Moving Schools Forward With BYOD

The following is a guest blog post by Dr. Greg Farley.  Greg is the Director of Technology at Matawan-Aberdeen Regional School District and an Adjunct Professor and course developer at the Graduate Schools of Education at Monmouth University and Drew University.  Greg also conducts workshops at K-12 schools and universities and mentors doctoral students and administrators in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.  Check out his blog Embrace, Adapt, Enhance.

I visited Eric’s High School on February 24^th to observe Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) and his implementation of a contemporary learning environment.  I was impressed.  I was most impressed at Eric’s reflection that he was once part of the problem, banning devices from his school rather then embracing the use of the technology.  That has changed and Eric trusts his students to interact responsibly with media and communication tools.  These expectations are being met by staff and students. 

 Image credit: http://www.bishopoconnell.org/uploaded/Academics/smartphone-netbook-pad.jpg

I visited New Milford High School with Media Specialist Zach Gross (from Matawan Regional High School) and was immediately brought to a math classroom hearing the teacher say “OK everyone, bring out your phones.”  Students brought out a variety of devices including Blackberries, iPhones, and Smartphones to answer multiple choice questions.   These multiple choice questions were accessed through the website Polleverywhere.com to assess student understanding via an instant audience feedback system.  The activity progressed seamlessly and the students were engaged. 

We then went to the cafeteria where students were allowed to use devices during their lunch period and to our surprise, most students were eating, chatting (face-to-face), and just hanging out.  The stereotype of the teenager texting impulsively, ignoring the physical presence of people around them, was shattered.  Some students were using laptops and devices for class assignments or to text, but most were sitting at tables together, talking.

Students described their use of devices for educational activities and took personal responsibility for using the devices appropriately.  I attribute this to Eric’s leadership and the team’s foresight, for embracing the learning environment and adapting their understanding of the tools used by the millennial generation.  This structure allows the staff and administration to enhance learning activities and school climate through trust and responsibility, rather than banning new technologies for fear of what the students could do with them.

After my visit to New Milford I met with the Superintendent of Randolph Township Schools Dr. David Browne (a friend and former colleague), and his Assistant Superintendent Jennifer Fano to discuss their implementation of technology to create a rigorous and relevant learning environment.  Both of these educational leaders follow Eric’s blog and tweets.   They described “meeting” a 1^st grade class via Facetime using an iPad and Apple TV.  The administrative team promotes creative uses of VLOGS, numerous apps and many other technologies to improve learning.  Innovation is a common practice in Randolph Township Schools and is led by the district administration. 

It is evident that creating a contemporary learning environment begins with educational leaders embracing new opportunities for using technology rather than relying on what has worked in the past.  Technology needs to facilitate student collaboration, problem solving, and communication to enhance learning, rather then a “smoke and mirrors” approach like providing electronic worksheets. Administrators in 2012 must understand how to implement new technologies, not just “infuse” technology the easy way.  Equipped with a critical eye for evaluation, administrators, as evidenced at NMHS and RTS, can improve the delivery and impact of instruction.    

The administrators in New Milford and Randolph Township get it, and understand that to be successful, they must be life-long learners.  

Misguided Efforts in Educational Reform

A few weeks back I passed along an Education Week article to administrators in my District that highlighted the many technology challenges that states anticipate with common tests.  Below is a response to the article from Danielle Shanley, my Director of Curriculum and Instruction, as well as her sound synopsis of the misguided educational reform movement.

I think educational leaders (I have been making my voice heard in a few venues, most recently this morning) need to begin to challenge these assessments due to the issues of inequality for all children.  We have moved from testing endurance to testing technological proficiency.  When will the powers that be consider the best way to assess learning of content?  And content exit exams are not the answer…　 　

Image credit: http://hoosiered.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Question-Man.jpg

What I think we really need is to have a more realistic approach at the center of the argument.  If what we need to do is better prepare our students for a 21st century workforce, we need to provide them with a 21st century education.  That is one that does not espouse archaic Carnegie units for graduation and standardized assessments as measures of achievement.  We need classrooms without walls; we need project based instruction and project based assessment; we need personalized learning plans for all students that appeal to their interests and their talents while they support their areas of need.　We need students who can read and write for a variety of purposes, make change and leave a tip without use of their cell phones.  We need to have our students play and exercise more and take advantage of more authentic learning experiences and get them out of INDUSTRIAL age K-12 assembly line classrooms.  We need to offer “Option Two” type programs to ALL students and forget about the way we are used to “doing” education in the country.  We need to move towards a system, like Finland, where they have virtually NO standardized testing and very high international academic achievement.　

We aren’t preparing our students to work on farms and in factories any more.  We aren’t preparing them to work in a suit and tie, in a bank, or in a shoe store for their entire lives.　The youngest billionaire in the world (Mark Zuckerberg) goes to work in cargo shorts and flip flops.  Most work places offer creative outlets for game playing and relaxation.　 Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and even the banking industry aren’t looking for “schooled followers.”  They want creative leaders and problem solvers with original ideas!  We are NOT preparing our students for an uncertain world five years from now.　What is the federal government doing to help us get the students where they need to be?  Reauthorizing ESEA?  Supporting National Standards and National assessments?  It isn’t enough.  What we need is a TRANSFORMATIONAL OVERHAUL in the way we “do” education in this country.  And I’m frightened that the “powers that be” (including a whole host of non-educator politicians) think that common standards, national assessments, and holding teachers accountable for student achievement will get us there.  They won’t!

We need to redefine the role of the teacher and the training of the teacher.  We need to redefine the definitions of achievement, of learning and of preparation.  We need to celebrate creativity, teach independent and collaborative work habits, demand ethical behavior, model service, foster leadership and promote a love of learning in our children.  None of that can be assessed on a standardized test!  We need to cut the crap, and do what is GOOD and RIGHT for all students.  We need to embrace a new type of education in this country, and neither political party gives me much hope today.

I am all for improving education and student achievement.  However, current reform efforts miss the mark, as the end result will be the transformation of schools into testing factories.  Will this prepare our students for success in today's society? Is this what we want for our schools?

Exploring the Educational Value of Pinterest

After hearing about all the hoopla surrounding Pinterest, I decided to check it out a few days ago.  Up until this point I really didn’t have a clue as to what it was all about except that it was a social media tool that functioned like an electronic bulletin board.  After requesting an invite, I was all set to go a day later and began to create my first pin board.   The tutorial video that you are directed to upon signing up was short, to the point, and made it incredibly simple to dive in and start creating.  I dragged the “pin it” bookmarklet into Google Chrome and off I went.

I quickly became fascinated with the idea of “pinning” together all of my professional interests.  As I began to piece together resources on Personal Learning Networks(PLN’s), I lost track of time and ended staying up well past my bedtime.  The point here was that I was engaged.  My excitement carried over to the next day as I created another board (Web 2.0 Tools). This led me to begin to brainstorm many ways in which educators could utilize this resource to enhance teaching and learning.  Here is what I came up with:

• Curating content: The ability to pin together images, links, and videos in a visually engaging manner makes gathering and accessing information exciting.
• Brainstorming:  Collaborative boards can be set up so multiple users can pin together ideas and resources to create one huge visual. 
• Engaging students: The possibilities here are intriguing.  Teachers can have students set up collaborative boards for specific projects, portfolios, or to add an exciting dimension to a digital newspaper.
• Conference summaries/notes: In my experiences at various conferences, presenters routinely share cool website links during their sessions.  Pinterest provides a great platform to accumulate all of this information and then share with colleagues. 

These are just a few ideas off the top of my head.  For a much more detailed list check out this post by Stephen Abram.  For even more information on Pinterest head over to Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day.  I think in time Pinterest will evolve into a powerful component of educator's Personal Learning Networks.  Are you using Pinterest?  Do you think it has value as an educational tool?  Please share your thoughts.

Here is a list of my other current boards:

• Twitter Resources, Apps, and Tools
• iPad Apps for Administrators
• Educational Videos
• Chrome Extensions

A Commitment to Digital Learning

New Milford High School proudly joined 37 states, 15,000 teachers, and over 2 million students on February 1 for the inaugural Digital Learning Day.  This day, however, was not really much different than any other day at NMHS as we have made a commitment to integrate digital learning into school culture for some time now.  As Principal I am proud to state that many of the pedagogical techniques, learning activities, and tools described in the rest of this post are consistently in use on a daily basis across all content areas.  The reason for this is that we have put a premium on creating a teaching and learning culture that better meets the needs of our learners while enhancing essential skills such as collaboration, communication, creativity, media literacy, and global awareness.  Below I have summarized some of the pre-planned activities that my teachers planned and had their students engaged in on Digital Learning Day.  

Image credit: http://socialmediaclub.org/node?page=2

In Ms. Levy’s U.S. History class, students learned about the rise of Jacksonian Democracy and had to determine if Jackson was a highly successful president or a corrupt leader.  Students were broken up into groups of 5-6 students.  Each student went on line and looked at one source from Ms. Levy’s website.  They then had to use their “Origin Perspective Value Limitation” handout to answer and dissect the source in classic IB format.  Once they had evaluated the source for these 4 elements, they wrote down their answers in a group created Google Doc.  Finally, they came together as a group to decide their perspective on Andrew Jackson’s presidency.  After students decided as a group, they voted individually as a class about their opinion on the source with “Poll Everywhere,” using their cell phones.

In Mrs. Morel’s art class, students embarked on a QR Code scavenger art hunt around the school. This activity began with an introduction to QR Codes: what they are, how they are used in the marketing world, how we are going to use them, and best of all, how they (students) could use them in their lives. Students also reviewed artists’ work and tried out a few QR codes in class. For the lesson, students were paired up with a partner and utilized their Smartphone, iPod, etc. to search for clues that led them to QR Codes. The QR Codes contained various artists’ work and clue information.  Mrs. Morel wrapped up the activity with a summary of the findings and then transitioned into having the students create their own QR codes with links to their artwork and websites.  These were then posted in school for our school community to scan.

Mrs. Vicari’s business classes utilized YouTube, a variety of video sites, and websites to preview Superbowl commercials as an introduction to the semester Marketing/Advertising course.  Students discussed the definitions of marketing and advertising and how they are different.  They used a series of thought-provoking questions, while viewing the various commercials, to identify different areas of marketing and advertising that will be discussed in this course throughout the semester.

Students in Mr. Tusa’s history class investigated the history of Europe through painting (1500-1800).  He challenged students to think of a painting as an essay - in the sense that it captures not in words, as an essay does, but through a visual image, some aspect(s) of the life, history, and culture of a particular historical period from the point of view not of a writer but of an artist.  Students were given a list of paintings/engravings produced in the period 1500-1800. Working with partners, they had to choose one painting from each category, study it by paying particular attention to the political, economic, religious, social, industrial, and/or artistic way in which it captures/criticizes some aspect(s) of the period 1500-1800, and record their impressions accordingly. He reminded students to “read” the painting as they would read an essay and record their view/impression of what historical themes, ideas, person or people, the painting is portraying/criticizing.  Using Mac Books:  one student recorded and shared their comments on a Google Doc while the other searched for and viewed the paintings. Links were also provided for students to locate and view paintings.

Students in Mrs. Beiner’s Culinary Arts classes created a “how to” video for recipes.  They then posted them on her YouTube account and tracked how many hits they received over the Superbowl weekend.  Her Early Childhood Development classes read a book to the pre-school children on an iPad and worked with a website to review the book.

In math, Mrs. Chellani began the lesson with mobile learning devices and Poll Everywhere to review prior learning. She then utilized a variety of virtual manipulatives (using the SMART tablet) from the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives.  These virtual games/math problems are a fantastic way to further embed the Smart tablet into daily instruction, help foster the students' development of higher-order thinking skills, and make the learning experience more challenging and enjoyable.

History teacher Ms. Millan collaborated with Mrs. Keesing, our media specialist, on a QR code assignment. Students used their cellphones to download an app to both create and read QR codes.  To tie in with their study of the English monarchy in the Elizabethan-Stuart era, they researched websites to find quality information on selected, relevant topics.  They then created QR codes for those websites.  Students printed the codes and affixed them to some of the school library's books -- some of which greatly benefited from the updated information the students located.

Later in the day, Mrs. Keesing again collaborated with a colleague, this time in science.  With Ms. Chowdhury's honors physics class, students used Edmodo as a means of collaborating on a new topic.  They shared their observations with their pre-set groups and uploaded images that they had created to further examine the concepts they were learning about and applying.

The students in Mrs. Westervelt’s Independent Living Skills course became familiar with, and completed an online job application to practice applying for a job in the 21st century.

In music, Mrs. Swarctz conducted a survey using Smartphones in all of her classes.  Those students who did not have one worked with those who did.  In addition, she used YouTube in each class to watch other schools that have performed the music they are currently performing.  During her second period class the students conducted research using YouTube to help with their solos.  Each lesson ended with students continuing to work in the Music lab on an on-line music theory program.

Students in Ms. Perna’s US History I class created Wordles to review information studied prior to their midterm.  In order to review prior learning, students worked in pairs to create Wordles related to the presidencies of Washington and Adams, up until the election of 1800.  This allowed students to work collaboratively using technology (computers) while reviewing prior learning.  As a class, they viewed and discussed the Wordles created in order for students to see what their peers had created while reviewing together as a large group before moving on with the curriculum.

Mr. Andolino had his Applied Music Theory students create a music commercial using software.  Finished products were posted to Pure Volume.  Prior to Digital Learning Day an original vocal rap and live performance was recorded with a portable recorder and uploaded online.

Ms. Millian’s math students utilized an Avermedia document camera to display work.  Poll Everywhere was used in class to express opinions and check for understanding by completing problems and texting answers in.

Using the Poll Everywhere, Mrs. Mackey’s English students used their cell phones to respond to questions based on what they knew about persuasive writing. The teacher gave out sample HSPA (High School Proficiency Assessment) rubrics specifically for persuasive essay writing. Then, using the Smart Board, the students read actual HSPA essay prompts and responses while using Poll Everywhere to answer, "What score do you think this essay received?" For closure, the students responded to an open ended polling question: "As of today, how do you feel you will do on the essay portion of the HSPA?"

Students in Ms. Ginter’s Biology class have been working on creating a travel brochure PowerPoint presentation using several websites that provided them with specific information on their assigned biomes. The assignment required them to include key information specific to the biome (ex. native animals, native plants, average temperature, and average precipitation), as well as interesting things for people to do or see there. They incorporated graphics in their presentation through the usage of charts, pictures, diagrams, and videos - where appropriate. The students were then responsible for rating the presentations and voting on the best one to present to a client using Poll Everywhere and their cell phones.


Here is a video we produced leading up to Digital Learning Day showcasing our Social Studies Department.

As you can see, NMHS has made a commitment to digital learning, not just on one day, but everyday.