How to Change Education

Watch this video:
http://coopcatalyst.wordpress.com/2013/03/24/changing-education-guest-post-by-youth-leader-arooj-ahmad/

The young man tells us what's wrong with education today and gives us ways to fix what's wrong. A must watch.

Successful 1:1 Program?

5 ways to increase chances of a successful #1to1 implementation

As more and more schools hop on the 1:1 or BYOD bandwagon in one way or another it is important to deeply consider proper implementation.  While there is the promise for engaged and inspired learning, these large-scale implementations also present potential pitfalls for school districts that must watch the bottom line, provide adequate support for teachers new to the technology, and engage families in a dialogue about these powerful pieces of equipment that are going to be coming home in Johnny’s backpack each night.

There is no shortage of advice for effective use of technology in the classroom, but for the first time, Common Sense Media, a national non-profit that provides curriculum support for schools around safe technology use by kids, has created a soup-to-nuts planning program that includes resources for all phases of a 1:1 implementation. And since they’re experts in Digital Citizenship there are plenty of resources in the program geared towards on-boarding students for safe and responsible use of their new devices.

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21st Century Tools for Teachers

9 Learning Tools Every 21st Century Teacher Should Be Able To Use

The 21st century is a time of rapid change, and while the brain may not be changing (much), the tools we use to feed it are.

This puts the 21st century teacher in a critical spot–of mastering constantly evolving technology and digital learning tools–the same tools their students use every day.

So below, we’ve started with 9 such tools, but this is obviously just scratching the surface. This list is not meant to be exhaustive (obviously), or even authoritative (but rather, subjective). This is the 21st century, after all. Months after this post is published 2-3 of these tools could be outdated, and if this turns up in the Google search results of a query in 2018, they may seem downright laughable, but here and now, this is a fairly accurate litmus test of what the kinds of tools the average 21st century teacher can be expected to use and master.

And incidentally, it pairs nicely with a related post, 36 Things Every 21st Century Teacher Should Be Able To Do.

Let us know what we missed on twitter or facebook.

1. RSS or Social Readers
While Google Reader is going the way of the dodo, social readers like Pulse and Flipboard continue to surge in popularity because they’re attractive, accessible across devices, and make it easy to skim large amounts of information at once.

Why Every 21st Century Teacher Should Be Able To Use It

Extracting data from the internet is like trying to listen to the subtle melody of a Korn song. Tools like twitter, facebook, and Flipboard can act as a kind of volume control (if you’ll allow a mixed metaphor) so that you can hear what you want, when you want.

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Are iPads a Problem?

iPads are the problem, not the solution

by glennw on May 6, 2013    

At the recent EdTechTeacher iPad Summit held in Atlanta, Greg Kulowiec asked a simple question:

Is the iPad a solution or problem?

It’s a great question. There are tons of people jumping on the iPad bandwagon and I’ve suggested before that many of them are hopping on with their eyes closed. It’s a shiny tool that attracts a lot of attention. But is all of the attention a good thing? Greg says maybe not:

If the iPad is a solution, then the problems that it can solve in the existing structure, time and space provided by schools are easily solved and will not lead to any substantial change that allows students to demonstrate their understanding through the process of creating content.

If we view the iPad as a problem, it will force us to consider the changes that may need to be made in order to unleash the full potential of this device when placed in the hands of students. This is a good problem, one that will have us rethink learning spaces and the environments in which our students grow and learn.

Think this through a bit. Are we using the iPad as a jet engine on a stagecoach? We often see “school” in a certain way. It looks like this. Teachers do this. Kids do this. It happens at these place and times. And we try and fit new technology like iPads into that world view.

We see the iPad as a solution to traditional sorts of education problems. We try to use them like little portable computers. We worry about printing. We lock down access to certain apps and information. We don’t provide emails to kids. We block server ports that allow the iPad to talk with iPads and devices. We limit who can install apps and when they can install them.

And we end up using the tool in a way that’s not good for kids. We need to see the iPad as a problem that forces us to re-think how we view school.

If you agree with this sort of thinking, and it does make sense to me, then it’s not just iPads that are the problem. It’s all kinds of disruptive ideas. It’s the new Kansas social studies standards that focus on process rather than just content. It’s the new national social studies framework. It’s research-based practices that we know are good for kids but we don’t use because the system limits their effectiveness.

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Starting a 1:1 Program

An Educators Guide to Successfully Starting a 1:1 Program by @JeffBradbury

Added by @jeffbradbury on May 10, 2013.

What happens when you combine cutting edge technology with a little bit of thought and planning?
On Thursday May 9, the Passaic City Public School District welcomed teachers and administrators from across New Jersey and New York to discuss and demonstrate a new technology program they have recently begun implementing in their middle school.  Through the help of state and federal funding, Passaic City Schools, a district of more than 15,000 students, is transforming into one of the largest urban school districts to make the shift to a 1:1 learning environment.

This introduction to what a 1:1 (one to one) program could and should be, is just the beginning of what will be a 5-6 year technology plan being rolled out in the Passaic High School and Middle Schools.  Referring to the 2012-2013 school year as “Year Zero,” Students in Lincoln Middle School have recently begun to merge learning and technology using Passaic’s introduction of what will be more than 5500 Samsung Chromebooks.

Why go 1:1?

According to Joshua Koen, the Director for Instructional Technology, “technology should be implemented in the classroom to make teachers more effective and efficient in the classroom.”  Koen who leads a district wide team of Technology Coaches is currently rolling out the district’s second wave of Chromebooks in the middle school.

Allowing students quick access to the internet in a student-friendly, safe environment, Samsung Chromebooks provide students and educators an affordable mobile solution to engage in 21st Century digital learning.  Students will be able to take advantage of the benefits Chromebooks offer by creating documents and quickly sharing them with their classmates and teachers.  It is because of this sharing and digital technology that the school system will be seeing a drastic cut in technology costs.  Gone will be the days where the district provides copier toner and ink for printers.  These days, the students and faculty are creating a collaborative network of learning through their new cloud based  ecosystem.

Creating a Digital Campus for Digital Learning

To prepare for the transition to a 1:1 learning system, Passaic Schools have needed to undergo two key transitions; installing a brand new Wireless Network, and installing a new teaching method into their staff.

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Classroom iPad Use

The Smart Way to Use iPads in the Classroom

It’s not about the games or educational apps.

By Lisa Guernsey

Touch-screen tablets for young students have become all the rage. Some districts are even buying iPads for every kindergartner, a move sparking both celebration and consternation. Do we really want to give $500 devices to kids who can’t even tie their shoes? What are these schools doing with these devices, anyway?

Last month, I had a rare opportunity to ask those questions at a school in Zurich, Switzerland. As part of a tour to talk about my book, Screen Time, I was treated to three days of visits to nearly a dozen classrooms at the Zurich International School, a private school that caters to English-speaking immigrants and expats whose companies have brought them to this exquisite city near the Alps.

ZIS, as the school is called, has distributed 600 iPads—one to every student in first through eighth grades, plus a set for teachers in preschool and kindergarten to use with children in small groups. And I had only one thought when I arrived: This is a school with money. In my first few minutes of walking through its colorful, light-filled hallways and well-stocked libraries, I figured I would be leaving Switzerland rich in chocolate but poor in insights that could have any bearing on public education in the United States.

I was wrong. Not about the money—ZIS has resources public-school teachers could scarcely dream of—but about the lessons I might bring home to generate smarter conversations about using tablets in the classroom.

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Successful iPad Program

Ten keys to a successful school iPad program

By Sam Gliksman


“It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. If we are to develop our students’ sense of curiosity, we must be mindful to carve out time to allow our students to inquire and explore.”—Albert Einstein

It seems that every school is considering purchasing iPads these days, and Apple has reported that iPad sales to schools are currently outpacing MacBook sales by a very large margin. However, the rush to purchase iPads often precedes the careful planning and preparation that are so crucial to their success as educational tools.

It’s important for educators to understand that technology alone—no matter how full of potential it may be—is not the answer. Instead, iPads need to be integrated into the 21st-century classroom using a holistic approach. Teachers and administrators should identify the skills and abilities young people will need to succeed in our rapidly changing world and use technology to help students acquire them.

You’ve seen what kids look like when they handle an iPad—that’s what makes these devices ideal teaching aids. With little hesitation, young people jump right in, and within minutes they start drawing, reading, or finding some other activity that motivates, engages, and educates them.

Yes, it’s wonderful that kids love iPads, and educators will, too—if they know how to incorporate them into teaching. Having iPads in the classroom won’t make much of a long-term impact unless teachers know how to roll them out. Here, I list ten vital components of a successful iPad implementation:

First, determine whether or not you’re ready. There’s no point in purchasing iPads if you don’t have the technical infrastructure to manage and deploy them. I urge educators to consider the following questions:

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