Is it Google-Able?

While planning your next lesson, ask yourself these two questions:

Is what I am teaching Google-Able?

Am I teaching this the same way I was taught?

Why are these questions important?

The world has changed and schools must follow. The concept of schools as we know them, has only been around for a little over 100 years. The original idea came from the fact that information was contained in books. A large amount of information meant a large number of books, so we built libraries and, in turn, schools formed around these libraries. Go to any college campus and the most significant building will most likely be the original library. School was not so much about creating new information as it was learning how to find and interpret information.

Well, that has all changed. Finding information is now the easiest thing in the world. Just Google it. This brings us to our first question: "Is what I am teaching Google-Able?" Are you simply teaching facts? Are your children expected to simply remember parts of the story? Are they memorizing the state capitals? Well, this can all be Googled - all day, any day, even on test days. What we need to be doing as teachers of 21st century students is teaching our students to work together, solve problems, create, recognize patterns, and share their findings. So, yes, present the facts, or better yet, have the students find them, but move past this. For example, have your students used Google Earth to discover similar geographical features between the state capitals? Or how about this? Students can write blog posts about a particular story and ask another class to write comments on their blogs, and then have your students go back and alter their original posts in response to the comments.

Here is a simple way to remember these ideas: Learn it, Create it, Share it.

"Am I teaching this the same way I was taught?" Are you? Do your students have the same access to resources that you had? ABSOLUTELY NOT. Almost every student in this school has more computing power in their digital watches than the Apollo space craft. Now imagine how much power is on their phones? Or Ipads? Or Laptops? Or Smart TVs? Our students have access to an ocean of information, and we need to teach our students how to not only navigate this ocean, but ADD to it. It is not far off that college admissions counselors are simply going to Google each applicant. They will be looking to see what they accomplished in high school. Did they publish any work? Do they have a website? Do they regularly contribute to any blogs or forums? If we continue to have our students learn by rote memorization, or copying notes off the board, how will that help them in a future that we can not even begin to predict, but is fast approaching.

Once again, DON"T FREAK OUT! Technology is your friend.

- Bill

SAMR Model

Niklas Wikström

"Teachers need to integrate technology seamlessly into the curriculum instead of viewing it as an add-on, an afterthought, or an event." Heidi-Hayes Jacobs

 SAMR (pronounced same-er) is a model developed by researcher Dr. Ruben Puentedura, intended to help teachers analyze and understand their use of technology in the classroom. The framework is broken down into 4 levels: (read from bottom to top)

The goal of a classroom teacher should be to jump over that dotted line. Let’s look at each section individually. While doing so, analyze your own use of technology in the classroom to determine where you are on the learning curve.

 SUBSTITUTION
The easiest way to understand substitution is with this simple example: writing an essay.
What was once done with paper and pen is now done with a word processor. The task and output are exactly the same, but the paper and pen have been substituted with a computer.
The actual task has not changed. The final product has not changed - only the tool with which the students create the final product has changed.

 What other technologies can you think of that are simply being used as substitution technologies?

 AUGMENTATION
Augmentation takes us one step past substitution by adding features to the “substituted” technology to improve functionality. For example, while writing their essays on the computer, students use the automatic grammar and spell check to help with editing. If they are using Google Drive, the application automatically saves their work to the “cloud”, rather than needing to manually save the work to a USB.
The key here is that our substituted technology has been enhanced with features that help the student. However, the end product is still the same.

 Now let’s jump over that line....
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MODIFICATION
Modification is exactly as it sounds. We still want our students to write an essay, but now we modify the assignment by adding (not substituting or augmenting) to a task using specific technology tools.

 Before the internet the only people who saw a student's essay were the student, teacher, and parents. Now we have the option of using Google Drive to have students work on essays, not just together, but at the exact same time, communicating and collaborating together. Students now have the ability to share ideas and peer edit in real time. When students have completed their essays, they are posted on a blog and students from a school in another country can comment on the student essays. Amazing.

 We have now considerably modified the assignment. Students are still writing an essay, but we have added a significant amount of 21st century skills to the task.

 REDEFINITION
At this level the teacher has redefined the end product. Technology is now completely integrated into the process. Technology is no longer an add-on or something special. It is an essential tool, just like pencils are an essential tool.

 Rather than a student individually choosing an essay topic, the entire class is working together to design a proposal to solve a significant issue in the community (for example). Some students are doing research, others are interviewing experts on Skype, while others are using iMovie to create a PSA. The students have designed a wiki to keep track of each group’s work and are using Twitter to communicate ideas outside of the classroom. The end result is a unique website, complete with the proposal, research, videos, and a community blog.

 IN CONCLUSION
The idea of seamlessly integrating technology into your classroom can feel overwhelming. I wanted to share these concepts with you to help you reflect on how you can incorporate and use technology in the classroom plus give you some guidelines and examples of what will be expected from educators in near future (if not now). Even though the examples I shared above concern older grades, the concepts and ideas extend all the way down to the youngest students.

 Take some time to think about the following:
- How do I use technology in my classroom?
- How would I like to use technology in my classroom?
- At what level of the SAMR model are my lessons?
- Am I teaching my students the same way I was taught?

 Don't freak out. Technology is your friend. Just take it one step at a time.

 - Bill