What makes a "good" technology integration specialist?

As I am pondering what makes a good technology integration specialist (TIS), I begin thinking about what makes my school's technology coaches such good instructors. I am privileged to have two technology coaches within my building the past two years. I have seen them struggle through a 1:1 IPad program and I have seen to fire up teachers to think about technology differently. These two technology coaches are the reason why I wanted to get my masters in technology integration. The qualities that they have are some that I hope be able to incorporate into my future.


Approachable:
 A technology specialist needs to be approachable to all staff and teachers. If a technology specialist is approachable, they will be able to answer those questions that teachers have but are afraid to ask. Many veteran teachers have questions about new technology but do not know either how to ask or they do not want to look unknowledgeable. By having an approachable tone and body language, questions are asked that can lead to all teachers and staff learning new things.


Want to Learn:
 Wanting to learn should never end for a technology specialist especially because technology is ever growing. If technology does not stop growing, neither should the specialist. A TIS is always willing to learn more and go out of their way to educate themselves by using Twitter, Periscope, and all social media. As a TIS gets farther into their career, they need to experience new and upcoming technology and how it works in the classroom. By exploring new software and programs the TIS can then share upcoming technology before the trend hits.


Passionate:
 Passion for education and teaching is why people get into the profession. Passion is not only important to have as a classroom teacher but also a teacher that teaches other teachers. If a TIS is not passionate about their learning and career choice, other staff members can tell by their body language. A technology specialist needs be well rounded in their passion by learning all types of technology. It is also important that TIS have a type of technology that they love learning more and more about as well. I am interesting in integrating IPads into the classroom and how use them more productively. By having this passion I research more and share ideas with other staff members. I still learn other technology aspects and can explain other programs to others.


Risk-Taking:
 All teachers are risk-takers at the beginning of their careers especially because everyday is something new. As a TIS, we need to be the constant risk-takers in the technology field. Technology specialist need to come up with amazing ideas and share them with teachers. Also TIS need to be able to come into the classroom when a teacher is nervous and take that chance for them. I know as a classroom teacher, technology can sometimes make us worried about the progress. By setting up teachers to become risk-takers in the classroom with technology, classroom teachers will then see outcomes they might never have believed would happen.




By having these qualities a technology integration specialist can help other teachers, staff, and administration become more comfortable using technology daily.

Can Technology Be A Bad Thing?

When educators talk about technology, most of the time educators think of computers or tablets. When a school first gets computers or tablets for their building, many think, "YES, now we have technology for students to use." Over the past year I have seen this first hand. When my building became a 1:1 Ipad school many teachers thought that by putting an Ipad in a students hands, they were integrating technology. This assumption and inaccurate information by teachers is a reason why most students skill go to a class to use technology and why it is not integrated properly. 

Integrating technology into the classroom can be challenging especially for older teachers to think about. Technology can really be anything such as engineering a bridge, using a video introduction, or writing a letter to pen pals. Integrating technology does not have to be complicated but does need to enrich the instruction rather than just thrown in. When technology is integrated in the classroom, students can be given a voice to share ideas and help promote student curiosity. I use technology to promote collaboration, communication, and global learning. I do most of my integration of technology by connecting to the world by writing blogs, Skyping with other classrooms, or by having professionals speak to students about their career field.

I was very interested in Kevin Robinson's TED Talk especially when he spoke about how most school cultures have fallen into the belief that testing is more important. I see that within my building as well.  Technology integration should not fall to the waist side when testing or assessments arise. I understand that technology integration can become harder to put into plan during this time; however students still need to express and share their ideas with the world. Teachers need to become more facilitators in learning and let students take charge of their learning.

When using technology, teachers need to also understand the risks that come along with using the internet; being ignorant is not an option for a teacher using the internet within the classroom. All teachers that use the internet, need to teach about sources and how to identify what is a good source and what is fake. In Alan November's article, Creating a New Culture of Teaching and Learning, he mentions that teachers need to be learning as much as students. We are living in a digital age where kids can catch up to our learning about technology twice as fast as adults. However many students do not understand that not everything you read on the internet or hear on the news station are true. Research is a skill that many students need to learn how to do on the internet to comprehended that now all articles are true statements.

Overall technology is slowly becoming integrated within the classrooms because teachers are starting to see the impact of student learning with the use of integration. Teachers need more professional development on technology, not just how to use it, but how students can explore, collaborate, and communicate using technology within the classroom. As more teachers get comfortable becoming a facilitator of learning, classrooms will become more of a supported learning environment.

Presentation Design

This week we began studying presentation design. I had no idea...
 

• how important color and font of the presentation was. I learned back in high school how important it is to make sure that the color of the background are visible and that it should not over power the presentation. I never thought about having a color theme and looking at advertisements for new color matches. I also learned before that font types and sizes are important so the audience can read and see your information. However I did not realize that each font type is so much different in which some cannot read the more cursive font types.

• that the presentation is to be a visual display. I remember being told that the less words the better on the screen since you do not want your audience to read and listen at the same time. I now know the six lines and six word recommendation. I also fall short on using bulletin points.

Video in the Classroom

After reading Prensky's descriptions of digital native and digital immigrants, I know I am a digital native. I enjoy using technology and try to integrate it when ever I can. I get very excited when learning new technology and share my excitement with other staff in my building. I have seen digital immigrants in my school over the past year, since we got 1:1 Ipads. I would love to help the digital immigrants see how to implement using technology into their classroom; this is one of the reasons I wanted to get my master in Technology Education.
Within my classroom, students know that they will be expected to learn how to not only use technology but use it appropriately for education purposes. I have seen many digital immigrant teachers trying to integrate technology however they use it as a busy and fun tool rather than educational. Students in my classroom not only learn how to use technology for the assignment but how they could use it in their futures. I enjoy teaching my students new apps and ways to problems solve. I have found that after using technology more and more this past year, students are able to problem solve on their own and create amazing projects that show their learning throughout all content areas.
Furthering my steps in learning the language of multimedia would be using educational videos within the class or during professional development. I have not used TED Talks and I am not sure how I would use them in the elementary classroom; I could see them being used in professional development meetings. I found a new website and app this past week to help with videos and discussion in the classroom that I would enjoy trying. Edupuzzle you take videos from youtube and other video locations and insert questions and audio into them at certain parts to get students engagement and thinking up during watching videos.
I have found a few site that I can use to block advertisements and inappropriate videos when sharing videos with students (PureView, SafeShare.tv). Both website you take the Youtube link and put it into the website generator on the website. The websites then give you a new link to go to the video. The link can be placed into a QR code or shared through AirDrop.

Digital Cameras in the Classroom

Using digital cameras in the classroom is very important in my everyday classroom. Students could be video recording or taking pictures with their iPads or before iPads we video taped each other in reading centers. During reading centers students picked a book to read with their partner. Once the pair felt comfortable reading the book fluently, the students recorded them selves. Then the video could be placed on YouTube with a connecting QR code made. The QR code could then be connected to the book as a read aloud for other students to listen to during the center.

This activity would help students practice their fluency while working Ina group. Students love to record themselves and take ownership over their work. This activity will also help lower readers because then they could scan a QR code to hear a book read to them that they may not be able to read on their own.

Scanners in the Classroom

I have not used a scanner for educational purposes in a very long time. I am lucky enough to work in a school that has 1:1 iPads and I have had technology for the past three years where scanners were not the best option. After reading a few articles about how scanners are used in the classroom I could see a need for them.

I have researched an app called Classroom Organizer which is a barcode scanner for your classroom library. This app scans books and gives them a barcode with information such as Lexial levels, reading level, pages, and even tracks what students are checking out the book. It organizes your classroom library like the schools.

I could see myself using this app during silent reading or by letting students check out books from my own library. At our building second graders can only check out one book for the school library. This would help with students they need more books or if the teacher is wanting to make sure students are taking books home that are on their reading level. I have seen many students take home books that are too easy or too hard. If the teacher teaches students their reading levels they could find a just right book for them.

Effective Instruction

Helping my colleagues be more effective instructors will require me to communicate my learning in different ways. I have shared tons of information with my colleagues this past year because of my interest in technology and STEM. I have found that most of my colleagues are still resistant or unsure how to effectively perform the new ways of learning into their year.


I absolutely connected with Heidi Hayes Jacobs TED Talk because of our building changing so much in the past two years. We have changed our technology, curriculum, and magnet theme; which has pushed new learning and new teaching styles. I have taken the time to embrace these new styles of teaching since our students are new learners. However there are many teachers that are stuck on the old styles of teaching and homework.


Jacobs talked about how we need to think about who we are teaching because this new generation of learners need a new type of "future schools". I think my building is up and coming as a new future school as long as we get everyone on board. Jacobs spoke about how we need to deepen the learning of students by putting them in control and letting the teachers be more of facilitators. Students are to be engaged in learning and not just told what to learn.


She mentioned students creating blogs, podcasts, and apps to demonstrate their new learning. I agree totally with this new assessment skills. This past year I had my students create their own blogs and talk with students all over the global. This type of global media encourages kids to think outside their city and imagine what they can do with their future.


One thing that I think would help my colleagues is by letting them watch and discuss Jacobs video. I would love to introduce more of my colleagues to what the technology in our building can look like in a variety of classrooms. I sometimes wonder if I am being a "secret genius" because I do not always share my new learning and teaching with colleagues; I have found that having effective instruction means that I need to share more, learn more, and discuss more with my colleagues to make us a "future school".