“We’re Not in Kansas Anymore”

The dust has not yet settled from the shoes of Dr. Borchers’ proposed 1:1 device initiative.  I certainly do not want to put those shoes back on, not now.  Yet we cannot ignore that our children, and those of America, are already living in the digital world.  Living in a digital world requires teaching and learning in a digital world.  It is good that teachers, students, administrators, parents and those in the community spend some human capital and invest time by assessing where we are, where we need to be and what needs to happen to get there.  These pontifications must happen in time though they are not the real topic of my post.

Some question the use of digital resources.  While I am not recommending any specific hardware, operating system, software solution, service or company, I will highlight a few of the leading resources.

The first is first is an application named NearPod.  NearPod allows the teacher to create teaching media structured for their students.  Students are engage realtime as the teacher may assess learning of the lesson by their students.  Some have description NearPod as “PowerPoint on steroids.”  Read this testimonial from a school system that used NearPod for it’s start-up 1:1 device program.

Watch this video featuring a real middle school teacher in a school using digital learning.

Another emerging toolset is 30hands.  30hands is a structured, digital classroom, where teachers can bring all those web pages, documents, videos, PowerPoints, GoogleDocs into a single cloud location that is cohesive and comprehensive. There are many ways to use 30hands cloud. One of the key benefits is to get students to think and create interactively.  It raises the bar gracefully for students by allowing them to achieve mastery by reviewing videos over and over, handing in assignment multiple times, and learning in many different ways.

30hands Mobile is a fun, innovative storytelling app that allows students, teachers and anyone with creativity to easily create narrated stories or presentations based on photos, images, drawings or video clips using an iPad, iPhone or iPod.

Different from other presentation apps, 30hands Mobile focuses on the power of storytelling and ITERATIVE CREATIVITY(TM). Drag photos, images or video clips around the desktop into the order of the story. Next, record audio over each image. Easy editing allows students to take learning to a higher level and creates a better final video whether created by a student or teacher. Finally, the story or presentation can be published to the device’s photo area or uploaded to a 30Hands Cloud collaborative learning site.

From the 30hands website:

Teachers use 30hands to:

• organize and publish your own content created on 30hands or uploaded
• organize and share your GoogleDocs
• organize and publish open digital content from YouTube, CK-12, KhanAcademy, etc.
• share video and presentation materials created with 30hands Mobile, Explain Everything, Educreations, iMovie, PowePoint, etc.
• create multimedia assignments that allow students to hand in their work multiple times and receive quick teacher feedback
• create groups for student collaboration

Students use 30hands to:

• access digital content posted by teachers in courses and modules
• access multimedia assignments from the Calendar or a Course, hand them in, receive teacher feedback and repeat the loop
• view course videos and presentations over and over again until mastered
• collaborate with team members in group wikis
• create blog posts for courses and personal reflection
• create pages for personal learning and projects
• upload presentations created in 30hands Mobile, Explain Everything, Educreations, iMovie, PowePoint, etc.

Teachers at a school using 30hands share their experiences:

Here a student gives a presentation using 30hands:

What I especially like about the examples above is that the teachers were permitted to put content/lessons of their choice. Teachers should have choice in what is taught in their classrooms.

The previous tools operate in Apple’s iOS though similar offerings are available for Android and Windows.  Beyond the iPad and the Windows Surface Pro, the Google Chromebook promises to be a true competitor and may have already taken the lead in offering lower code hardware, applications and cloud environments.  The Chromebook device offers the advantage of easier replacement given the lower cost.  Google’s web collaborative tools also provide an economic advantage over some other options.  30hands is available on Chromebook too.

Several school systems are rolling out Chromebooks for digital learning.  One of them is the New Carney Independent School District, New Carney, Texas.  The school system said:

This fall, New Caney ISD will introduce close to 10,000 Dell Chromebooks to students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade as part of an on-going 1-to-1 initiative, known as 1:Vision, to prepare students for a technology-driven world. [My note: Student assignment will be done in 3rd through 12th.]   So, what is a Chromebook?

According to Google’s own description, “The Chromebook is a new computer from Google for getting stuff done in and out of the classroom. It’s simple and secure, and has access to the web and apps built-in so students and teachers can work and learn right out of the box.” While the devices are often mistaken for laptops because of their appearance, Google adds, “They run Chrome OS, an operating system that has multiple layers of security, built-in cloud storage, and the most popular Google products for education built-in.” At under $300 each, the Chromebooks require minimal support and are lightweight and fast.

“Whether it’s college classes, technical programs or entering straight into the workforce, our kids will have the skills they need to succeed,” said NCISD Superintendent Kenn Franklin. “We’ve spent three years preparing for this. Chromebooks will give our students the access they need to take their education to the next level and keep the cost down so the district can continue the program for years to come.” Additionally, he emphasized that every campus has reliable WiFi, as well as necessary security measures, and that the district has spent several months researching the most cost-effective and dependable device.

As part of that effort, a group of 49 students from both Porter High School and New Caney High School received the devices on a trial basis last school year, and, in May, they reported overwhelmingly positive results and experiences. Several students praised the device’s reliability, long battery life, and low incidence of computer viruses and operational issues, as well as its ease of transporting because it easily fits into a backpack. In fact, at the end of the one-month trial, none of the laptops were damaged or needed replacing. Parents were also introduced to the upcoming program at information meetings held in May.

Because of strong student interest in technological learning options, such equipment provides a more student-friendly learning environment beyond traditional note-taking and textbooks. While students will have some regular textbooks during the upcoming school year, the Chromebooks allow students to use more interactive resources and electronic textbooks, which is a trend among school districts. Technology will no longer be a separate part of learning but will be fully integrated into the student’s educational experience.

The Chromebook initiative will not only transform learning among students, but also profoundly expand teaching methods and opportunities for teachers who received online and hands-on training for the Chromebooks. Ongoing training will continue throughout the new school year.

Student introduction to the new equipment will differ by grade level. Pre-K through fifth grade students will have access to the Chromebooks at school, while all students in grades six through twelve will receive take-home Chromebooks. For the more than 6,000 devices which will be used at home, students will be assessed a yearly insurance fee of $30.

Through funding provided by federal and local sources including the 2013 Tax Ratification Election, NCISD has leased the computers for a three-year period and will then be able to upgrade to newer versions at the end of the lease. This will allow the district to continue its commitment to providing its students with the best available technology. 

While New Caney ISD isn’t the first school district to issue technology to its students, this is the largest roll out of Chromebooks to students in Texas, and this undertaking has not gone unnoticed. The district has attracted the attention of school districts from other states around the nation, including Illinois, Louisiana and Arizona, who are looking to them as a leader in this effort.”

Let’s be sure to check the progress of New Caney’s 1:1 device program.  Of note is how the New Caney school district obtained federal tax breaks to help fund the lease.

Moore County (North Carolina) is another system implemented digital learning with the Chromebook.  You may read about their initiative here.

You might not surprised to know there is a foundation to help implement the digital transformation in schools.  Digital Learning Now was founded by Jeb Bush.  Digital Learning Now is developing standards to protect student data, developing initiatives for modernization of digital infrastructures, offering courseware to those responsible for insuring our children thrive in the digital age and as such that all children have access to high-quality course offerings, tools and media.  “Digital Learning Now believes that it is critical that all students have access to all of the high-quality course offerings that they need to be prepared for life and work in the 21st century. Courses should be offered in different modalities, ensuring that students can learn at their own style and pace.”

Digital Learning Now prepares an annual state report card.  Digital Learning Now’s third annual Digital Learning Report Card measures state policies on digital learning based on their alignment to the 10 Elements of High-Quality Digital Learning. Utah ranked the highest in the 2013 report card with a 92% grade.  Tennessee ranked hear the bottom with a grade of 55%.

 

(source: http://digitallearningnow.com/report-card#grade0/TN)

 

(source: http://digitallearningnow.com/report-card#grade0/TN)

The above are just some examples of actual uses of digital education.  The gist of my post is that we live in a digital world.  Education is migrating to digital delivery.  Yes, the 3 Rs still are taught but in a different way.  It’s akin to the early 1900s when school officials and communities were faced with going from 1- and 2-room school houses to school buildings; when copy machines replaced mimeograph machines and personal computers replaced typewrites.  I’m sure there was some resistance to each of those, granted changing to digital delivery may be the biggest change in education in the modern era.  It’s already happening.  We cannot ignore it in hopes it goes away.  Digital delivery and online collaboration offers so much, so many possibilities and for ALL students.  It’s the future.  We cannot ignore it.

We’re not in Kansas anymore!