, we are asked to compare and contrast Technology Integration Plans. We were provided 5 samples to examine:

• Oklahoma Educational Technology Trust/K20 Partnership - 2019 Grant Application Guidelines
• California K-12 Education - Technology Plan Template, Criteria, and Guiding Questions
• NYSED - 2018-21 Instructional Technology Plan Framework and Guidance
• Scientific Learning - District/School Technology Plan Template
• Hanover Research - The Digital Divide: Technology Integration in School Districts

The OETT/K20 Application, CK12 Template, and NYSED Framework are all comprehensive and very detailed. The OETT/K20 Application provides a list of guiding questions and lists requirements and the process for application submission. OETT/K12 also offers a scoring guide for the 11 criteria by which the application is evaluated. The NYSED Framework provides a step-by-step guide on completing their online application, including what the options will be for specific questions with drop-down menus or multiple-selection items. NYSED also provides additional guidance about where information might be found and what information appropriate responses might include. The CK12 Template provides gridded examples of adequate and inadequate details in a plan. CK12 goes into further detail by providing more specific questions and examples of what might be included in each response category.

The Scientific Learning Template provides a very basic fill-in form and checklist to self-evaluate the proposed plan. I feel like this form would be appropriate for a teacher to use to submit a proposal to their principal, or for a team to have individuals complete before comparing thoughts on a plan - overall a great starting point.

The Hanover Research Brief provides a succinct 5-step process and a diagnostic tool: 

1. Set Vision 
2. Develop a Technology Integration Plan
3. Provide Tailored Professional Development
4. Integration into Daily Instruction
5. Evaluate Technology Integration
   
   Diagnostic: 21st-Century Digital Learning Model Assessment

The infographics used by Hanover Research make their Brief easy to read and make it more friendly than the text-heavy guides developed by others. Hanover Research also provides exemplars and makes sure to include acronym explanations, that other developers assume readers already know. The 7-question diagnostic tool is also very user-friendly. This Brief would be a great way to engage stakeholders with the process.

When developing a Technology Integration Plan, we must involve a variety of stakeholders and maintain their engagement throughout the implementation of the Plan. Sheninger (2014) shares that 2-way communication is now the preferred method of communication and is elevated over paper mail, paper or digital newsletters, websites, and even email. He recommends using free social media applications to engage stakeholders and to direct them to resources that provide more details. Developing and sharing how-to documents and infographics for stakeholders to have guidance on the use of the social media tools of choice is also critical since not all of them already know how to create or use accounts for the wide variety of social media tools available. Interacting in this hyper-digital format requires leaders and organizations to have professional accounts with each provider. In addition to creating professional accounts, Sheninger (2014) also recommends holding workshops for stakeholders, sharing accomplishments of both students and teachers, curating resources for stakeholders, and dedicating a phone line for stakeholders with a service like GoogleVoice.

Gura (2018) provides there are ten roles of a Digital Change Agent: evangelist, advocate, great explainer, myth buster, coach, praise singer, vision quester, grand organizer, leader, and change agent. Being all of these sounds exhausting, but the TEACH method, shared by Julianne B. Ross-Kleinmann in (Gura, 2018), and the guiding question, "What technology can enhance this lesson?" (Gura, 2018, p.68) will be helpful to anyone filling any of the above roles. Add the idea that digital leadership "focuses on finding innovative solutions to deliver authentic learning experiences and support to continuously provide the best learning opportunities for students" (Sheninger, 2014, p.177), and I believe we have great tool-set to use when trying to initiate and implement digital changes.

Build Trust

Create Equity

Advocate on Their Behalf

Collaborate with Them

Be Humble and Infuse Humor

Citations

Technology Needs Assessment Thoughts

Technology Needs Assessment - I feel I need to start small, and build from there. I will focus on instructional staff and students on our middle school campus to start.

Things to consider:

• Time teaching/Age of student
• Time teaching varies 
• Age of students - 11-15 
• Current hardware used & suitability for instruction/learning
• Teacher desktops & connected Interactive White Boards (IWB)
• Chromebooks (teachers & students) 
• Current software used & suitability for instruction/learning
• Microsoft Office (teacher desktops only) and Google Suite 
• Variety of apps and other software 
• Connectivity available on campus for devices
• Mostly wireless; few hard-wired labs; teacher desktops hard-wired

Time teaching/Age of student

Our innovators are typically our more experienced teachers (5+ years teaching), most teachers in their 1st or 2nd year of teaching are trying to stay afloat for the first few years. A few of our most experienced teachers (15+ years teaching) are happy to keep doing the same as they have have been for the last many years. Fortunately, most teachers are willing to try new technology, and many welcome it. We need an advocate for new technologies that can clearly explain, demonstrate, and help teachers try it so they can experience how it can be utilized in the classroom. Having a teacher on every campus, willing to continuously learn and share new technologies, and dedicated to providing that support to teachers would be amazing. 

Some students coming to the middle school setting consider themselves pros when it comes to technology, and others have hardly had access to devices. One thing I've noticed that most students can work on is their typing skills. They're so used to typing with their thumbs that they haven't bothered to learn how to use a keyboard. With students, we also need to be concerned with accessibility and privacy since some sites require students need to be 13+ or have parent permission.

Hardware

Our campus could use more devices capable of photographing student work - hand-held devices like phones or tablets. Many of our students don't have personal devices. Also, we frequently have students that use one assignment for more than one class. If they turn it in for one class though, it's not available for the other. If they could take a decent photo of the assignment they could turn in a digital copy and keep the original for themselves, or vice versa. Each students could also use earbuds/headphones with mic and a mouse. It would also be helpful to have charging stations available in common areas. 

Our 10-15 year-old teacher desktops are ancient in technology terms! I reboot my computer each morning and it slows to unresponsive almost daily. Since it's so unreliable I tend to use it only for projecting to the IWB - which isn't really all that interactive because of the slowness of my desktop. 

Software

Do we really need to pay for Microsoft Office or Canvas when Google Suite is available for free, and it auto saves? Surprisingly, some teachers don't even know about Google Suite and that it is free and accessible anywhere! If we are going to have our students working in Google Suite, our teachers need to learn it too.

App use varies by department and teacher. The most frequent complaint of teachers is that students are off-task, playing games. Monitoring software has been discussed on our campus. Our hard-wired computer labs have software so the teacher can monitor use and even close tabs/windows on student devices from their teacher desktop. Something like this could certainly be useful in ensuring students are working on assigned material instead of playing games. However, would it end up making the teacher a desk-jockey and inhibiting face-to-face interaction with students?

Connectivity

Most days, our connections are sufficient for those of us that consistently have students use their Chromebooks in class. The only times I've noticed any problems are when we are doing school-wide testing or surveys online. We may need a bit of an upgrade to be sure we can consistently accommodate all 1100 students and staff on our campus simultaneously.

Summary of Needs

• Advocate willing to train teachers on new technologies
• Students to be taught/practice keyboarding 
• Photo-friendly student devices
• Efficiency accessories for students
• Teacher desktop upgrades
• Transition to Google Suite
• Solution ideas for off-task behavior
• Increase bandwidth to accommodate 1100+ full-time users

I will also be conducting a Technology Survey with stakeholders on my campus. I'll post those results later.