We're All Learning Together
It feels like we just left summer but here we are well into fall. The temperatures seemed to have finally cooled and the fall colors are starting to emerge. By this point in the school year I'm sure all of you are settled nicely into your routines and are most likely nearing the end your first quarter. I've always struggled with the notion of "routine." I love it. I love structure and knowing when and where things are happening. But I also can be easily bored with too much routine.
This reminds me of a scene in in the movie Dead Poets Society where Robin Williams plays an unconventional teacher named Mr. Keating at a private school. In this scene, Mr. Keating hops up on his desk and tells his students that “Just when you think you know something, you have to look at it in another way. Even though it may seem silly or wrong, you must try.” In my work, I am challenging teachers and students to try a new way of doing things whether it is by adopting a new application or integrating new strategies into their existing education technology such as EduProtocols. And it can be daunting, uncomfortable or even irritating.
The hard part, for a teacher, is that none of us wants to look foolish in front of our students. So we are often apprehensive about using new tech or tech-based ideas. Especially once we've gotten this far into the school year. So let me introduce you to Laurie Guyon, an Integration Specialist for Schuylerville Central Schools in New York. I could list her certifications and accomplishments but it would take the rest of this post. She's darn near done it all when it comes to educational technology integration.
But she has developed some ...
Best Practices for Integrating New Tech
1. Learn alongside your students
When Guyon first led her sixth graders through Hour of Code, she had never written a line of code in her life. They learned it together — and discovered a hidden expert in the room. An English language learner who rarely spoke to anyone became the day’s hero as he walked around the room and helped his peers troubleshoot their code.
By becoming a co-learner, teachers empower students to take charge of their own learning while also modeling the habits of a lifelong learner. For educators who feel outside of their depth with technology, simply saying, “Let’s learn it together” can lead to powerful experiences.
2. Thinking in mini-lessons
Students don’t get better at something by listening to a teacher deliver a lesson. The real learning happens once they start practicing the skill. Breaking subjects down into 10-minute mini-lessons followed by an activity or practice period helps make learning more digestible and gives students the opportunity to try out new information right away.
3. Make connections
Learning to code may not seem like an obvious fit for an English classroom, but Guyon quickly saw its value — and didn’t hesitate to point it out to her students.
“Kids never want to rewrite and fix their work, but when they have a robot on the floor and it’s not moving, they’re going to rewrite until they get it right. Now they see the purpose of editing — as long as you bridge that correlation for them. I’d tell them to think of it like code, and then it was a lot easier to get them to edit their essays.”
4. Allow time to explore
When teaching a new technology to either students or fellow educators, Guyon doesn’t deliver much instruction beyond how to log in. Then she sets them free to explore. Once they’ve had time to play around with the app and figure out how it works, she starts building the lesson from there.
“A lot of times it’s just a matter of getting out of the student’s way,” she says.
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Keyboard Shortcuts for Google Drive
the hands hit the keys, I get annoyed when I have to remove them to do things. The problem is keeping track of them. There are the standard ones that are universal across all things (copy, paste, delete, save, etc) but then there are ones specific to applications.
Rename a Folder or File
Move Items
Extend Selection
Looking for Quizlet Alternative?
I recently helped my daughter find a new notecard/flashcard alternative. She was a big Quizlet fan but several of the features she cherished went behind a paywall. Because this is what I do, I found her a free alternative. I might've found all of you a free alternative.
Teachers Doing Great Things with Tech
