Journal+Notes

==[|7 Habits of Highly Effective Tech-leading Principals] ==


 * 1) Create an atmosphere that inspires innovation.
 * 2) Foster collaboration.
 * 3) Be open to new ideas.
 * 4) Be a connected learner yourself.
 * 5) Locate and provide adequate resources.
 * 6) Take risks.
 * 7) Have a visionary focus.


 * the principal needs to think of him/herself as a technology leader
 * if he/she models behaviors it will be much more effective than a principal who simply tells the staff to use technology
 * T.H.E. Journal surveyed principals - the 7 habits are those that appeared the most in the results of that survey
 * It's interesting to relate these habits to my own school - some of them are present in the leadership, but others are not.

by Lisa Nielsen
Myth No. 1: BYOD deepens the digital divide. Students who don't have digital devices of their own actually get better access while at school since their classmates bring their own. Myth No. 2: BYOD will result in lessons geared toward the weakest device. Teachers and students need to brainstorm together to find ways to use digital tools. Some don't know that cell phones can also help students do podcasts and digital books. Myth No. 3: BYOD will cause students to be distracted. Teachers just need to put good teaching strategies in place to avoid discipline problems. I think students would get very used to have their devices. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Myth No. 4: Teachers need to become experts in all the technology students own. Students can help each other learn how to use their devices and teachers can focus on the educational values. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Myth No. 5: BYOD will result in students engaging in dangerous activities. Schools need to work with students on how to be responsible and respectful on the internet. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Myth No. 6: Cell phones are not that powerful, so we should not waste our time with them. 41% of teens that don't have home internet access are able to go online through their cell phones. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Myth No. 7: BYOD will necessitate the standardization of apps and software across all devices. Students can be allowed to choose their own devices. Individualized learning can definitely still take place, if not more so than without digital devices.

==<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Educational Bill of Rights for Students] ==

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">by Brad Flickinger

 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">this article is written from the perspective of a student, to a teacher, regarding his or her technology rights in the classroom
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Brad Flickinger is a technology integration specialist who teaches technology at Bethke Elementary in Timnath, Colorado and is the founder of SchoolTechnology.org


 * 1) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">BYOD - If I can afford it, let me use it -- you don’t need to buy me one. If I cannot afford it, please help me get one -- I don’t mind working for it.
 * 2) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I should be able to access school WiFi
 * 3) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have the right to do digital projects that prove my understanding of a subject, regardless of whether or not my teacher knows what they are.
 * 4) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Let me cite Wikipedia. I am smart enough to verify what I find online to be the truth.
 * 5) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I should be able to access social media at school.
 * 6) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have the right to be taught my teachers who know how to use technology.
 * 7) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Help me be employable and teach me 21st century skills.
 * 8) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Give me speedy feedback through technology. I deserve feedback right away, not a week from now.
 * 9) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Help protect me from the internet. I need to be taught how to be responsible and ethical.
 * 10) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Help me learn what you are passionate about. Keep learning yourself. They are not afraid to ask for my help; they might know more than me about the Civil War, but I know Glogster like nobody’s business.


 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">there is a place and purpose for Facebook in the classroom - "It became a way to publicize the issues each of us felt deserved advocacy." ====
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">one example - A group of students researched a weed and found it to be like a plague. They started a Facebook page about their findings and educated politicians, farmers, and the community about the weed. Students ended up enjoying the learning process (wow!) and was able to take owernship of their research project.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">second example - Anthony Cody started a Facebook page for letters to President Obama. About 2,000 educators wrote to him and raised awareness about various needs in education. This got the attention of the President and Cody, plus 11 other teachers, will be meeting with a representative to discuss the most important topics that educators mentioned.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The main idea from this article is that voices can be heard using 21st century skills and programs, such as Facebook. Use Facebook to help you be an advocate for education or for your community.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"The power of social networking can at times be unforeseen, but it is clearly a tool for advocacy at every level in education."

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 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Participants should prepare to have their assumptions about children and how they learn seriously challenged."
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Today, we face a new kind of student. Our schools weren’t designed for them. And our teachers weren’t trained to teach them. New technology and global digital growth is affecting today’s students. The changes we faced growing up were incremental and fairly gradual. But for anyone under age 25, change is affected by the present arrival and rapid dissemination of digital technology in the last decades of the 20th century."
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kids today look the same, but they are wired differently; they're wired for multimedia.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Learning styles have changed: "What are you prepared to do starting right now?" Great ending question. Educators need to take control and impact our students and the education community. It's up to us to meet student's needs and meet them where they're at today, rather than being stuck on the way we've always done things.
 * get info fast from multimedia resources
 * they're comfortable doing more than one thing at a time
 * they are very visual - they respond to pictures, sound, color, and video before text
 * they don't have to learn material in a linear way - rather, they prefer random access to multimedia information
 * they want to network and connect with others
 * digital learners want to learn what they need to know - not to learn things "just in case" it's on an exam or they need the info someday
 * instant gratification and feedback
 * students want relevant, fun, and useful learning to take place

=<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">[|Educators Evaluate Learning Benefits of iPad] = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">by Ian Quillen


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">lots of great uses of the iPad 2 in the classroom
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">can be frustrating - remember that it's not a computer
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">great tools for administrators on the go (calendars, observations, etc.)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"With a battery life of eight to 10 hours and a weight of just over a pound, the iPad offers more portability and less startup time during the full school day than laptops or netbooks, while its screen size facilitates more flexibility using the Web and easier input than smartphones."
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“The nice thing on the iPad is you have more real estate to present content, visuals, and to physically navigate,” says Jim Doris, Pearson’s director of emerging markets for the humanities. “But that can lead you to want to overload the presentation.”
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"English teacher Erin Upton tries to personalize reading assignments based on proficiency, and uses a feature of the iPad to help highlight key vocabulary words for students."
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Math teacher Amreen Alvi has found some apps to help students understand fractions and decimals, and also has the students open worksheets off the Blackboard Inc. classroom-management site and complete them with a stylus pen during a classroom exercise."
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Students should have lots of choice - "During English in Heather Blake’s 2nd grade class, students can choose which device to use for an ongoing book-publishing project. During math in Bill Donovan’s 4th grade class, students rotate between workstations working on quick-response math exercises. Some are using math-drill apps on the iPad, iPod touches, or laptops. And some are using old-fashioned pencil and paper."
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"As for the administrators, Farsaii says they’ve come to appreciate the ability to use the tablets to access their calendars and email while on the run through campus, as well as how to use their touch-screen capabilities to check off rubrics for teacher evaluations like they would with an evaluation form."