Is the Future of Education Already Here? (Hint: Yes, and It’s Smarter Than You Think)

I’ve been in the EdTech game for nearly 30 years. From my early days as an educator to my current roles as a board member for MassCUE and the Technology Director for Lowell Public Schools, I have seen every "revolutionary" gadget come and go. I’ve managed multimillion-dollar initiatives for one of the largest districts in Massachusetts, and I remember the thrill of transforming a small district in Hampton, NH, into a cutting-edge tech powerhouse.

Through it all—including building the TechinEDU network on LinkedIn to over 60,000 members—I’ve learned one thing: true innovation doesn't happen when we're afraid. It happens when we lean into the potential of what’s next.

Right now, that "next" is Artificial Intelligence. And if we allow it, AI won't just change education—it will transform it into something entirely new.

Guardrails or Lane Markers? The Global Race 

In the West, we have a habit of over-regulating before we even understand the tech. We focus on high-risk classifications and safety-impacting assessments that often result in "nerfed" models—AI that is so restricted it loses its academic edge.

Compare that to the approach in China. They are attacking educational problems head-on with a "strategic acceleration" mindset. They put fewer guardrails in place to allow for rapid, unencumbered scaling. Look at Squirrel AI—they have enrolled over 24 million students and use a "nano-level" breakdown of curriculum to find exactly where a student is struggling, even if that gap goes back three years.

We can’t afford to fall back. We need to stop thinking of AI as a threat and start seeing it as a lane marker—something that guides us forward without stopping the car.

The "Holodeck" Experience: Igloo Vision & AI 

One of the most exciting things I’m seeing right now is the marriage of AI with 360-degree cameras. Companies like Igloo Vision are creating shared immersive spaces that are basically like stepping into a giant VR headset with your entire class.

Imagine using an Insta360 Titan to capture 11K footage of a historical event or a professional workspace and then using AI to make it interactive. At Deakin University, they use these "holodecks" to teleport pre-service teachers into real primary classrooms so they can experience the environment before their first day of work. This isn't just a video; it’s a living simulation where you can freeze time, look around, and learn by being there.

Innovations That Excite Students (and Save Teachers!) 

We need to build tools that meet students exactly where they are. Here is what is on the horizon:

 * AI Digital Assistants: I am currently working on a digital assistant app specifically for college students. It’s designed to be a 24/7 mentor that helps manage the crushing workload of higher ed, similar to how Dartmouth is using NeuroBot TA to provide vetted, expert academic support around the clock.

 * The Special Ed Revolution: We are finally attacking the "paperwork problem." Tools like Monsha and Playground IEP are helping educators draft full, IDEA-compliant IEPs in minutes rather than hours. This isn't about replacing teachers; it’s about giving them their lives back so they can focus on their students.

 * Global Leaders in Action:

   * Singapore: Their Ministry of Education has launched an "Authoring Copilot" to help teachers plan lessons faster while staying in the driver's seat.

   * South Korea: Starting in 2025, they are rolling out national AI-powered digital textbooks that adapt in real-time to each student’s learning pace.

What Does the Future Look Like?

By 2026, we’re moving from simple chatbots to Agentic AI—systems that can interpret a goal, break it down into steps, and execute it independently. Imagine an AI that notices a student is disengaged and automatically suggests a more hands-on, gamified version of the lesson to spark their interest.

Education won't be a one-size-fits-all lecture anymore. It will be a precision-tuned journey for every single learner.

Let’s Build the Future Together! 

I’ve spent 30 years helping educators navigate change, and I truly believe AI is our greatest opportunity yet. But I want to hear from you:

 * Do you think we have too many guardrails in place? Should we follow China’s lead and move faster?

 * What’s one task you wish an AI assistant could take off your plate today?

 * If you could "teleport" your students anywhere using an Igloo immersive space, where would you go?

Drop a comment below and let’s get the conversation started!

Code and AI: A Powerful Duo Revolutionizing K-12 Education

In the dynamic landscape of modern education, technology has emerged as a catalyst for innovation and transformation. The convergence of code and artificial intelligence (AI) has become a pivotal force in K-12 education, propelling students and educators into a realm of endless possibilities. This blog post explores the exciting intersection of code and AI in K-12 education, revealing how this powerful duo is reshaping learning experiences and preparing students for the challenges of tomorrow.

1. Coding: Unleashing Creativity and Problem-Solving Skills

Coding, the art of creating instructions for computers, has transcended from a niche skill to an essential part of the curriculum. Introducing coding to K-12 students fosters creativity and problem-solving skills. By learning to write code, students can build interactive games, design websites, and even program robots. The process of coding encourages critical thinking and empowers students to tackle complex challenges with logical precision.

2. AI in the Classroom: Personalized Learning and Adaptive Assessments

Artificial intelligence, the ability of machines to mimic human intelligence, brings personalized learning to the forefront of education. AI-powered learning platforms analyze individual student progress, preferences, and learning styles. This data-driven approach allows educators to tailor learning materials to suit each student's needs, ensuring a more engaging and effective learning experience. Additionally, AI enables adaptive assessments, where the difficulty level adjusts based on the student's performance, fostering a supportive and growth-oriented environment.

3. Robotics and AI: Hands-On Learning at its Best

Integrating robotics and AI in K-12 education takes experiential learning to new heights. Students have the opportunity to interact with intelligent robots they program themselves. This hands-on experience enhances understanding, as students witness the direct application of code in real-world scenarios. Robotics and AI projects not only captivate young minds but also lay the foundation for future careers in STEM fields.

4. Developing Future-Ready Skills

As the world becomes increasingly technology-driven, teaching code and AI in K-12 education becomes a crucial aspect of preparing students for the future job market. By equipping students with computational thinking and AI knowledge, educators ensure that they possess valuable skills that are highly sought after in various industries. Whether students pursue careers in technology or other fields, these skills cultivate adaptability and a deep understanding of the digital landscape.

5. Ethical AI: Nurturing Responsible Digital Citizens

Teaching AI also comes with the responsibility of promoting ethical AI use. Educators play a vital role in guiding students to understand the ethical implications of AI technology. This includes addressing issues of bias in algorithms, data privacy, and the potential impact of AI on society. Instilling ethical considerations from an early age cultivates responsible digital citizenship, empowering students to wield technology responsibly and ethically.

Conclusion:

The convergence of code and AI in K-12 education marks a groundbreaking transformation in the learning journey of students. Through coding, students gain problem-solving skills, creativity, and logical thinking abilities. AI-powered personalized learning and robotics projects take education beyond the traditional classroom, engaging students in an immersive learning experience. As the world continues to embrace technology, teaching code and AI becomes instrumental in developing future-ready skills that will shape the next generation of innovators and leaders. Moreover, fostering ethical AI use ensures that students grow into responsible digital citizens, using technology to create a positive impact on the world. By harnessing the power of code and AI, K-12 education becomes a realm of endless possibilities, empowering students to thrive in an ever-evolving digital age.

My social media marketing experiment and what it means for education.

OriginallyPosted on Edtech Digest
CLASSROOM 21 | by Greg Limperis
A few months, ago I was trolling Twitter like I used to do only occasionally. You see, there was talk in February in my district that we were short on funding and due to that shortfall there would be cutbacks at our central office in order to ensure the money needed would still make it out to the schools. With this in mind, I decided to look at possibilities for employment on Twitter just in case I needed a new position. While trolling through Twitter, I came across a Tweet from Vala Afshar, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and Chief Customer Officer (CCO) of Enterasys. Vala and I go way back to my freshman year in my undergrad days of college when we were good friends while I was majoring in engineering. The next school year, I switched majors and we went our separate ways as engineering just was not my thing. That is a story for another time and place. Well, as time passed, Vala moved on to a very successful career at Enterasys and I have tried to follow it off and on, online. For those who do not know Enterasys, it does quite a bit of business in both higher education and K-12 helping to establish wired and wireless network and infrastructure solutions. You may have seen their name if you went to a Patriots game recently; they were awarded the contract to set up the Wi-Fi for the New England Patriots.
Well, while reading Tweets one day in late February, I came across an interesting one from Vala. At the time, Vala stated that he was looking for a social media specialist that would be paid a six-figure salary and that the position would help drive the social media direction for the company. The unique thing about this position was that he would only accept interest in the position through a post on Twitter, and that he would look solely at a candidate’s digital footprints and not at any paper resume. To me, this idea sounded intriguing and a possible new direction in the future for companies as they approach the recruiting process. While possibly looking for a new position, I thought as a Supervisor of Instructional Technology and an edtech leader online, it might be good for me to at least attempt to be part of this process so as to share with you my experiences as we, as educators and professionals, attempt to prepare our students for a future not so obvious anymore.
As technology quickly evolves, we in education are given the task daily to prepare our students for jobs today that do not even exist yet and to prepare them to work on devices not even created or thought of. The world has begun to change rapidly and we have the task to prepare our students for that world. What a better way than for me to take part in this process and to report back to you how it went so we can start to prepare our students for this world. The only problem with this philosophy was that I have little to no business experience. You see, I have been an educator for nearly twenty years now and my only experience with social media is what I have done with you people in my professional learning network the past five years. I had no experience leading the social media platform for any company — let alone in a position that commanded a six-figure salary.
Vala was looking for candidates to have a minimum Klout score above 60, a minimum Kred influence score of 725, a Kred outreach of at least eight, and more than 1,000 active Twitter followers in order to be considered. Many of these requirements I had through my website Technology Integration in Education but not through myself personally. If you were to look up my personal profile, at the time, you would have found that I was nowhere near there. At the time of the posting, I had not personally been active on Twitter and had no idea what a Kred or Klout score was, but was able to quickly Google it and found out that my site fit the criteria. As I read Vala’s post soon after he posted it online, I reached out to him telling him that it sounded interesting but without seeing what he was willing to pay a person for this position I felt that it might not be worth my time seeing what I was currently making. Vala informed me that I would be surprised that he was going to be offering a six-figure salary and, after a little bit of back and forth, he informed me that he would consider my website’s social presence in his search for a candidate as a reflection on me. In one of his posts, he also stated that he would reserve a spot in the interview process guaranteeing an interview for that person who had the most social endorsements.
Here is where the power of social came in. After spending five years building a social network online on LinkedIn and my own website, I reached out to my nearly 25,000 members of my various networks seeking their endorsement of what I do socially online. I was not looking for any endorsement of my character nor my work ethic but instead merely an endorsement of my ability to establish a social outreach. Many of them complied and tweeted out the necessary tweet to Vala in order to help get me an interview with the company even though I lacked any formal business experience outside of education.
During the time of vetting candidates by Enterasys, I made it my mission to raise my personal profile up to also meet the requirements for interview and not to rely on my website standings or on endorsements alone. I began to tweet more under my name and recommended to my followers on LinkedIn and in my group to now follow me on Twitter as well. By the time of the interviews I had raised my personal following to over 1,000 active followers and my Kred and Klout score to nearly or at where they needed to be. Thanks to all of the personal endorsements, I was also the candidate who secured the most endorsements, guaranteeing me an interview with the company, anyway. At the time, little did I know that I was one of 150 candidates and was whittled down to one of 15 finalists!
No resume was ever sent in and tweets were exchanged amongst candidates and Enterasys touting our digital accolades — from awards won, blog posts, websites created, groups formed, professional networks established, social outreach, work accolades and accomplishment — all found by Vala scouring candidates’ digital footprints. To me, this seemed like an ideal way to weed out unqualified candidates. It was also an excellent way for a candidate like me to know who my competition was because we either had to publicly acknowledge our candidacy online or Direct Message the company. I could see their digital footprint and they could see mine. I knew who the candidates were who were willing to publicly announce their intentions but not the ones who direct messaged Enterasys. I was able to see what my competition had done and compare it to what I had done. I also was able to see what I needed to do if I was going to compare to them.
For a month, it was a time to establish new connections, even with some of the other candidates themselves, as we waited for opportunities to interview with the company. We began to grow and learn from each other. The process was amazing. I was able to see their passion and they could see mine. By looking at what these candidates did for a current job and to see times of the day and days of the week that they were devoting to posting and sharing online digitally, I started to get a sense of who everyone was and what their passions were and what their work ethic was like. I got a chance to know candidates well before I even knew who they really were.
By the time April came around, I had established a few connections with other candidates for the position and we were wishing each other luck on our perspective interviews with the company. From Zachary Jeans to Ari Herzog, I had developed connections and friendships with my competition — all of this being something that would never have happened through the usual paper resume.
The process was exciting. I was invited in to interview with Enterasys and I spent a good three hours or so talking with various members of the company. I was given a tour of the facility and I was able to meet up with my old friend Vala. In the end though, I was not given the position. They hired Bilal Jaffrey who came to them with much more business experience than I ever could have had working in education for so long. And that was okay; he deserved the position. Although the process was fun and exciting, it was great to be on the leading edge of what I am sure one day will be the norm for hiring everywhere.
My eyes have been opened on how important it is that we help our students establish good digital footprints. We as educators have to prepare our students for a digitally social world, one that can no longer be ignored or we will simply be doing them a disservice. My digital footprint mattered. It helped me to become a finalist for a position that, in the past, I would never have even been considered for.
I have since talked with Vala and he agrees that this process is the way to go and that he will probably, from now on, only hire this way. The digital footprint tells you so much more about a candidate than two sheets of paper ever could. Nothing, of course, will ever replace meeting and talking with a candidate face to face, but, hey — I never said the interview process had changed, just how they decided to determine whom they would interview. I was a candidate thanks to my social profile, more than my “two pages of paper”. Our students will be, too. Decisions will be made about them as people Google their name. Are we preparing them for a world like this, or are we ignoring it and hoping that how they perform on standardized tests is all that matters?
Someday soon, I know I will be a part of the process where I am deciding on and selecting candidates for positions based on a body of work spelled out for me via the Internet instead of by two sheets of paper. The world is digital now, so let’s embrace it.
Thanks Enterasys, for the opportunity. I hope we connect again in the future really soon as we work together to bring about global social change.

Funding EdTech in the 21st Century

Out of Control

Origionally posted on EdTechDigest.com

 

The ever spiraling madness of funding, financing and technology
CLASSROOM 21 | by Greg Limperis

The times they are a changin’.  It used to be, the only thing you had to worry about budgeting for in education besides the usual cost in personnel, infrastructure and maintenance — was textbooks. I know, I have simplified this list — but let me digress. Today there is an ever growing need for schools to go digital, but how to do so and to fund it properly is a growing problem that is quickly spiraling out of control.  Let me explain.

You see, the talk in education is the knowledge that it is in the students’ best interest if the school or district could find a way to put an Internet capable device in the hand of each child. Yes, what we are talking about is the ever so popular adage “going one-to-one.” Just think of the possibilities. We give every child in our school or district a device that can connect them to the ever changing world instantly. From flipping the classroom, to MOOCs to virtual field trips and so much more.  The options are truly endless.  We can make learning, fun, engaging, personalized and well expensive.
Let’s face it, one-to-one is expensive and the ever popular question keeps popping up in schools worldwide, how do we fund it?  According to Doug Johnson of Educational Leadership magazine, in the December 2011/January 2012 issue, “schools in the United States spend a lot of money on education technology—estimated then to be $56 billion dollars—36 percent of which is spent in K–12 education.”¹
Just think of how much tablet demand has increased this number since then.  I am sure the amount has gone up.  Also, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2010, “total spending was $524.0 billion, of which $317.8 billion went to instruction and $179.0 billion to support services, such as school bus transportation and the operation and maintenance of school buildings and equipment. Per pupil expenditures amounted to $10,615 with great variation among the states. The District of Columbia led all states at $18,667 followed by New York ($18,618).”²
Looking at the statistics from the two links provided, that works out to be a staggering 26.5 percent of per pupil expenditure is on technology purchases. That is huge. With State and Federal Governments helping to defray some of this cost, coupled with CIPA regulations impacting e-rate funding, there is little margin for error. How do schools get this right and how do they do it without losing funding is the real concern.
There are so many unanswered questions. Which device is best and what do you give up or gain by using the device you choose? Do we have the infrastructure to support this initiative? Do we have enough broadband? Do we have enough access points to truly be wireless everywhere on our campuses or will we have dead spots? Do we qualify for e-rate funding?

With e-rate funding comes the ever added pressure of ensure you comply with CIPA regulations.  Often this fear of losing e-rate funding often can come to seem like educators are making “ill-informed policies that are widening the digital divide”. As Vala Afshar states in this same article:

The learning benefits of social media are far too great to restrict it out of hand by applying a conservative interpretation of the Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA). Instead, do your homework; gather data by talking with teachers, and test it first-hand.³

So we need to ensure we plan, talk with people and ensure we are compliant. We need to seek alternative forms of funding to fill in the gaps of what e-rate funding does not cover that leaves us coming up short in funding any new educational technology initiative. Competition for these funds is fierce. Can we get towns to raise taxes to cover it? Will parents agree to offset costs incurred by a one to one plan? Can we find unique ways to get the community to assist?
Ok, so let’s say we decide to go to a BYOD policy, new questions arise? What happens if I depend on a student to bring their own devise daily and they forget it, what can they use for the day? What happens if their device get broken, who will fix it so they can continue to participate with the class? How do I control what they bring pre-loaded onto their own device so it is not violating CIPA regulations and or is not a distraction or offensive to others in class? How well did we plan so our AUP is prepared for these questions? What do we do one a device goes missing?
As you can see, there is so much a school system needs to think about, plan for, and plan about before it even can approach funding these issues. It is no surprise why some just choose to avoid it all together with so much more that we have to worry about in education such as raising test scores.
It is going to take true leaders with real vision to see that we need to make these efforts, we need to do this planning, we have to talk and get everyone including parents, community and industry believing that if we want to move our students forward and to prepare them for the future, no minute can be wasted as we try to find ways to make technology funding real and sustainable.
“If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”  —Benjamin Franklin
—
Notes

^{1. http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/dec11/vol69/num04/Stretching-Your-Technology-Dollar.aspx#fn1}

^2. http://blogs.census.gov/2012/06/21/education-funding-where-do-schools-get-their-money-how-do-they-spend-it/

3.  Are Your Ill-Informed Policies Widening The Digital Divide?, Vala Afshar, 4/15/2013, Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/vala-afshar/your-illinformed-policies_b_3085514.html

Reluctant Time Travelers

Cross-Posted on April 11, 2013 by Greg Limperis

Life has changed, so why hasn’t education?
by Greg Limperis 
If I decide to dine out and I am not sure where, the first thing I do is google area restaurants on my smartphone—a few more taps and I’m making a reservation with the maître d’. If I’m shopping and grow curious about a particular product, I QR scan it and read up on all the details. When I’m simply walking about, if I see something I want to immortalize, I either snap a photo or start recording video. Further, if I want to share any of that, I post it through a tweet, a Facebook share, or I pin it on Pinterest—and, as you can guess, I use my phone to do it. Just sitting at a Patriots game these days is a whole new experience. Through my phone, I attach to their wireless network and engage with the game in all new ways. I check live stats of not only the game I am watching, but other games too, and I keep up with my fantasy football team. I sit (not necessarily at a Pats game) and read books, articles and magazines, tweets, websites and more from my mobile device. Life for my family and I is mobile—and smart.
Just like my own digital-age students, I too have become extremely mobile. All of my productivity happens either using my cell phone or the tablet I carry with me wherever I go. Although I came into this world as an early adopter of technology, I’m certainly not a digital native in the true sense of the label. I wasn’t born into a world of computers and mobile technology—but I’ve learned to adapt and mold with it. My students were born into this world where mobile devices are the norm. Owning one or, for many, owning multiple devices—is simply assumed.
Each of my three kids own their own iPod touch. My two oldest girls own their own Kindle e-reader and tablet. My youngest (six-year-old) son is always using my iPad. The kids share a cell phone with a digital plan on it—and my wife and I each own our own smartphone which they often use to access online games, digital content—or to research various topics. There was a time when my smartphone had a wireless tether on it that would be turned on and a wireless network was created anywhere we went. But these days, with the right plan, there is unlimited freedom to tap into the Internet.
Great expectations
My kids, as do many others, expect to have this technology available—and they use it constantly. They do homework on it, they use the calculator on it, they research topics on it and they watch countless videos on it.  They compete and collaborate with each other through their electronic devices. They are Face Timing and Skyping friends and family both near and far.
Distance and borders—which use to be a hurdle for us to overcome, have all but disappeared. Through the use of social networks, soon their digital footprint will be one that starts to build and inform others of who they are and what they are passionate about and what they do about those passions. In my home, we constantly have discussions about what this means and how important it is to be mindful of it. You can probably relate to all of this.
All in all, my children are being prepared for life in a digital age, and yet—when they step through the front doors of their schools they might just as well be stepping through a portal into a long-gone age.
You see, schools are not opening their arms so quickly to this digital transformation.  They aren’t allowing students thanks to federal regulation to access the Internet completely.  Responsible digital citizenship is not talked about on a regular basis.  They are not collaborating with others from far away places instantly or using mobile devices to instantly access a world of information.
The mobile devices they have from home are not welcomed in schools because educators are not always sure how to deal with them.  What federal regulations might we be violating? What access to inappropriate material might they gain access to? Who is on our network? What are they doing on that network? What do we do to ensure equipment is not stolen, broken or lost? 
I fear trying to answer some of these many hard questions. It’s often easier just to say that the device is not allowed or blame an inadequate network that would not support them in the first place. This route can be expensive. Do we bring someone in to help us improve our network broadband and give us monitoring capabilities such as what Enterasys can provide? Do we invest in giving our students mobile devices such as iPad minis so we do not have to deal with the BYOD concerns as much or is their a happy medium we can afford?
Meanwhile, our students…
While we sit here and debate these issues, try to figure out spending and budget, and reevaluate our ability to support a major switch in the way our teachers teach and our students learn—don’t look now, but we are losing our students. They are becoming increasingly disengaged. This is not the world they are growing up in. Opening a textbook, reading a chapter and then answering some questions using paper and pencil are foreign to them and not something that will help to create a love of learning.  We must think of change for education—and we must do it now.
I do not have a problem with my students bringing in their electronic device if it means they will be engaged, excited about learning, that they will carry a lighter backpack because I will not need to buy them notebooks, pencils, etc., as often. The heavy, outdated textbook in the backpack is something as a parent that I will actually be glad to see go. I want my child to see life for what it has become. I want their learning to become more digital, as it is at home. I do not want them tied to it at all times—but I do want it to be a possibility while they are away from me.
It is time for education to change and to get with the times before the times change again and education continues to be something foreign and outdated because a lack of leadership insists on playing catch up to a time and a life that is way ahead of it. I am sure we can figure this out more quickly than we have, if we all agree that the classroom of today should look very little like it currently does in most our schools right now.

Technology and the Transformation of Education by Greg Limperis

Technology has the power to transform the way we teach if done correctly. With the advent of things such as interactive white boards, document cameras, student response systems, laptops, tablets, webcams, video recorders, digital cameras, cellphones, cloud based software, the Internet and much more proliferating our classrooms, has technology transformed education as we know it?

According to Google, transform can be defined as to make a thorough or dramatic change in the form, appearance, or character of. If we were to look back in teaching thousands of years ago till

Female students sitting in desks in a classroom at Lane Technical High School circa 1928

today teaching has always been a group of students led and instructed by a sage in the front of the classroom. During this time, the elder who had lived life long enough to gain knowledge, experience and education themselves often would sit with students, usually in rows and impart on them this knowledge gained. This classroom usually has had very little interaction with others outside of the four classroom walls and has gained all of it knowledge from oral and written sources provided by other sages in textbooks or passed down written material. Guest brought in to speak often would impart their knowledge on students and answer questions from them but that guest was often someone who lived close enough to them and gave them little experience of the world they were growing up in but instead gave them a more local view.

Fast forward to today into the world of technology. With the advent of lesser expensive ubiquitous Internet connected devices it is easier to think technology has transformed the way or teachers teach and our students learn, but has it transformed education yet or simply changed it. Walking through schools within my school district, I often hear from my teachers that the interactive white boards, document cameras and student response systems we have provided them have transformed the way they teach. They give me hugs when I show up to fix technology that is not working correctly for them and tell me they do not know how they taught before without it. As I look around my schools though I still see a classroom similar to the ones described to me in my searches over the Internet on the history of teaching. In many of the classrooms I have seen, the teacher is still the sage at the front of the classroom and students are still sitting in rows, but today the change is starting to happen. Transformation of teaching is coming.

In the advent of Web 2.0, sages are no longer the only proliferators of educational content. These days, everyone, everywhere as long as they have a connection to the Internet is able to be a creator of content. With access to things such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and more, it no long only is the adult, sage, or elder sharing content. Today our youth are collaborating together. With the advent of cell phones allowing us to constantly be connected together, curating of content is instant and the sharing just as quick. Through text messaging, streaming video, live audio and visual conversation, and much more our students are starting to need to no longer sit in rows.

Modern day classroom of students collaborating together.

Students are starting to collaborate together to curate, create and share content. They are sitting more in groups as opposed to rows. Yes they are still learning from a sage in the front of the classroom, but more and more they are learning from each other. They are posing questions of each other and the world around them and they are starting to connect with people outside of their classroom walls and engage with that world and learn from it in real time. The barriers of time and distance are becoming smaller. Through an ability to quickly connect with people over great distances, learning no longer happens within the four walls of our classroom during the days and hours of education. Learning is happening twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days per year. If a student wants to learn something new, a teacher is helpful but not essential. The world is becoming our teacher. Today, it is not unheard of that if you want to learn about something the easiest way to get the answer is to “Google It”.

Our students these days have begun to ask questions not only of their teacher of each other and of the world around them. Access to a world of knowledge is becoming expected and learning from a textbook is becoming history. The day of one person conveying knowledge to a classroom of many is becoming a thing of the past. Today education has begun that transformation. Thanks to technology, students are starting to seek the answers to questions themselves more. Look at the study done by Sigatra Mitra on The Child Driven Education presented at TED where children were left alone with a computer an Internet connection an nothing else. There was no teacher involved yet they were still able to teach themselves something. How many times have you heard a child say they learned something through YouTube? Today you no longer have to go to a University to get a world class education. The world of the MOOC or Massively Open Online Course is allowing education to happen anywhere and any time and for students to not only learn from the experts but also from each other.

Today, the educators are moving from the sage on the stage to the guide on the side. Through the use of collaboration brought about by technology, students are starting to pose questions of each other and the world around them and they are no long turning to the mentor in the front of the classroom for answers but instead to each other. They are connecting in ways never before possible. The transformation of education has begun and it will be interesting what the classroom of the future will look like.

What Makes EdTech Leaders Great?

Cross Posted on EdTech Digest  March 19, 2013 
by Greg Limperis

Looking for edtech leadership? Look no further than these words of wisdom  
CLASSROOM 21 | by Greg Limperis
Education technology leaders these days are in high demand. If you are looking for great edtech leaders, it helps to know what qualities to look for before deciding to settle on any one specific candidate. According to a Harvard Business Review article in 2004, a great leader needs more than intelligence, determination, toughness and vision—they also need a high degree of emotional intelligence, that is to say, the must also possess self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skill.
These days, great edtech leaders need to put many of those Emotional Intelligence (EI) skills to work as they should possess a digital presence as well. Great edtech leaders stay current in their field and have a view towards the future knowing what is coming next in educational technology so to prepare students for the world they are growing up in.
Currently, educators need to prepare students today for jobs that do not even exist yet and doing so requires appropriate tools. Knowing which tools are best to use and how to use them is the responsibility of all educators but educators need to get their guidance from their edtech leaders. A great edtech leader, therefore, needs to be part of a Professional Learning Network (PLN) in order to stay current. Great edtech leaders need social skills in order to do this well. Being part of a PLN requires many of the EIs mentioned above.
I can attest from maintaining my own PLN while working full time that it is hard work and it requires self-awareness. What I say as an edtech leader online impacts what others think and do in their own profession, so being aware of moods, emotions and drives — and their effects on others — is essential in leading both my own teachers and others globally.
To do this well, one has to have self-confidence in what they suggest and recommend to others as being in the best interest of all students. With so much technology to choose from and a limited budget often to lead with, great edtech leaders often need to remember to lead with a self-deprecating sense of humor. We have to remember that we are not going to change education overnight because of technology use — nor should we.
Great edtech leaders need to possess trustworthiness, integrity and reliability. Educators need to rely on the fact that you will be there for them. Not every educator has the same comfort level with technology as you possess, so remember to always make yourself available to him or her. A great edtech leader ensures that other educators know that they are there for them and that they will lead next to them versus ahead of them. With so much that changes with educational technology daily, great leaders need to be comfortable with ambiguity. Things may not always be clear as to where edtech is going, but knowing where the technology can get us is essential. This may seem ambiguous that one needs to lead but not know where we are going when it comes to edtech, but today it is essential that we stay open to change because in edtech, things will change.
Great edtech leaders need to possess motivation to press on even when it seems impossible to do so. With shrinking budgets, limited time and the current state of education, great edtech leaders continue to lead in ways they know best and to get our educators the tools they need. Looking at one PLN may help one find that there are cheaper alternatives, cost-saving measures and self-motivating ways to achieve the same goals.
One of the most important qualities of a great edtech leader is empathy. Remember that great leaders know the deficiencies of those they lead and help them to get the skills that will make them better. Realize that most educators need the assistance you can provide but often are either too busy — or too embarrassed — to ask for it. We as educators are often thought to know the answers to everything and admitting that we do not have them can be difficult. Showing others that you are human just like them and that reaching the goal is a common endeavor and not a trip they need to travel alone will help to win over the trust and support that great leaders need. Doing so will help leaders to support, enhance and retain great talent. Remember always who your customers and clients are, and in doing so you will have belief that what you are doing is in the best interest of all involved.
Lastly, great edtech leaders need to be proficient in managing relationships both within their school system and globally as part of their PLN. These days, educators need to rely on each other to make their jobs less cumbersome. Remember, the wheel has already been invented and we do not need to reinvent it. Someone else has probably already done what we are attempting to do and maybe has done it even better.
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BE S.O.C.I.A.L.  Chief Marketing Officer @ValaAfshar of Enterasys describes being a social leader as being S.O.C.I.A.L.: Sincere, Open, Collaborative, Interested, Authentic and Likable. Great edtech leaders are also S.O.C.I.A.L. leaders. They use their emotional intelligence to make sure that they are leading together and not alone. As an African proverb says, “If you want to go quickly, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”

Flipping Education

  Originally posted on February 20, 2013on Edtech Digest

As education follows the rest of the world to the cloud, there’s a new paradigm on the horizon
CLASSROOM 21 | by Greg Limperis
Things have to change in education, and soon. Everything’s moving to the cloud. For educators, this means a change in their method of curriculum delivery. What could possibly delay such a universal education transformation in this country? Universal access. Every school needs it: broadband and WiFi. And where, in the Industrial Age, it was workers prepared for work in factories — today, we need prepared educators for a Global Information Age.
Looking back, during the Industrial Age schools needed textbooks. Printing presses and the shipping industry got humming so all students, no matter how rural or inner-city, could access similar curriculum cheaply. That meant infrastructure: roads, school locations and so on. Over time, this became reality. With advancements in the auto and shipping industries, every school sooner or later was largely able to get their hands on great, affordable curriculum.
Once again, we stand at a crossroads. Today, all of the great curriculum and other education resources that are and will be delivered will be stored in the cloud. Textbook manufacturing? Rest in peace. The advent of a digital curriculum is now upon us. But access to this curriculum? This requires broadband or satellite connections. And this has become the true challenge for our country: can we give equitable access to every school? As soon as every school has access to broadband sufficient to support streaming on memory-intensive content such as video, audio and animation, then the next real challenge will be to outfit every school with WiFi so as to make this content portable.
Low-cost hardware is here. The future is upon us. We’re simply waiting for education to catch up. But if we truly want to provide our children with 21^st-century skills, then we must give them a 21^st-century schoolhouse: broadband must reach broadly, to all schools. If we can do it with electricity, then there’s certainly no logical reason that we can’t do it with broadband and satellite.
Do we want to truly transform education? We need to consider our priorities. For example, do we want to improve more physical roads or should we be improving our digital highways? During the last Great Depression, we built highways across America. So why, during the current downturn, can we not put people to work in building our much-needed digital highways? We must give everyone the same access.
Accomplish this, and the rest will follow. Textbooks replaced with e-books, and an e-reader in every child’s hands. Tablets? The norm. The cost and savings to our environment will push the issue, and moving in this direction is even now becoming our only real choice.
Devices will soon self-charge and run on solar power. Schools will become places of light where windows provide classrooms energy. School hours will maximize daylight and schools will run all year deploying stored energy gathered on site as needed. Green school buildings will maximize sun, wind, water and waste. They’ll be cooled and heated more naturally through proper placement of campus-grown vegetation. Rooftops will be places for plants; solar-paneled building sides will help. Captured rainwater will also produce power. Schools will look like homes, rows replaced by open meeting spaces and comfy couches. Small, quiet rooms will provide undistracted study and work areas. And, last but not least, the learning day will flip: what can be taught in a lesson period will take place during free time or evenings. ‘Home’ work and practice will take place in school, ensuring understanding and competence. Group projects will be the norm on interactive tabletops.
Thanks to this new broadband access, parents will work from their smart homes while students will be given the option to connect from home a few times per week if needed; no longer will they be required to physically attend every day of school. Parental support will also be more readily available. A constant connection to the child will be common in this new network of learning.
Tablets will replace backpacks; WiFi classrooms will connect students to unlimited learning tools and resources purchased in bulk by state departments of education and provided as options to schools all feeding into a network of central super computers.
Student performance data will be stored instantly on these super servers at state level and will eliminate the need for most current-day data reporting. State testing will become a thing of the past, replaced by real-time data of student work instantly available to administrators through proper network access. One will always be up on what the child knows and how they compare to their peers.
Digital portfolios of student work will be the norm. A digital footprint for students will be like fossils left in bedrock. All of their work from all of their schooling will be stored and tracked so as to monitor growth and provide immediate intervention as needed. And where will all of this be stored? In the cloud. New positions will open up at the state level for tracking and flagging deficiencies noted in students through online work alerts, notices pinged to educators along with the appropriate customized intervention plan in support of that particular child’s digital learning path.
Teachers will never be replaced — they will, however, evolve. The teacher will become something totally different, a facilitator of knowledge, helping to ensure student learning is accessible and ubiquitous and showing each student the way forward along each student’s own self-selected learning path. It’s time we start to think about the future of education — and to know that, in that future of abundant learning choices and considering where we are currently, we have no choice but to flip learning.

The Digital Revolt

Who is with me? Are you ready to revolt? I am not talking about a digital revolution, I want a revolt. I am tired of hearing we are not ready for that. It costs too much. We do not have the money. That could be dangerous.

Every time someone talks about a new EdTech initiative, the naysayers come out. They have a reason for everything. The teachers are not ready. Our students might do something or go some place we do not want them to go. Where are we going to get money for that? It is not fair and it does not make sense.

Every time you naysayers come out and suggest updating your textbooks, did I or anyone else complain and say where are we going to get money for that so much that you ended up not doing it? Did I or anyone else complain so much when you loaded my child's backpack up with books enough that he or she could barely walk? Did that stop you from giving them work to take home? Did I cry foul at the cost of materials so much that you ended up not buying any? How about the time when you instituted a new curriculum? Did I ever tell you we could never do it because our teacher's were not ready? I think all of you know these answers.

So I ask you my tech supporting friends, why do we put up with it and allow others to refuse us to implement that which we know really will change the way our teachers teach and our students learn? How much could it really cost? How hard would it really be to get our staff and students ready for it? Would it honestly be any more dangerous for our students then if we pretended it did not exist and then allow them to go home and use it unmonitored and uninformed.

How about if we did this? Let's revolt together and come up with a modern day school. What would it look like? What would we keep and what would thankfully go away? Do we need the agrarian schedule anymore? Does 8:00 am to 3:00 pm for all our students even work anymore? Could we have school that started at different times for different people?

Let's do it. Let's start a school that has no textbooks or paper books. Lets give out students nothing but a tablet and some great apps. Lets make every classroom wifi accessible. Maybe we could even have a few laptops available too. If we did away with most of the paper print there would be little ink to buy. No printer to be repaired. No heavy textbooks to carry around. All there would be would is one tablet and possibly a laptop. Ok we can have some sheets of paper floating around here and there in case we need it. Students, family and community would all connect to the school through a LMS website builder like Blackboard Engage. All digital forms and anything that was once done on paper will now be done there.

There would be no expensive CAT 5 wiring to run everywhere. The building will be wireless with a staff, student and visitor access point to the network everywhere. Connectivity will be king. The school will be social. Students and staff will be encouraged to be social online. We will tweet. We will have digital footprints.

All of this will not go without any training. On the contrary. There will not be countless hours of curriculum training, meetings, etc. It will not be face to face training though because training will happen anywhere and anytime thanks to social sites, video conferencing and access to online collaboration tools and sites. Instead, we will invest heavily in great EdTech trainers who will be available for support for all of our staff throughout the whole building all day long. They will also be our technicians who can and also fix things for us as needed. They will be adapt at both the tech and the Ed side. Instead of staff meetings we will have app meetings. We will share great technology resources all the time. Anything business related can be said online. After all, time in education is precious.

The day and the classroom will be flipped. The course offering will be individualized to each child's needs. They will be online and customized. Their will alway be access to content, resources and results live and online daily.

How much money will we save if we do not buy textbooks. There will be no need for notebooks, whiteboards and or paper resources. There will be no two to three computers in the back of every classroom. There will be no student response systems, no interactive whiteboards and definitely no document cameras. Every student will have an iPad and a stylus. Each tablet will be loaded with word processing and note taking apps.

Students will be expected to add other app and software themselves just as we currently expect them to buy notebooks, pencils, pens and other resources to help offset the cost. The teacher will have a laptop to help them with larger more intensive work that is not able to easily be accomplished on the tablet. Content will not be blocked. The Internet will be completely accessible but there will be extensive training for staff and students from day one on leaving a digital footprint. What is an acceptable use of technology? There will be an Acceptable Use Policy and it will be followed. Violation of it will not be tolerated.

School will be engaging. It will be collaborative. It will be fun. Think of the possibilities. What if we knew nothing of school and we were to start building one today. What would it look like? What would we use? How would we fund it? Why not have corporate schools? Schools funded by companies producing the workers they want. Competition for the best workers brought about by their own schools. Couldn't we get some companies to invest in this. Couldn't we make it so kids wanted to come so much that they competed to get into it. The options here are endless.

We need to stop talking and start doing. What are we waiting for. Change will come if you wait. Why wait. Let's bring change to those who want to think or talk about it. I do not want to be a thought leader. I want to be a do leader. How about you?

It Isn't a Game Anymore

Origionally posted on Edtech Digest

Are we putting our edtech efforts in the right place?
CLASSROOM 21 | by Greg Limperis
Almost twenty years ago, I went to college for my Masters in Education. Back then, there were people like I am now: halfway through their teaching careers teaching students while they themselves had no (or very little) experience with modern-day technology in their lives. For many of them, cutting-edge growing up meant showing one’s vacation pictures via a slideshow or movie reel. The slideshow was not the kind we know today. It was a carousel of pictures projected onto a wall or screen with one loud, mechanical-sounding click at a time. They had very little experience using new digital cameras because, for most of them, film was still the way pictures were taken. Speaking of film, if one was lucky enough to grow up with video, then their experience was with a big-reel movie projector and not the VCR tapes that I grew up with.
I remember in my Masters course at Boston College being introduced to the concept of “teaching with technology.” My mathematics professor showed us how we could use an Apple II to plot points and make an object move around across the screen. This technology, as he would explain it to us, would help make plotting in math more engaging for our students. Personal computers and the Internet were just coming out in force and we were using them for research and typing papers — but there was little to no discussion on how one could use this device to better educate our students. We were not adequately prepared to teach with the technology that was, at the time, being simultaneously being purchased in schools for teachers to use.
I was one of the lucky ones growing up: we had a VCR in my house. Yes, we had slideshows, but we also had movies via video cassette—this was great! We had technology. I also had one of the first game systems to hit the market — I had a Colecovision. With that, we had the attachment to play Nintendo games as well. We were playing Donkey Kong, Qbert and so much more. When one of the first home PCs came out, I took my paper route money and I bought a Commodore 64. At an early age, I was introduced to DOS code, “saving to disk” — and so much more.
Years later, when I was given my first student-teacher classroom to teach in, I was lucky. Placed in a brand-new, state-of-the-art school with six computers per class with one on every teacher’s desk, in my first year of teaching full-time at that school I was also given a laptop and access to a school television studio. Don’t get me wrong — I wasn’t given much training on how to integrate all of this technology in my college teacher prep classes, and very little at the school I was at. If I was not that lucky kid growing up with all of this technology in my household, I’m sure I might have found implementing its use into my daily teaching a bit intimidating. I know my peers did. Yet, like most school systems then, the district kept throwing more technology at us with very little training.
However, it wasn’t their fault. Most of the district administrators didn’t grow up with technology, so knowing how to integrate it well into teaching was likewise foreign to them. As far as they knew, the training they were offering their staff was sufficient. Their staff would just have to figure it out as they assumed everyone else was doing. Colleges were not giving teachers the training they needed with technology, and neither was their district. Even if a staff member thought they did get adequate training, I am willing to bet it was fair at best.
Fast forward to almost twenty years later. Kids these days are growing up with multiple devices almost attached to them as if an appendage. They have cell phones, e-readers, tablets, laptops, computers, high-powered gaming consuls, netbooks, MP3 players and more. Not to mention DVRs, digital content, the cloud, and apps are all part of their daily lives. Their lingo includes words that didn’t exist when I was growing up, minus the cloud, but that meant those things in the sky on a crummy day.
Teachers these days are expected to be able to teach to these kids with instruments they are used to using much the same as it was for me twenty years earlier. Back then, we were given equipment with very little training on how best to integrate it into our teaching. For many of us, the same happens today. Students are coming out of college not being shown how best to integrate some of this technology because, in fairness, the professors training them simply didn’t grow up with it — and, for many of them, their knowledge on how best to integrate technology is also fair, at best. Districts are still throwing tons of software and hardware at our teachers. Though, leaders like me are doing much the same. Just the other day, I must have shared out almost one hundred sites, apps or articles about great tech integration without any way of making sure teachers would know how best to integrate these resources.
I couldn’t help but think while sharing them that our efforts are in the wrong place. My teachers have little extra time in their day. If they’re lucky enough to come across these resources, those who have the energy or luxury to look at them won’t even know where to start. When they had the time in college, they were never shown how best to use these tools — and if they were — then they are changing so quick, it is almost impossible to keep up with them.
We as professors, thought leaders and administrators need to do more. We need to become professional in how to integrate this technology and then when we do so, we need to get that knowledge in the hands of our teachers. We need to give them just as much professional development as we give them product. We need to start off all of our training when it comes to technology much the same as I start mine. One of the first things I say when I begin a training session is, “Please have me back out and let you learn it.” It’s also one of the last things I say. We need to make ourselves available when our teachers have time so we can give them the help they need. Our colleges need to get their hands on the equipment they possibly may use during a school year and they need to teach those prospective educators how to best integrate that technology on a regular basis. We need to lead by example. If we expect our teachers to integrate technology into their teaching, then we need to integrate it into our training just the same. We need to lead by example.
It’s about time we start to do more, give more, train more — and buy less. According to an article I read the other day, analysts think the edtech budget is about to burst. In my mind, that’s because, for too long, we’ve put money in the wrong place. We’ve made countless great products — many that do the same thing as others with a slight variation, yet so few provide our educators with what they need most — not options, but opinions. How we use the technology will far outweigh what technology we have.

Tools That Do Not Make a Teacher’s Life Easier

Originally posted on EdTech Digest 

I’d like to thank all of those who recognize how difficult a teacher’s job is and who want to make it easier—but let me help you realize what I as a teacher do not want. Let me help you recognize what tools do not make my life easier so that we understand each other better.
First of all, don’t buy me any technology without planning for and giving me plenty of professional development on how to use it. You see, I wasn’t born with this stuff in my hands — and even if I could figure it out — it doesn’t mean I know the best way to integrate it into my daily teaching. I need your help. Let me tell you, there’s nothing I hate more as a teacher than to see money wasted. I say this because I have so little of it. In case you didn’t realize, I’m not paid much and yes, I often take some of that hard-earned money and spend it on essentials you don’t supply for me. Because of this fact, there’s nothing worse for all of us to see, than great technology thrown in a corner because I was never shown how to use it nor given any time to figure it out.
While we’re on the subject of time, don’t try to provide training for me always on my planning period. I seldom get to plan on my planning period — let alone, learn something new. There are some days when I could do this, but those are hard to come by. Before and after school — are better, but there are other things going on in my life. If you want me to pick up using this technology and to do it quickly, then cover some of my classes so I can be in class myself where I can concentrate and focus on what you are teaching me.
Giving me technology to figure out on my own does not save me time. Instead, it takes much more time even if you gave me help. The best situation would be to give me a true Technology Facilitator. You give me a Reading and Math Facilitator to help me better teach Reading and Math, yet I’m not a Reading or Math teacher — yet I can use technology in every subject and you still don’t provide me with a Technology Facilitator — yet another way of wasting my time.
Do not give me hardware to better track data, I don’t have a secretary to enter and manipulate this data, so I’ll only be able to do a basic job with it at best. Give that job of tracking, managing and manipulating data to someone else. They will actually give me more time to focus on what is important — and that’s teaching.
If you need me to gather the data for you, then give me technology that makes it easier to do that. Don’t give me a lab full of testing software that every student in the school has to use a few times a year to gather this data. Doing so will make the lab off limits many times when I would actually like to get a class in there to work on projects.
On that note, don’t give me two or three computers in my classroom. You’re simply wasting your time thinking that I’ll get my students on them in any fair way. Having twenty-five students in my classroom and three computers is not a good mix. Have you ever tried telling a child you can use the computer for only fifteen minutes and then not again for a few weeks? What can they get done that is meaningful on a computer in only fifteen-minute chunks every few weeks?
I could give them more time on the computer, but giving each of my students an hour to use the computer once ever month or so is just not practical, either. This only causes more problems in my class and doesn’t make it any easier. Give me technology that I can put in every student’s hands all at the same time — even if it means I can only have it once a week. Having no computers in my room so that we can afford laptop carts that I can schedule out and use for a block of time each semester — is much better than having a few computers in my room that are near impossible to use because I can’t get everyone on them in any fair way.
Do not give me a webcam and expect me to collaborate. Do you know when (and which) other schools can work out the issues of time zone difference so that we might be able to collaborate on the same topic at the same time? Figuring this out and making arrangements for me would help because I often don’t know where to start, nor do I know what do once I know this. Skyping with a class half way around the globe is cool, but it won’t make my job easier unless there’s an easy way to constantly plan with people to collaborate.
Do not think that by giving me interactive whiteboard equipment, this will transform my classroom. There is still only a few people who can use it at once at the front of the room, unless you help me to realize how I can transform my teaching while using it — by making my students become the teacher of each other while using it. I need to get my students engaged, or I lose them. Once again, I need someone to help me make this happen by giving me some of those skills.
Do not give me a district website that is just that, a website. I need it to be so much more. I need it to be my own classroom website with a Dropbox space where I can place homework and assignments for all my students to access. Let me be able to add content to my page. Writing up things and getting them to someone else to add to my page is not practical and I will not use it.
Give me a LMS where I can post assignments and my students can access those assignments from anywhere. Do not give me something where the parents of my students can’t also see what assignments and activities they are working on. It does not make my life easier having to pick up the phone and call my student’s parents for everything.
I am not okay with any BYOD policy. Sounds great on the surface, but I can see the writing on the wall. What happens when I plan to use these devices in my lessons and students forget to bring then? Better yet, how does it help me when they all bring in different devices that I’m not familiar with and they need help on it to better use it on our lesson? I also can’t stop them from loading content on their own device that isn’t appropriate for school and/or results in being a distraction for my students and their learning?
Any technology that you use to better judge my performance based on my students and their performance on standardized tests — does nothing more than make me nervous. Ease my concerns on what you are actually recording on that technology by letting me play around in it as well.
As you can see, I could go on for hours. There are things such as educational content that I really need. I need a one-to-one program giving every student access to this technology so that I can differentiate instruction for all my learners. Doing so makes my life easier. Give me technology such as a tablet in my hand so I can capture and share true data about my students all the time. Give it to me with Internet access. That’s important. I need to have access to the outside world at all times.
The problem, as you can see, is that I’m busy and I don’t have time as it is. If you’re going to give me technology and tools to make my job easier, then you need to do so with just as much detail being put into giving me support. Give me an online group where I can collaborate and learn from my peers. Give me the support I need and the tools that can and will save me time and make my life easier — but by not doing so, you are sure to waste more of my time and definitely not make my life easier. Realize this: I have a curriculum to teach and I need to engage my students. I need them using tools in school that they use at home. I need learning to be fun, yet at the same time, purposeful. Give me direction; give me guidance — and most importantly, a network of support.
Help me join a professional learning network. Collaborate with me. Give me training. Share great lessons and ideas you have used and that you know work. Technology will always be changing — but good, engaging learning has stood the test of time. Help give me the tools that make that happen and you will make my life as a teacher easier.

Futuristic Schools

An educator wonders if, despite our challenges and limitations, we couldn’t all do a little bit better for our students.
Cross Posted on Edtech Digest by Greg Limperis
Let’s face it: school can be boring. When I was a kid it was boring. Given stacks of textbooks, learning meant doing countless worksheets, chapters and sections of those books — not to mention countless hours of rote memorization.
In some ways it was simpler: teachers stood at the front of the classroom and taught you everything you needed to know to be successful in your grade. Measuring success was certainly simple: How well did you do on your quizzes? How about your tests? Most importantly, how well did you do on your report card?
Summer? It couldn’t come fast enough. No more rulers, no more books; no more teachers, dirty looks! The biggest letdown of the year was when it was over. Worse than missing out on that one Christmas gift you hoped for that wasn’t under the tree, the end of summer meant back to work in the boring classroom. Like a boring education factory, all that was produced were boring facts. I can still hear the echo of the countless times my peers or I had asked our parents (or God forbid, our teacher) “When will I ever need this in real life?”
Today, I ask you: what’s changed? How different is learning now?
For many of us, a good quarter of a century later, I’m sure a lot of us can say without hesitation, not much.
Reality is, for so many students, learning still isn’t fun.
Let’s have a quick look at so many schools today: students are still given countless worksheets, numerous textbooks and hours of rote memorization. My very own kids go to school every day, backpacks loaded with countless artifacts no longer relevant to the world in which they live. Every one of my kids has an iPod touch. With wifi, there’s an endless amount they can do. My oldest daughter has an Android with a data plan. At age 10, she has access to all the content she wants. She’s used to constant access to computers, tablets, laptops, netbooks, e-readers and more, sometimes all at once.
A lot of kids are like that: true digital learners. Funny thing is, not in school. They walk in and power down. Often, it’s required that they do so. Learning has become foreign to them. They’re asked to power down from their home life and learn in a way that’s not a bit engaging to them.
When I was a kid, we went to Plimoth Plantation, a living museum in Plymouth, Mass., showing life on the original 17^th-century English colony. Today, students take a field trip back in time every day — to their classrooms. It would be funny, engaging even, if it were only once a year, but for more than 180 school days, they’re picking up a pen and paper, opening a textbook or filling out a worksheet. They’re neither visually nor intellectually stimulated. For a place that is dedicated to our future, doesn’t it follow then and shouldn’t schools be, well, somewhat futuristic?
Sometimes out of necessity, schools actually request that their students power down. BYOD is great in theory, but with diverse socioeconomics at play, can it in reality really be fair? Or what happens when you rely on students to bring in their devices for an important lesson but they leave it at home, or worse — they have it but it’s not working? How about if it becomes a distraction? What if that iPod or iPhone or Android contains inappropriate content? How do you control this? Can it even be done? Sure you can — but often it takes money, knowledge, time, and personal attention. This is exactly the stuff that schools are not made of.
Okay, so you decide to try to integrate more technology as a district so you can engage these students and meet them on their level. Where do you start? What do you invest in? Where will you get the money to fund it and how can you support it on a limited staff?
Do you put a few computers per classroom because this is all your district can afford? Do we honestly think that in this day and age twenty-five students will be okay with sharing a measly three or four devices in their classroom? How do we equitably ensure every one of the students in the class gets equal time on the computer without the ever-so-present chorus of, “That’s not fair! He got to use the computer longer than I did!”? Will each student get five minutes on the computer during an hour class in middle school, or do we tell them they can get their turn for a half hour two weeks from now? How about giving schools a computer lab to use? Do we use that lab as a specials class and the student only gets to use technology once every six days, or for ten days — and then not again for fifty more?
There’s no easy answer to integrating technology well. Making learning fun and engaging takes buy-in and passion for doing so from everyone. Training and support have to come first. Without these, teachers will find it very difficult to constantly locate workable and dependable resources. What do you do when the equipment breaks, is it still under warranty? Does it have to go back to the manufacturer? How do you know of all of the great free resources out there that you can use as an educator without getting support from someone either in-house or through a PLN (personal learning network)? Even the best PLN out there right now isn’t putting everything educators need in one location. Finding what’s new, fun and hot, and finding it quickly and easily is not always possible. What is needed now is a PLN of PLN’s.
There are plenty of sites that are fun and aligned to the Common Core Standards. There is BoomWriter, BuzzMath, Storybird, Glogster and so much more. I could go on for hours. The problem is, once again, where do I find time to find out about all of them? How do I integrate them into my lessons and more without support?
Everything has to be made easy. I love the idea of districts using something such as Blackboard’s Engage or another central LMS that is also a location for web pages in a district where educators can share and collaborate with students, each other and the community. If we can give educators the resources they need, the ease of implementation and excitement of engaging lessons to students, most everything else will take care of itself.
I know as a parent that if you can make it so that my child wants to learn, then you can engage them and give them a love of learning. I would rather spend money on buying a tablet, iPod touch, phone or, heck, even allow them to take one they already have from home into school to help make this happen. I would even be willing to give you access to it, to control what is seen and done on it on your network. I would even allow my child to get one supplied from you — if I could not afford it — and if it meant that he or she saw ads on it during the day or he or she had to do some things to help pay for it.
I want my child to be successful and I want them to be engaged. I realize they need access to the hardware and you cannot afford to put a device in every child’s hands. But prove to me you will support it, train teachers to use it well — and have a plan that puts it to use most of the school day for the next few years and, hey, I might be able to not buy markers, pens, notebooks, backpacks and you could offset the cost from not having to buy textbooks, paper, whiteboard markers, erasers, reading books, dictionaries and on and on.
We can figure this out if we want to; we all know it will make learning fun for our kids. We just have to be willing to let go of the old-school mindset — it’s called old school for a reason.

E-Learning and Public Education

Cross-Posted on August 21, 2012 

CLASSROOM 21 | by Greg Limperis

 

Let’s face it:great blended, online, virtual digital public schools and courses will always be few and far between. The problem with public education is that it is habitually underfunded. For years, I remember being in a classroom and struggling to get things such as paper to use in my class before going paperless. Today, we want schools to build great online virtual lessons and courses for our students. Before last year, my wife used to be one of the best classroom teachers out there. She has the skills to come up with great lessons, but lacks the technical prowess—and the time—to bring those lessons to fruition.

Creating great online courses are a lot of work, and I know this from personal experience. Last year, when I took on my new position as the Supervisor of Instructional Technology and Media for my school district, my wife left teaching in the classroom for multiple reasons. She became an Instructional Designer consultant working with Elearning Innovation as a representative of Technology Integration in Education. Their products are excellent. The company develops custom online learning solutions for universities and other educational entities. While the output they create is very professional and top quality, it takes lots of hard work and planning. It’s literally a full-time, blossoming company and there are simply not enough hours in the day. They create great courses such as the one offered this month on TIE. If you haven’t checked out the series of Balanced Literacy workshops offered for free this month on TIE, check them out.  They’re very professional, but they weren't created by a single person. It took a team of people to create what you see.

According to Edudemic.com and one of their latest infographics, creating effective e-learning takes at least five people and hundreds of man hours. It requires a project manager, instructional designer, multimedia designer, e-learning developer, and a quality assurance manager. As the infographic states, “effective online learning requires approximately 200 total man hours per instructional hour of enhanced e-learning.” Two hundred man-hours per instructional hour for any professional can get expensive real quick. Creating the courses offered this month for free on TIE was not easy, nor was it cheap. It took lots of planning, hard work and money in order to create these workshops.

Can today’s public education support this? Do they have the expertise or the money to ensure the creation of excellent and effective online digital learning?  Can they go it alone? The answer is, it will take companies such as Elearning Innovation to create mass amounts of content that can be chosen from and accessed by schools and districts for a fee. In the future, schools will provide the necessary teachers to moderate these courses that were created by someone else, for them. Various teachers throughout a district will use the courses. Cost of creating these courses will be offset by the advertisement space that will be sold within them. They’ll be created in such a way that the course facilitator can customize them in order to meet both their individual instructional needs and the needs of his or her students.

Who creates your e-learning courses for your district? How dynamic are they? Could they be better if you had a staff of professionals to dedicate to them? It’s time we start to work together to bring great content together. Dynamic lessons can be created and shared across districts and states. Thanks to the new Common Core Standards, this is now possible. We can and must share the burden and cost of creating these courses, but we can also share in the final product. We can create a repository of courses to choose from with online digital professional development created in the same way. We can pay for it through advertising and company sponsorship.

Regardless of how we approach online e-learning in public education, we have to think of doing it in a way that is not just cost effective, engaging, and well planned; we have to do it in a way that doesn’t overburden our already-strained public school educators. It’s time for real, effective e-learning in public education.