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1,373,000.
According to AppBrain Stats that’s the current number of Android apps on the market. Not to mention the additional 1.3 million that are presently available in the Apple App Store. In addition to these apps, new websites, social media networks and e-learning environments are popping up daily. We are being inundated with digital technology at an unprecedented rate.
For teachers, this is an exciting time. We have a number of powerful tools at our fingertips that allow us to connect students with people all over the world, find and share mass amounts of information, and keep up with current events as they’re happening, among a variety of other functions. But learning about these tools, and more importantly, how to use them in the classroom in an effective and meaningful way proves to be a challenging task. We’re in need of a new-age computer course: “Navigating-The-Digital-Superhighway 101.”
Enter Cohort 21.
My first impression of Cohort 21 is that I will take away a whole lot more than just an understanding of how to navigate the digital superhighway (including new friends, a new mindset, and new knowledge). But one thing I definitely left our first F2F session with, is a better grasp on how to leverage tools like Twitter, Diigo, WordPress and Google to enhance student learning, and optimize my efficiency as an educator.
For instance, I learned that TweetDeck can be used to organize Tweets by hashtags, groups, or various other categories. I learned that upon downloading the Diigo Web Collector app, I can annotate articles, save them directly to my Diigo account, and share them with various groups (and by the way, my students can do this too)! I learned about Google + and Google Hangouts, and their potential to be extremely powerful collaboration tools (even when your fellow collaborator happens to be cruising along on a boat in NYC). Talk about a productive Saturday!
During one of our conversations on Saturday morning, I acknowledged that I use a fair bit of technology in my classroom, but that I recently realized I’m often integrating technology at the “Substitution” or “Augmentation” levels of Dr. Puentedura’s SAMR Model. Based on our first F2F session, I am confident that Cohort 21 will better equip me to integrate technology in the classroom at the “Modification” and “Redefinition” levels.
I’m grateful to have the opportunity to be part of the Cohort 21 community, and thrilled to be on this journey. It ‘s going to be a wild ride. I’m looking forward to November 23rd already!
Hey Allison,
A lot of what you’re thinking about is resonating with me, too. The idea that we must get away from the “substitution” and move toward the more authentic use of technology has been on my mind a lot lately. I look forward to exploring the world of 21st Century education (and how it needs to evolve into something better) with you and the Cohort21 crew this year!
Alison – I love your analogy of the digital super highway. Cohort 21 has given you a bunch of tools to build your car and drive it. Now we just to have to decide where we want to go.
J
Hi Allison,
Like Justin, you’ve captured a great perspective on Edtech use. I would also add that applying the SAMR model is a great way for you think about your teaching and technology’s role within your classroom. Using technology isn’t the same as applying it. Pedagogy is still great pedagogy, but is technology is used for anything but the driver, than I believe that it may be misplaced. As you say, we need to be intentional with our use of it in our classrooms. One thing that I am walking away with from this weekend is the great array of questions that you, and others in the Cohort, asked during the morning sessions. We are all coming at this experience and this issues differently.
Check out Ed Hitchcock’s recent post on the “Invisible Refridgerator”. He captures this idea really well.
Thanks for the thoughtful post,
garth.
Thanks for the replies and feedback Melissa, Justin and Garth!
I’m so excited about the discussion and collaboration that is already happening – and this is just the beginning!
Our first F2F session, and the comments you’ve left here, have given me a lot to think about and reflect upon. Garth and Justin – as you mentioned on Saturday morning, it is so nice to be part of a PD experience that is ongoing. Continuing these conversations between each of our F2F sessions will no doubt keep these issues at the forefront of my thoughts and daily reflections. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the busy-ness of day-to-day life as a teacher, but I am confident that the PLN we are developing will help me to continually push the boundaries, step outside of my comfort zone, and try new teaching strategies / learning experiences. My pedagogy is constantly evolving!
Hi Allison,
1.3 million apps — no wonder we often feel like it’s impossible to keep up with the latest and greatest tools! Like Garth said, the use of SAMR as a framework for evaluating our use of these tools is a great place to start.
Adam Gregson asks some of the same big questions about using classroom tech in his blog post: http://cohort21.com/adamgregson/2014/10/20/jazz-impressions-of-cohort21/
Going on what Greg says, it seems like sharing and asking questions with colleagues is a good place to start. Are there any apps that you use in the classroom that you’d recommend?
Hi Leslie,
I just read Adam’s post. Thanks for directing me there – it’s a great read!
Like Adam said, I have (in just the last couple years) started “trying things out.” I’ve never seen myself as someone who is overly “tech savvy,” but I have learned how to make use of various EdTech tools by simply diving in and “poking around” different websites and apps.
One app that I’ve recently started using is “Explain Everything” (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/explain-everything/id431493086?mt=8 ). This year, I decided that I wanted to try the flipped classroom model in my math class. After several hours of frustrating attempts to use different screen-capturing software to record my videos, I was ready to raise my “white flag” and give up on the flipped classroom endeavor altogether. I ended up calling my colleague (and former Cohort 21er), Marcie Lewis, to ask for some help. She introduced me to “Explain Everything,” and I’ve been using it ever since to record videos for my Grade 8 math class (thanks, Marcie). It’s an awesome, user-friendly tool that makes it easy to record and share videos!
Hi Allison,
Thanks for the kind words; funny how we happened to be “elbow partners”, and had similar reflections after the conference. Keep chipping away at it!
Hi Allison,
Thanks for sharing Explain Everything, and Marcie Lewis is a gem! She and I were a part of the 1st Cohort so please say hi for me!
You make excellent points, and looking to the SAMR model to reflect on how effective your edtech use is evidence of your growth mindset.
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with for your action-plan this year!