Excerpt from Howard Gardner's New Book of Educational Technology

Barseghian, T. (2014, January 27). How can we maximize the potential of learning apps? KQED Mind/Shift. Retrieved from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/01/how-can-we-maximize-the-potential-of-learning-apps/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

I generally find the Mind/Shift Blog to be full of ideas that are both rich and practical; this post was ne exception. I follow Howard Gardner’s work closely—he is best known for his work on Multiple Intelligences and currently works at Harvard’s Project Zero, an incredible educational organization.  His most recent book—co authored with Katie Davis—is titled The App Generation: How Today’s Youth Navigate Identity, Intimacy, and Imagination in a Digital World.  I read two reviews earlier this winter in which the reviewers found Gardner’s tone a little preachy and vague, pitting “youth” against “adults” and creating a false dichotomy between a generation reliant on electronic devices and a generation accustomed to communicating differently. Surprised that Gardner would draw such a sharp distinction, I hesitated to rush to put the book on hold at my public library. However, after reading the excerpt Tina Barghasian selected, I may go back and read the book, but slwoly0- and with an eye to my 75-year-old father’s increasing tech-savviness.

In the excerpt reprinted, Gardner and Davis warn against the majority of educational apps that they say serve an outdated model of “factory-style” automation, rapidly and sleekly delivering digestible educational content with a rewards system that they compare to behaviorist B.F. Skinner’s. However, they also point to the promise of emerging web 2.0 technologies as far richer and more engaging. They claim that “as we transition from web 1.0 to web 2.0 and beyond, there is no reason anymore simply to respond to stimuli fashioned by others, no matter how scintillating and inviting they may be. Rather, any person in possession of a smart device can begin to sketch, publish, take notes, network, create works of reflection, art, science — in short, each person can be his or her own creator of knowledge.” (Gardner and Davis, 2013). They use Scratch as an example of a potentially wonderful app for fostering ingenuity and engagement, yet also warn that, like a hammer, even an engaging app can be misused—in this case, for hacking. This excerpt concludes with a reminder that mindful, attentive adults need to be attending to children’s engaged learning rather than offering mindless consumption in the name of education. The authors choose a Sesame Street word finding app as an example of a tool that could potentially be a path to greater engagement with words in the world for young children, or a mere electronic babysitter.

I was hooked—again—by Gardner’s thinking and will be reading the whole book this summer. 

Doctopus: A new Add-on for Google Docs

Reveles, Jana

 

Atwood, Jay, and Jennie Magiera. Drum roll, please! Announcing the newly released doctopus, An add-on for google docs." Web log post. New Visions for Public Schools. New Visions for Public Schools, 8 Mar. 2014. Web. 25 Mar. 2014. Retrieved from http://www.newvisions.org/blog/entry/drum-roll-please-announcing-the-new-improved-doctopus.

 

This blog post discusses a new add-on the Google Docs entitled Doctopus. Doctopus works with Google Spreadsheets to help teachers create rosters, enter rubrics, customize feedback, and share documents. The post goes into some detail about how this add-on can be used. The blog also includes a screencast about the product.

The authors call Doctopus “the educator’s virtual personal assistant”. They seem to be really excited about this product. After reading their blog, I really want to try it out!

A School Librarian's Journey to Transform Her Library

Anna Taylor
Gilcreast, J. (2014). FROM DRAB TO FAB. Knowledge Quest, 42(4), 38-43.

Jessica Gilcreast just got the position of School Librarian at an urban school in New Hampshire! However, Jessica's joy soon simmers as she enters her new library. Shelves are placed in a way that leaves no open space, books are falling apart and lack diversity, no decor is present, the list goes on. Jessica knows she has a lot of work to do but does something that is very smart; she decides to take everything little by little. 

Throughout the course of six years, Jessica transforms her library into a drab space in the school to a learning commons that meets the wants and needs of both students and teachers. 
Below is a brief over view of Jessica's process:

YEAR 1: 

• Painted a mural
• Weeding 
• Rearranging shelves and furniture
• Build relationships with students, staff, and teachers
• Write a grant for books and a SMART board

YEAR 2:

• More weeding
• Provide professional development opportunities with teachers using new technology
• Create a new tech space for the new SMART board
• Write a grant to add multicultural books into the collection

YEAR 3:

• Take a break and focus on teacher collaboration
• Write a grant for more technology

YEAR 4:

• Create and obtain a connecting computer lab
• Take over the book fair and use the money to purchase more furniture
• Add over 1,000 books to the collection

YEAR 5 & 6:

• Un-Dewey the collection
• Continue making the library an extension to the classroom
• More staff development and integrating technology into the classroom
• Keep up with other libraries and implement new ideas to reflect the needs of the library users

Rene Hohls
October 16, 2013

DISCUSSIONL: October issue of THE Journal

For those of you who already receive this monthly eJournal, I apologize for duplication. For thos eof you who have not seen it before, this is a really important voice in the overall technology discussion in education - for librarians and anyone else involved in planning and implementation in our k-12 schools.

This edition has some very interesting discussion on the trends in tech but also looks at implementation successes and failures of tech in the school settings. There is a lot to be learned from the trial and error currently going occuring. Some school districts (like mine) are moving too slowly; others (like LAUSD) have moved too quickly. The explosion of technology has created a new predicament for educators, parents and students: tech in (and out of) our schools is a moving target - for many, it is similar to jumping on a moving train. Sometimes you just have to pick the best option available at the moment you are ready and then JUMP ON!

THE Journal - October 2013

The inside story on LA schools’ iPad rollout: “a colossal disaster” | Digital

Rene Hohls
October 7, 2013

The practical problems of the iPad in LAUSD...

The inside story on LA schools’ iPad rollout: “a colossal disaster” | Digital

Six Big Tech Trends in Education to Follow

Duncan, Laura

Schwartz, Katrina. (2013, June 5).  Six big tech trends to follow in education.  [Web log comment].
Retrieved from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/06/six-big-trends-in-education-to-follow/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+kqed%2FnHAK+%28MindShift%29

This article summarizes the NMC Horizon Report of 2013, K-12 edition.  Schwartz explains the big take-aways follows:  First, due to the ever-increasing presence of the internet in students' lives, there are more opportunities for blended and online learning classroom models.  Further, print and digital textbooks are suffering as open-source content becomes better-known and utilized.  The increase of the internet's presence has also decreased teacher isolation and increased collaboration and discussion thanks to social media.
Second, these changes are making some educators feel uncomfortable, as they struggle to keep up with technology's evolution and broadening role in education.  Some teachers are resistant to adapting and professional development has had trouble keeping up with the vast changes.
Next, the report predicts that in the next year, the demand for cloud-based computing in schools will increase and mobile learning may move to foreground, as the market for educational apps continues to grow exponentially.
Learning analytics (using real-time data from digital learning platforms to inform teaching approaches) will also increase, according to the report.  More high-quality open content will also become readily available over the next few years. Lastly, the report predicts that 3-d printing will eventually become part of the educational movement, as these printing devices become less expensive.

In all, this article was fascinating and useful.  Technology's integration into the classroom is moving at an increasingly rapid speed, and it's essential that we prepare and inform ourselves so that we can stay ahead of the curve in our work and keep our school libraries on top of the trends.  This is a great article for a brief summary of what's to come.

Smartphones in the Classroom

Gualano, Gabriela

Korbey, H. (2013, June 25).  Students speak up: Trust us with devices. [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2013/06/students-speak-up-trust-us-with-devices/

Unprecedented numbers of students have access to a smartphone, and use them daily in class.  During the school day, middle and high school students text, use Facebook or Twitter, and take pictures.  Despite most schools having a cell phone ban during school hours, teens easily hide phones in backpacks and pockets, and turn phones to silent mode.  The article was concerned with middle and high school students, but even elementary-aged children are familiar with tablets, smartphones, and other digital tools.  Although 80 percent of high schools have access to smartphones, schools are hesitant to utilize them in any meaningful way.  Part of this hesitation stems from inequality and the lack of teacher knowledge.  Some schools are aiming to increase professional development with technology and provide students with tablets.

There are definite pros and cons with allowed electronic devices in the classroom.  As noted, though a large majority of students have access to smartphones, there are still significant numbers who do not.  Would projects be assigned in groups, or would there be school provided devices?  Will the school provide wifi and Internet access, or will students rely on their data plans?  More thought than simply bringing in phones to class one day is required. 

The Project Tomorrow survey also showed 7-20% percent of students used technologies to text with teachers.  I would be very hesitant to have students text teachers, especially with various editing and photoshopping capabilities.  I would suggest using Edmodo, or something similar, as a communication tool instead.  Online communication sites are also available on mobile formats.  Apple devices include FaceTime, but there are other options if needed.

Some limitations also include the small screen size of many smartphones.  Reading a newspaper article may not pose much difficulty, but an academic article or textbook may become difficult.  Tablets and laptops would be a better option, or smartphones with larger screens.  Some websites are not mobile-friendly, and would have to be checked before used in the classroom. 

Lastly, there are many teachers who simply do not feel comfortable with technology.  Yes it is a part of life now, but even if a teacher is open to the idea, the knowledge may be lacking.  For some individuals, even attending classes may not be enough for the teacher to feel really knowledgeable or comfortable with the technology.  It also assumes that the teacher has a smartphone or tablet to use to prepare for the lesson and use for examples. 

However, if the teacher is knowledgeable and there is equitable access to the technology, using various devices in classes could be a great learning tool.  Research for projects and assignments could be started under the teacher’s supervision, with instruction on how to determine a source’s credibility.  Teacher’s could provide step-by-step instruction on how to access databases with students following along in class.

Creative and fun assignments could be created with QR codes, geocaching, and other activities.  Phones and tablets are more portable that textbooks, notebooks, and pens, so assignments could be taken outside or around the school. 

There are also simpler assignments teachers could use.  Google Forms, peer-editing, group notes, and student collections of resources for a particular unit of study.  Group work can be easily divided and worked on without having to coordinate schedules or photocopying.  Presentations no longer need to be narrated PowerPoints, but can be screencasts, videos, and more. 

At a simpler level, these devices are timers, stopwatches, music providers, can access online grades, set reminders, check the weather, and notetakers. 

Schools and classes do not need a complete overhaul to a completely digital format, but incorporating technology students already posses would likely be a positive.  If a teacher tries and it fails spectacularly, then examine why it failed, and improve upon it.  Teachers don’t need to use smartphones and tablets every day, but should try it and see how it goes.

Moving to a digital-only school library collection

Sinclair, Kimberly

Corbett, T.  (2011).  The changing role of the school librarian’s physical space.  School Library Monthly, 27, 5.  Retrieved from http://www.schoollibrarymonthly.com

         In this article, Corbett discusses the transformation of the physical library space at Cushing Academy, a private high school in Massachusetts, whose staff unanimously voted to focus on building a 21^st Century Leadership curriculum—a decision equated with moving towards becoming “bookless,” as accomplished through three major phases:

o   Moving away from the traditional Integrated Library System toward a newer, better integrated software platform

o   Developing an improved acquisitions policy that capitalizes on the best aspects of digital content

o   Transforming the library's physical space into a collaborative work area for students and staff

            This radical decision was made after staff documented that, although the Cushing library previously maintained a collection very balanced between digital and physical resources, students significantly and consistently bypassed the print materials in favor of accessing the library’s computers and digital materials. While such a drastic shift initially strikes as sacrilegious to most librarians, Corbett reports that, to date, the Cushing library is experiencing a large degree of success since the transformation of its physical library space: database usage by students has increased exponentially, participation and circulation is thriving, and the library has developed an interactive website for the learning commons that appears to be effective and popular amongst users. He also adds that, with more than 175,000 copyrighted academic e-books and 1,000 popular reading titles recently added to the collection, the school’s circulation statistics prove that reading “long-form reading and digital resources are not mutually exclusive” of one another (Corbett, 2011). While the successes listed by Corbett are impressive, he does acknowledge that the school’s library continues to have room for improvement. Specific issues requiring further attention include: overcoming barriers to using copyrighted, subscription-based resources rather than the (simpler) default of free resources on the Internet; increasing student instruction regarding more vigorous selection/evaluation of digital information sources; and managing finances to guarantee there are a sufficient number of e-readers for all students available.

            Although I can readily acknowledge the benefits of e-readers and other digital resources in terms of space and 24/7 accessibility, I cannot help but think that a complete switch to these formats in place of physical materials, is rash, considering sufficient time has not elapsed since the widespread emergence of e-readers for researchers to gauge the long-term effects of primarily reading books on e-readers as opposed to print. I feel extremely old-fashioned even stating this doubt, but am simply being the devil’s advocate by pointing out the lack of evidence supporting such a drastic switch. While I have not come yet come across any hard evidence indicating that reading books primarily on e-readers has a detrimental effect, I have heard a little about some early studies that suggest e-readers may be a distraction, at least among younger students still acquiring reading fluency. In these instances, children tended to focus on the capabilities of the e-reader device itself, rather than on the content of the text, resulting in less information recall afterwards. However, the study (which, unfortunately, I have as yet been able to locate again!) admittedly only identified a correlation—rather than a causal relationship—between the presence of the e-readers and a decline in reading attention/factual recall; the negative correlation could be the result of various other causes. For example, the decline in attention could stem from the fact that the students with lower recall were already struggling readers who may have used the device as a distraction, resulting from an already-existing lack of engagement. Alternately, those students who focused more on the e-reader device than the text may have come from homes less technology-rich than the children who remained focused, such that their distraction resulted out of the e-reader being a much more novel and attractive device.

            In spite of any personal apprehension about chucking out a library’s entire print collection (although, to be fair: the Cushing Academy donated these materials to local schools and libraries, happily), I readily admit that this scenario represents a very intriguing experiment. And, as much as I mention there not being sufficient data to warrant a “e-reader only” approach to academic materials, I also understand that experiments such as this have to be taken in order for researchers to have data to analyze, so I am far from considering it a wholly negative model. However, I cannot help but think that, while relying wholly on digital materials may be economically feasible for a small, private high school setting such as Cushing Academy, this set-up still smacks as unrealistic for the average elementary school (where young readers are still learning how to wash their hands without prodding and how to handle materials responsibly) and/or public school library in a lower socio-economic neighborhood. In the latter scenario, a student may be able to repay the seven dollars needed to replace a lost chapter book, but can their family be expected to repay the hundred plus dollars to replace a lost or damaged Kindle? Until e-readers become far more affordable and much more durable than they currently are, it seems doubtful that moving to a digital only collection is an efficient—or even realistic—goal for the majority of public schools.