Choosing a Path

My family takes a trip to Death Valley NP every year for a family reunion. While we were there this year we went on a new trail we had never been on. As we drove I this gravelly, bumpy road, we started looking over the next hill for the end. We were hoping for this amazing end to a slow, bumpy trip. It never came on this road. Many times the roads we take end up somewhere, but this one didn't.
I always wonder why is it about a new road that keeps us going on it? Is it that someone told us it would be amazing? Do we have hope it will get better? Or do we just do it because it is the road we have always been on and do not know how to get off it? What if we didn't even get on this road? Would we know what we were missing?
So what does this have to do with education or technology? When a new technology comes out we need to decide what road we are going to take? Is the technology going to be better or will it be a dead end? Will it be something great as we use it, or will be need to get rid of it and move to something else.
There are so many options out there and they keep adding more all the time. Here are a few tips I try to use.
• Make sure the tech you want to use works for you.
• A piece of technology should not add to your work, or the kids work, but become part of your program easily.
• If an app can take the place of something else, or a few something else's, use it.
• Try out each new piece of tech before giving it to a student. Have your kids use it. Make a "New App" team of students to test them out. You will find out what works and how interesting it really is.
Whatever road we are on, or tech we use, we need to know what know what our plan is. If it keeps on going on forever and doesn't improve the student learning, we might want to take a new road. We might want to even try a new road. Technology is here and we need to use it wisely. Get on the road, but choose how far you will go when it gets bumpy. It might be worth the wait? Or not.
Note: Seth Godin wrote a book that is similar to this subject. It's called "The Dip". I would suggest it.

Making Tech Commonplace in the Classroom

I read somewhere that tech needs to become as common as pencils and paper in the classroom. When it does we have gone past the "honeymoon stage" and into the "lets see what this can really do" stage. I think my class is getting to that stage.
We started using iPads in our fifth grade classrooms 1:1 two years ago. It was hard deciding what to have students use them for at first. Then we decided on the second year that we would use them for everything we could. They kept them at their desks and used them as often as possible. We never gave up writing with pencils, using paper, or books. We did use them for writing to publish their text, make presentations, write daily journals, and email their teachers about what they were learning.
We had them use their iPads as a learning management system. They get on to see what they need to do for assignments, even though we still remind them where to find them. They submit discussions, comments, pictures of paperwork, and answer surveys on the LMS. They also have access to all assignments for the unit we are on. The LMS makes them complete assignments in order so they complete everything before moving on to the next section.
We use Google Drive to type in assignments for writing, language, social studies, and science.
What I found was that the more we use the iPads, the more the kids treat them as a tool and not a toy. We have a couple education games on the iPads, but we use them as we have most games, for specific times, not as rewards. This has curtailed them asking to play the games. As I watch what students are doing with the iPads, they are treating them like I would hope they would, as tools of learning.
I have students looking for new ways to show me how to use the iPads for their work. They ask to take pictures for their portfolios. A couple have asked about making movies to show what happened in a certain project. Some want to use the technology to add to their learning. It is becoming a part of their learning and becoming commonplace in the classroom.
The more we use technology, the more it becomes a part of the way the classroom and education is. If we don't use technology, it is a novelty to be played with. We need to use what we have to the fullest potential. Not adding to the work, but changing it. Making it commonplace.