That was the comment overheard again and again at Mid-Prairie's summer conference, CLE15, this past week.  "It's not about the tool," may seem like a simple phrase - but it marks a shift in technology integration for this school district and many others.  

So, what exactly does that mean?

In the beginning, tech integration was all about the shiny new tool that worked on a shiny new device. The teacher was tasked to figure out where to insert that tool into the curriculum.  The tool was the focus. 

Now, the tool has moved aside and standards and learning outcomes are the focus.  That important shift builds on an educator's training and experience and enhances it with digital tools.  For many educators this shift has brought the teacher back into the equation.  I have observed classroom teachers hesitating to embrace new technology partly because they felt lost or overwhelmed with learning the tool, or using technology just for technology's sake.  When we shift the focus squarely on the learning  - then teachers are building on what they know.  

What does that look like?

Those attending the CLE15 conference took part in an experience lead by Gina Rogers, Technology Consultant at Grant Wood that helped them explore this shift .  She helped the teachers unpack a standard, specifically focusing on the verbs. Each of the verbs was placed on the Bloom's Taxonomy. Many teachers had experience with that practice. But, Gina took it a step farther by helping them match a technology tool to the verb described in the standard.  This last step brought the tools to life. They were no longer using technology just to be using technology - but to accomplish a learning outcome described by Bloom's.  

To provide references for the staff Miranda Kral, K-12 Solon Teacher Librarian and myself created this document of Web 2.0 tools.  We worked through Bloom's hierarchy of verbs and matched tool options to each category. We also attached both classroom examples and tutorials.  The goal of this document was to provide a self-paced tool for teachers to revisit.  

When all is said and done, I think this tweet by Tony Vincent sums up the idea perfectly!  It is time for us to move beyond tools and "marry the ability!"

~Beth Swantz, Technology Consultant, Grant Wood AEA (@betswan)


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While attending the Technology Integration Conerence (TIC) at Dubuque last week, I was lucky enough to be able to sit in on some sessions with Jon Bergmann - one of the original pioneers of the flipped classroom approach to teaching and  learning. Needless to say I learned a lot about different ways to be successful with the flipped classroom model, but there were a number of great talking points too.

One that resonated with me was when someone asked Bergmann whether he favors the model where teachers create their own videos to use with students, or use a selection of videos that have been created by others. His answer was direct and without ambiguity. Creation, in his experience, is far more powerful than curation.

Why? Because good teaching is all about relationships, and the relationship that you take the time to develop with your students will make the videos you create far more engaging and easier to understand if they feature the one constant that they really trust - you! Bergmann reinforced this point with several stories and testimonials from teachers who are doing just that, and it is hard to argue against this kind of logic.

On the face of it, creating videos sounds great, but not everyone feels confident enough in their technology skills to do that. Thankfully, it is easier than it ever has been to create, upload and share a lesson with your students. There are now numerous ways to do that, and you don't have to spend any money at all if you don't want to. A summary of some of the tools on offer to facilitate this process are available on FlippedClass.com - a website that is maintained by Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams.

With so much free material out there that has already been created (and organized) on sites like Khan Academy, it can be hard to turn it down, especially given how busy teachers are with everything else that they do on a daily basis. However, motivating and engaging students in their learning is undoubtedly a key factor to their success. If this can more readily be achieved through teacher created videos, then this approach is equally hard to ignore.

At the end of the day, it is the job of the teacher to weigh up the pros and cons and decide what is best for their students, but knowing the pros and cons of each is something that is definitely worth some consideration.


Jonathan Wylie, Technology Consultant, Grant Wood AEA (@jonathanwylie)

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Creativity is at the heart of a makerspace.  The possibilities are endless and the supplies in a makerspace can spark ideas.  One of my favorite creativity-fueling components of our makerspace is a Makey Makey, or as they're known as - an invention kit for everyone.  The Makey Makey comes in a simple box with very little instructions.  For non-techies, the wires and alligator clips could scare people from exploring.  So, let’s break this down, because there is no reason to fear the unknown.

The Makey Makey comes with a circuit board (your home base), a USB connector to connect to your computer, and alligator clips and wires (these help you connect and create).  All of these components allow you to connect back to your computer to control what’s happening on screen through the USB cord.  You can connect the wires in any combination you'd like to work with different programs on your computer.

The front is designed for the alligator clip connections.  It has places to connect to your computer’s arrows, space, key and click buttons.  Just pinch them right into the designated holes.  Along the bottom, you’ll find a row of the ground connectors (more about this in a minute).  

The back is where you can utilize the wires.  There are small wire ports along the sides where wires can be inserted to connect to even more parts of your computer.  The left side will connect with letters on your keyboard (W, A, S, D, F, G) and the right has similar connections to the front, but also includes other mouse features like a right and left click.  The top connections allow you to link into the Arduino components and the bottom connections offer more ground connections.  
If you find the wires to be too short, you can extend the wire connections by adding an alligator clip.

The wires or alligator clips can be connected to any object that can conduct electricity.  This is what will test your knowledge of electrical conductors and has excellent classroom connections to teaching electricity, which is part of the Next Generation Science Standards.  There are loads of inquiry-based learning you can do with your students to help them learn about what can conduct electricity.  Let your students choose what to connect to the Makey Makey.  People have used bananas or potatoes and even pencil graphite!

Now the last piece of the Makey Makey magic is the ground connectors.  The ground connectors allow you to be interactive with your Makey Makey as you help to complete the circuit.  You hold an end of an alligator clip connected to the ground and then touch your electrically conductive object you selected (like Play Dough in the picture).  Your computer will react as you complete the circuit.  If you forget to pick up the ground connection, your Makey Makey won't respond.

To get started, try the Makey Makey piano or bongos and use to have students write music on their own banana piano.

I’ve seen students become completely fascinated with how the electrical connections work with a Makey Makey, a completely different reaction than how I saw them react to traditional electrical circuits in science class.  The main reason is how multiple people can connect and interact with the Makey Makey as long as they are holding a ground connection or if they are touching the person holding the ground connection.  I witnessed one group of students creating a Makey Makey people chain to see how many people could touch hands and still have the Makey Makey work!  This naturally leads into great learning conversations about how electricity works. 

There are loads of great starters and project ideas on the Makey Makey website.  Check out how these people have utilized the Makey Makey to fuel their imaginations - it's awesome!  Also, Makey Makey has a Kickstarter going on right now for the new Makey Makey Go - a great price point and option for schools!

~Amber Bridge, Technology Consultant, Grant Wood AEA 
@abridgesmith


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