Ed Tech Pilot Framework - excellent resources for all schools

Digital Promise has released an EdTech Pilot Framework which provides a step-by-step process to help education leaders and technology developers run successful educational technology (ed-tech) pilots.

It is very simple to use and read and has links for more information on each step.

Here is the link to the original article: http://edtech.digitalpromise.org/

One thing to remember - you don't have to do these projects alone. There are plenty of resources available to help you. In addition, check with your technology vendors to see what they have for planning and support resources to help you.

Here is the Framework:

1. Identify Need
2. Discover and Select
3. Planning
4. Train and Implement
5. Collect Data
6. Analyze and Decide
7. Negotiate and Purchase
8. Summarize and Share

Related:

K-12 Blueprint site updated - resources for planning and implementing EdTech 
Tech&Learning - free Edtech magazine, website and resources for educators












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Technology I use on a Daily Basis - 2016 Version

In the past, I've written about the technology I use on a daily basis (see bottom of page for links).

Here's my updated version for Spring, 2016.

I am a K-12 Education Strategist for CDW-G. In this role, I work with schools on selecting and implementing technology solutions to improve teaching and learning. I do a lot of research on best practices in education and technology and do a decent amount of traveling.

I'm a huge user of Google Apps and Evernote. They are my main work, and personal tools, and all of my devices work with them. Without these, I'm stuck. I also back them both up.

My day typically consists of email conversations and support with our account managers and customers, Google Hangouts with customers providing support, advice, strategy planning, training and professional development, and doing online research, as well as creating tools and resources, like presentations and reference materials. If I am traveling, I only bring my smartphone and my Acer Flip Chromebook and am able to do everything I need to with them. I have Citrix for my Chromebook so I can remote in to our system and access everything I need, including a Windows desktop.

My personal smartphone is an LG G4 running Android. I love it. I can do anything on it - email, web browsing, Google Apps, Evernote, messaging, photos, musics, etc. I is my go-to device. I have an spare battery and external battery for traveling, but the battery life is pretty good. It's also durable, as I've dropped it a few times and it's still here. My work smartphone is a Samsung Galaxy 7 which I use when traveling. I like it, but I like LG's software and screen size better. I use it as a mobile hotspot for my Chromebook while traveling too.

I have the same work and personal laptop - an HP Elitebook Folio 9470m with Core i5 processors and SSD drives. It's lightweight, powerful and works great. I use it at work with a docking station and two monitors. At home, I use my personal one for remoting into work via Citrix, and some other tasks, but mainly just for work tasks when working from home.

My travel device, home use and work use, is my Acer C738T Touch/Flip Chromebook. I have the 4GB Ram version. It's light, has a great battery life, and does everything I need it to do, including work offline. I use it for travel, conferences and off-site meetings. I use it at home sometimes when I need to type. I have both my personal and work profiles on here, with offline Drive access for both setup. I also have the Evernote Android app for Chromebooks on it, with offline sync enabled. I have also added the Google Play Movie/TV app so that I can download movies for offline viewing while traveling. This thing is amazing and has been replacing my need for any other devices.

I also have an LG GPad 8.3" LTE tablet that I got for free when I got my LG G4 smartphone. I use this at home for media consumption - Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Movies, Music. Great device.

Google Apps - for both work and home. Email, Chrome, Calendar, Drive/Docs/Sheets/Slides, Keep, Blogger, Sites - these are my main tools for work and personal use. All of my files are in Drive, and backed up on my personal laptop. I also use a Google account at work with my files in Drive. I have two work accounts - one for work itself (K12 team uses it), and a GAFE account for working with customers. I use a Google Sheet as my project management tool, with hyper links to Docs and other files. Each project gets a separate row, with notes, contacts, follow up tasks and more.

Evernote - this is my other main tool - web clippings, receipts, manuals, project management, important info, contacts, reference material and more. I have the Evernote clipper installed on Chrome and in Outlook. I also have the Evernote Scanner which I use to digitize everything that is paper based. It automatically scans both sides, very quickly, and then sorts things into the proper notebooks in Evernote based on what they are (document, business card, receipt, photo, etc). Great tool for going paperless.

Outlook and Lync at work for email and instant messaging. I have my work email and Lync setup on my smartphones also.

Sites and services I use include Feedly feed reader, Pocket, LinkedIn, TweetDeck, Google+ and Facebook. I spend most of my time on Feedly and Google+, researching and connecting with others.

That's really it. I rarely use anything else and I have different tools for different things - work, home, travel, fun.

Take a look back at earlier versions of this post to see what has changed over the years based on my job and the tech available. I've definitely changed with the apps I use and have less hardware. In fact, my Acer C738T Chromebook is slowly becoming the only device I really need, besides a smartphone.



Related:

Technology I use on a Daily Basis - 2015 Version

Technology I'm using daily as a School District CIO (2012)

Technology I use on a Daily Basis - updated for this year (Oct 2011)

Technology I use on a Daily Basis - revisited and updated (June 2011)

What technology I use on a daily basis (2009)




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Do School Districts Need Their Own Data Centers Anymore?

Do school districts need their own data centers anymore? Yes and no, They still need a connection out to the internet, as well as a firewall for security, and then distribution of the internet connection to each school. But, do they need anything more than that?

My school district has a multi-million dollar data center to support 41 buildings, 21,000 students and over 4,000 faculty and staff. Above is just two of the 10 racks in the data center. It's expensive to maintain (engineer, air conditioning, power) and can fail. There are lots of servers and a left hand setup for files and databases, along with appliances for different types of software. However, much of it is legacy now. In addition, you need to backup all of your data, preferably offsite.

Schools are turning more toward web services, even our district. Google Apps, Evernote, Edmodo, and more are all web based. PowerSchool, Destiny and other services that used to be local servers are now hosted by the vendors. E-rate no longer pays for servers either.

So, can school districts just provide internet connections and routings to each building? I think most can. Save the money from a data center and use it for faster switches, more WiFi and increased internet bandwidth. Let vendors handle issues and maintain their own servers. Make sure they back up your data to multiple locations.

We use Backupify to backup and archive all of our Google Apps data and the other vendors backup the data to multiple locations. We are still maintaining some systems and file servers, as well as an Exchange server, but most school systems can get away from that.

I was just speaking with a smaller school district that is looking to revamp their entire technology. They are moving to Google Apps and Chromebooks (and moving all files to Drive) and are moving to have Pearson host PowerSchool instead of hosting themselves. By the end of the summer, they will not host any systems or software and will focus on increased bandwidth and wireless access in the district. The money savings will also be used to buy more student devices.

In today's web based world, servers and hosting your own systems seems outdated.


UPDATE: I forgot to mention one thing - make sure you have a backup internet connection. Our district has three distinct internet connections so that if any one POP goes down, or a cable goes down, we still have a connection. Some schools use 4G connections as a backup too.

STEM Flix - STEM videos for middle school classes

STEM Flix is a STEM Video series for middle school classes created by the Northrop Grumman Foundation and Science Bob. The videos include demonstrations that engage the students and then explore STEM career fields and topics and how they are applied in everyday life.

There are two videos - Having Fun with STEM and Fun with Microelectronics - and the site also has instructions for doing experiments shown in the films, as well as fact sheets on STEM areas.

Related:

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Resources for Educators

What Engineering, the E in STEM, means to K-12 education

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is a term used to describe having these four topics integrated into K-12 education. It is an important topic and integrating STEM topics into any class can help students learn and explore. However, many educators aren't sure what this means or how to incorporate STEM topics into their classrooms, especially the "engineering" part.

The Opportunity Equation has a great article, "The “E” in STEM: Clarifying What Engineering Education Means for K-12". This article helps to explain what engineering would look like in K-12 education. Engineering and education experts shared their thoughts about the following questions:  What is engineering and what are the essential components that you feel ought to be included in K-12 education? What is the value of engineering education at the K-12 level? What are some examples of promising practices in K-12 engineering education?

This is a great resource to help explain the concept of engineering in K-12 education and how to implement it.

As a former engineer, I use engineering concepts in my classes on a regular basis and I see how it helps my students. I also use engineering concepts in my daily life, showing how important and useful this topic is to anyone.


Related:

STEM Resources for Education

10 Tech Skills Every Student Should Have

Earlier this month, I wrote "10 Important Skills Students Need for the Future." After reading a few articles about specific tech skills, I thought I write what I think are the 10 Important Tech Skills Students Need.

1. Internet Search - students need to know how to do a proper internet search, using search terms and modifiers. This skill is needed for school, work and life in general.
Tips on Better Searches (from Google)
Infographic on Better Searches
Common Craft Video on Web Search Strategies


2. Office Suite Skills - students need to now how to create, edit, and modify documents, presentations, and spreadsheets. Businesses still use MS Office for the most part, but iWorks, OpenOffice / LibreOffice, and Google Docs are all getting more popular. They all work similarly so the learning curve when switching isn't that big.
Alternatives to MS Office
Free Alternatives to Paid Software


3. Self learning of tech and where to go for help - knowing how to search a help menu on software or hardware, where to go to find user forums for help, and where to find the manual for technology is a huge skill that many do not know about.

Free Tech Tips and Help
TechEase - technology tips
Online Tech Tips - hardware, software, and more
Tech Support help



4. Typing - yes, typing. I can get much more work done since I know how to type, than people who don't. It's a skill that is necessary for any kind of writing.
Learn to Type


5. Social Media - how to properly use social media for school and work, how to protect yourself on it, the issues of cyberbullying, connecting with others in your profession (PLN).
Twitter, Google+, Facebook comparison
Twitter, Facebook, RSS, Email, Google+ - tips on use
Facebook and Google+ security and privacy
Common Craft Video on Social Media
Create a Personal Learning Network


6. Netiquette - Internet/Email/Social Media etiquette - proper way to use the internet, write professional emails, use social media in relation to your job (not complaining about the boss).
Netiquette - Wikipedia


7. Security and Safety - antivirus, spam, phishing, too much personal information sharing, stalkers, and more are all issues they need to know about.
Internet Safety Resources
Google Family Safety Center
Google Good to Know online safety and internet data
Common Craft Video on Secure Passwords


8. Hardware basics and troubleshooting - knowing what different parts of technology are called, how to make minor fixes, and how to do basic troubleshooting for WiFi, networks, OS won't load, etc.
Free Tech Tips and Help
TechEase - technology tips
Online Tech Tips - hardware, software, and more
Tech Support help


9. Backup data - with all of the data that students create for school and work, it is important to back it up and have access to it at any time.
Backup your Data - tools and resources
Google Takeout - export your Google data


10. Finding apps and software - how to find, evaluate, and use apps for school and business. Also, how to find quality, free alternatives to paid software, apps and services.
Quixey - Search engine for apps
Free Alternatives to Paid Software
Google Apps Resources
Free Apps
On device apps/software vs. web apps
SmartPhone Experts - apps, reviews, tech tips, and more for all smartphones



What do you think are the top tech skills students need to know?


UPDATED:

As "MisterS" pointed out in the comments, I'm missing an important one:

11. Copyright and Citing Sources - students need to understand copyright laws and rules, how to cite a resource, and how to integrate someone else's work into their's properly.
Taking the Mystery out of Copyright
Citation Help

Should Schools Require Students to Purchase Specific Technology?

(cross posted at http://www.techlearning.com/section/Blogs)

Technology is a great educational resource and tool. There are literally thousands of types of technology, software, and hardware out there for educators and students to use. But what happens when a school requires students to have a specific brand of technology?

Many colleges require students to have a laptop and if they don't own one, they can get one at a discount through the school. Other colleges issue the students laptops with the cost included in the tuition and fess. Some schools now require students to purchase iPhone's or iPod Touches. While I'm all for students having great technology tools, I have a problem with schools mandating the brand or system that students use.

The iPhone is a cultural and business phenomenon. Apple has sold millions of them around the world and it is difficult to go one day without seeing someone using one. The iPhone, and iPod Touch, have a huge number of great applications that are useful to students and educators. But does that mean that students should have to use it at a school? What happened to freedom to choose and a free market? Along the same lines, some schools or departments at schools, require their students to purchase Mac's instead of PC's. Other schools require students to purchase Windows based laptops.

This is not a good thing. Restricting students to a certain brand, company or system is wrong. Students should be allowed to purchase what ever brand or system that they are comfortable with. In this day and age, it doesn't really matter which system you have, you can do anything you need to. Mac's have Microsoft Office on them, Windows can do video, audio, and graphics. Web based applications like Google Docs, Zoho, and more mean that the operating system doesn't really matter anymore. Other smart phones can do what the iPhone can do. I did a comparison of the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Windows Mobile, Palm OS, and Palm Pre systems and found that every educational application available on the iPhone has some sort of counterpart on the other systems. All of them can go to the Internet, get email, view videos, view documents, take pictures, text message, and more. In fact, some of them have more educational tools available than the iPhone.

What about service contracts? A student with a phone from Verizon or Sprint shouldn't have to switch to AT&T because their school requires them to have an iPhone. They also shouldn't have to carry two devices if they keep their own smart phone and have to purchase an iPod Touch for school. If they already have an iPhone, they shouldn't have to switch to Windows Mobile, or Blackberry because the school wants them to.

Schools need to stay away from dictating the brand or system that students should have, and instead list what students should be able to do with their own laptop or smart phone. Schools need to also make sure that their applications are system independent. Lectures, applications, documents, and more should be able to be used on Mac, Windows, Linux, Palm, Android, Blackberry, or any other system. Schools should spend their time on making sure that students can use any system instead of pushing students towards a specific system.

Freedom of choice and a free market system are the only way to encourage inventiveness and allow students to be comfortable with their technology. Let the companies do the marketing for their products. Schools should do the educating.

Project Based Learning

Project Based Learning - a relatively new idea in high school education, but something I was exposed to many years ago (21) as a freshman at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). I received my Bachelor's Degree in Aerospace Engineering in 1992 and my education at WPI has served me well in a variety of capacities. WPI is mainly a science, technology, engineering, and math school, with some other majors mixed in. 

WPI has a unique learning system, called the WPI Plan. This plan stresses project based learning. Why? Because back when they developed the Plan (over 30 years ago) they knew that the only way to truly master subject area content is to apply it. They also knew that students needed to develop teamwork, communication skills, problem solving skills, creativity, critical thinking, and research skills (sounds like "21st Century skills" doesn't it?). 

The projects are an integral part of the Plan. All classes are expected to use projects in their curriculum and the school has three projects that all students must complete. The Humanities Sufficiency is a set of 5 themed humanities courses followed by a 1 course long independent study. This project is meant to make the student more well rounded. The IQP (Interactive Qualifying Project) is a team project studying the effects of technology on society or using technology to benefit society that is equivalent to 9 credits. The MQP (Major Qualifying Project) is also equivalent to 9 credits and is a major project in your subject area, similar to a senior thesis.

I think that WPI was ahead of the game with their plan, considering this is the route that high schools and even middle schools are going. K-12 education is starting to realize how important these skills are and that project based learning is a great way to engage students while teaching them content and other needed skills.

I try to use projects when ever possible in my classes. I found that my WPI education has taught me more than the STEM subjects, it has taught me valuable skills that have allowed me to be successful as a teacher, paramedic, engineer, manager, consultant, and husband. I would love to see high schools implement a more structured project based curriculum and provide more support for teachers. I think many teachers are afraid of projects because they fear that the students will not get all of the content that they need. However, if the project is structured properly, the students will get the content in order to complete the project. They will get the content, develop teamwork, communication skills, problem solving skills, and learn organization. They will also get to be social with other students which is very important to them.

Technology can help with project based learning. I always wonder what we could have achieved back then if we had the World Wide Web as it is now. All we had was email and some ftp sites. Students can use technology to do research, organize their projects, and then present their projects as presentations, web sites, blogs, or videos. 

For more information on project based learning, see WPI, Edutopia, PBL, or Google it.

Notely.net

I just found out about a great resource for students, Notely.net. Notely has all the tools a student could need, schedule, calendar, note-taking, homework planner and more.

Notely is a collection of online tools designed to help all you crazy busy students out there to organise your hectic lives. Whether you're in University, College or High School Notely has the tools to help you get organized and achieve better grades.

Check it out!

What colleges and employers are looking for in graduates

I just read some research and articles about what colleges and employers are looking for in graduates. Content knowledge was 5th or 6th on the list. They both want to see well-rounded students, with a variety of skills.

They both want students who have:
1) academic achievement
2) work experience and internships
3) clubs and organization membership that shows leadership
4) community service

The reports all say the same thing about other skills colleges want students to have:
1) communications - personal and electronic
2) teamwork skills
3) problem solving skills
4) critical thinking skills

Employers have also said that they expect students to have a basic knowledge of internet research, computer operating system use, and office productivity software.

This means high schools and colleges have to teach our students all of these qualities and skills as part of our curriculum.

One way we can do this is through using technology in the classroom, project based learning with hands on projects, cooperative learning where students work in teams and help themselves.

We can also motivate our students by letting them know what colleges and employers are looking for and by helping them understand what they are learning, and WHY they are learning it.

Text messaging and more for hearing impaired students

In the past, deaf people couldn't communicate over distances without special phone setups. Then email came and made communicating easier. Now text messaging (with photos too) makes it very easy. What about for our students?

I would bet that a majority of your students have cell phones with text messaging capabilities. If they have a good plan, the text messages don't cost them a fortune. We could then use text messages to get them information. I've had hearing impaired students, and I have tried different techniques to help them out. With some of the new technologies out now, it will be easier the next time I have a student with hearing issues.

I can send them a text message of the lesson plan so that they can read along, and I can record the class and post it as a pod cast for them to download and listen to later. I can also print out a lesson presentation for them. If they have smartphone, I can send them a pdf version of the lesson presentation and materials and they can just read them on their phone.

Technology has made communications easier and this leads to easier accommodations for the hearing impaired.

Fitting in Technology

There is a great article on the TeachPaperless blog about not trying to "fit in" technology into your curriculum, but to use technology to enhance or improve your curriculum. It is a great article that will help teachers who have some questions about integrating technology into their classroom.

http://teachpaperless.blogspot.com/2009/03/educational-technology-dont-fit-it-in.html

Smartphones - what a great invention!

I love my smart phone. I have a Palm Centro, running Garnet (Palm) OS and on Verizon's network. It is the single most useful technology gadget I have.

First, it is a phone and it works well. What I like most is that as I update my contacts on Palm Desktop, it sync's to my phone. That makes editing, and backing up information, very easy. In fact, all of the PIM (Personal Information Management) data is backed up on my computer and is editable through the Palm Desktop software.

This leads into the next part of the device that I love - the PIM. The Calendar and Task lists keep me organized. You are able to set reminder timers for both of these, which comes in very handy. The other PIM function I love is the Memo's function. This is basically a very simple text editor that allows you to create individual memos and categorize them. I have over 1600 memo's that I use for reference notes, lesson plans, financial information, account information, medical records, and more. You can even make them private and secured with a password.

Some other things I use my smartphone for include web surfing, email, test messaging, and viewing and editing Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files. I can also view pdf files. I have a microSD card that has all of my files from school. I use Microsoft Hot Sync and software on the phone to sync the files on my classroom computer, with the smartphone, and then my home computer. This makes my life easy by allowing me access to the files at any time, without having to have them hosted on a web site.

The other feature that I use alot now is the camera. I take pictures of magazine articles, papers, white board notes. and other things as reminders, and a way of keeping a permanent electronic record of things. The resolution is pretty good, so it works well. There are also some online services that will take the picture you to and they can convert it to text.

The phone also has Goggle maps so that I don't get lost, an MP3 player to listen to my music, games, reference information, and even a video player that allows me to load DVD movies onto the phone to watch. The small screen is actually pretty nice to watch on, and this is a nice way to pass the time when working as a paramedic and sitting at post in an ambulance.

Today's smartphones have a lot of power, features, and applications and are extremely useful devices. I'm not sure how I managed in the past without one.

I have a Palm Centro, but most other smartphones have similar features and applications. Some run on multiple networks, like Blackberry and Palm, and others are only on a certain network, like Apple. Before you purchase one, do some research and see which one that seems to work best for you.

Disclosure - While I do own stock in Palm (not a lot though), I am not trying to sell this to anyone. I tell people that a smartphone is a very personal thing and their own personal preference is what should lead them to which smartphone to purchase. Apple's iPhone, Palm, and Blackberry's are the most popular and all of them are very useful. I found Palm's to be the best fit for me and what I do. People who need a really outstanding email system usually go for Blackberry, and people who are looking to do more multi-media tasks look at the iPhone.

To each his own.

Google in Education

I love Google. The free products they have are great resources for me as a person and an educator.

I use Google Mail for email, iGoogle for organizing my selft, Google Calendar, Google Notebook, Google Apps, and Blogger (which is where this blog is hosted.)

iGoogle is my favorite application. Think of it as your own personal start page on the internet. I have mine set up with my bookmarks, Gmail inbox, Google Translate, CCN.com, Top Stories, Google Calendar, My Listy (task list), Google Reader, Google Notebook (lesson plans), Stock quote tracking, weather, and a Blogger gadget for posting to my blog. It is the one website that I open all the time to keep my self organized and informed.

I also use Google Apps to create, edit, and store word processing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

Since everything is hosted in the "cloud" (ie. on the Web), I have access to these items from any computer that has internet access. It doesn't matter if it is Windows, Apple, or Linux.

I have been so impressed with Google and have used it so much that I am sharing these things, along with some others such as Google Scholar, Picasa, and Sketchup, with other teachers in a professional development session in April.

Free, well designed, and useful. What more can you ask for?