The State of Tech Podcast is a bi-weekly educational technology podcast done by Eric Curtis (North Canton Schools), Eric Griffith (Mechanicsburg Schools), and Sean Beavers (Consultant for SOITA) .  In the first few shows, they covered Google Apps, Tablets, Tech Support, Tech in Math, Interactive Whiteboards, BYOT, Etech Ohio (a live show, short clip below) and Digital Textbooks--Mike and I were guests on this show talking about our student created textbook.  The show runs this way: News for five or ten minutes, three awesome tech things, and then a lively discussion.   The podcast usually run around one hour and fifteen minutes.   The five minute clip below gives an example of the podcast as they reflect on the Ohio Etech Conference.  In this clip, they discuss the students created textbook. 

Contact The State of Tech: Thestateoftech@gmail.com  or on the google plus: http://bit.ly/ydKAmi
Sean Beavers: @remedy1978                            Eric Curtis:   @ericcurts                         Eric Griffith: eric.s.griffith@gmail.com 

Mike and I often talk with our students about leaving positive digital footprints for others to follow.  These positive digital footprints could be called digital citizenship, but footprints sounds better and sends a deeper meaning to kids.  

To help kids understand this, we teach them about how the web really works.  We show them the Way Back Machine, read the Facebook user agreement, and explain how google works.  Students facial expressions show their reactions to what they are learning.  They really do understand what you do on the web, is forever. 

We even show the youtube "Digital Footprints--Your First New Impressions" about the impact your digital footprints will have as life moves on.  They are truly impacted.   

However, as teachers, we have to "assess" their learning. That can be a difficult task. How do you evaluate what they do on their home computer at 12:30 am on a Saturday night?  How do "grade" their personal digital footprint?  How do you make sure they are leaving a "positive digital footprint" for others to follow?    I guess the answer is we don't.  But teaching them how to make positive footprints on the web is a life long skill. Yes, one that will never be graded for "value added" or "merit pay", but one that I would argue is as important as the effects of the Crusades.  In fact, I would say much more important in the world of the 21st Century.  

While Mike and I were skyping a few nights ago, making changes to the middle ages webquest, I tweeted out a blog link on some new big thing--don't remember.  I use two accounts on Twitter (@HistoryHolman, for my students to follow, and @garthholman for my professional tweets).  I sent it out to my students and in a second it was re-tweeted. I comment to Mike I did not recognize who tweeted it.  I clicked on the name and to my surprise below is what I found: 

I love the bio this student wrote.  In case its to small I will retype: Hello Internet and all who inhabit it! Hmmm...How Shall I leave a positive digital footprint. 

I guess we have to believe what we do makes a real difference in student's lives and just because it will never appear on a test does not mean it does not add value to our students.   Keep teaching and keep building a digital footprint for others to follow.  

Cheers, Garth

Mike and I would like to extent our deepest condolences to the families that suffered loss during the tragic events at Chardon High School.   The students, parents, teachers and community of Chardon, Ohio will be in our hearts and minds. 

One of my students wrote the following poem in class today, she gave me permission to post it here...She says it all.



Things like this should never happen,
But sometimes they still do.
Although we are not there in body,
Mind and with our hearts, we are with you.

All we can do is hope and pray,
that recovery is down the road.
This will always be in our memories,
If only we could help carry the load.

As started on Facebook by students at Ohio University. Wear Red to support the victims and those involved in the Chardon High School Shooting on Wed. Feb. 29, 2012. Please Invite Your Friends so we can show our respect and support for the community. 

Good morning Chardon!  Welcome to your waiver day.  Below you will find all of the information that Garth and I will present this morning.  In a perfect world you would all be on your mobile devices searching, exploring, browsing and learning as we speak.  If you have a smartphone with 3g please feel free to peruse the internet throughout this presentation.  If you have any comments/questions/suggestions feel free to click the "comments" button in the upper right corner of this blog post or tweet directly: @Garthholman or @Professormike1.  This morning Garth and I help to inspire and re-affirm your philosophical feelings concerning our profession.  Our hope is that as we present you will question not only us, but yourselves.  Remember Garth and I are both seventh grade social studies teachers.  We understand the trials and tribulations of being a teacher; in fact we live through the same problems every day.  In the end, the agents of change must be teachers. 

Garth and I got back from eTech yesterday and jumped right back into the swing of things.  I thought I would take a few minutes to reflect on my two days down in Columbus, Ohio (C-Bus). 

When Garth and I go to conferences it is always a bit of a culture shock.  It isn't that we are out of touch with the happenings of education, or that we are amazed by revolutionary new ideas, its just that the world tends to shrink when you are a teacher.  What I mean is that we spend so much time in the community in which we teach, in the same building, same classroom, same people, same ideas that I often loose sight of how things are outside my district.  This shock must be worse for other teachers and administrators whom never collaborate with people from other districts like Garth and I.  Most teachers will still tell you that common planning, common assessment and department meetings is a great form of collaboration.  Truth is that these are great forms of collaboration; just ten years ago.  Working with a teacher or a department within your school is as homogenous a group as you can get.  Even if your opinions and knowledge differ (which hopefully they do, you are still so connected by the politics of your particular district that real change/growth is nearly improbable. 

Garth and I were able to hang out with some great minds in education.  Tim Sisson from the University of Akron and TJ Houston, technology director of Huron Public Schools.  Not only are they from different geographic locations, they have very different jobs than Garth and myself.  Tim works at the university level and TJ lives in the land of administration.  What was enjoyed and gained from conversation with these two guys was far more valuable than any static session eTech may have offered.  Garth and I also talked with Eric Curts, technology director at North Canton City Schools and Jeremy Brueck with e-read Ohio.  Jeremy is currently working on a PhD concerning technology and curriculum in early grades and he was gracious enough to share the  philosophical views that support his doctoral work.

TJ, Tim, Garth and I spent a good eight hours eating, laughing and philosophizing.  It was the single best professional development I have had since BLC11.  What was discussed, dissected, thrown out, created and fixed in those few hours around C-Bus makes me a better teacher.  Now some of you may find it hard to believe that professional development could happen in a parking garage or over some fried pickles, but it really makes much more sense than mandatory PD.  The four of us where in a comfortable setting and stumbled onto conversation from mutual colleagues.  The most important part of PD should be to interact with different people.  People in different subjects, professions and regions.  Hopefully at eTech 2013 we can meet back up to rehash old conversations, talk about personal/professional growth over the year and continue to grow as learners.

-Mike 

Welcome! 
For today's session we have set up a back-channel at the following address: TodaysMeet

You can also add comments, thoughts, questions and share the best of every session on the following GoogleDoc:
eTech 2012





Direct Links we discuss:
Student Created Online Digital Textbook
Classroom Website


"...multimedia technologies, which use text, audio, video, graphics and animation to communicate information, offer today's teachers a mechanism to move from a 'linear' learning environment to a 'nonlinear' environment - one which offers users interactivity, control of progress, and choice in their construction of knowledge."
                                                                           -Cuper and Lambert cited in Hanover Research Council 
                                                                             Maintaining Competitiveness in the 21st Century, 2010

                                    ...and so we will...

Presentation Links:
Creativity & Innovation
Collaboration  
Mastery Learning
Communication                   


"Schools and teachers must be challenged to use the tools and techniques of today,  not the ones of the past." 
                                                                   -Association for the Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2009.

Grad student posted the History of Technology in a blog and I found it interesting.  Not a great ending, as it is made by SmartTech, but a nice visual of how far we have come in technology.  The second video, posted on Thomas Whitby's site (The Educators PLN) explains the power of mobile learning. Together they tell a "BIG PICTURE" story...and give us all a VOICE.  What are your thoughts? 

In my grad class, I start with a question:.  What are the fundamental things we know about how people learn?  At first, they look at me and say not much.  After a few minutes, answers come: interest, hands on, groups, organized, practice, etc.. at times they say, we need to know what they know before we move on. 

I then explain that is why I will not hand out a syllabus this week because I need to know what you already know so that I can tailor the syllabus to meet your needs.  They are surprised by this statement, because, in the past they come and we give a syllabus.  This is interesting, it seems if a syllabus is provided first, we are focused on teaching, not on learning. 

In college, pre-service teachers are asked to prepare lesson plans, for a group of kids and often given an outline to follow as they build. These plans are neat, sequential, and pre-services teachers are encouraged to have a very managed classroom.   However, the plan is one plan for 23 different students with unique brains, how does that work when it comes to student learning, not teaching? 

Often our Professional development , is focused on teaching.  How to use technology, how to create formal assessments,  how to use data, how to read standards, how to etc… You get it.  But for a successful class, focus has to be on learning, not teaching.   How can we begin to change that in the modern classroom? 

Today is my birthday.  I had a nice day, got to spend it with students who I enjoy being around and co-workers who care about the job they do. I also spent it Skyping with Mike and his class.  The day ended uneventful as I walked out the building.   I was driving home to pick up my own children and daydreaming about why I do what I do.  As I walked into my children's school, I saw a flyer in the hallway, "It's Friday".  It's Friday, is a weekly newsletter by the Superintendent's office about the schools my kids attend.  It is for teachers, not the general public (I think), but anyways I read it--and so glad I did. 

The superintendent started by exploring the Three R's: Relationships, Rigor and Relevance. I wanted to share a pome he had shared, with you.

We teach the whole child with all of his or her
  Shortcomings and strenghts,
  Soiled blue jeans and runny noses,
  Abilities,
  Thoughts,
  Feeling and attiudes,
  Beautiful complexities,
  And Deep human interests and needs....
       That Have Driven Us All Into the Education Profession.  

Enough said.  I am proud to do what I do.  

Cheers, Garth

This is the second year that Garth and I have used the Middle Ages WebQuest we designed last winter.  As students were completing the WebQuest last year, Garth and I kept seeing things we could change.  Over the last two weeks Garth and I made some major revisions to the project.  Although this is only the second year we have used this WebQuest, it is practically the fourth time we have changed virtually every aspect of it.

This standards-based Webquest covers the Middle Ages and includes: the Fall of Rome, Feudalism, socioeconomic systems, The Holy Crusades, the Black Death, 100 Years War, Magna Carta and The rise of the Roman Catholic Church.  Infused in each Quest are several elements.  Garth and I have created podcast lectures (flipped teaching) which are attached to a GoogleDoc Form with questions that allow students to reflect on the lecture they listened to, collaborative documents so that students at both schools can share information, a live Diigo stream for our classroom Diigo group, imagery, films, supplemental reading and a few other resources for students to gain depth of understanding and encourage Independence learning.  Each student is required to create a blog post on their website with answers to the Quest questions and a historical narrative written in 1st person about their Middle Ages person's life.

Below is a quick conversation between Garth and I about the changes we have made for this year's students.

-Mike