Reflections on Learning

It’s been a year of change for me. New position, new routines and so much to learn. My situation reminds me of a previous principal of mine. During his first year at my school he spent much of his time “learning about the place” as he called it. No big changes occurred that year. A few people thought this was odd, but looking back I think it was brilliant. He wanted a clear picture of how things worked and an understanding of people's roles before introducing changes in year two.

I find myself in a similar situation. A good chunk of my time has been  spent learning how things work and “who does what”. There have been changes made out of necessity, but I see more changes in year two and beyond. Having said this, the learning process has still been eye-opening. Having spent several years in my previous position, I now realize how little I learned over that period; I had become complacent and taught like I was on autopilot.

Now my brain is absorbing new content on a daily basis. There has been Google apps, Moodle, iMovie, Seesaw & Chromebooks to learn about. There are staff members to help and supervise.  It has felt overwhelming at times, but all of this learning has been invigorating as well.  

Not all of the learning has been smooth. I’ve been improving my own knowledge in order to be “certified” by various organizations. The last “test” I wrote I failed - even though I felt quite confident going in. I was a little disappointed in the outcome, but the preparation process had me learning so much that I consider myself ahead of the game. As for the test, it can be rewritten.

Another benefit of all of this learning has been empathy. I have a better understanding of how it feels for students and staff who are learning something new. My experiences guide my preparation & planning and I have become more patient as well.

I hope my learning doesn’t stop and I look forward to the challenges and opportunities that will present themselves in the days and weeks to come.

Sharing - An Integral Part of Professional Learning

I was fortunate to attend two learning conferences this school year, the first being the 21st Century Learning Conference (21CLHK) and the second being the annual ACAMIS conference. Both events offered a variety of sessions that were led by teachers and administrators. What impressed me though was the amount of sharing that took place in these sessions.

For example, I attended a session titled “Fish Bowl PD: Professional Development That Works”. The session was led by Ben, Steve & Art, three guys passionate about technology and professional learning. During their presentation they shared a PD model that they had developed over a period of years. It covered topics such as rationale, resources, evaluation and marketing. It was very comprehensive and the best part was that they shared every aspect of their model; resources, templates, forms… everything! I was blown away by the fact that I had a wealth of information that I could take back to my school and incorporate into our professional learning model.

My experience impressed upon me the importance of sharing and how sharing can have a profound impact on the teaching profession. The notion of sharing is getting a lot of traction these days as noted in this video by Dean Shareski:

In this video Dean discusses the moral imperative of sharing and how we all have the ability to share. The key point though is that sharing has to be seen as something “necessary to do” rather than something “nice to do”. This recent blog post further supports the notion of sharing by teachers. In it the author states “(i)t is now an expectation…no, a responsibility that we all have to write, to blog, to post, to tweet, and to share our thoughts, our expertise, our successes and failures, and our collective knowledge about what is working for students and for schools”.

I consider myself a “sharer” and I’ve subscribed to the “pay it forward” mentality. Early in my career I benefited from teachers who shared their ideas, resources and experiences; without their help I don’t think I would have survived. Even now I depend on others for inspiration and ideas; these help me to grow and develop. When I present at conferences or in-house, I always share my resources. How about you? Do you share with others? Are you connected to teachers who readily share with others? I certainly hope so!

You Don't Have to be an Expert

I work with amazing teachers every day. They do incredible things in their classes that really make an impact on their students learning. When I see these things I often end up saying to myself  “I wish I had known about that” or “I really want to try that”.

Imagine if everyone shared their best tools, tips & tricks etc. with their peers?  I think you would end up with one amazing school. “Sharing” does occur in small pockets but teachers, in general, do not share with large groups of people. Why? I can think of two reasons. The first is time - teaching is an incredibly busy profession and teachers often have every minute of the day filled. The second is mindset. Many teachers feel that they need to be an “expert” on a certain topic before they would even consider sharing their knowledge with others.

The reality is that most of us don’t have the time and/or desire to become an expert. When I attend a conference session or PD activity, I want the presenter to be “knowledgeable” about their specific topic - nothing more. If I get one or two take-aways (tips, ideas, resources etc.) then I’m happy. I don’t mind if the presenter doesn’t know everything either, just so long as they are honest and upfront about it.

When I speak to groups of teachers, I begin my presentations by saying that they should learn at least one or two new things today and that I will do my best to answer everyone's questions. If I can’t, I say that I will search for an answer and get back to the person at a later date. Often someone else in the room can provide an answer or at least some insight into a possible solution. I have found that people attending my sessions appreciate my honesty when I can’t provide an answer.

After presentations people often ask how they can become a “presenter” and what qualifications they need to have. My response is simple: you don’t need any special qualifications - you just need to be knowledgeable about a topic. If you think other teachers could benefit from what you know, you are definitely qualified to share your knowledge with others. If you find the prospect of “sharing” daunting, I suggest the you start by sharing with a small group of your peers. Good luck!

New Year's Resolution for you: Ask questions!

I've been the Technology Coordinator/Coach at my school for four months now. It's been a fantastic change for me professionally - full of new responsibilities, routines and challenges. The most exciting part of the job has been working with teachers to develop lessons that incorporate technology. This allows me to share my skills & experiences while learning more about other subjects and grade levels.
I've learned about teachers too. Most of them are frequent users of technology and do some amazing things with it in their classes. They rarely contact me because they've got it going on; if anything I've learned some things from them.
Other teachers are keen but unsure about how to proceed. They reach out for help and are eager to try new things. I've appreciated their courage and honesty throughout this new learning process.
There have been a few teachers who have been hesitant to seek help. I'll admit that this has puzzled me at times. I wasn't sure if I should just wait, assuming that they would eventually call me? Or should I make contact and break the ice? This played on my mind for some time but I eventually decided to make first contact.
Schools have historically been places where teachers have worked in isolation. Progressive and forward-thinking schools focus on collaboration & teamwork to improve both teaching and learning. But the change process can be slow as the move to a more collaborative environment requires a major cultural shift to occur. There are many steps that can be taken to help this process along but one simple one can and should occur: People need to ask more questions. As a collaborative team we are here to teach and learn from one another. It needs to start with being willing to seek help and ask questions.
Here's a great video that outlines the benefits of asking questions:

Students' Role in Technology Integration

I consider most teens & pre-teens to be very “connected” but not necessarily “active” participants when it comes to technology integration.  Adoption and efficient use of technology takes time and students, no matter how savvy they are, need to be encouraged and guided along the way.

I look at integration as an ongoing process rather than a product or final destination. When it comes to technology, no one really “arrives” in our ever-changing world. Rather, people keep moving towards a target that is continually shifting.  In discussing this process with my colleagues, we brainstormed ways to involve students in the integration process. Here is what we came up with:

1. BYOD: For us, this meant leveraging the power of whatever device a student had. For most of our students, this meant using their iPod or Smartphone. We moved from a culture where such devices were regularly banned to one where these devices were encouraged by staff and administration. To further support this culture shift, we installed lockers that allow for charging of several personal devices.



Charging port in locker










2. Choice: When planning the rollout of our 1:1 laptop program we decided to give students & parents options in regard to the device they could purchase. Allowing a choice between a Macbook or a Chromebook catered to a variety of tastes and budgets.
3. Voice: Our students played a role in the rollout of our laptop program when they were asked to design a new backpack for our secondary school. The new backpack had to offer a laptop compartment, but beyond that, students chose the color, design, size & look of our new backpack.



Gr. 6's view backpack samples



4. Convenience: We ensured that all textbooks are available in a digital format, eliminating the need to transport these heavy items to and from school.
5. Leadership: We also wanted students to be active participants when it came to technology integration. As such, the TIS “Student Tech Support Team” was created. The purpose is to have 2-3 students in every class who can deal with minor technical issues that arise. Students received basic instruction,  a manual to refer to and a badge identifying their role in the class. The program has been so popular that in some classes one-third of the students signed up.

Student Badge

Are these changes making a difference? I’ll let some of our students answer that question:

“It is good having a laptop because we don't need to carry books home. Everything is at our fingertips” - Joao, grade 7

“It is way more easier than carrying all of our books to class and we can charge our laptops in our lockers if our laptops are low battery” - Polette, grade 7

“I feel that the laptop program has made me feel more productive during school, during free time and at home since I have enhanced accessibility to do school work” - Cyan, grade 10

As you can see, our efforts have helped to create a school environment where technology integration is seen in a positive light and students feel that they are part of the integration process.

Technology, Teaching & Learning for Teachers

This post was originally published here in October 2015.

Over time we have developed a culture at TIS that believes access to technology will directly benefit students’ learning by allowing for more engaging and diverse teaching to occur. Our capacity developed to the point where we felt comfortable starting our “Think Digital” laptop program in September 2015.

Our laptop program and the proliferation of technology at TIS allows teachers to promote learning that is:

                                   

1. Individualized: Having access to one’s own device allows each student to move as quickly or slowly as needed. Online tutorials and extra work can be accessed as needed.    
2. Differentiated: Teachers can provide support materials in a variety of ways, such as written text, videos and games that explore concepts, and also give students flexibility in their own content creation.                    

3. Personalized: Access to online resources allows students to find and use information from areas that they are interested in. Students can demonstrate their knowledge via documents, presentations and video.

4. Collaborative: Google Classroom, Google Drive, Edmodo and Moodle all allow students to work together and share their knowledge with one another.

These tools and apps are only as effective as the skills of the people using them, which is why we have directed a considerable about of time and resources into teacher professional development.  Over the past year, TIS has hosted two separate technology conferences. First was the “Engaging Tech” conference, held in April 2015. The second was the “Google Cloud Camp”, presented by AppsEvents in August 2015. Both conferences provided staff with the opportunity to learn about topics including digital design, Google Apps for Education and the use of Smartphones in the classroom. TIS also has two professional development days per year and technology integration sessions are always available for staff to enrol in.

Teachers also require “just in time” training to meet the needs of a diverse and progressive school. I’m proud to say that there are now three full-time staff available to support teachers (and students!) with their technology needs. This support allows staff to incorporate tools that make lessons more engaging and interactive.

For our teachers, it is important to remember these useful tips:

                   

1. Guidelines – Create clear guidelines for when devices can be used and how they are to be used. When sharing something important to your students, it is advised you have them turn over their iPad or close their laptops and give you their undivided attention.
2. Integrate technology in a purposeful way – Think pedagogy before technology and ask yourself if using this technology will improve learning in your classroom
3. Assessment – Use real time tools like Google forms, Kahoot or Mentimeter (polls) to gauge for understanding and engage your students.                        

To further support teachers, we will be creating student tech support teams at TIS. These students will be trained in basic computer troubleshooting, Google Apps for Education, laptop care & safety, sign out procedures and transportation of laptop carts between classes.

I look forward to working with teachers to ensure that technology is accessible, beneficial and that it positively impacts student achievement.

Technology, Teaching & Learning for Students

This post was originally published here in September 2015

Let me start by saying that I’m thrilled to be the new Technology Integration Coordinator at The International School of Macao (TIS). Students (and staff!) are fortunate to have significant resources available to them at TIS. We have computer labs, iPad & laptop carts, Chromebooks, SmartBoards, Smartphones, robots, microscopes, cameras and even a 3-D printer.

To further emphasize the importance of technology, TIS implemented the “Think Digital” laptop program in September 2015. The first students to join this program were our grade seven and ten students. Parents and students were given a choice regarding which device they would use - a Macbook or a Chromebook. At TIS we use Google Apps for Education, Edmodo and Moodle, thus the device a student uses is irrelevant as the vast majority of apps used by teachers and students are found on the web.

To support this initiative, the grade seven students were asked to choose the design of a new school backpack for use by secondary students. Students viewed various designs and materials and voted for their favourite combination. This backpack is now on sale in the school store.

Our laptop initiative was further supported by the installation of new lockers for our secondary students. Not only do they look great but each locker is wired for easy and secure charging of laptops and other personal devices.

The increased availability and use of devices makes the topic of “digital citizenship” an important one at TIS. Digital citizenship lessons are provided for all grade 4-12 students as well. Those students in the laptop program attended a presentation on laptop care and safety and they were encouraged to share this information with their parents. All students from grade 4-12 complete a “Responsible Use Agreement” that outlines the expectations for students when they utilize technology (personal and school-owned).

For our students, it is important that they remember these useful tips when incorporating technology into their learning:

1. Have a clear understanding of the guidelines in each of your classes - Each teacher is an individual and will probably have slightly different expectations.
2. Take full advantage of the technology you have - Seek out teachers, classmates and/or technology support staff so you can discover the potential of your device.

3. Be patience and persistent – Learning any new skill can be challenging and may take some time. Expect failures along the way – this is how most people learn.

Overall, It’s an exciting time to be a member of the TIS community. I look forward to working with all students to ensure that technology is accessible, beneficial and engaging!