Ideas and Tools to Give Everyone a Voice

Whether during a class, meeting, presentation, or workshop it can be at times extremely difficult to give everyone a voice.  I remember as a teacher many years ago asking my students to raise their hands to respond to a question and even during Jeopardy-style review games had groups collaborate on their response. Undoubtedly this left many students out of the formative process. Later in my career, I was able to get my hands on a class set of dry erase whiteboards so that each student had a chance to respond. While this was definitely an improvement, issues still remained as to the depth of responses each student could provide as well as actively engaging the shyest students in the class.  Even as I moved to a leadership position the same challenge persisted during faculty meetings. Giving everyone a voice seemed like an insurmountable challenge.

As I have transitioned to a major role as a presenter, I initially experienced the same struggles listed above. Never could I have imagined giving twenty different educators a voice during a presentation let alone thousands. Well, technology has changed all that and regardless of your specific role you too can increase authentic engagement with your audience.  The best part is the variety of tools out there that are easy to use, allow for a diversity of answers, and are free (most that is). These collaborative tools can be used to:

• Make thinking and learning visible
• Check for understanding
• Review prior learning
• Close lessons
• Provide the means for others to pose questions 
• Allow large masses to openly respond and interact with each other
• Craft multimedia responses
• Collect perception data
• Backchannel a class or event
• Openly reflect and discuss
• Extend learning
• Brainstorm

In my opinion, the most beneficial aspects of available web-based technology are allowing anyone to improve formative assessment, feedback, and active engagement. There is really no excuse not to honor the voice of your respective audience, whether they are students or adults.  Even in situations where technology might be tight, cooperative groups can be utilized to reflect and then share out.  Below is a list of some of my favorite free tools (unless noted) that I integrate during my presentations along with a short description:

• Yo Teach! – Create your own room where people can respond to a question or reflect in 140 characters. This is a great tool to use for a backchannel.
• AnswerGarden – My new favorite tool! Use it for real-time audience participation, online brainstorming, and classroom feedback.  Responses can only be 20 or 40 characters.
• Mentimeter – Move over Poll Everywhere. Mentimeter is a great tool that allows you to poll your audience in a variety of ways. You can even create a presentation that has multiple polls.
• Padlet – A long time favorite of mine, which allows participants to respond using virtual Post-It notes. The beauty of this tool is that within each board responses can be text, video, images, or attached documents.
• Lino – An online web sticky note service that can be used to post memos, to-do lists, ideas, and photos anywhere on an online web canvas that is similar to Padlet
• Kahoot – A fan favorite of educators around the world. It is a free game-based learning platform that not only gives everyone a voice but also provides a fun way to do it.
• FlipGrid – Create grids of questions or topics using text or video and share your questions with whomever you like. Your audience then responds with recorded videos.

The ten tools listed above will allow you to empower your respective audience by giving them a voice and sometimes a choice as to how they want to respond. There are so many other tools out there that can be used in powerful ways to enhance learning and gather meaningful feedback.  Let’s use the power of social media to crowdsource even more examples. Please feel free to list other tools with a short description in the comments section below.

InvolvEdu: Changing the Extracurricular Landscape

The other day I had a great conversation with Nick Alm, a sophomore at the University of Minnesota studying Entrepreneurial Management and Social Justice. For the past few months he has been working on a tech start-up called InvolvEdu. As a former high school principal I was really intrigued by the concept.  InvolvEdu is free web and mobile app for high school and university students that allows them to get credit for what they do outside of class. InvolvEdu can be used by student groups for student outreach and promotion, by students for event discovery and tracking, and by school administrators for student group management.

InvolvEdu regulates a historically unregulated market.  Besides just taking a student’s word for it, there's no real way to know for sure whether or not a student actually attended computer science club, or was an officer in the economics students association. InvolvEdu not only makes it easier for students to find these activities, but it also tracks and validates their involvement in them. In 2014, the University of Minnesota’s annual “Biz Pitch” gave InvolvEdu the “Most Socially Beneficial Business Concept” Award and InvolvEdu was also a semi-finalist in the 2014 Minnesota Cup.

Why InvolvEdu?

Letter grades have been gradually inflating for decades – which is causing the in-class GPA to become much less relevant.  As a result students are turning to student groups and other activities to find new ways to stand out.  By tracking and validating involvement, students are able to export all of their activities into their own, personalized co-curricular transcripts that can be used in college applications and as supplements to resumes for job interviews. One of their goals includes making sure that InvolvEdu is a service that students from any background or socio-economic standing can access and use to further their academic and professional goals.

How does InvolvEdu work?  

InvolvEdu is completely free for both students and groups to use! Students are able to find events that they’re interested in and rsvp straight from their phones. They can also toggle on/off notifications and automatic calendar sync/updating per student groups that they follow.  Student groups are also provided with key data prior to their events – such as rsvp count, demographic information of attendees (year in school, major, etc.), which students are the most active, etc.  Additionally, student activities personnel are given tools to manage everything from group registration, to officer turnover as well as insightful analytics into the health of their activities programs.

What’s next for InvolvEdu?

After a successful small beta with a select group of students and organizations at the University of Minnesota, InvolvEdu has been iterating and developing on a much larger release of their platform.  They have also just recently launched a Kickstarter in order to raise the funds that are needed in order to expedite the development of their v.1 product due out prior to the start of the Fall 2015 semester.  

Please make sure to check out and donate to their Kickstarter campaign so that InvolvEdu can continue on its journey of making it as easy as possible for students to get involved, while also providing them with the platform to showcase their involvement.

To Disconnect or Not

I just returned from a much needed eight day Disney World vacation with my wife and two kids.  It truly was a magical time where we spent literally twelve or more straight hours together each day laughing, enjoying rides, and engaging in conversation on hundreds of topics.  As the vacation leader I made sure the alarm went off at 5:40 AM each morning so we could get to each of the four parks early to avoid the lines and heat. Early on I took some heat of my own for this from my wife, but boy did it pay off.  Each day we rode the most popular rides numerous times by 11:00 AM and then got to relax by the pool, stay in the park to enjoy more rides, or even take family naps. My wife eventually complimented me on ensuring that the kids had the best experience possible. This vacation was like no other as each of us was totally exhausted at the end of every day, but we happily pressed on as Disney really does have such a magical appeal.  

Image credit: http://media.bizj.us/view/img/703801/itproducts-top5e*304.jpg

Prior to leaving for Disney we decided as a family not to bring any computing or tablet devices.  I tried to talk my wife into letting me bring the Chromebook solely for the purpose of enriching our Disney experience, but once I got "the look" I decided it was in my best interests to leave it at home.  We did take our smartphones and allowed our kids to each pack their iPod touches.  From a parent's point of view technology really did enhance our vacation experience. Disney has an incredible app that allows you to check the wait times for rides in real time as well as access/change FastPasses and dining reservations.  There were also detailed maps and descriptions of all rides and entertainment experiences that allowed us to customize each day based on what our kids wanted to do.  The wait time feature alone allowed us to get on more rides during the most popular time to visit Disney World.  Each park was jam packed every day, but our technology helped us make the best of it.

Now some of the ride lines were long (45 min or more) especially in the afternoons.  We tried to avoid these, but in some cases with the most popular rides we couldn't.  This was torture for an eight and nine year old so as parents this is when our kids had access to their iPod Touches. The time then flew by as our kids collaborated on Minecraft while showing us their creations. By the way, all Disney World parks have free WiFi.  At other times our kids asked for their devices to take pictures, especially at Animal Kingdom, and create iMovie's of their magical experiences during the vacation.  Technology used wisely and with purpose in my opinion.

Then there was me. Just like my kids there were times where access to my technology enhanced my vacation experience.  I did check Twitter each day and tweeted a few times, especially when waiting in long lines.  It is cool in my opinion to make the best use of even vacation time to learn a little.  Twitter has long been my number one tool for professional learning as the main tool to form my Personal Learning Network (PLN).  I was also able to keep my email in check during some downtime.  For the most part though my phone was used to take pictures on Instagram and cross post to Facebook.  This is the point of my post.  I choose not to ever disconnect.  With the evolution in technology balance becomes key.  I learned long ago to never let technology interfere with family time.  If there is a need or desire to go cold turkey and disconnect for a period of time then that tells me balance has not be attained yet. 

For me technology is a huge part of both my personal and professional life, which is why I embrace it.  It is important for everyone to find balance as technology will become even more embedded in our lives in the the coming years. If you find balance when it comes to technology in your life then you will not have to make a decision as to whether or not you need to disconnected.....unless you want to.

Connecting the People on the Scene of an Emergency at Your School

The following is a guest post by Erik Endress.

In the days following December 14th, 2012 school administrators, educators, law enforcement personnel and parents have undertaken the most comprehensive look at school safety since the Columbine massacre of 1999. While much of that discussion has focused on preventing a Newtown-style active shooter from making entry to a building, history shows that the majority of active shooters appear from the inside of the school, in the form of a student, staff member or parent who has unfettered access to the building.

I do not believe that we can prevent active shooters, intent on doing harm at our schools, from carrying out their plans whether they emerge from the population already inside the building or arrive on school grounds unannounced as happened in Newtown.  Anyone with access to the building can carry an arsenal of weapons or explosives into the school and unleash an attack from inside.

Where I believe there is room for improvement is the ability to connect administrators, educators, employees and local first responders on the scene of an emergency at a school or on a campus. After all, educators and students are using technology to connect with people around the world; shouldn’t they be able to connect to the teacher in the next classroom or the police officer who may save their life? I think so.

Think about what happens in your school today. How are lockdown or evacuation alerts communicated? In most schools, one or two people, usually administrators, are authorized to call a lockdown and they can only do that using the PA system in the main office, which is generally adjacent to the front doors.

Speaking at the New Jersey Association of School Administrators School Security Conference in March of 2013, former Newtown Superintendent Janet Robinson said that it was a school bus driver who called her secretary to report a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School and she thought the report couldn't be true. "I said, 'it's impossible. It must be a domestic dispute in the area," the superintendent recalled. "I said, 'Call the school and see if it's close, see if we need to do a lockdown."

Why isn’t every employee able to call for a lockdown or evacuation if they see something dangerous? Perhaps the gym teacher is on the athletic field with students when he or she sees a suspicious person appear from the woods. Or a teacher in a classroom has a student pull a handgun from their backpack. In both instances, the time that can be saved communicating the alert can save lives – that’s why our system enables any administrator, employee or law enforcement officer to instantly broadcast an alert (lockdown, lockout, evacuate) from their own mobile device or a computer, to everyone involved. That alert is also sent instantly to your local law enforcement officers, who may be passing right by the school at that moment, reducing response time.

Once employees receive an alert, they connect with everyone on the scene by checking in to share their actual location inside or outside of the building, their status, headcount, a message and reporting missing or found students, in just seconds, using their own mobile device or a computer. Whether in the corner of their classroom, hidden in the closet or at the evacuation zone, every employee can connect to report their status and receive real-time information updates via text.

As employee check-ins are occurring, they are displayed in real-time on the SW911 LiveView dashboard. Responding police and fire personnel can connect instantly to see if anyone is reporting that they are being held hostage, near the threat or are trapped by fire or building debris, all high priority situations. This enables first responders to see where help is needed now, instead of searching the entire building or campus without any information.

School administrators can use SW911 to be instantly alerted to emergencies at their schools and can access the LiveView to monitor or manage incidents of any kind, from anywhere.

SW911 was used for the first time in New Jersey on January 8, 2013 and today, thousands of school employees and first responders are on the network. Schools can try the system for free for up to two months prior to switching to a paid model, which is just $3 per employee, per month.

For more information visit www.sharewith911.com or email Erik@sharewith911.com

Erik Endress is the CEO and Co-Founder of OnScene Technologies, Inc. which makes Share With 911. He has been a volunteer First Responder in his hometown of Ramsey, NJ for over 25 years and is a recipient of the New York City Mayoral Award for Heroism & Bravery. His experience as a First Responder, a former school board member and as an education technology specialist, Erik saw an opportunity to leverage the technology being used in schools and in the hands of First Responders to connect everyone involved during an emergency and let them share information with each other. 

The Web 2.0 vs. Traditional Learner

This morning I came across this amusing, short video that highlighted one of many advantages that digital learners have over their traditional counterparts:



This video serves as a great catalyst, in my opinion, to begin listing all of many benefits students receive when immersed in learning environments that combine solid pedagogical techniques with web 2.0/digital resources.  Please consider sharing your thoughts on this topic in an effort to create a powerful list of advantages that can be shared in schools that have yet to embrace this philosophy.  We have the power to help initiate change where it is desperately needed!

Promotion of Learning Beyond School

The other night I was invited to attend the New Milford Girl Scouts Awards Ceremony as a "dignitary".  As I sat there and listened to the accomplishments of each Troop I was amazed by the service and authentic learning experiences these girls were being exposed to.  Their intrinsic motivation to give back to the community and others was inspiring.  I quickly realized that the only true dignitaries in the room were the girls being recognized for their incredible accomplishments.  The following is an excerpt from the program detailing the Silver Award winning project of Troop 58 (the majority of the girls in this Troop are NMHS students):

Textbooks can tell you facts, but it takes people to make history come alive. After meeting with members of the New Milford Historical Society, the girls of Troop 58 began to realize how important it is to hear about our past from the people who actually experienced it. New Milford is an awesome place to live, and the girls decided that they wanted a permanent record of what life was like in our town. Thus our New Milford Oral History Project began. During the process, the girls researched the town history and learned about the American Memories Oral History Project run by the Smithsonian. They generated interview questions, met with members of the New Milford Senior Citizen Center, transcribed the interviews and also created four videos that captured the memories of New Milford residents. These were then donated to the New Milford Historical Society for inclusion in their archives. Not only did the girls learn fascinating tidbits about the “Brown Bomber, a bus service in Hackensack, The Ames Brothers, boat traffic on the Hackensack River and rhubarb farms, but they also had the satisfaction of being part of preserving New Milford’s history for future generations!

All I can say is WOW!  As an administrator I place an emphasis on my teachers utilizing authentic instructional techniques and train them on the associated pedagogical aspects.  This project, combined with a service component, resulted in a powerful learning experience.  When it was my turn to speak, I spoke about the significance of this type of learning experience outside of school and emphasized how authentic it was.  In particular, I discussed the attributes of effective authentic learning experiences evident in the project.  These included:

1. Relevant and meaningful to the learner
2. Real-world connection
3. Collaborative
4. Identified audience
5. Open-ended
6. Defined roles

Not to be forgotten in all of this was the effective integration of technology on behalf of the students under the guidance of the troop leaders.  They used iPods with recording devices for the interviews and iMovie on Mac Books to create the videos.  Does it get any better than this?  A love for learning and commitment to community service are two values that will lead students down a path of success.  Examples like this motivate me to become a better administrator and make me so proud to be the Principal of New Milford High School.  As I always say, my students ROCK!

Google Sites Rock!

The development and maintenance of a website used to be an expensive and complicated task that was not really embraced by many teachers.  The financial constraints alone posed a huge discouraging factor.  Creating a class website or page is now easier than ever.  Teachers now have the ability or organize and routinely update content, assignments, videos, and presentations for students in an easily accessible format for free using Google Sites.

Mr. Keith Devereaux, a science teacher, at New Milford High School, has been using Google sites over the course of the year to establish an information portal to the classes he teaches and as a way to develop engaging learning activities on particular topics.  You can view his main site here and one on electricity/magnetism here.  His AP Biology students are currently creating a Google site on the systems of the human body.    Certain coaches have also begun to create Google sites for their teams.  Mr. Greg Kelly, NMHS Physical Education teacher and track coach, created a Google site for the track and field program.  Here are some quick reasons why I feel teachers, coaches, and club advisors should have a Google site:

1.  Information hub (core curriculum standards, access to digital textbooks, notes, syllabus, proficiencies, etc.)

2.  Access to content 24/7.  Students that are absent can quickly and easily acquire missed assignments without having to ask the teacher upon their return.   This is also great for students that might have missed something during class, want to work on reinforcing the material at home or when away, and to prepare for tests/quizzes.

3.  Calendar of events (assignment due dates, meetings, practice/game schedules).

4.  Links to printable forms, assignments, etc.  Google forms can be embedded onto the sites as a self-grading quiz.  Polls and questionnaires can also be included to collect useful information.   View a quiz that Mr. Devereaux created using Google forms to go along with the Electricity and Magnetism Google site mentioned above here.

5.  Links to supplemental resources.

6.  Promote student achievements and accomplishments.

Google sites are also a great resource to use when delivering professional development.  Keith and I used a Google site during a March presentation on authentic-based learning environments and web 2.0.  Multiple Google tools and activities were inserted into the site, which was accessible to the participants before, during, and after the presentation.  The recent Google Teachers Academy for Administrators also used a Google site for the one day training. 

I think I have done a pretty good job outlining reasons why I think Google sites rock!  Please share any additional ideas you have in the comments section. For more Google app resources visit my Delicious page.

Some Quick Edtech Tips for School Leaders

The Complete Package

As an administrator one of the most satisfying parts of the job is seeing teachers collaborate willingly on interdisciplinary lessons. This type of learning is extremely important in terms of providing students with connections between the content areas in order to provide a heightened sense of relevance and understanding. I was excited to learn last week about an activity that was being planned for a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. New Milford High School teachers April Millian (math) and Lisette Morel (art) approached me about creating a scavenger hunt podcast activity for the students to complete while visiting the museum. This idea fascinated me as we all know that certain field trips do not have an adequately embedded learning activity for the students to complete. After receiving my approval, April and Lisette created their podcast using a macbook and then uploaded it to iPod nanos from the school's mobile iPod learning lab. Each student was then issued an iPod upon arrival to the MET and off they went.

In addition to the iPods, my teachers also took a Kodak Zi8 with them to document the learning experience on this field trip.  This activity illustrates how to successfully create an interdisciplinary lesson and integrate technology in order to ensure that students are actively engaged while on a field trip.  It should be noted that this is the first time my two teachers have not only used the iPods, but created a podcast of this nature.  As I have stated in previous posts, taking risks is essential in order to spur innovation and change.  I commend  teachers like April and Lisette who are willing to move beyond their comfort zone in order to make learning engaging, lasting, and most importantly fun!

Banning is the Easy Way Out

In the field of education change and innovation are words that are often spoken, but rarely acted upon.  As our world evolves, technology has become increasingly prevalent in the lives of students.  They are now part of a digital generation that have incredible opportunities to create content, collaborate on a global scale, and follow a path of continuous, life-long learning that extends beyond the walls of a school.  It is an exciting time to be in education because of the plethora of exciting tools that are currently available to schools.  These tools can be successfully used when integrated effectively to readily engage students in the learning process.

With that being said, I was very taken back recently by multiple media outlets covering a story about a NJ Middle School Principal who had asked his parents to ban Facebook and other forms of social media at home.  Banning students from accessing social media will only push them to utilize these sites in secret, which will not provide a solution to cyberbullying.  Just look at the negative effect Prohibition had on adults!  I commend this Principal for truly exhibiting a genuine concern for the safety and well-being of his students, but remain perplexed about the path he has chosen to take.  As educators it is our task to teach students how to make responsible decisions, think critically, solve problems and communicate effectively in order to succeed in society.  Instead of rolling up our sleeves and tackling an issue such as cyberbullying head on, it is used as an excuse to prohibit students from potential meaningful learning experiences both in and outside of school.  

A few years ago I would have been leading the charge on banning all types of social media, both in and out of school. As a matter of fact, I was instrumental in getting sites like Facebook and YouTube banned at my school. So why the change? It’s simple, I became educated on the many positive ways in which these resources could be used to connect with students on their level and how I could leverage them for my own professional growth.  I finally opened my eyes, stopped making excuses, and decided to actually pursue innovative change.  In recent discussions with students at NMHS they revealed how much social media technology is a part of their lives and asked me to create a school Facebook page.   This page is now used as a model for students to see and learn how to properly use this resource.  Not only did I create the page, but I finally created a personal Facebook account after six years of resistance. I have even provided training to parents and students on how to use Twitter educationally.  

All school communities have issues with irresponsible social media use and mine in not exempt.  However, we can seize this opportunity by working with all stakeholders to actually teach a meaningful lesson on social responsibility.  I encourage school leaders to inform parents on how they can create environments at home that promote acceptable use, rewrite curriculum, model effective use, and include student perspectives on creating best social media practices.  In the 21st Century social media use will only continue to increase.  Communication, collaboration, and information are essential in decreasing cyberbullying, not banning.

P.S. Hopefully the media (i.e. CNN, CBS News, Huffington Post, FOX News, ABC News, etc.) doesn't take the easy way out as well and publishes stories on all of the many education benefits of social media. Wishful thinking right?