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embedded-technology

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When technology all works, it can do some amazing things. Yes, there are hills and valleys to the use of technology, but when technology allows students to engage in the learning process and create some simply amazing projects….I still shake my head in awe when I see what happens when we can guide them in the process. When we get out of their way and allow them to learn and create on their own.

This VoiceThread is from our IB art class. The teacher has been doing some great things with art and technology. Her latest activity has students talking about their art work on VoiceThread. Now if only we could find another art class to come and leave comments the circle would be complete.

Next a 9th grade science class has been working on reporting their lab findings in a different format. The best part about this project was when I was helping the students download their video I said, “Yeah, I think we’ll upload these to YouTube.” The looks on the kids faces was priceless and one group even said, “We’ve got to do a good job now, I want a good rating.” Motivation comes in different ways. 😉

This is technology embedded into the classroom. This is technology the way I love watching it being used. In a way that just fits what is already being done. Could these have been done in another way? Sure. But would they have engaged students as much as they did? Probably not. This is there medium, this is there world and when we engage them in the learning process in their world, they get excited, they want to preform, they want to learn!

[tags]sas, embedded technology[/tags]

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I had the comments from my last post on embedding technology running around in my head today as I walked by the 5th grade classrooms where the technology this year is as close to embedded as you can fine. Teachers have a laptop, the students are in a 1 laptop for every 2 student environment…every teacher and student has a blog, they’re learning about RSS and setting up readers. They are deep in conversation about information literacy skills. In fact one class is writing a report on the endangered Northwest Tree Octopus as a way to talk about verifying information.

As I was helping one teacher with her netvibes page today we started talking about how having the mounted LCD and the access to the technology “just there” is exciting for both her and her students. I was in the room only about 15 minutes and here is the conversation.

Teacher: “So I’m sure you already know this but have you seen this new search site called Pollywola?”

Me: “No, what’s the name of it?”

Teacher: “Johnny, what’s the name of that search engine you were using that allows you to search both Google and Yahoo at the same time?”

Johnny: “PolyCola.com

Me: “It does what?” (as I quickly search for this new search engine)

Teacher: “You put in search terms and you can get results from two different search engines at the same time.”

Me in thought as I search: (That would be pretty cool…search results from two different engines on one page…)

PolyCola.com

Me: “This is AWESOME!”

Teacher: “Yeah the kids use it and really like it, but why would I want to use this?”

And that is the question that if the technology wasn’t embedded never would have been asked. The conversation continued with me explaining how you could use this site to search for something like ‘dolphins’ and compare results from different search engines. You could then have a discussion on why different search engines give different results and how do you really know which links to trust, what information is correct, etc.

As we continued to talk she could see how this site could be using, and how students were using it in their research project now.

As I continued to set her Firefox browser up with new add-ons (I turned her on to Firefox last year and now she can’t live without Perma Tabs, the IE tab, and I hooked her up with forecastfox just for fun 🙂 ), she continued teaching a math lesson where students were doing division and trying to figure out how much TV was being watched a week.

Teacher: “So how many days in the week?”

Students: “7”

Teacher: “OK, so divide 29 by 7 and see what you get.”

Students: “4.???”

Teacher: “So is 4 hours of TV a lot for one night?”

Students: “Yeah, that’s a lot of TV!”

Teacher: “Really…you think 4 hours a night is a lot?”

Student A: “Yeah, I hardly watch TV.”

Student B: “Me too.”

Teacher: “What, you spend all your time on the computer?”

Students: “Yeah!’

The teacher turned to me and smiled. I of course couldn’t help but say “Yeah, nobody watches TV anymore…it’s all about YouTube.”

At which the class started mumbling about their favorite YouTube clips and laughing….the teacher just smiled.

What happens when we embed the tools, when we allow the information, the personal experiences of our students into the classroom and we all become learners? Embedding the tools into the classroom is only the first part, there is still a change in education that needs to happen, a change in the way we approach learning, a change in the questions we ask right down to: How much TV do you watch?

In his comment Will writes:

Stop with the technology committee already! Start with the Modeling Learning Committee.

I agree, but we can only have these committees once the tools are embedded. Going to the lab to do research, or to work on a paper does not allow for the teaching and learning to change. You go where the tool is rather than having the tool embedded into the learning. By embedding the tools we allow new conversations to happen, we allow the tools to be the learning, to be the information, to be a teacher.

Sheryl writes:

Technology should be like that. Seamless–invisible –not in the forefront.

Exactly, once the tools are seamlessly embedded into the everyday classroom we allow both the teachers and students to take on different roles.

Ric writes:

There is something fundamental that we are missing in the discussion when we are unable to move forward without having to revisit issues from a couple of years ago.

So true, and I think that is why embedding the tools is only the first part. Once we get the tools into the classroom we need to take the time to show the teachers how these tools can and will change teaching and learning. Last year I approached the elementary principal and asked for a full day release for all 5th grade teachers to sit with me and just learn about these new laptops and new tools. That one day has had an impact that not even I saw coming. What I’m finding is once we embed the tools, and we train the teachers there is no going back.

The learning takes care of itself, the tools are powerful…we know that, the students know that, we just need to do it!

As I was walking out of this 5th grade class down the hallway with a smile on my face of what I had just witnessed I hear my name being called from a classroom.

Teacher: “Jeff…got a sec?”

Me: “Yeah, what’s up?”

Teacher: “I read your blog the other day about Twitter…what’s a Twitter?”

Me laughing: “It’s a very cool network tool that once you start you find very powerful.”

Teacher pointing to his kids: “Is it something I can use with them…or just one of those geek things?”

Me now with wheels spinning: “We could use it with them…but you need to learn the power of it first.”

Teacher: “OK, I’ll catch you sometime and you can explain it to me.”

Of course this whole conversation happens as his students are working away on laptops.

Embedding the tool is only the first step…changing thinking, changing learning, changing education…that is what these tools really are about!

[tags]embedded technology[/tags]

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The word integrate gets on my nerves. Maybe I feel it’s been over used, or used in the wrong way when we talk about how we want technology to affect teaching and learning. What I want..is technology to be embedded into the classroom. Into the learning environment. I am tired of trying to integrate it into a process, a classroom, or a curriculum that was never made to integrate technology to begin with. No, what I want is to start at the very bottom and embed technology tools, skills, and standards into lessons, our classrooms, and our outcomes.

To integrate something means to find a place where it fits, to start with two separate pieces and see how you can fit them together. Like a puzzle, you have two pieces with different notches already in them…your job is to find out where the notches match up and where they don’t. Sometimes it takes a long time to put a puzzle together.

But what if we were this tree. What if we took these tools, skills, and standards and embedded them from the very beginning? What if we allowed our curriculum to grow around the technology, allowed the technology to be swallowed whole by the curriculum maybe even scraping the paint off in the process and in some cases modeling the technology skills and tools into something new and different to meet the needs of the curriculum.

What if we truly acted like technology was just part of us, part of education, part of educating students today. What if we start embedding it and stopped integrating it?

[tags]embedded technology[/tags]

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