Turning Education Upside Down: After-Thoughts from the TSETC

Music is one of my all time favorite pleasures in life. It’s how I joined the whole iPod revolution years ago. I truly feel that certain songs make up the soundtrack to my life. Sometimes music just speaks to you: the right song for the right time at the right place. Usually I keep these songs to myself, but I feel compelled to write about a certain song. 

During my two hour drive home from the Tri-State Education Technology Conference (TSETC) in New Jersey last Saturday, I was listening to my “Meet the iPad” playlist. (Yes, I’m geeky enough to have a playlist for my workshop, but that’s not the point I’m making here.) As I sat in New York City traffic, I listened to Jack Johnson’s song “Upside Down”. After a full and exhilarating conference, certain lyrics jumped out at me and reinforced some of the thoughts that were racing through my mind. I’d like to take a moment to share a few of those lyrics and thoughts...

“Who's to say

What's impossible

Well they forgot

This world keeps spinning

And with each new day

I can feel a change in everything

And as the surface breaks reflections fade

But in some ways they remain the same

And as my mind begins to spread its wings

There's no stopping curiosity”

Sometimes I do feel like I am fighting an impossible battle. “What good will an iPod really do?” More than you know apparently. “You know, iPads can’t fix all the problems in education.” I never said they could. “They are a distraction.” Well, a piece of a paper and a pencil can be a distraction too if they are not monitored.

Yes, I do love my personal iPhone and iPad, but the real reason I love using mobile devices in the classroom is because they are socially acceptable, educational, and engaging: they are TOOLS to help educators and students individualize learning. Just like my glasses, sometimes I need them, sometimes I don’t. I often feel like there is an overwhelming majority of teachers who haven’t recognized that the world is changing. Aren’t they curious about all the wonderful technology tools that are available to make learning individualized and engaging? Have they seen how students respond to information when it is presented in a familiar and individualized way? And why do people look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them I drove to NJ for a free conference on a Saturday all by myself?

For me, TSETC was an opportunity to learn from other educators, as well as educate other educators. It was very encouraging to see over 400 other educators learning and sharing about different technology tools. I felt like the day was filled with minds spreading their wings and I sure hope no one stops their curiosity. A quick search on Twitter for #TSETC tells me curiosity is in full force, and that makes me proud to be a part of TSETC. 

“I want to turn the whole thing upside down

I'll find the things they say just can't be found

I'll share this love I find with everyone...

I don't want this feeling to go away”

I do think education needs to be turned upside down. For me, TSETC reinforced the idea that passionate educators CAN actually do this. It was a strong reminder for me that what I believe is worth working for and that I’m not the only one out there asking for change. I agree that technology isn’t the answer to all of our issues in education, but I do strongly believe that technology can make us better educators, facilitators, and learners.

“Who's to say

I can't do everything

Well I can try

And as I roll along I begin to find

Things aren't always just what they seem...”

Yes, I know I can’t do everything. But I CAN try. In my ‘live blog’ from TSETC, I mentioned a conversation with a fellow attendee. She was truly shocked to hear that I was asking for change and that I was not tenured. She made note of her concerns for the current economy and her current job. How has education become so that teachers are afraid to ask for what’s best for their students? Isn’t that why we teach? Although I’m not a mom, I am an aunt. When I look at my 18 month old niece, I’m both worried and excited for her future. Will things change? Will she benefit from my efforts? Will other educators care about her future as much as I do? Jack reminds me that “things aren’t always just what they seem” and right now I have renewed faith and energy after this weekend about the future of education. It is bright.

“This world keeps spinning and there's no time to waste

Well it all keeps spinning spinning round and round and

Upside down

Who's to say what's impossible and can't be found

I don't want this feeling to go away”

I take comfort in Jack’s words. I’m thrilled to be an educator in these changing times, and I’m ecstatic to be an advocate for my students’ future. I feel inspired and motivated to take the knowledge I learned at the TSETC and apply it to my own classroom and school. I love the feeling I had driving home from the Tri-State Education Technology Conference and I don’t wan’t that feeling to go away.

Cross-posted on www.iPodsibilities.com

Thoughts from the Apple Summer Learning Institute: Day Two

Day Two of the Apple Summer Learning Institute was as awesome as Day One! The day’s focus was on leading innovation, exploring new approaches for education, and reaching all learners. 

We started the day with a session on exploring innovative approaches to teaching and learning. We quickly reviewed the ISTE NETS standards and how we could relay those standards back to our own classrooms. I really enjoyed this discussion with my table-mates; I think we all left the conversation wanting to go back to our district and beg for some sort of Apple tool we had seen to help us do so.

As the morning presentation continued, we delved into iTunesU. If you are an educator and you have not checked out iTunesU’s content, do it now! I’ve personally been a fan of iTunesU since it made it’s debut on the iTunes store in 2007. Basically you can learn anything, anytime, anywhere. Apple calls it a “powerful distribution system for everything from lectures to language lessons, films to labs, audiobooks to tours - an innovative way to get educational content into the hands of students.” All I can say is that it is an amazing resource for both teachers and students.

The next innovative tool we looked at was the MacBook. This is a computer that was meant for schools; I really enjoyed exploring some of the tools it has to offer. There are wikis for lesson planning, class websites through iWeb, podcasts with GarageBand and iMovie, photo books with iPhoto, calendars with iCal, and presentations with Keynote (just to name a few!). This session made me love my MacBook Pro just a little bit more than I thought I could.

Our next session was about transforming our classroom curriculum, which took place in a series of breakout sessions. The first break out session was focused on language acquisition where we explored how technology can help struggling readers and second language learners develop reading fluency and strengthen their reading comprehension. All sorts of Apple products came into play: MacBooks, iPods, and iPads. The strategies ranged from using the iLife suite to engage and foster creativity all the way to utilizing third party apps on the iPod & iPad (i.e. Pocket English ESL, iSentence Builder, iTranslate). 

After language acquisition, I headed off to the mathematics session to see how technology can support math learners, engage students, create content to teach math concepts, and explore a variety of math applications. This session was both informative and fun; I even beat the presenter in a math app challenge! From the math session, I hopped over to science to experience how technology can support inquiry, help students grasp challenging concepts, document and analyze students’ work, and share knowledge. To be fair I should tell you that I really never liked science; I married a science teacher and he usually makes up for my lack of knowledge in that area. Yet I left this session WANTING to learn more about science. We conducted a soil PH lab using equipment we hooked up to the iPad. We were able to see real time graphing of the PH over time... Way cool! Engaging and informative, exactly what we should expect in all of our classrooms. 

The final breakout session was focused on Special Education. We explored the accessibility features built into Apple technology as well as different apps that can support students with a variety of learning and physical disabilities. This session was perfect for me as a special educator, but it was also fantastic for general educators as well. I really appreciate Apple’s stance on accessibility: it is all about giving people access to information. Some of my favorite accessibility features include VoiceOver, Zoom, Closed Captioning, and different text-to-speech options. All of their accessibility features are worth a good look; not only great for accommodating students with disabilities, but excellent for differentiating instruction for different types of learners.

The conference wrapped up with a discussion of how we could bring all of these great ideas and tools back to our classroom. I felt so energized, so motivated, so READY to do it all. As I said in my last post, Apple really knows how to put on a great educators conference. I may sound like an Apple commercial, but it’s only because I love their educational tools and I love their philosophy for education. Apple presenters summed it up best when they said:

Students + Teachers = Learners

And isn’t that just the truth?

Cross-posted on www.iPodsibilities.com 

New blogger for I Education Apps Review

Zack Gilbert has volunteered to blog about his experience with the Touch device as he begins to use it in his personal and professional life. Here is the beginning of his story. Thanks for letting us take a closer look at your experience Zack ...

... A little information about me-

• I will be starting my 14^th year of teaching this fall, 2009. I am currently teaching 6^th grade social studies (ancient civilizations) and language arts. I am a building technologist and I help problem solve technology difficulties within my building.
• M.S. in Instructional Technology - Illinois State University, 2008

The field of education has slowly and reluctantly taken advantage of new advances and innovations. Many times technology has been used wisely and many times it has not. Iear.org is dedicated to one small piece of computer software and hardware. Why are educators fascinated with the IPhone/ITouch?

Interest…by students and educators. That is what led us to Iear.org.

As educators we need to be careful that we are not using these devices just to use them, but we should have the end in mind. What are the learning goals? What do we want our students to know when they are done with the lesson? You can have a lot of fun with an IPod, but that does not mean you are learning. IPods are not an easy way out and they are not the golden ticket. They are one piece in an overwhelming learning environment. (Sorry….my diatribe is over)

In the beginning of the summer I was asked to join a small group of teachers to look at new technologies and how they could be used in the classroom. One of these devices is an IPod touch. This group would use these devices for the summer and help teach another group of teachers throughout the district. This is a great format to see the practicality of these gadgets within the classroom. If the data shows viability, then a larger implementation can occur.

So what apps and other tools have I used for educational purposes? How did I test these apps? As a father of two elementary school children, I had willing participants. I am only going to write about a few apps in this post, but I will add more on a later date.

Education Apps (Remember I have the IPod Touch):

• Instant Interactive Math Drills Ver. 1.3 (by Instant Interactive)
  • Wonderful app for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Has review, practice, and test areas and can keep track of your progress. You can add students and have multiple options of how the problems are presented. My youngest, who will be in kindergarten this fall, uses the hints area and now understands a basic number line for addition and subtraction. You could use this app at many grade levels.
• Google Earth
  • As a social studies teacher, this is a great way to put the world in your hands. I still like the desktop version better, but so much geography can be taught from this app.
• Open Culture
  • From the site www.openculture.com - Open Culture explores cultural and educational media (podcasts, videos, online courses, etc.) that’s freely available on the web, and that makes learning dynamic, productive, and fun. We sift through all the media, highlight the good and jettison the bad, and centralize it in one place. Trust us, you’ll find engaging content here that will keep you learning and sharp. And you will find it much more efficiently than if you spend your time searching with Google, Yahoo or iTunes.

Personal Productivity:

• DoBot ToDos (I would just use the Google Tasks if I was always connect with an IPhone)
• Google Mobile App- Most (if not all) of Google at your fingertips.

I want to write so much more, but my time is short. My next post will go into more detail about the apps above and some new ones.

Questions, comments, and rants????

Zack Gilbert
Parkside Junior High School
Normal, IL

zgilbert.mail @ gmail.com (purposely not linked properly to help prevent SPAM)
http://twitter.com/zgilbert

... Once again, thanks Zack for giving us a window into your experience. We agree wholeheartedly that we don't want to juse use these devices to simply use them. I Education Apps Review is all about taking a real look at the viability of these devices and applications. Great stuff ... We look forward to reading more about your experience moving forward!

... Disclaimer - Zack's opinion is his own and is reflecting his own personal experience.  Zack and I Education Apps Review have no official affiliation with any company and we do not accept any monetary funds beyond "donated" apps.  We are all teachers trying to help each other out as we look at the educational value of these devices and applications.  See I Education Apps Review's disclaimer for more information.