PodPiper's Digital Education

Way way WAY back in November, I provided the keynote presentation for the Computer-Using Educators, Los Angeles Tech Fair. It was a great event at Mulholland Middle School, and the attendees were really supportive and enthusiastic. My presentation was entitled Teaching for the 22nd Century. Here are some highlights from that session. The big caveat… you really had to be there to get the full message, but I’ll do my best to emphasize certain key things.

First of all, the main reason that I say teach to the 22nd century is because 21st century learning skills still aren’t prevalent in the majority of our schools. In fact, when i travel to observe teachers using technology, I can’t help but feel that somewhere along the way the message or training or something has been lost. I often feel like I’m observing lessons from the 20th or even 19th century classroom. So that brings up that wonderful quote from Brian Littrell, “Shoot for the Moon. Even if you miss, you’ll still land among the stars.” Perhaps we really should be shooting for the 22nd century, and if we miss, then that’s okay, we’ll at least be teaching 21st century learning skills. Yes, it’s a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it’s worth a shot, right?

So how do we get there? How do we really transform our schools and prepare our kids for the 22nd century (or even the 21st century)? There are three main things we can do:

Use it or Lose it

The fact is, budgets are tight and District leadership are questioning all expenditures. They are faced with some of these different realities… Schools have purchased a lot of technology over the years. Districts have invested money in professional development. Teachers have spent countless hours learning how to use software and hardware. Why should we even consider buying more if it’s not being used? Don’t ever let a principal, cabinet member, or board of trustees member put you in that position. Don’t ever let a person in a leadership position question whether or not a technology tool is necessary. Use whatever technology is available to you and make sure that other teachers know how to use it as well. The worst case scenario is that multiple teacher are fighting over limited amounts of technology. Yes, it’s frustrating at times, but then there’s no question on whether or not your site needs to purchase more technology.

Now, to do this effectively, teachers also have to abandon the fear of using technology that they may not feel 100% comfortable with… and that leads us to the second idea…

Focus on the Curriculum

It’s not about the technology tools. It’s not about the hardware or software. It’s not about the latest innovative thing that is sweeping the nation. It’s about the curriculum. It’s about the learning that goes into the lesson. It’s about how the tech tools or innovative things can positively impact learning and transform the classroom. This is essential. As mentioned above, teachers are hesitant to use technology if they don’t feel like they’ve mastered it. One concept I truly believe in is the idea of changing the role of the teacher. Classroom educators need to be partners in learning for 21st century skills to be emphasized. It really takes a paradigm shift where teachers feel comfortable designing and assigning projects with technology even if they don’t know every function. The fact is (and will always be) that our students will learn technology faster than we will. So, it’s only logical for teachers to focus on what they do best… design lessons and the parameters for projects.

One analogy I often use is one of pastels. In the classroom, teachers often assign projects that include an art tool like pastels. I know that I used to all the time. The thing is… I’m not a professional artist. I didn’t major in art… in fact, I didn’t even take more than one art class in college (much to my sadness). However, I feel comfortable assigning projects that include pastels because I know what pastels can do. I know what the special characteristics of art made with pastels. I don’t need to know all the subtle details of using pastels to be able to assign a project with them. The same kind of attitude should be applied to technology. If you know what an application can do, then you don’t have to know all the details of the software to be able to assign a project with it. GarageBand is a perfect example. If you know that it can be used to record podcasts or help compose music with loops, then that’s enough. Let the kids learn how to actually use it. As the teacher, you just have to worry about the parameters to the project so that the writing process and all preparation is made before the need to record. Now, obviously, this really will take a huge paradigm shift, but it’s a necessary one if we are to view education as a partnership in learning and not just the teacher filtering the knowledge he/she has.

Change the Training Model

There are two main things that have to happen to change the training model so that educational technology can transform: promote integration-based training and provide regular, on-going professional development. First of all, the usual training workshops are not as effective as they could be. The majority of “educational” technology trainings I went to as a teacher were application-based… meaning that they focused on teaching the participants all the ins and outs of a specific application. You know the kind I’m talking about. Training and workshops that just taught you how to use iMovie, GarageBand, Keynote, Office apps, or anything else… The point is that it was all about the application itself and not how to USE it in the curriculum. It wasn’t about how to integrate the application into the curriculum. The major problem with this type of workshop is that there’s a disconnect. Teachers may learn how to use an application in a very sterile way, but may not have a clue how to begin integrating it into the curriculum. Training needs to be integration-based. Create a project with iMovie or GarageBand or whatever application. Have the participants actually use the application like you’d expect them to in the classroom. Create a student project! It’s the old idea of the Make and Take workshop. By the end of the workshop, participants have an actual project that they can take with them and do the very next day with their classroom.

At the same time professional development needs to be on-going. Don’t stop at a single session. Even if it’s integration-based, it’s often not enough, and that’s why it’s much more effective to conduct multi-layered, on-going PD that spirals the concept. Doesn’t this sound like how we want to teach our students? It should! We adults respond positively to concept reinforcement as well. Here at Fullerton School District, we try to stress the multi-layered approach where a school’s entire staff might be part of a large training, but we try not to stop there. We try to conduct a small-group training to address a specific curricular area, grade-level, or PLC. Then we also try to provide model lessons where our PD staff goes to the classroom and actually teaches the kids. It’s even more effective when we also have time to reflect on the lesson with the teacher. With integration-based training and on-going professional development, the teachers feel much more comfortable, and that’s the goal. Make the technology transparent and less intimidating, and you’ll have happy teachers who are willing to take risks, and that leads to happier kids who get to use more technology.