#ThrowbackThursday - Setting The Stage for a Successful Modern School

Today's #ThrowbackThursday brings us to a post I wrote about Community Intermediate School 339 in Bronx, New York. What I like about this post is watching where an innovative staff from 2008 is today. The principal became a leader in integrating Google into education practice. You can watch this for more on that. He then assumed a leadership position helping other schools set the stage for the environment today's staff and students need for success.  Many of the staff at that school also moved on to other environments where they were able to share and spread innovative practices.  

Written: April 20, 2008

Topic: Setting the foundation for a successful tech-integrated school.

Who might be interested: Anyone interested in seeing how to develop leaders in ed tech innovation.

Favorite excerpt:  "C.I.S. 339 has spent a lot of time this year ensuring teachers are comfortable with embedding technology tools into their work. The more they are embedded in the day to day of how they do business, the easier it becomes for teachers to make connections as to how they can enhance student learning with technology."

Reader question:

Post:

CIS 339 Brings Professional Learning Communities Into The 21st Century

I'm always on the lookout for schools that are effectively putting smart teaching and learning 2.0 practices in place. CIS 339 is one of those schools that has become a pioneer in embedding 21^st Century tools into the way they do business to enhance education. To start, as leadership expert Michael Fullan says, you need to get the right people in the right seats on the bus. 

The school’s committed leader, Jason Levy did just that by hiring Dan Ackerman, a former technology coach, as his assistant principal. Because of his background, Dan was prepared to support this effort. He also put Christina Jenkins in place as a full-time technology coach who among other accomplishments put a strong online infrastructure in place in addition to providing ongoing coaching and PD support. Additionally he retained Patrick Wagner an ed tech consultant. He also purchased a 21st Century literacy and social studies curriculum from Teaching Matters that includes onsite support from staff developers to support the program. Finally, he worked to secure teachers that were enthusiastic about using 21^st Century tools in the classroom and excited to be teaching in a school where every teacher had a laptop, projector and internet access to support instruction. 

Read the rest at: http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/04/cis-339-does-21st-century-professional.html 

Confronting Fears - #BYOD for Students

While most adults understand the benefits of students having cell phones in school to stay in touch with parents for safety purposes, when it comes to classroom use, some have fears. These include concerns over data collection, privacy, being a distraction, replacing personal interaction, discipline, theft, use for bullying, and more. 

The concerns are real and they don't only apply to cell phone use. It's no different when doing many things at first: Crossing the street, using pointy scissors, talking to strangers, swimming, riding a bike, and more. While all of these activities have risks, because of their advantages, rather than banning them, we patiently guide children to do them with care and scrutiny. Personal devices are no different.

Here are some ideas to arm educators with strategies to address common concerns that may arise when students bring their own devices to the classroom.

Homework is Key When Preparing for #BYOD

When schools decide they want to embrace the use of student devices for learning, it doesn't "start" with inviting devices into the classroom. It starts with inviting the use of devices into homework. 

While parents understand why cell phones are important to stay in touch with their children and keep them safe, they may not understand their usefulness for learning. This is no surprise. Students haven’t been given the opportunity or guidance by teachers in doing so.

Rather than simply telling parents about the research and benefits of using cell phones for learning, show them!

Before using cell phones in your classroom with students, begin giving students the option to use cell phones to complete their homework. This gives the teacher the opportunity to allow students to use cell phones for learning without classroom management concerns. It gives students (and their parents) experience in using cell phones for learning. Yet another benefit is that using cell phones to support learning at home enables educational leaders see firsthand how these tools can support student learning. 

To follow are some Ideas for enabling students to use cell phones for learning at home. 

The Hottest Posts Everybody's Reading

Here’s the roundup of what's been popular on The Innovative Educator blog. Below you’ll see the top posts along with the number of page views. I hope there's something that looks of interest to you.  If it does, check it out. If you’re inspired use one of those icons below the post to share it with others and/or leave a comment.

Entry	Pageviews
5 Reasons to Allow Students to Use Cell Phones in ... Jul 8, 2012,	7416
A Few of My Fav #EdTech Things in 2014 Dec 28, 2014,	2961
Student-Friendly Social Media Guidelines Make a Gr... Dec 21, 2014,	2461
Does Twitter have a minimum age requirement? Jun 13, 2013,	2235
10 Reasons Cell Phones Should Be Allowed In School... Aug 24, 2010,	1740
10 Ideas for Innovative Math Instruction Mar 31, 2010,	1606
A Sensible Way to Look At #EdTech Integration Jan 6, 2015,	1378
One mistake presenters should never make and 8 str... Dec 7, 2014,	1238
Stop Making Students Do Work Dec 30, 2014,	1178
Screentime Is Good For #Students + #StuVoice Dec 14, 2014,	1078

#ThrowbackThursday - How I Lost 10 Pounds on A Paperless Diet

Today's #ThrowbackThursday brings us to a post I wrote about going paperless which I've been committed to for nearly a decade. 

What was fun about this post, aside from the topic, is that it was one of my first forays into figuring out SEO. I fooled all sorts of weight loss Googlers into reading my post, boosting the numbers into the hundreds, which at the time, was pretty exciting. However, I also realized from the analytics that once they arrived, they weren't interested in the content and left abruptly. 

This post showed me the value of quality of quantity and it also has some great ideas about going paperless.  I hope you enjoy.

Written: April 6, 2008.  

Topic: How and why I decided to go paperless.

Who might be interested: Any educator who wants everything they'll ever need at their fingertips and doesn't want to carry that stuff around.

Favorite excerpt: "I explained that in my position I had no access to a laptop or digital material and though I had access to a desktop it was shared by numerous people making it difficult to reliably access. Mr. Fischer said, "Well, I'm looking to hire someone who’s ready to change all that." 

Reader question: Are you paperless? Why or why not?

Post:

How I lost 20 lbs in a month on a paperless diet

I walked into my interview for a position at the Office of Instructional Technology with a huge blue wheelie bag containing 25 lbs of necessities for my literacy coach position. Inside my bag was the balanced literacy curriculum (in what was known as the big red binder), a bunch of notebooks containing the latest reading and writing workshop units of study, binders with notes on the work I was doing with teachers, and folders containing information that supported my coaching work. I was interviewed by Troy Fischer who looked up, pointed to my wheelie bag and said, "If we are to consider you for this position you'll have to get rid of that thing." I protested explaining I am the type of person who needs to have all resources at my fingertips wherever I am so I wasn't quite sure I could agree. 

Read the rest at http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-i-lost-20-pounds-on-paperless-diet.html 

It's CELLabration Time for NYC Students

Social Media isn’t the only area in which New York City is paving the way. As announced in the NY Daily News, the New York City Department of Education will lift the ban on cell phones and other digital devices in March.

Instead of banning devices, schools will have options including:

1. Store mobile devices in backpacks or a designated location during the school day.
2. Allow mobile devices to be used during lunch or in designated areas only.
3. Allow mobile devices for instructional purposes in some or all classrooms.

While there have been teachers, schools, and districts who have given students the freedom to bring cell phones and other technology to school, New York City is the largest. This will set the trend and help move others to open the doors for student devices in school.

This comes with some good and bad news.

Some Bad News

• For the million dollar cell phone storage business that’s been profiting off inner city children. Their services are no longer required.
• As reported in the New York Times some principals are concerned students will use phones to organize and record fights. That said, students have these devices whether or not they bring them to school. Schools can play an important role in addressing inappropriate behavior and helping to keep students safe.
• The Times also shared that some feared students would be distracted. This however, is where professional development plays a role in teaching staff how they can use student devices as tools of engagement.

Some Good News

• For parents who want to ensure their children are safe when they are away from the home.
• For students and parents who will no longer be required to pay a daily rate to store phones. A saving of about $180 a year according to Chancellor Carmen Farina.
• For innovative educators who’ve been eager to integrate student devices into learning. The Chancellor explains  in the NY Daily News educational benefits such as their ability to help overcome language barriers in multilingual classrooms, encourage class participation and capture students’ understanding of key concepts.
• Students like the idea.  See what they said by watching the video at the end of the story that appeared in Chalkbeat's coverage of the story or NY 1's interviews with students. 

The research is clear. Students learn best when they have access to mobile devices. The NYCDOE has been supporting staff in digital literacy, cybersafety, social media, and mobile learning for several years supported by guidelines created with students, staff, and parents. Teachers also have professional learning opportunities and online learning communities to provide ongoing support. Now more students will have access to the resources they need to be successful both inside and outside the classroom.

You can read press release on the topic here.