Technology Integration Matrix

Rating myself on the Technology Integration Matrix(TIM) has been a difficult task for me this week because I am not in the classroom anymore as a teacher.    I struggled if I should rate myself on where I was as a teacher 6 years ago, where I believe I would be today, or just take a teacher from my district and rate them.  Decisions, decisions!  In the end I decided to rate myself as I was 6 years ago.  Needless to say a lot has changed over the years and I am sure I did things that were not correct. 

Right Now (6 years ago)

• Active/Adoption
• Collaborative/Adoption
• Constructive/Adaption
• Authentic/Adoption
• Goal-Directed/Adaption

Now since I am no longer in the classroom I cannot say where I will be at the end of the year.  What I can do is talk about how to get teachers to take the next steps and "move up the ladder" to the next levels of the TIM. This Technology Integration Matrix is going to be a resource that will be very helpful while trying to work with teachers throughout our district.

As Director of Technology, part of my goal to to increase the use of technology integration in each of the classrooms.  Many of the teachers get frustrated and think that having their students type spelling words and playing games on the computer is enough. This TIM will help the teachers see what level they are on (and their students) and what can be done to move to the next level.  The videos are great quick examples.  The biggest problem that I foresee is the question I get all the time, "Not all of my students have a device, so how can I do what they are doing?".  Unfortunately, until I can convince the School Board of the importance of every student having a device, they will have to work with me on utilizing what we have. But just like Marc Prensky talked about in "Before Bringing in New Tools, You Must First Bring in New Thinking", teachers, schools and districts must develop their curriculum before they get the devices. Now I just need to get the teachers on board.

Technology Integration Matrix

Rating myself on the Technology Integration Matrix(TIM) has been a difficult task for me this week because I am not in the classroom anymore as a teacher.    I struggled if I should rate myself on where I was as a teacher 6 years ago, where I believe I would be today, or just take a teacher from my district and rate them.  Decisions, decisions!  In the end I decided to rate myself as I was 6 years ago.  Needless to say a lot has changed over the years and I am sure I did things that were not correct.

Right Now (6 years ago)

• Active/Adoption
• Collaborative/Adoption
• Constructive/Adaption
• Authentic/Adoption
• Goal-Directed/Adaption

Now since I am no longer in the classroom I cannot say where I will be at the end of the year.  What I can do is talk about how to get teachers to take the next steps and "move up the ladder" to the next levels of the TIM. This Technology Integration Matrix is going to be a resource that will be very helpful while trying to work with teachers throughout our district.

As Director of Technology, part of my goal to to increase the use of technology integration in each of the classrooms.  Many of the teachers get frustrated and think that having their students type spelling words and playing games on the computer is enough. This TIM will help the teachers see what level they are on (and their students) and what can be done to move to the next level.  The videos are great quick examples.  The biggest problem that I foresee is the question I get all the time, "Not all of my students have a device, so how can I do what they are doing?".  Unfortunately, until I can convince the School Board of the importance of every student having a device, they will have to work with me on utilizing what we have. But just like Marc Prensky talked about in "Before Bringing in New Tools, You Must First Bring in New Thinking", teachers, schools and districts must develop their curriculum before they get the devices. Now I just need to get the teachers on board.

Long Time No Blog

Well, I haven't posted anything on my blog in a couple years now.  I told myself that I was going to post at least once a week and that didn't happen.  SO here I go again.

During the middle of November I was able to attend the HECC conference in Indianapolis.  This conference was AWESOME again this year.  The device they gave to all the attendees was a Kindle Fire HD.  It was the first time that I had used any of the Kindle devices and I was very impressed. Even though it is a 7" screen, the device would be perfect to use as an added learning tool in elementary and middle schools.  Although it would be hard to use it to create documents or videos in school, there were many free apps available.  Since the Kindle was originally an ereader, that is another feature that makes it nice for classrooms. Add to that the $199 price tag, and it looks like a good investment. (Now all I have to do is convince my superintendent to buy a couple for every K-8 classroom and I am set!)

Now I would never use this as a device in a 1:1 environment, but it does have its place in classrooms today!

Inspiring Education

Today I was able to watch a 2nd grade class speak with a couple from London, England.  They used Skype for the video conference and met through epals.  The retired couple interacts with many classrooms throughout the world.  Anyhow, the kids were amazed and I was inspired by the way this teacher, Terra Knust, was able to find new ways for her students to learn and interact with technology.  I want to thank Mrs. Knust for her hard work to make learning more fun for her students.

There are many teachers in the Pike County School Corporation who use technology in their classroom as a way of making school fun for the students and more meaningful.  Throughout this year I will be observing classes and blogging about the exciting ways they have used technology in their classes for the betterment of their class.

ENA Conference

Attended an ENA conference today at Jennings County Middle School and it was really inspiring.  The first speaker, Will Richardson, was amazing.  His words and ideas were very reviving and gave me many ideas that I want to bring back to the PCSC teachers.  Even though some ideas would be hard for many of our teachers to accept, I do believe that we have a lot of teachers who would be willing to accept.  Anyhow, a big thank you to ENA for hosting this session.  It was a great benefit.