People often comment on the quality of my lab staff. They ask me my secret for getting the best and most talented candidates, and my answer is: flexibility. Yes, I work in an ed-tech environment, but I never consider a person’s background in technology as a key factor in whether I should or shouldn’t hire them. I’ve learned that tech skills can be taught. Indeed, they change so often that even the most highly skilled technicians would be at a loss if they didn’t keep up. Instead, I look for a great teacher who is able to effortlessly share their knowledge with students, and someone who is flexible enough to try out new apps and ideas, without a sense of dread. I’ve also built-in my own openness to new ideas. Whenever we’re faced with a changing set of circumstances, such as a new grant that takes us in a different direction, I open the floor to ideas. How should this be approached? What’s the best and most efficient way of developing the educational plan to effectively teach this new subject area? Which apps would make this content easier for students to access?
A simple example is the development of hotlists for subject areas. We had lists of websites. Lots and lots of lists. My specialists said that while the lists were useful, there were several aspects that they found frustrating. One issue was that students had a difficult time accessing the sites, because the URLs were impossible to type correctly. We found that apps such as Tiny URL would solve that problem, though students still had to type out something to get to the site. Another issue was that it was difficult to add to the printed lists, and we ended up throwing out papers when the lists were updated. Our solution was to switch to a web-based list that could be printed (and updated) as needed, but was unfortunately specific to the computers in our labs. Both of these tools worked, but never offered the usability that we really wanted to have. We tried putting the lists on disks, but those too became outdated pretty quickly.
One day I was reading through the blogs, and found a site called Fliamentality which gave us the ability to create hotlists of websites that we could add to a blog site. Suddenly we had the kind of tool that actually worked for giving students and instructors the access to the academic websites they needed, was available to them wherever they had Internet access, and could be updated and shared immediately by accessing one simple web address. A sample of the Fliamentality hotlists can be seen on our AELC Instructor Blog . These can be organized by area, and a simple click on the name would take students exactly where they should be on the site. Although the other methods worked, this method had the flexibility to adapt as new websites became available. Even though the original lists took a lot of effort to put together, this newer system accomplished the same goal, but in more efficient way. Overnight we switched to the hotlists, and our ability to share the websites increased dramatically.
Change is always difficult, especially in education. Educators are always pressed for time, and change requires effort. You have to learn a new application. You have to take what you previously had (which may still be somewhat effective) and change it to the new format. Often it means tossing out the old ideas, and developing a new system from the ground up. It takes a certain amount of courage to move from the old saw ‘if it isn’t broken why fix it?’ Ed-tech is all about change. What is new and exciting today is old news in six months. You don’t need to change constantly, but you do need to assess constantly, and review new apps and ideas with the idea that they can make your program, or classroom, work better.
Monday, June 8, 2009
People often comment on the quality of my lab staff. They ask me my secret for getting the best and most talented candidates, and my answer is: flexibility. Yes, I work in an ed-tech environment, but I never consider a person’s background in technology as a key factor in whether I should or shouldn’t hire them. I’ve learned that tech skills can be taught. Indeed, they change so often that even the most highly skilled technicians would be at a loss if they didn’t keep up. Instead, I look for a great teacher who is able to effortlessly share their knowledge with students, and someone who is flexible enough to try out new apps and ideas, without a sense of dread. I’ve also built-in my own openness to new ideas. Whenever we’re faced with a changing set of circumstances, such as a new grant that takes us in a different direction, I open the floor to ideas. How should this be approached? What’s the best and most efficient way of developing the educational plan to effectively teach this new subject area? Which apps would make this easier for students to access?
A simple example is the development of hotlists for subject areas. We had lists of websites. Lots and lots of lists. My specialists said that while the lists were useful, there were several aspects that they found frustrating. One issue was that students had a difficult time accessing the sites, because the URLs were impossible to type correctly. We found that apps such as Tiny URL would solve that problem, though students still had to type out something to get to the site. Another issue was that it was difficult to add to the printed lists, and we ended up throwing out papers when the lists were updated. Our solution was to switch to a web-based list that could be printed (and updated) as needed, but was unfortunately specific to the computers in our labs. Both of these tools worked, but never offered the flexibility that we really wanted to have. We tried putting the lists on disks, but those too became outdated pretty quickly.
One day I was reading through the blogs, and found a site called Fliamentality , which gave us the ability to create hotlists of websites that we could add to a blog site. Suddenly we had the kind of tool that actually worked for giving students and instructors the access to the academic websites they needed, was available to them wherever they had Internet access, and could be updated and shared immediately by accessing one simple web address. A sample of the Fliamentality hotlists can be seen on our AELC Instructor Blog . These can be organized by area, and a simple click on the name would take students exactly where they should be on the site. Although the other methods worked, this method had the flexibility to adapt as new websites became available. Even though the original lists took a lot of effort to put together, this newer system accomplished the same goal, but in more efficient way. Overnight we switched to the hotlists, and our ability to share the websites increased dramatically.
Change is always difficult, especially in education. Educators are always pressed for time, and change requires effort. You have to learn a new application. You have to take what you previously had (which may have been somewhat effective) and change it to the new format. Often it means tossing out the old ideas, and developing a new system from the ground up. It takes courage as well as flexibility to move from the old saw ‘if it isn’t broken why fix it?’ Ed-tech is all about change. What is new and exciting today is old news in six months. You don’t need to change constantly, but you do need to assess constantly, and review new apps and ideas with the idea that they can make your program, or classroom, work better,
A simple example is the development of hotlists for subject areas. We had lists of websites. Lots and lots of lists. My specialists said that while the lists were useful, there were several aspects that they found frustrating. One issue was that students had a difficult time accessing the sites, because the URLs were impossible to type correctly. We found that apps such as Tiny URL would solve that problem, though students still had to type out something to get to the site. Another issue was that it was difficult to add to the printed lists, and we ended up throwing out papers when the lists were updated. Our solution was to switch to a web-based list that could be printed (and updated) as needed, but was unfortunately specific to the computers in our labs. Both of these tools worked, but never offered the flexibility that we really wanted to have. We tried putting the lists on disks, but those too became outdated pretty quickly.
One day I was reading through the blogs, and found a site called Fliamentality , which gave us the ability to create hotlists of websites that we could add to a blog site. Suddenly we had the kind of tool that actually worked for giving students and instructors the access to the academic websites they needed, was available to them wherever they had Internet access, and could be updated and shared immediately by accessing one simple web address. A sample of the Fliamentality hotlists can be seen on our AELC Instructor Blog . These can be organized by area, and a simple click on the name would take students exactly where they should be on the site. Although the other methods worked, this method had the flexibility to adapt as new websites became available. Even though the original lists took a lot of effort to put together, this newer system accomplished the same goal, but in more efficient way. Overnight we switched to the hotlists, and our ability to share the websites increased dramatically.
Change is always difficult, especially in education. Educators are always pressed for time, and change requires effort. You have to learn a new application. You have to take what you previously had (which may have been somewhat effective) and change it to the new format. Often it means tossing out the old ideas, and developing a new system from the ground up. It takes courage as well as flexibility to move from the old saw ‘if it isn’t broken why fix it?’ Ed-tech is all about change. What is new and exciting today is old news in six months. You don’t need to change constantly, but you do need to assess constantly, and review new apps and ideas with the idea that they can make your program, or classroom, work better,
The idea of using social networks in the classroom is still outside the ken of many classroom instructors. Sites such as Facebook , MySpace and Twitter have connotations that many instructors instinctively avoid. They see the pitfalls, but not the value. There are warning flags all over the place. I’ve heard educators say,’ if you allow students to use a site like Twitter in the classroom, students will abuse it and just network with friends’. Sure, always a possibility. But if you allow students Internet access on computers, they can always access sites you don’t want them accessing. It all comes down to the control an instructor has in the classroom. An ineffective instructor with no classroom discipline doesn’t need an access wire to fail. Those are the teachers who would let handwritten notes to be passed around the classroom in the pre-tech days.
We’ve (reluctantly) moved to acceptance of using academic websites in the classroom. Instructors see the value, and students know and like using them. We’ve found the value in YouTube , but have developed Teacher Tube to combat many of the content concerns. Social network sites are still a new frontier. First, instructors are not all that familiar with them. I think every instructor (and parent) should get on the computer and sign up for one or more of the social network sites, if only to know what it is that the kids are doing. One thing is certain, the KIDS are on them, daily, and even hourly. They can access them from classroom computers, or cell phone browsers. I have Facebook and Twitter buttons on my iPhone, so access takes less than a second. Of course they also let me know via email when someone has added something new to my page. It’s all about accessibility, and for kids, it’s like breathing. They just do it. My nephew once said that if he had to go more than a few hours without Facebook he would implode. I honestly believe him.
So how do educators use these tools? Tom Preskett in his article Blogs for Education, Blogs for Yourself mentioned the Write4 website ( http://write4.net/en), which allows one to publish articles, photos, videos etc. without set-ups or logins. Your work is published to your Twitter account. What’s the value? Easy and fast access. You give your students one site (such as your classroom Twitter account), and give them the ability to access these sites wherever and whenever they wish. You simply tell them to follow your Twitter, and they access your Tweets. It’s simple, and effective, because students are there anyway. Will all students actually read your Tweets? No, but not all students will read the homework you assign, or even participate in class discussions. But the point is that students are familiar with social networking, and use it regularly. And as educators, we have to believe that most students want to learn, and want to succeed.
I’ve never been able to understand instructors who believe students want to fail. They may not hang on your every word, but they do listen and know the correlation between work and success. Give them something they can use, and they will pay attention. Will they push the envelope? Of course. But that happens with any age group. Case in point: professional development programs. Put a group of instructors into professional development class and watch them as they stare out the window, play with anything but the prescribed websites on the computer, and even talk and laugh with each other. In a training setting, most professional educators mirror the behavior of their students. The key to success is the same as the key needed to succeed with students: give them something they find useful.
We’ve (reluctantly) moved to acceptance of using academic websites in the classroom. Instructors see the value, and students know and like using them. We’ve found the value in YouTube , but have developed Teacher Tube to combat many of the content concerns. Social network sites are still a new frontier. First, instructors are not all that familiar with them. I think every instructor (and parent) should get on the computer and sign up for one or more of the social network sites, if only to know what it is that the kids are doing. One thing is certain, the KIDS are on them, daily, and even hourly. They can access them from classroom computers, or cell phone browsers. I have Facebook and Twitter buttons on my iPhone, so access takes less than a second. Of course they also let me know via email when someone has added something new to my page. It’s all about accessibility, and for kids, it’s like breathing. They just do it. My nephew once said that if he had to go more than a few hours without Facebook he would implode. I honestly believe him.
So how do educators use these tools? Tom Preskett in his article Blogs for Education, Blogs for Yourself mentioned the Write4 website ( http://write4.net/en), which allows one to publish articles, photos, videos etc. without set-ups or logins. Your work is published to your Twitter account. What’s the value? Easy and fast access. You give your students one site (such as your classroom Twitter account), and give them the ability to access these sites wherever and whenever they wish. You simply tell them to follow your Twitter, and they access your Tweets. It’s simple, and effective, because students are there anyway. Will all students actually read your Tweets? No, but not all students will read the homework you assign, or even participate in class discussions. But the point is that students are familiar with social networking, and use it regularly. And as educators, we have to believe that most students want to learn, and want to succeed.
I’ve never been able to understand instructors who believe students want to fail. They may not hang on your every word, but they do listen and know the correlation between work and success. Give them something they can use, and they will pay attention. Will they push the envelope? Of course. But that happens with any age group. Case in point: professional development programs. Put a group of instructors into professional development class and watch them as they stare out the window, play with anything but the prescribed websites on the computer, and even talk and laugh with each other. In a training setting, most professional educators mirror the behavior of their students. The key to success is the same as the key needed to succeed with students: give them something they find useful.
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