2013, I Resolve…

New Years–a time for rest, rejuvenation and repair. A time to assess. Do we settle into our life, enjoy where it’s headed, or is it time to grab our purse, our iPhone and keys and get out of there?

As most of you know, I am a K-8 technology teacher, but I have a serious interest in writing. It started with non-fiction technical writing and morphed to novels. I write techno-thrillers, scientific fiction–plots that are based in the cerebral and encourage readers to join my love of intelligent topics. Therefore, my resolutions are far-ranging and varied, so I group them. Here’s how I did last year:

Teaching

• Seek out other tech ed teachers to see what is being done to incorporate technology into the classroom. Tech ed is a chameleon, constantly in flux, changing to suit educational environs. It’s a challenge to stay on top of it and one that requires attention every week of every year.
• Keep pushing my students and colleagues to integrate technology into core subjects and add the exciting Web 2.0 tools to their curriculum. Yes–it’s difficult because it’s not the way they’ve done it before, and yes–it’s worth it.
• Attend ‘a few’ tech ed conferences. Here’s my summary from ISTE 2011.
• I still need to find new ezines and blogs for tech ed. I am active on several social networks for tech teachers, write column for several ezines. I’d like to do more.
• Put more thought into my teaching wikis for grades K-5. I’ll schedule that for this summer, when I’m not so rushed.
  

5 Fabulous Last-minute Gifts

I talked to a lot of people to prepare this article. Sure, I have my 5 Fabulous List, but is it representative of what YOU might want? To determine that, I asked the faculty at my school, the members of my Personal Learning Network, and a bunch of efriends I’ve met while blogging. Here’s the list we came up with:

Old-style Kindle

They’re on sale for $59! What do you get? A screen that shows you the book you want to read, no matter the glaring sunlight, the internet outage, the fact that you’re on a flight and finished your book and now what do you do (hint: if you have the Kindle, you open the next one). The new Kindle Fire is morphing into a tablet. That’s OK if that’s what you want. But if you want to read a book without the battery expiring, in a dead wifi zone, get Old Kindle.

iPad

I love my iPad, but truth, any pad computer is a great way to stay on top of the most important things you need every day:

How to Thrive as a Digital Citizen

Citizen of the internet

Thanks to the pervasiveness of easy-to-use technology and the accessibility of the internet, teachers are no longer lecturing from a dais as the purveyor of knowledge. Now, students are expected to take ownership of their education, participate actively in the learning process, and transfer knowledge learned in the classroom to their lives.

In days past, technology was used to find information (via the internet) and display it (often via PowerPoint). No longer.  Now, if you ask a fifth grade student to write a report on space exploration, here’s how s/he will proceed:

Understand ‘Digital Citizenship’

Before the engines of research can start, every student must understand what it means to be a citizen of the world wide web. Why? Most inquiry includes a foray into the unknown vastness of the www. Students learn early (I start kindergartners with an age-appropriate introduction) how to thrive in that virtual world. It is a pleasant surprise that digital citizenship has much the same rules as their home town:

Don’t talk to bad guys, look both ways before crossing the (virtual) street, don’t go places you know nothing about, play fair, pick carefully who you trust, don’t get distracted by bling, and sometimes stop everything and take a nap.

In internet-speak, students learn to follow good netiquette, not to plagiarize the work of others, avoid scams, stay on the website they choose, not to be a cyber-bully, and avoid the virtual ‘bad guys’. Current best practices are not to hide students from any of these, but to teach them how to manage these experiences.

Is Keyboarding Dead?

Should it be dead? Credit: Beeki

I was on one of my tech teacher forums–where I keep up to date on changes in education and technology–and stumbled into a heated discussion about what grade level is best to begin the focus on typing (is fifth grade too old–or too young?). Several teachers shared that keyboarding was the cornerstone of their elementary-age technology program. Others confessed their Admin wanted it eliminated as unnecessary. Still others dismissed the discussion as moot: Tools like Dragon Speak (the standard in speech recognition software) and iPhone’s wildly-popular  Siri mean keyboarding will soon be as useful as cursive and floppy discs.

My knee jerk reaction was That’s years off, but it got me thinking. Is it really? Or are the fires of change about to sweep through our schools? Already, families are succumbing to the overwhelming popularity of touch screens in the guise of iPads. No typing required–just a finger poke, a sweep, and the command is executed. Those clumsy, losable styluses of your parent’s era are so last generation. The day kids discover how easy it is to tell their phones what they need done (think iPhone 4S)–stick a fork in it; keyboarding will be done.

Truthfully, as someone who carefully watches ed tech trends, a discussion about the importance of keyboarding says as much about national education expectations as typing. Schools are moving away from reports and essays as methods of assessing understanding. Teachers want plays that act out a topic, student-created videos that demonstrate authentic understanding, multi-media magazines that convey a deeper message. Web-based communication tools like Voki, Animoto, and Glogster–all of which have limited typing–are de rigeur in every academic program that purports to be tech-savvy. Students are encouraged to use audio, visual, taped vignettes, recorded snippets–everything that ISN’T the traditional MS Word document with a bullet list of comprehensive points to convey the message. For much of what students want out of life–to call a friend, find their location on GPS, arrange a get-together, create a reminder–writing is passe. Email to your middle school and high school children is as anachronistic as snail mail. Even texting is being shunted aside by vlogs and Skype, and note-taking–with the popularity of apps like Evernote–has become something best accomplished with swipes and clicks.

Do You Make These 9 Mistakes

…with your child’s computer education?

• Show your child how to do something rather than allowing him to discover
• Do for them rather than let them do it
• Say ‘no’ too often (or the other enthusiasm-killer, Don’t touch!)
• Don’t take them seriously
• Take technology too seriously. It’s a tool, meant to make life easier. Nothing more.
• Underestimate their abilities
• Over-estimate their abilities
• Give up too quickly
• Think there’s only one way to do stuff on the computer

Do Your Children Need Computers for School?

What do your students need?

This is a question I get from parents all the time. Most parents want to get what their child needs as affordably as possible, and don’t want to save a few bucks at the expense of their child. If that sounds like you,

Here are my suggestions:

1. Start by talking to the classroom teacher. What are their expectations of the child? If they’re like the ones in my school, they will want him/her to have access to basic software and the internet for research, maybe email. That’s it.
2. You’re wondering whether a desktop is good for your child, or do they need a laptop? There are lots of reasons why a laptop might be a good decision for your particular family dynamics, but in general terms, a desktop is fine for a younger child (K-5). They don’t need to take it to friend’s house for group projects much until they reach middle school, and I would not suggest gearing a more-expensive laptop decision around an occasional project. I guarantee, the teacher won’t.
3. There are other reasons why a desktop is a good decision. It is more durable (it isn’t carried around, so can’t be dropped). If the monitor breaks, you don’t have to replace the entire computer–just the monitor. Because it’s cheaper, it can be replaced if your child somehow destroys it or part of it (this should be expected of new users). And, a desktop has a larger hard drive, more memory and more drives/ports for input devices. That makes it more adaptable to unexpected needs.
4. Now you need to select which level of desktop your child requires. Does s/he need the basic $350 on sale version or the everything-in-it upgrade? My suggestion is to start simple. Basic. See what the child uses, what else he needs before making an expensive decision. Most kids are fine with the lower end of productivity. Some, though, want the works. You’ll know by the time you’re ready for an upgrade.

Back to School–Tech Makes it Easy to Stay On Top of Everything

Tech for back to school

If you’re sending your child back to school, technology can be intimidating. Should your elementary-age child have a computer? If so, what should you buy? And how do you keep it safe?

Here’s what I tell my K-5 parents about how to handle the stress of equipping the 21st century tech kid:

By third grade, children need a computer. Here’s why:

• There’s a good chance your child’s class has a website. All of my school’s classes from kindergarten up do. On those webpages, teachers list what happened during class, homework, resources, extensions, expectations and more. You’ll want to access those to stay up to date.
• It’s hard for you as a parent to keep in touch with all the ancillary teachers your child sees during the day AS WELL AS  the classroom teacher. I’m talking about the art teacher, the PE teacher, language B teacher, technology teacher. A good way is to access their school webpages. My profile at school links to my class technology page. All of our Specials (the teachers who cover subjects outside of the classroom) have their own webpages. This is likely true in your school, too.
• A lot of teachers choose to communicate with parents via blogs or twitter. Here’s my professional blog. It’s a great way to casually keep parents and students up to date on class activities. I have one at school, too, but non-students are locked out of it.
• Much classwork integrates information from the internet. If your child is excited about something shown in class, s/he’ll want to revisit at home. That’s as simple as an internet connection and the website (probably posted on the class webpage). In tech class, students have a class internet start page and a class wiki (I’ve linked to my fifth grade wiki) that track everything done in class for follow-up at home. All are accessible from one location on my class webpage to make it easier on parents and students.

What About Teacher Tech Training–Part II

Teachers want to learn about tech as much as students

I posted a question from a reader under my Dear Otto column, where she asked how other schools handled tech training. When I get questions like that, I repost to my PLN so I can get a broad cross-section of input from technology professionals.

I want to share the answers I received so you can benefit as much as I have from what happens around the world when it comes to technology training for teaching professionals:

Sandra–Since our school implemented the Moodle platform, that is the PD available and given by the IT Coordinator. It is given after school, in teacher’s own free time and at that time many teachers are not available as they are tutoring or doing after school sports, so I would say the time the PD is given is not very appropriate. More PD options should be available (not just Moodle) to smaller groups of teachers depending on their needs.

Janet (at Expat Educator)–Our school doesn’t have many PD days dedicated to tech. We’ve gotten around it using a “1:1 Student-as-Teacher” model. My teaching partner or I do something new with technology (like make Google sites or introduce Prezis). The tech lessons are always in relation to a content learning objective – not teaching tech for the sake of tech. Then, our students go to another class and teach the next class. When our students “teach” other students, they are not allowed to touch the other’s computer. They must use language to describe the location of icons, they can point, or they can model processes with their own computers. It’s interesting to watch the students struggle to communicate in such an authentic way. And, more students get to experiment with some of the wonderful tech tools that are available.

How Do I Decide What to Write About?

I’d like to claim that I pick topics of paramount importance in the tech ed community, the pinnacle of edtech conversations and just must be talked about.

But that’s not true. I select the topics that interest my readers. It’s a pull-through approach rather than push-through.

You-all communicate what you’d like to read about in several ways:

• comments–though not often. I have many loyal readers, but most don’t comment. That’s OK.
• Dear Otto–I get many questions through Dear Otto (don’t you love palindromes?). More often than not, they are questions I never considered, like my latest–How Do You Keep Students From Playing with Settings? and my upcoming post What About Teacher Tech Training? (scheduled for April 16th, 2012)
• click-throughs–those are the links I provide in posts that people click to garner additional information

I’m going to share the statistics from my click-throughs today. Amazingly, I get an average of 38% click-throughs from visitors–i.e., if I have 2,000 visitors on a day, 760 of them click through to one of the links. That tells me I’m providing material of interest to readers.

Here are the top sites you the reader clicked through to so far during 2012:

1. libraryspot.com
2. bbc.co.uk/schools/typing
3. factmonster.com
4. jonmiles.co.uk/fingerjig.php
5. kids.nationalgeographic.com
6. kids.yahoo.com
7. tvokids.com/framesets/bby.html?game=66
8. typingmaster.com/individuals/bubbles.asp
9. abcya.com/keyboard.htm
10. ivyjoy.com/rayne/kidssearch.html

Should Tech Teachers be in the Classroom or the Lab

Where should tech teachers be?

The following question was posed by one of my readers:

I love your site and all the valuable information you put out to help others. I wish I would of found it sooner. Thank You!

I have a question and would love your insight ... I teach lower school Computer Class to grades 1-4 at a private school in Columbus, Ohio. Our Technology Vision for 2015 is to get the students out of the computer lab, where they now learn computer skills based on classroom themes, and move me into the classroom where I would be the “technology integration teacher” alongside the classroom teacher. I would help with Smartboard, Ipad, laptop lessons integration, etc. I think this is a good idea and have been told that this is the trend in education but have not gotten real clarity on why and how this transition should take place.

Here are my questions: Do you see the benefit of technology integration into classrooms as I stated above? Is this the trend in education? If so why and how do you make this big transition? My feeling is that students need to learn computer skills such as formatting a document, searching the web, tools within PowerPoint, etc…This is much easier in a lab setting than classroom. Should we have both a lab and an itinerant technology integration teacher?

I get this question often, not to mention how many times it pops up on my tech teacher forums and Nings. Tech teachers as a group are struggling with their future role: Are they to teach computer skills or are they to integrate technology into classroom units of inquiry. These are two disparate functions and as my reader suggests, their goals are accomplished differently.

2012, I Resolve…

New Years–a time for rest, rejuvenation and repair. A time to assess. Do we settle into our life, enjoy where it’s headed, or is it time to grab our purse, our iPhone and keys and get out of there?

I resolve...

As most of you know, I am a K-8 technology teacher, but I have a serious interest in writing. It started with non-fiction technical writing and morphed to novels. I write techno-thrillers, scientific fiction–plots that are based in the cerebral and encourage readers to join my love of intelligent topics. Therefore, my resolutions are far-ranging and varied, so I group them. Here’s how I did last year:

Teaching

• Attend ISTE this summer. I missed it last summer, but it’s already approved by my principal for this summer. Anyone else going? Went and loved it. Here’s my summary
• Start a technology club at my school. I’ve tried to do this in the past, but I’ll try harder this year Just not going to happen. I think it would work in Middle School, but most of my classes are K-5. Or am I making excuses?
• Participate more in the online communities that encourage technology integration in education. I write a weekly column for Technology Integration in Education and one for Examiner.com on tech tips for Everyman. Maybe there’re more. I need to find new ezines and blogs for tech ed. I am active on several social networks for tech teachers and write a column for an international ezine. I’d like to do more.
• Participate more actively in Computer Science Teachers Association. To that end, they have asked me to serve as a reviewer for their Computer Science & Information Technology Symposium. I’ve already made the commitment. I have done nothing with CSTA since that initial review. I have to ask myself: Why not?

What Should You Expect of Younger Keyboarders?

Please check out my guest post for BAM! Radio, What Should You Expect of Younger Keyboarders, a continuation of our on-radio discussion about younger keyboarders. I take the sometimes controversial stand that youngers can keyboard if it’s taught in an age-appropriate and developmentally-healthy manner.

Here’s a teaser:

Before I answer that question, let’s back up a step and answer a more fundamental question: Should you expect youngers to keyboard? I’m talking about students between kindergarten and fifth grade. Are they mature enough? Do they have the fine motor skills required to use the pinkie to push the A key? Do they have that kind of focus and concentration? Should they be playing outside rather than typing at a computer?

The answer is: Yes, as a rule, though when I reviewed the literature on this subject, it is all over the place as far as when students should begin. Some say third grade; some say not until fifth or sixth. From my experience, it’s third grade, though I teach pre-keyboard skills as young as kindergarten. That might be why my students are ready in third grade.

Here’s a caveat: You’ll have to be the arbiter as to whether this is true for your group. If you determine your students aren’t ready, wait a year. You’re the teacher. You’ll know when they’re ready.

Keyboarding for Youngers? There are Three Sides to the Story

Is Teaching Keyboarding in Kindergarten Developmentally Appropriate?
Rae Pica with Cris Rowan, Jacqui Murray, Lisa Guernsey

Many argue that teaching penmanship is a thing of the past, but at what age should children be taught to use a computer keyboard? Some are starting as early as kindergarten, but is it developmentally appropriate? We turn to a panel of experts for guidance on when to start teaching children to hunt and peck and use proper finger placement.

Listen to the radio broadcast here. Here’s a summary I posted earlier, then, read my article What Should You Expect of Younger Keyboarders?, also on BAM Radio.

What’s your opinion on keyboarding for K-2?

Back to School–Tech Makes it Easy to Stay On Top of Everything

If you’re sending your child back to school, technology can be intimidating. Should your elementary-age child have a computer? If so, what should you buy? And how do you keep it safe?

Here’s what I tell my K-5 parents about how to handle the stress of equipping the 21st century tech kid:

By third grade, children need a computer. Here’s why:

• There’s a good chance your child’s class has a website. All of my school’s classes from kindergarten up do. On those webpages, teachers list what happened during class, homework, resources, extensions, expectations and more. You’ll want to access those to stay up to date.
• It’s hard for you as a parent to keep in touch with all the ancillary teachers your child sees during the day AS WELL AS  the classroom teacher. I’m talking about the art teacher, the PE teacher, language B teacher, technology teacher. A good way is to access their school webpages. Here’s my profile, which, if you were a parent, would link to my class technology page. All of our Specials (the teachers who cover subjects outside of the classroom) have their own webpages. This is likely true in your school, too.
• A lot of teachers choose to communicate with parents via blogs or twitter. Here’s my blog. It’s a great way to casually keep parents and students up to date on class activities. I haven’t re-started mine for the new school year, so don’t expect much today. Check back in a month!
• Much classwork integrates information from the internet. If your child is excited about something shown in class, s/he’ll want to revisit at home. That’s as simple as an internet connection and the website (probably posted on the class webpage). In tech class, students have a class internet start page and a class wiki (I’ve linked to my fifth grade wiki) that track everything done in class for follow-up at home. All are accessible from one location on my class webpage to make it easier on parents and students.

School’s Back–Do Your Children Need Computers?

This is a question I get from parents all the time. Most parents want to get what their child needs as affordably as possible, but they don’t want to save a few bucks at the expense of their child. If that sounds like you,

Photo credit: microcomputers.com

here are my suggestions:

1. Start by talking to the classroom teacher. What are their expectations of the child? If they’re like the ones in my school, they will want him/her to have access to basic software and the internet for research, maybe email. That’s it.
2. You’re wondering whether a desktop is good for your child, or do they need a laptop? There are lots of reasons why a laptop might be a good decision for your particular family dynamics, but in general terms, a desktop is fine for a younger child (K-5). They don’t need to take it to friend’s house for group projects much until they reach middle school, and I would not suggest gearing a more-expensive laptop decision around an occasional project. I guarantee, the teacher won’t.
3. There are other reasons why a desktop is a good decision. It is more durable (it isn’t carried around, so can’t be dropped). If the monitor breaks, you don’t have to replace the entire computer–just the monitor. Because it’s cheaper, it can be replaced if your child somehow destroys it or part of it (this should be expected of new users). And, a desktop has a larger hard drive, more memory and more drives/ports for input devices. That makes it more adaptable to unexpected needs.
4. Now you need to select which level of desktop your child requires. Does s/he need the basic $350 on sale version or the everything-in-it upgrade? My suggestion is to start simple. Basic. See what the child uses, what else he needs before making an expensive decision. Most kids are fine with the lower end of productivity. Some, though, want the works. You’ll know by the time you’re ready for an upgrade.

What’s Trending on Ask a Tech Teacher

I  calculate what’s trending on my blog by which of my posts are popular a particular month. Here’s this month’s run-down:

QR codes are 'what's trending' in tech ed

1. Great Kids Websites
2. 41 Websites for Teachers to Integrate Tech into Your Classroom
3. 3 Projects to Integrate Tech into an Animals Unit–Part I
4. 18 Online Keyboard Sites for Kids
5. Ten Best Keyboarding Hints You’ll Ever See

These aren’t surprising. Half of my most popular posts are about keyboarding. The next ‘most popular’ group is lists of theme-oriented websites. These are my collection of websites that tie into classroom units. I post them on my class start page during the class unit and replace them when the teacher moves on to another unit.

The only post popularity that surprises me is the post discussing integrating tech into an animals unit. I’m also surprised that the posts on specific lesson plans and tech tips don’t show up as trending until I look way down the list–toward the top twenty. What are your thoughts on that? Should I post less on tech tips and more on websites/keyboarding?

Tech Tip #70: Save Energy While Searching

As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each Tuesday, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!

Q: Can I go green and still browse endlessly? I confess–I’m addicted, but I want to do what’s right.

A: Go to Blackle.com. Instead of a white background, it’s black which has saved 2,440,165.420 Watt hours as of the hour I checked.

5 Best Tech Skills You Learned in Elementary School

Edward Stern is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on earning your bachelors degree online for the Guide to Online Schools. I think you’ll enjoy his take on how lessons learned when life was less tech and more about trying to survive elementary years still apply now that we’re all so grown up.

It used to be so simple back in the day. Playing with legos, making masterpieces with fingerpaint, and enjoying nap-time every afternoon—just a few perks of elementary school before education became synonymous with essays and tests, Powerpoint and Excel, Javascript and Visual Basic.

2011, I Resolve…

Last year, on New Year’s Day, I didn’t even make new year resolutions. That is why–IMHO–I didn’t get as much done as I should have. Remember the old proverb about the Captain of the ship with no map–he just headed east? That was me. I thought I’d do as much as I could and call it a success.

Not so good. This year, I’m writing them down so I have to see them and be embarrassed if I make no progress. A little forward motion is all I ask.

As most of you know, I am a K-8 technology teacher, but I have a serious interest in writing. It started with non-fiction technical writing and morphed to novels. I write techno-thrillers, scientific fiction–plots that are based in the cerebral and encourage readers to join my love of intelligent topics. Therefore, my resolutions are far-ranging and varied, so I’ve grouped them. This allows me to keep track of them better. Here they are:

Profile of the Non-Voter

Tuesday is one of the most important midterm elections America has had in decades. The decisions made and people elected will be responsible for:

• changing the leadership of the House of Representatives and the Senate, something that will severely affect the progress of Obama’s populist agenda
• enforcing the policies of the Health Care Reform Bill
• changing the leadership of States–a critical time because in 2011, states will be redistricted for their House and Senate seats

Social Media Explained With Two Maps

I love geeks. Who else could come up with this map?

Map of Online Communities, as seen through the eyes of the xkcd folk

Is Technology Good for Our Younger Children?

Technology is exciting for kids and opens the world up in a way they can experience it.  I see that every day I teach my students (kindergarten-fifth grade). My problem for those as young as the ones discussed in the article below is two fold.

First, I fear parents give them the iPhone or handheld computers as babysitters, Instead of talking with their kids, parents facilitate a family where everyone’s in their own disconnected world. I don’t even like TV’s in cars. Driving time used to be when parents had their kids as a captive audience, a chance to find out what was really going on with their children. Now, everyone’s listening to ipods or playing video games or watching a movie. When do families get to know each other, develop those critical lifetime bonds?